“Siervian!”

Damian rushed into the emperor’s office, forgetting all decorum.

He had to return, not in his right mind, after hearing the news of Siervian’s incident.

He was late to hear the news because he had gone outside the eastern gate with Karmen to deal with the aftermath of the mine monster incident.

“You’re here.”

“Sob.”

“Siervy, are you alright?”

Entering the office, he saw Siervian sobbing in their father’s arms.

The sight of it made him angry again. Assassins, in this empire, how dare they.

Damian barely managed to control his expression and quickly approached Siervian.

“Brother.”

“Siervy, I’m sorry. I should’ve been there.”

Still held by her father, Siervian burst into tears again when she heard that.

From the moment she ran into her father’s arms, she couldn’t stop crying. She was barely holding it together, but when she heard Damian’s apology, tears welled up again.

“S-Siervy was scared.”

Was it because of the urgent situation that forced her to control herself for too long? She continued to behave childishly.

“Easy. Don’t cry.”

The emperor had been holding her tightly since earlier, his face stiff, at Siervian’s unusual childlike appearance.

“D- don’t cry. Siervy! I’ll protect you.”

Damian also knelt before her and held her tightly, fidgeting.

‘My tears won’t stop….’

The bead the children broke on the floor functioned as a kind of coordinate transmitter.

Spatial movement can be done anywhere as long as the coordinate is clear. However, it was true that if you were going to a specific person, time was wasted due to misaligned coordinates.

That’s why the coordinate bead was created. It was originally a magical item that Siervian would have had when she was older.

‘Come to think of it, the kids said Angel made it. Sob.’

Unbeknownst to her, the coordinate beads were Angel’s work in her previous life as well.

‘If it weren’t for that, it would have taken my father longer to find me.’

Then, the assassins who had spread throughout the empire might have found her.

The children she was with would have been in danger, too.

“Sniffle….”

“Si- Siervy.”

“Mm……”

That thought made her sad again. Her young body, which had been out of control since earlier, shook again.

As a result, the information she had kept inside leaked out.

“T- the Duke, sob, sent assassins after Siervy again.”

“…The Duke, you say.”

Damian’s face hardened at Siervian’s sudden revelation.

That wasn’t the only unexpected truth.

“At the mine, gasp, the evil mage who did bad things, the Duke, the Duke, sob, sent him.”

“……”

“I’m scared……”

The situation was different from the Mosae Kingdom incident in many ways.

First of all, the time she was being chased alone was too long. Besides, wasn’t this her home?

She was overwhelmingly scared because it happened in a place where she should have been able to go out at ease.

‘I shouldn’t just cry like this.’

That’s why she tried to tell them the facts she had gathered, but they just spilled out.

She couldn’t help it even if the two of them didn’t believe her. She was just worried that if they said they couldn’t believe her in her current state, she would cry even more.

“Siervian, I’m sorry.”

However, Damian made an unexpected apology.

[Damian Erveldotte]
Thoughts: I should have taken the suggestion that the Duke sent assassins in the Mosae Kingdom more seriously. I thought it might have been untrue since I was also a target, but I was foolish.

Even before, Siervian had shared information without providing any proof.

Damian reproached himself for not trusting it completely.

“I’ll take care of it right away.”

The emperor asked, watching Damian suddenly speak so resolutely.

“I see the mission went well.”

“Mission?” Siervian asked curiously, swallowing her tears.

Then Damian smiled faintly and called an order to outside the office.

“Bring him here.”

Damian’s knights soon brought in an old, gray-haired man. He looked very nervous.

“I- I greet the Sun of the Empire!”

[Wyan]
Mood: Very nervous
Thoughts: Finally, this day has come…!

‘Who is he?’

Damian looked at the emperor as if answering her question.

“I was the servant of the previous chamberlain.”

“I finally found you.”

After learning about the suspicious death of the previous chamberlain, the emperor and the crown prince had tried to find a clue. However, the whereabouts of the servant who had been closest to the chamberlain were unknown. Nevertheless, Damian continued to pursue him and eventually found him.

“Did you find any evidence?”

“He insisted on talking to Father, so I brought him here for now.”

“Hmm.”

It was unusual for a commoner to insist on meeting the emperor. Especially for someone who had served the chamberlain as his master and was well aware of the power structure.

“I- I apologize.”

Trembling, the chamberlain’s servant did not deny Damian’s story.

The emperor had been observing him closely and quickly got to the point.

He was anxious because Siervian kept crying.

“Speak. Why did you insist on seeing me in person?”

“I- I apologize. Because I have no one to trust since the chamberlain is gone…”

Hearing the meaningful confession, the emperor exchanged glances with Damian.

[I found him and revealed my identity, but he still tried to escape. However, for reasons unknown, he became very cooperative as soon as I said I would take him to Father.]

Damian sent a message spell to the emperor and Siervian. Siervian looked at the servant with suspicion, as his whereabouts had been unknown as if he was hiding from the beginning.

[Wyan]
Thoughts: I can’t trust anyone but Your Majesty. …Even His Highness the Crown Prince might be involved with them. Now that I have come safely before Your Majesty, I have no regrets.

‘Those guys? I guess there was something going on after all.’

Just in case, Siervian kept checking his status window. She was worried that the reason he insisted on meeting her father might be malicious. Fortunately, the servant seemed to believe that he could only tell this secret to the emperor.

[He seemed to have sensed something suspicious about the previous chamberlain’s death.]

Damian sent another message spell with his thoughts, as he had the same idea. Noting that, the emperor, who had been contemplating, finally gestured with a hand. All the chamberlains and knights who had been waiting around disappeared from the office in an instant.

Suddenly, the servant’s eyes shook violently as he was left alone with the imperial family.

“From now on, answer my questions truthfully.”

“Yes, yes. Your Majesty. Do you have any questions?”

The emperor glared at him with cold eyes.

“Did the chamberlain suffer from mana scarcity?”

It was the most plausible assumption based on the evidence found so far.

The chamberlain had been using harmin grass to cure the disease, had found out something, and was soon silenced by the duke’s family.

“Pardon? No. My master was very healthy until he died in an accident…”

However, the servant immediately denied the emperor’s words. He raised his eyebrows at the unexpected question.

‘He’s telling the truth.’

Siervian watched the situation unfold and knew that his words were true by looking at the servant’s status window.

However, the servant hesitated for a moment and looked around. He then carefully advised the emperor with shocking words.

“T- the one with mana scarcity was the previous emperor, Your Majesty…”

“What?”

“……!”

“……!”

Siervian reflexively looked at her father’s face. He was also surprised, and his eyes were wide open. The three of them made bewildered expressions at the same time, and the servant’s expression hardened.

“I’m not lying.”

“Explain in detail. If there is even a slight lie, I will behead you.”

It was not a matter to be taken lightly, so the emperor pressured the servant in anger. His father had mana scarcity? It was the first time he had heard of this, even though he had been on the battlefield.

And it was unprecedented to hear the cause of the previous emperor’s death for the first time.

“One day, my master came back to the mansion, very drunk.”

“……”

“……To defend his honor, I stayed quiet. He was originally a very tight-lipped person. As you know, he was very loyal to the previous emperor. He just lamented and let it slip out of his mouth.”

The previous chamberlain was known for his loyalty. The emperor, who had seen it more closely than anyone else, nodded his head.

“What exactly did the chamberlain say?”

“He said that His Majesty had mana scarcity, and his energy fluctuated greatly. Fortunately, Duke Pacour’s Imperial Mage said that there might be a way…”

Damian had been listening silently but now stiffened his face. The Duke Pacour mentioned would also refer to the current one.

“Did the chamberlain continue to visit Duke Pacour’s family and the Imperial Palace after that?”

“…He tried hard, but strangely, there was no improvement in the previous emperor’s illness.”

It was only natural. As Siervian and his family had found out, harmin tea did not contain any ingredients that could cure mana scarcity.

Siervian could feel her father’s body tensing up more and more, since he was holding her.

“After the previous emperor passed away, the chamberlain was very sad for a long time. Then, he suddenly said that he had something to look into and left without telling me where he was going. Then, he was killed in that carriage accident…”

The servant began to sob as he recalled that day. The previous chamberlain was also famous for his good treatment toward his inferiors.

After that, the servant said that he felt something was suspicious about his master’s death and went into hiding.

“I never thought I would have the chance to see Your Majesty in person and tell you. I have no regrets now, even if I die.”

The three of them remained silent for a long time, watching the servant prostrate himself while sobbing.

Harmin grass is a poison that disrupts mana. It would be fatal for someone with mana scarcity to consume it.

And there was no way Duke Pacour’s family would not have known that.

—