At the magician’s words, a troubled expression appeared on Hazel and Graham’s faces.
“That statement just now…”
“Hazel, stop there. It’s a hasty suspicion. Nothing has been revealed yet.”
Graham immediately stopped Hazel from muttering.
Hazel bit his lower lip, seemingly frustrated.
“But there’s no trace of anyone infiltrating the castle! The knights guarding the gates saw no one, and there’s not even a sign of someone climbing over the walls. Even after thoroughly searching the castle, there’s no secret passage. How on earth did they get in here?”
“So you really think the Tower Master secretly created a transportation portal inside Griblata Castle?”
“That’s…”
At Graham’s pressing, Hazel bit his lower lip and stopped speaking.
As the magician said, the neutral Tower Master wouldn’t do such a thing at someone’s private request, and suspecting him was tantamount to suspecting the Papacy.
And that meant…
Hazel turned his head to glance at Belladonna, who was sitting wrapped in a blanket.
If the true mastermind behind this incident turned out to be the Papacy, it would put Belladonna, the Saint of Astania, in a very awkward position.
It was something he had vaguely felt when he went to the Papacy, but the relationship between the Pope and the Saint seemed slightly different from what was known to the public.
What on earth happened between father and daughter…
At that moment, Escalion, who had been standing still lost in thought for a while, asked the magician.
“Is there any special trace where the transportation portal was created?”
“Ah… If a portal was opened even once, even if it closed immediately after, there might be a faint trace of magical power remaining in that place. If a long time has passed, it would all be gone though.”
“Then I’d like you to look around the castle and see if you can sense any such traces.”
“Oh, well. Alright. If you pay an additional fee, that is.”
Escalion, taking his eyes off the magician who shrugged his shoulders, said to Hazel.
“Take this fellow and look around the castle. Pay him whatever he wants.”
“Oh my, thank you!”
“Yes! Understood, Commander.”
Hazel approached the magician.
“Ah.”
At that moment, Escalion spoke once more.
“Didn’t you say that even for the Tower Master, creating a two-way portal would be difficult?”
“Well… If he pushes himself, it might be possible, but in a terrain with such weak magical power, the portal could only be maintained for a few minutes at most. But the Tower Master’s abilities are so vast that a low-level magician like me can’t even begin to imagine them, so I can’t say for sure.”
At his answer, Escalion turned his head to look at Graham.
Graham immediately prepared to leave and spoke.
“So you’re saying that rat-like bastard might still be inside the castle.”
“Don’t be too biased towards uncertain information, but resume the search.”
“Understood! That bastard dared to enter Griblata Castle without any fear…”
Graham muttered in a low voice, cracking his neck side to side as he left the reception room.
As Hazel and the magician disappeared after him, Belladonna relaxed her tense body and exhaled.
“Bella.”
Escalion approached her.
He gently stroked Belladonna’s cheek and said.
“Go to your room and rest. I’ll take you there.”
Belladonna nodded and grabbed his thick arm.
[This is the timeline separator]As they entered the room, Escalion firmly closed the door behind him.
After making sure there was definitely no one around, he spoke.
“Do you know anything about the Tower Master?”
“Almost nothing. Even within the Papacy, I was limited in where I could go, and at that time, the existence of the Tower Master wasn’t a major concern…”
Escalion nodded in understanding.
“Then how did you come to think that the intruders might have secretly created a transportation portal to infiltrate the castle?”
“I once overheard the Pope discussing with cardinals and other high-ranking officials during a meal. I don’t remember exactly, but they said they sometimes used such methods to come and go from the imperial palace, avoiding people’s eyes.”
“If it really was sent by the Pope…”
Escalion let out a hollow laugh, as if in disbelief.
“He seems to act more recklessly than I thought? To suddenly send an assassin just because he doesn’t like something.”
“…”
“Did he think you would return to Astania if I died?”
Belladonna bowed her head, feeling sorry towards him.
She couldn’t hide her apology, thinking that all this happened because of her.
“Why is the Pope so obsessed with you? Even if he needs you for his stable position, this is too much, isn’t it?”
“That’s…”
“The Saint of Astania, who will solidify the Pope’s prestige and authority. This is more than that kind of obsession.”
Escalion ran his hand through his hair irritably.
“Do you know some secret about the Pope that others don’t?”
At his words, Belladonna fell into thought.
Certainly, trying to have Escalion killed this time by sending someone was crossing the line.
The only thing she could guess…
Belladonna quietly lowered her gaze to look at her own body.
The assault and verbal abuse towards Saint Belladonna, was he worried that this might be discovered?
“If it turns out that the Pope is really behind this incident, I will immediately invade Astania.”
“Escalion…”
“I’ll officially raise this issue and drag him down from the Pope’s position.”
But…
Belladonna furrowed her brow.
Even if it was really done by the Tower Master secretly opening a transportation portal, it would be difficult to prove that it was connected to the Pope.
‘Is there any more concrete evidence? Something that could certainly bring down the Pope…’
In her mind, she recalled the Saint’s records she had found with the first key, and the square-shaped final key for which she hadn’t found even ten places to use.
Had Fabion decoded all of the Saint’s records? What exactly was written in them? And with the final key…
What exactly could it open?
She felt that perhaps she had left Astania too hastily, in her anxious and grateful heart after meeting Escalion while being brutally assaulted by the Pope.
‘I didn’t even properly finish the things I started. I should try to contact Fabion again…’
At that moment, a noisy commotion erupted from outside.
Hearing the sound, Escalion immediately turned and pushed open the door.
“We found him…!”
Through the opened door, Graham’s voice was heard.
“We found the rat bastard trying to escape!”
[This is the timeline separator]The man, bound all over and gagged, glared at Escalion.
He shook his body violently, seemingly displeased about something, before stumbling and rolling on the floor.
Escalion, looking at the man with a cold gaze, spoke.
“Why are you so angry?”
“He’s been like that since we first saw him.”
“Remove the gag from his mouth.”
At Escalion’s gesture, the knights held him on both sides and removed the gag from his mouth.
As soon as his mouth was free, the man immediately shouted.
“God will not forgive you!”
“Oh.”
Graham, standing next to Escalion, let out a small exclamation.
With this, it seemed almost certain that the man had come from the Papacy, which serves God.
Finding this amusing, Escalion raised the corner of his mouth and asked.
“Really? What wrong have I committed?”
“You insulted God’s representative.”
“By God’s representative, you mean?”
“I’m talking about His Holiness the Pope and the Saint.”
“I’ll let the Pope slide, but did I insult the Saint too?”
“Taking God’s daughter as your wife was wrong from the start.”
The man answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“What kind of brainwashing did you undergo…”
Graham muttered, striking the back of the man’s head hard.
The man fell forward, his face hitting the floor.
“Ugh…!”
Graham placed his hand on the back of the man’s head, pressing him firmly to the floor.
“So you sneaked in to kill someone? Does God forgive murder?”
“Kuk…”
“That’s enough, Graham.”
Escalion said.
As Graham removed his hand, the man immediately raised his head.
“How did you get to Griblata?”
“…”
The man glared at him without answering.
Speaking in place of Escalion, Graham opened his mouth.
“Oh, you’re keeping quiet? It’s all been exposed that you two came through a secret portal. The magician found traces of a portal installed in front of the bedchamber at the back of the castle, you know?”
“…”
“We can also guess who created the portal. Even if you keep your mouth shut, everything has been revealed, you see.”
“…Puhuhub.”
At that moment, the man burst into laughter with his dirt-covered face, completely out of place in this situation.
Graham, who had been staring at him with one eyebrow raised, clicked his tongue and said.
“He’s truly gone mad.”
But despite his mockery, the man didn’t stop laughing.
“Hehehe…”
“Oh my, he really seems to have lost his mind. Commander, what should we do? Shall we lead the knights and invade Astania right now? If we prepare now and open a private portal, we can arrive within a few hours.”
“Kuhuk… Kuhehe…”
Escalion frowned as he looked at the man who was still chuckling.
An uneasy feeling crept up his body. Something was off.
If it was the Pope, he wouldn’t be this careless.
“You say it takes only a few hours to Astania?”
The man asked, twisting his lips into a smile.
Unable to bear it any longer, Escalion suddenly stood up and grabbed the man’s neck.
As he applied force and lifted him up, the man began to struggle, kicking his legs in the air while choking.
“Commander! Stop! We can’t kill this person too!”
“Stop laughing in that unpleasant way and speak properly.”
Escalion said, tightening his grip on the neck.
The man, struggling in pain in his grasp, slowly opened his mouth.
“You’re… kuk, wrong…”
“About what.”
“We didn’t… come just… the two of us… originally… Kuhuk…”
At the man’s words, Escalion’s golden pupils dilated slightly.
The man, trying to remove Escalion’s hand with both of his hands, continued speaking.
“One… k, kuk… ou, outside the castle… But by now… Ah… kuk, Astania…”
After hearing the faint sentence, Escalion dropped the man he was holding onto the floor.
The man, having received a great shock, curled up while groaning.
“…Scarlet.”
Escalion, who had been standing dazed, slowly turned his head towards Graham.
“Find Scarlet immediately.”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
