Chapter 61

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“So you want your brother to join your plan, too.”

Feeling uneasy about the final stage of the plan, I asked Tristan to bring in Lucas.

It’s not that I didn’t trust Tristan’s magic skills, but we needed a backup in case things went wrong. Lucas belonged to the knights’ order, so he would be a great help in an emergency.

Tristan, who had been reluctant about Lucas joining us all along, grumbled.

“We’re specially including you in our plan. Be grateful.”

“Liat. Is everything this guy is saying true?”

Lucas, pressing his fingers against his forehead with a pained expression, looked at me with eyes demanding an explanation.

I understood Lucas’s confusion after being dragged away from his training.

It was natural since we were talking about driving away a perfectly fine teacher out of the blue. I think I would have used a different method too if it weren’t for that book.

I nodded, hoping Lucas would believe me as much as possible.

“It’s true.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to commit arson to drive away an officially invited teacher without any evidence?”

“Yes! Lucas, you’re so quick to understand.”

“And the mastermind behind this outrageous plan is you, not Tristan?”

“Yes. I suggested it.”

After I confidently affirmed with my hand on my waist, Lucas’s mouth opened and closed silently. He sighed and then struck Tristan, who was standing defenseless, on the crown of his head.

Thwack!

Tristan collapsed to the ground from the sudden attack.

Lucas lost his composure and got angry at Tristan. Tristan’s eyes, belatedly responding to the attack, also grew fierce.

“Do you have nothing better to do than make Liat tell lies?”

“Ugh! What are you doing to my head, you wretched brother!”

“If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable! My comrade wouldn’t plan something so pathetic!”

“Um, he’s actually telling the truth.”

I spoke up timidly, but Lucas didn’t listen at all. He firmly believed that I was a victim who had been dragged into Tristan’s schemes.

“To think you’d exploit kind Liat’s heart and make her lie too!”

No, I was the one who asked.

I knew this part would be the hardest to convince him of. I brought Lucas here, thinking we could somehow work it out through calm conversation.

But neither Lucas nor Tristan seemed interested in talking calmly.

“I was worried about having you around! Don’t drag my sister into your schemes!”

“What are you saying? If you don’t want to help, just disappear!”

“You’re the one who should disappear!”

“No, you should disappear!”

The shouting from both sides made me feel like my eardrums would burst. Covering my ears with my palms, I pondered how to stop this fight.

‘At this rate, we’ll be discovered.’

Even though we were talking in an empty room with few people around, this could leak outside.

“Tristan, stop and admit your mistake now!”

“This is so frustrating. This is why you don’t have many friends, brother!”

“Better than you!”

As they argued, Lucas’s hand slipped to his scabbard, seemingly genuinely angered. Not wanting the commotion to grow, I grabbed Lucas’s hand away from the scabbard.

Even after forcibly removing his hand from the scabbard, Lucas’s menacing aura remained unchanged. If things continued like this, I had no choice.

I knew the magic word that would stop Lucas at times like this.

“Stop it. Brother.”

Although I didn’t say it loudly, Lucas’s gaze, which had been fixed on Tristan, shot to me like lightning.

For Lucas, who insisted on becoming family with me, there was no more effective form of address than this.

“Liat, did you just…?”

“I called you Brother.”

Lucas’s sharp demeanor crumbled, and his expression softened. With eyes filled with emotion, Lucas took my hand and rubbed it against his forehead.

Lucas, who had lowered his eyes docilely, grinned happily.

“Lucas, will you stop now?”

“Yes. If it’s a request from you, my family.”

I somehow managed to calm him down.

As I was about to signal to Tristan that everything was okay, I hesitated. Tristan’s expression had turned as cold as midwinter.

‘Why is he like that now?’

Well, it made sense that he’d be angry after being misunderstood by Lucas. I detached myself from the clingy Lucas and went to Tristan to sort things out.

“Tristan, I’ll explain everything well to Lucas.”

“That’s not it… Well, never mind.”

How tasteless.

I explained in detail the suspicious parts about Heishar, omitting the story about the library book.

Lucas seemed to believe me after I strongly asserted my point.

“…That’s how it happened.”

“I see. I get it roughly. You’re saying this Heishar fellow is bothersome?”

“Mm. You could say that.”

Heishar’s title was downgraded from ‘teacher’ to ‘fellow.’ Lucas stroked his chin solemnly.

“Then tell me what I should do. Shall I remove him from your sight forever?”

“Remove?”

“As long as it doesn’t break the law, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Lucas, I think you’re missing the point here.”

I had no intention of harming him if we could just drive him away. Tristan glared at the overeager Lucas with a look of disdain.

“Just ignore him. I’m the key to this plan anyway.”

Once his participation was decided, Tristan began formulating a detailed plan with Lucas.

Tristan’s explanation of the plan was flawless, proving his claim of being familiar with this kind of thing. It was such a plausible method that both Lucas and I found ourselves nodding unconsciously.

“Make sure people evacuate at this time to avoid any harm.”

“Got it. Anything else?”

“We need to get that etiquette teacher to the designated location.”

“I’ll come up with a suitable excuse.”

The two worked together seamlessly as if they had never fought. I watched them with a pleased smile.

***

Even with Tristan controlling it, a fire inside the mansion was dangerous.

After discussing ways to prevent damage, we decided to use the northern warehouse of the mansion. It was a place where unused furniture was stored.

“Even though it’s a warehouse, it’s a well-equipped place, so it’s not dangerous.”

Lucas unfolded a map showing the location of the warehouse and explained.

“I heard that guy’s room doesn’t have enough furniture.”

“So you’re planning to call him on the pretext of personally selecting furniture from the warehouse.”

“Yes. We can deliver it as if it’s an order from Father.”

“Is that okay?”

It was surprising that Lucas, who values principles, would voluntarily forge the Grand Duke’s orders. Lucas smiled at my concern.

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Just leave him be. He’s doing it because he wants to.”

Lucas raised an eyebrow at Tristan. Shaking his head, he stroked my hair with affectionate eyes.

“Don’t worry. What I do for you is my chivalry.”

Despite Tristan pretending to retch beside us, Lucas’s smile didn’t fade.

I felt sorry for involving Lucas, but thanks to him, the plan became clearer.

‘And safety is guaranteed too.’

What Tristan had been researching recently was a device to start fires. Tristan took out a mouse-shaped magical tool from subspace and said.

“This magical tool will start a fire at the set time. It won’t leave any traces of magical power.”

The magical tool, which resembled an actual mouse, could also move on its own. If we placed this magical tool in the warehouse in advance, all preparations would be complete.

We could also see the inside of the warehouse through the magical tool.

“We’ll control the fire while watching that teacher move from a distance.”

“What if the magical tool doesn’t function properly?”

“That won’t happen, brother. I made this.”

Tristan said he would control the fire through the magical tool to scare the man while watching him.

Just enough to make him realize the fire was intentional. Anyone would feel fear knowing someone was targeting them.

The plan would be successful if Heishar decided to quit being an etiquette teacher afterward.

‘It’s a perfect plan.’

If everything went according to plan, there would be no traces left.

But why did I feel uneasy?

Perhaps my faint anxiety leaked out, as Tristan reassured me in a confident voice.

“Little one. Do you still not trust me? I said don’t worry.”

“Yes. I trust you.”

I could only hope this worry was groundless. I brought up something that had been bothering me.

“Tristan, what do you think of Teacher Heishar’s magical power level?”

“Isn’t it just average? He could probably use simple magic if he tried.”

When he served me tea before, Heishar skillfully used magic to heat the teapot.

‘He seemed familiar with it.’

It was far too little to use major magic like extinguishing fires or changing flames. So there was no need to consider his magical skills when planning.

Lucas, who had put away the map of the warehouse, called me.

“Liat. Do you agree to proceed with this method?”

“Yes. It’s good.”

“This guy Tristan doesn’t claim to do things he can’t do, so you can trust him in this area.”

Tristan boasted that he alone was sufficient. As I mulled over my slight uneasiness, I came up with a fairly good idea.

‘Should I go there myself on the day?’

Someone needed to be at the scene to prevent any possible accidents. I opened my mouth to suggest it.

“Lucas, Tristan. Should I be at the warehouse that day?”

“What are you saying?! Little one, you just wait quietly.”

“Yes. Do as Tristan says.”

Seeing the two seriously dissuading me only strengthened my resolve. It didn’t feel right to stand by and watch when I had asked for this.

‘I can just stay far away.’

Even though Tristan claimed he could control the fire well, Heishar might still get hurt. I casually probed the two about their positions.

“So on the day of execution, Lucas will be near the warehouse?”

“Yes. I need to respond if there’s a problem with Tristan’s magic.”

“And Tristan?”

“I’ll be up in a tree where I can see the warehouse well.”

The two, who had become overprotective, told me not to get involved. Instead of telling them my plan, I held out my palm.

“Let’s do this well then.”

Lucas and Tristan placed their palms on top of mine in turn.

“Just to be clear, this alliance is temporary.”

“If it weren’t for the little one, I wouldn’t reach out to you, brother.”

“Don’t fight.”

This was also the first attempt at the two working together. Apart from the Heishar matter, I also hoped they would become closer.

And so, the day before executing the plan to drive away the etiquette teacher arrived.