Chapter 88

Sethian, who received Zair's cold gaze, did not flinch and knelt on one knee to offer his respects to the emperor.

"How did you escape from the solitary cell, Sethian?" Lifting his head, Sethian twitched one of his eyes in suspicion.

After locking eyes with the emperor, he swallowed the pain in his abdomen and stood upright, "I was ambushed and captured, but thanks to Your Majesty releasing my knights, I was able to handle them and make it here."

"I'm glad you made it out safely. I still don't know who ordered the attack, though." The emperor’s once-weak gaze sharpened significantly.

Zair, who had been watching silently, suppressed a smile.

The stone tower had been attacked, and Sethian had gone missing after sustaining serious injuries. The two knights sent to collect Sethian's life force returned with blood-filled glass vials disappeared. It seemed highly likely that Sethian had been attacked by the same people who had stormed the stone tower and was kidnapped and imprisoned.

The identity of the attackers was obvious. If it was Sethian, he would have inflicted serious wounds on himself for the sake of his plan without hesitation.

The puzzling part was that all of Sethian's people had been imprisoned, and he himself had been arrested unexpectedly. Furthermore, the only person who could make contact with him, the attendant, had already allied with Zair. In other words, there had been no opportunity or method to pass on information. In such a situation, how had the attackers managed to execute their plan and communicate with someone capable of quickly eliminating the stone tower’s guards and sentries?

‘Whatever method was used, the answer is clear.’

The soul that had been commanded to possess the emperor's body would fulfill its role. While pretending to interrogate Sethian, he would gradually tighten his grip, and eventually, Sethian would become the main culprit again. The souls of those who would testify had already been possessed by Zair’s soul butterflies. Possession consumed an enormous amount of life force, and though it might cause the souls to break, they would hold on at least until the job was done.

Only Zair, Eda, and their knights knew about the possession. Although Sethian and Roa were both knowledgeable in soul magic and might suspect possession, it would not be easy to detect, and there was no way to prevent it. To prepare for any potential interrogation, Zair had already memorized detailed information about the individuals to whom the souls would be assigned, ensuring that finding a loophole would be nearly impossible.

Whether Sethian was aware of Zair's confident thoughts or not, Sethian remained focused on the emperor, not sparing him a glance. The emperor, who had been facing Sethian's unyielding glare, slowly spoke, "Are your wounds alright?"

"...They're quite severe, but thanks to the use of Idelo, they are gradually healing."

"You used Idelo?" The emperor furrowed his brows, his expression filled with suspicion.

Hearing Sethian's words, Zair interjected. "Your Majesty, the garden where Sethian’s Idelo is located has been sealed off and is still under the control of the Imperial Knights, isn't it? There's no way he could have used Idelo..."

"I’ve already investigated, so you should know. Only one petal of Idelo has disappeared." Suddenly, Sethian drew a sharp dagger. The Imperial Knights standing around him tensed at the sight, but no alarming actions followed.

Sethian cut through the bandages wrapped around his waist, and as the blood-stained cloth fell to the ground, it revealed a wound that was gruesome to look at. The reason for exposing his wound was obvious, "Since the Tower Lord and the Imperial Knights investigated the situation at the stone tower, they must have already reported how badly I was wounded and bled."

In reality, they had measured the amount of blood spilled in the solitary cell, deducing that Sethian had been seriously injured and bled profusely. However, compared to that, the wound Sethian showed was not as severe as expected. There was a deep cut about the length of a hand, surrounded by blood stains, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that the wound had already healed significantly. Considering that only about ten hours had passed since the time he was ambushed, the speed of recovery seemed almost impossible.

"The single petal of Idelo that disappeared was in my possession. With so many life-threatening events, I secretly hid it in a place only I know, just in case." Sethian shot a cold glare at Zair, who was eyeing him suspiciously.

"You must also know, Your Majesty, that the toxicity of Idelo cannot be washed away by any means after the petals are separated. On the other hand, once the poison in the flower is removed, no new poison will form, even if the petals are removed." What Sethian was clearly implying was that the missing Idelo petal had likely been used to kill Mendel. However, seeing the wound heal so quickly, it seemed that the petal had been used as a healing substance after its toxicity had been removed.

"If you still have doubts, you can investigate the cloth that was used to dress my wound." Sethian had applied the crushed Idelo petals to his wound and covered it with cloth, so the substance would remain in the cloth. As soon as the Emperor flicked his fingers, one of the Imperial Knights nearby fetched the cloth and bandages. It didn’t take long for the Imperial physician to confirm that the substance was indeed the "Idelo" with the poison removed.

Zair gritted his teeth in frustration. 'Did he really betray me? Why?'

The Idelo petals with their toxicity removed had been provided to "the emperor's attendant" as treatment for his severed wrist and as clear proof and payment that he had become an ally. But now it seemed that the same Idelo was used to treat Sethian’s wound.

Zair, still confused, soon realized something. The individual who had served as Sethian’s messenger, the one who had pretended to despise him, was none other than the emperor's attendant, Kaen.

Why Sethian had allied with him after severing his own wrist in an attempt to blackmail the emperor remained a mystery to Zair. That said, this did not mean that Sethian had a chance of winning. Zair had already planted his soul butterflies in those who would testify.

It should have been simple, yet…

“I must have been out of my mind back then. I’m not sure what I said, but the Idelo flower was intact until the day the prince Sethian asked for its toxicity to be removed. After the purification, I noticed a petal had gone missing, and I hurriedly told him, and he said he had a use for it and kept it.” The pale-faced gardener spoke excitedly. His testimony was completely different from what it had been when they arrested Sethian. Moreover, those who had once accused Sethian of being the criminal now spoke of his innocence.

‘Why…?!’ Though Zair tried not to show it, he was deeply troubled. He had ordered his soul butterflies to possess them, but hearing their voices now, none of them had been possessed.

‘What’s going on?’ It had been Zair’s hope that, someday, the souls would be able to live again in new bodies, and he had conditioned them to blindly follow him. Yet none of them seemed to be obeying his orders.

Even if the others had failed, the emperor, who held all the authority, was still possessed. Perhaps because of that, rather than summoning and interrogating Zair, he was only putting Sethian through all sorts of questioning.

‘This is fine. If I see any openings, I’ll have Sethian imprisoned in the stone tower again and release myself.’ No matter how the testimony went, once Sethian was imprisoned again, Zair would have the chance to free himself and continue his plan.

The situation wasn’t as bad as it seemed.

He had been suddenly brought here, with his subordinates and allies imprisoned just like Sethian’s. On the other hand, Sethian’s people had all been released. In this scenario, if the third prince, Remines, and the first princess, Elina, died from Idelo just like Mendel, suspicion would inevitably fall on Sethian.

Thanks to having fed the possession drug to the remaining two siblings' guard knights and head attendants, Zair was certain they were preparing the Idelo-laced tea for the morning tea time.

Just as Zair was thinking this, an unexpected group entered the court, "Apologies for the late arrival, Your Majesty."

Following Roa’s entrance, three men and women stood behind him. They were none other than the third prince, Remines, the first princess, Elina, and, to Zair’s shock, the first prince, Mendel, who should have already been dead.

"How…?" Zair widened his eyes in disbelief as he saw Mendel.

However, what shocked him even more was the sight of Roa, who had a familiar glass vial hanging from his waist. It was the same type of vial used in the Magic Tower to trap soul butterflies.

Zair’s heart dropped as he saw the white butterfly trapped inside the vial. That butterfly was the same soul he had commanded to possess the emperor’s body. How had it ended up with Roa?

‘Then where is the soul possessing the emperor…?’ A chill ran down Zair’s spine as he looked up at the emperor.

The emperor’s wrinkled lips had curled into a faint, knowing smile.