IQBSA 18

Chapter 18

The next morning.

I began making full preparations to go to the Imperial Palace.

Since I was going to the Imperial Court as a member of the Magic Tower, wearing formal attire that fit the dignity of the position was essential.

I put on a navy dress and draped a robe over it, embroidered with a silver thread pattern depicting a moon.

Standing in front of the mirror as I adjusted my clothes, a familiar appearance greeted me.

‘I thought I’d never wear this again…’

Well, what could I do? Life rarely goes the way you plan.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I took out an artifact earring from the drawer and put it on.

It was an artifact earring with the same function as the one Carel had shaken me down for as a bribe—a device that alerted the wearer to malice.

‘I need to prepare thoroughly.’

After all, wasn’t I heading straight into the terrifying Dowager Empress’s home ground?

Although I had succeeded in pulling Roakin into my plan, I still needed back-up measures just in case. After making sure the earring was securely attached, I opened the door with a grim determination.

“Gasp! You scared me…”

Roakin was standing right outside the door.

Like me, he was dressed in full formal attire. Unlike his usual subtly disheveled appearance, the crisp collar and fitted silhouette made it clear he had paid attention to his look today.

“You changed your clothes?”

Roakin quietly examined my appearance as I patted my startled heart, then spoke.

“Of course I did, since we’re going to the Imperial Palace.”

“Right. A very commendable attitude.”

A gentle smile hung on the corners of Roakin’s lips.

‘…Don’t smile like that.’

Feeling a sense of crisis at his dazzlingly beautiful smile, I spun around quickly. Roakin followed closely behind as I stepped into the hallway and asked:

“Serpine, where are you going?”

“Downstairs, of course. Aren’t we taking a carriage?”

“No. We’re going by teleportation.”

At that, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face Roakin.

“Teleportation?”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Seeing me freeze in place, Roakin tilted his head to the side.

“Why? Worried you’ll faint again?”

“…A little bit?”

During my last teleportation, I experienced fainting for the first time in my life, and it was so dizzying that I really didn’t want to experience it again.

Of course, I knew that the side effects significantly decreased with repeated teleportations, but that was strictly theory, so it was true that a lingering anxiety remained.

“I didn’t know it was your first time back then. If you’d told me beforehand, I wouldn’t have let you faint.”

Roakin, who had closed the distance between us with long strides, reached out his hand toward me.

“I’ll take good care of you, so don’t worry.”

‘Since he says it with such confidence, it should be fine.’

By the looks of it, he seemed to be intending to cast a spell to protect my body from the shock of spatial distortion.

My tension easing, I was about to reach out obediently when I suddenly paused and looked around.

“By the way, we’re supposed to be a delegation—is it really just the two of us, you and me, Tower Master?”

“Yeah. Increasing the head count only makes things tedious.”

“Even so…”

“We’re going to be late at this rate. Hurry.”

Then again, since when did the Magic Tower care about keeping up appearances anyway? It had been an age since a proper delegation was last dispatched.

Since there wasn’t really anything to take issue with, I didn’t argue further and placed my hand on top of Roakin’s.

“Hold on tight.”

The moment I felt a gentle firm grip on our joined hands, my field of vision instantly flipped upside down.

In front of the portal leading to the imperial capital, Gradered.

It was bustling with a crowd gathered from all over the country for the Foundation Festival, leaving barely any room to step.

“We have to walk from here.”

Inside the fortress walls surrounding the Imperial Castle, Granered, teleportation was prohibited for security reasons.

According to my prior research, it would take only about 30 minutes to walk to the Imperial Palace from here, so it wasn’t a big problem.

However, since there was no telling who might be mixed in the crowd, I pulled the hood of my robe over my head just in case and said:

“Alright, let’s get going.”

Roakin glanced at me tightly pulling my hood as if I were being peculiar, then began walking.

Following Roakin through the city gates, an ancient city boasting a thousand years of history immediately filled my sight.

Buildings neatly maintained despite enduring long years were visible, along with broad, well-paved roads for carriages to pass through.

Red lanterns commemorating the Foundation Festival were hung all over the streets, and lively passersby chatting and laughing filled the area.

The lanterns were red because the sun was the symbol of the Arkina Empire, and perhaps due to the streets dyed entirely in red, a warm atmosphere hovered over the whole city.

For me, who had never stepped outside the land of mages before, the Imperial Castle Granered was a fresh shock.

Just as my eyes widened, taking in all the sights—

“Momm—y!”

A child’s clear voice caught my ears.

Holding a small lantern in one hand, the child ran up and threw themselves into a woman’s arms.

“If you run like that, you’ll hurt yourself, sweetheart.”

The woman stood the child up—who had almost tumbled into her—and gave them an affectionate look.

Watching the child laugh brightly in their guardian’s arms without a single worry, I felt a corner of my heart grow empty.

‘Once the original story ends, should I try looking for my family too?’

Telling Roakin that I was looking for my family had just been an excuse. I hadn’t actually intended to do so, but seeing the Foundation Festival, a holiday where entire families gathered to spend time together, made me feel sentimental.

It was because I didn’t want to repeat my gloomy past of being stuck alone in my room researching potions.

‘But even if I find my family, if we’re worse off than strangers…’

It would be worse than not looking at all. What kind of expectations could I even have for people who left me at an orphanage and vanished?

Just as I was steadying my mind that it was better not to do anything useless, Roakin, who was walking side by side with me, broke the silence and spoke.

“What’s the plan from here on out?”

“…?”

“How do you intend to catch the culprit? You couldn’t have come all the way here without making any plans.”

“Ah, that plan…”

“I need to know what you’re trying to do so I can act as your bodyguard or whatever, right?”

“I suppose so.”

We had made a deal and were in the same boat, so there was no need to be excessively guarded.

Since finding Ramona was the urgent priority, I decided to leak information little by little to the extent that Roakin could understand.

“First, I need to find a person.”

“…?”

“I don’t know if you’re already familiar with them, Tower Master.”

When I hesitated for a moment, his deep purple eyes turned toward me. After checking that there were no listening ears around, I opened my mouth again.

“Ramona Silodien.”

I stole a glance at Roakin’s expression out of the corner of my eye.

Roakin, with a face that showed not a single ripple of agitation, recited as if talking to himself:

“…Ramona Silodien? That’s a name I’ve heard a lot somewhere.”

‘You’re supposed to be madly in love with her, and you say it’s a name you’ve heard a lot somewhere?’

My mouth fell wide open at the absurd reaction shown by the second male lead.

“She’s the daughter of the Silodien Ducal House, who was ousted in the treason incident—you really don’t know her?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Roakin let out a short exclamation and nod his head as if he understood.

“I remember now. The one who fled alone while her entire family was executed.”

Roakin spoke in an emotionless tone, as if recalling an unrelated third party.

In the original novel, the moment Roakin saw Ramona, he not only instantly recognized her identity, but even fell in love at first sight.

Yet right now, he seemed to barely remember her name from something he’d heard in passing; if Roakin had met Ramona, there was no way he would show this kind of attitude.

‘I suspected it, but as expected.’

Having it confirmed that the progression of the original story had gone completely off the rails, I felt a dismal heaviness in my heart.

However, I had no regrets about bringing up Ramona.

Although I hadn’t gained much yet, as the second male lead, Roakin had a much higher chance of getting entangled with Ramona than I did, so I might be able to get his help.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m planning to meet that Ramona Silodien.”

“Is that person the culprit?”

“No.”

When I even waved my hands to deny it, Roakin asked again:

“Then what does meeting that person have to do with catching the culprit?”

“The culprit is someone else. Ramona Silodien is presumed to be holding crucial evidence needed to catch them.”

“…It’s all nothing but riddles.”

Roakin raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction.

“Right now, even if I explain it all, it’ll be hard for you to understand. Even I haven’t fully grasped the whole situation yet. I think we need to go to the Imperial Palace first and meet Ramona to unravel the clues, so I’ll tell you more details gradually.”

“By the way.”

Suddenly, Roakin stopped in his tracks, turned his head toward me, and sent a suspicious glance my way.

“Is Ramona Silodien inside the Imperial Palace? That shouldn’t be a place where a traitor can gain a foothold.”

“Uh… that’s, well…”

It was a sharp point. Indeed, unless a traitor was out of their mind, would they be hiding inside the Imperial Palace?

Without knowing the contents of the original novel and thinking within the bounds of common sense, a plan to meet Ramona inside the Imperial Palace made no sense.

“I don’t know where Ramona Silodien is right now either. But she will appear at the Imperial Palace before the Foundation Festival.”

“What’s the basis for you being so certain?”

‘…Please stop the barrage of questions.’

Every single question he poured out was difficult to answer, putting me in a bind.

As I was desperately rolling my brain around to figure out how much to tell and how much to hide, someone called out to me from afar.

“You there! Why are you lurking around so suspiciously?”

Turning my head, a heavily armored, burly guard was gesturing for us to come closer.

Busy talking as we walked, we seemed to have arrived in front of the Imperial Palace before we knew it.

Behind the strict defense line, a massive building with a red dome harmonized with golden decorations stood tall in grand majesty.

“Hey, there! Can’t you hear me?”

Having been distracted for a moment taking in the view of the Imperial Palace, the guard shouted once more, seemingly thinking he was being ignored. Since I was in a awkward situation anyway, I quickly dashed toward the city gate as the guard called.

“Serpine, at least answer—”

“I just happened to find out by chance. They’re calling us over there, so what are you doing not coming quickly?”

“Ha.”

As I ran ahead and gestured for him to follow, Roakin, who watched absurdly, soon took a step as if yielding to the situation.

“Oh dear, you’re from the Magic Tower.”

The guard looked back and forth between me as I reached the gate and the attire of the Tower Master following behind, then scratched his neck awkwardly as he continued.