Orland Dwayne returned to his mansion. He casually responded to the servants who greeted him with a bow and went to his bedroom. He took off his robe and carelessly threw it on the bed. Then, he walked to the cupboard in the corner of his room. Expensive drinks filled the cupboard from top to bottom. After he took out one and poured himself a glass, he plopped onto his bed.
Pumpkin seed-colored alcohol filled his glass until it looked like it would flow out with the slightest shake. Orland skillfully placed the glass in front of his mouth and gulped the whole drink down without spilling it.
“Hah!” A burning sensation traveled up his throat and woke him up from his drowsiness. He let out a small breath and chased away the remaining alcohol in his mouth. Then, he refilled his glass and didn’t let it overfill his cup like last time.
Thud. He placed the wine bottle on the table. Then, he moved to the window.
Clack!
When he opened the big window, a small terrace attached to the room came into view. Orland leaned on the terrace railing. He saw the city locked inside the darkness; fire sparks burned here and there, but they were not enough to drive away the city’s darkness. The cold air outside cooled his body that had burned up from his drink. He had another sip of his drink.
“Damn it!” Orland suddenly spat out a curse. What happened today passed through his mind again. He remembered the powerful attacks that Walwiss had launched against the trespasser who secretly tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. It was a sight that could easily shred the confidence Orland had built up for progressing to the point he could be present at the top meetings in the magical tower. Of course, even though they lost the trespasser, Orland couldn’t downplay Walwiss’ abilities.
Orland was also sure of this. ‘No matter what method I use, I can’t surpass my father.’
An enormous wall separated him and his father. He thought that he was over this wall and could see his father now, but it was all a delusion. That wall was much higher than he expected. Orland was reminded of his memories—especially the eyes that used to look at him coldly with disinterest. Those looks always made him hunch his shoulders in shame. He thought he overcame them, but they appeared in his mind again.
‘Damn it!’ He gulped down more alcohol and emptied his glass.
‘Could the plan possibly succeed?’ Orland began doubting himself. Fears that the gigantic sparks he had created could come back to him ran wild. Furthermore, it wasn’t only the sudden realization of his father’s power that weakened his will.
‘Why did those stupid guys suddenly die!’ He thought about the mysterious group he had joined hands with and gritted his teeth. Ever since he joined hands with them, he had never suffered any losses. Therefore, he thought this plan would succeed for sure too.
‘But to think they would all die…’ Furthermore, since no one survived, there was no way he could find out who their killers were. It was unthinkable that his collaborators all died even though they had so much of the plan left to accomplish.
‘Besides, the situation’s already turned to shit!’ It was too early to allow the plan to progress further. He had planned to maintain this situation for a couple of years, but because of some unknown variable, everything was turning into a mess.
‘Lyla.’ She was the woman who suddenly declared that she would teach Elena magic. Although her skills were admirable, she made Orland laugh. No matter how great a mage was, no one could solve Elena’s current condition.
Orland always took Elena’s side even while arguing with Walwiss—the more Elena studied magic, the more beneficial it was to him. No, he actually couldn’t let Elena give up studying magic, but that had been a mistake.
Orland placed his hand on his chest. The mana inside him always faithfully followed his authority before; but the supposedly pure mana was mixed with foreign substances now, especially before he uttered any spells or used any magic. Additionally, they were beginning to mix into his body.
‘It’s getting harder for me to control my magic because of this.’ He heard that Elena could use magic by momentarily borrowing mana from a magical beast that one of Lyla’s companions carried, which explained the reason for this difficulty. However, that wasn’t the only problem; it was dangerous that they realized that there was an abnormality in Elena’s body.
‘They told my father too!’
Even though Walwiss didn’t seem like he would immediately dive deep into the matter, there was no guarantee that he would continue his inaction. Orland didn’t think he would be found out since he had used a quite clever method. However, he couldn’t simply trust this method and relax. Since his father found out that there was something strange about Elena, Walwiss might use some unimaginable method to find out the truth. That was the kind of existence the master of the magical tower was.
Thus, Orland tried to rush the plan. Yet everything turned into a mess, and a bizarre situation where Elena was kidnapped by another group happened. Thankfully, he was able to find out who Elena’s kidnappers were.
‘Zich, Lyla, and their companions!’
Foreign substances were continuing to mix in with the mana inside him; it was proof that Elena was continuing to study magic while using the magical beast. However, there was no definite proof to corner them as culprits, and it wasn’t as if he could reveal the foreign power inside his mana.
‘I have to find some evidence against them!’ He also had to find Elena. Her existence was very important to him. She was a very important link connected to the mysterious group he collaborated with.
‘Although those guys all died, it doesn’t matter. Since they said Elena was very important to them, I’m sure another group will come.’ Then, he could continue to receive their help. ‘I also have to get a little help from Elena before my plan fully ripens.’
Orland suddenly felt a tiny bit of guilt. Even though he was working towards his goal, he had to admit that he was using his daughter. In the end, however, he shook his head. ‘Children can only walk around proudly if their father does well. It’s not like she’s going to be like this forever.’
While purposefully erasing Elena’s memory by smiling brightly, Orland nodded.
‘Yeah, it can’t be helped. At the very least I have to succeed in this goal for Elena. And…’
Orland tried moving the mana inside him. Although some foreign substances were inside it, the mana still moved according to his wishes. This was ‘his’ mana.
‘It’s also for Elena’s mother as well.’
The mana flowing gently inside Orland seemed to flow a bit roughly.
* * *
Even though Jaewick’s yard was completely destroyed just yesterday, the meeting to exchange information about finding Elena continued. Rather than finding the intruder that secretly infiltrated the Jaewick’s residence, finding Elena was still a more important matter. Moreover, the intruder could be related to Elena’s kidnapping, so there was more reason to continue the meetings. However, one person didn’t come to the meeting.
“Why isn’t he coming?” Wayne asked in a very annoyed voice. Even though it was understandable that someone would get annoyed by another person’s tardiness, his annoyance was much higher than normal. However, this was also understandable as the person who was late was Zich. Since Jaewick hated Zich, there was no way his tone would be pleasant.
“Does he think that he’s some kind of hotshot because we gave him permission to participate in this meeting? As expected of a vagabond!” As Wayne’s voice grew louder, people’s frowns grew deeper. Even if Wayne’s irritation was not directed towards them, it was still unpleasant to constantly listen to another person’s complaints. However, it wasn’t as if other people couldn’t understand his vexation, so no one really said anything to him.
“Mr. Zich is very late. I think it will be better for us to send someone to bring him and start the meeting by ourselves first.” Someone voiced their thoughts.
Walwiss nodded his head, and the meeting started. However, no noteworthy information came up this time as well. Most of the meeting was spent talking about the suspicious person who infiltrated the Jaewicks’ mansion last night. After the meeting ended with zero results, people began getting up one by one.
Zich was still nowhere to be seen. When the only people left in the meeting were Walwiss, Orland, and Wayne, the person sent to bring Zich came back.
“Sir, Mr. Zich is sick so he wouldn’t be able to come today.”
“Sick?” Wayne frowned. “If he’s sick, he should have sent someone to inform us that he was sick instead of making us just wait for him.”
Wayne gossiped about Zich to Walwiss for a few minutes, and Walwiss quietly listened to him. Since Walwiss destroyed the Jaewicks’ yard and failed to catch the intruder, he was going to be more considerate of Wayne for the time being.
Then Walwiss asked Orland, “What are you thinking so deeply about?” Walwiss thought Orland was deeply contemplating something.
Orland slowly opened his mouth and said, “I thought it was a bit coincidental.”
“What is?”
“About the intruder yesterday.”
Walwiss and Wayne grimaced at the same time.
However, Orland paid no attention to their expressions and continued, “The intruder definitely healed himself with some kind of potion, but he got hit several times by your powerful magic. No matter how good his potions are, there are limitations. In particular, I’m sure his mana flow and mind have been hit hard.”
Orland met both of their eyes and continued, “There must have been aftereffects. But the very next day, we are told that Mr. Zich is sic—”
“He’s the intruder!” Wayne clapped his hands and immediately got up. He looked very excited; even his breathing became a bit rough.
“It’s not certain yet,” Orland said this, but Wayne was not listening to him.
“Haven’t I been saying this all along?! That guy is suspicious!” Wayne spoke as if he was already certain that Zich was the intruder. “Sir! Let’s go see him immediately! If we go see him with the excuse to check up on him, he won’t be able to refuse. Let’s see how he acts then!”
“I said it’s not certain yet!” When Orland spoke with a louder voice than usual, Wayne stared at him. “But you are the one who said he was suspicious.”
“Yeah, that’s true but…”
“I’m not saying that we should drag him out immediately. I’m saying we should just try feeling him out by asking what he did yesterday.”
Orland didn’t seem to have anything to say about this as he closed his mouth. Wayne triumphantly looked at Orland once and moved his gaze back towards Walwiss. “Sir, what is your decision?”
* * *
It was a bit later on in the day when Walwiss brought Orland and Wayne to visit Zich. When they arrived, Zich was sitting on his bed and Lyla was next to him.
“Everyone, welcome.” Zich tried to get up, but Walwiss waved his hand.
“Don’t stand up. I heard that you were sick. You should sit comfortably.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll accept your consideration.”
Walwiss sat on a chair next to the bed. Orland and Wayne stood behind him.
Zich said, “The two of you should also sit down.”
Orland replied, “It’s all right. We don’t want to trouble a sick person too much. We’ll be gone soon, so we don’t need to sit on a chair.”
Wayne didn’t reply and intently scanned Zich. He was trying to see if there was anything he could nitpick.
Walwiss asked, “What happened?”
Zich scratched the back of his head as if he was embarrassed. “It seems like I overstrained myself these days, so I’m feeling unwell. My physical condition is poor.”
“I apologize for making you strain yourself.”
“Sir, not at all. It’s all because I lack training. Moreover, it’s purely my choice to help find Elena, so you have no reason to apologize.”
From a glance, it looked like a warm scene where two people were showing consideration for each other. But Walwiss’ eyes swiftly moved around to assess Zich’s condition.