Chapter 1 - Prologue
***
“Is Stern’s divine power that strong? It can’t be. When was the last time their stars abandoned them…”
Lesche said, carefully engraving Mies’s enchanted words in his head.
“One question, Mies.”
“…”
“What do you mean when you say that the previous Grand Duke was mad for the previous Grand Duchess?” (Lesche)
The sorcerers were no match for the intense interrogation of Berg’s aides. And to begin with, Linon had a tough personality that squeezed out every last drop.
So the sorcerers frantically transcribed each and every dialogue they had with Mies. Not a single word evaporated in vain. It was a confession piled one foot long. All the other statements could be reasonably understood.
The fact that Mies’s biological mother was actually a sorceress, the fact that she deliberately tormented the previous Grand Duchess in order to have the circlet…
It was a flood of those many sins.
But only one of them. Lesche couldn’t understand just one thing.
[Mies repeated over and over the words that the previous Grand Duke was mad for the previous Grand Duchess]
The previous Grand Duke didn’t care about the Grand Duchess. He brought his mistress into the castle. So he wasn’t crazy about the Grand Duchess but the other woman. He tore up the memorandum to his b*st*rd son Mies and loved him lavishly.
Lesche knew better than anyone how that love had left his mother cold.
“They even confessed to such things? Those trash…” (Mies)
The anger in Mies’s face slowly but clearly changed. He began to laugh.
“Are you curious? You must be curious. But why should I answer you? You can keep being curious until you die.” (Mies)
Malice began to flare up.
“Telling the hidden truth will make His Highness, the wonderful Grand Duke Berg, suffer even more.” (Mies)
Mies’ eyes dazzled and flipped over.
“Our father loved your mother very much. You don’t have to go far to see how enamored Grand Duke Berg was with the Grand Duchess, just look in the mirror.” (Mies)
“….”
“But, why was father’s love suddenly broken, not by the counter inscription of mercy, but by my humble mother? Isn’t that odd? Have you ever thought it was strange? Did father’s love change so much simply because my mother was beautiful?” (Mies)
Watching the complexion of Lesche who had felt inferior all his life changed so quickly was more fun than he imagined. Mies felt a numbing elation.
“The nightmare that had betrayed the Grand Duchess he loved so much and even threatened the rightful heir! How would it feel if it was actually just a magic trick that was treated as insignificant on this continent? I think it would have been more honorable to end up in a lascivious drama…” (Mies)
Mies’d voice stretched like a snake.
“No, Lesche Berg…… no, brother? If you get caught up in the spell and find out that you’ve lost your father’s love, your noble mother…..” (Mies)
Mies’s words were cut off mid-sentence. It was because Lesche, who had been cold and somber throughout the conversation, chuckled.
“…Brother? Why are you laughing all of a sudden? Why are you laughing? Why on earth are you laughing…!” (Mies)
“Have you drowned out all your fantasies?” (Lesche)
“…What?” (Mies)
“You think I’m a fool. If you make up all these nonsensical words, why did you think I would slyly squeeze you like a child?” (Lesche)
Lesche’s mouth was smiling, but his eyes were cold. Mies’s face turned pale as Lesche saw through his lies.
Gypsies, the abomination of the continent, the sorcerers of a different race. Lesche didn’t discriminate against them, but seeing Mies’s behavior like this, he understood why he couldn’t trust them.
Even though the shadows of the green manor had multiplied to a dangerous level, no one could easily enter the manor. Information that people could collect was scrapped, so it was impossible to fall for the lies of Mies.
A spell that can manipulate the emotions of a person you’ve never met? If such a spell were possible, the kingdom of Nestla would have already carried the sorcerers on their back and instead put war at their feet.
His red eyes were as cold as ice.
He had already recognized this painfully When he was a child, so it wasn’t too difficult now. It was just that his father, the previous Grand Duke, had broken his lifetime vow of marriage. He was such a poor and horrible man that he didn’t need any excuse, not even witchcraft.
Lesche took out a bundle of old paper from his pocket. When Mies saw them, his eyes grew bigger than ever.
They were Berg’s memorandum, hidden in a box. The page that had been lost, the very paper that the previous Grand Duke Berg had personally torn out.
“And how did you get it out! That…! I had sealed it with Magi…!” (Mies)
He stopped as if struck by lightning.
“You can’t be the one who broke it open. It’s Seria Stern. It’s Seria Stern!” (Mies)
Blue veins appeared on Lesche’s fist. He was about to use it, but then he noticed the door* and lowered his hand again. (*Seria was outside the door)
Instead, he roughly sat down in the chair on the other side of Mies.
The torn memorandum contained information about the circlet. It said to store the circlet in the basement of the Laurel Manor, so it would be used like heirlooms for the future Grand Duchesses. In terms of content, yes, it was similar to the way other families often treated their heirlooms.
“It seems that my father didn’t give you and your mother the circlet until the end.” (Lesche)
“…!”
Mies’ eyes went wide as Lesche hit the target. Lesche folded the memorandum without sincerity.
“Is that why you said that the previous Grand Duke went mad for the Grand Duchess?” (Lesche)
“….”
That seemed to be the least conscience of the previous Grand Duke Berg. Of course, that was all. The previous Grand Duke tore a few pages out of his memorandum to Mies. Later, if Mies became Grand Duke of Berg, his future wife would be the Grand Duchess, and he meant to have the circlet he wanted that way then.
Mies’s body trembled. It was an instinctive feeling. He had no more information that Lesche wanted from him.
“I, too, inherited Berg’s blood! You just want to look good for the Grand Duchess and kill your own blood? Have you forgotten that Seria Stern is also illegitimate…! Ah!” (Mies)
His cheekbones collapsed and crumbled as they were. Blood flew without mercy. Mies fell back with a scream.
Lesche, who kicked the chair Mies was tied to, gently stepped on Mies’s chest with his feet.
“Mies.”
“Save me…”
“I have looked over thirty earthly religions so far in an attempt to resolve the devastating shadow of the Green Manor. The same for the sorcerers of the Nestla Kingdom, led by you.” (Lesche)
“Save me…”
“Shouldn’t both your parents be sorcerers?” (Lesche)
Mies’s breath stopped for a moment. His pupils shook violently as if he had lost his axis.
“I’ve never heard of the previous Grand Duke being a sorcerer.” (Lesche)
“…”
“The evidence would be too poor to claim that he was a sorcerer now, Mies.” (Lesche)
“…!”
There was a scream mixed with pain. Lesche said, not caring about the red marks splashing on Mies’ hands.
“I heard that the bloody black magic was peeled off after visiting the temple with my wife.” (Lesche)
“Argh!”
“How many more times do I have to go to the temple before all your skin comes off?” (Lesche)
Blood spattered from Mies’ tattered fingers. Lesche’s hand, which was going towards Mies’s neck, moved away after a moment’s pondering.
Lesche methodically made sure that Mies was properly bound. He clicked his tongue briefly and also wiped the blood from his hand with a thick cotton fabric in the torture chamber. Lesche stood up and stepped towards the door.
“Seria.”
***
“Hey.”
Mies didn’t reply. Seria pulled the table roughly in front of the line Elliot had drawn earlier. On the table was the box that Linon had seized at the sorcerer’s headquarters.
As soon as she removed the wrapper, the pitch black magi shook like smoke. Mies, who had been drooping, wriggled toward the Magi right away. Seria shouted.
“Hey! How dare you call this thing Magi?”
Mies quickly lifted his head.
“How do you know it’s called Magi? Kakkak!”
Before entering the torture chamber, she hit Mies on the head with the long stick Elliot had given her to hold. She glared at him penetratingly and immediately frowned. It was the look of witnessing an insane person. It was understandable. She could understand it, because right now, his eyes were filled with helpless tears.
She had been outside for a long time before Lesche entered this torture chamber alone. The torture chamber was a torture chamber, and there was a device on the wall that allowed her to listen to the sounds inside.
“How did you get that out! That’s…! That thing I sealed it with Magi…!”
She didn’t know that the word “Magi” would come out of Mies’ mouth. Her body almost bounced off as well.
The name “Magi” should not have been in this world yet.
The name was given only by Lina in the second half of the original. A long time later. Just looking at the dark shadow without thinking.
How could Mies know the exact name if the heroine of this world hadn’t named it yet, and it didn’t exist?
Strangely enough, tears just came to her eyes because she felt like her head was about to explode. She rubbed her eyes roughly with her sleeves and asked.
“Do you know Lina? Do you know Lina?”
“Why should I answer your question?” (Mies)
The color of Mies’ eyes was getting more and more hungry. It was that look when he licked her lips when they met at the auction house.
“I’ll give it some thought if Stern gives me generosity…” (Mies)
Mies folded as if he’d been hit with a spear.
Seria was able to borrow the Stern insignia from the temple for a few hours thanks to being a Stern. Seria held the circlet up to the insignia without mercy and asked again.
“Do you know a saint named Lina or not?” (Seria)
“The Saint is going to freeze to death…Argh!”
Mies bent his neck and back madly, as if he was being tortured severely. As expected, he did not faint this time, but an unidentified darkness was released from his body. Mies’ reaction alone showed that it was an act involving considerable pain.