Rewinding time—it happened right after I received the gate ring.
“Let’s talk about how to find Morion.”
Cruello spoke as he wrapped me in all sorts of warm comforts.
“Are we heading to the Duke’s estate right after the engagement?”
“You won’t find it even if you go there. It’s hidden with key magic.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a concealment spell where five people hold separate keys. The door to the hidden space only opens when all the keys are gathered.”
...So in other words, to find Morion, we had to steal the keys from five Elders.
And in order to do that—
“We need a priest. Since it’s dark magic, it won’t be easy to detect.”
“‘Hunt down the Elders who hold the keys’... so that’s why you mentioned the engagement.”
The Elder Council wanted to replace me as soon as possible, and Cruello’s tragedies always required a stage.
What better occasion than the engagement day itself?
Judging by what happened to his previous fiancées, they would undoubtedly try to kill me.
But there was one issue.
“Wouldn’t they normally send underlings for something like this?”
“It’s a bit complicated. If an Elder’s subordinate fails once, they keep getting missions until they make up for it. But if they fail twice, the Elder in charge has to handle it personally.”
“And if they fail three times?”
“They lose their head.”
Oh.
...Wait a second.
I held out my fingers and started counting.
The adoption ceremony party, the Harvest Festival, and the shrine incident.
That’s three.
“Ah.”
Wait—Julian was the one who ruined the adoption party, so technically, that one didn’t count.
“And on top of that, their leash is slipping.”
Cruello smiled lazily, despite the fact that he was talking about himself.
“They don’t know how I’ll react anymore. If they want to keep me under control, they’ll have to send an Elder.”
“If an Elder doesn’t have a key...”
“Then they wouldn’t have learned dark magic either, so they won’t be involved. Don’t worry about that.”
“Alright, then they must be expecting the engagement to turn into a mess.”
“Mmm. But the ceremony has to be flawless. They’ll probably try to handle things quietly.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to give them any reason to point fingers. I don’t want them thinking I’ve completely turned against them. And I definitely don’t want them noticing your divine power.”
“That’s a bit much. How exactly do you plan to hide all of that?”
“By using a stand-in for the engagement.”
Cruello raised two fingers and wiggled them playfully.
“We’ll create a dummy.”
Long story short, it was another magic trick.
A puppet that could imitate its owner’s speech and behavior for a limited time.
To make it, Cruello took a strand of my hair and a few drops of blood.
...I had my suspicions that it could also be used to create a curse doll.
Even now, to be honest.
Anyway, since the spell only lasted for a short time, I had to return before the ceremony ended.
If the stand-in suddenly turned into straw during the vows, it would be quite the spectacle.
And so, everything proceeded smoothly according to Cruello’s plan—leading up to today.
I smiled brightly at Qudil’s stunned expression.
I had gone through quite a lot just to see that face.
[“A trap? What do you mean—”]
Ares’s voice came through the communication sphere again, questioning Qudil.
But she didn’t even listen. She simply cut the connection.
Hoo. Qudil let out a deep sigh.
Then, while still kneeling, she raised both hands.
The Ninth Elder declared loudly,
“Alright! What do you want?”
“Why don’t you start by spilling everything about the Elder Council?”
I crossed my arms and tilted my head slightly.
I didn’t forget to add a sinister smile.
“Just so you know—lying won’t be fun.”
***
“What do you mean, a trap?”
Ares’s words were left unanswered.
The communication sphere turned blue.
The connection was severed.
Crack. The muscles in his jaw tensed as he clenched his teeth.
The sheer audacity of this one-sided nonsense was enough to make his blood boil.
‘It’s obvious now.’
A trap meant that Qudil had been deceived.
Which meant... the Siora Bonetti at the engagement was real.
Qudil had likely been fooled by a lookalike or a dummy.
Considering how much of a careless fool she was, it wasn’t even surprising.
But now he had to clean up the mess.
“Tch.”
The sphere shattered in Ares’s grip.
He discarded the shards without hesitation.
There was no point in keeping them.
Instead, he turned his thoughts to the next step.
Qudil had failed, but the opportunity still remained.
And delaying until after the engagement wasn’t an option.
Ares wasn’t the type to postpone a task.
‘His Excellency wouldn’t forgive it either.’
Good.
He made up his mind.
The moment Siora Bonetti returned to the waiting room after the ceremony, he would take her life.
Assassination was his greatest strength, after all.
At that moment, he sensed movement near the waiting room.
Silently, he melted into the shadows.
***
There were countless ways to kill a person.
And Count Bonetti prided himself on being quite skilled in the matter.
More than a few people had met their end at his hands.
To kill Siora Bonetti, he had chosen the most discreet and elegant method.
After the engagement vows, the couple would exchange a ceremonial kiss and drink a toast.
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
The drink prepared for the occasion was a 31-year-old Golden Bless.
Few people knew this, but when combined with certain elements, that wine became a deadly poison capable of inducing cardiac arrest.
Two conditions had to be met.
The first was a distilled liquor from the Eastern Region, which the Count had already prepared.
If he presented it as a celebratory drink, Siora would drink it without suspicion.
The second was the scent of wisteria flowers.
‘She will have to return to the waiting room at least once after the ceremony.’
With that in mind, Count Bonetti left for the waiting room near the end of the ceremony.
He carefully removed every flower from the vase...
And filled it entirely with wisteria blossoms.
Even if someone saw him, Count Bonetti could simply say that he had personally come to celebrate his new daughter’s engagement.
No one would suspect a thing.
After all, he had only discovered by chance that this particular combination of elements turned Golden Bless 31-year-old into a deadly poison.
Even if someone did realize the truth—as long as it wasn’t the White Desert Duke, it wouldn’t matter.
The Elder Council already disapproved of Siora.
The Count knew that well.
‘All I need is for the ceremony to end.’
He turned away from the freshly arranged wisteria blossoms.
But at that moment—
A cold, oppressive aura crawled down his spine.
A quiet voice spoke.
“Fine.”
An owl with deep green feathers elegantly spread its wings.
At the same time, Ares emerged from the shadows.
His presence was unnervingly bold for an assassin, but even as Count Bonetti watched him, he barely sensed his existence.
“Who are you?”
“This is troublesome. Judging by your reaction, you weren’t expecting me.”
The owl swiveled its head, its keen eyes fixed on Ares with caution.
The towering man drew his sword.
“Curse your bad luck.”
No—Ares smirked.
“Come to think of it, trying to swap out your son-in-law was quite the offense.”
It had been Count Bonetti who changed the marriage arrangement—replacing Minuet Bonetti with an unknown commoner.
“What are you talking abou—”
“Fine. I’ll take your head instead of your daughter’s today.”
The blade moved.
***
I bound Qudil tightly with constriction magic.
During the ensuing interrogation, she cooperated surprisingly well.
“What’s your role?”
“Normally? I manage trade routes, smuggle sacred beasts and Beatitudo, monitor the territories, eavesdrop with animals, and report back to the higher-ups.”
So... basically, an errand girl?
Qudil let out a bitter laugh.
“They shove all the grunt work on me. Annoying as hell.”
“Isn’t that because this is your last chance?”
“...Ah, so you already knew that. Damn it. Well then, can I at least defend myself a little, dear priest?”
“Go ahead.”
“Killing me won’t mean a thing. I’m just a disposable tool.”
“You think playing the victim will work on me?”
“Ugh, no, no! I know this is my last shot! But listen—Elders don’t last long. Except for the Grand Elder and the Second Elder, most of us barely survive a decade before we’re executed.”
The old men up top are terrified of younger ones rising to power.
Qudil clicked her tongue openly.
“Then why did you take the position?”
“Because the higher you go, the more you gain! You wouldn’t get it, but climbing out of the Church’s shadows is a brutal competition. Ah, wait—you do know about the Church, right?”
“I do. The Black Serpent Order. The Elder Council’s predecessor. A necromancer group that worshipped demons.”
“Oh-ho! Then you know how ruthless the competition is. The ones who stand out too much get eliminated. Someone like me is just the right balance—useful, but disposable.”
“I see. So that’s why you’re so unimportant that you were entrusted with a key.”
I said it flatly.
Qudil’s face froze.
That reaction told me two things.
One: She lied.
Two: She actually does have a key.
I smiled sweetly and gestured.
“AAAGH!”
The chains coiling around her body tightened like a snake.
“I told you—lying isn’t fun.”
What kind of fool does she take me for?
“Ugh—no, I didn’t—! You even know about the key magic?! That’s—cough—unexpected.”
“Oh? So it wasn’t a lie?”
“T-The spell—ugh—is based on an inverted pentagram! It requires all five keys to function—it’s just for show!”
Oh, so it was symbolic?
That actually made sense.
I loosened the chains slightly, and Qudil gasped for air.
“Haa... that’s why they put it on someone like me. If I get caught, it becomes obvious that something’s wrong.”
“Then tell me who holds the other keys.”
“They don’t tell me. I told you—I’m disposable.”
Look at me! Qudil gestured at her pathetic state.
I was annoyed—but she had a point.
“Make an educated guess, then.”
“The Grand Elder, the Second Elder, me, the Tenth Elder...? I don’t know the last one. Wanna tell me?”
Tch. Whatever.
I had already gotten what I needed from her.
“So you need the keys, huh? Want mine? Too bad—I don’t have it on me. It’s in my private hideout...”
I stopped listening.
She was obviously spouting nonsense.
Instead, I focused on observing her closely.
But finding the key wasn’t as simple as I’d hoped.
If it were that easy, priests would have already hunted her down.
Where are you hiding it?
“Give me a day—no, two! I’ll bring it—”
“Ah.”
The answer revealed itself the moment Qudil lifted her head.