On the way back to the mansion, I didn’t say a word.
Not human, he said.
Leading someone down the path of darkness.
Priest Hansis seemed to think of me as some kind of demon.
Yet, his words kept echoing in my mind. Along with them, a particular scene naturally resurfaced.
A night sky devoid of anything.
A giant sun rising in the middle.
Red Eye.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled deeply, trying to shake off the thoughts.
There’s a mountain of things to worry about right now, and thinking further won’t reveal anything new, so I just had to let it go.
Fabre briefly glanced at me as I sighed, but he quickly returned to playing with his beetles.
Eventually, we arrived at the mansion.
As soon as we stepped out of the carriage, we were greeted by a visibly furious Butler Clark.
Behind him, maids and knights were lined up.
“Master Ran!”
His voice was stern.
I looked at him calmly.
“Yes, Butler Clark?”
“I have something to discuss with you. Would you come with me?”
His stern expression was like that of a general ready for war.
“Of course. But first, I’d like to rest a bit. It’s been a long day.”
I nodded slightly and walked inside.
Part of me didn’t want to deal with him immediately, but I was also genuinely exhausted.
It had been a long time since I felt this drowsy.
Butler Clark said something loudly behind me, but I tuned him out and headed straight to my room.
Thud.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
I collapsed onto the bed without even taking off my clothes.
My eyes grew heavy, and my consciousness began to fade.
Strange.
Why am I so overwhelmingly sleepy?
[Well, because I have no other means to talk to you except in dreams.]
I turned around at the sound of the voice.
Behind me was the Red Eye.
“What? So you made me fall asleep just to summon me?”
[Something like that. I usually try not to, but this matter is serious.]
The Red Eye stared straight at me.
This eye, as massive as the sun, was more warm than hot.
“What’s this serious matter?”
The Red Eye shifted to one side.
[Your life is in imminent danger.]
I turned my head following that eye.
There was a creature that looked like a half-bird, half-human.
That creature was holding a dark red gem within itself.
Its appearance was so grotesque that I didn’t recognize it at first, but when I looked into its eyes, I knew immediately who it was.
“Merlin.”
[He failed to recover. Soon, he’ll lose his intelligence and fully become a bird. Before that happens, he’ll come to kill you for what you did.]
“I knew it. My bad intuitions always come true.”
[Take a closer look. Go closer.]
I glanced back at the Red Eye.
The Red Eye seemed to say it was okay, that it would protect me, sending me a warm look.
I nodded once and approached Merlin.
Suddenly, Merlin lifted his head and looked straight at me.
“Ran! It’s Ran! I can feel your presence. You’re right in front of me!”
Merlin’s voice was vivid, filled with a seething anger that seemed to boil from his very soul.
I looked at him for a while and then said in a low voice.
“You have no right to say anything, Senior Merlin, since you tried to kill me first.”
Merlin made a clucking sound with his half-beak mouth.
“Ran. Listen to me well. I will surely kill you. I swear it. Seven days from now, on the night when the full moon rises after sunset, I will come for you. I will come and turn you to ashes. If I fail to do so, I will surely die.”
” Senior Merlin, your foolishness is a great lesson to me. From now on, I won’t look down on my juniors just because my pride is a little hurt.”
“Your ‘from now on’ is only seven days long. I will give everything I have to kill you. In this state, I can kill someone much stronger than myself. There’s no way an apprentice like you can defeat me, no matter what means or methods you use.”
“I can just call my master.”
“Isn’t your master 40 days away across the sea? Do you think bluffing will work on me?”
“Hmm. The fact that you know that must mean Duke Balkan is indeed in cahoots with Legless Monkey.”
Clack, clack, clack.
Merlin clattered his beak furiously, unable to contain his rage.
I stepped away from him and returned to the Red Eye.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I know for sure now.”
The Red Eye looked down at me.
[You would have known anyway when he sent you the Declaration magic. I just wanted to give you some time to prepare.]
A Declaration magic.
It increases magical power by gathering will at a cost. If one stakes their life, it goes beyond simply amplifying magical power and even raises the level of the mage.
I smiled.
“Who are you? Who are you to keep appearing in my dreams?”
The Red Eye slowly closed.
[I am the Red Eye. Your old friend. Unfortunately, I must go now. I’ve overexerted myself to meet you.]
“Then? Can’t I see you again?”
Instead of answering, the pupil of the Red Eye stretched horizontally.
Was that a smile?
In a flash, the world turned upside down.
I soon woke up from my sleep.
“Haa. Haa.”
My whole body is drenched in sweat.
I looked out the window.
It’s evening, with darkness just settling in thickly.
It’s so vivid.
It’s on a completely different level of realism compared to what I saw with Jangshir’s far-seeing eyes.
Seven days from now.
Merlin is coming!
At that moment, I sensed someone outside. I took out my staff, dried myself with fire magic, and went out to check.
Clark was standing outside.
“Have you rested enough?”
His eyes were exactly the same as I had seen earlier.
“I’m not sure.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Please follow me. The Count and I have something urgent to discuss with you.”
He almost growled as if he was going to eat me, then led the way.
Butler Clark led me to Count Furst’s room.
As if the conversation had already been arranged, the Count was sitting at the head seat, and in front of him were three teacups and snacks prepared.
Probably no one will eat them.
Butler Clark sat on the Count’s left, and I sat opposite him.
He exhaled briefly and then spoke in a slightly louder voice.
“Count. I have been watching Young Master Fabre since he was born until now. I have hidden the truth all this time, not knowing what the future would bring, but I must speak now that the young master’s safety is at stake. Please understand.”
Count Furst quietly replied.
“Speak.”
Butler Clark opened his mouth.
“Young Master Fabre has not been able to speak until now. I am very sorry to say this, but it is clear that he has a much lower intelligence compared to children his age. Of course, he often reads books that even adults find difficult to read, but that doesn’t mean he understands all the content. He’s just looking at the letters as if they were pictures.”
“Continue.”
“Young Master Fabre rarely goes out of his room. This is because he feels extreme fatigue from changes in his environment. The kind of fatigue that ordinary people can’t even imagine.”
“I think it’s about time you get to the point, Butler Clark.”
Clark glared at me once and then said to the Count.
“Please expel the mage Ran from the mansion. Today, he crossed the line. He forcibly took Young Master Fabre to the city center of Sangria Port. You know better than I do how dangerous this is, Count. No matter if he is a mage, completely ignoring my will and putting the young master in danger is something that cannot be overlooked.”
The Count remained silent for a moment, then turned to me.
“Ran. Do you have anything to say about this?”
I folded my arms.
Then, turning to Butler Clark, I said,
“Butler Clark killed the Countess.”
“……”
“……”
A chilling silence fell.
Butler Clark couldn’t hide his bewildered expression at this sudden, yet confident accusation.
“Wh-what, what are you s-saying!”
“I’ll prove it.”
I stood up and walked to Count Furst’s desk at the back.
Then, waving my staff, I wrote down all the names I had seen on the scroll, saying,
“I saw the member list of the Assassin’s Guild. Every single name on it, without exception.”
“Was Clark’s name there?”
The Count’s voice was surprisingly calm. As if he was asking if I had eaten.
I shook my head.
“No. However, Duke Balkan’s name wasn’t anywhere either. Not even the surname Balkan.”
“And?”
“There was an interesting spell on that member list. It’s a spell that prevents writing if a person doesn’t write their real name. It’s a relatively simple spell, so I understood it at a glance.”
I cast the same spell on the paper with the names I had written. Then I walked back to my seat.
Until then, Clark still couldn’t say a word, as if he was out of breath.
I opened the back of that paper and handed him a pen.
“Butler Clark. If Clark is your real name, just write it down. Even if it’s not, if your real name isn’t among the names I wrote earlier, you’re innocent. And I’ll leave the mansion as you said.”
Clark didn’t even take the pen I offered and just sat still, glaring at me.
The Count slowly turned to him.
“Butler Clark. In all the decades we’ve spent together, this is the first time I’ve heard that you have another name. Is that right?”
Butler Clark turned to the Count.
“Count. This is slander. It’s a false accusation. You mustn’t be fooled. He says he saw the member list of the Assassin’s Guild? Do you believe this?”
The Count snatched the pen from my hand. Then he personally placed it in front of Butler Clark.
“Butler Clark. You can defend yourself after writing your name. It’s not too late. Go ahead and write it.”
Clark looked back and forth between me and the Count.
“Count. He must have investigated my past first…”
“Clark.”
An icy voice from Count Furst’s mouth cut off Clark’s words.
Butler Clark’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The sound of swallowing was loud.
Butler Clark clutched at his throat like a thief caught red-handed, then stared blankly at the pen placed in front of him.
After taking several deep breaths, he finally grasped it with a trembling hand.
The sweat from his hand dripped down, leaving marks on the paper.
In the end, he couldn’t write his name and put down the pen.
***
The matter was handled swiftly.
The Count calmly summoned the Knight Commander ordered Butler Clark to be imprisoned in the underground dungeon.
Clark did not speak a word afterwards. There was no anger, no resentment, no words of any kind.
After he was led away by the Knight Commander, the Count sat silently for over thirty minutes.
Unable to leave him alone, I stayed by his side.
Finally, he spoke.
“You were already certain. That he was the culprit.”
There was no emotion in his voice.
Which made it all the colder.
“When I saw that Duke Balkan’s name wasn’t on the list, I thought it could only be Butler Clark.”
“Why?”
“I can’t give you details because I made a promise to someone. But I can tell you that assassination attempts in this mansion never ceased. And that was possible because of the incompetent Knight Commander, who…”
Count Furst cut off my words.
“Clark always covered for him. I didn’t like him either, but I let it be since Clark helped with many things. Perhaps out of past affection, do you think the Knight Commander might help Butler Clark?”
“I don’t think so. Clark used him because he was simple-minded, not because he was on his side. In fact, Clark likely kept his distance from the Commander to avoid exposing himself.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
I continued my explanation.
“At first, I suspected he was just a pawn of Duke Balkan. But since the Duke’s name wasn’t on the list, it seems he acted independently.”
The Count turned his gaze to me and said,
“That alone wouldn’t be enough for such certainty.”
“You’re right. But I didn’t want you to get your hands dirty, Count. It’s also troublesome to explain everything.”
“…….”
The Count remained silent.
It seemed he chose not to ask, though he was curious.
I stood up.
“Ask him about his motives later. I’m curious about that too.”
Until I left the room, the Count didn’t say another word.
The shock must be great.
After walking a bit, I saw Fabre coming from the opposite direction.
He looked up at me with bright eyes and asked,
“Butler Clark. Is it true?”
It seemed he had been listening to the conversation inside and came to hear directly from me.
I picked him up and walked slowly.
“The Count is often away from home for long periods due to business. Who do you think the assassins were targeting? It was you, Fabre. Well, you probably dealt with the intruders without much concern.”
Fabre slightly pouted his lips.
“Is that so? They certainly tried persistently for a long time.”
“The assassins probably thought they died due to the mansion’s protective magic. They must have kept trying while studying in their own way. I was about to ask Clark about that, so let’s go together.”
Fabre hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
I held his hand and headed towards the underground dungeon.
To deal with Merlin, I must do everything I can.
