Book 13: Chapter 12: From the Silent Witch, to the Clay Man
Book 13: Chapter 12: From the Silent Witch, to the Clay Man
"To Clayman, who loves spiders, let's verify the information about the horrifying truth' you mentioned. I'm waiting for your contact. From the Silent Woman."
This was a message posted in the advertisement section of the largest newspaper in the royal capital of the Ridill Kingdom.
Yuan, whose main duty was intelligence work, naturally read various newspapers from both inside and outside the country daily, so he noticed this advertisement immediately.
"This is a message from the Silent Witch, I believe there's no mistake," Yuan said, handing the newspaper to his master.
Yuan is a man who whimsically changes his face, but in front of his master, he always maintains a slightly narrow-eyed, flat face.
This was a face that Yuan had once been forced to abandon, and at the same time, it was the face that put the least strain on him when using body manipulation magic.
"Let's see."
The man who is Yuan's master followed the text of the newspaper with his shining black eyes.
The man was a young man with loosely waving black hair. His deeply carved features were as majestic and beautiful as a mythological figure, but they are filled with a vitality and spirit that sculptures do not have.
As his sharp eyes slowly traced the text of the newspaper, his lips rose in a grin. That alone gave a ferocious impression as if a beast had bared its fangs.
"Silent Witch indeed, she was one of the Seven Sages of the other country. Nice, Seven Sages. It has a good ring to it. The Four Heavenly Kings, the Three Musketeers when they appear in a story, isn't it a thrilling sound?"
The man made a face as if his thoughts were racing through the world of stories, and clapped his hands.
"Alright, let's make one too. Yes, if they have Seven Sages, let's increase our number here. Ten Warriors, Twelve Sword Saints, Thirteen Knights are also hard to give up hmm, which one is good?"
When his master mentioned something completely unrelated to the main topic, Yuan gave a wry smile and said, "You sure like to have whimsical thoughts," and his master laughed with a throaty sound that seemed truly enjoyable.
"Fool. How many times have you seen me turn whimsical thoughts' into actual results'?"
"If I may say so, wouldn't it be better not to increase the number recklessly? If the number is too large, it will look inferior."
"Hmm, there's some truth to that. Alright, let's keep it to six or less. So, what do you think of this Silent Witch' from your perspective?"
Even though he was saying something that seemed like a joke or serious play, this man always suddenly returned to the main topic.
Yuan, who was used to having conversations with such a master, answered in a smooth tone.
"The chantless magic used by the Silent Witch' is something that those of us who make a living from assassination would find incredibly enviable."
The Silent Witch, if she wanted to, could behead an enemy without uttering a single word. There is no technique more suited to assassination than that.
"More than anything, its accuracy is extraordinary it is more powerful in human combat than in dragon combat."
"If it comes to war, can it serve as a weapon?"
"She is a monster. I can't believe we're the same living creature."
At Yuan's words, his master laughed out loud.
"People in the world would say that you, who have no face, are the monster, wouldn't they? Right, Yuan?"
"Then, please think of the Silent Witch' as a monster even greater than me."
"Ooh?"
Yuan's master grinned cruelly and tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips.
"Very interesting. By the way, Yuan, is this Silent Witch' a good woman?"
Yuan fell silent at his master's bad habit again.
To such Yuan, his master said while crossing his legs.
"I like a beautiful woman with big bosoms and buttocks, and her eyes are glittering with ambition and desire. The ideal is a poisonous woman like the first Thorn Witch."
"Unfortunately, she is the exact opposite in all respects."
"What a bore! But this chantless magic also piqued my interest."
At those words, Yuan felt something ominous and his cheeks twitched.
"My lord? I hope you're not thinking"
With a suspicious look in his eyes, Yuan's master grinned and showed his double teeth.
"I'm going too. To the Ridill Kingdom."
Yuan laughed desperately, "Ohohoho," and with an extremely strained straight face, he said to his master.
"This is just another whimsical thought of yours, right?"
His master laughed heartily, "Hahaha," as if to compete with Yuan.
"I love to put all my effort into turning my whimsical thoughts into reality!"
Ten days after Monica and Bridget infiltrated the Duke of Crockford's mansion, the long-planned student general meeting was held.
"Then, with this, the student general meeting is adjourned."
Listening to Felix's closing remarks, Monica sighed with relief.
Monica, who is the treasurer, had been invited to several club presidents' tea parties during these ten days and had no time to rest, but with Bridget's support, she was able to get through it safely.
With this, all the events that the student council is involved in, except for the graduation ceremony, have ended.
"I'm glad it's over safely."
As Monica muttered to herself in the back, Cyril nodded in agreement with his arms crossed.
Cyril, with his blue eyes, was looking at Felix, who was standing on the stage, with a deeply moved look.
"With this, the only time I'll see His Highness on stage is at the graduation ceremony"
Just before the graduation ceremony, the student council members will have a handover.
The next time Felix stands on stage, it will not be as student council president, but as representative of the graduating students.
For Cyril, who has always supported Felix, there must be a deep sense of emotion.
His Highness is loved by many people.
Even though some people say he is a puppet prince in the shadows, most of the students at this school respect and admire the prince named Felix Ark Ridill.
And yet, I'm trying to expose His Highness's secret because I might find out the truth about my father's death
Even if she knew all of his secrets, Monica didn't think she would make them public. This is just something Monica is investigating because she wants to know.
But still, there is a sense of guilt in trying to touch the other side of Felix- or rather, Eig.
"Cyril, you really respect His Highness, don't you?"
At Monica's murmur, Cyril shifted his gaze from Felix to Monica.
"Of course. Being recognized by him is my greatest pride."
What kind of face would Cyril make if he knew Felix's secret?
For Cyril, the fact that he was recognized by Felix, a member of the royal family, is a force that inspires him.
Exposing Felix's secret would also rob Cyril's pride.
I want Cyril to remain ignorant.
There's not much time left until the graduation ceremony. Monica doesn't have much time to spend at this school.
Monica wanted to spend the remaining precious time not as the Silent Witch, but as Monica Norton.
When she knew the truth, the Silent Witch would keep everything to herself and not say a word.
That's what Monica was thinking at this time.
While the students who attended the student general meeting were returning to their classrooms one by one, the student council members were busy cleaning up the site and meeting with the club presidents.
Felix and Elliot are busy with future meetings with teachers and club presidents. Neil is busy with the direction of the site cleanup, so naturally, the remaining three, Cyril, Bridget, and Monica, who have free hands, were in charge of cleaning up the materials.
Monica, while rolling up the large material paper, glanced at Bridget from the corner of her eye.
Since returning to school, Bridget has not touched on the matter of the infiltration investigation at all. Even though there must be many things she is thinking about, Bridget has been behaving bravely as usual. That seemed a little painful to Monica.
Bridget is a strong, beautiful, and above all, wise woman.
Even when faced with a cruel reality, she continued to behave bravely, like the heroine of a novel that Isabelle likes.
But, while the heroine of the novel is finally united with her loved one, Bridget's feelings are probably never rewarded.
"The materials are all sorted. Let's take them to the student council room first."
Saying that Cyril stood up with the biggest box in his hand. Monica also hurriedly gathered as much of the bundle of materials next to her as she could. Bridget also silently lifted a bundle of materials.
As the three of them were heading to the student council room, they saw a female student coming down the stairs from above. The female student, who was carrying luggage, gave way to Cyril and the others.
Cyril and Bridget walked ahead, and as Monica was about to follow them, the female student who had given way came a little closer to Monica and put a small folded piece of paper in Monica's uniform pocket.
.huh?
Monica instinctively looked up and saw the face of the female student.
The girl with neat black hair and a cool demeanor, who slipped the paper into Monica's pocket, was none other than Heidi. Monica recognized her not only by her appearance but also by the slightly thick eyebrows above her slanted eyes.
"Ah."
When Monica turned around, Heidi quickly descended the stairs and turned the corner in the hallway.
Monica, who had stopped on the stairs, followed Heidi's figure with her eyes, and Cyril called out to her from the top of the stairs with a puzzled expression.
"Treasurer Norton?"
"Ah, sorry. It's nothing."
As Monica climbed the stairs, she used one hand to support her documents and used the other hand to take out the piece of paper from her pocket.
There, it was succinctly written:
"Tonight, wait at the entrance of the forest behind the school."
There was no turning back now.
It was finally time to confront the horrifying truth.'