Chapter 144
‘It makes controlling my allies much easier.’
Having powerful families on his side would be advantageous.
But…
Carter curled one corner of his mouth.
The leaders of each family didn’t necessarily need to be them, did they?
* * *
While the husbands were in a war of nerves, Eugenie didn’t interrupt or cough. She was busy interrogating Elaine.
“Now, I’m going to ask you about something I’m curious about.”
“Go ahead.”
“When you were sealed, a man attacked your family. He looked like this…”
Eugenie lifted a rough sketch she had drawn. It wasn’t perfect, but Elaine could identify the subject.
“Ah…hmm. I don’t know his name, but I knew of someone who kills wizards.”
“Kills wizards…”
Likely for the mana stones.
“Do you know the process by which mana stones form?”
“Ah, that? When we die, it transforms into that.”
“…!”
“Sometimes into mana stone, sometimes back into nature.”
Elaine watched Eugenie, somewhat surprised, and tilted her head.
“You didn’t know? That knowledge wasn’t passed down?”
“No. In this era, there’s no knowledge of magic, except for mana stones.”
“Ah…”
“But when my mother died, her body remained intact, you know?”
Elaine clicked her tongue at that.
“Ah. Her mana must have been completely depleted. That’s why the body remained unharmed.”
“…”
“I heard it was extremely painful, and the mind was unstable too.”
Unstable mind… Eugenie recalled Theodora’s final moments.
‘Mom, I graduated as top of the class…’
She couldn’t hear.
‘I gathered the perfect men for you.’
Theodora had smiled brightly, repeating those words as if broken. Eugenie had dismissed them as a crazy statement, watching her fade with a bitter heart.
Yet Theodora’s state had been caused by surpassing the threshold of pain. Eugenie knew well how much it hurt every time she expended mana.
‘…Guilt comes later.’
Trying not to contort her facial muscles, Eugenie continued questioning.
“Back to mana stones—can they be mixed with water?”
“Hmm…?”
“I saw the tree pervert, no, the silver-haired man poured the mana stone he made from your family into water.”
“Disgusting. Of course not.”
Elaine spoke as if the answer were obvious:
“It’s originally human remains… What would happen if it spread?”
“…”
“Over time, decomposition is fine. But drinking it would be disastrous.”
Eugenie nodded slowly.
‘I can see the outline now.’
In an era without records of magic, yet an empire still driven by mana stones. The Schroder family amassed wealth thanks to it. But that was possible only…
‘Because of the murders that tree pervert committed. Perhaps over centuries.’
She shivered—not with fear, but a thrill. She finally saw a clue to bring down Empress Silvea.
‘Hmm… did Percival also get affected by that mana stone water?’
The sudden violent transformation wasn’t just because of his monster bloodline; it must have been that environment. But why did he react even more sensitively than Eugenie, Carter, or Cassius?
‘Anyway, I’ll confirm what we took from the mine.’
Eugenie suddenly thought of another question.
“By the way, in your era, did you know anything about the Fay family?”
“Ah, the lineage of beauties enchanting men. They all had large chests.”
“Oh… hmm.”
“They had immense mana, but so many restrictions that their hands were scarce. You’re from the Fays, right?”
Eugenie casually covered her chest with her notebook. Why would she ask that while looking at someone’s chest?
“Hmm… my mother’s side is Fay.”
“You survived cleverly, then? So you’re okay even after waking me because there were so many men?”
“Yes.”
“…All five men?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
Elaine studied Eugenie’s face intently. The intensity of someone staring without blinking is powerful.
“I see…”
“…”
The room fell silent, Elaine watched Eugenie without pause. Finally, Eugenie couldn’t resist and grabbed her shoulders.
“Look, I can notice that gaze of yours, but I can’t read your thoughts, okay?”
“…”
“Why not just tell me what you’re thinking?”
“Nothing much.”
Elaine twisted her hair around her finger and murmured:
“Among those five, I noticed who was lying to you.”
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