Chapter 201: Developing the Queen
"It took quite a while before they finally started talking. But Irene knows very well how to make people open their mouths."
She paused briefly before adding with a complicated expression, "Her torture methods were... pretty efficient — ah, don’t ask about it. Trust me, you really don’t want to know."
Even after hearing that warning, Ruvian still could not stop his curiosity from wandering for a moment. Just what kind of torture method did Irene even use?
Still, he wisely decided not to ask further.
"Anyway," Silvena continued as her expression gradually became more serious, "according to them, Julian was indeed the one who ordered them to do it."
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
"But there’s one strange part that doesn’t make sense."
Ruvian quietly listened.
"They said Julian told them to meet him at the abandoned storage area behind the old combat arena," she explained slowly. "But when they arrived there, Julian himself never showed up."
Silvena paused briefly while recalling the details.
"There was only a piece of paper waiting for them there. And those were all the instructions they received related to beating Violet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on the paper itself because they already burned it afterward."
She lightly crossed her arms tighter before continuing.
"But according to what they told us, there really wasn’t much written on it besides instructions telling them to break Violet during the elective combat." Her expression gradually became more thoughtful as she looked toward Ruvian. "So honestly, I think the drugging part and the bribing of the instructor were probably not done by them."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"It was most likely done by the person who orchestrated this entire thing from behind the scenes."
’As expected, it wasn’t Julian.’
’Haa... but that only raises more questions. Who then? Is it really him? That guy? But why? Why would he do this? What is he after?’
’I don’t remember him ever behaving this way in the novel. No... perhaps that’s the wrong question. What if he had always been this way?’
’And if that’s true... then could it be—’
Before Ruvian could finish the thought, Calyra, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly looked at him.
"Ruvian," she called softly.
His thoughts were interrupted as he turned toward her.
"Are you planning to find the person behind this before the Vazrun Island Test?"
Ruvian slowly shook his head.
"No, there is no need for that."
Truthfully, Ruvian did want to confirm his suspicion.
However, there was no need to explain his next course of action to Calyra and Silvena. What he intended to do from this point onward was a matter he could handle on his own.
More importantly, involving them would only complicate things.
If his suspicion proved wrong, there would be no reason to drag them into a pointless investigation. Besides, he already had separate plans for Calyra and Silvena once the Vazrun Island Test began.
As for identifying and confirming the culprit behind this... Ruvian believed that someone else would suit that role better than any of them.
Then, after a brief pause, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"In any case, that matter is more or less resolved. The reason I invited both of you here today wasn’t solely to discuss that. In fact, there is something else I wanted to talk about."
Ruvian glanced at both women, ensuring he had their full attention.
"The Vazrun Island Test."
At the mention of the upcoming examination, both women immediately became more attentive.
Silvena rested her chin on her hand, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Hmm~ let me guess, your future sight showed you something related to the test, didn’t it?"
Her viridian eyes sparkled with interest.
"So what is it about?"
Ruvian chuckled softly.
"Well, you’re not far off from that. I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse about that test last night. So, there are a few things worth sharing. But before any of that..."
His gaze slowly shifted toward Calyra.
"There is something Calyra needs to know first."
Calyra blinked.
"Something I should know?"
Ruvian gave a small nod. "Yes. I’ve been meaning to tell you for some time now, but there wasn’t a suitable opportunity."
Before he could continue, Silvena suddenly nodded as if she had finally realized where the conversation was headed.
"Ah~"
A knowing smile appeared on her face.
"Yeah, I think it’s about time she learned the truth as well."
The exchange immediately caused Calyra’s brows to knit together. Her eyes moved from Silvena to Ruvian and then back again. Genuine confusion appeared on her usually composed face.
"Wait."
She sat up slightly.
"What exactly are the two of you talking about?"
Neither of them answered immediately.
The brief silence that followed only deepened Calyra’s suspicion — she could clearly tell from their expressions that they were discussing something important, yet somehow she seemed to be the only person present who had no idea what it was.
Honestly, sooner or later, Calyra would have to be brought into the matter concerning the demon.
There was simply no avoiding it.
Beyond that, her strength was too valuable to ignore.
Among everyone he knew, Calyra was undoubtedly the greatest asset he possessed, and choosing not to involve her would be the same as playing a chess game while deliberately refusing to use his queen.
It wasn’t impossible to win that way, but then, why would he willingly handicap himself?
Just as Calyra was about to ask again, Ruvian suddenly raised his hand.
A faint flash of light emerged from his dimensional ring before two dark objects appeared atop the white table beneath the gazebo.
Calyra’s attention was immediately drawn toward them.
They were a pair of black horns, long and slightly curved. The moment her eyes landed on them, she instinctively felt a cold, ominous aura emanating from those horns.
Her expression changed.
The mana contained within that twisted protrusions felt unlike anything she had ever encountered before, like a suffocating darkness that seemed fundamentally incompatible with the natural world itself.
She found the sensation deeply unsettling.
"This is..."
Calyra murmured as her brows slowly furrowed.
"Demon horns."
Ruvian said casually. (+350PP)
The answer only caused the confusion in her eyes to deepen. The longer she observed them, the more convinced she became that neither of them was joking.
Noticing her reaction, Ruvian glanced toward Silvena.
Silvena immediately understood what he wanted her to explain. With a small sigh, she uncrossed her arms and stepped away from the pillar she had been leaning against.
"Right. I guess it’s finally time to explain this properly."
She walked closer to the table before stopping beside it.
"The reason both of us were absent from the academy during the weekend was because we went somewhere to deal with demons," she pauses, then opened her mouth again. "I know this sounds ridiculous, but the truth is that demons actually still—"
"—exist."
Calyra calmly interrupted her.
Silvena stopped speaking and looked at Calyra with visible surprise.
"Eh? You knew?"
Calyra gently shook her head.
"No, I didn’t."
Her gaze briefly lowered toward the pair of horns resting on the table before she continued. "But I think... my master had once warned me that demons would eventually return one day."
A faint look of recollection appeared on her face as she searched through old memories.
"Well, at the time, she never explained much beyond that. She only told me that there were many things hidden from the public and that I would understand them once I grew up."
Her eyes lifted toward Silvena again. "I believed her words. I still do. I just never knew when that day would come."
Calyra paused for a moment before continuing.
"Though, have you made a report about this?"
"No, we haven’t yet." Ruvian replied.
"I see..."
"Wait, hold up. I take it that you believe us, yes?" Silvena asked.
"Yes."
Calyra nodded lightly.
"I don’t think either of you has any reason to lie about this. And if my guess is correct, there’s probably a reason you both chose not to report this to the academy or the higher authorities."
Calyra looked directly at Ruvian.
With just that much information, she already had a rough idea of what was going on.
Ruvian calmly nodded.
"Yes. We still aren’t sure who can be trusted. No one is above suspicion at the moment. The demons could be hiding among them."
"I see. Makes sense."
Then Silvena let out a small laugh and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Anyway, this certainly makes things easier for us now. Honestly, I was expecting us to spend the next hour trying to convince you that we weren’t making this whole thing up."
Although the atmosphere had become noticeably lighter, the questions in Calyra’s mind had not disappeared.
If anything, they had only increased.
Her gaze shifted toward Ruvian again.
"Then what did you mean when you said the two of you left the academy to deal with demons?" she asked. "What exactly happened during the weekend?"
The question caused Silvena to glance toward Ruvian. However, before Ruvian said anything, he calmly raised his hand.
The pair of demon horns disappeared in a faint flash of light as he stored them back inside his dimensional ring.
"Silvena will fill you in on the details later about that." (+200PP)
Ruvian leaned slightly forward before continuing.
"We don’t have much time tonight. Now that you know the truth about the demons, I can finally tell you what I have planned for both of you during the Vazrun Island Test."
"To put it simply..."
"Calyra Arcanis, I’ll be needing your help."
──────── ✦ ────────
[Chapter 201: Developing the Queen]
Plot Points= 34,580
