Chapter 73

“Your contractor imprisoned Enria?”

 

Silri asked Windel with wide, startled eyes.

 

Windel nodded.

 

“That’s what happened.”

 

He said that the moment Enria said she would go to the Magic Tower to rescue Hayden, Caldeon made sure she couldn’t take even a single step outside the ducal estate.

 

Silri’s head dipped in a barely noticeable nod.

 

She could understand, at least a little, why Enria would willingly go to the Tower—even if it meant putting herself in danger—for Hayden.

 

Even she couldn’t just sit still like this, so how could a mother possibly do nothing?

 

While following that train of thought, Silri tilted her head and asked Windel, “But why can’t I see Enria?”

 

Graum gave a small, flustered cough at her question.

 

Windel glanced at him, then said to Silri,

 

“All spirits who’ve granted power to Enria were given an entry ban.”

 

“…What?”

 

“You might help her slip out of the estate, so we were ordered to block you in advance.”

 

“Ha. Ridiculous.”

 

A bitter laugh escaped Silri.

 

Arms crossed, she looked at Windel with obvious displeasure.

 

“Not only Rahar’s contractors gave her power.”

 

The nuance was clear: ‘You two also granted her power, didn’t you?’

 

Windel shrugged lightly and answered plainly,

 

“We’re spirits contracted to Caldeon. Our priority isn’t Enria but him.”

 

“My priority is Rahar, too.”

 

“But Enria and Hayden are special humans to you.”

 

Graum countered.

 

Silri scowled.

 

“That’s a twisted argument. Shouldn’t that make you trust me even more?”

 

She added that because Enria and Hayden were special to her, she would never help Enria throw herself into danger.

 

Windel shrugged again.

 

“It’s not you we don’t trust. It’s that we know Enria’s personality too well.”

 

“More like you understand a mother’s instincts.”

 

Graum murmured.

 

Silri raked her hair back in irritation and glared at him.

 

“Whatever the reason, keeping me from Enria is a bad idea.”

 

She said Enria would absolutely go to rescue Hayden with or without Silri’s help.

 

So it’d be far safer to have her—Enria’s most capable ally—right beside her.

 

Windel and Graum exchanged glances, then shook their heads.

 

“Sorry, but it’s an order from Caldeon.”

 

He added that he already felt ashamed before Caldeon for having lost Hayden right before his eyes, so he couldn’t afford another failure.

 

Hearing that letting her meet Enria would count as a failure made Silri’s brow furrow deeply.

 

She knew she wouldn’t get past them for now.

 

She turned sharply and warned them, “You’ll regret not letting me in.”

 

 

***

 

 

Silri was right.

 

It didn’t take long for Windel and Graum to regret not letting her into Enria’s room.

 

Enria, deciding she couldn’t stay trapped any longer, contacted Roseanne through the message conduit and managed to sneak out of the estate without their notice.

 

After hearing everything, Roseanne insisted on accompanying her to the Tower, since Enria said she had to go to protect Hayden.

 

She had Tearen use illusion magic to trick Windel and Graum’s senses so she could slip into Enria’s chamber and escape with her.

 

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to do.”

 

Tearen muttered as he watched Enria, her gray hood pulled low, preparing to enter the Tower.

 

“I’ll go with her, so don’t worry.”

 

“Having you go makes me worry more. If something happens to both of you…”

 

“You’re worried about me?”

 

Roseanne’s eyes sparkled.

 

Tearen said of course he was, and begged her to be careful.

 

“Don’t worry. Enri has summoning magic and holy power, and I can handle most mages in the Tower.”

 

“But the Tower twists its internal space depending on the flow of time. Don’t get separated.”

 

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

 

“…Feels like I should go with you after all.”

 

Tearen rubbed his jaw, uneasy.

 

Roseanne shook her head firmly.

 

“If word gets out that an illusionist infiltrated the Tower, the Gradei family will be torn apart by nobles hungry to find fault.”

 

“…”

 

“They’ll blow it out of proportion and drag your family down.”

 

Since the Gradeis held the empire’s only illusionist and were close to the imperial family, many nobles already resented them.

 

If Tearen used illusion magic to illegally breach the Tower, they would seize the chance to ruin him.

 

Hearing Roseanne’s reasoning, Enria told Tearen, “Helping us this far is more than enough. Any more would be too much.”

 

“Oh? Too much? What a pity.”

 

He smiled faintly, knowing she meant it for his sake.

 

Enria smiled back, then looked at Roseanne.

 

“Shall we go?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Roseanne nodded, told Tearen to return safely, and pulled her hood down like Enria.

 

The two gave Tearen a final glance and headed toward the entrance.

 

Tearen cloaked them in illusion until they reached the Tower doors.

 

But—

 

“…?”

 

The moment Enria stepped inside, the door vanished.

 

Roseanne, who had been right behind her, froze and looked around rapidly.

 

Tearen’s eyes widened as the entrance simply disappeared.

 

“Damn.”

 

He rushed to the panicking Roseanne, who was waving at the empty air.

 

“Tearen! The door—!”

 

“I know. Did the Saintess get inside?”

 

“Yes. It disappeared the moment she entered.”

 

Tears welled in Roseanne’s eyes.

 

She had thought she could protect Enria by staying right beside her, but the Tower had separated them instantly.

 

Tearen, as if reading her thoughts, said, “It seems there’s a mage who can see through illusion.”

 

He then felt around where the door had been, but there was nothing but empty space.

 

He let out a short sigh.

 

“We need to find the entrance again. I just hope nothing happens to Enri.”

 

Roseanne murmured anxiously.

 

Tearen squeezed her shoulder.

 

“If we find the entrance and get inside, we can leave marks before the space twists.”

 

Roseanne nodded.

 

The two searched the area for a long time.

 

 

***

 

 

“Huh…?”

 

Enria blinked when the entrance vanished behind her.

 

Roseanne hadn’t come through.

 

She was startled, but she quickly focused—she had to find Hayden first and figure out how to escape together.

 

As she turned, Groen appeared before her.

 

This time, it wasn’t an illusion.

 

Instinctively, Enria formed a holy barrier around herself.

 

“I’m here just like you asked. Give me back my son.”

 

“Since the Saintess came on her own, the child will be sent to the ducal estate soon.”

 

“I’ll believe it when I see him. Show him to me.”

 

“That would be troublesome.”

 

His refusal drained the color from Enria’s face.

 

“The Saintess has to die here.”

 

“…!”

 

Groen summoned fire between his hands.

 

Enria stepped back, bit her thumb hard enough to draw blood, and drew a summoning circle in the air.

 

Light burst—and a massive turtle-like beast appeared, blue all over except for the tiny white wings sprouting from its shell.

 

Its tail flicked, ending in another small beast—a snake with a white, bird-tongued mouth.

 

Groen hesitated, startled.

 

Enria shouted as she ordered the beast to attack him, “Where is my son!”