44 Surveillance and Unexpected Changes
Since there was no immediate way to take the Fairy's Flower, I decided to leave it for now.
It wouldn't wither anytime soon, so I'll have to pick it someday.
After resolving the matter with the Original Sin, I came out and found Amy waiting outside the door.
As soon as she saw me, she spoke.
"The guest has arrived, Brother. I told him to wait for a moment, right?"
"Who?"
"Viscount Rama Welton."
The guest who arrived at the mansion as soon as I visited.
I had some suspicions.
'Is he the emperor's observer?'
By now, the emperor was probably desperately searching for the whereabouts of the Original Sin.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to think that he constantly monitored the area.
I informed Amy that I knew and headed to the reception room.
"Ah, long time no see, Lord Cromwell."
Rama Welton, the viscount, greeted me warmly.
His appearance was still the same as before, as if he had been untouched by the passage of time.
"Long time indeed, Viscount Welton."
"I've come to inquire about your well-being, as it has been a while since Your Excellency's visit. I hope my sudden visit is not an inconvenience."
"Not at all. Please make yourself comfortable."
I replied and sat in the main seat, observing his demeanor.
Was he truly here as the emperor's loyal follower, or did he come as he said, merely to inquire about my well-being?
"Time has been generous, unlike myself. How has life at the Academy been? I heard that you have been making remarkable achievements lately."
"It's nothing special. I was just fortunate."
After exchanging a few casual words, Rama finally asked a somewhat suspicious question.
"I am pleased to see Your Excellency return here. I intentionally gave orders not to disturb the furniture or belongings in the mansion. Did you happen to lose anything?"
"No, I didn't. Thank you for your consideration."
"Not at all. I was just worried that I might accidentally touch any heirlooms left by the previous Lord. I heard that His Excellency didn't leave any last testament, is that true?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Well... It's quite an unusual situation. Did you happen to find anything after returning home?"
He asked so blatantly.
Seeing the way his eyes darted and his habit of tapping his fingers, I instinctively felt that he was the emperor's observer.
"I'm frustrated as well. He should have left something behind. It feels like he left nothing, and it's driving me crazy. He should have at least left some money before leaving."
"Oh, my. I see. Well then, hmm, I suppose."
Rama responded, seemingly taken aback.
As I spoke to Rama Welton with the same piercing gaze as my father, he couldn't bring himself to join in and instead awkwardly cleared his throat.
After exchanging a certain amount of conversation, he soon mentioned that he had some business to attend to and got up from his seat.
"I will do my best to ensure that Your Excellency's family is not inconvenienced."
"Your words alone are appreciated."
"Yes. Then, I will see you again next time, Your Excellency."
"Please take care."
As he left, I sat for a moment and then called for Amy.
Unaware of anything, she entered the reception room with a bright expression.
"Did you have a good conversation?"
"Oh, Amy. There's something else I want to talk to you about."
Raising a question mark above her head in response to my words, she quickly understood.
"Is it about the study?"
"Yes, from now on, don't go in there."
"Why?"
I pondered how much I should tell her as I reached this point.
However, since she is family, I thought she should know at least a little.
"There were heirlooms from Father."
"Heirlooms? What are you talking about?"
"Amy."
"Why are you suddenly making it so serious? What were the heirlooms?"
"Father was murdered. So was Mother. And our family as well."
It was a sudden revelation.
Amy's expression was one of confusion, even after hearing my words.
"What on earth are you talking about?"
Seating Amy down, who wanted an explanation, I briefly explained.
Upon hearing that, she showed a reaction of disbelief and soon left the reception room, saying she needed time to think.
It would be difficult for her to accept. However, I believed that it was better to tell her the truth than to lie.
'By the way, the emperor...'
Not only the emperor, but there was also Bart Alben.
Perhaps not explicitly mentioned in the magic, but other nobles could be involved as well.
With complex thoughts, I quietly sipped the now cold tea.
.
.
.
.
"Did you find anything?"
"In my observation, I didn't sense anything. There seems to be a slight change in temperament, but after conversing, he still seems the same."
"That's not what I'm asking."
Rama Welton could only scratch his head in response to the voice coming from the communication artifact.
There really wasn't any hint at all, so what could he do?
"I truly had no idea. If Cain Cromwell had left something, we would have discovered it immediately."
"I see. Even if there are no clues in the mansion, eventually, they will be found if we keep searching, won't they? It's not like the tree had feet."
"The problem is that Cain hid the tree without leaving any footprints. Anyway, if there are no other Sins around, it's just a slightly unusual tree. There's no need to rush or bother with it. Just continue the surveillance. That will be all."
Rama disconnected the call and let out a sigh.
Although he currently played the role of Lord Welton in the Welton Territory, his true identity was the deputy director of the Intelligence Agency.
He wanted to part ways with this tiresome territory.
'It's already been two years since Cain's death. He hid it so well.'
Even those who knew about the information regarding the Original Sin had conducted searches at least once, but nothing had been found.
Rumors were circulating within the Intelligence Agency that it could not found even by the formidable Bart Alben.
"It's said that he left no last testament. The analysis within the Intelligence Agency suggests that it was to protect his children."
If it were him, he would have left a last testament by any means necessary.
Honestly, it was unfair that he received a blow to the back of his head and couldn't live with the injustice.
He would have at least revealed it to the world, even if it meant exposing it as a form of disclosure.
"I don't know. I just don't know."
Rama Welton was truly frustrated.
.
.
.
.
Fortunately, Amy quickly accepted the truth without much trouble.
She couldn't possibly be a girl with a weak heart.
Regardless, after understanding my words, she promised that even if she visited the study, she wouldn't touch the magic circles.
After the incident was roughly resolved, I took the opportunity to relax and wander around the village with her.
Although my mind was complicated due to the note left by my father, I deliberately kept my composure and showed my face around the village.
Most of the villagers knew who I was.
However, unlike before, they were now wary of me.
'Now I am also a Count.'
Honestly, I don't feel like I'm a Count.
Not only from the experiences of Kim Jinhwan, who had lived in Korea, but also from my memories as Adrias, receiving the title during my time at the academy felt surreal and didn't leave much room for realization.
Moreover, as soon as I became a count, I started learning dark magic under Charon's guidance every day, which only diluted my identity as a count.
"Are you leaving already?"
After taking a look around the village, I packed my belongings again.
Amy seemed reluctant for me to leave so soon, but it was dangerous for me to stay here any longer for various reasons.
'Amy could get involved in the incidents because of me.'
Just imagining that made my anger rise.
That's why I had no choice but to leave after just one day.
"Brother..."
"Yeah?"
"Take care of yourself."
"Sure. If you find work too hard, just take a break."
"Got it."
She seemed like she had something more to say, but I walked out the door without waiting for her.
I turned back and headed away her, hearing her faint farewell from behind.
.
.
.
.
The Academy I returned to was still the same.
Of course, I had only been away for two days, so it was natural that nothing had changed.
'I have changed a bit, though.'
I acquired magic from Salem and obtained the Original Sin.
With just these two things, I felt much stronger.
'In a few days, the terrorist incident will occur.'
Now that I knew, I was determined to do my best to prevent it.
Feeling stronger in the past few days, I had confidence in myself.
Moreover, now that I knew Carlos Alben was involved, I was determined to save him from the situation, even though he didn't know about it.
Although Bart Alben was connected to the darkness in our family, I didn't want to pass the responsibility onto Carlos and Dianne.
'They couldn't have known.'
Besides, I could repay my debt to the Alben family in the process.
In the first place, Bart Alben's attitude was peculiar.
He acted like a lunatic, but he always moved in a direction that benefited me.
Perhaps he felt guilty. But since he was the other party, speculation was out of the question.
With these thoughts in mind, I returned to the dormitory and prepared for swordsmanship training.
'I've gotten stiff from not training for a few days."
Despite that, my skills had improved significantly after experiencing a few real battles.
Soon, the mana of the sword would catch up to the mana of the heart.
Stretching my body and summoning Nickel in the astral plane, I started swinging my sword in the empty air.
"It tingles, doesn't it?"
At that moment, an unexpected change occurred.
['Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin' has detected 'Diligent Sloth.']
['Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin' is beginning to evolve.]
"What is this...?"
I was taken aback by the sudden message.
Diligent sloth? Detected? Here?
Confused by the thoughts that went that far, I turned my head to look at Nickel.
Swish!
Sensing my gaze, Nickel swung his sword and looked at me with Dan's mask, as if asking what the matter was.
"This is ridiculous. Go back for a moment."
I immediately dismissed Nickel.
Then...
['Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin' has stopped evolving.]
"Ha! Haha!"
Is this some kind of prank? That's right, isn't it?
But my reason strongly insisted that it was true.
I summoned Nickel again.
As expected, a message appeared stating that the growth had begun.
"Nickel, what are you?"
Whether I said it or not, he raised his sword, indicating that I should focus on training and not talk.
Could it be that he absorbed the page of sloth? Or something else?
The page of sloth was perfectly fine when I handed it over to Jester.
It still emitted an aura of malice and felt like a surge of mana.
"Is it a copying bug?"
I wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but it seemed certain that the Original Sin recognized Nickel as the page of sloth.
If I didn't have the evolutionary trait, this wouldn't have happened.
If he hadn't evolved, Nickel would still be a skeleton soldier.
['Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin' has completed its growth.]
['Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin' is synchronized with 'Diligent Sloth.']
[Additional functions have been created.]
[Additional performance created]
[Basic performance enhanced]
And the changes didn't end there.
Nickel, who had been swinging his sword, suddenly stopped.
Then he approached me and began writing in the air.
A sudden strange feeling.
Could it be that he's receiving a buff?
Fortunately, the explanation was displayed in Nickel's status window.
[Sloth Phantom (Legendary)]
―Nickel Lifehill
―Undead
―Tier 5
―Mana: 2113
―Traits: Self/Apex: Swordsmanship, Corporealization, Sloth
―Currently sharing the effects of 'Pure Original Sin.'
He's receiving all the effects of the Original Sin.
It must be a crazy effect.
Because the performance of the Original Sin has also increased.
[Codex Apocalypse: Chapter 0, Pure Original Sin]
[Mana regeneration increased by 188% - Sloth]
[Mana sensitivity increased by 66% - Sloth]
[Special technique usable once every 6 days (currently stored technique: Sloth)]
[The quality of mana increases over time.]
[The nature of mana becomes darker over time.]
