Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 83

The King, sprawled on his ornate throne, wore a hollow smile.

“Is this guy really crazy?”

The chief of the Royal Household clutched his ears, his expression gloomy. He lamented that his king would use such vulgar language, but the king didn’t seem to care.

The King fluttered a piece of paper – a letter, it seemed.

“Don’t look at me like that. The Duke really *is* crazy.”

Having decided to additionally select Vanessa Rose, the King wasn’t paying any attention to the latter of the conditions he had presented to the Duke: ‘Either add Vanessa Rose to the Special Forces, or grant me what I desire.’

Of course, Duke Valder would have preferred the latter.

So the King deliberately asked for something significant. There was a piece of land owned by the Valder family that the King had been eyeing.

It was ‘Janaba,’ a place surrounded by countless flowers, with a unique watercolor-like lake, a tourist spot renowned for its beauty since ancient times. The income generated from it was substantial.

Of course, the King wanted it because he held cherished memories there with his late father.

In any case, it was a condition that should have been refused. But Gideon Sol Valder sent back a reply saying he would give it to him.

“It’s better to go crazy with love when you’re young. Going crazy with both wealth and power just amplifies it. To readily hand over Janaba, he must be insane.”

“Wouldn’t Janaba be wonderful?”

The chief, who welcomed anything that would increase the finances of the Priedom Royal Family, widened his eyes and nodded enthusiastically. But he mulled over the King’s words again and wore a puzzled expression.

“What do you mean the Duke is crazy with love?”

“It’s because he doesn’t want his lover to go to a dangerous place; hence, this fuss.”

“The Duke has a lover?”

The chief, who was supposed to gather all the rumors in Priedom, looked utterly shocked at the information that even the Royal Household didn’t know. The King grinned.

“The promise to hand over Janaba assures me.”

The King leisurely waved the letter.

*What should I do?* he thought. *Oh, but does this wizard even know about the current situation? That his lover offered to give up Janaba for him, I mean.*

“Bring Vanessa Rose from the Magic Division. If she’s left the castle, go to her house and bring her here.”

The King leisurely tapped his lips with his finger. The attendants, who had stepped back, lowered their heads and tightly shut their mouths. The Duke’s secret would not dare to leak out.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Vanessa was in the library of the Second Castle, well past her quitting time.

Quite some time had passed since she learned that Gideon hadn’t said a word to her about his injury. Vanessa hadn’t said much to Gideon since then either. No, she didn’t know what to say.

He still worried about Vanessa. He regretted not being able to be by her side and wanted to know about her daily life. He worried that the winter cold might befall Vanessa.

However, among the neat handwriting and affectionate sentences, there was no mention of taking care of his injured self.

Having realized this, Vanessa had been deliberately avoiding contacting Gideon lately. Her magic practice had somehow become listless, so there was no need to cram herself into that small room early.

She stared blankly at the small desk. A crude map that she had been examining while investigating Retima Quina was placed there. The markings on it remained the same.

The words floating in her head were extremely confusing: Retima Quina, immature wizards, the magic circle of the Night Vandals, the flood of monsters.

She wanted to tie it all together.

Vanessa circled the area on the map, Mosara, several times. A place where monsters rarely appeared. It was also the place where Evan and Dalois had told her that a unique accent remained.

*As she had thought back then, there was something very unique here… because there was the only temple in Priedom dedicated to Ramaira [the Priedom goddess].*

She remembered what Retima Quina had said along with her unique accent. She had mentioned God while talking about the temple.

‘God, Ramaira.’

*Monsters don’t appear because there’s a temple, is that even possible?*

Clearly, there was a time when monsters appeared in Mosara as well. It was recorded several decades ago, but the presence of a temple didn’t mean that monsters wouldn’t appear. This was definitely strange.

The evidence was vague and scattered, but it was possible to tie those separate words together.

‘Retima Quina has a unique accent.’

‘The people in the organization that creates chimeras have a unique accent.’

‘Retima Quina needed a wizard.’

‘A wizard is needed to create chimeras.’

‘Mosara is an area where a unique accent remains and there is a temple.’

‘Monsters and chimeras do not appear in Mosara.’

If you put this together…

‘Retima Quina belongs to an organization that creates chimeras and needed a wizard, and that organization was created in the temple.’

*Well, such a sentence was possible. It was a huge stretch, though.*

This would explain why chimeras or monsters do not appear only in Mosara, and it would also explain why Retima Quina approached her.

But it was a very dangerous thought. It meant that the temple was rebelling against the King of Priedom.

Also, even if this guess was correct, there was still no evidence. It wasn’t something she could figure out.

“Ah….”

Vanessa tilted her head back and squeezed her eyes shut. She thought she didn’t know what she was doing. *Was it that she wanted to go to the Special Forces now, even though she belonged to the Magic Division?*

She raised her hand and pressed her throbbing head. *No, that’s not it.*

At first, she was curious as to why Retima Quina was targeting her. She was curious about the incidents involving the wizard Tara and illegal wizards.

But now she was curious about what Gideon was doing. She was upset that she was staying in safe Priedom without even knowing that he was hurt.

She lowered her head again, grabbed a pen, and began to rummage through books about the traces of the Night Vandals.

Vanessa was so focused that she didn’t notice anyone approaching. So it wasn’t until it was time to tear open a new ink that she noticed someone standing next to her.

“Ugh!”

Ack. The short man smiled gently at the barely swallowed scream.

‘Hello.’

‘Oh, yes. Hello.’

Vanessa glanced at the man. He was a very ordinary-looking person. He was so ordinary that he even felt somewhat vague.

The pin on his collar was very different from Vanessa’s, with a thin pin piercing a pearl, creating a very antique feel.

The man was still smiling and didn’t say anything more. When Vanessa gave him a puzzled look, one of the officials who was sitting next to her, pretending to read a book, quickly gestured.

As Vanessa leaned towards him, the official quickly whispered.

‘It’s the Royal Household. Get up and follow him!’

Vanessa got up with a bang. Despite the noise that didn’t fit in the library, everyone pretended not to hear and buried their heads on their desks.

The man, who had been smiling gently, then turned and walked out. Vanessa followed without even having time to organize her books.

Vanessa thought the man would tell her the reason right away, but he didn’t stop and walked down the stairs. And then he suddenly opened his mouth.

“I am Jaro from the Royal Household. Of course, it’s an alias.”

“I’m Vanessa Rose from the Magic Division….”

“I know.”

Vanessa was confused because she couldn’t figure out why the Royal Household was taking her.

*What did she do wrong? Could it be that scattering light in the night sky the other day was a problem? But Jona Hill told her to keep it a secret that she realized the conditions, so she ran away quickly.*

Jaro knew that the official following behind him was full of curiosity, but he had no mouth to reveal the King’s intentions.

As they walked in silence, Vanessa realized that she was heading in a direction she had never been before. *This direction is…*

“Are we perhaps going to the First Castle?”

Jaro was still smiling and didn’t say anything. Soon, a carriage with a dark purple cloth appeared on the garden path. The emblem stamped on it was the royal emblem of Priedom.

“Please get in.”

Vanessa quietly got into the small carriage. The carriage moved without a single rattling sound.

Before long, the carriage stopped smoothly, and Vanessa got off in front of the First Castle. Vanessa moved to where Jaro was heading. Jaro moved silently, as if gliding.

How could one possibly describe the splendor inside?

Vanessa had imagined a solemn appearance like a temple, but the inside sparkled like a jewel. Every seam was decorated with ornate gold sculptures, and the ceiling was filled with murals, making her feel intimidated by the gazes of the figures in the paintings.

And what about the chandeliers that were hung every few steps? Now they would be using magic stone lamps, but the chandeliers were faithfully recreating the glory of the past.

While Vanessa was busy looking around, they had already entered deep inside the castle. The splendor of different feelings never got old, no matter how many times she looked at it. Vanessa was curiously peeking into the room at the end of the hallway.

“That place is called the Room of Patience. The color of the wallpaper is truly beautiful. The chairs decorated with dark green velvet also blend in well, you see.”

The moment Vanessa came to her senses at the sudden voice, Jaro was already deeply bowing. Vanessa was horrified and followed suit.

Because the King was standing in the hallway.