Chapter 134 – Find
Aurora placed her fork and knife down and crossed them on her plate. It meant she was done with her meal.
Just then, a maid who had been standing politely behind her approached as if she had been waiting. In her hand was a handkerchief. It was made of silk and adorned with gold, looking incredibly expensive.
The maid delicately wiped Aurora’s mouth with graceful movements. Aurora accepted the gesture nonchalantly.
While one maid wiped Aurora’s mouth, another cleared away the fork and knife in front of her, and yet another took away the empty plate.
As soon as the plate was cleared, a new plate was placed before her. Almost simultaneously, the maid who had been wiping her mouth finished her task and stepped back, the handkerchief still clean as ever.
On the new plate was a chocolate cake. And it was topped with chocolate and drenched in chocolate syrup.
The cake looked so sweet that just looking at it made Aurora’s mouth water. She casually took a bite and trembled in bliss at the sweetness that flooded her mouth.
As if she couldn’t eat another bite just yet, Aurora deeply embedded her fork into the cake and opened her mouth.
“The work is still in progress. I don’t know if it’ll be successful or not.”
“Thank you, my Lord.”
“No need for thanks. You all came to my territory because of that scoundrel. I have to take responsibility.”
After being commanded to stay at the Imperial Palace until called again by Kaiquilia, Aurora was wandering about trying to reinstate the Silver Dawn Knights.
Of course, it was because she thought it was her duty to tie up the loose ends of what her father had done, not because she felt any sense of atonement.
Aurora was far too ruthless for atonement, and most of the numerous misdeeds that scoundrel had committed were dealt with merely as a matter of duty. The Silver Dawn Knights were the only exception.
Above all, if she carelessly touched the matter of the ‘thing’ that was executed as a demon worshipper, it might raise suspicion about her sincerity under the pretense of cleaning up, wouldn’t it?
Being interrogated in such a manner was absolutely unacceptable.
‘…Well, it might get a bit lonely.’
She took another bite of the chocolate cake. If the Silver Dawn Knights returned to the Imperial Palace, that man would surely leave as well.
Delta.
The man who saved Aurora’s life from that damn scoundrel, displayed unfathomable behavior, and was hiding some great secret. And…
‘Let’s stop the sentimentality.’
The third bite of the cake disappeared down her throat. The sweet scent rushed into her nostrils, with the taste of chocolate spreading throughout her mouth. It was overwhelmingly sweet.
Yeah, she had to stop being sentimental. There was no other choice. She already had a woman with whom she had intertwined bodies.
No matter how much polygamy was allowed by the Empire’s laws, it was still just that—allowed. If there were no restrictions, the nobles would have dozens of wives and concubines.
To be allowed polygamy, one would have to achieve remarkable feats to justify it. Even nobles were not exempt. The prestige of a family? That didn’t matter at all.
Only the individual’s achievement defined the condition.
Rumor had it that the first Emperor of the Empire determined it that way, but Aurora didn’t know the details. It was only recently that she took any interest in such matters.
‘Well. It wouldn’t be completely impossible for Delta.’
She recalled the rumors that circulated within the Imperial Palace. When an unprecedented event occurred with a dragon appearing in the Imperial capital, rumors spoke of a man who confronted that dragon head-on.
While everyone was in shock, he boldly stood alone against the dragon to protect people, and it was said that the living embodiment of disaster with intelligence fled first.
The protagonist of the rumor was none other than Delta.
‘There must be some exaggeration mixed in.’
Aurora thought to herself. A dragon fleeing from a mere human? That sounded absurd. No matter how many times she thought about it, the conclusion was always impossible.
However, it wasn’t entirely false either.
Unless someone intentionally spread lies with malice, rumors are always based on some truth.
It was probably true that Delta had faced the dragon. Rather, it’s likely that circumstances had fortuitously aligned for the dragon to retreat for some reason or another.
‘If it were completely false, my aunt would have never kept quiet about it.’
If it were a completely false rumor, surely Kaiquilia, the person involved, would never stay silent.
Yet, Kaiquilia left the rumor to fester. It meant that it was impossible for the Emperor not to hear the rumors that spread through the Imperial Palace, so it was likely that he deliberately let it go.
One piece of evidence was that ever since the dragon attack, Aurora and the knight commanders, who were Delta’s companions, had been treated much better.
The Emperor, who must have heard the rumors and intentionally let them go, and with Delta’s group receiving warm hospitality from the Imperial Palace, it had become accepted as a factual situation among the people.
“So, Delta hasn’t returned yet?”
Aurora glanced out the window. The darkness had thickened outside.
“Yes. I’ve heard he went somewhere with the Eternal Magician, but I haven’t heard anything since.”
“He’ll manage fine. You don’t need to worry. Worrying only brings us trouble.”
She said it sincerely.
She trusted in Delta’s abilities, and more importantly, she didn’t know how he did it, but he had even managed to entice Minerva to go out with him, so worrying about their safety was just foolish.
If she was going to worry, it should be about something else.
“…Iris, don’t you think it’s a bit noisy outside since earlier?”
Claudia frowned slightly. Indeed, it was. The Imperial Palace, which should have been in silent calm, was now so loud that it reached the dining hall.
“I felt it too. I don’t know what it is though.”
“It’s not visible from here. It must be on the other side. Is there anything worth making such a commotion over?”
Lize tilted her head and looked out, but unfortunately, that direction wasn’t it. After a moment’s consideration, Aurora stood up. It seemed worth going to check it out.
The knight commanders seemed to have noticed Aurora’s intentions and followed her.
‘…What in the world is going on?’
I leaned against a wall far from the center of the commotion, overwhelmed by the collective madness. I couldn’t even muster the courage to approach that calamity.
I should have seen it coming when Minerva said she would contact me once she found the Crystal Scroll.
“Lady Skeantia! Please step on my back!”
“No, Lady Skeantia! Step on me first!”
“Follow the order! How dare you cut in line without manners!”
‘Are these girls insane?’
Even just from hearing it, it was inappropriate. They were screaming about wanting to be stepped on first and who was cutting in, throwing a ruckus.
At the center of the commotion was the Crystal Scroll being cradled gently in Minerva’s arms.
The person holding it refused to step on the dirty ground and instead, wanted others to step on her back to enter the Mage Tower, causing such antics.
Meanwhile, Minerva, who had spaced out, was stepping on it, while the stepped-on girl had a blissful expression, trembling in excitement. It was an outright disaster.
‘I can’t watch this anymore.’
I shook my head and distanced myself further. Hundreds of mages behaving like this—they were a gathering of madwomen.
I was relieved to hear that the person who found the Crystal Scroll was Minerva. If it had been me, I might have been at the center of that chaos.
No matter how stunning the mages surrounding Minerva looked, I absolutely refused to mix in with that crowd.
“Quiet! Quiet! What’s all this commotion!”
At that moment, a group of serious-looking mages appeared from a distance.
There was no need to mention their beautiful faces, and despite wearing voluminous robes, their figures were notable enough to see the curves of their chests.
“I understand why you would want to rejoice at the discovery of the Crystal Scroll, but this behavior—aren’t you ashamed!”
As the newly appeared mages shouted a few times, the commotion quieted down slightly. The other mages, who had been laid flat before Minerva, started to raise their bodies slowly.
Of course, Minerva didn’t stop. Even in her daze, she was still using magic, and was now walking boldly into the empty air.
“Wizards have pride and dignity! What is all this nonsense!”
‘Wow, at least there’s one normal person among the mages…’
“How dare you think of lying beneath us elders first! You scoundrels! Can’t you keep your order!”
‘…’
The points of their anger seemed seriously misplaced.
I was on the verge of thinking if those people were somewhat normal when the shouting mages suddenly flattened themselves before Minerva. Indeed, wizards are all the same.
As I watched the ridiculous spectacle of hundreds of women entangled on the ground while trembling and emitting strange moans every time Minerva stepped over them, it became challenging to contain my incredulity.
“Hey, I can’t keep looking at this anymore. Maybe we should move somewhere else? I’ll explain afterward.”
Seeing the knight commanders looking quite curious about what had happened outside, I suggested we change locations. All five readily accepted.
As we moved deeper into the Imperial Palace, the sounds of confusion gradually lessened. No sooner had we entered a room at a suitable distance when Aurora spoke up.
“So, what happened?”
