Chapter 102

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 102

Chapter Title: The Demon's Shadow

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"Send the shadow crows at once... no, attach Cadelon, their leader, directly."

"Yes."

No sooner had the subordinate bowed and vanished than Duke Duvered's gaze shifted to Duke Ballua.

He had already confirmed that it was Duke Ballua who had brought Mireyu, once a provincial prostitute, to the capital.

Their eyes clashed sharply in the air.

That night.

I carefully stored away the gifts and letters from the tea party guests and settled onto the sofa.

The three maids giggled, "Ufufu," watching me swing my legs with a beaming smile.

"Looks like you had a wonderful time at the tea party today."

"Yeah. It was fun."

Everyone had been so refined and kind. I'd even made plans with the other young ladies my age to go flower viewing together once the weather warmed up.

My first time going out to play with friends my own age!

I'd marked the outing on the calendar the moment I got back and was already counting down the days in excitement.

And Duchess Ballua's party ended in total disaster.

Knowing her as I did, she wouldn't just roll around clutching her stomach in agony—she'd smash everything off the table with a crash and wail at her husband, "I'm suffering like this, so what the hell are you doing?!"

I was smirking wickedly to myself when a commotion stirred outside the room.

The maids cracked the door open to check, then reported back.

"It seems the master has returned home."

"In that case, I'll go say hello."

"Yes, Little One."

I hurried out the door and headed downstairs.

But Father, who would normally receive greetings in the courtyard and hear the butler's report on estate matters, was nowhere to be seen.

I grabbed one of the scattered servants and asked.

"Where's Dad?"

"He didn't even stop for greetings and went straight to his study."

"Something happen?"

"Not sure. But his expression was grim..."

I tilted my head and made my way to Father's study.

What happened at the meeting hall?

Word was the Emperor had been hounding him endlessly over the long-distance teleportation circle—maybe he'd done something to set Father's temper off.

As I reached for the study door handle, voices leaked out.

"You mean there's a high chance Mireyu was acting on Duke Ballua's orders? I've already been informed that the provincial prostitute caught the duke's eye and was brought to the capital. But right after arriving, he lost interest in her, didn't he?"

It was Aunt's voice. Then came Yohan's reply.

"Yes. She caused a huge fuss demanding to see Duke Ballua again, only to get caught by the duchess, suffer a horrific ordeal, and get chased out of the capital."

A horrific ordeal and chased out?

Could it be that woman!

The arrogant prostitute who'd shown up at the estate in my second life.

No, that can't be. I saw her myself. She didn't look anything like Mireyu!

Her appearance, her voice—nothing resembled Mireyu in the slightest.

She'd been a voluptuous beauty, sure, but with reddish-brown hair and deep green eyes.

If that's her, then it wasn't just some alchemy to make her look younger.

She'd ripped out a soul and transplanted it into a completely different body.

But is that even possible?

You could alter appearances, of course.

Ceria was hiding her identity with transformation magic herself.

But that kind of spell had strict daily limits and cost a fortune.

Duke Ballua, who'd poured everything into developing mid-range teleportation circles, couldn't possibly have the resources—not to mention—

Duke Duvered's Director of Magical Affairs and Veronica would've detected any transformation magic.

Those two were among the empire's top mages, even in a land where magical arts flourished.

Voices continued leaking from the door. This time, it was Father.

"The man with the red rash our informants uncovered has made contact with Duke Ballua."

At that moment, my communication stone flickered.

I glanced around and pulled it out. It was Ceria's code.

[We've caught the tail of the 'client' who ordered Little One's kidnapping. A man with a red rash on the back of his hand. From his accent and speech, he seems like a capital native, likely from nobility.]

I let out a soft scoff.

It looked like my grudge with Duke Ballua wouldn't end with the teleportation circles.

The docile, foolish Leblain who couldn't even question why she'd been beaten or wronged was gone.

If they dished it out, I'd dish it right back—and I'd pry answers out of them even if I had to tear their mouths open.

Staring blankly at the stone, I sent Ceria a reply.

[Withdraw every last coin of my savings. Prepare the mercenaries I've been raising on the borders and the spies I've spread across the capital. We're taking the Ballua ducal house.]

Then I gripped Etwal.

It was time to use my first familiar, acquired through Paimon.

That dawn.

I teleported to the Hof Merchant Guild in the capital's shopping district. The Engineer was with me.

"You've arrived, Leader."

Ceria greeted us.

I groaned, "Urgh," and flopped onto the sofa, my face ashen.

"Long-distance portals are great and all, but the motion sickness afterward is killer..."

Ceria's brows drooped as she handed me a glass of cold water. The Engineer patted my back.

"Veronica is working on improvements so even a child's body can handle it easily. Please wait a little."

I gulped down the water with a groan.

Then I sighed heavily and looked at the two of them.

"You've read the message I sent via communication stone, right?"

It was about the high likelihood that the 'client' was tied to Duke Ballua.

A grinding sound came from between Ceria's teeth.

"Yes."

"Good. Then let's share what we've uncovered."

The Engineer pulled out documents first.

"Duke Ballua met Mireyu three years ago. He brought her to the capital early last year. Her real name is Amber Fletcher."

He produced a portrait of Mireyu's original appearance and another of the child who'd come from the orphanage.

Ceria's face hardened instantly.

"Nicole!"

Ceria's hand trembled violently as she clutched the portrait of the child Mireyu.

"Nicole?"

"My little sister. From the Hope Orphanage!"

"...So the 'client' really created Mireyu."

They must have bought up the orphanage children to find one resembling the baby bird.

"Then the other children..."

As I muttered, the Engineer replied in a dry voice.

"Perfecting a soul transplant would require countless experiments."

"I'll rip them to shreds...!!"

Ceria let out a scream-like roar. Her bloodshot eyes, veins bulging, revealed her fury.

I gazed at her somberly, eyes rimmed red, clutching Nicole's portrait.

The Engineer gripped her sobbing shoulder.

"Calm yourself. To tear the beasts limb from limb, we must swallow even blood and tears for now."

Ceria bit her lip hard and gasped out.

"...I've checked the Ballua ducal house's finances. Their warehouses are empty, and they've borrowed massive sums from Marquis Marsch's house, the banks, and even loan sharks. They won't last three months at this rate."

"But if they hand over all production and distribution rights to the mid-range portals to the temple and beg for debt forgiveness, they could recover."

"...If Duke Ballua is behind the 'client' who bought my siblings, we absolutely cannot let them recover."

I nodded at Ceria's expression.

"We can't miss this chance. It's our shot to swallow the Balluas whole."

"Do you have a plan in mind?"

I shrugged at the Engineer's question.

"Nope?"

"...Pardon?"

"The Ballua house is a historic founding duke family. Their connections to other nobles are rock-solid. They're short on cash now, but with their vast territories, that'll sort itself out soon. And we can't start a territorial war. The imperial family wouldn't permit one against a founding house."

"..."

"In the end, the only way is to expose how they created Mireyu. But with Duke Ballua's thorough nature, he's probably already cleaned up any traces right after the Mireyu plan failed."

"You understand them well."

As their faces asked, What now? I grinned and gripped Etwal.

"If the three of us can't figure it out, we'll have to borrow some wisdom from elsewhere."

"Pardon?"

I infused a bit of holy power into Etwal.

It glowed with a silvery light, and a handsome black-haired man materialized in the room.

"Let me introduce him. My first familiar!"

The two gaped at the man who appeared with the light.

The black-haired man fanned himself languidly and smiled gently.

"The Crouching Dragon greets his master."

The legendary strategist who had repeatedly sent even the Emperor on wild goose chases.

"Alright, lend us your wisdom. How can we strip our enemy bare and leave them helpless?"

The century's genius strategist raised an eyebrow at my bright smile.

The legendary strategist hummed thoughtfully after hearing our situation, then snapped his fan shut with a tack.

"Is ripping out a soul and transplanting it into another body such difficult magic?"

"Yeah. It's not a thing in this world. How did they pull it off?"

"We may not know the method, but we can identify the caster."

"...How?"

"If it's beyond human hands, then naturally, it must be the power of something not human."

The power of something not human...

I stiffened and pressed my forehead.

"Of course. That's it. I used their power myself—why didn't I think of that?"

"Pardon?"

Ceria blinked in confusion.

"Demons."

"Pardon?"

"They summoned a demon!"

Now it was clear why they needed so many children from the Hope Orphanage.

It wasn't just for experiments. They'd used the children's souls as a medium to borrow demonic power.

I stared at the strategist in shock.

"Then the way to tear the Balluas apart is...!"

"You mentioned there's something called an inquisition trial here."

I cupped my flushed cheeks, thinking.

What a brilliant familiar I chose!