The building was locked from the outside.

‘All right.’

He wasn’t a thief, but as the head of an intelligence guild, he often had to pick locks.

Delphi was able to open the door of this suspicious building only after using detection magic enhanced by the magic item given to him by the emperor.

Inside, there were several beds that could accommodate a large number of people. However, there were chains on each bed for some reason.

‘Is this a hospital? Or a prison?’

As detected by magic, all the beds were empty. A small desk piled with papers was placed to the side.

Instinctively realizing that they were important documents, Delphi quickly approached them.

“What in the world is this…!”

And he gasped involuntarily after seeing the contents of the documents.

His eyes were accustomed to all sorts of things and yet shook as he hurriedly read through the documents. The contents of the documents were beyond his imagination.

“What in the world!”

At that moment, a loud shout was heard. He turned around reflexively, and it was one of the guards who had passed him earlier. Judging from the bag he was holding in his hand, it seemed that he had come back for something he had left behind.

“Damn it.”

Hearing the sound of a sword being drawn, Guild Master Delphi reflexively ran. In an instant, he approached the wall, swiftly broke through a window on one side, and jumped outside.

“Catch him!”

Delphi ran desperately, spurred by the shouts of the guards chasing him.

‘I must deliver it.’

The future of the empire was in his hands.

* * *

“Huff, huff.”

Covered in wounds, Guild Master Delphi finally arrived at the third rendezvous point. The previous two rendezvous points had already been compromised.

“Ugh.”

His wounds were so deep that his breathing was getting heavier. However, the bigger problem was his consciousness, which had been fading since earlier.

It seemed to be the result of the magic the enemy mage had used when he escaped from the second rendezvous point.

He wouldn’t have survived if not for the protective magic artifact lent to him by the emperor.

“Delphi!”

At that moment, just as he was about to collapse, a miracle happened before him.

Leading the royal guards and Maison, the princess appeared.

“Are you alright?”

Siervian had gone around the city against her father’s wishes to find Guild Master Delphi, whose whereabouts were unknown.

The place where she finally found him seemed to be a spare rendezvous point designated by the Justice Guild.

“Delphi?”

“Guild Master. Please say something!”

Maison spoke anxiously from the side. The Guild Master’s condition didn’t look good.

[Delphi Borgir]
Thought: Damn it. I can’t open my mouth. Is it a silence spell? I need to write something.

“He’s been hit by magic! We need to treat him first.”

The knights rushed in and supported Delphi. The moment his large body was laid down in the old wooden house used as a rendezvous point, Siervian cast healing magic.

“The Guild Master’s condition is strange. It seems like he’s been hit by some kind of spell that prevents him from speaking.”

“It’s a silence spell. This spell will naturally wear off, but it takes a long time.”

Sir Roid guessed the situation at Maison’s worried comment.

Siervian nodded and continued to gather mana. Soon, a bright light burst out, and the Guild Master’s wounds began to heal.

His wounds were improving, but Delphi was on the verge of losing consciousness. It was because he had traveled a hard path to break through the encirclement and escape.

[Delphi Borgir]
Thought: I need to tell Maison. Tea shop, flower candy, ugh, 1st place…

“Delphi! The information is…! Oh no.”

As soon as the treatment was completed, Maison checked Delphi’s body all over. It was an attempt to find the information he had obtained, but there was nothing in Delphi’s arms.

Soon, Maison’s face turned pale with dismay. She couldn’t rouse Delphi no matter how much she shook him.

“Your Highness…!”

The empire was now on the verge of a storm. Information was needed immediately to save the lives of the other guild members who were keeping the duke in check.

On the one hand, Maison was worried about the Guild Master, as he had returned wounded.

Fortunately, Siervian had an idea.

“Tea shop, flower candy, 1st place.”

“How do you…!”

Maison was greatly surprised and looked at the princess as Siervian uttered the Justice Guild’s secret code.

“There’s no time. Maison, do you know what it is?” Siervian asked urgently, as there was no time to explain.

Maison was briefly confused but quickly came to her senses. Then, she nodded firmly.

‘It’s almost done!’

After moving Delphi to a safe place, they returned to the city to find the crucial evidence.

* * *

“What are you talking about right now!”

“You, you must hide, Your Excellency!”

The Duke had been diligently erasing evidence of his involvement in the assassination attempt on the princess and exploded in anger.

Of all times, an intruder had entered Harmin Farm while the personnel there were briefly absent.

“They say that the bastard stole all the documents from the hospital. Your Excellency, this place is dangerous now, so please hurry…!”

“Damn it!”

Of all the many documents on the farm, it had to be the documents from the ‘hospital’!

He felt as if someone was pressuring him.

“Contact Her Majesty the Empress right now!”

Duke Pacour thought of his sister. Although her power had been reduced in various ways, she was still a member of the imperial family. She would surely devise a way to resolve the situation.

“That, that is. I tried to contact her earlier, but the communication device in the empress’ palace isn’t working.”

However, the knight only gave a hopeless answer.

This is the end.

The duke sensed that his grand plan had failed. Now, all that was left was regret and anger.

“I can’t just stand here and take it.”

“Your Excellency, please.”

“Summon the soldiers at once.”

The private soldiers that the emperor had secretly gathered were finally going to be put to use.

* * *

The information that Siervian had obtained through Delphi was decisive.

They had secured the data that Delphi had hidden while escaping from the secret location of the Justice Guild, as she had learned from the status window.

‘It was even more hideous than I had expected.’

Mana Deficiency, which children developed because of the empire’s magic circles, could be prevented with Harmin tea.

However, Mana Deficiency that adults developed because of their innate nature was an incurable disease.

That was what had been thought up until now.

‘To think it was all a lie.’

She had expected it, but there was no denying it. The ducal family knew that this Harmin herb was a poison that disrupted mana.

What was even more terrible was that the number of adults suffering from Mana Deficiency had increased due to using this Harmin herb.

‘Because they had been drinking Harmin tea since they were young, even those who wouldn’t have gotten it suffered from Mana Deficiency.…’

This fact was shocking, but the ‘treatment records’ they had discovered this time were amazing.

The ducal family had recorded the results of their cruel experiments, including the symptoms that appeared when they gave Harmin tea to adults with Mana Deficiency.

The results were all premature deaths.

‘My grandfather’s death wasn’t an accident either.’

The previous emperor, who had been thought to have died of old age, had actually been poisoned.

“Your Majesty, it is the captain of the guard.”

“Enter.”

As soon as Siervian brought the evidence with the Justice Guild, her father mobilized the entire guard.

It was also uncovered that the culprit behind the monster incident was an underling of the ducal family. A guild member who had infiltrated the Harmin farm from a different direction than the Delphin had brought additional evidence. There, commoner children with a mage aptitude were imprisoned.

‘There’s still no evidence that they sent assassins after me, but what’s already been revealed is enough.’

The ministers couldn’t hide their shock at the clear evidence.

Those of the aristocracy who had been secretly called by the emperor all fell silent. When the most powerful of the aristocracy closed their mouths, things proceeded like the flow of mana.

Until just a moment ago.

“The duke was warned and escaped.”

“He scurried away like a rat.”

“There remained many to block the guards. It seems they employed private soldiers.”

It was said that the soldiers were disguised as workers and mercenaries working on the Harmin farm.

Because they were hidden in the most difficult place to search, it was too late to discover private soldiers of that scale.

“Where is he?”

“That is… I apologize. We lost track of him on the outskirts of the city.”

Apparently, he had the help of a mage, but strangely, he wasn’t detected by the mana scan.

‘We can’t let him get away!’

From her experience, Siervian guessed that the duke had used a secret passage with magic.

“Father, I have somewhere I need to go for a moment.”

“Hmm? Where are you going, Siervy?”

“I’m going to find out where the duke went!”

Before her father could stop her, Siervian ran from the imperial palace.

Her steps quickened on their own because she was in such a hurry.

‘The empress must know.’

Of course, the empress wouldn’t cooperate obediently.

However, didn’t Siervian have a very reliable way to find out without the empress opening her mouth?

—