# Chapter 48
After receiving news that war had broken out again with the Caron Empire, Ion looked down at his desk with a tense expression. What he saw were portions of the capital city’s entry records he had compiled just yesterday.
The number was only four.
These were individuals who had records of entering but no trace of leaving the capital, nor any evidence of where they had stayed. It was as if they had left only their entry records before vanishing into thin air.
Two of them had entered on the same day Crown Prince Kalvern first set foot in the capital, with only a narrow gap between them. At most, there were only five merchants between them.
The investigation into Crown Prince Kalvern’s entourage had been completed. More accurately, it would be correct to say they had investigated their “corpses.” Whoever was responsible had not only committed the murders in the ballroom annex but had completely decimated the place where the rest of their party had been staying.
After checking their numbers and appearances, it was confirmed they were the ones who had entered either accompanying Crown Prince Kalvern or arrived together shortly after. Among them was Levi, who had been abducted by the black-haired assailant.
‘They’re definitely connected to Crown Prince Kalvern.’
Ion focused on two unidentified men who had blended in with Crown Prince Kalvern’s group, as well as the two who had entered the day before the incident occurred.
‘The assailant at the ballroom must be different from the one who attacked me, based on timing.’
On the day of the incident, a masked archer had suddenly appeared at the ballroom annex and massacred Kalvern and his entourage with extraordinary skill. Given the considerable distance to the marketplace and no evidence of travel by horse, the archer who had attacked him that day must have been a different person.
‘The man who intervened, and then…’
The masked man with black hair—a total of four people.
The numbers matched up, and from the time Crown Prince Kalvern entered the capital until now, only their whereabouts remained unaccounted for.
When Ion connected them to Kalvern, the obvious question arose:
Why did they have to kill Kalvern and all his subordinates?
If they had just left them alone, everyone except Kalvern would have inevitably faced execution after being interrogated by Emperor Tis, who had taken control of the situation.
‘Silencing them?’
What could have been the reason for infiltrating the imperial palace and massacring Kalvern and his subordinates to silence them?
What words could have been so dangerous that they could never be allowed to leave their mouths?
While it surely related to Kalvern’s search for the Former Empress’s records, Ion thought there must be more to it.
‘Levi…’
He recalled those black eyes looking at him. And the man with terribly dark eyes who had taken Levi away.
If they were the same people who had massacred Crown Prince Kalvern and his entourage, there would have been no reason to risk entering the marketplace filled with soldiers to abduct Levi. The innocent Levi, who followed Kalvern like an obedient dog despite having the power to escape, couldn’t have known what Kalvern was thinking. It also seemed unlikely that Kalvern would have explained everything in detail to Levi, who was essentially like a child.
‘Why was Levi with Kalvern in the first place?’
Not only was the reason for Levi following Kalvern unknown, but there had been no connection between them to begin with. After all, Levi would have been reborn in the Black Forest after his regeneration.
‘The Caron Empire had been controlling the Black Forest for 10 years. So…’
It made no sense that Levi had evaded the forces guarding the forest and secretly crossed multiple borders to reach the Kingdom of Altia where Kalvern was. Not only would he not know the way, but he would have reached the borders of the Delos Empire before even getting to Altia.
Even if he had succeeded, there was no way he could have evaded Hest’s watchful eyes, who had been carefully observing the area even after it became foreign territory.
Someone had handed Levi over to Kalvern, who was staying in the Delos Empire under the pretext of academic pursuits. This person not only knew about Levi’s regeneration and abilities very well but also understood his personality.
They were likely a high-ranking official in the Caron Empire.
The reason for this assumption was that the Caron Empire had not only claimed the unmanageable Black Forest as its territory but also stationed troops there for years. As if waiting for Levi to be born after completing his regeneration.
‘They protected a seemingly useless forest for 10 years, even deploying troops. For this to be possible, they must be either a high-ranking noble who can use their own forces or…’
Ion’s eyes narrowed.
‘Emperor Raziel Bisrua Caron.’
He bit his lip hard at the thought.
He knew that the imperial family of the Caron Empire had traditionally had black hair and black eyes. The current emperor, Raziel, was said to have such deep coloration that it looked as if ink had been poured directly onto him.
However, he couldn’t rashly conclude that the emperor was the culprit. The imperial family of the Caron Empire had changed hands several times throughout history, with new rulers rising only to be overthrown after a few generations, sometimes even becoming slaves.
As a result, not only the current imperial family but also nobles in remote regions had quite a few people with black hair or black eyes. Some cases even extended to commoners or priests due to certain nobles’ indiscretions.
Of course, those possessing both traits were extremely rare, but as a grand duke of an enemy nation during wartime, Ion couldn’t investigate all of them.
Either way, it seemed clear that someone of at least high noble status from the Caron Empire was involved in the Kalvern incident.
Their objective was obvious.
They wanted to use Crown Prince Kalvern’s death to arrange a summit meeting and bring up matters related to the “Former Empress’s records” there.
The mention of the Former Empress’s records had indeed put all nations on the continent on edge, leaving the Delos Empire unable to move freely as it had to be mindful of neighboring countries. Even without forming an explicit alliance, the Caron Empire had gained a reliable ally.
And the person from the Caron Empire who had contacted Kalvern had “lent” Levi to him temporarily. Knowing Levi couldn’t die, they planned to use him thoroughly, then discard Kalvern and reclaim Levi once his usefulness had ended.
‘Treating him as nothing but an object.’
The more Ion thought about it, the more it burned him inside.
Not only had Levi been treated as a mere tool, but he must have suffered tremendous psychological wounds as well. The innocent and kind Levi had simply trusted and followed them.
Without realizing it, blood trickled from Ion’s tightly clenched palm. The blood flowed down his trembling hand, seeping into the crumpled documents beneath.
Even after figuring out this much, there was nothing he could do.
While he believed that those who had abducted Levi were the ones behind manipulating Crown Prince Kalvern and were certainly from the Caron Empire, he had nothing to publicly condemn them with.
Because there was no decisive evidence or testimony.
‘If only at least one person from Kalvern’s side had survived.’
If he had remained in the palace without Levi’s rampage incident, he might have been able to save Kalvern’s poisoned group. Within those crucial five minutes, before their hearts completely stopped and their bodies turned cold, he could have saved them.
Then, even without evidence, he could have secured testimony, which was regrettable.
‘They must have calculated that too.’
They had planned everything with his ability in mind. For their plan of silencing witnesses and using Crown Prince Kalvern’s death to work, his ability, known as the “Hand of Life,” could not be used on them.
The blood from his palm seemed to grow cold.
Ion couldn’t shake off the most important question that kept arising. The opponent was certain that if they caused Levi to go berserk, Ion would personally come out to capture him.
‘How do they know about my relationship with Levi?’
The only people who knew why he was so fixated on Levi were Emperor Tis of the Delos Empire, his guard knight Kayan, and Marquis Hest Wesslon. Even if Levi had told them about his meeting with Ion, that alone wouldn’t give them the confidence that the Grand Duke of Verdit would come to the marketplace to find him.
Those cautious individuals behind Kalvern wouldn’t expect such a risky venture.
No matter how hard he tried, this question remained unsolved.
That’s when—
Tap tap tap—
A small sound of something tapping against the tightly closed window was heard. When Ion turned his head, he saw a gray pigeon there. Noticing a tiny piece of cloth tightly wrapped and tied to its slender leg, Ion immediately flung the window open.
The pigeon, which had naturally settled on the windowsill, remained docile like it was trained as Ion urgently unwrapped the cloth.
The white cloth was slightly stained with blood from Ion’s fingernails and palm, but it wasn’t difficult to make out the words written on it.
<Caron Imperial Palace>
<Black Forest>
<Five people>
<Carriage>
<08:27>
After reading the entire message, Ion’s heart immediately began to race madly.
