Why did you suddenly collapse?
Did you ingest poison?
No way.
Before throwing him in prison, I checked every nook and cranny, including his mouth, but there was nothing like poison.
I don't know what happened, but I was about to go into the prison to check on Valenrin Pale, but Sir Aldor stretched out his arm to block my way.
“It might be dangerous, so I’ll go in first.”
"Is it so."
I nodded, thinking that was right.
Aldor, who entered the prison, took Valentin Pale's pulse and observed his eyes, closely examining his condition.
“How is it? Is he dead?”
“Fortunately, he didn’t die, but his pulse is very weak. I think he needs to get treatment right away.”
“Call the doctor. No. I have to take that man to the doctor myself.”
It would be a big deal if Valentin Pale died while the doctor was waiting for him to arrive.
At my words, Sir Aldor stopped himself from lifting the Valentin Pale.
“What is it, Sir Aldor?”
“Look at this, Miss.”
Aldor showed me Valentin Pale's left palm.
An unidentified magic circle was drawn on his palm.
Could this be what caused Valentin Pale to have a seizure?
“I don’t think it’s something that can be done by just showing it to your doctor.”
I nodded in response and gave orders to the guard standing behind me.
“Tell Perdes to come to the doctor’s office with Gnosis right now.”
***
“Adele. You came looking for me...l.”
Perdes, who was about to speak to me gently, stopped when he saw Valentin Pale lying on the bed.
The Gnosis that was following behind groaned softly as if it had bumped into his back.
“Why do you suddenly stop, Master Perdes?”
Perdes looked at him without answering.
Why is that guy here?
His eyes were asking that question.
“During the interrogation, he suddenly had a seizure and collapsed.”
“Suddenly? Did he ingest poison or something?”
“I thought so too, but the doctor said it wasn’t poison.”
“Then why... is it because of magic?”
As expected, you noticed it right away.
Well, that's only natural since I even called Gnosis.
I nodded in response and asked Sir Aldor to leave for a moment.
And he showed Perdes the magic circle drawn on Valentin Pale's left palm.
“Do you know what kind of magic circle this is?”
Perdes approached quickly and examined the magic circle carefully.
Gnosis, who had been touching his slightly red nose after being bumped into from behind, also seemed curious about the word magic circle and approached.
“...!”
Gnosis opened his eyes wide in surprise when he saw the magic circle.
Perdes asked after seeing his reaction.
“Do you know what kind of magic circle this is?”
“No. I don’t know what kind of magic circle it is, but...”
Gnosis continued, covering his mouth with a slightly trembling hand.
“I understand that this is a magic circle to execute Diabolos.”
“Diabolos?”
“...!”
I didn't understand the word because it was the first time I heard it, but Perdes was surprised and asked me back.
“Are you really saying that this magic circle is for Diabolos?”
“It is certain. There is no magic other than Diabolos that uses that magic circle.”
“But Diabolos is a magic used by demons...”
What did I just hear?
The devil?
“Does that mean the person who engraved the magic circle on Valentin Pale is a demon?”
When I asked to confirm if what I had heard was correct, Gnosis shook his head.
“I don’t know that far ahead.”
“Are you sure that this magic circle is used by the devil and yet you don’t know?”
“Although Diabolos is primarily used by demons, it is not limited to demons. It can also be used by other races with high magical abilities, such as dragons.”
“But humans can’t use it.”
Perdes joined the conversation.
“No matter how great a wizard is, a human cannot use Diabolos.”
“Why?”
“Diabolos is a magic that uses magical power, not mana. Naturally, the magic circle must also be endowed with magical power, but no human has magical power.”
“Are mana and magic power different?”
“It’s different.”
This time Gnosis answered.
“If mana is a power borrowed from nature, magic is a power that is possessed from birth. A person can never be born with magic.”
Gnosis explained various things to me as well, but as a layman, I could only understand a limited amount of it.
Still, it was clear that the person who had drawn the magic circle on Valentin Pale's palm was not human.
I thought it was the Emperor's doing, but I was wrong.
That alone was enough to make my head spin, but what was even more troubling was the possibility that a species other than humans might be involved in this incident.
Besides, I was concerned that even dragons could use the magic called Diabolos.
Surely... the Red Dragon isn't involved in this incident?
Perdes also muttered as he looked down at Valentin Pale, who was still unconscious.
“It must be because of this magic circle that the interest rate suddenly fell.”
“Maybe.”
If so, it means that the magic circle must be dispelled to awaken Valentin Pale.
Perdes asked Gnosis if he thought the same.
“Gnosis. Can you figure out what kind of magic circle this is?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but if you look through books on demons and curses, you might be able to find out.”
A book about demons and curses?
“The problem is that most of those books are banned, so they’re hard to find.”
“...If it’s a book about curses, I have it.”
Perdes and Gnosis turned their gazes toward me.
Gnosis, in particular, was very surprised and asked me back.
“Do you really have a book on curses?”
"Yes."
The basement of the Duke's residence, where entry by outsiders is prohibited.
There were piles of books on curses that had been collected by my father and other previous Dukes.
***
I left Aldor in charge of guarding Valentin Pale and went straight down to the cellar to collect the books related to curses.
Because there were so many books, I couldn't move them all by myself.
I didn't even know which of these books I needed.
The best thing to do in this case would have been to send Gnosis to the basement, but that was not possible because the basement was a space where only the blood relatives of the Duke Leopold family and those with the Duke's permission could enter.
Because of this incident, I couldn't even allow Gnosis to enter the basement.
It was not only because I didn't completely trust him, but also because once I gave permission, I couldn't take it back.
I had no choice but to take only the few that stood out and hand them over to Gnosis.
I went into the basement for a very short time and when I came out, 12 hours had passed.
“There are other books, so if you need them, just let me know and I’ll get them for you.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“If you find out anything, tell me immediately.”
"All right."
“And don’t ever tell anyone about this. If you leak it.. you know what will happen, right?”
When I said that a little scary, Gnosis shook his head sharply and his pupils trembled slightly as if he was scared.
He was a kind-hearted person who helped me, but did you take it too far?
No. In times like these, you have to be careful not to let your mouth get wet.
So I parted ways with Gnosis and met Perdes on my way back to my office.
To be exact, Perdes was waiting for me in front of the office.
“What's going on?”
“I have something to ask.”
As I said that, Perdes glanced around the office.
It meant that he wanted to go inside and talk.
I brought Perdes into the office.
As soon as the door closed, Perdes asked.
“You said there were a lot of books about curses in the basement?”
“Yes. I’m exaggerating a bit. There are so many that you wouldn’t be able to see them all in your lifetime.”
“How do we find out if there is any material we need among them?”
“Well, I brought you a few books that caught my eye, but I’m not sure how they’ll turn out.”
“Let me in.”
What does this mean?
When I looked up at the unexpected remark, Perdes put his hand on his chest and continued speaking.
“I heard before that if you get permission from the Duke, you can enter the basement even if you are not a blood relative of the Leopold Duke’s family. Is that right?”
“That’s true, but...”
“Then let me in. I’ll go in myself and check if there’s a book I need. That way, it’s more certain. If there’s any information, I can find it faster.”
“That won’t work.”
When I flatly refused, a look of deep disappointment appeared on Perdes' face.
“Why not? Do you not trust me?”
“No. It’s not for that reason. Even with my permission, Lord Perdes cannot enter the inner room where the books are. Only the Duke’s blood relatives can enter there.”
“Oh. Was that it?”
As if he finally understood, Perdes let out a small sigh and scratched his head.
“I didn’t know that and had a strange misunderstanding. Sorry.”
I smiled and nodded.
“No. You did it for me, and I appreciate it.”
“I appreciate it if you think of me that way.”
“I think I appreciate it more.”
“No. I appreciate it more.”
“Pfft.”
Suddenly, I burst out laughing because I felt like my actions were a little stupid.
It must have been the same for Perdes, he laughed too.
While we were looking at each other and laughing for a long time, we heard bad news.
It was news that Valentin Pale had died.
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