709 Unexpected Encounter (1/2)

In a corner of the district of nobles, the blowing wind swept the evergreens.

Under the cover of the trees was a two-floored villa with a round dome. It had the characteristic style of the Schachran Empire, but the villa looked particularly creepy in the darkness for some reason, as if a monster was looming in the place.

Observing the villa from far away, Katrina could not tell whether it was a real premonition of her Host Star of Destiny, or it was merely her psychological effect. Her figure that seemed to have melted into the wind grew more and more vague until it completely disappeared.

Although a few months had passed and the defense should've been canceled after the villa was cleansed with holy light, Katrina dared not be careless. She still used spells such as 'Advanced Stealth' to sneak in instead using only the blood power. She trusted and loved magic more than blood power!

The silver moon, not covered by the clouds, illuminated the ground with watery light, leaving long shadows that looked like twisted monsters behind the trees. At such a bright knight, Katrina approached the villa without a sound. The effect of 'Advanced Stealth' prevented her from leaving any trace behind. Even though a wagon rode past her, nobody sensed that a lady was walking right next to them.

Katrina walked into the villa easily. Then, she vaporized her form to get into the hall, before she performed a thorough examination on the 'crime scene'.

The hall had a floor of stone bricks which had smooth surfaces. They were enormous and consistent with the Schachran Empire's style. One of them was as huge as five of the same bricks in Allyn.

Looking at the reflection of the ceiling on the bricks, Katrina had a feeling that mirrors had been embedded on the floor. She thought to herself, ”Even the floor in Count Calcate's residence wouldn't be so smooth. This serves no purpose other than tripping over the guests and making it easy to see what is inside the ladies' skirts. Did the owner of the villa design it for that? Or was it for something else?”

The nobles of the Schachran Empire were always more extravagant than their 'peers' in the south. Katrina would not rule out such a possibility just yet.

Under Advanced Stealth, her body was revealed every time she cast a spell, but she was invisible again after it was done. Therefore, Katrina's appearance that had been changed blinked on the floor all the time. Her long blond hair and her green eyes were all clear.

”It's been a few months since this place was cleansed by holy light. Even the most weird magical spell seems useless…” Katrina performed all the investigation magic she could think of but to little avail.

Of course, her efforts were not entirely in vain. At least, she could tell from the marks on the floor that nobody performed any extraordinary power back then, or the marks wouldn't have been as shallow.

”No usage of extraordinary power suggests only two possibilities: the official sorcerer was completely controlled by demons, or his power was sealed in advance. If the former is true, he would have used the most destructive magic when he was grasped by the desire of slaughter. Therefore, his power must've been sealed whether or not he worshiped demons.” Katrina reached a conclusion.

If the sorcerer joined the killing festival for his own purpose and prevented himself from using magic, any purpose wouldn't have been more important than his life at the critical moment. He would've used magic subconsciously.

”That is to say, I can understand how the sorcerer's magic was sealed from his body…” Katrina thought of a clue but waved her hand regretfully. ”However, the Church has blamed the demon worship on him and burnt his body. Bloody Church.”

She cursed despite her usual manners. The North Church certainly needed a scapegoat to appease the nobles and the people, and nobody suited it better than a wicked sorcerer who died on the spot.

The hall was empty because the furniture and altar had been cleansed. Katrina paced for a while and thought of something else. ”Gulf mentioned that a knight was also killed there. His blood power was obviously sealed, too. While his body couldn't be placed in his family graveyard, it should be in an advanced public graveyard. After all, nobles must not be disgraced…”

She was refreshed after seizing the clue. Examining the upper floor and the basement, she found nothing of value. When she was about to leave, she sensed that her alarm spell was triggered, so she looked at the window in the garden.

Then, Katrina noticed that the will of a familiar knight spread in through the window gap, investigating the situation inside coldly and carefully.

When the will reached Katrina, her 'Advanced Stealth' produced ripples and feigned her nonexistence perfectly.

Crack, crack, crack. The window was slowly opened by a piece of thin ice, and the 'criminal' who opened the window disappeared.

A shadow crawled in. He was tall and brawny, with snowflake patterns appearing on his hands.

”Yakov, he's really here…” Standing at the center of the hall, Katrina watched the stranger walk around and check. It was easy for her to tell who he was from the familiar air.

However, she was not surprised at Yakov's arrival. His reaction was weird when Anna mentioned the dead sorcerer.

Yakov was relieved after confirming that there were no items or suspicious traces, but he never noticed Katrina who stood behind him all the time so openly.

”I was considering how to interrogate him. Now that we've met, I should seize the opportunity…” Katrina made a decision.

Yakov stood straight and was going to check the upstairs, when he suddenly sensed uneasiness. Without any delay, his body began huge and was covered in frost, while he thought to himself, ”Am I being ambushed?”

Hardly had the idea occurred to him when his head hummed and everything became blurry.

”I have a question for you.” Then, he heard an unpredictable, genderless voice.