Chapter 427
Acorella twisted her neck behind the sofa and exhaled a plume of cigarette smoke.
This is it. This is exactly what I expected.
It was only natural to foresee the desperate thrashing of a man who had fallen from such great heights, teetering on the edge of his end. It didn’t even matter that he’d smashed all the intact antidote potions with his own hands. They could be remade.
But now, the one sighing deep within Acorella’s chest wasn’t anyone else but Ian. More precisely, it was Ian’s inscrutable reaction that weighed on her.
“Ian.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You’re hiding something else, aren’t you?”
Ian’s pen paused briefly before resuming its dance across the page.
That fleeting hesitation—Acorella narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. Then, careful not to let a word slip out, she whispered softly.
“You already told me about Idgal before, so I understand that. Captain Hale knows too. Surely that pendant is connected to a time when your memories were blank. But what exactly is this ‘royal family’ business?”
“Acorella, do you believe what he said?”
“It’s not about belief. The problem is that it keeps coming up. This isn’t the first time. Rumors that Ian is part of the royal family have been circulating for a long time. When was it again? Arsen—ah, damn it.”
Arsen. The forbidden name that must never be spoken in the palace. Ian shot her a cold glare, and she raised her hands in surrender.
“Well, to be more precise, wasn’t it the Hyman nobles who first mentioned it? There was a lot of talk.”
“Too much talk. So much that everyone dismissed it as nonsense.”
“There’s no smoke without fire. Now that King Damon’s statement has brought it back into the spotlight, even those who didn’t think much of it will start to doubt. Honestly, can’t we just live in peace? I want to throw myself into my research like crazy, and Ian, you can focus on the work you want to do. Isn’t that better? Why do you have to stick your head into political storms the moment you return?”
“That’s the fate of those who serve the palace. How can one expect peace where all the world’s power converges?”
“Exactly. So Ian, let’s get one thing straight. We—we can afford to live peacefully, right?”
The antidote’s countermeasure was already in the hands of the Magic Department. Gale had benefited from it, and unofficially, they expected the countermeasure to open new markets after commercialization.
Ian wouldn’t be put in a difficult position at the conference. That was something Acorella could say with confidence. But before that, she wanted to know the truth. The whole truth, including every fact.
“Ian. Are you really part of the royal family?”
“…”
Ian closed the file and twirled his pen, clearly struggling with what to say. The longer his silence stretched, the more Acorella’s shock grew, her mouth slowly opening.
“I am—”
‘I am Ian Verosion from Bariel, a hundred years in the future.’
He mulled over the words he couldn’t bring himself to say, then slowly spoke.
“I am indeed a child of Philia.”
“I know that. Even from afar, it’s obvious you’re mother and child.”
“You know my mother, right? She’s pure, incapable of telling lies. How could she possibly harbor such a massive secret?”
“You’re saying it’s not true?”
Then why did Damon say such a thing?
“I’ll dismiss Damon’s claim that you’re connected to the royal family as nonsense.”
“Acorella. It’s not nonsense. Just as Hyman said, everyone has questions about how I stood alone during ‘that’ incident.”
‘That incident’ meant the Arsen incident. When everyone was falling under mental control and attack, Ian alone stood firm, facing the demon.
Acorella flicked the cigarette from her lips.
“W-wait a minute. Are you saying—”
“It’s complicated to explain, and for now, that’s all I can say.”
Was Ian speaking evasively? Not royal, but blessed by the royal family? Was that even possible?
Acorella herself wasn’t royal, so she knew nothing about such blessings. Neither did the other officials. Aside from the emperor and crown prince, no one knew the details.
Knock knock.
“Ian.”
Startled by the sound outside, Acorella quickly tidied her clothes, brushed back her hair, and picked up the cigarette rolling at her feet, blowing on it gently.
One of the mages pushed a trolley and peeked in. Judging by his face, the interrogation with Damon must have been overheard by everyone. So the palace secretaries had probably passed the news to Jin as well.
“These are the documents on the rift from the archives.”
“Bring them over here. What about the copies?”
“They’re all sorted. From here to this point, we’ll review them, and the support team will handle the rest. We’ll report back before the conference. Ian, are you going back to the interrogation?”
“Hm.”
Ian clicked his pocket watch and watched the second hand move. Time was tight. The antidote potions had all been broken, but more importantly, this was the first conference after the war, so Ian needed to lead the paperwork.
“No. I’ll leave the interrogation to someone else. Acorella.”
“Me?”
“Just read the questions as they are. Assist Romandro with the interrogation.”
“Shouldn’t Romandro be assisting me?”
“You know you’re not suited for interrogation. Sorry, but there’s no time.”
Acorella felt words rising in her throat, pointed her cigarette at Ian, then turned away. The message was clear: he was too busy now, but once tonight’s schedule was over, she’d storm in with a bottle of wine and pry his secrets out.
“I’ll see you soon, Ian.”
“Right. Make sure everything’s ready for the conference.”
Squeak.
As Acorella grabbed the mage’s arm and left the office, Ian was left alone. Half-leaning over, he stared at the thick stack of documents.
By now, he was glad he’d fed the secret to Gypsy. Otherwise, he might have already revealed his identity to Acorella, Beric, Romandro, Jin, Xiaoxi, the entire Magic Department, and even Philia.
Everything was intact because he still wore the shell of the illegitimate Ian, but some unknown impulse had almost shattered their daily lives.
“Sigh.”
Just a little longer. Naum told him to stay in the annex, so he just had to hold out until it was finished.
‘Third life.’
‘Rutherford.’
‘Illegitimate Ian and Emperor Ian.’
Ian silently pondered the words forming at his fingertips.
There was little difference between Damon’s new life after returning and his own existence here. The only difference was whether he borrowed someone else’s body or obtained his own anew.
Ian guessed that Rutherford held the answers about the return, along with the annex’s construction. If so, would he have to pay some price to Rutherford, like Damon?
‘Half-siblings.’
Suddenly, new words struck his mind. He pictured Philia’s bright smile and straightened his back without realizing it.
The face of a mother happy to have another child. The face of a mother deeply hurt by the claim it wasn’t her business. Jin’s whisper that the child would be very beautiful.
“Ah.”
Maybe it was fatigue, but all sorts of strange thoughts were running through his head.
Even if Damon’s chosen method of return involved the sacrifice of kin, Ian didn’t have to choose the same path. There was no reason to, and above all, he didn’t want to go back that badly.
As he told Damon, even if he ventured into a new world, the people here would remain forever.
Clack.
Shaking off his thoughts, Ian opened the dossier. The information was so old that it mixed in archaic language. Considering the time depth, the records were sparse.
-…In the 23rd year of the Imperial calendar, a massive earthquake split the earth near northwest Bariel. Two nearby villages vanished without a trace. Fearing volcanic activity due to the heat and unknown ash, an investigation was launched but yielded no significant findings…
‘The first officially recorded rift in Bariel.’
Ian propped his chin on his hand, trying to clear his mind and focus on the text. Bariel was relatively free from monster attacks, so each record was precious and reliable.
Perhaps because the times were chaotic, their response was surprisingly bold. Ian skimmed the records in chronological order, curious about the outcome, but the name ‘Vandor’ never appeared again. However…
Year 34 of the Empire. A new anomalous reaction was detected in the northeastern region, previously classified as a Rift Zone. A massive earthquake struck again, but its tremors were unusual—those who experienced it unanimously described it as a strange sensation. The earth no longer cracked open; instead, the fissures seemed to close, their depths shallowing. The fires and ashstorms ceased as well.
Since this area had been effectively ungoverned, the land’s revival drew in all sorts of lowlifes, and in no time, Bariel transformed into a notorious hotspot. Among them, a man calling himself “Bandorla” was charged with defamation.
A man who called himself Bandorla? But that was more than ten years ago.
Ian frowned as he tried to dig deeper into the matter, but the records on the Rift ended there. He quickly called out to the outside.
“Is anyone there?”
“Yes, Lord Ian. Speak.”
“Bring me the court records from Year 34 of the Empire. The case involving a man who called himself the mage Bandorla—he was charged with defamation.”
“Do you have an exact date?”
“The fifth day of summer.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Tap, tap, tap!
At Ian’s command, his attendant moved swiftly. Soon, a small file was handed to him. Since it was a trial record of a commoner, it seemed to contain only the bare essentials.
Carefully turning the fragile pages, Ian read the faint text.
…The mysterious man calling himself Bandorla possessed no magical power.
It’s unclear where he heard it, but he rattled off detailed accounts of the Imperial Magic Department’s inner workings. The department, outraged by this, enacted a secrecy law to protect their own dignity…
Ian’s eyes stopped at the final line.