Chapter 210: The Otome Game 10

After some hesitation, Belasta safely arrived at the laboratory where Petra was said to be. When he knocked on the door to announce his arrival, it was opened from the inside a moment later. Since he hadn’t announced his visit beforehand, Petra’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw him.

“Belasta, what are you doing in a place like this?”

“A delivery. And I have something I want to ask you. Can I come in?”

At Belasta’s words, Petra let out an exaggerated sigh. But she must have thought it was too late to turn him away, for she silently opened the door wider and beckoned him in.

It was Belasta’s first time in this place. Petra’s laboratory looked cluttered with books and magical tools. But considering Petra’s personality, Belasta figured it was probably organized in her own way.

“You said you were getting stuck with all the chores, but you got a proper laboratory.”

“There’s almost nothing of mine in this room, though.”

Petra shrugged and answered simply. Belasta’s eyes widened.

“Really?”

“Really. Repairing worthless magical tools and restoring old books is basically my job.”

It seemed the story about being stuck with all the chores was true. But Petra Muirulainen’s talent was among the best in the Kingdom of Slibegrad. She was well-versed in magic, but she could be called the foremost authority on curse magic in particular.

For that reason, Belasta looked up at the ceiling in utter exasperation.

“Wow, what a waste of talent.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Or the higher-ups are idiots.”

“Hey.”

Petra smacked Belasta on the head for his blunt words. It wasn’t because he had said something rude, but because they were currently in the Ministry of Magic.

“I’ve put up a soundproof barrier, but you never know who might be listening. If you say something careless, your head will fly.”

“Is that physically?”

“What other meaning could there be?”

Petra looked exasperated. Belasta didn’t work for the Ministry of Magic, so he couldn’t be fired. That left only one option. Belasta grimaced and rubbed his neck theatrically. Petra, with a deadpan expression, snatched the bag from his hand.

“From Ben?”

“Yeah, he said it wasn’t urgent, but when I told him I had something to ask you, he gave it to me.”

The documents he took out of the bag were a report on the Investiture Ceremony. Since the number of assassination attempts on the Crown Prince had increased, for this ceremony, not only the royal guards but also sorcerers dispatched from the Ministry of Magic were checking for the presence of magic and curses.

Originally, Ben Draco was not on the dispatch list. But the Ministry of Magic was effectively under the control of Director Bergson. There was no guarantee that Bergson, who was allied with the Grand Duke’s faction, wouldn’t try to assassinate Riley.

For that reason, Riley had arranged for Ben Draco to be able to participate as a general guest. The pretext was to have Belasta and Tania, who were of the same generation as Riley, attend the tea party to create a connection between the renowned Draco family of sorcerers and the royal family. But in reality, he was also tasked with secretly monitoring the dispatched sorcerers. It must have been an incredibly annoying presence for the sorcerers who were fawning over Director Bergson. Imagining this, Petra let out a small smile.

Belasta had been looking at the broken magical tools piled up in the laboratory with great interest, but when Petra placed the report on her desk, he finally tore his attention away from them.

“So?”

Petra sat down in a chair, crossed her arms, and looked at Belasta. As he had said himself, his purpose was not just to deliver the report. Belasta nodded and, at Petra’s invitation, sat down in the other chair. He then lowered his voice as if considering his surroundings.

“You know, that time Tania, you, and I were at the scene of the monster attack.”

Monster attack—at those words, Petra furrowed her brow. She had encountered monster attacks many times and had even suppressed them.

But there had only been one monster attack where Tania and Belasta were with her. It was the largest-scale monster attack in history, which had occurred at the Crown Prince’s birthday celebration five years ago. Since it had happened near the royal capital, it was still fresh in people’s memories even after five years.

Petra had tried to purify the monster attack using the magic circle she had created with Ben and Liliana, but it had been impossible to fight the monsters while protecting Tania and Belasta and repeatedly teleporting to place the magic circle in the designated locations. There was no doubt that one wrong move would have cost not only her own life, but also those of Tania and Belasta.

Seeing Petra nod, Belasta leaned forward slightly.

“I was wondering if you knew who the sorcerer who saved us at that time was.”

“Why now?”

Petra didn’t answer Belasta’s question immediately. She looked at him with a suspicious gaze.

At that time, Petra had lost consciousness and collapsed. She had used up almost all of her mana, and her body, which had been damaged by the miasma, had taken a long time to recover. Thanks to the person who had come to her aid, she had recovered without any after-effects, but at the time, neither Belasta nor Tania had asked Petra about the identity of the sorcerer who had saved them. At most, they had gushed about how “cool” and “amazing” he was and had tried to imitate the magic he had used.

Of course, Petra knew who had saved them. It was none other than Liliana Alexandra Clark. But she had been hiding her face with a robe, and Petra knew that she didn't want it to be known that she could use such a powerful spell. So she had resolved to keep the identity of the mysterious sorcerer a secret from everyone. Ben had probably guessed that Liliana had saved them, but he too was keeping it to himself.

Belasta didn’t seem to find anything strange in Petra’s words and said, “Actually,” with a serious expression. At the forcefulness with which he seemed to be about to reveal a great secret, Petra bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

“I attended the tea party for the Investiture Ceremony today, and I felt a similar mana there. But it didn't feel exactly the same, and it was five years ago and I was little, so I thought I might be misremembering.”

“A similar mana? Whose mana did it resemble?”

A bad feeling came over Petra, and she narrowed her eyes, watching Belasta’s expression closely. Unaware that he was being observed, Belasta leaned forward even further and lowered his voice.

“The daughter of the Duke of Clark.”

“The young lady’s mana, it was similar?”

At the time of the monster attack five years ago, Belasta had only been seven years old. So his memory was not very clear. And at that time, the sorcerer who had saved them had been wearing a robe, and he hadn't thought he would be able to identify them at all.

“Yeah, I think it was pretty similar. But I’m not confident if it was exactly the same. But at that time, you were already acquainted with the Duke of Clark’s daughter, right? So if it was her, I thought you would have noticed at that time.”

So what do you think? Belasta asked, his eyes sparkling as he peered at Petra’s face. Petra’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly, she was holding her head, thinking what a mess this had become.

There was no doubt that the one who had saved them that day was Liliana. But if asked whether she would honestly tell Belasta that, the answer was no. If Belasta knew the identity of that sorcerer, he would undoubtedly charge up to her and demand that she teach him magic. But that was probably not what Liliana wanted.

“Unfortunately, I was delirious at that time. And she was wearing a robe, and I didn't get a good look at her face, so I don't know.”

Petra didn't hesitate for long before deciding to play dumb. At least it was true that she had been delirious and that the person had been wearing a robe and hiding her face. It was just that at that time, Petra had known it was Liliana from the fact that she could teleport to that place, the uniqueness of the magic she used, and the quality of her mana.

Fortunately, Belasta seemed to believe her. He slumped his shoulders in disappointment.

“I see. If that sorcerer was the Duke of Clark’s daughter, I had a lot of things I wanted to ask her…”

“For example?”

Though she had a vague idea of what Belasta had wanted to ask, Petra asked anyway. At that, Belasta’s face lit up as if he had been struck. His face was shining, a complete change from his dejected state.

“That’s obvious! I want to ask her how she froze the monsters in ice at that time. If I improve that spell, it’s theoretically possible to stop time not just for matter, but for a specific space—wait, no, I know. It’s a forbidden spell, right? Don’t worry, I won’t do it.”

Belasta, who had started to speak enthusiastically, hastily retracted his words when he saw Petra’s eyes narrow at the phrase “stop time for a specific space.”

Petra let out an exaggerated sigh.

It seemed Belasta had a habit of making careless remarks. She thought it was because he was still young at twelve, but since she had the example of Liliana close at hand, she tended to compare them. Reminding herself that Liliana was the exception, Petra lectured Belasta at length.

“Belasta. You need to think a little more before you speak. If you don’t, your head will really be separated from your body. And not just you, in the worst case, your family will be involved.”

“I know.”

“I’m telling you because you don’t look like you know. How many times do you think you’ve said something you shouldn’t have since you entered this room just now?”

At Petra’s words, Belasta fell silent, his lips pursed. Petra’s point was a valid one. Belasta also had times when he thought, Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, after he had spoken. But when it came to magic and curses, his interest would get the better of him and he would make careless remarks. At the tea party, he had mentioned Emilia Navy’s mana despite it being their first meeting. He had instinctively rebelled when Ben had rebuked him, but he had thought that he had indeed been in the wrong.

“—I understand. I’m sorry, I’ll be careful.”

“Try thinking once before you open your mouth.”

Not just scolding him, Petra also gave him advice. Belasta, who seemed to find it difficult to accept it meekly, turned away with a pout, but he gave a small nod. Seeing this, Petra decided not to scold him any further. But she made a mental note to inform Ben and Paul without Belasta’s knowledge.

“So, is that all you wanted to talk about?”

Technically, Petra was still at work. She was implicitly telling him to return to Ben Draco’s private residence if he had no other business, but Belasta said, “Just one more thing,” with a slightly awkward look.

“I saw a curse circle on my way here, what was that?”

“A curse circle?”

What is he talking about? Petra wondered, furrowing her brow. Belasta blinked in confusion, but he explained about the various magic circles he had seen while walking through the Ministry of Magic.

“So, I thought that the reason there were only magic circles in the Ministry of Magic was because curse magic was disliked. But I was surprised to see a curse circle on the wall of an outer corridor. It was quite complex, so I think anyone who wasn’t familiar with curse magic would just see it as a decoration.”

Belasta’s specialty was magic, not curse magic. Compared to an incompetent sorcerer, his knowledge of curse magic was extensive, but he probably wasn’t very confident. As if to underscore his lack of confidence, his voice gradually became smaller.

Petra furrowed her brow and asked in a low voice.

“Which wall?”

“Um—”

Perhaps because Petra’s reaction was unexpected, Belasta’s eyes widened and he blinked. While thinking, he specifically described where it was. Petra, who had been listening to Belasta’s explanation seriously, nodded. “I see,” she said, and told him to go home quickly.

“Huh, already?”

“You seem to have forgotten, but I’m at work. And don’t you dare tell anyone what you saw in the Ministry of Magic.”

“Huh, why?”

At her harsh words, Belasta’s eyes widened. But Petra’s expression remained stern as she looked at him.

“It’s not ‘why.’ I’m telling you that if you open your mouth, you, me, and Ben might not get off scot-free.”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not for you to know.”

Belasta tilted his head, but Petra had no intention of telling him. At her blunt rejection, Belasta looked disgruntled, and Petra sighed.

“When you can learn to keep that loose mouth of yours shut, I’ll tell you.”

“I’ll keep it shut.”

“Show me with your actions, not just your words.”

Even Belasta seemed to have realized that no matter how much he persisted, Petra would not tell him. With a look that said, Oh, for goodness’ sake, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, then stood up from his chair.

“All right. I’ll go home quietly.”

“Don’t make any detours.”

Petra also stood up and opened the door for him, and Belasta replied meekly.

“Yeees.”

And with that, he left the laboratory. Petra thought for a moment, then left the room after him. Belasta looked up at her in surprise.

“What’s up?”

“I’ll see you out. Be grateful.”

In other words, Petra was saying she would see him to the gate of the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps feeling as if he were being treated like a child, Belasta’s mouth twisted into a firm line.

“I can go back by myself. It wasn’t that complicated.”

“You were alone when you came because you didn’t announce your visit, but it’s normal to see guests off, isn’t it?”

Petra said with a grin, and pushed Belasta’s back, urging him to walk. Perhaps realizing that Petra would not back down, Belasta began to walk with an air of resignation. The two of them headed straight for the main gate of the Ministry of Magic.

The sorcerers they passed on the way glared at Petra with unpleasant looks, but Petra paid them no mind at all. In fact, it was Belasta whose face was turning pale.

When he had been walking alone, the sorcerers’ gazes had been merely suspicious, with no malice in them. Just as Belasta was starting to think that Petra’s seeing him off had been unnecessary, Petra whispered in a voice that only he could hear.

“Do you understand? This is the Ministry of Magic where Ben and I work. We’re surrounded by enemies. So, your careless remarks will corner Ben.”

Belasta sucked in a breath. He finally understood the true meaning of Petra’s words. With a serious expression, he gave a single nod. Seeing this, Petra smiled and lightly patted his head once.

After seeing off the dejected Belasta, Petra returned to her laboratory alone. On the way, she didn’t forget to pass by the outer corridor with the curse circle that Belasta had seen.

There was indeed a curse circle drawn there. The way it was skillfully disguised to look like a mere decoration felt deliberate.

“—Why in a place like this?”

Petra furrowed her brow suspiciously. That curse circle had not existed five years ago, when she and Ben had stopped coming to the Ministry of Magic. That meant it had been installed within the last five years at least.

Even after they had returned, they hadn't had any reason to go to this courtyard, so neither Ben nor Petra had noticed.

“What on earth, is this spell—?”

At a glance, she couldn't tell what effect the curse circle had. She would have to analyze it, but this place was too close to the Director's and Deputy Director's offices for that. She would be noticed immediately.

“I guess I’ll have to wait until Ben is done with his work.”

Petra muttered to herself.

It was a concern, but right now, there was a more important job than analyzing the curse circle. Petra had nothing to do, but Ben was busy with that job. But when that was over, she should be able to openly analyze the curse circle on the wall.

There was no need to rush, Petra told herself.

—-

Toc

Chapter 211