Fate: How About a New Savior?

Following the death of the Princess of Gold, the Princess of Silver was also found dead in the forest of Iselma.

Upon hearing the news, Carina—one of the twin maids—collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The task of tending to the Princess of Silver's body fell to her sister, Regina.

Though they were twins, the two sisters displayed completely different levels of composure when faced with the deaths of the mistresses they served.

Shiomi couldn't help but think—twins really are different, after all.

Looking back, it was grimly ironic: just the night before, the Princess of Gold had wanted to escape with her sister. The next day, both were dead within hours of each other.

"A situation too miserable to even laugh at," said Reines.

Due to financial constraints, she hadn't been able to return immediately after attending the social gathering and ended up staying overnight in Iselma's Tower of the Sun.

Shiomi glanced up slightly at Reines, whose lips curled in a smile.

"You talk like you care, but you're grinning more than anyone."

"Not quite," Reines said with a teasing smile. "I'm just amused that the always composed Shiomi-sensei could get caught up in something this messy. I'm very curious to see how you'll get out of this."

"It doesn't exactly count as a predicament," Shiomi sighed.

The sudden deaths of the current generation's Princess of Gold and Princess of Silver meant that Iselma's painstaking achievements in Magecraft had been undone in an instant.

In light of that, Byron Valualeta Iselma nearly lost his composure, intent on holding Shiomi accountable and sending him to the Clock Tower to be judged by the Department of Policies.

In the world of Magi, not only murder but also the destruction of a generation's magical legacy was a grave crime—especially when the family in question wasn't some third-rate lineage.

Yet with Lord Valualeta personally guaranteeing Shiomi's safety, Byron had no choice but to hold back.

Shiomi remained the prime suspect, and perhaps it was precisely because the suspicion fell so squarely on him that Inorai had taken a conservative stance, opting to wait rather than act.

For now, Shiomi was simply confined to his room and forbidden from leaving. As for the potential murder weapon, Erosion, he had publicly sealed it inside a crystal and placed it in his room for all to see.

Besides Caren and Gray, Reines had also come by to visit—hence her commentary just now.

"But how did it happen?" Gray asked, clearly puzzled. "Sensei said he fought only Automata in the forest. So why was the Princess of Silver's blood on his dagger?"

Caren shook her head.

"I know you enjoy detective stories, but for Magi, the 'how' often doesn't matter. The more skilled the Magus, the more outrageous the means they can use to kill. As for transferring wounds..."

As she spoke, she reached out and took Gray's hand. After exposing both their forearms, Caren released her and, without warning, poked her own arm with a pen from the table.

"Ow!" Gray winced in pain.

Caren's arm remained completely unharmed—no dent, no mark—but a faint bloody line appeared on Gray's arm.

With just that brief touch, Caren had used a spell to connect herself to Gray and transfer the damage to her.

Of course, for more severe injuries, the ritual would need to be more complex and take more time.

In other words, among the Automata that Shiomi and Touko had fought in the forest, at least one had been altered with a damage-transferring spell.

Automata won't stop unless dealt a "fatal" blow.

So Shiomi had no choice—he had to strike with precision to neutralize them.

Erosion wasn't just a Mystic Code on the level of a Noble Phantasm; it was also an exceptional magical medium. In the two or three months since returning from Blackmore Village, Shiomi had already come to rely on the dagger as a dependable magical weapon.

To stab through an Automaton's neck or heart and render it immobile was nothing to him.

But that was exactly what led him into the trap.

If one of the Automata had been linked to the Princess of Silver through a wound-transferring spell, then even Shiomi—unable to distinguish it—would inevitably kill her amid the chaos, whether with Erosion or by some other means.

"So, for this plan to work, someone had to have access to both the Princess of Silver and the Automata in the forest," Caren said.

But now, all traces of the Automata had vanished—most likely the handiwork of that nameless girl.

Her interference was practically cheating, leaving even Shiomi at a complete loss.

Caren continued her analysis:

"Whether it's the Automata or the Princess of Silver, both belong to Iselma. And the only ones who could have had access to both..."

Reines snapped her fingers.

"Obviously, someone from the Iselma family."

"But that raises two big questions," Gray added nervously. "Who did it—and why?"

Shiomi gave a helpless laugh.

"If the answer could be reached just by discussing it here with you, I wouldn't be locked up in this room, cooperating with an investigation over a frame-up."

"Then we should go investigate," Caren said. "Why are there so many guests still staying here? And why, of all people, did the blame conveniently fall on you, Father?"

Shiomi was, by any logic, one of the least likely people to be framed—same with Touko Aozaki.

In contrast, younger girls would've been far easier scapegoats.

Shiomi fell silent.

He was certain this was all part of a "play" orchestrated by the nameless girl. But the one always pulling the strings from behind the curtain would never step into the spotlight to join the "performance."

Which meant someone else—perhaps without realizing it—had been manipulated, steered toward setting up this entire sequence of events for some hidden agenda.

"But Sensei can't go outside, right?" Reines said, then suddenly caught on. "Wait—Caren, don't tell me you're planning to—"

Caren raised a finger to her lips.

"Empty eyes, empty thoughts, empty hands. And that's exactly why we must open our hollow eyes as wide as we can, work our vacant minds as hard as we can—and even if we can't grasp anything, we must still reach out with our hands."

"...Caren..." Gray murmured softly.

Caren rose from her seat.

"Father's always been the one taking care of us. Just this once, let me switch roles and do what I can to support him."

"Honestly, I don't think things are very safe right now. Don't act recklessly," Shiomi warned.

"This body bears the Rune you engraved, Father. It won't fall so easily," Caren said with a smile.

Shiomi gave a nod.

There were still too many things he didn't know. He needed to find a way to uncover the deeper motives behind the others' presence here.

Just like his own...

...

(90 Chapters Ahead)

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