Marriott was dead, and we had failed to uncover the mastermind behind her.
However, the lottery business soon returned to normal.
Despite being advised to rest, the winner insisted on collecting their prize the very next day. Caesar greeted them with an unbothered expression, and the rumors surrounding the lottery quickly died down.
This was thanks to the winning ticket being found in Marriott’s possession. Had it disappeared entirely, things could have gotten complicated—but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
She had kidnapped the winner and stolen their ticket, but considering it was worth several thousand gold, she must have hesitated to dispose of it so carelessly.
In the end, the incident was dismissed as a minor delay in the prize collection.
We also learned why I had escaped Marriott’s attack unharmed—it was thanks to Katana’s magic bracelet. Even I hadn’t known, but it had a protective spell that automatically created a barrier.
Katana had made it just in case, never expecting it to be used so soon. Afterward, she re-applied the protective spell.
With everything returning to normal, we quickly settled back into our daily routines.
Yet, both Caesar and I remained unsettled—because we still didn’t know who was behind all of this.
Which meant it could happen again at any time.
I told Caesar about my suspicion that the mastermind behind this was also responsible for the assassination attempt at the birthday banquet.
“Well… it’s still just a theory for now.”
“…Who could it be? Someone who hates me?”
“I don’t think so.”
I spoke quickly, and Caesar gave me a doubtful look, as if assuming I was just trying to comfort him.
“I mean it. Because I don’t think that person… even has the capacity for hatred.”
I had thought it was strange from the beginning.
When Duke Spiegel tried to fight back and ended up falling from grace, the mastermind had him killed to silence him.
It was the same with the poisoning attempt on Floria. They framed the maid’s death as a suicide but still left behind a will. Instead of protecting their allies, they discarded them without hesitation.
To this person, everything was merely a means to an end.
“They just want power. The throne. If someone else had taken the throne instead of you, they would have done the exact same thing. It’s not about personal hatred.”
Caesar’s expression darkened at my words. He was likely thinking the same thing as I was.
Someone who acted solely for their own goals was incredibly difficult to catch.
They would never make emotional mistakes, calculating everything with cold precision.
“Well, at least we’ve resolved one thing for now!”
I deliberately spoke in a bright tone to lighten the mood.
“The lottery business is back on track, after all.”
In response to this incident, several security measures were added to the lottery system.
The biggest change was an upgrade to the teleportation magic used on the winning tickets.
Previously, the ticket allowed the winner to teleport to the capital whenever they wished, since there was no telling where in the vast empire a winner might be.
However, this teleportation functioned like an ordinary portal, meaning that after arriving in the capital, the winner still had to find their own way to the palace.
Now, the teleportation was adjusted so that winners would be transported directly to a designated location inside the palace at a specific time each day.
To prevent unauthorized access, only one person—the rightful winner—could use the teleportation, and armed guards would be stationed at the arrival site.
With these measures in place, no one would be able to exploit the lottery system so easily again.
‘Not that I think they’d bother meddling with it anymore.’
I felt that this incident was somewhat different from the others.
Even if they had succeeded in covering up the first winner’s disappearance, another would have emerged eventually.
Over time, public trust in the lottery could have recovered. And if it didn’t, we could have simply shut the business down.
Of course, it wouldn’t have been easy to abandon a project that had been carefully planned for so long—but it wasn’t as if failing the business would endanger anyone’s life or Caesar’s rule.
‘So maybe they did this just for amusement rather than as part of some serious scheme.’
The idea that someone had sabotaged all our hard work purely for fun was even more infuriating.
“Oh, by the way, Alvin has uncovered some new information.”
After Marriott’s death, Alvin had taken full charge of the investigation.
I hadn’t expected him to find much, but…
“What did he find?”
“He investigated the magic tool inside Marriott’s body. While he couldn’t identify it exactly, he said it must be extremely rare and expensive—something that isn’t sold on the market.”
“Hmm…”
That much was expected.
Communication magic tools were already incredibly costly. Even short-range ones weren’t cheap, and the kind that worked across any distance was astronomically expensive.
But this one was even more advanced—it was small enough to be implanted inside a person’s body, yet powerful enough to trigger a deadly explosion spell.
It was undoubtedly priceless.
“That means the culprit has a lot of money. Could they be a noble?”
“It’s hard to say for sure, but it’s very likely. And there’s one more thing—Alvin interrogated the gatekeeper again, and they said something strange.”
“If you mean that gatekeeper, the soldier named Poji—wait, is he even still alive?”
“Yes. It seems they spared him since he knew nothing about the mastermind. Of course, he’s lost his job, but at least he’s alive.”
“That’s a relief, I suppose. So, what was the strange thing he said?”
“Well…”
Caesar tilted his head slightly.
“The date when Marriott first made contact with him is strange.”
“What? When was it?”
“Before the nationwide expansion of the lottery was even announced.”
I blinked in surprise. That was strange.
The method of drawing a winner every Sunday and having them visit the palace to claim their prize had been a completely new system—different from how the trial version was conducted in Summerhill.
These changes were only introduced when the lottery expanded across the empire.
‘If they hadn’t known about those changes in advance, bribing the gatekeeper would have been impossible.’
Caesar’s expression darkened.
“If the gatekeeper isn’t lying, then there’s only one possible explanation.”
“…Yeah.”
The mastermind had access to internal information before it was officially announced.
In other words, there was a spy among us.
“Before the official announcement, only a handful of people knew about the expansion—us, Katana, my parents, Duke Bryden, and a few other nobles.”
“I find it hard to believe any of them could be a traitor.”
I agreed. It wasn’t just about trust—none of them would have anything to gain by betraying Caesar.
“Maybe it’s not a spy in the traditional sense. They might have let something slip without realizing it, or… they could have been threatened or placed under some kind of magic spell.”
“Or someone could have broken into the palace or another residence to eavesdrop or steal documents.”
“Exactly! And considering how Marriott’s magic tool was something none of us had seen before, it’s possible the mastermind is someone with both immense wealth and magical expertise.”
I nodded enthusiastically.
It was easier to believe that than to suspect someone close to us of outright betrayal.
“Let’s keep this to ourselves for now.”
I nodded in agreement. Carelessly spreading suspicion could damage trust within our circle. It was better to wait until we had solid evidence.
“Well then… I should get ready to head to the training grounds.”
Caesar checked the time and stood up.
“Would you like me to help you?”
“What?”
“With changing your clothes.”
Caesar rarely accepted assistance with changing or bathing unless absolutely necessary.
It was likely a habit from his childhood, when he was often neglected.
Maybe meeting Marriott again had made me more aware of it, but for some reason, I found that habit particularly saddening today.
“You still see me as a kid, don’t you?”
Caesar let out a small chuckle.
Sixteen is still a kid to me, though…
I kept that thought to myself. It wasn’t as easy to say now that Caesar had grown so much.
“Still, it’s been a while since—”
“It’s fine. Just sit and wait.”
Caesar replied nonchalantly before disappearing behind the curtain.
Come to think of it, something similar had happened a year ago.
Back then, I had thought nothing of pulling the curtain aside to help him change, leaving him flustered.
Now, if I were to do the same, he probably wouldn’t even blush—he’d just laugh it off.
‘He really has grown up…’
I had always known that, but after this incident, it felt more real than ever.
His composure in the face of Marriott’s words. His skill with a sword.
It was as if he wasn’t the same Caesar I once knew.
Instead of staring at the curtain, I turned my gaze toward the window.
At that moment, a bird resting on a tree branch flapped its wings and took flight.
‘That’s a good thing, isn’t it?’
When Caesar came of age and fully awakened his powers, I would have to leave the palace.
For that day to come, it was only right that he continued to grow.
With great strength, he wouldn’t have to face such dangers again.
Resting my chin in my hand, I stared blankly at the now-empty tree.
For some reason, an inexplicable emptiness settled in my chest.
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