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"It felt hot on my back."
"How much mana did you pour into that?"
Davian and Karin said one line each, stepping apart to either side.
Karin vigorously waved her hand, sending all the remaining rocks flying toward their opponent.
The opponent had to deploy a wide, thick ice barrier to block Karin's rocks that were pouring in all at once.
Thwack! Thud!
Hundreds of rocks, large and small, were embedded in the ice barrier.
Crack, crack.
Eventually, cracks formed in the ice barrier.
"Now's the time! Latia!"
Rumble, rumble.
The giant fireballs that Latia had unleashed began to shoot towards her cousins.
The scarlet flames contained so much mana that it was difficult to even discern with the naked eye.
Edgar Meridian's pupils dilated greatly.
'Latia Meridian. She's already grown this much?'
If the three of them had enough time to create layers of ice barriers.
It wouldn't be an impossible fireball to block.
But the fireballs were already flying in.
And the ice barrier they had erected to block Karin's attack earlier was now cracked and useless.
Edgar urgently shouted.
"Again! Set up the ice barrier again! Quickly!"
"We have to combine! It's too late to block it alone!"
"Stack them in three layers! We have to block it no matter what!"
While the three young men hurriedly set up new layers of ice barriers.
Latia's fireball, containing all of her mana, arrived.
Boom!
Crackle, crackle.
Crack. Snap.
Bang!
Even if the three had combined their strength.
Even if they were all older and more skilled than Latia.
The ice barrier they hurriedly erected.
Failed to withstand even 5 seconds and burst apart.
Now, all that remained was for them to be hit by Latia's fireball and be roasted alive.
At that moment.
"Stop!"
The head of the family reached out and unleashed wind elemental magic.
The whirlwind that extended from the head of the family's hand instantly wrapped around the three young men and lifted them into the sky.
The fireball brushed past where the young men had been and exploded behind the hill.
Whoosh.
A huge inferno engulfed the hill.
The elders of the family all stared at the aftermath of Latia's fireball, speechless.
"Hoo...!"
"Is that really the magic Latia just used?"
"Has she really grown this much in just one year?"
"What on earth happened at the academy?"
That evening.
Latia's room.
Davian asked.
"Tell me about the family head selection method."
"I mean, why are you so interested in our family matters?"
It would be stranger not to ask why he kept asking about this out of the blue.
"There's someone who's after your father's life. The head of the Meridian family."
Latia looked surprised and asked back.
"What?"
"Shh. Someone might hear outside. Lower your voice."
"Who dares to go after my father's life?"
"Isn't that what I'm trying to find out by doing this."
"Are you sure? That someone is targeting Father?"
"Don't you trust me?"
Latia stared at Davian intently, then jumped up.
"If Davian is saying it, there must be a reason. Let's go. We have to tell Father about this."
"Tell him what."
"What?"
"That someone is going to try to kill him this week, but we don't know who it is? Without any evidence? Do you think your father will blindly believe me like you do?"
Latia thought for a moment, then sat back down in her chair.
"Do you have a plan?"
"I'm asking you all these questions now to make that plan. Tell me about the family head selection method."
"It's simple. Age or hierarchical order among siblings doesn't matter. It's purely based on skill."
"Within the direct line, right?"
"Of course. Right now, the only candidates for the next family head are me and my two siblings."
"What's the criteria?"
"Criteria? You have to be skilled in magic. ...Ah! You have to be over 18."
This is it.
"Latia, you're seventeen until the end of this month."
Latia's eyes widened.
"Ah...!"
"What if there's a situation where the family head has to be chosen right away, but there's no one in the direct line who meets the qualifications?"
"The range of family head candidates would expand to the collateral line..."
Karin, who was listening, chimed in.
"What? So if Latia's father dies before the end of this month. The person in the collateral line with the best skills and who is over 18 becomes the family head?"
Davian nodded.
"In the extreme case, that's what would happen right away. Or, until Latia is older, one of the siblings would take on the temporary role of family head. And then it's obvious."
"How is it obvious?"
"The siblings will start arguing with each other over whose child is qualified."
"Crazy... So you're saying that one of the current family head's siblings is trying to kill him?"
"It's not certain yet. But the timing is very coincidental."
Karin shook her head.
"Being born into a prestigious ducal family. It's not always a good thing. It's brutal."
Davian continued his questioning.
"Okay, now. Let's say, just say. Let's say that kind of thing happened. Then who are the people in the second generation who could become the family head?"
The person who would benefit the most from the current family head's death.
That person is likely to be involved in this.
"One of the three who fought us earlier. And one who's in the capital. Those two are the most likely based on their current skills."
"The one in the middle, right? Who are their parents?"
"Second aunt. The one in the capital is the third uncle's son."
It seems they don't have terms like 'older uncle' or 'younger uncle' here.
All of the father's male siblings were called uncles.
"Are there any swordsmen in those two families?"
"No, there aren't."
It would be difficult to assassinate the Meridian family head with magic.
And in Davian's memory, the family head was killed by a swordsman's blade.
"They might have hired someone."
"Hired?"
"Yeah. To assassinate someone who is the head of the Meridian ducal family. You'd need a professional assassin. And a skilled one at that."
"Anyone can't just come and go here."
"Things change if there's an accomplice inside. Right now, Karin and I are inside your family space without any problems."
Latia raised her voice and called for a servant.
"Gina."
The door immediately opened and a servant entered.
She was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-30s.
"Go to the North Fort and find out the list of outsiders who are currently in our family. Without anyone else knowing."
"Yes, Lady."
"There are forces trying to assassinate the family head."
The servant called Gina nodded without any change in expression.
"I will investigate on my own."
"Thank you, Gina."
After Gina left.
Davian asked.
"Is she trustworthy?"
"Yes. The most trustworthy in this castle."
"Then that's good. Let's start by checking the outsiders who are in the castle. And who invited them."
"Gina will investigate it well on her own. But Davian."
Latia stared into Davian's eyes.
"You know something, don't you? Don't you?"
Davian nodded.
"When is it? The day they're going to assassinate Father. You know, don't you?"
The day after Latia returns to the family for winter break.
The Meridian ducal family head assassination incident occurs.
"When were you originally planning to go back to the academy?"
"Thursday."
"The day after tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Davian lowered his voice even more.
"Then Friday."
Latia's shoulders slumped.
"Who on earth... is trying to kill Father..."
"Don't worry, Latia. We can stop them."
Friday night.
"Gina. You're sure this is the right way?"
"Yes. It's information I obtained by torturing a servant who's cooperating with them."
"What if that servant lied?"
"It wasn't a situation where they could lie. They were already half-dead from the torture."
"If Gina says so, then it must be so."
"There's no mistake."
Davian, who was listening to Latia and Gina's conversation, turned his head.
The servant, Gina, who was speaking to Latia with a blank face.
She was on the taller side and had pale skin.
She always had a blank expression, as if she had no emotions.
She was wearing a maid uniform, and hidden around her waist was a thin, long stiletto.
Last night.
Gina, covered in blood, opened Davian's door and entered.
"Davian-nim."
"What? What's the matter with my room? Who's that behind you?"
"It's a servant who's attached to the forces trying to assassinate the family head. I tortured them to find out the plan for tomorrow, but I wanted to ask you what to do with this person."
Looking closely with eyes accustomed to the dark.
The thing covering Gina's body wasn't her own blood.
It was from the man she was dragging along with one hand.
"You did this?"
"Yes."
According to Latia.
Gina was a trustworthy person who had been with Latia since she was a baby.
And, she was incredibly skilled.
"But why did you come here instead of taking them to Latia?"
Gina dropped the half-dead body she was holding with one hand onto the floor with a thud.
"I was worried that the young lady would be surprised if she suddenly saw something like this. I didn't intend to make them like this, but they were more tight-lipped than I thought."
Davian's face even frowned at how messed up they were.
"But I thought Davian-nim would be okay with it somehow. So I came here first, despite being rude."
"I'm sure she would be surprised. Anyway. What did you find out?"
"Tomorrow at dawn. Assassins will ambush the family head."
"Who ordered it?"
"I have to report that to the young lady first. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry. Let's go to Latia's room. Oh, change your clothes first."
Gina pointed to the half-corpse lying on the floor.
"What should I do with this guy?"
"Did you find out enough?"
"Yes."
"Then kill them. They're a traitor. There's no point in keeping them alive and letting them interfere with our work, and they'll be executed anyway after we stop the family head's assassination."
And even if their plan to assassinate the family head succeeds, this person will die.
An unsolved case.
That means, the mouths of those involved in this matter have been securely shut.
Either way, it's a dead end.
"Yes."
Thwack.
Gina's thin, slender sword pierced the man's neck accurately.
The man couldn't even let out a gasp and died immediately.
"Then I'll go change my clothes."
"So you're telling me to clean up this corpse?"
"No. I'll send reliable people. Thank you for helping us make a decision."
Davian could now see why Gina had suddenly come to his room.
"You came to me to pass the responsibility."
"Pass the responsibility? Looking at your relationship with Latia-sama, I thought you were someone who could make this kind of decision. It's just the life of a single servant."
Davian nodded.
"Good job."
Gina, who was just a servant, couldn't decide whether to kill that man or not.
It was necessary for a member of the Meridian family to make the decision, but if she went straight to Latia-sama, she was worried that the young lady would be too surprised.
No one else knew about this, so there was no one else to turn to.
Rather than locking them up somewhere because she couldn't kill them at will, creating a potential future problem.
This was much cleaner.
Back to the present.
"They're coming."
Gina said in a low voice.
Davian was startled and looked at the end of the dark road.
He couldn't see or feel anything.
'A great skill. Mons level...? Or maybe more?'
After a while.
He could see people approaching with their presence suppressed.
They were approaching, hiding in the shadows of the trees along the road, leaving the wide avenue that carriages could use.
The presence of this side was completely erased by some magical tool that Latia had brought.
Even after seeing them activate the magic tool, Davian and Karin couldn't understand what the principle was.
Anyway, if they did this, they said that they couldn't feel the presence of this side from the outside.
Whether that was true or not.
Even though they were people including professional assassins, they were approaching little by little without feeling any presence on this side at all.
Gina had interrogated a servant and found out all the masterminds and plans, so it would have been a good idea to report to the family head.
But.
Without material evidence, it is impossible to completely purge the forces behind the scenes with only the confession of one servant.
If the family head starts to move and they notice that something is wrong on this side, they will hide their tails as they are.
Then everything goes back to square one.
Therefore, Davian and Latia chose to raid the scene with the minimum number of people.
Latia didn't care about anything other than her father's safety.
Davian's plan to consolidate Latia's position as the next family head by having Latia solve this matter directly was also reflected in this operation.
"Latia, are you ready?"
"Yeah. Davian."
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