The Ghost of the Divine Tree (1)
Eunhyeon had become Iliana's lover, the "witch's paramour," but their daily life hadn't changed much.
Iliana, who detested going out unless absolutely necessary, rarely met anyone socially outside her official duties at the Royal Magic Library. Her slovenly lifestyle at home—enough to make one question how she'd survived twenty years there—had thoroughly shocked Eunhyeon.
In the end, he was now sustaining himself with the official title of "witch's assistant," handling Iliana's personal errands alongside it.
For Eunhyeon, who had lost all sense of purpose after his resurrection—wondering why he had returned and what he should do next—this routine provided at least some motivation to keep going.
"Hyeon-ah. Do me one favor."
Having learned part of his secret upon becoming his lover, Iliana could somewhat read his inner turmoil and feelings. Worried about his aimless wandering, she had decided to give him tasks to keep him occupied.
"...A task?"
Lately, he had been handling secretive requests from the kingdom directed at the great hero, the Black Witch, in her stead, using his assistant title as cover.
It was rare, however, for her to assign him something new right after the endless book sorting at the library had finally wrapped up two weeks ago.
"Something peculiar came up."
"Hmm, is that so? What is it this time?"
Eunhyeon crossed his arms, his gaze urging her to continue.
"One noble lady has gone missing."
"You wouldn't task me with just a simple disappearance, would you?"
Iliana looked up from her documents and nodded. Watching Eunhyeon listen intently, she rubbed her forehead with a slightly weary expression.
"The missing girl is in a bit of a complicated situation."
"Hmm."
"Remember the Hersha baronet embezzlement scandal two weeks ago?"
Eunhyeon nodded without replying. It had been a major case in Fernin, the capital of the Pernias Kingdom—a public official accused of massive breach of trust and embezzlement.
A mere bureaucrat had falsified kingdom budget ledgers, siphoning off a portion of national funds for nearly three years. Lenion Hersha, the Hersha baronet, had been executed for it.
His son, Elvin Hersha, had fled with hidden gold coins and was being pursued by the knights. Eunhyeon recalled the rumors that the daughter, Erin Hersha, had been left alone after her father's execution and her brother's flight.
"I know of it. It was quite the uproar, wasn't it? A low-level civil servant—not even a full noble—stealing a fortune in gold."
The revelation that he'd directly pilfered from the national budget had shamed the kingdom, exposing poor financial oversight. It was inconceivable for a nominal noble handling only administrative tasks to pull off such a bold scheme alone.
Eunhyeon suspected it was the work of higher nobles pulling strings. Even if the baronet had acted solo, he'd have been a cunning operator with guts to manipulate his superiors.
"The missing girl is that baronet's daughter."
"Hmm."
He'd half-guessed it when she brought up the case. Eunhyeon nodded calmly, knowing exactly what she wanted.
"How exactly did she go missing?"
"Three days ago, she vanished without a trace. Not a mouse or bird noticed."
Eunhyeon narrowed his eyes at Iliana.
"That's not what you're really asking about right now."
Iliana met his sharp gaze and smiled wryly.
"Sorry. But there are truly no leads. No witnesses, no circumstances—nothing."
Finding a needle in a sand dune might be faster. Eunhyeon wanted to call it absurd, but he didn't think Iliana would toy with him like this on official matters.
Still, pursuing someone with so little info seemed unlikely. Knowing she wouldn't issue such an unreasonable order, he waited silently for her to continue.
"But I did pick up one strange rumor."
"Rumor?"
"A girl jumped to her death from the rooftop of a building at Aiter."
"Aiter—the kingdom's academy?"
"Yeah."
The Aiter Royal School was funded by donations from key nobles, the royal family, and tycoons, plus national budgets, educating the children of noble houses.
Admission required hefty donations for merchants or came from Pernias nobles or even foreign noble heirs as exchange students.
"Is the missing Erin Hersha a student there too?"
"Right. Her father was a baronet, after all."
In the Pernias Kingdom, "baronet" was a title granted to commoners treated as nobles, often assigning them court roles.
Lenion Hersha had managed payroll for kingdom-affiliated soldiers—a position enabling his ledger tampering and gold theft.
As titled pseudo-nobles, Elvin and Erin attending school wasn't unusual. What caught Eunhyeon's attention was the rooftop suicide rumor.
"And it's still hushed up?"
Aiter was the kingdom's premier institution, run on royal, noble, and tycoon funds, teaching etiquette, culture, history, magic, swordsmanship, and more to future leaders.
For such a prestige-obsessed place to stay silent after a student's suicide was bizarre. Pondering it, Eunhyeon grasped Iliana's intent.
"No leads on Erin Hersha, so you want me to investigate this instead?"
Iliana saw a connection between the incidents. On the surface, the school-related oddities seemed unrelated, but rumors breaking simultaneously piqued her interest.
"Correct."
Iliana applauded Eunhyeon for reading her perfectly.
"How did the suicide rumor start?"
"Ah, there's a witness."
"Witness? Someone saw a student jump?"
Iliana nodded.
"If they witnessed a student jumping, couldn't they identify if it was Erin Hersha?"
"That's the weird part. Anyway, let's hear it from her directly."
"Her?"
Knock knock.
"Speak of the devil. Perfect timing. Tell her to come in."
Iliana permitted entry with a cheerful response to the knock.
"This way."
Guided by the librarian, a girl entered Iliana's office hesitantly. Knowing Iliana's status, she looked terribly intimidated.
"H-hello."
"Hi. Hello. Have a seat."
The girl greeted tensely, then blushed as if enchanted by Iliana's smile, avoiding eye contact as she sat on the sofa.
"Black tea."
"Ah... Thank you."
From the moment the girl entered, Eunhyeon had slipped into his "witch's assistant" role. He swiftly brewed tea to help her relax.
"Whew..."
Iliana sat on the central sofa, crossing her legs, and addressed the girl.
"Innis Malenu, right? The student who claims to have seen a girl attempt suicide from the school rooftop at midnight."
"Yes..."
Innis stared at Iliana, rigid with tension. Eunhyeon figured anyone would be, facing the once-in-a-lifetime Black Witch.
"Can you tell us in detail?"
"D-do you really believe me?"
"I'll judge after hearing you out. That's why I called you."
Emboldened by Iliana's words, Innis took a deep breath and recounted the night.
"It was pitch black, so dark I couldn't see a thing. I had to sneak into school for something I needed to find. I climbed the fence, entered alone, and walking that dark hallway gave me chills. I reached the classroom door, opened it, and went inside."
Inside, Innis headed to her desk by the window. Alone at midnight in the eerie school, cold sweat beaded despite the tension.
Wanting air to cool off, she paused her search and approached the window. Opening it let in a cool breeze; as she cooled her sweaty face...
Something fell from above her head.
A long-haired girl plummeted toward the ground.
Her disheveled hair, whipped by fierce wind, tickled Innis's face.
It lasted mere seconds—too brief to fully register.
Before she could process it, the falling girl looked right at her.
Their eyes met as Innis stared blankly.
Creak.
Mid-fall, the girl smiled precisely at Innis.
An inexplicable chill ran through her at that unknowable grin. Terrified, Innis recoiled from the window and collapsed.
Regaining her wits, she rushed back to check the ground below for the girl's broken body.
Nothing. No sign of her.
At first, she thought it a hallucination. But the vivid feel of the hair on her face said otherwise.
Too scared to remember her errand, she fled the school. Home didn't help; she lay awake until morning.
Exhausted, hollow-eyed with lingering dread, she went to school. The normal routine felt alien, as if nothing had happened.
Only she knew of the night's event.
She told friends and professors, but none believed her. The knights dismissed it too—overloaded with the Hersha case and more.
Days later, hearing Erin Hersha hadn't shown up and had vanished entirely chilled her further.