It was a breathtakingly shameless answer. Refusing the commission and refusing to return the documents.
What did people call someone like that again?
“A thief?”
“…Thief is rather harsh. This is an exceptional situation, my lady.”
Sion, who had been about to take a sip of his tea, flinched visibly at the word.
He seemed to know perfectly well that what he’d just said was outrageous.
“Refusing the commission — that’s going to be a problem for me.”
“Ha ha, I do hope you’ll understand.”
“A shame. As for the documents — you don’t need to return those.” She paused. “…But is this truly all the Tower Master came to say? You traveled all the way from the north to the west just for this?”
Pernoa’s words carried a pointed weight.
The Tower Master was a position granted to the one who stood at the absolute pinnacle of magic within the Declair Empire.
A title laden with responsibility. A role that never sat idle.
There was no reason for such a figure to spare the time to travel from the northern tower all the way to the western territories simply to say something so trivial.
The atmosphere in the office went still in an instant.
Under Pernoa’s sharp gaze, Sion offered a pleasant smile.
“Yes, I came in person just to say this. And additionally… I’ll also be taking the original documents that the young lord has been keeping in custody.”
“The original.”
Pernoa laughed in disbelief, the sound short and humorless.
This — this was likely Sion’s real reason for coming himself.
The originals.
He had come to take everything.
But something still doesn’t add up.
Pernoa tapped a finger against the armrest and studied the Tower Master carefully.
There was something rotten underneath all of this.
Even Riersha could tell the request was suspicious.
Just what was in those documents?
Could it possibly be—
Black magic?
Riersha had barely formed the thought when the same word fell from Pernoa’s lips.
“Is it black magic?”
Sion didn’t answer. He simply shrugged.
But silence, they say, is its own kind of yes.
The documents discovered at Ian Charlotte’s estate were records tied to black magic.
“Well. That is precisely why I came myself.”
“Because everything related to black magic falls under the Tower’s jurisdiction?”
“Precisely.”
Sion seemed to want to frame his demands as perfectly reasonable. But Riersha couldn’t shake the unease settling in her chest. She felt certain she was missing something.
Then it hit her, and her head snapped up.
“Did you come alone?”
Where were his attendants?
Now that she thought about it — Sion Senuart had been alone from the very beginning.
Even the head of a modest noble house kept a guard knight at their side when they ventured out. For the Tower Master to arrive without a single escort — was that even possible?
“Perceptive as ever, my lady.”
Sion turned to look out the window.
The sky beyond was brilliantly clear.
“The investigation has already been opened under the authority of the Tower Master’s direct jurisdiction. I do hope the Arachrene family will cooperate fully.”
It was a unilateral declaration.
Pernoa’s displeasure surfaced plainly.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing, Sion Senuart?”
“The Charlotte family was a cadet branch of the Arachrene family, after all.”
The corners of Sion Senuart’s mouth curved upward.
“There is no evidence to confirm the Arachrene family’s innocence, so I’m afraid there’s no other option. I’ll be imposing on your hospitality for a while.”
In other words: if the Arachrene family didn’t want to be entangled in the same black magic scandal as Ian Charlotte, they would do well not to interfere.
⁂
After the meeting with Sion Senuart, Pernoa went directly to find Arcmund.
He needed to inform him of what had transpired.
What kind of black magic is it, I wonder?
It seemed they had no choice but to hand over the originals to the Tower Master.
Riersha left the young lord’s manor immediately and made her way back toward her own wing of the estate.
As she walked, she spotted her brothers waiting for her and paused, momentarily startled.
Come to think of it — classes would have just ended around this time.
She had felt as though hours had passed, but the meeting with Sion Senuart had actually been quite brief.
Brief — but no less intense for it.
“Did something happen, Riersha? You don’t look well.”
As always, it was Risideon who came to her first.
“Seriously. What happened at the main entrance? Your face looks terrible.”
“…Riscal, couldn’t you word that a little more kindly?”
“You went somewhere with Father and came back looking like you’re at a funeral. That’s why I said it.”
Riscal caught himself and quickly softened his phrasing.
Risideon had a quietly stern side to him, and it wasn’t worth provoking carelessly.
Riersha sighed and hopped up onto a nearby bench, settling onto it with a little bounce.
She was debating whether she should tell her brothers what had happened today.
But sitting alone with her worries wasn’t going to change anything — so she decided to let it out here, in front of them.
“Something bad happened, brothers.”
“What is it?”
Ricador, who had been quietly watching, was the one who asked.
“Well… someone came to visit the house today. The Tower Master.”
“The Tower Master?”
“…The Tower Master?”
Exactly as she’d expected. Everyone wore the same expression — disbelief — and waited for her to continue.
“Apparently there were documents found at Lord Ian’s residence. And… they’re related to black magic.”
“…That’s strange. Why would Ian Charlotte get mixed up in something like that?”
Riscal tilted his head, genuinely baffled.
Black magic was a forbidden art — one that ordinary people turned to only when they craved something beyond their reach. It traded in the lives of others to pursue immortality, or to curse, steal, and destroy.
“Ian Charlotte never struck me as someone covetous enough to dabble in black magic.”
Ricador nodded in agreement.
Riersha shook her head.
“I don’t know either. Anyway, that’s why Father is in a difficult position now.”
“So the Tower Master intends to investigate our family as well.”
Risideon, as expected, grasped the situation immediately.
Riersha nodded vigorously.
“That’s right. He’s planning to investigate our family too.”
“That really is serious.”
If word spread that the Tower had launched an investigation — that alone would be devastating.
The damage would be immense. And beyond that, no one could predict how the Arachrene family’s reputation would shift from this point forward.
In the worst case—
If things go as the Tower Master described, any number of damaging accusations could be laid against us simply because the Charlotte family was a cadet branch.
People who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity would never let it pass. Any pretext would do.
Riersha bit her lip, restless and anxious.
This happened because Ian Charlotte was exposed as a traitor.
She had thought the future was changing. That things were moving toward something better.
But Ian Charlotte had been caught — and now, because of the black magic connection, they found themselves in a worse predicament than before.
What do I do now?
Risideon looked at her — at the face that seemed one breath away from tears — and gently spoke.
“Don’t worry too much, Riersha. If the investigation follows proper procedure, it won’t take long to prove the Arachrene family’s innocence.”
“…Okay.”
“Tell me calmly what happened. Let’s think about how we can work through this.”
“…Okay.”
Riersha’s throat felt tight.
She knew the investigation would be conducted properly. But the mere fact that this situation had come to exist at all — that alone was enough to make her anxious.
“Did the Tower Master formally announce that the investigation was beginning?”
Ricador asked, suddenly.
“Formally? What do you mean?”
Is there a difference between a formal and an informal investigation?
Riersha’s eyes went wide, and Riscal clicked his tongue.
“She’s still too sheltered to understand when you say it like that, brother.”
“What does that mean?”
Still completely confused, Riersha looked to them — and Risideon, after shooting the others a look that said enough, explained it to her gently.
“When the Tower investigates black magic, there are two parties they’re required to formally notify. The Imperial Palace and the Temple.”
“Why?”
“To prevent the Tower from abusing its authority. And because noble families fall under imperial jurisdiction as well.”
Various interests were intertwined — so as a matter of course, the involved parties would verify the facts with one another before proceeding.
The redness in Riersha’s teary eyes gave way to something larger — alert, bright.
“So what you’re saying is… the Imperial Palace and the Temple both have to know about this?”
“That’s right.”
In that instant, Riersha shot to her feet as though something had just clicked into place.
Now that she thought about it—
“That’s it. That’s the thing.”
“What’s gotten into you?”
Riscal stared at her, bewildered.
“That’s the thing!”
There’s no need to worry. I’ve shaken off the Temple’s tracking entirely.
That was exactly what the Tower Master had said.
He had shaken off the Temple’s tracking.
Which meant neither the Temple nor the Imperial Palace knew anything about what had happened today.
And put another way — it meant he wanted the Temple to remain ignorant of today’s events.
The reason Riersha arrived at was simpler than she expected.
The Tower is involved in this.
Nothing else offered a more rational explanation.
