Episode 340

King Clifford’s words had been true. When Ian moved to a spot where he could see the palace gates, the crowd gathered densely before him came into full view.

No matter where people live, they’re all the same. Back in Bariel, when the royal palace was sealed off, the scene had been just like this. The citizens here were no different. Whispers and worried murmurs filled the air over the black moon that had appeared and vanished in the sky, and the mysterious object that had fallen onto the palace grounds.

An old man prayed quietly, adults smoked water pipes while engaging in heated debates, and oblivious to it all, cats and children darted between their feet. Palace guards seemed to be trying to disperse the crowd, but the people showed no sign of backing down easily.

Ian rested his hand on the window frame, looking down at the scene. The deepening sunset cast a glow that somehow brought a faint color back to his pale cheeks.

“One cigarette?”

“Ah.”

Akorella accepted the cigarette Hale handed her and was about to light it when she glanced at Ian. “Would you like one this time?” she asked cautiously, as if still remembering the last time he’d refused.

Ian smiled faintly and shook his head with a gentle wave of his palm.

“No, I’m good. The breeze is cool—I’ll just enjoy that.”

“So, what do you want to say? Ian, you know something about Idgal, don’t you? You should’ve told us earlier. It would’ve made research a lot easier.”

Akorella blew out a puff of smoke and pouted, prompting Hale to shoot her a warning glance. But both of them knew this was just Akorella’s way of breaking the awkward silence with a joke.

The small, restless crowd below was the perfect distraction for idle gazes. Ian looked toward them and began.

“You know I’m Hiel, the illegitimate son of the former Count Bratz.”

“Is there anyone in the palace who doesn’t know that?”

“Akorella, quiet.”

“That’s what they call backing each other up, Hale.”

The two bickered quietly, a familiar and comforting sight. Without Ian—the illegitimate son or Emperor Ian—this position would surely have been filled by the Minister of Magic and his subordinates.

“I…”

Referring to himself in the third person was a typical mannerism of those in power. Ian couldn’t reveal that he was from the future or that he was of royal blood, so he chose his words carefully. But Hale and Akorella felt no discomfort; to them, Ian was someone who existed beyond ordinary boundaries.

“When I was young, the Rutherford Trading Company entered Bratz through the Kingdom of Hwan.”

“Rutherford?”

“Prince Marib also testified about this. At the time, it was considered unreliable, but as I pieced things together, it made sense.”

Hale sensed something off about Ian’s claim. It didn’t take long to figure out what.

“There, I met the Rutherford Company. I don’t know the details, but it seems I also formed some connection with Marib and Melania, the youngest daughter of Duke Haiman.”

“‘Seems’?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Wow.”

Akorella dropped her cigarette with a clatter.

She stared blankly as the wind scattered it away, then rummaged through Hale’s pocket for a fresh one. Hale looked a bit embarrassed but didn’t stop her, instead giving Ian a helpless look.

Rutherford, Marib, Melania—just those three names alone were tied to something huge. And yet Ian had no memory of it. How irresponsible, how absurd, how heartbreaking.

Ian lowered his head toward his shoulder and smiled faintly.

“According to Lady Melania, I made some kind of vow with Rutherford. But I didn’t realize it was a contract magic.”

“Wait a minute. So you’re saying there’s a contract magic binding you and Rutherford?”

“That’s the assumption.”

With a double prohibition clause to prevent entanglement with others, no less. The only question left was one.

“Why?”

Why, exactly?

As Hale asked, Akorella flicked a new cigarette and muttered. There could be only one answer. Idgal wasn’t something born from nature like a magic-sealing stone—it was the product of alchemy. And to wield power connected to magic, you need the right materials.

Merchants traveling the world wouldn’t have missed Ian’s latent abilities. Whether buried under dust or tossed in the gutters, if something had value, they’d find it like ghosts and exploit it.

“Idgal… did you make it, Ian?”

“Akorella, what are you saying—”

“It’s a reasonable question, isn’t it? Imagine you’re a Rutherford merchant. You come to the Bariel border and find a scruffy but pretty kid who can wield magic. Back then, even Count Bratz didn’t pay attention, right? So Philia had to struggle to survive. What do you think the trading company would do? Huh?”

They’d take him.

It wasn’t uncommon for struggling parents to sell their children to trading companies, especially in outlying regions far from the center. Of course, Philia’s personality made that unlikely, and she didn’t seem to have any memory of such an offer.

Ian suddenly recalled Akorella’s words and found the missing piece of the puzzle.

“Wouldn’t kidnapping be more accurate? But Ian survived well enough to stand here before us. Would the merchants just let him go? They must have gotten something in return.”

“Don’t be naive,” Akorella said, lightly tapping Hale’s shoulder.

No one knew the truth, so they couldn’t be sure. But it all fit together too neatly for Ian to deny. He simply looked at the two of them without objection.

Melania’s hint that Ian would meet Rutherford around autumn—maybe that was part of the contract, a shackle on the child’s feet. Released but branded, sent back but with the life line held tight.

“When the illegitimate Ian returned from meeting Rutherford, he brought back a Silask flowerpot. According to Philia, he looked pleased. He did very well.”

Melania had said something similar. After making Idgal, Ian had smiled brightly.

When the illegitimate Ian lent his magic to help create Idgal, what had Rutherford promised him? Ian must have sensed some benefit for himself, which is why he cooperated.

“Ian? Are you okay?”

Ian remained silent, lost in thought. Hale asked cautiously. Akorella exhaled a faint wisp of smoke.

“Ian, give us a clear answer. Did you make Idgal?”

Researchers hated vague answers. Pressed by her question, Ian nodded readily.

“I think so.”

“Holy moly, that’s insane! Seriously! Amazing! How? Tell me! Do you know what this means? It’s like a wizard creating a magic-sealing stone. It’s no different from a doctor performing surgery on himself! Wow!”

Akorella clapped enthusiastically, almost possessed with admiration. But that wasn’t the important part. Hale quietly told her to stop, slipping his hand between her clapping palms.

“Akorella, don’t you understand what it means that Ian made Idgal?”

“It means it’s freaking awesome. What other way is there to say it?”

“A traitor to the wizards.”

A gust of wind scattered Ian’s hair. The sunset streaming through the window looked like blazing embers. Watching Akorella’s startled expression, Ian continued.

“And beyond that, someone who put Bariel in danger.”

“…Yeah. Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

“I haven’t been here long either. The palace keeps a close watch on the Ministry of Magic, looking for any slip-ups. They know it can’t be hidden forever. If Idgal becomes commercialized in neighboring countries, rumors about its origins will spread.”

If Idgal caused harm to the Ministry, and that led to problems in Bariel, Ian couldn’t remain minister. Hale realized the situation was more serious than he’d thought.

“But why tell us all this?”

“Before coming here, didn’t you investigate Philic? I thought you might have found some trace.”

“We did, but—”

Unaware that Romandro had snatched the note mid-conversation, the two exchanged puzzled looks. It didn’t matter. This was the kind of conversation they would have had anyway.

“When I leave the Ministry, I want you, Hale, and Akorella to take over. I see no one better suited.”

“Ian, you have a good eye for people. But no thanks.”

“No?”

Ian laughed at the firm refusal. There was a playful tone, yet somehow a calmness in his voice.

“I joined the Ministry to skim palace funds for research, not out of some grand sense of duty. And—”

Akorella’s eyes sparkled. With Ian—the very creator of Idgal—right in front of her, where else would she go? There was research to be done until the day she died.

Ian waved his hand in mild exasperation.

“Again, I don’t remember. So I don’t know how to make Idgal.”

“Making it once is hard, but the second time’s easy. Ian, shall we do something fun when we get back? Hm? Hehehe.”

I couldn’t tell what was going on in his head. He let out a strange laugh and muttered to himself. Judging by how he was folding his fingers, he must have a mountain of plans.

“Ian, I’m going to refuse too.”

“Hale, why’s that?”

“I absolutely hate bothersome things. Whenever I grab a pen, I break it. When it’s time to stamp a paper, I tear it instead. And I don’t know how to talk to the higher-ups. So yeah, I’m going to say no.”

That was unexpected. At least I thought he’d say he understood, especially in front of me. When I raised an eyebrow, Hale muttered through his cigarette.

“It’s definitely surprising. To think the connection to Idgal was so close all along.”

“…”

“But I believe you.”

Just as I was about to say something, Hale cut me off.

It’s already tough enough to band together and get through this, so why does he keep acting like he wants to carry it all alone? Even if he did, could that burden really rest solely on Ian’s shoulders? On those small shoulders?

“I believe in how serious you are about the Rutherford Guild chase you ordered the Magic Department to pursue, and about Bariel.”

“…Believing in what can’t be seen.”

“I believe because I can’t see it. If I could see it, there’d be no need to believe. You just accept it.”

I’d seen the blood and sweat Ian had shed at the Magic Department. How he burned himself out as if his very breath was given for Bariel. I’d watched him devote himself more thoroughly and perfectly than anyone else. How could I think otherwise?

Besides, he’d coughed up blood from the side effects of the contract magic—blood that had spilled all the way outside the door. Could he have done all this without knowing the risks? Putting his life on the line?

“So, when we get back, it’d be best to discuss the matter with Romandro. Idgal’s case is entirely related to mages, so even the palace…”

I was about to say that if the Magic Department pushed hard, the palace wouldn’t dare interfere. Until, from afar, a familiar flag fluttered as it rushed toward us.

Ian and Akorella followed Hale’s gaze and turned toward the window, quickly realizing what it was.

“…Burgos.”

The Burgos envoy had come looking for Clifford.

Soldiers tore fiercely through the parting crowd on either side. I rested my hand against the window and sighed.

“So it’s already begun.”