CH 111

After that, it was easy. 

As Riett went to capture Count Terrator, Evan carried a large bag and brought back the person who had been in the building. The person who planted the explosives turned out to be Count Terrator’s close cousin and trusted aide. 

Therefore, it wasn’t difficult to prove that this incident was Terrator’s wrongdoing

Count Terrator’s trial resumed. He had tried to collapse the courtroom and kill many people, including the emperor himself, so his charges increased. 

He was sentenced to death for those crimes, and all his properties were confiscated, and his title was revoked.

Simultaneously with Count Terrator’s downfall, Riett rose again. As soon as the exiled returned and cleared her name, it was only natural for her to overthrow Count Terrator, who had been the core of the conservative faction.

Moreover, thanks to Riett, the people who had their lives saved in the courtroom naturally showed a favorable attitude toward her. 

It wasn’t intentional, but many conservative faction members had been skeptical of themselves among the people present at the trial that day, so they played a definite role in dramatically changing public opinion.

People were curious about Riett’s abilities that they had witnessed that day. There were many rumors, such as Riett becoming a mage in exile or secretly acquiring magical tools while in Parman.

Riett briefly mentioned it to the mister who had saved her life in the courtroom. 

Surprisingly, he was not surprised. He even seemed calm, as if he had expected it. But Riett soon understood his reaction. After all, he was the one who had first mentioned spirit magic.

‘Well, the mister’s foresight is remarkable.’

Even the emperor was curious about the abilities he had seen that day. 

Riett postponed her answer, saying that she would tell him after Count Terrator’s case was completely resolved. Because as soon as she mentioned spirit magic, she would have to start a long conversation about spirit stones, without being able to rejoice in the fact that she had defeated Count Terrator.

After the trial of Count Terrator ended, Riett stayed at the mansion for about a month. During that time, she received all the updates through her aide, Bern.

There was a lot to do during her break. Remembering the hard days one by one, Riett nodded to herself.

‘Yes, there were many.’

In the meantime, she had to do a lot of preparation. Now that she thought they were mostly done, Riett stood in front of the Emperor’s office.

As she entered, the Emperor jumped up to greet Riett, showing a bright face that she hadn’t seen since after the trial.

“Duchess Marren.”

It was the first time she saw His Majesty’s face so bright after the trial. As Count Terrator, who had been the core of his worries, had been taken care of, it must have felt like removing an ailment.

Riett slightly lowered her head and responded to the welcome.

“Your Majesty, I hope you have been well.”

“As well as can be.”

As soon as Riett sat down, the Emperor spoke.

“Have you rested well during this time?”

Riett stared at the Emperor’s face, which was only bright but didn’t know what would happen next. In a way, her break was also a break for His Majesty.

If she talks about what will happen next, it will cast a shadow over the Emperor, who has regained peace.

“It was a time of recharging in many ways.”

During her break, Riett didn’t rest for a single day. 

No, she couldn’t rest. 

She had to train relentlessly to enhance her spirit magic as quickly as possible. Her spirit magic had drastically increased in power every time a crisis arose. 

For example, when she saved Evan from falling under the bridge, her abilities greatly improved. Similarly, in the courtroom… she was also able to use that level of power and maybe it’s because it was a life-or-death situation. 

Thanks to that, her spirit magic had advanced rapidly, but it was still not enough. She couldn’t just wait for another crisis that would further strengthen her spirit magic. That’s why she called Mishan and trained extensively in the mansion. 

Thanks to intensive training day and night, she had become much more skilled at using her power compared to the beginning. 

While she wasn’t sure how far she could push herself, she felt confident that she could exert a power similar to what she had used in the courtroom without much difficulty. And, above all, her recovery time after depleting her power had become much faster. 

Like an endless flowing spring, even if she used her power and became exhausted, she quickly recovered after a short period. 

There had been significant progress in a relatively short period.

‘Dealing with Perante will be a whole different challenge.’

The reason Riett was so determined to train in the mansion was that she suspected she would confront Perante sooner or later. That was also why she had come to announce her presence to the Emperor.

“Having dealt with Count Terrator, things should go smoother now. What plans do you have in mind? I suppose tax reform would be the most urgent matter.”

The Emperor, unaware of Riett’s inner thoughts, enthusiastically continued talking. However, Riett shook her head.

“No. Tax reform is undoubtedly an urgent matter, but I think it would be better to find the spirit stone first.”

“Huh? How can we find the spirit stone without Perante?”

“We can find them even without him.”

The Emperor’s eyebrows lifted as he heard the certainty in Riett’s voice. Only then did he realize that she had something else in mind.

Riett looked straight into the Emperor’s surprised eyes and spoke smartly.

“I will find them myself.”

“You don’t mean you’re going to…….”

Riett nodded.

“Yes, because I have become a spirit mage.”

The Emperor covered his forehead and let out a breath. It took a moment for the stunned emperor to compose himself.

Riett patiently waited, sipping her tea with a calm neck.

“…Since when?”

“I manifested my powers in Parman.”

In a way, she might not have achieved this without the Emperor. 

He had been the reason she was exiled to Parman, and it was there that she met Mishan. Although Mishan would have revealed himself eventually since he had been lurking around, the crisis they faced expedited the timing.

“Heh… Truly incredible. To have two spirit mages in the same era. And one of them is you!”

The Emperor was still looking at Riett with eyes wide open.

Riett couldn’t help but think that if the Emperor kept his eyes wide open like that, the wrinkles around his eyes might disappear.

“And there’s one more thing. I believe I have discovered the location of the spirit stone.”

At Riett’s words, the Emperor’s eyes widened once again.

Riett was genuinely worried that the Emperor’s eyeballs might pop out.

“Is that true…?”

“Yes, I obtained some hints while staying in Parman.”

As Riett spoke, she couldn’t help but think that her visit to Parman had been a stroke of luck. Not only did she form a contract with a spirit, but she also discovered the approximate location of the spirit stone. 

That’s why one should never easily become discouraged. You never know how a crisis can turn into an opportunity.

“But if it’s Parman, didn’t the Haren Empire already send an exploration team there once, even though Perante accompanied them and it turned out to be fruitless?”

“The spirit stone is undoubtedly located somewhere underground in the snowy region. It’s usually buried under the snow, so it’s likely that the exploration team couldn’t find it.”

Riett had to admit that she had been incredibly lucky. Just a few days before leaving, the snow had melted, revealing an entrance to an underground cave.

‘Even someone as skilled as Perante couldn’t detect it because it was buried under the snow.’

Furthermore, if Evan hadn’t been there with her at that time, they wouldn’t have been able to remove the barrier at the entrance of the cave.

“Well, then we should leave immediately to find it.”

The Emperor clenched his fist in excitement. However, Riett interrupted his enthusiasm by shaking her head.

“But there’s something we need before that.”

During her stay at the mansion, Riett had also deeply pondered about the spirit stone. Although she had grasped some clues about the stones before returning to the capital, the cave had collapsed and erased all traces. 

If she had the power, she would have used her spirit magic to search every nook and cranny, but she didn’t have enough strength for that yet.

‘Although I do have the compass…’

If the spirit stone went out of control, she would be able to sense its power from anywhere in the vast snowy region.

As soon as she heard the news from the captain of the guards of Parman that the compass had started moving, she could set off and arrive before the rampage ended. However, if that happened, there would likely be natural disasters and casualties. 

She couldn’t bear that risk.

While there was a possibility of finding the stone before a natural disaster occurred by immediately leaving as soon as the compass showed a faint reaction, she couldn’t just stay in Parman and watch the compass. 

That was not her role.

The reason she wanted to find the spirit stone before tasks like tax reform was that she couldn’t leave the people of Parman at risk of a disaster.

Therefore, Riett came up with another way to find the stone—a method to forcibly stimulate and elicit a reaction from it. 

When she used her spirit magic in the underground cave in the snowy region, the stone responded sensitively, causing the cave to collapse. It seemed that the stone had done so to protect itself.

So, Riett speculated that if she released the power of the spirit throughout the entire snowy region, the stone that reacted to that power might emit its power again for a brief moment. However, this raised another issue.

She couldn’t spread the power of the spirit throughout the vast snowy region on her own. 

As she contemplated this, Riett derived a solution. To use this method, she needed someone else’s help—a powerful spirit mage.

‘Even if that person happens to be an enemy…’

Riett raised her head and asked the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, have you had any contact with Perante?”

“Contact with Perante has been completely severed. It seems the Haren Empire is in the same situation.”

She had expected this answer, but she asked just in case. 

With rumors swirling about him, and the possibility of being branded a traitor wherever he went, it was only natural that Perante would have gone into hiding. 

However, Riett was curious.

Why did Perante betray the Truto Empire? 

The Emperor treated Perante as a valuable asset and if he had found the spirit stone, Perante would have received even better treatment. 

Upon careful consideration, Riett still couldn’t find the answer. 

What kind of change in mindset led him to join the Haren Empire? Because of that, she had to endure tremendous hardship while being accused of being a spy. 

‘…Wait.’

Riett’s expression hardened. 

Surely, Perante wouldn’t have orchestrated all of this just to frame her as a spy…? If that were the case, it would be even more incomprehensible. 

Riett and Perante had only met once, and there was no reason for any grudge to be held.

‘Hmm…’

Even so, Riett found it difficult to easily dismiss this uncomfortable conjecture. She made up her mind to ask Perante for an explanation when they meet again. 

“Well, for now, it seems there’s no way to contact Perante.” 

“Do we really have to contact Perante…?” 

“We need Perante to accurately locate the spirit stone.” 

The Emperor’s eyebrows slightly raised, indicating his lack of understanding. 

“Didn’t you say earlier that we could find it without Perante? He’s a traitor. We can’t join forces with him now.” 

“I don’t mean to join forces, but rather to use him. We need his cooperation to find the precise location of the spirit stone, pretending to work together.” 

“And then… what happens next?” 

“We fight and defeat him to obtain it.” 

That’s why Riett tirelessly honed her skills, preparing for the inevitable battle against Perante.