Chapter 56

Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Never Mind The Heir, I’ll Focus On Healing

No, it wasn’t on fire.

The cellar, previously cast in shadow by the entity’s sorcery, was simply illuminated.

Freya snapped her mouth shut, letting out a sharp hiccup.

It had manifested.

Patrick Asteri.

“Head of the Family.”

“You have arrived.”

-So, this half-elf kid attempted to abduct my grandson, is that correct?

“……”

On closer observation, this didn’t appear to be Patrick Asteri’s physical form.

It was likely a projection or illusion technique.

Yet what practical difference did that make?

Whether it was Patrick himself or his projection’s progenitor, Freya’s fate was sealed.

“She maintains it was a misunderstanding, but the elder brother’s attendant, Elvia, verified signatures of her attempting to channel mana just moments prior. We have likewise detained her accomplices concealed within the woods.”

-Where are they being held?

“They are confined within a separate subterranean cell.”

-Very well.

Marquis Petrik’s phantom gazed intently upon Freya.

“Eeeek…!”

Freya’s frame trembled violently.

Though merely an apparition, it carried the sheer weight of an archmage’s true might.

Extended exposure would inevitably induce severe psychological trauma.

-Do you have any final remarks, abductor?

“I-I’m sorry! I am truly sorry! I was merely consumed by jealousy! I coveted your mastery so desperately, I wished for you to become my mentor…!”

Waaaaah!

Freya finally broke down in tears.

-Hmph.

“……”

“……Mmm.”

Watching the captor sob uncontrollably left the assembled company and the singular witch entirely at a loss for words.

They had yet to determine if the half-elf’s claims held any truth.

Regardless, the mechanics of the abduction remained undisputed.

Even considering notions of mentors and apprentices, Lion—whom they guarded with such fierce loyalty—was a direct scion of the Asteri lineage.

Hitherto, his kin had shielded him as best they could, but fundamentally, he possessed irreplaceable aristocratic standing.

Furthermore, of late… his worth had escalated beyond common estimation.

He had claimed ownership of the Library Labyrinth and the legacies left by the Hero.

Beyond that, he operated as an alchemist capable of feats no contemporary could replicate.

Consequently, despite the half-elf maiden’s weeping, she could not simply be pardoned.

Particularly given her entanglements with the criminal underworld.

-Elvia.

“At your command, my lord.”

-Utilize your craft as a witch to probe the child’s consciousness.

“A witch’s craft…”

Rixchel, who had awaited the ruling of the family head, Patrick, murmured under his breath.

A witch?

In a flash, disparate details in Rixchel’s mind locked into place like a completed jigsaw puzzle.

Silvia’s abrupt retirement, paired with the sudden arrival of an attendant named Elvia possessing terrifying power.

And his older brother’s easy familiarity with Elvia, suggesting an acquaintance spanning years.

Along with…

“The power that manifested unheralded from the darkness.”

Indeed. Why had he failed to piece this together sooner?

Did that not epitomize the capabilities of a witch?

Rixchel drew a sharp breath and turned his gaze to Elvia.

*Smile.*

Elvia offered Rixchel a gentle grin.

“It remains a privilege to cross paths with you once more, Young Master.”

“……”

Granny Sylvia. Or rather, Elvia displayed no shame in having deceived them.

She merely remarked that it was pleasing to see him again.

Curiously, Rixchel felt no surge of anger.

Instead, a profound sense of warmth and relief washed over him.

Indeed. If this was Granny Sylvia.

If she truly was a witch, his older brother’s security was hardly a matter for concern.

Had she not demonstrated as much today?

Without Elvia’s intervention, his older brother might well have been spirited away.

She possessed the means to safeguard him without restricting his autonomy.

Naturally, he would demand a full explanation once this crisis concluded.

“Step back slightly, lest you be caught within the incantation.”

Elvia stepped directly in front of Freya and slowly lowered her eyelids.

Rixchel and Patrick retreated paces apart.

“Hold on, just a second. What are you planning to do?”

“Hush.”

Ironically, Freya was the one descending into panic.

A witch? Delving into thoughts?

What madness was this?

‘D-Did I commit an unforgivable transgression?’

What is happening?

“Composure, half-elf child. Resisting will merely amplify your suffering. It would serve you better to slumber briefly.”

The moment the words left her lips, Elvia exhaled softly across her palm.

Dark mana suffused Freya’s physique, causing her limbs to instantly go slack.

“I shall now extract and examine this half-elf’s memories.”

The shadow at Elvia’s feet fractured into six distinct silhouettes, the basement illumination flickering in rhythm with the multiplying shades.

It resembled the crude storyboard of an ancient dramatist.

The initial shadow reached outward, while the second brushed against Freya’s form, extracting an intangible essence.

The subsequent shadow consumed it, stretching upward until a blurred monochromatic visage erupted from the sixth shadow’s grasp.

Elvia caught it from the sixth shadow and suspended it within the gloom of the cellar.

*Fwoosh.*

A brilliant pallid glow ignited, immediately projecting Freya’s recollections outward.

—

Through his spirit projection, Patrick Asteri observed the reconstructed memories of Freya, expertly woven by Silvia.

The sequence originated with the elixir procured from the Magic Tower.

-This substance?

-It was shared by Lion Asteri during his visit to the Magic Tower.

His gaze narrowed as though he had stumbled upon a revelation within the draught.

‘Is he executing alchemy at a tier surpassing my own?’

Concurrently, Freya’s internal monologue manifested with absolute clarity.

A scene flashed showing her issuing directives, followed by the receipt of a returned vial.

-Minus 10 points.

P.S. Do not duplicate.

A subsequent segment depicted her fuming with indignation, vowing to track him down personally.

Following that, she infiltrated the Mimir Forest alone and consumed the fruit alongside Lion.

…To speak plainly.

“There is no malice here.”

Patrick murmured through his spiritual link, prompting concurring nods from the observers.

Even Freya’s abduction scenario was absurdly benign.

An opulent chamber, lavish provisions.

A premier-grade atmospheric purification talisman was provided against any risk of suffocation, alongside a miniature replica of the Mimir Forest garden to soothe her potential homesickness…

“Hm?”

Amidst these projections, a specific detail caught Patrick Asteri’s attention.

“That.”

“Does something require your scrutiny?”

Elvia halted the projection and turned toward Patrick.

“The frame from a moment ago.”

-Salamander! Stoke the crucible!

“Hm.”

“Is that… a elemental spirit?”

Rixchel, tracking the identical scene, voiced his astonishment.

Indeed. The reptilian entity summoned to fire the alchemical furnace!

Even rendered in monochrome, its nature was unmistakable.

That constituted a flame elemental, summonable solely by an intermediate-tier spirit medium at minimum.

“How could a half-elf command an intermediate spirit… Is such a feat not confined to the half-elf’s imagination?”

“Negative. Even so, such vivid cognition cannot materialize absent genuine lived experience.”

That implied this half-elf possessed at least intermediate spirit attunement…

“Can half-elves even perceive spirits?”

Such a deficit was precisely why crossbreeds between elves and other races faced ostracization within elven society.

Their insular culture dismissed them as flawed entities incapable of fulfilling traditional duties.

Moreover, Freya’s wayward path had driven her deep into the underworld…

Leading everyone to assume her kin had long since abandoned her.

Yet to hold dominion over spirits.

That fundamentally alters the dynamic.

Elvenkind regards those who master elementals with profound reverence.

Regardless of whether the practitioner was a marginalized half-elf.

Perhaps, at the very least…

“That rule hardly applies to offspring born of common elven stock.”

He calculated the necessity of returning to the estate without delay.

“If the parentage extends beyond ordinary elves.”

“Indeed. If she descends from a High Elf and a human lineage, exhibiting elevated spiritual resonance is entirely plausible.”

“……”

High Elf.

A select echelon functioning essentially as the monarchs of elvenkind.

They command spans far exceeding common elves, retaining their youthful appearance indefinitely…

Unlike typical elves, however, their temperaments are notoriously volatile.

Stationed above them sit the Elder Elves, who stood alongside the Hero to vanquish the fiends.

‘Boaresia.’

An old cohort from Patrick’s past campaigns.

“……”

Noticing Patrick’s voice trailing off, Elvia dissolved the sorcery.

The six shadows collapsed back into one, and the cluster of memories reintegrated smoothly into Freya’s unconscious frame.

Simultaneously.

*Flash!*

A blinding radiance erupted from Patrick’s projected form, surging toward Freya’s body as though to obliterate it…

*Crackle-!*

An arcane ward of the spirit realm materialized instantly, carrying a disembodied voice.

『…Oh, could that be Patrick Asteri?』

It possessed a melodic, resonant timbre impervious even to vocal alteration magic.

-It has been a duration.

『Scarcely long at all, merely fifty years… Ah. Though for humanity, I suppose that constitutes an age. Yet you occupy that vessel only as a projection, do you not? Hmm, this complicates matters.』

“……”

Rixchel gestured discreetly toward Elvia.

Though the underlying mechanics escaped him, events were escalating.

While he could demand explanations later, his older brother remained vulnerable at present.

Nod.

Elvia offered a brief affirmative inclination before melting soundlessly into the shadows.

-What introduces complication?

『Your interference with that troublesome one’s warding barriers has prompted our kinsmen to mobilize toward your location.』

-……

『Fully armed.』

-You permitted his wanderings purely for your own amusement.

『Hahahaha, naturally. Longevity breeds a fondness for mischief. Therefore, I suggest preparing a proper reception for our delegation without delay.』

-And should I fail to extend an adequate welcome?

『Do not test the limits. This excursion will serve to educate our energetic youth regarding the wider world. Modern youngsters tend toward isolation far exceeding my own.』

-Hmph.

『Furthermore, it shall prove an invaluable crucible for your descendants. Mutual instruction awaits us all. Hoho. Until our meeting.』

The melodious cadence ceased its transmission upon delivering its final remark.

“Head of the Family. To whom do we refer?”

-Were they mortal, you might style them an Emperor.

“……”

-Though their utterances drift like down, their resolve remains unyielding. Ensure our “guests” are thoroughly received until my return.

“Understood. Ah, what of Older Brother…?”

-Hmph. Keep him secured as tightly as feasible. I shall hasten back with all possible speed.

Both parties understood that Lion defied simple concealment.

Consequently, they adopted a strategy of minimizing interference while ensuring he avoided flagrant displays.

After all, elvenkind held little intrinsic interest in alchemical pursuits.

It remained a blessing that the Elder Elf Boaresia had spared them a personal visit.

Truly, by that juncture, the situation had surpassed the institutional capacity of the ducal house to arbitrate.

‘He would demand a reception befitting an imperial dignitary rather than a mere guest of the Duke.’