Ch. 105

Chapter 105

“What method?”

“Rowell is pushing himself too hard right now. You went to the arena because he brought the coronation forward, didn’t you?”

Ardion nodded.

Looking at him, I said calmly, “None of the methods we’ve used against Rowell have worked so far, such as submitting evidence to the court. They all fizzled out, and in the end, he never faced any consequences.”

All the evidence I had gathered since I was at Duke Orchid’s mansion had only served as a playbook for how Rowell could slip away unscathed.

I looked directly at Ardion. “So now we act without overthinking. With three days left before the coronation… we strike first, before he does.”

“How?” Ardion looked at me calmly, his eyes showing more interest than before.

Even Derol poked his head out of my pocket to look at me.

I exhaled slowly, then began. “We use the fact that if I die, Rowell will be in danger too.”

“Laila, that’s…”

“I know. It’s dangerous, but we’re out of options. There’s a chance Serina might tell us about the magical drug, and we can’t just sit around doing nothing.”

Ardion gave me a sharp look. He considered it for a moment before speaking again, this time more composed. “Laila, there’s a better way.”

“What?”

“We take him down at the coronation itself. Right now, everyone around Rowell is afraid to speak up or even move properly. Some nobles are unhappy, but Rowell’s becoming more oppressive. And I’ve already been laying the groundwork on that front.”

“What kind of groundwork?”

“Linking Rowell to all kinds of crimes, starting from the Duke Orchid mansion arson to the emperor’s poisoning.”

I stared at Ardion, surprised he’d acted so quickly.

Seeing me speechless, he continued, “I’ve mostly been using those old underground newspapers. Thanks to that, Rowell’s reputation among the citizens is in ruins. Even among the nobles, rumors are spreading. That’s probably why he rushed the coronation.”

“…”

“He wants to become emperor as soon as possible and rule with an iron grip,” Ardion said calmly. He glanced at me, then turned back to his desk, rummaged through a drawer, and pulled out a document. “And I found the healer who framed you for the emperor’s poisoning.”

My voice rose instinctively. “How did you find him?”

“Back when you were imprisoned for the poisoning, I searched everywhere. I figured Rowell must have had an accomplice.”

“So that healer really did lie about me being guilty?”

Ardion nodded. “The moment it was done, the healer left the palace and returned to his hometown. After that person did something so vile to you, I couldn’t just let him be.”

He handed me the paper. I scanned the writing. It looked like the healer had written it himself, but the handwriting was oddly shaky, far from neat. It was obvious he had been coerced.

I glanced at Ardion. When our eyes met, he winked and tilted his head slightly.

I gave him an awkward smile and handed the paper back. It was a written testimony.

“As you can see, the healer confessed to everything. This testimony is enough to keep Rowell from ever claiming the throne. It’s solid. He won’t be able to cover it up or silence the healer.”

It was impressively thorough. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of threat Ardion had used.

“So what did you threaten him with? No, never mind. Don’t tell me…”

“Laila, this is the only power I have. Everyone else gets blessed with mana. Why shouldn’t I use mine when I need it?” Ardion flashed a grin.

I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I stayed quiet.

“I plan to use this after the coronation to bring Rowell down for good.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to use it before the coronation?”

“How?”

“Fake my death before the ball. That would throw Rowell into chaos and stop the coronation altogether.”

“Laila…”

“He moved the coronation up, desperate to be crowned quickly. But what if he can’t even go through with it? He’ll be furious, and you wouldn’t have to donate your mana to the temple either.”

Derol popped out of my pocket. “Master, please! You can’t die!”

Ardion also looked at me with a serious expression. “I agree with Derol.”

“I’m not actually going to die. I’m just going to pretend to.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ardion rubbed his forehead. “Who is it?”

“Your Highness, the crown prince wishes to see you about the coronation.”

Ardion clenched his fist. He turned to me and said, “Laila, I have to go.”

“What about Serina?”

He paused for a moment, then said, “Do whatever you think is right for now. I’ll handle what comes after.”

I nodded. Hearing him say that helped calm my nerves a bit.

As I looked at him, Ardion smiled softly and pressed his lips to my cheek. Then he stood and quickly left. The door closed with surprising speed.

I held out my hand to Derol. “Derol, let’s go too.”

He jumped up onto my palm. I tucked him back into my pocket and stood up. Closing the door behind me, I headed for Serina’s room. I knocked on the firmly shut door, and a voice called out from within.

“Come in.”

Inside, Serina was sitting up in bed. It seemed she didn’t have much to do in this place. There were no papers or newspapers on the table.

“Did you speak with Ardion?”

“Yes. I’ll release you now.”

Serina nodded. She didn’t seem particularly happy, just resigned, like she’d expected this.

“But I have one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why won’t you tell us about the magical drug?”

“Because if I reveal everything, you’ll let me go and then kill me.”

“Kill you?”

“I’ve seen it happen. People trust each other, make a deal, and then someone betrays the other and kills them in the end.”

“But what if I promise I won’t?”

“And who would believe that promise? No one knows if you’ll really keep it.”

“I swear I will.” I reached out my hand to her.

Serina only looked at it without answering. “You’re really strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have every reason to hate me, and yet you’re going this far. I don’t get it.”

With a blank expression, Serina brushed my hand away. I lowered it awkwardly. I couldn’t exactly say it was because of something I’d read in a book. The atmosphere turned heavy.

Serina looked up at me. “Anyway, hurry up and release me. I can’t stand it anymore.”

I hesitated, then touched her ankle gently. Thinking of Ardion, I took a steady breath. It felt like water gathering in my hand, only to slip away in an instant. When I opened my eyes, Serina was staring at me in surprise.

“What is it?”

“I thought you’d call Ardion, but you did it yourself.”

“Oh, I’ve done it once before, removing Ardion’s mana.”

Serina stared at me, frowning slightly as if something didn’t add up.

It was true. I had done it once before, so removing Ardion’s mana wasn’t that difficult now.

If only I could remove Serina’s mana the same way…

Thinking that, I stepped back from the bed. All of Ardion’s mana within Serina was now gone.

As I moved away, she looked at me. “So you can get rid of the magical drug even without my help, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“The magical drug.”

Serina smiled as I blinked in surprise. I stared at her face, dumbfounded. Seeing her smile after being so expressionless made her look completely different.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

Before I could respond, the door shut behind her. I stared at it for a moment.

“Master, will you be alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if Serina does something bad to you later?”

“We’ll see when that happens.”

“But Master…”

“Derol, you heard her just now too.”

“Heard what?”

“That the magical drug can be undone like that.”

“But she didn’t tell us how in detail…”

“She probably didn’t trust us enough yet. But still, she basically gave us a hint.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Derol, let’s hurry and test it.”

I hurried out of the room. The servants immediately bowed when they saw me. I greeted them briefly and ran to my room.

❋ ❋ ❋

As soon as I got back, I focused on the mana around my wrist with a calm mind. While doing so, my thoughts drifted to the original story.

Hoping Serina could truly be happy now, I gently touched my wrist.

No more people getting hurt.

I slowly opened my eyes, but I still felt nothing on my wrist. I glanced around, checking if anything had fallen nearby, but there was nothing.

“Derol, have you seen anything like a magical drug around here?”

Derol shook his head. I sighed and touched my wrist again. Even after a few minutes, nothing happened, and my head only grew more muddled.

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