Chapter 120
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 120
My head spun dizzily. Which meant....
'Could I possibly be... the Tower Master's granddaughter?'
The Tower Master must have known everything all along.
On the day he made me a Minister, while we were conversing.
[Creating new scrolls.... People outside the Magic Tower don't understand magic well enough to grasp this, but only adults can do it. And normally, you'd need to spend more than five years in the Magic Tower refining your magical power! But you said you created one when you were eight years old! You've never even been to the Magic Tower! You wouldn't have lied! Even you can see how strange that is!]
Back then, I lacked the enthusiasm to think deeply about how strange I was. At that time, I hadn't completely overcome my chronic apathy.
[Do you have any other special abilities? Even if you do, just say you don't in front of others. Try not to mention that you could create scrolls from childhood.]
The Tower Master had continued to emphasize this.
Not to let anyone discover my uniqueness.
'He must have suspected I was an experimental subject.'
I couldn't fully understand Namia's Mother's circumstances. Why she was chased by loan sharks, why she abandoned us.
But I could form rough hypotheses about myself.
'Mother underwent experiments with the Gaejo Faction. While pregnant with me, experiments to become skilled at magic.'
But that ability manifested not in Mother, but in me, the fetus she carried. That's why I had been extraordinarily skilled with scrolls since childhood.
'But... recently, it seems Mother underwent another experiment.'
An experiment to learn the future in the form of a novel....
Based on what Crown Prince Kiaros discovered through the magical beast he secured, even if Mother underwent the experiment, the effects manifested in me.
'That's how I came to know the original story. No, not the original story....'
I swallowed hard.
'The new future that changed because of the Gaejo Faction's assassination attempt.'
The Gaejo Faction read the future once and predicted Crown Prince Kiaros's second dark period. And they planned to assassinate him at that time.
Through another experiment, I came to know that future which had changed in such a way.
"...Minister? Minister?"
I snapped back to attention from organizing my thoughts and looked up in surprise.
Kibon stood nearby with a worried expression. I quickly leaned back.
"Are you alright?"
"Ah...."
"Why haven't you been listening to anything since earlier...."
"Ah, s-sorry."
I immediately lowered my head.
I didn't have the confidence to meet Kibon's eyes.
"Sorry. I'm actually a bit shocked."
Then Kibon unexpectedly nodded slowly again.
"I understand."
"Huh? What do you understand?"
"About Crown Prince Kiaros, Your Highness."
"Huh? What about Crown Prince Kiaros?"
"After spending all this time acting together, to say you didn't actually trust him must be shocking. Even if you said it was fine, you could still be upset."
It seemed he'd completely misunderstood, but I couldn't point it out.
I nodded blankly, my expression bewildered.
"Ah, I see... Well, okay. That makes sense."
At that, Kibon smiled with a somewhat melancholic expression and spoke.
"Actually, there's more I could say... but that's something Crown Prince Kiaros will tell you directly later."
"Ah, okay."
"Aren't you curious?"
"Ah, okay."
I wasn't particularly curious by nature, but right now I simply lacked the mental capacity to wonder about anything else.
Kibon chuckled softly at my response.
"Well, that's just like you, Minister."
I nodded. We exchanged a few more words after that, but I couldn't remember what we'd actually said.
It seemed I'd only repeated things like "Ah, okay."
After that meaningless conversation dragged on, Kibon spoke slowly.
"By the way, why did you call for me in the first place...."
Now that he mentioned it, I had originally intended to ask Kibon to do something.
But right now, that wasn't the issue.
The truth I'd suddenly learned was shocking, and I needed time to process it.
"Ah... come to think of it, it's nothing. Never mind. Just go."
I waved my hand dismissively, forcing a smile.
"Are you sure? Your complexion doesn't look very good...."
Even now, his perceptiveness was uncanny. If I said "I'm fine," it would only look more suspicious.
I made up some excuse on the spot.
"It's because of Crown Prince Kiaros. Yes, that's it. I'm shocked."
"...I see. So it's all because of Crown Prince Kiaros."
"Exactly."
And the moment Kibon closed the door behind him with a dejected expression,
"Ah... what do I do...."
I collapsed where I stood, pressing my forehead with my hand.
"I was an experimental subject of the Gaejo Faction...."
The magical abilities I'd thought I was born with weren't even mine. They were the result of experiments.
The visions of the future that had come to me like a miracle weren't because I was special either. They too were connected to the Gaejo Faction.
Whatever Namia's Mother was doing in the Gaejo Faction, I was being continuously subjected to experiments against my will.
"Ah...."
I buried my face in both hands.
I understood now why the Tower Master—my maternal grandfather—hadn't told me this truth. The shock was simply too great.
The fact that experimental results could appear in my body at any time, regardless of my will, was utterly horrifying.
The Tower Master knew all of this, yet still worried about his granddaughter and sent me letters and scrolls.
[Don't think of it only in negative terms. For someone, it was a desperately desired power. It's a dangerous power, but perhaps if it were you, it might be acceptable to obtain it.]
I muttered with tears welling up in my eyes.
"How can I not think of it negatively...."
This was beyond my control.
'And if Crown Prince Kiaros ever found out about this....'
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
I already knew what Crown Prince Kiaros thought about the test subjects.
[What happened to those monsters then?]
[I killed them. They're beings that exist outside the world's truth. The risk of leaving them alive was too great.]
He would kill me.
* * *
After leaving Namia Loapi's room and returning to my own.
Crown Prince Kiaros immediately asked his Aide.
"What about Victor Awin and Anastasia Kayen?"
"Victor Awin continues his daily life as usual and has received no other contact. Anastasia Kayen has been announced to be unconscious after an attack."
I had entrusted all matters of the Imperial Palace to the Emperor.
Meanwhile, pursuing the Gaejo Faction was entirely my responsibility. I had no choice but to leave the Minister of Education's interrogation to the Emperor.
Therefore, I remained busy.
"By the way, did things go well with... A and B?"
"I'm not sure."
Crown Prince Kiaros lowered his gaze.
I had deliberately blurred the boundary between Kibon and Crown Prince Kiaros in my words....
No matter how Namia Loapi accepts it, now I just need to say 'Kibon is Crown Prince Kiaros' and that should be enough....
But her reaction just now was worse than I expected. My heart felt heavy.
At the same time, I became certain.
Despite everything, I wanted to face her with integrity.
'The Crown Prince Kiaros assassination operation is cancelled.'
Thus I made peace with the idea of living as Kibon for the rest of my life. In the end, this was the right path.
'Once I finish wrapping up the High Priest's matter tomorrow, I'll tell her everything.'
That would also mean revealing what my special ability is.
To be honest, I was afraid. She would likely respond with hollow eyes, saying 'I see. I understand. I comprehend.' so respectfully. Just like before.
What frightened me most was that I wouldn't even receive her blame.
But.
'That chair.'
The chair Namia Loapi had asked Kibon to visit once more.
I decided I would confess there—in that worn, unremarkable chair that I didn't even know existed in the Imperial Palace.
That I am Kibon, and also Crown Prince Kiaros.
The reason I'm telling you all of this is because I like you so very much.
If I confess with such sincerity, with such earnest emotion....
'Perhaps she'll accept it?'
At least, that's what the master said.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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