Riersha smiled brightly at the flustered Sion Senuart.
She was careful not to forget the defensive barrier she’d wrapped around herself.
Sion glanced around briefly, then fixed his gaze on Riersha and opened his mouth.
“…Was that power just now used by our youngest little lady?”
Basen, who had been smiling alongside Sion without even realizing it, caught himself and hurriedly schooled his expression.
“Power? Whatever do you mean?”
“I was trying to open this door, and…”
“Oh come now, it must be your imagination. No matter how much she may be the heir of the Arachrene family, there’s no way a small child like her could have stronger magic than the Tower Master.”
“…”
“If she does, perhaps we’d need to replace the Tower Master—”
Basen caught Sion’s eye and clapped a hand over his own mouth.
“Ha ha.”
Sion laughed, but his eyes had gone cold and still.
He looked down at Riersha, who was standing there with a perfectly innocent expression.
A power I’ve never even heard of.
The Mage Tower had conducted many studies over the years.
It went without saying that those studies included the Arachrene bloodline.
But in the end, none of them had ever succeeded.
One thing was certain: those of Arachrene blood were born carrying innate power woven into their very magic.
They can use their abilities from the moment they’re born, but in exchange, they have absolutely no talent for conventional magic.
And their innate powers were always limited to a single attribute — that was the other known characteristic.
And yet what Riersha Arachrene had just done…
Did she deflect my magic?
That little child?
“We weally shouldn’t stay here. …There’s a bad person inside, you know.”
“Ah, is that so?”
Riersha had lowered her voice to a near-whisper, as though sharing a great secret.
Basen broke into a helplessly charmed grin before reining himself in and beginning to explain in measured, careful tones.
“We are currently conducting an important investigation. …You might find it strange that we would be here of all places, but there is a reason for everything.”
“Oh, I see!”
“Yes, exactly.”
Riersha accepted this without a moment’s hesitation, and Basen gave a big satisfied nod, sneaking a glance at Sion.
His expression said: Surely telling the child this much is enough to talk our way out of this, isn’t it?
Basen seemed worried that if Riersha left, she might mention to the Duke or the Young Lord that she had seen them here.
But…
So she deliberately followed us, knowing we would come here.
Sion’s violet eyes narrowed.
Outside, the sun had set and darkness had fallen.
And this was the Arachrene family’s underground prison — the place said to be impossible to escape from alive once you entered.
Not for a single moment did Sion believe that Riersha had come to a place like this alone.
On top of that, she had evaded his senses the entire time.
This was not an opponent to be underestimated simply because she was young.
And if his suspicions were correct, Riersha Arachrene was undoubtedly a dual-ability user.
Basen, you fool.
Sion watched Basen dancing in the palm of that little girl’s hand and clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“We came here because we have business with the person inside.”
“Why? Are you fwiends?”
Riersha tilted her head.
Sion rubbed his chin and grimaced.
“Hmm, well, I’ve never met them face to face either. I thought as long as we’re here, I might as well have a little conversation.”
The moment she heard that, Riersha’s mind moved quickly.
Then the one who received the commission isn’t the Tower Master himself?
Perhaps someone had accepted Ian Charlotte’s commission without Sion Senuart’s knowledge.
If that was the case, it was a relief.
“Then no.”
Riersha shook her head with firm resolve.
Basen immediately began to fidget, glancing back and forth nervously.
He could tell that Sion’s patience was wearing thin.
Basen stepped quickly forward.
“My lady, if you continue to obstruct us, it will only put the Arachrene family in a difficult position.”
“Why?”
“Because we currently hold the authority to investigate the main estate. So if you would kindly…”
The implication was clear: be sensible and go back inside.
Riersha understood perfectly, and her face lit up with a cheerful smile.
It seemed the time had come to wrap up this conversation.
“Oh, I see. Alright then.”
“…”
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
Basen’s face flooded with visible relief.
Sion, however, was studying Riersha with careful, penetrating attention, as though trying to work out exactly what she was plotting.
He seemed to have realized from quite early on that she had been steering this entire situation deliberately.
“You’re just leaving, just like that?”
Sion asked, his tone heavy with suspicion.
“Yes! But it seems the Tower Master has been so busy he’s forgotten something. The Arachrene family will take care of it on your behalf — that’s what I was asked to pass along.”
“…Forgotten what, exactly?”
“You haven’t told the Pope yet. Or the Emperor.”
Riersha enunciated every word clearly and brightly.
In that instant, Basen’s expression went rigid.
If this came to light, it was painfully obvious that the Mage Tower would be cornered.
Riersha’s smile curved with satisfaction.
The threat seemed to have landed.
…The problem being that it only seems to have landed on one of them.
Sion’s expression remained perfectly composed.
He even let out an amused laugh.
“How adorable.”
“…”
“And do you think you could walk into the temple and actually say that? Which do you think the Imperial House and the Holy See would rather see swept away first?”
The Mage Tower?
Or the Arachrene family?
Riersha’s threat was a double-edged sword.
As their eyes met in a silent exchange—
Riersha smiled sweetly.
“Obviously, whichever one can be dealt with first.”
“…Ha.”
And that was, without question, the Mage Tower.
There was clear evidence that the Tower had violated the principles agreed upon with the Imperial House and the Holy See, which made it easy to press charges.
The Arachrene family, on the other hand, had no solid evidence against them.
In fact, Sion Senuart’s own reason for wanting to see Ian Charlotte…
“There are likely several reasons the Tower Master came in person, but the one you most want answered is who used that black magic.”
If what Pernoa had said was right, that would be the case.
And once the purpose was achieved, the plan would be to eliminate Ian on the spot as well.
Riersha decided to make her point directly.
“My father is waiting up ahead.”
“…You didn’t come in together?”
“No. After all, you can’t attack me anyway.”
At Riersha’s words, the corner of Sion’s mouth pulled upward in a deep, slow curve.
His pride stung, but she wasn’t wrong.
Sion had yet to properly gauge the child’s abilities, and if he were being honest with himself, there was something deeply unpleasant about the idea of using magic against a child so much younger than him.
At the very least, Sion Senuart was a man who possessed a bare minimum of conscience.
What to do.
Accepting Riersha’s proposal did seem like the rational choice.
Of course, the most definitive answers would come straight from the mouth of the person locked inside, but…
For now, perhaps I’ll speak with this side first.
Sion raised both hands.
“Alright. We’ll go with meeting Pernoa. But I have a condition of my own.”
“…A condition?”
Riersha blinked her round, rabbit-like eyes.
⁂
Deep in the night.
Pernoa watched three figures emerge from the underground prison.
Sion, resplendent in his ornate robes, waved his hand with a breezy familiarity as he approached.
Pernoa ignored him entirely and shifted his attention to Riersha, who stood behind him.
He had fully expected her to come sprinting out the moment she appeared — but instead, Riersha was pressed right up against Sion’s side.
“Riersha. What are you doing over there?”
“Ah, allow me to explain that.”
“…Go ahead.”
Fair enough. This clearly required an explanation.
Faced with Pernoa’s terrifying crimson gaze, Sion smiled with breathtaking shamelessness.
He had known it would come to this. That was precisely why he had put that condition to Riersha a short while ago.
“I asked the young lady to stay by my side while I am a guest at the Arachrene estate.”
“…What did you say?”
“Since everything has already come to light, meeting with the Young Lord alone felt a little frightening. I’m actually quite a timid person, you see.”
Basen stared at Sion — who was spinning lies with not a shred of shame — with eyes gone flat and cold.
What is he saying. This is a man who once barged straight into the Holy See alone.
It was a story that had been told and retold more than once, both within the Tower and within the temple.
If anyone in the world was the sort to feel no regrets even if he died tomorrow, it was Sion Senuart.
Pernoa seemed to be thinking along similar lines, because his expression twisted further.
“You shouldn’t be sticking close to someone like that. He’s rotten to the core, Riersha.”
“Oh come now, that’s a bit harsh. What do you mean, rotten to the core…”
“I know.”
Silence fell.
Sion looked down at Riersha with a deflated expression.
He could see the round top of her head.
And between her chubby, soft cheeks, he could see her small lips moving, working around words.
“But you made a pwomise with me. You said if I stayed with you while you met Papa, you’d tell us everything honestly. You said we could even call Oberon…”
“…”
“It’s not for the whole time you’re staying at the estate. Just while you meet Papa.”
Riersha carefully corrected the facts, and Sion gave an unhurried shrug of his shoulders.
