Chapter 52
“Ah, is that so? I’ll be rooting for you.”
Eden replied without a trace of soul in his voice.
At his response, which showed absolutely no expectation, Sierra raised her voice.
“Well, just you wait and see! Something huge is going to happen soon! Isn’t that right, Glaster?”
“Of course, Leader.”
Sierra and Glaster locked eyes and once again flashed sly smiles.
It was obvious they were plotting something, but just then, the elevator came to a stop, cutting the conversation short.
They passed through a quiet corridor and entered the greenhouse, which was filled with all sorts of rare magical plants.
There was the mandragora, known as a man-eating flower; the purple heal, which aided skin regeneration; and even the lucid, said to show illusions.
“There really is a diverse variety.”
“They’ve been collected over many years.”
As Eden began proudly explaining the magical plants, a studious atmosphere naturally formed.
“…And so, by creating habitats for endangered magical plants, the Magic Tower has been able to conduct various research.”
Unlike me and Lottie, who were yawning in boredom, Sierra and Glaster were quite serious.
Just then, Edwin, supporting the back of his neck with interlaced hands, casually remarked.
“Now that we’ve seen all the plants, are we finally going to see that famous ice dragon?”
Ice dragon.
At the mention of that word, Eden’s expression turned icy.
“That’s not possible for viewing. No one can approach it except the Tower Lord.”
The words Eden uttered carried two implications.
First, the ice dragon’s corpse belonged to the Tower Lord.
To begin with, the ice dragon was a trophy captured by the Ainluk family, so in a way, it was only natural.
Moreover, the Magic Tower was a place managed by the Ainluk family for generations.
It made sense that outsiders couldn’t casually view an item stored in their own stronghold.
Second, no one but the Tower Lord could even get near the corpse.
It was, after all, a monsterized ice dragon. Contaminated magical animals were practically disasters incarnate.
Even in death, their resentment and aura could devastate the surroundings.
It meant that managing the corpse itself was nearly impossible unless one had abilities like Alferen’s.
“What a letdown.”
Edwin smacked his lips, as if the good show was over.
Sierra stealthily stomped on his foot and glared daggers at him, while Glaster fidgeted, gauging Eden’s reaction.
It was clear he’d touched a sore spot.
I checked my watch and said.
“Shall we take a break?”
“Let’s do that.”
Eden offered a perfectly polite smile and guided us to the lounge.
The lounge was stocked with snacks and coffee.
“Then rest well and head out when you’re ready. I have more work to do, so I’ll excuse myself now.”
After bidding farewell, Eden left the lounge.
I’d been waiting for a chance to talk to him alone throughout the tour, so I quickly followed after him.
“Wait a moment, Eden.”
“Is there something else you need?”
“Actually, I came because I have something to discuss with you privately. Do you have a minute?”
When I quietly requested a meeting, Eden blinked in confusion, as if he couldn’t fathom why.
He glanced briefly at his watch and asked.
“Will it take long?”
His eyes said he was swamped and to save it for later unless it was important.
But this was my only chance to probe Eden.
I glanced around and lowered my voice.
“You’ve looked like you had something to say to me for a while now.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Eden’s dead-fish eyes come alive; he cleared his throat and extended his arm.
“Shall we talk in my lab?”
His attitude flipped like the palm of a hand.
I lightly placed my hand on his arm and flashed a grin.
“Lead the way.”
* * *
Entering Eden’s lab, Rodellia asked in a low voice.
“Has there been a burglary?”
“This is actually the cleanest it’s been.”
Eden wore an awkward expression as he kicked an empty cup rolling on the floor into a corner.
Then, he roughly organized the scattered documents with magic.
It was clearly a half-hearted cleanup, but she didn’t bother pointing it out.
Rodellia did her best to ignore the pigsty of a lab and sat on the cleanest-looking sofa.
“So, what is it you want to say to me behind Ren Oppa’s back?”
Getting straight to the point, Eden cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
He’d brought her here, but now he wasn’t sure if it was right to ask this behind the Tower Lord’s back.
She was, after all, the Tower Lord’s lover. If he requested an experiment and something happened to her well-being, not only would he be kicked out of the Magic Tower, but his life could be in danger.
For an ordinary person, it would be wise to play it safe.
‘But I can’t give up on research just because of the risks.’
Eden Maker. Among the mages in the Magic Tower, he was rumored to be the most eccentric researcher.
He was a talented madman who would even conduct human experiments on himself for the sake of his research outcomes.
And this was a project where he’d made no significant progress in six years.
It was like throwing eggs at a rock.
But then, a new variable had appeared, and Eden desperately wanted to verify it.
Even if it meant going against Alferen’s wishes.
“Do you remember the flowerpot you touched during your first visit to the Magic Tower?”
Eden’s eyes gleamed sharply. Rodellia, sensing he’d made up his mind, answered readily.
“I do. The dead sapling suddenly turned green, right?”
“In fact, that flowerpot was an experimental subject combining the magical plant Testie with scales from the ice dragon.”
Ice dragon scales.
To utter something that would normally prompt a “what are you talking about?” as if it were nothing.
‘As expected, it’s related to the experiment Sophia mentioned.’
Rodellia calmed her racing heart and looked at Eden.
“It was scheduled to be inspected by the Tower Lord and then immediately moved to isolation, but unfortunately…”
Eden trailed off and glanced at her, and Rodellia picked up the thread.
“Unfortunately, I touched it.”
“Yes. That’s right. At the time, since there was no immediate issue with your Ladyship’s condition, I didn’t explain to avoid alarming you.”
Eden recalled the incident and offered an awkward smile.
The contaminated ice dragon scales would transfer a chill just from touching them, causing the body to gradually freeze.
She’d directly handled the Testie combined with those scales, so the young lady should have developed problems by now.
“That’s strange. I was perfectly fine that day.”
“Yes. That’s the key point. The Tower Lord dismissed it as a temporary whim of the ice dragon, but in my view, there seems to be some other variable at play.”
“Other variable meaning…”
“If you’ll pardon the intrusion, I’ve been investigating Lady Peris’s background for a while now. I came across something quite unusual.”
“You investigated me…?”
“Ahem, i-it was research for the sake of data collection. If no leads emerged, I planned to discard it on my end.”
Eden averted his gaze and offered a lengthy excuse.
Rodellia lightly quirked and relaxed the corner of her mouth, as if it didn’t matter.
“I heard that from a young age, you trained in swordsmanship alongside Lord Peris. Do you still wield a sword?”
“I do hold one. Though not as much as before.”
Rodellia subtly hid her hands.
It had been quite a while since she’d habitually gripped a sword, so her palms were smooth, without calluses.
“But what does my sword training have to do with the experimental subject’s reaction?”
“This might be a somewhat sensitive question.”
Eden hesitated uncharacteristically before continuing.
“I heard that you can’t manifest aura—is that true?”
“Ah.”
Rodellia’s face flushed hot in an instant.
Aura, which every direct descendant of Peris was said to manifest, had not been granted to her.
There was a time when she’d wanted to be like Adrian.
He’d seemed so impressive, perfectly wielding the Peris swordsmanship.
But as an adult now, it was something she didn’t even dare dream of.
Peris swordsmanship was based on aura. Those who couldn’t manifest it couldn’t use that field.
Thanks to good teachers, she might have built skills on par with an average knight, but before the fundamental wall of talent, she could only crumble.
Rodellia covered her stiffened lips with her hand and replied.
“Yes, that’s right. I don’t know how to handle aura.”
