Chapter 38

After breakfast, Aaron, Luna, and I left the dining room together. Nobody said what to do or where to go. We just let our feet lead the way towards the garden behind the main building.

I dropped onto the ground under the shade of a big oak tree, laying myself down. Stretching my whole body while letting out a ‘nnggghh!!’ sound, I enjoyed the breeze caressing me while looking at the clouds floating under the clear blue sky.

“Man… It’s been a while since I got to relax and just empty my mind like this.”

“It’s been a while for me too,” said Aaron as he sat down on my left. Luna just sat down on his left side without saying anything.

“What? You were just a thief and pickpocket. You should have had a lot of time to do something like this.”

“You think being a thief and pickpocket is that easy? There were a lot of days when I didn’t bring money home. Some days, I even got beaten up on top of not bringing back any money,” Aaron said while reminiscing.

“Not having anything to eat for days isn’t anything weird, either,” Luna chimed in. “When Brother didn’t bring back any money, he usually just searched for rats for us to eat.”

Hearing what his sister said, Aaron put his hand on top of Luna’s head and started to pet her gently. “Right, that happened quite often right after Mom died, huh?”

“…Sorry,” was the only thing I could say to them. I knew that life in the slums must not have been easy, but clearly, I only knew the surface level of it.

Aaron and Luna looked at me, who was feeling guilty, and giggled. “What are you apologizing for? None of that is your fault.”

“That’s right, Big Bro,” Luna said with a smile. “It’s just that our lot in life was bad.”

They might be able to laugh it off now, but it hadn’t even been that long since they finally managed to get out of the slums. Just several months ago, they were still living that life.

“No. I mean that I’m sorry for saying something like that.”

“It’s fine. We already know that you often speak without thinking it through, Big Bro. We already know that you don’t mean anything bad.”

“What she said, Huwi. For someone who was supposedly an heir to a big and powerful family, you do have a dirty mouth.”

“Now you’re just straight-up dissing me, you fuck?”

“See that? That’s my point,” Aaron said while chuckling, with Luna giggling beside him.

I knew that if I kept it up, both of them would just continue teasing me, so I could only grumble while watching the floating clouds.

“Ah!” I suddenly shouted quite loudly, bordering on screaming, which startled Aaron and Luna.

“What? What’s wrong?” Aaron asked me, confused as to why I had suddenly screamed like that.

I pointed at a certain cloud in the sky and said, “That cloud looks like poop.”

““…””

The siblings could only stare at me in disbelief.

“Big Bro, you’re such a kid sometimes…” Luna said as she sighed.

“What? I'm just appreciating the beauty of nature.”

“By calling a cloud poop?”

“It’s shaped like one.”

Aaron burst out laughing, while Luna could only shake her head.

Watching the two of them, I couldn't help but remember that they hadn't been able to spend time together like this for several months.

After all, Aaron had been taken in by Sir Cedric and brought to London, while Luna and I remained at Veynes Magic Tower with Master Elara. It wasn't until Master Elara received a letter from Sir Cedric inviting us to his residence that we finally had a reason to come here.

And that was how our trip to London began.

Glancing at both of them, I asked, “What do you guys plan to do today?” Sir Cedric was out, and we really didn’t have anything to do.

Aaron quickly gave his answer. “I will do swinging practice after this.”

“I wanted to go out and look around the city,” Luna said. “But Sir Cedric told us to stay inside, so I don’t know.”

Dude, Aaron… We literally just finished running for God knows how long, and you’re already about to start training again? It’s like seeing myself when I was still training martial arts back home.

“How about asking Mr. Hans to accompany us while we walk around the city? Sir Cedric said that as long as Mr. Hans is here, we’ll be fine, after all.”

“Us? Me too?” Aaron asked. “I need to train, though.”

“Aaron, your sister is here. Don’t spend your time just training. Luna was looking forward to going around town with you.”

“Big Bro!” Luna screamed at me with a blush on her face. “Don’t tell my brother that!”

“Eeyy, what’s the problem? There’s no shame in a younger sister wanting to spend time with her older brother.”

“Hngghh!!” Luna let out a sound like that while covering her tomato-red face. Aaron smiled as he watched his sister acting like that and said, “Well, alright then. I will ask Mr. Hans to accompany us.”

“Really!?” Luna beamed when she heard her brother agree to go with her and walk around the city.

“I train every day, so a day or two off should be fine,” said Aaron. “Besides, it’s true that it’s been a while since we last spent time together.”

“Yeayyy!! Thank you, Brother!” With a big smile on her face, Luna hugged Aaron while rubbing her face against his chest.

I couldn’t help but smile and feel happy seeing both of them like this. I’m an only child, so I don’t know what it feels like to have siblings. I was a little bit jealous of them.

The only person closest to being a sibling to me was Seolhwa, but she was someone with only martial arts on her mind, very different from Luna. She wasn’t cute at all. She had even started copying Master Elara’s personality and was slowly turning smug.

Aaron stood up after patting Luna’s head. “I will go to Mr. Hans and ask him, then. Just wait here, you two. If Mr. Hans gives us permission and agrees to accompany us, I will take you to my favorite spot.”

“Oh, a favorite spot, huh? It’s not a brothel, right?” I asked him with a sleazy grin on my face.

“Hell no!” Aaron exclaimed before walking towards the main building.

…

Elara’s POV

“Godwin, have you finished the analysis?”

“It’s done, Tower Master.”

The private research room, which could only be accessed by the Tower Master and anyone the Tower Master gave permission to, was busy. Vice Tower Master Godwin, in particular, was so busy that he hadn’t slept properly for the last two weeks, and dark circles had appeared under his eyes. But even when he was tired, as expected of someone in his position, his eyes still remained sharp, especially because of what he was working on.

“Show it to me,” I told him, and Godwin immediately led me deeper into the room. The room was cold because magic was used to keep the temperature inside low so as not to let anything rot inside.

Godwin and I stopped right beside a metal table with a corpse on top of it.

A human corpse.

The condition of the corpse was already bad. A lot of its body had rotted, so we could even see part of its skull and the muscles beneath the skin that had already peeled off.

My eyes glided over the corpse, making sure its condition was the same as what Godwin had written in the initial report I held in my hand.

“Just as was written in the report, the corpse belongs to a male around sixty years old. The condition was bad enough, with several parts of the body already starting to decompose.”

“Identity and time of death?”

“Based on Sir Cedric’s report, this is the body of someone named Curtis. He was a traveling merchant who disappeared around two months ago.”

“Two months ago?”

“Based on the report, yes.”

“The body’s condition is too good for us to assume he died at the time of his disappearance.”

“Not only that, there’s something weird about the body’s decomposition itself.” Godwin showed me the part of the body that had already decomposed. “It’s like the decomposition process stopped abruptly.”

“Cause of death?”

Godwin turned the head of the corpse to the side to show the bite marks on its neck. “There are a lot of injuries on the body, but this one is the fatal one. Based on the shape, it looks like a wolf bite.”

“Too big for a normal wolf,” I said while inspecting the bite mark.

“We suspect it’s a Direwolf.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, Godwin.”

A Direwolf was a mythical creature. It was categorized as one of the most dangerous magical beasts. When a normal animal was exposed to a high ether concentration, some of them would mutate into monsters with magical powers. A Direwolf was one such case.

“How about that? Have you confirmed it?”

Godwin nodded his head. “It’s positive that the body was reanimated using necromancy.”

“Damn it,” I cussed, not particularly at anyone. “This is such a headache,” I said as I pinched the space between my eyebrows.

After hearing Godwin’s report, I went back to my office and saw the letter Sir Cedric had sent me together with the corpse.

To Lady Elara Veynes,
Head of the Royal Arcane Bureau,

Lady Elara,

I hope this letter finds you in good health.

I am writing to bring to your attention a matter that I believe requires the Royal Magic Investigation Department's involvement.

Several days ago, the city guard received reports from traveling merchants who claimed to have encountered what appeared to be walking corpses along the road between Canterbury and London. Initially, these reports were dismissed as the result of exhaustion or poor visibility during nighttime travel. However, upon receiving further reports of similar sightings, the city guard conducted an investigation and discovered a corpse matching the merchants' descriptions.

The body has since been brought to my residence for safekeeping. Its condition is unusual, and I suspect that the circumstances surrounding its death may be related to the sightings reported by the merchants. I have therefore taken the liberty of sending the body to you for examination. I trust your department will be better equipped to determine the nature of this incident.

There is, however, another matter that concerns me.

Recently, a suspicious individual wearing a dark cloak has appeared near my residence. Although the individual has made no direct attempt to approach the estate, I find their presence troubling. I could not sense any signs of life from them, leading me to suspect that they may be an undead creature rather than a living person.

If my suspicion is correct, I believe this individual has been placed here to observe my residence on behalf of someone else. Given the recent discovery of the corpse and the possibility that it was reanimated through necromancy, I cannot dismiss the possibility that the same individual is responsible for both incidents.

I have reason to believe that the necromancer behind these events may be targeting an item currently kept within my residence. While I will refrain from making any definitive claims until further evidence is obtained, I consider this possibility serious enough to warrant precautionary measures.

I would therefore like to request your assistance in examining the corpse and determining whether it bears any connection to the suspected undead observer. If our suspicions prove correct, I would also ask for your cooperation in drawing the necromancer out of hiding.

To that end, I have arranged for your disciple, Hwi, and the girl named Luna to visit my residence under the pretext of visiting Aaron. Their presence should provide a reasonable explanation for your involvement without drawing unnecessary attention to our investigation.

I intend to leave my residence for a short period, leaving only my servants and the three children within the estate. Should the necromancer be observing my movements and waiting for an opportunity to obtain the item in my possession, my temporary absence may encourage them to act.

Naturally, I do not intend to leave the estate entirely unprotected. I have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that the servants and children will not be exposed to unnecessary danger. Nevertheless, I would appreciate your discretion in this matter, as the success of this plan depends upon the necromancer remaining unaware of our intentions.

I understand that this request may place an additional burden upon your already demanding duties. However, given the possibility that a practitioner of necromancy is operating within the vicinity of London, I believe this matter warrants our immediate attention.

I await your response and trust in your judgment, Lady Elara.

Yours sincerely,

Cedric