Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Crow in the Carriage
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May, June, July.
Time flew by, and summer had arrived before they knew it.
During that time, Rachel was swamped. So much so that she felt like she was being shredded into star shapes by the Administrative Bureau.
Don't nobles not work? Rachel could confidently declare that was a lie.
The vacant minister position at the Administrative Bureau had been filled, and more hands had been added below, but they were still busy.
She worked frantically during the day, and once the bureau's business wrapped up around 7 p.m., she headed to the royal castle's archive to search for materials on magic. When the librarians clocked out at 9 p.m., she left the castle and went home.
"It's pouring."
Rachel stuck out her tongue at the downpour.
She didn't have an umbrella. Most people didn't bother with umbrellas even in the rain, but Rachel pulled a waterproof cloak from her bag to use as a rain shield. Just then, footsteps approached from behind.
"The rainy season has begun."
It was a familiar voice. Rachel turned around and greeted them.
"Hello."
Enoch wore a slightly regretful expression. It wasn't obvious, but Rachel, who had known him for so long, could tell.
After the May banquet, the Silver Knights Order had been formed to capture the black sorcerer, and Enoch had become its captain.
To hide the fact that he was on Carrion's side, Rachel and he stopped pretending to be close during the week and only met secretly on weekends.
Because of that, Rachel couldn't treat Enoch as she usually did.
'Viscount Noema, and the ones with him are nobles from Demian's faction?'
Rachel had memorized the faces of most high-ranking nobles. At this point, those with significant influence were mostly Carrion's faction or neutrals.
In other words, nobles she didn't know were barons or lower.
Especially now, with the castle's security heightened, no random baron could enter freely unless they were palace officials.
'The faces from other departments are all memorized.'
So, those guys were safe to assume as merchant-born barons who bought their titles and entered the castle with Demian's permission.
It seemed Demian's faction nobles were working hard to draw in Enoch's power after he was recognized as the Fourth Prince.
"Oh, isn't this the Administrative Bureau's Cold-Blooded Witch?"
At that moment, Rachel raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar nickname from a stranger.
It wasn't strange that he recognized her. She was the only woman in the castle wearing pants.
But calling her by some weird moniker went beyond recognition and was rude.
She glanced at Enoch with a look asking if they were calling her that behind her back, but he averted his eyes. He seemed to know something.
"I do work at the Administrative Bureau, but I have no idea about that weird nickname."
"You don't know? I haven't introduced myself. Call me Baron Agelle."
"I'm Peristera."
Rachel gave a curt reply to the man introducing himself boastfully. At the same time, she made sure to memorize everyone present.
She paid special attention to Viscount Noema. As a member of Daimon, he might have killed the crown prince.
Red hair streaked with grayish white. His age put him off the suspect list for the black sorcerer Abyss mentioned, but since he had a young nephew, it was worth suspecting.
"By the way, what kept you at the castle so late?"
"The Third Prince summoned me for urgent business. And I had important talks with the captain of the Silver Knights Order here. You wouldn't understand such matters, would you, Miss Peristera?"
Rachel nearly sneered at his subtle bragging about being close to high figures.
He had called her the Cold-Blooded Witch, but he didn't seem to know whose backing got her into the Administrative Bureau.
"I see. You must have worked hard late into the night."
It looked like Demian's faction was starting to move.
'Is pulling in Enoch the beginning? But have they finished sorting out the black sorcerer?'
Rachel glanced at Viscount Noema. His expression wasn't great.
'The split has begun!'
Just as she had predicted three months ago, Demian's support base was starting to fracture.
'I'll hear some interesting stories this weekend.'
Rachel looked forward to the weekend. Enoch, who had moved with them today, seemed likely to bring intriguing gossip.
"The carriage is here. I'll be off."
Rachel draped the waterproof cloak over her head and dashed toward the carriage.
The coachman spotted her and stopped the carriage. Rachel hurriedly boarded.
Another passenger was already in the carriage, which could seat up to six. Rachel sat in the seat diagonally across from him.
"It's so dark inside the carriage because of the rain."
That's what she first thought. After roughly folding and stowing the damp cloak to keep the moisture off her clothes, she finally had a moment to relax.
Rachel looked up and blinked at the pitch-black aura filling the space.
'This is?'
It wasn't her mana. It emanated from the man in black clothes.
His face was hard to see under the black brimmed hat, but the pointed chin, long nails, and black high heels that didn't match his outfit reminded her of someone she knew.
'Crow!'
She hadn't met him often in person, but he was a figure she couldn't forget no matter the playthrough.
'Weapon...'
One couldn't enter the castle armed, except for guards—swords were banned. But some nobles used tricks. Hiding a thin sword inside a cane was basic.
Rachel didn't carry such obvious weapons. Instead, she had a small vial.
'The first move, huh.'
She reached toward his face, which was clearly watching her. Sure enough, Crow shot to his feet.
"You're late."
Pshh!
A fine mist sprayed, covering Crow's face. He immediately screamed.
"Argh!"
It was the pepper spray Rachel had made for self-defense. The sprayer was custom-made by a technician Carrion introduced, filled with crushed pepper juice.
Even a black sorcerer couldn't handle pepper juice in his eyes; he rolled on the floor. In the meantime, Rachel kicked open the carriage door. A strong gust of rain blew in, but she leaned out.
'Fast.'
"Coachman, stop the carriage!"
She couldn't bring herself to jump from the speeding carriage, but it didn't stop.
Dodging the writhing Crow clutching his eyes, she opened the front window. The coachman was unconscious.
"Wake up, wake up!"
She reached out and shook him, but he didn't stir. Rachel bit her lip.
"Damn it! This isn't some runaway train!"
For now, the horses followed their familiar route, but that wouldn't last.
Without control, the carriage would veer off, hit people, or cause some accident. With the rain making everything slippery, it was a dire situation.
Rachel looked at the carriage floor. Crow was still reeling from the pepper spray.
She pressed her upper teeth into her lower lip, then sprang into action.
"My fate is one that seeks out trouble."
First, she leaned out the open door. She planned to climb to the coachman's seat and stop the horses.
Clunk!
As she reached for the coachman's seat, the carriage jolted hard. Rachel felt her body lift and gripped tightly in panic.
She nearly fell out. As Rachel sighed in relief, Crow's hand grabbed her left ankle.
"Where do you think you're going?"
His reddened eyes darted wildly. The bony hand's grip was strong; Rachel felt pain.
"Let go!"
She kicked and stomped his wrist with her right foot, but Crow didn't release. Instead, he made a weird noise.
"Blondie, blondie? Heh heh, and what's this blessing? What are you, huh?"
Again. Rachel frowned at his mention of the 'blessing.'
"What's that blessing you're talking about?"
"You don't know?"
"No."
"You don't know?"
"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about with that blessing!"
"You don't know? Why don't you? Whydon'tyou whydon'tyou whydon'tyou whydon'tyou whydon'tyou whydon'tyou?"
He repeated the question like a broken phonograph.
Rachel felt chills creeping up her arms and paused her kick.
"Hey, is this the blessing you're talking about?"
Rachel circulated her mana. She still couldn't cast spells.
She had borrowed an artifact from Abyss and mimicked the mana flow when it activated, but even that didn't manifest as magic.
Still, she moved her mana because nothing else seemed suspicious.
But it worked better than expected. As she gathered mana in her palm, Crow's pupils dilated.
"Yes! That power we've longed for! Give me that power!"
"Take it if you can!"
Rachel pretended to throw the mana from her palm outside the carriage. Crow released her ankle and leaped out.
"Crazy."
There was nothing else to say.
Even as his body bounced off the stone pavement, Crow chased the black mana.
Rachel sent the mana as far as possible, then stood at the open door again.
"After all this commotion, the horses won't stop?"
She wiped her wet hands on her clothes, grabbed the door frame, and reached out. Her hand caught the protruding part near the coachman's seat, and she extended her foot.
"Got it!"
Her foot landed safely on the coachman's seat floor without catching in the wheel spokes. Rachel slowly shifted her body over.
Seated at the coachman's perch, Rachel eyed the coachman's condition. He didn't seem to be breathing.
"Just stay alive."
Rachel grabbed the reins tangled in the coachman's hands. Unlike a car, carriages couldn't brake suddenly.
Recalling her riding lessons, she gripped the reins firmly and pulled slowly.
The speed gradually slowed, and when it was slow enough for the carriage brakes to engage, she brought the horses to a halt.
"Whew—"
A deep sigh escaped, as if drawn from the depths of her lungs.
"Good thing I learned to ride horses."
She had learned horseback riding simply because she couldn't go directly to incident sites, but it saved her from a carriage accident.
Only then could Rachel properly check the coachman's state. She had felt it when grabbing the reins—his skin was cold and stiff.
"He's dead."
The coachman was already dead.
***
The Glory House that Rachel received as a gift from the king was a pristine three-story stone mansion on the capital's streets.
It was close to the castle—thirty minutes on foot, or five minutes by carriage plus three minutes walking, arriving in ten.
But today, it took even longer.
"Get some good rest inside."
Enoch said goodbye. Rachel smiled with her eyes at Enoch, who had escorted her all the way home.
"Thanks for coming with me."
"It's a shame we can't be together because of the plan."
"We have no choice until we whittle down the Third Prince's forces, right? The fact that they're starting to target me like this is proof they're getting desperate."
Despite Rachel's positive words, Enoch couldn't hide the worry on his face.
"But a cornered rat will bite even a cat. I'm worried you'll be in more danger. Wouldn't it be better if I just stayed with you?"
"Why risk rumors? Just ask for stronger capital patrols."
"If that's what Rachel says. Then I'll be going. Go inside."
"Yeah, see you this weekend."
Enoch didn't leave until Rachel entered the door.
Once inside the mansion, Rachel leaned against the door and sighed.
"I'm exhausted."
Her clothes and hair were soaked and limp from the rain. Enoch had infused her with divine power and draped his coat over her, but that didn't erase the mental fatigue or dampness.
"Prepare some hot water. I'll eat and bathe."
"Yes."
She handed her wet outerwear to the maid and entered the outer parlor, where she found her parents embracing on the sofa.
"Ahem, you're late today?"
"I took a carriage because of the rain, but there was an accident."
"No injuries?"
"Enoch healed me. By the way, we'll see the baby soon."
After catching her parents in such an affectionate moment right upon arrival, Rachel answered briefly and headed to the kitchen. As she sat at the table, Mary followed and served a simple dinner.
Rachel recalled what she had heard earlier.
'At least six hours since death, they said.'