Babel Novel
The painting (1)
Luna was so shocked that she could not speak, as she never expected that the traitor who had been the focus of Alkrevas’ concerns all this time was someone close to him and could roam freely. Luna swallowed hard and asked,
“Why did that man betray him? What was his reason? What did His Majesty do to him to make him betray?” She then shifted her gaze from the magical video recording and looked at Mr. Jaxon anxiously. “Does His Grace the Duke know about this too?”
Mr. Jaxon shook his head and replied, “He didn’t say anything.” Luna returned her gaze to the recording and clenched her fists tightly. Anger surged fiercely in her heart. She didn’t know the man that well, but Alkrevas certainly did. How did he feel, knowing that someone he trusted had betrayed him so cruelly?
Luna was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned toward Mr. Jaxon. The magical recording had ended abruptly, as if someone had intentionally cut it off or hurriedly stopped it.
“Don’t worry, if you’re concerned that His Majesty the Emperor will be hurt, I can assure you that won’t happen. His Majesty is not someone who easily gives his trust, not even to those who have served him for decades,” Mr Jaxon paused for a moment. His brow furrowed deeply, and Luna saw that Duke Veniam’s aide was displeased about something.
“It’s just disappointing. How did Zyne manage to hide his dark magic without being detected by His Majesty? Especially since the man is always by His Majesty’s side. It’s obvious he’s a dark magic user, does the Magic Tower know about this?” Mr. Jaxon pondered briefly.
“This case definitely needs deeper investigation.”
Yes, the traitor she saw in the magical recording was Zyne, the imperial palace’s chief of staff and head butler. It was shocking for Luna, as this man was the mastermind behind all the calamities. Luna didn’t know Zyne well; in hindsight, she had never spoken with him. Besides being rigid, quiet, and reserved, the man was always at Alkrevas’ side, which made Luna rarely encounter him. She had never noticed anything strange about him either, no odd feelings or suspicions, as if the man was an expert at hiding his true self. Whenever they crossed paths, Zyne would bow respectfully, smile politely, and greet her briefly.
When beside Alkrevas, Zyne remained silent like a statue, sometimes making Luna unaware of his presence. And when serving Alkrevas, Zyne never demanded anything. Luna wondered what had gone wrong and what the reason behind Zyne’s betrayal was. “Why now, after all this time?” Luna unconsciously asked.
“Because of your presence, Lady Luna.”
“What?”
Mr. Jaxon sighed softly and looked directly at Luna. “Do you know the rumor that His Majesty the Emperor would go feral if he didn’t meet his soulmate soon? I assume you’ve heard of it.”
Luna recalled Ghea’s words before nodding. “I suspect Zyne had been waiting for that moment to carry out his evil plan, but all of that fell apart when you appeared.”
Luna’s eyes widened as she grasped the meaning of Mr. Jaxon’s explanation. She felt her heart tighten; even though what was happening wasn’t entirely her fault, she still felt like she had played a part in this chaos. Then she remembered the woman by Zyne’s side, Abigail. Wasn’t the last news about her fleeing and no longer being in the capital? How could that dark sorceress now be in the capital? What had happened? Luna was utterly in the dark and didn’t understand. She could have gotten some answers if she had been closer to Alkrevas.
Luna bowed and closed her eyes, squeezing her brain to find a glimmer of clarity in the situation. If Zyne was the dark sorcerer causing trouble in Morgena, and Abigail was by his side, it was highly likely that this chaos was the revenge on Vasilos and Alkrevas that Abigail had previously mentioned to her. Then she opened her eyes, remembering something. Her hands quickly reopened the letter Beta Savon sent her, and she noticed a strange inconsistency. “Mr. Jaxon.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember what His Grace the Duke said? Beta Savon would follow me to the Veniam Duchy with troops on horseback. How long would it take for this message to be sent from Morgena to Veniam?”
“Since it uses magic, it would only take a few days to arrive… don’t tell me…”
Luna gave a brief nod. “Yes, it’s very likely that the one who sent the letter wasn’t Beta Savon. Whoever wrote it stole Beta’s seal to deceive me. If His Grace the Duke’s words are true, then after we left, Beta Savon’s group would have also departed, because I remember His Grace the Duke saying that the journey from Morgena to Veniam takes four weeks without teleportation magic, and two weeks with it. I’m sure His Grace wouldn’t want to waste time.”
Luna focused on the words’ Empress Consort.’ She had ignored those words before but realized it was a sign that Beta Savon didn’t write the letter. Beta Savon had never once acknowledged her as the future empress or the Emperor’s soulmate due to the temple incident, so it was impossible that he had suddenly changed his mind. Whoever wrote it likely needed her to leave this world and return to her original one, weakening Alkrevas, and they thought that using those two words would soften her resolve and make her believe. Just like Abigail had said before, could this be what Abigail was doing?
“Your theory could be correct. Handwriting can be duplicated with magic, so forgery is entirely possible. And since Zyne is the traitor, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had the seal in his possession because aside from Sigmund, he’s the only one who can freely enter and leave the palace as the chief of staff.” Mr. Jaxon momentarily pondered and continued, “It’s a bold and well-thought-out plan. What do you think about Count Sorgiere’s family?”
“Count Sorgiere?”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“Zyne Sorgiere. The Sorgiere family is one of the neutral noble families, not supporting either the Emperor’s faction or the noble faction.” Jaxon continued to explain the political landscape surrounding the Sorgiere family, which made Luna’s head spin and her ears buzz. She was not born to be a politician, as matters involving politics made Luna feel nauseated, raising the question of what would happen if she became empress. She couldn’t afford to slack off, could she? Another thing that made her hesitant about taking on the role of empress was
Luna glanced at the letter in her hand. She interrupted Mr. Jaxon’s explanation by asking, “Then why hasn’t Beta Savon arrived yet?” Instantly, she saw Mr. Jaxon freeze, not knowing how to answer her question, which was genuinely concerning. It gave her a bad feeling about Beta Savon. Her eyes shifted to the small crystal and the letter sent by the Duke of Veniam. “Do you think the letter from His Grace the Duke is also fake?”
“I’m confident that this letter is genuine.” Mr. Jaxon paused before adding, “If it were a fake, why would the culprit provide the recording crystal? To scare us?” Luna nodded in agreement. Mr. Jaxon sighed softly and thought for a moment, then realized something.
“The seal used wasn’t the prime minister’s seal, but the seal of the Veniam Duchy, and Zyne didn’t know that His Grace the Duke always uses the Veniam Duchy seal whenever sending messages to this region. That means he wanted to convey something with the letter he sent.”
“Simultaneously with the fake letter from Beta?”
“That’s the puzzle.” Mr. Jaxon furrowed his brow even deeper before continuing, “Whatever it is, His Grace the Duke surely wanted to tell us something. There’s a double meaning to the message he sent. From the scene shown by the recording crystal, the reopening of the communication lines, the return of His Majesty the Emperor when the border situation hasn’t calmed down, and the fact that His Grace the Duke hasn’t established a mind link even though the communication line has been reopened, it means that the situation in Morgena is worse than what we saw in the recording.”
…