A Sudden Turn
The head of the Glaberson family—Daren, father to Amira and Lillian—had arrived. And incredibly, the very man I’d come here to see, his younger brother Lowell, was with him.
Lady Alyssa and I hurried out of the room, only to find the two gentlemen strolling toward us, chatting amiably.
“Lord Daren…”
“Oh, Lady Alyssa, how good to see you.”
Lord Daren approached with his usual good-natured smile.
… What was that?
As we passed by, I sensed something—off.
A strange presence. I’d felt this before, somewhere. I tried to recall it, but before I could focus, Lowell joined the conversation.
“We’ve brought splendid news for you today, Lady Alyssa.”
“Splendid… news?”
Her voice changed slightly—just a tinge sharper.
There was no way this “splendid news” would be good for us.
“What kind of news?”
“Well, it’s about the Goethel Mines we’ve been discussing. My brother Daren has finally come around to see that our Glaberson family should be the one managing it.”
“What!?”
No way.
What the hell was he saying?
Wasn’t Lord Daren firmly opposed to that idea?
“W-What do you mean by that, Lord Daren?”
“My lady… The volume of mana ore beneath the Goethel Mines is incalculable. It has the potential to grow into a major industry.”
“… What exactly are you trying to say?”
“Frankly, I fear it may be beyond the capabilities of the frontier-ruling Tryon family to manage.”
“Are you serious? There’s no way my father would ever approve such a notion!”
“Which is why we’ve come today to discuss the matter directly with Lord Donold.”
This is bad.
The conversation is galloping ahead, and Lady Alyssa is doing her best to rein it in—but it’s not working.
If it comes to it, I’ll step in, even if I have to physically stop them—
That’s when I felt it again: the same ominous presence from earlier.
It grew stronger the closer I got to Lord Daren.
Don’t tell me—
“!”
My eyes locked onto the pendant around Lord Daren’s neck.
The purple gemstone embedded in it shimmered eerily.
I remembered something a colleague in the Magic Corps had once told me.
If I was right, that jewel had been tampered with.
… So that’s it.
I see it all clearly now.
Stepping back slightly from Lord Daren, I reached for my holy sword.
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