Chapter 196: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 196
Ever since spending the night at Scarlet’s place and meeting Luke Aegis with her, Sylvia had been incredibly busy.
Since the aftermath of the recent incident had yet to be fully resolved, there were countless matters for her to attend to as the heir of the Astra family. She barely had a moment to breathe.
However, she didn’t particularly resent her busy schedule.
After all, even when she’d made the unreasonable demand to clear her schedule until the afternoon because she planned to stay out, her servant Sebastian had somehow managed to postpone everything and then said,
‘...If you plan to do something like that again, please give me a heads-up beforehand. After all, I’m on your side, Miss.’
He had said this with a bitter smile and no complaints, which made Sylvia feel too guilty to neglect her duties.
“The current agenda is about the progress on restoring the transfer gate in the boundary area that was disrupted due to the construction—”
“If it’s about that, we’ve already restored over 70% of the gate in cooperation with the mages at the front line—”
Despite that, the ongoing series of countermeasure meetings over the past few days were still undeniably tedious for her.
After all, she didn’t have much authority over most of the agenda items being discussed, making it pointless for her to be there.
Thus, Sylvia only pretended to listen to the various topics being discussed while her mind wandered elsewhere.
For instance, she pondered on how to help maintain Scarlet’s condition or what assistance she could offer her.
What snapped Sylvia back to the meeting was a question posed by one of the members.
“Still, doesn’t it seem suspicious? The fact that the witch who attacked this time was first sighted at the exact moment and place where the anti-teleportation magic circle was last being installed.”
“What do you mean by suspicious?”
“Teleportation requires precise coordinates. The magic circle we installed this time was meant to disrupt the setting of those coordinates. If the witch didn’t breach the strict defenses of the front line, then she must have teleported into the boundary area. But at that time, the only place where that was possible was precisely where the magic circle hadn’t yet been installed. If the witch had already infiltrated before the magic circle was set up, it would mean she waited for the moment when the anti-teleportation circle was completed and support couldn’t arrive.”
The entire meeting hall focused on the attendee’s words.
Perhaps everyone had already felt this unease, but nobody had dared to bring it up because it would point to an inconvenient truth for them all.
“Either way, it’s impossible without prior knowledge. And the only ones privy to that information were us, the Central Committee.”
“...Which means.”
“Could it be that one of us... has been leaking information to the witch?”
His words brought a heavy silence to the room.
But soon enough, murmurs of concern began to fill the hall.
Amidst this growing commotion, some members started shouting.
“Are you suggesting there’s a traitor among us?”
“Do you realize the gravity of your accusation?!”
Sylvia noticed that most of those yelling were doing so while glancing around nervously, which made her smirk inwardly.
Cowards.
Even though they were all members of the Central Committee, not everyone held the same level of authority within it.
Particularly the three great families—Astra, Aegis, and Dolos—wielded unparalleled influence even within the Committee.
There were also those who clung to the prestige of these powerful families within the Committee.
That’s why those people were acting out, afraid that the statement might have angered the three great families.
Someone might have committed treason, but they were more concerned about the family’s reputation.
Sylvia felt a deep sense of disappointment seeing these people, who were supposed to be representing and managing the city’s affairs, behave like this.
But what could she say to them?
Without her status as the Astra heir, she was just another young girl.
So, she kept her mouth shut. And those who had been criticizing the initial speaker, emboldened as if they had been given permission, began raising their voices even louder.
“If there is something suspicious, it is only right to investigate.”
And what silenced those voices was the heavy tone of Diakonos Dolos, head of the Dolos family, one of the three great families.
The people who had been yelling as if they represented the great families seemed taken aback, unable to believe he had spoken up in support, and responded with bewildered expressions.
“But, Lord Dolos... are you suggesting we interrogate the entire Central Committee?”
To this question, Diakonos responded nonchalantly.
“There’s no need for such a grand gesture as an interrogation. As you know, we have Yoon Si-woo with us.”
“Ah...”
With that simple answer, someone gasped in realization.
Everyone in the Central Committee was well aware of Yoon Si-woo’s ability to discern truth through various incidents.
“With a simple question-and-answer session, we can determine whether there truly is a traitor. If no one has anything to hide, there should be no reason to refuse. Don’t you agree?”
Looking around slowly as he spoke, Diakonos’ gaze seemed to imply that refusing would be tantamount to admitting guilt. No one dared to protest.
With everyone seemingly in agreement, Yoon Si-woo was called into the meeting hall.
Sylvia didn’t yet know what this would lead to.
---
“Please, Yoon Si-woo.”
“...I will begin the questioning.”
The session began with Yoon Si-woo questioning every member of the Central Committee.
The process was simple.
“Are you innocent?”
Yoon Si-woo would ask this straightforward question.
“Yes, I am innocent. I can assure you that I have committed no act of treason in relation to the witch.”
“That’s the truth.”
All the person being questioned had to do was assert their innocence.
Yoon Si-woo’s method was simple: he only needed to judge the truth of the answers given.
“Are you innocent?”
“Innocent? Absolutely. I despise witches more than anything. They took my child from me. There's no way I would ever collaborate with those bastards.”
“That’s the truth.”
As if reflecting the unspoken hierarchy within the Committee, those with relatively less influence answered first.
Naturally, those with significant influence within the Committee were left to answer later.
The questioning continued for some time like that.
There were no suspected traitors among most of those who were questioned.
Only those affiliated with the three great families or those of comparable influence remained.
While the number of people who had proven their innocence increased, Sylvia could feel the tension in the room growing even more intense.
If any of those remaining turned out to be traitors, it would be a massive scandal.
The first of those remaining to respond was Eve, an illusionist who also taught at the Academy.
“Teacher, you haven’t done anything bad, right?”
“...No, I’m innocent. I’m a teacher. I would never do anything that would harm my students.”
“Yes, fortunately, that’s the truth.”
She answered with a faint smile, and Yoon Si-woo confirmed her innocence with a smile of his own.
Next was Mark Aegis, the principal of Aegis Academy.
“Principal, are you innocent?”
“...Like her, I’m in charge of the school. Why would I do something that would make me ashamed in front of my students?”
“I see. That’s the truth.”
With a furrowed brow that suggested he was simply tired of the situation, Yoon Si-woo nodded at his answer.
Then it was Diakonos Dolos, the head of the Dolos family.
“Lord Dolos, you’re innocent too, right?”
“I live only for the happiness of humanity. I would never do anything that would harm humanity.”
“Yes, that’s the truth.”
Next was Sylvia Astra, heir to the Astra family, and it was her turn.
Of all those being questioned, she probably had the most ties to the witch.
In that sense, there was a hint of guilt within her, but since it was Yoon Si-woo who was asking the questions, she didn’t feel nervous.
In a way, he was on her side. Even if it turned out to be a lie, she felt reassured that he would cover for her, and she answered confidently.
“Nothing to hide?”
“Nope. I’m innocent.”
“Well, that’s the truth.”
With those words, Sylvia could feel the tension in the room dissipate.
Now that Astra’s innocence had been proven, people seemed relieved that the feared traitor problem was just a baseless worry.
However, amidst the atmosphere of relief, Sylvia noticed it.
The face of the last person yet to be questioned, the First Elder of the Astra family.
The elder, who always wore a gentle smile, now had a self-deprecating expression on his face.
Seeing this, Sylvia let out a quiet sigh.
She had been careless, thinking that all they needed to do was prove their innocence regarding the accusation of treason.
There was someone here who had more to hide than anyone else.
If such a person were asked, “Are you innocent?”
What would they think then?
No, don’t...
Sylvia urgently sent a look to Yoon Si-woo.
But her glance didn’t reach him, and in the end, the question was directed at the First Elder.
“Are you... innocent?”
“...”
Unlike the others, the answer didn’t come immediately.
The relaxed atmosphere turned tense once more.
All eyes were now focused on them with a sense of foreboding.
Sylvia could feel the elder’s gaze on her.
She could sense the regret and sorrow in that look.
“Regarding this incident, I’ve done nothing suspicious, but it would be a lie to say I am innocent. There is something I’ve been hiding from all of you. I will reveal that secret here and now.”
With a voice that somehow sounded relieved, he began to speak.
“The experiments conducted under Astra’s direction, known as the Witch Weaponization Project.”
And so, the secrets of Astra were exposed to the world.
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:P the old man is up to something again.
ReplyDeleteSo the elder revealed the project and get rid of luke to removed loose ends.
ReplyDeleteIt kinda pains me that scarlet has to deal and overcome with this emotionally, even the witch inside her is probably fuming even harder rn given that luke is the only one left that can relate to her in the past.
Tftc.
Oh snap
ReplyDelete👍
ReplyDelete