Chapter 50
“If Cecil finds out we’re meeting separately, she’ll think something is strange. Let’s get straight to the point.”
Sophia tapped the rim of her teacup with a teaspoon to get everyone’s attention.
It was Melania, who had arranged this meeting, who began the main discussion.
“First, let’s talk about the possibility that Cecil’s mana vessel wasn’t destroyed, but is instead wandering somewhere inside the imperial palace.”
“Before that, I have a question. Cecil is receiving mana from His Highness the Second Prince. Is there any chance that the mana she’s getting is actually her original mana?”
“No. A person who still possesses their own mana vessel cannot absorb someone else’s mana vessel.”
In other words, Cecilia’s mana vessel could not reside inside Lionel’s body. The fact that their mana traits were the same was truly a coincidence.
…Or perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence. Their union had been destined since birth.
“If there are no more questions, I’ll continue. Most likely, Cecil’s mana vessel remained intact because it separated together with a fragment of her soul.”
Melania explained that she had confirmed this from the research journal of a senior mage left in the Mage Tower.
A madman who uses mana vessels as experimental material might appear once every hundred years, but surprisingly, many mages had used fragments of their own souls for experiments. That was how spirit familiar magic had originally been created.
According to Melania’s research, there were more ways than expected—actually, quite simple ways—to fix a soul fragment onto a physical object.
“To summarize, the soul fragment containing Cecil’s mana vessel was probably fixed onto an object protected by preservation magic.”
“Preservation magic? There must be many such items in the imperial palace…”
“Is there any way to narrow it down further?” Duke Rohaim asked.
Melania fell silent for a moment before answering.
“Most likely, it would be an object that was near her spirit familiar at the moment it was destroyed.”
Cecilia had regained her mana on the day she visited the Second Prince’s palace.
If her soul fragment really was inside the Second Prince’s palace…
“We cannot ignore the possibility that His Highness the Second Prince destroyed our Cecil’s spirit familiar.”
“We cannot be certain. It could also have been someone else within the Second Prince’s palace.”
After that, a heavy silence fell over the drawing room.
Everyone wore complicated expressions.
Sophia was the first to speak with a soft sigh.
“In the end… what matters most is exactly where and by whom Cecil’s spirit familiar was destroyed.”
“If only we at least knew what kind of animal her spirit familiar was…”
“Speaking of that, Sophia. Has nothing come to mind?”
Sophia silently shook her head.
Just then—
Knock, knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the closed door made everyone tense for a moment.
But realizing it was not the prearranged signal in case Cecilia came, Sophia relaxed and said,
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Eunice stepped inside.
“I greet the Duchess….”
She had come simply because Sophia had called for her, but when she saw everyone gathered in the drawing room, she looked surprised.
‘Why is everyone here except the young lady…?’
Sophia addressed her.
“I called you because I have something to ask about Cecil when she was young.”
“When the young lady was young? But…”
Eunice had left Cecilia’s side at the age of seven to focus on her training and only returned when Cecilia was thirteen, becoming her guard maid.
Sophia, knowing this well, nodded reassuringly.
“I mean before she turned seven.”
“It has been a long time, so I cannot be certain… but please ask.”
Duke Rohaim immediately spoke.
“Do you know anything about Cecilia’s spirit familiar?”
“Pardon? A spirit familiar?”
Eunice looked confused.
Everyone sighed softly at her reaction.
“We thought you might know…”
“It seems Cecil kept it from you as well.”
“What do you mean? I was under the impression that spirit familiar magic can only be used after reaching adulthood. Am I mistaken?”
Melania answered her.
“It is not that it can only be used after adulthood. It is that it should be used after adulthood. If attempted too young and it fails, the backlash is severe.”
“Backlash? …Surely.”
“Yes. The fever Cecil suffered at seven years old was caused by the destruction of her spirit familiar.”
Melania explained what had happened to Cecil back then.
Eunice listened quietly, barely suppressing her anger.
“Are you saying… that His Highness the Second Prince destroyed the young lady’s spirit familiar?”
“We do not know who the culprit is. But there is a high chance it was someone from the Second Prince’s palace.”
“The reason we are telling you this is because, aside from Cecil, you are the one among us who can most easily approach the Second Prince’s palace.”
Their meaning was clear.
If Eunice found an object in the Second Prince’s palace that seemed to hold Cecil’s soul fragment, she was to secretly bring it back.
“I understand. However, I do not know how to use magic. How would I identify the young lady’s soul fragment?”
“I will make a magical tool for you. However, I need Cecil’s original mana to create it, so that must wait until she regains her original mana at least once.”
“Then in the meantime, I will try to search on my own.”
“Thank you.”
“You must keep this a secret from Cecil. Understood?”
After hearing why it had to remain secret, Eunice nodded solemnly.
Relieved to have gained a reliable ally, Sophia let out a quiet breath. Then she suddenly asked,
“Do you remember any fairy tale book Cecil liked when she was little?”
“A fairy tale book?”
“Yes. There was an animal she liked so much that she said she would bring it home herself.”
“She read more than just one or two fairy tale books,” Duke Rohaim muttered.
All the fairy tale books Cecilia loved as a child were still preserved in the duchy. But there were so many that even after examining them all, the Duke could not determine which animal she liked most.
“I’m sorry. I cannot recall anything specific.”
“It cannot be helped.”
“It may be faster to search for animals that were seen around His Highness the Second Prince.”
“Leave that to me. I will discreetly ask around.”
While it would be difficult to enter the Second Prince’s palace, Bellose, who worked in the imperial palace, was well suited to gather information from palace servants.
As everyone looked at Bellose with reassurance, Eunice suddenly gasped softly.
“What is it? Did you remember something?”
“Well… the young lady once said she heard this directly from His Highness the Second Prince.”
“…Ah, that’s right! Rio once raised a bluebird when he was young.”
“She said that His Highness kept a bluebird when he was a child.”
“A bluebird?”
“A bluebird! There was a fairy tale with a bluebird that Cecil used to read!” Duke Rohaim exclaimed, clapping his hands.
Albert quickly asked, “Did you hear what happened to that bluebird?”
“No. I did not hear the details. Perhaps the young lady did.”
“Then when you get the chance, could you casually ask her what happened to it? How the bluebird died… for example.”
“Yes. I will try.”
At this point, the animal most likely to have been Cecilia’s spirit familiar was a bluebird.
The others still kept other possibilities open, but Eunice was convinced.
‘So that’s why the young lady used a bluebird illusion when she made that magical tool.’
Even the Second Prince had reacted when he saw that illusion.
Recalling the longing in his eyes at the time, Eunice thought it was unlikely that he was the one who destroyed the bluebird.
Most likely…
‘Was it the First Prince?’
From what Cecilia often complained about, the First Prince had bullied the Second Prince terribly since childhood.
Eunice considered sharing her suspicion but remained silent. She had promised to keep everything about Cecilia and the bluebird magical tool a secret.
‘For now, recovering the young lady’s soul fragment is the most important thing.’
First, they needed to determine exactly where the bluebird had been destroyed.
Eunice began thinking deeply about how she could carefully question Cecilia without arousing suspicion.