Chapter 92
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Ring of Promise (1)
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"Has the trial verdict come out yet?"
I asked, recalling how I'd gone to the courtroom as a witness alongside the White Guard Knight.
The trial process had been astonishingly swift and straightforward. It felt less like a trial by law and more like one dictated by public opinion.
"The outlines are starting to take shape. Raymond's status as crown prince has been stripped, but anything beyond that seems unlikely. The king dotes on his son terribly."
Stripping a crown prince of his title was unprecedented in the history of the Lesion Kingdom.
Most of his support base had turned their backs on the prince, but the king still seemed to be holding him close.
The White Guard Knight let out a small sigh.
"I'm proposing various measures to ensure nothing like this happens again. At least he listens to me a little."
"What about Kaella Ermis?"
"She denied most of the charges, but that won't change the outcome. From the way things are going, it looks like she won't escape execution."
"Execution..."
Kaella had claimed everything she'd done was to make the Lesion Kingdom stronger. Nothing more, nothing less.
The nobles, of course, didn't buy it and branded her a minion of the demons, an evil sorceress.
Both Prince Raymond and King Karon insisted they'd been blackmailed by her.
"Kaella Ermis framed us with charges of treason to drive us out, then planned to demolish this branch building and seize the dragon vein for herself."
That was part of her scheme revealed in court. Exactly as we'd anticipated.
The only thing she clammed up about was what she intended to do once she had the dragon vein.
"Since this incident involves us too, I requested a chance to interrogate her, but they refused in the end. And Lib, your request was denied as well."
"...Ah."
I finally let out a sigh.
There were so many things I wanted to ask her.
I'd asked the White Guard Knight to arrange a meeting so I could talk to her, but it had been turned down.
With the secrecy surrounding the sealing chamber, I couldn't even mention the key to unraveling the knots in court.
The White Guard Knight had warned me beforehand not to bring up how Barkus had tried to steal the key.
Letting word of that key spread widely wouldn't be a good thing, he'd said.
"Kaella hasn't said a word in court, and she's ignoring the kingdom knights' interrogations too. They said we wouldn't get anything out of her even if we tried."
"It seemed like they were more afraid of her actually talking."
I recalled how Kaella had looked in the courtroom.
The sorceress stood there in simple prisoner garb, stripped of her staff and all her jewelry.
Complex mana-restraining devices hung from her wrists, arms, neck, and waist, while spells to prevent mana manipulation were etched onto her cheeks and forehead.
Whenever her red lips twitched even slightly during the trial, the guards flanking her would tense up noticeably.
"Could be. She holds dirt on the royal family, after all."
The White Guard Knight frowned, clearly displeased by that fact, then turned back to me.
"In any case, we'll keep investigating her, no matter how long it takes. If we learn anything, I'll let you know."
"Thank you."
"Right, and we're still looking into the black dragon too."
The White Guard Knight added as if it had just occurred to him.
"Why it defied Kaella's orders and flew off like that, and where it went."
He rubbed his chin with a puzzled expression.
"We searched in the direction it flew, but didn't find a single trace. A beast that size—you'd think someone would spot it, or it'd snap trees on landing, gouge the earth, something."
"Yeah..."
With Kaella staying silent, we had no leads on the dragon's whereabouts either.
Like the White Guard Knight said, hiding a body like that wouldn't be easy.
Back at the annex, when Kaella had summoned Bertharod, she'd gathered mana through her staff and bestowed it upon him.
Now that she was gone, who knew what it was doing or where.
Most magical beasts and demons needed mana to sustain themselves, driven by instinct to take lives for it...
"No more sightings means no way to track it down. I've warned the Silver Guard Knights to stay vigilant. If it shows up again, the Silver Moon Knights are most likely to encounter it."
"Yes, we'll be careful."
The White Guard Knight's gaze shifted slightly as he looked at me. Father must have told him about the decision regarding me.
"I'm grateful for your decision and your father's, Liberic. As Prius's representative, our organization owes your family a debt."
"...No, please don't think of it that way. Prius members have saved my life countless times."
I said with a smile.
It finally felt like I could pull my weight as one person.
Like I'd found what I was meant to do. ...Though Wedin didn't agree.
"If you need anything, just say the word. We're always providing maximum support to the Silver Moon Knights."
"I will, thank you."
The White Guard Knight smiled at me with a warm gaze.
Even staring at the same page for thirty minutes, the words swirled in my head without forming sentences.
I let out a deep sigh and buried my face in the books.
In the silent sealing chamber, my sigh echoed with a lingering resonance, the only sound.
For days, I'd been holed up inside the mirror barrier in the sealing chamber.
I'd shoved Miles's makeshift living room furniture into the corners and spread out Althur's study in the center.
Then devoured every book on barriers and seals I could get my hands on.
Claus's mirror barrier was outstanding in performance, of course, but it guzzled mana and was overly complex—that was the problem.
Being inside the dragon vein helped mitigate the mana drain somewhat. We could draw from the vein's power.
But most resident mages didn't fully understand the barrier, which was an issue.
Barriers aren't permanent fixtures.
Mirror barriers especially, tangled up in intricate, delicate magical theories, warp, distort, and fail at the slightest shift in mana flow.
The resident mages could handle minor distortions, but if a natural disaster or external attack threw the flow into major chaos, it was trouble.
In that case, the residents alone couldn't repair it.
A breached barrier would lose function entirely, exposing the seal fragments without safeguards.
So I needed to improve the mirror barrier—or create a simpler, more efficient one.
That was the barrier master's primary duty.
I'd thought it wouldn't be that hard...
The words wouldn't stick despite reading them, ideas flickered and popped like bubbles, leaving me with nothing.
I lay sprawled over the books, staring blankly at a corner of the living room.
After I left the palace banquet like that, Wedin had been avoiding me for days.
Even knocking on his door for more talk got ignored, and if our eyes met in the dining hall, he'd turn away.
Shuren patted my back, saying he'd talk to him and not to worry. At least he was still talking to Shuren.
I'd met Clemence again and at least faced her, but her tearful expression left me speechless.
I wanted to explain why I had to make this choice, that there was no need to worry, that I'd do well.
Before I could, she forced a smile and nodded.
"I get it. It's your decision, Lib. Wedin... he'll understand soon too."
That was all.
Clemence turned away to hide her teary eyes and left.
I'd shut myself in the sealing chamber, rarely venturing out.
I figured immersing in my tasks would let time pass and things would sort themselves out naturally...
But the delegation's departure from Elgrace to Prion was drawing near, and parting from my friends like this meant years before seeing them again.
Those thoughts kept my mind from working properly.
I had no idea how long I'd been like that.
The dragon vein's interior, rich in natural mana, was profoundly quiet and warm.
Focusing on my breathing felt like sinking into soft, fluffy down, pure comfort.
Cut off from external noise, scents, sights—no distractions.
So fluctuations in mana or unstable flows registered sharply.
Hm?
I sensed a ripple in the mana and lifted my head.
A familiar mana signature was approaching with a gentle sway.
'Liberic.'
Ash's voice echoed in my mind.
I stood and took a step, emerging from the sealing chamber.
Ash sat before the enormous, glass-shimmering orb.
"Ash. Here to cheer me up?"
Delighted, I moved to hug him, but Ash plopped a fluffy paw on my face.
A clear 'stop right there' signal.
'Your father is waiting for you outside.'
"Father? Got it."
As Ash turned to relay the message and leave, I seized the chance to scoop him up in a hug.
His soft, plush fur puffed out silver in surprise.
Having lingered near the dragon vein lately, Ash brimmed with more mana than usual—his fur sparkling gorgeously.
Ash squirmed free in disgust, and I chuckled as I stood.
"Thanks, Ash. That helped."
Feeling better, I headed to the first floor to meet Father.
He leaned against the corridor wall by the stairs from the basement, dressed in light casuals with a blue cloak draped over one arm.
Spotting me, he gave a pleased eye-smile.
"Looks like that's more comfortable for you these days, huh?"
"Yeah."
I smiled and brushed it off, but Father, seeming to already know everything, didn't press. Instead, he pulled a bundle of letters from his pocket and showed them to me.
"Letters arrived from Prion. Thought we'd read them together."
An unexpected pleasant surprise.
Father and I moved to a quiet parlor on the first floor to read the letters.
As I settled into the plush sofa, he handed me three envelopes.
The rest were for him—thick ones related to Blue Guard duties, apparently.
My three were from Mother, Luwen, and Claus.
Mother's bore the Eldrian family seal, while Luwen's and Claus's had the Althur Tower stamp.
All envelopes shared the Prius emblem and marks from passing through various cities.
Heart pounding, I opened Mother's first.
When had she sent it? Beldayne, I think.
Not that long ago, but with everything happening, it felt ancient.
Lib, I got your letter. So glad the journey's going smoothly.
The first line pulled me right in.