Chapter 847
Officials who had received the urgent news of Minister Raiven’s sudden death gathered at a remote estate. They had been instructed to meet as far away from the palace as possible.
They had heard that they would see the emperor, but was something wrong? The officials waited anxiously for Raiven’s arrival, their faces clouded with worry.
Creak.
“Minister Raiven.”
“Everyone’s here.”
“What’s going on?”
“Shh.”
Raiven raised a finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet for a moment. The officials fell silent, puzzled. Then Raiven began to pat down his own body, checking for anything unusual. At first, they were confused, but soon they realized what he was doing.
‘Eavesdropping devices?’
Realizing this, the officials began to lightly search themselves as well. After a long moment, Raiven sighed in relief and sank onto a sofa.
“Our words were leaked.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“I don’t know what the Ministry of Magic has done, but they were listening in on our conversations. They know we’re trying to use Ian Hielo to secure a pardon.”
The officials gasped in shock.
In truth, during Minister Wesley’s time, this kind of thing happened often enough. So within the palace, even word choice was cautious, and most meetings took place outside the palace grounds.
But for the past ten years, the Ministry of Magic had been without a minister, and most of the mages were away fighting the war. They had let their guard down. Yet these people could listen in on conversations anytime, anywhere.
“This is… how—”
“This is serious. We were careless.”
“Minister Raiven, what did His Majesty say?”
Raiven took a sip of cold water before continuing.
“Fortunately, he didn’t make a big deal of it. It was more of a warning to be careful. But there is one silver lining.”
“A silver lining?”
“It’s clear now. Ian Hielo’s rebellion had another motive. And it seems His Majesty and the Ministry of Magic are aware of it and are turning a blind eye. Otherwise, their reaction wouldn’t have been so measured.”
A glimmer of hope found amid despair. But the officials’ expressions brightened only briefly.
‘So what? Doesn’t this mean the emperor’s side has already caught on to our intentions?’
There seemed to be no other way. Even if they raised doubts about Ian Hielo, both the emperor and the Ministry of Magic would block it.
“There is only one more option left.”
“What is it?”
“The same method Ian Hielo used.”
“…Meilidaily?”
“Yes. Though it doesn’t have to be that exact place. In fact, Meilidaily is closely tied to the royal family and Ian Hielo’s faction, so it’s not the best choice.”
They would use public opinion.
Just as Ian Hielo attacked the palace through Meilidaily, they would raise questions about the palace to force a response.
Direct action was too risky and ineffective, but if they could rally the empire’s people behind them, everything would change.
“The royal family will have no choice but to respond actively.”
“Um, but what if Ian Hielo is actually executed? Then it would be final, irreversible.”
“That’s true. Maybe it’s better to just stall. If the investigation drags on, another opportunity will come.”
Though that made sense, Raiven shook his head. He was certain. He had seen the emperor and Akorella’s reactions with his own eyes. Judging by that, they would never let Ian Hielo be executed.
“Trust me. I’m absolutely certain—so much so that I’d stake my life on it. No, I’d stake my entire family.”
Raiven’s voice grew intense, veins bulging in his neck. The hesitant officials nodded. Yes, either way, the next ones on the execution block would be them. It was worth trying everything.
“We should start by investigating the possibility of a magical body swap. To fool the public, they’d need a corpse similar enough to Ian Hielo’s, right?”
“The head of Saint Central Hospital is my cousin. They cooperate with all central hospitals. I’ll check if the palace or Ministry of Magic requested any bodies.”
“I’ll handle the prison side.”
“Of course. No one better than the Minister of Justice. I’ll also suggest installing magical interference devices at the execution site, just in case Ian Hielo tries anything.”
“Let’s pressure the Ministry of Magic this way and watch their reaction closely. If they’re trying to deceive us, it’ll show. Mages are surprisingly naive.”
“I’ll reach out to the media. Our family sponsors a small newspaper regularly. It’s minor, but literacy in the empire is limited anyway.”
“I’ll persuade the detained central nobles. Their lives are at stake, so they’ll be anxious. It’s important to unite the nobles firmly.”
The officials nodded repeatedly, laying out their plan. They worked late into the night, until dawn.
Raiven was so exhausted he didn’t even notice how long his shadow stretched across the floor.
“The body?”
“Prepared. It will arrive at the palace soon.”
At Ian’s question, Akorella shrugged. Ian sipped his tea silently, lost in thought.
Akorella knew exactly what that meant. To reassure him, she spoke openly.
“Don’t worry. If things get serious, we’ll just cut it off quickly and quell any suspicion.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Isn’t that why you’re asking now?”
“Maybe. It’s more like… regret.”
Ian hesitated, trailing off.
But then he changed the subject and made a request.
“Akorella, I trust you know what I’m asking of you.”
“Yes, of course. To serve His Majesty well and advance the Ministry of Magic. And—”
She nodded toward the faintly visible construction site of the annex outside the window.
“The annex, yes.”
“When Naum used forbidden magic, the deity clearly told him to go to the Ministry’s annex. But when I came here, I couldn’t even see a single brick. Strange, isn’t it?”
Ian Bratz would never forget his first visit to the Ministry of Magic in this body. Where the annex should have been, there were only trees. And it was there he first met Gale.
“Hmm.”
Akorella rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“Ian, when you first heard that, wasn’t it when you were Ian Verosion?”
“…I think so.”
At that time, Ian had been imprisoned underground by Cronier.
Suddenly, Akorella snapped her fingers as if she’d realized something.
“Then go to the annex from when you were Ian Verosion. You’ll find the ‘answer’ the deity meant.”
Ian’s eyes widened slightly. He sensed he had misunderstood something.
…What exactly did Naum say when he held my hand in the underground prison?
“Ian, go there. If you do, you’ll find a breakthrough… The answer will come, and going there will open the way.”
That was Naum’s personal interpretation.
So what exactly did the deity say to Naum? Ian frowned.
“Why do you ask?”
“I think I heard it… somewhere in the depths of darkness.”
“What?”
“When Naum used forbidden magic, the deity spoke. My memories are mixed up because my darkness and Naum’s are intertwined.”
Ian tapped his temples repeatedly but couldn’t recall the memory.
Akorella quietly pulled out a potion.
“Would you like a memory-recall potion?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“This one works really well.”
When Akorella pressed again, Ian gave a faint smile.
The effect? He knew better than anyone.
“I’m not doubting it. I just don’t think I need to recall it. It’s not my memory—it’s Naum’s. And Akorella, I think your guess is right.”
Something to be found in the annex from when he was Ian Verosion, not Ian Hielo.
The only problem was whether he’d remember this instruction when he traveled to the future.
“Don’t worry.”
Akorella seemed to read his thoughts and offered gentle reassurance.
“They say the deity’s words are engraved on the soul. You won’t forget.”
“…And you?”
“Well, you might forget. But we’ll forgive you. After all, we once forgot you too.”
She hesitated briefly, then smiled.
“But someday, you’ll have to remember again. That’s all.”
Ian set his teacup on the table and reached out his hand to Akorella. She wiped her hand on her jacket and took his hand firmly, as if it might break.
“Thank you, Akorella. More than you know.”
“…And I thank you.”
“When Rutherford and I went to the Abyss, thank you for trusting me. Hearing that we’d meet again… it was truly comforting.”
Akorella embraced Ian tightly. Their hands gently patted each other’s backs, careful and tender.
“I still want to say it like this: as long as you’re alive, we’ll meet again. So even if you leave the capital, please stay alive. I’ll come see you with the kids.”
“Yeah. The previous guy really left a mess for us to clean up. Thanks for the hard work.”
“Yes, I’ll work my hardest to strengthen the Ministry of Magic. We’ll make it so no one can touch us. Just wait and see—you’ll be amazed.”
Ian burst out laughing. Then, hearing a commotion outside, he turned his head—and sure enough—
Crash! Bang!
The wizards couldn’t wait any longer and came rushing in.
“Ian! Look at that bastard Berrick. Isn’t he a total lunatic?”
“He stepped on all the runes and wiped them all out! Can we officially file a complaint with the Royal Guard for this?”
“I told you I’m sorry! It’s not like it’s hard to just redraw them. Why are you making such a fuss? So petty.”
“What? Redraw? Redraw?! I haven’t slept for three days because of that, you idiot!”
“Stop whining. Ian redrew them in just a few minutes.”
“If you’re going to compare, do it properly, you blockhead!”
As Berrick and the wizards grabbed each other by the collars and hair, Ian sighed and slipped past them, heading toward the backyard. There wasn’t much time before dawn; he’d have to hurry and redraw everything.
“Enough, everyone, over here.”
“See? Ian’s going to fix it.”
“Berrick, you better stay back. You’re just going to cause more trouble.”
“Hey! Did you hear that? He told you to scram!”
“No, how is that telling someone to scram?”
The wizards’ voices faded as they moved away, and Ian’s figure disappeared into the distance. Amid the familiar chaos, Acorella smiled.
Then, suddenly—
“…”
She was surprised to realize how calm and unmoved she felt. Maybe it was because it still hadn’t fully sunk in. With a wistful sigh, she looked back at Romandro.
“Please come with me, Romandro.”
“Huh? Me too? Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes. There’s nothing left but paperwork, and it’s well past office hours.”
When Acorella nodded reassuringly, Romandro hesitated, then slowly backed away. Soon enough, he was running after Ian and Berrick.
“Iaaaan! Berrick!”
“Romandro, watch out! Careful! Down there!”
“Ah!”
Hearing the ruckus from the courtyard, Acorella smiled again as she cleared Ian’s teacup away.
She had a feeling. Now that Ian knew about the palace affairs, his departure from the palace was truly just around the corner.