Chapter 163 - Black

Akkad stroked his chin and asked.

"Regent Ferda, did you not say that corpse had been buried? By now, it should have decayed, so would there be any clues to obtain from it?"

Naturally, he had already prepared a countermeasure for that.

"Young Master Yurei's corpse was buried, but it has been preserved exactly as it was at the time."

"Why did you cast preservation magic on it?"

"Because even if he insulted my fiancée, he was still someone's precious son from another country."

Ferda spoke as if to say he was not that much of a fool.

In truth, if Duke Yurei had not been used here as a strategic card, Ferda had intended to return the body to him.

"If you investigate, you should be able to determine its source well enough..."

He paused for a beat, then continued.

"And through this incident, you will be able to discover the true enemy hiding behind it."

"What do you mean by the true enemy?"

He cast out the bait.

"The true nature of the being bringing chaos to the Empire in order to lead this continent to ruin."

Ferda said they should not fight among themselves, but aim for the true enemy.

Surprisingly, the first person to agree with Ferda's proposal was Erdes.

"Then that should do it. If we just confirm who killed him, there's no need to make this difficult, is there?"

That would make the discussion flow more easily, and above all, since it dealt with dark magic, she had no choice but to be proactive.

"I agree as well. If Regent Ferda did not commit murder, and if we can uncover the true culprit, then they deserve to receive the wrath of great Altes."

Joseph Faust was also enthusiastic about Ferda's proposal.

"In that case, who would be best to entrust this autopsy to..."

At Akkad's murmur, Ferda answered swiftly.

"I would like Bishop Joseph Faust to perform the autopsy."

"What?"

Erdes's brow crumpled.

"If it concerns dark magic, shouldn't I naturally be the one entrusted with it?"

Everyone in the world knew how much she loathed dark magic.

And as much as she loathed it, her skill regarding it was also outstanding.

Even Joseph Faust, who had been named, acknowledged that fact.

"I also think that would be better, but... is there a particular reason you chose me?"

"It is a matter of transparency. I cannot expect transparency from the Chairman's investigation."

Ferda claimed that since he and Erdes were on bad terms, a biased result could come out.

That remark got under Erdes's skin.

"Are you saying I'd frame you?"

When she asked with a savage look, Ferda answered like this.

"If having made a father and son sever ties was not enough for you, then I will gladly leave it to you."

Ferda glared at her.

Even if he hated the father who had abandoned him, he did not hate him as much as he hated Erdes, who had made it happen.

Akkad, who stood in a neutral position, reached a conclusion as chairman.

"It seems there is history between you two... Then this seems a task suited to Bishop Joseph Faust. Bishop, can you do it?"

"I will conduct a fair and impartial investigation according to the light of Altes."

Erdes's hatred of dark magic was certainly strong, but she had no mercy, so public sentiment toward her was poor.

Erdes stared only at Ferda's face with an expression full of dissatisfaction.

They recessed for two hours to investigate the corpse.

Joseph moved with his attendants to transport Marcus's corpse.

"I will accompany them."

Concillus said so and moved together with Joseph.

He had to watch and see whether there was any intent to exert outside pressure, or whether there was any fabricator.

"Do so."

Ferda permitted it.

If things went as he expected, everything would be revealed through this investigation.

He would not let his guard down until the very end.

"Hey."

At the sound of a young voice growling, he raised his head.

Erdes Roton.

She had climbed onto the desk and was squatting there like a thug.

"Do I look like a pushover to you?"

Anger blazed in her eyes.

"Or do you think that because you've got such reliable backing, I can't touch you? Which is it? Hm? Hm? Hey, answer me."

"Chairman, you cannot do this here..."

"Small fry can get lost. I'm not in the mood to play with you."

Erdes's face was strained with veins after being subjected to so many insults.

Ferda did not look away from that face.

"I have a valid reason."

"Because you're afraid I'll fabricate something and send you to rock bottom? If I'd wanted to do that, I could have done it anytime I wanted. I wouldn't have even come to a place like this. Do you think I didn't because I'm some stupid fucking sucker?"

As Erdes said, she could send Ferda to rock bottom at any time.

If she exposed him and pressured him, she could socially destroy him for using black magic.

However, that differed from the direction Erdes pursued.

The reason she had not properly touched Ferda until now was that she saw no point of contact with demons.

The hatred lodged in her heart placed demons above all else.

In other words, if it meant she could catch that demon, she could judge even Ferda's case fairly.

"That is precisely why you cannot."

Ferda had never wanted that fairness in the first place.

"If you are there, those rats will not approach."

This was bait released to catch a big fish.

Ferda said it with his eyes.

That he, no less than she, also had beings he hated and could not forgive.

Erdes, who had been glaring at Ferda as if she would kill him, said this.

"Fine."

Her savage expression did not ease, but she climbed down from the desk quietly.

"I hope the result is one I can accept."

Because if not, I will not stay still.

Her back, as she glanced slightly over her shoulder, seemed to leave those words behind.

Ferda also hoped the result would come out well.

The only question was whether the good result they wanted was the same thing.

Two hours later, Joseph returned.

Concillus, who had gone with him, also returned, but his expression was subtle.

Ferda asked him.

"How was it?"

"It does seem they found something, but I have a bad feeling about it."

Had he gotten a bite?

Akkad declared the session open, and Joseph recited the organized materials.

"We have completed the autopsy of Young Master Marcus Yurei's corpse. Young Master Marcus Yurei was murdered, and the means was indeed dark magic."

His face sank as if burdened.

Was this sensation he had already felt once what they called déjà vu?

And that déjà vu was, of all things, a story from a far future that would never come to pass.

It was when Ferda had been named an enemy of the Empire for an absurd reason.

"Furthermore, by tracing that magic, we were able to identify the person who used it..."

"That magic was created at Valdrova Castle in the Grand Duchy's territory, and it is certain that Regent Ferda Valdrova used it."

The chamber was completely overturned.

"Are you saying the Regent really committed murder?!"

"More importantly, if it is certain the Regent used that magic... does that not mean he is a Dark Mage?"

"He killed him himself, and even as a Dark Mage, he dares hold his head up so shamelessly?!"

The audience fell into a pit of shock.

Duke Yurei's face turned bright red.

He shouted emotionally.

"You damned demon bastard! How dare you do that to my son!!"

Riding that momentum, Alexander also shouted.

"What are the security officers doing? Arrest that Dark Mage at once!"

At the Crown Prince's shout, the security officers hesitated and moved toward Ferda.

Unable to watch any longer, Concillus rose from his seat.

"Who dares lay a hand on the Grand Duchess's fiancé!!"

It was a force hard to believe from an elderly man of such advanced age.

The situation had turned into a complete mess.

The tension rose so high that if anyone so much as threw a fist, it seemed it would turn into a brawl.

Ironically, Ferda, standing at the center of that storm, felt calm.

Rather than rational conversations that concealed emotions and twisted in circles, this place, where the emotions of dozens or hundreds of people were stirred, felt far more comfortable.

The space settled into Ferda's palm, and sharp insight entered his two eyes.

He illuminated everything clearly and examined their inner thoughts one by one.

Where was it?

The black stain hidden on this gray floor.

"Step back, Lord Count Concillus!"

"If you are that determined to spill blood, then you will have to face this old man... Cough..."

Concillus, whose neck veins had been bulging, suddenly let out a cough.

Ferda's concentration broke with it.

"Count, what is wrong?"

"Cough, cough...!"

Concillus's coughing did not stop.

His body staggered, and then he turned his gaze toward Ferda.

"Kegh!"

With a harsh sound, he sprayed something onto Ferda's clothes.

It was bright red blood.

"Urgh..."

He vomited blood, and the heated atmosphere was brought to a halt.

Ferda took a black handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his mouth, and asked.

"Count, are you all right?"

"Cough, cough... Hah... Hah..."

Concillus painfully narrowed one eye.

As that bewildering sight unfolded, someone shouted.

"A-a contagious disease! Count Concillus has caught a contagious disease!"

That single sentence seized the attention of the confused audience.

"A contagious disease?!"

"Are we going to die too?"

Whether it was truly a contagious disease was not important.

The fear that single phrase created was becoming a contagious disease and spreading through the chamber.

The security officers who had hesitated forward also withdrew, and someone fired the first shot.

"Everyone, get out of here!"

"It's contagious! We'll die!"

With that single sentence, the hostile atmosphere flowed in another direction and turned into pandemonium.

"Order! Everyone, stay in your seats!"

Akkad tried to get the chaos under control, but there was no one who could hear those words when their own lives were in danger.

As the lack of control continued and a forced recess was about to proceed as an unavoidable measure, it happened.

"Sileeeence!!"

One man's voice seized the chamber.

Everyone's voices died down, and they regained their reason.

It was Waldemar, who had been sitting in the senior committee member's seat.

Waldemar said nothing more.

In the calmed atmosphere, Akkad opened his mouth.

"We will proceed again. The priests will confirm for what reason Count Concillus coughed blood and determine whether it is a contagious disease."

Akkad sighed as if he had no choice and said.

"Therefore, we will recess again for two hours. During that time, for quarantine, please do not leave the council and remain in your seats. Count Concillus and Regent Ferda will receive diagnoses from the priests. That is all."

The audience offered prayers to god while holding the fear that they might die in their hearts.

Having seen it up close, Ferda knew for certain.

What made him vomit blood was not a contagious disease.

'Aura backflow.'

It was a side effect caused by the aura inside his body flowing backward.

Aura was the energy of life, and if that energy of life flowed in reverse, it was painful enough to kill.

When someone got angry, their blood pressure rose, but aura did not flow backward.

'It is impossible unless he did it deliberately.'

Then why?

'To shift the mood.'

He had cut off the momentum driving Ferda as a Dark Mage, frozen it under the name of a contagious disease, and bought time.

'Even though I told him no plan, he did something like this...'

Ferda had not brought Concillus into it.

It was not because he did not trust him.

He had simply judged that nothing good would come from getting him entangled.

But thanks to his bold action, Ferda's work became even easier.

That was why he wiped his mouth with the black handkerchief.

"Lord Count Concillus."

While he had not lost consciousness yet, Ferda quietly asked him.

"Who went in to autopsy the young master's corpse?"

Concillus answered with a groan.

"Many people... crowded in."

"When the examination was done, who went in? Did you go inside and observe as well?"

He spoke painfully.

"I could not... The only one who went in was... one person..."

"I see. Thank you."

As Ferda was carefully wiping his mouth, someone spoke politely to him.

"We are the Altes relief corps. We will transport Sir Concillus. Regent, do you have any symptoms?"

"I do not. I can move on my own legs, so I will follow you."

Ferda stepped back, and Concillus was lifted limply onto the stretcher like a powerless old man.

With so many people from the relief corps arriving, the area became crowded.

Because of that, someone from the relief corps bumped Ferda's shoulder.

He was about to dismiss it as a simple mistake from someone moving busily.

"Jewel and swallow."

It was not.

It was a member of Black Bandana responding to the signal of Ferda taking out the black handkerchief.

As he prepared the transport, he listened to Ferda's words.

"Black is..."

From the moment it was revealed that Ferda was the murderer, he had focused as much as possible, scanning everyone and observing their reactions.

He had verified it several times within his panoramic field of vision, and now he had also obtained a definite answer from Concillus.

Ferda spoke into his ear like this.

"Black is Joseph Faust."

The Leader of the Order of Altes.

He was the Demon Follower.