As their voices fell quiet, the thoughts that had flowed between their words seemed to seal away, giving the illusion that time itself had stopped.
The only sounds remaining in the silent office were the faint ticking of a clock and the crisp patter of light rain striking the windowpane, both ringing out with crystal clarity in the stillness of the Headmaster's Office.
The books upon the desk seemed similarly steeped in this tranquility. Beside them, a brass desk lamp cast warm yellow light across the desktop, blending with the dark wood grain to produce a soothing hue.
Cloris stared at Lanqi's desk, lost in thought.
"So, Miss Cloris, is there something troubling you that requires my help?"
Lanqi picked up his teacup, which still held a trace of warmth, and took a small sip.
Cloris looked up slightly.
"I wish to form an alliance with you, Mr. Luoqi McCarthy, to stop this war the Empire is heading into," she answered bluntly.
"As far as I know, though Duke Morotian cannot be considered an outright warmonger, your family leans considerably more toward the pro-war faction, doesn't it?"
Lanqi was willing to trust Sido; after all, Sido harbored no malice even toward Zestira. More importantly, in conversing with him and reading between the lines of his writings, one could clearly see Sido's revulsion for war.
Yet as for this young duchess, Lanqi could not yet be certain of her stance.
"My father has actually been missing for quite some time. The Duke Morotian seen in public right now is merely a medicinal puppet under my control," Cloris sighed, admitting openly.
"..."
Faced with Cloris laying her cards on the table, even Lanqi was caught off guard for a moment, his teacup frozen midair.
He was not merely stunned that Lady Cloris would drop such a bombshell and reveal this secret directly to him, but that Cloris had dared to pull off such an act in the first place.
No wonder when he and Zestira had first arrived in the Imperial Capital of Herrom, they had already heard that Duke Morotian was currently refusing all requests to view the [Original Slate - Undead], and that using credits from the Protos Royal Magic Academy could only grant access to Imperial Great Sage Isis's [Original Slate - Light].
It turned out the [Original Slate - Undead] wasn't even there to begin with.
"You are calmer than I imagined. Don't you doubt how a duke who is a slate wielder could possibly go missing?" Cloris observed Lanqi's reaction and chuckled softly.
In truth, there was no reason for her to joke about this. As for whether it was real, she could easily prove it to Lanqi simply by bringing him to the ducal manor.
"When a young lady's father has gone missing, I choose to believe her before questioning her. After all, she is the one bearing the heaviest burden," Lanqi said with calm conviction as he set down his cup.
"..."
Cloris stared at Lanqi, falling quiet for a moment.
In all their conversation so far, this seemed to be the moment that surprised her the most.
"Do you have any clues regarding the mystery of the Duke's disappearance?" Lanqi asked.
"None. Aside from being certain that I lost contact with him in the north, the trail is unimaginably clean. That is also why I was able to conceal the fact that he vanished in the first place." Cloris shook her head.
Lanqi nodded.
In theory, Hyperion could have done something similar back when Duke Mikhail disappeared, but a single misstep would have led to absolute ruin—and besides, Hyperion could never have brought herself to do such a thing.
Without spending even a moment mourning her father's disappearance, she had seized all family authority at the very first opportunity. One could only say Cloris was far more ruthless than Hyperion, possessing a boldness that ordinary people simply lacked.
Thinking carefully, this move by Lady Cloris might have directly altered the Protos Empire's present geopolitical landscape.
Had Duke Morotian disappeared at such a precarious juncture, the populace would have leaned even more heavily on the Resurrection Church, and panic would have escalated, making the powder keg all too easy to detonate.
Although Duke Morotian appeared to be one of the pillars bolstering the pro-war faction's confidence, he was in reality also a critical support holding up the Protos Empire's current equilibrium.
The spark for this impending war within the Protos Empire was ignited by fear and resentment, and Duke Morotian, as a presence capable of suppressing fear, was ironically someone who could not be allowed to vanish.
"What do you plan to do next?" Lanqi asked, looking back at Cloris.
Her stance was crystal clear—in fact, it couldn't be clearer: she had to oppose the war.
Fire could not be wrapped in paper forever. The moment full-scale war erupted, the truth about the Duke would come to light, and Cloris's actions would brand her with severe crimes and trigger an irreversible public backlash, plunging her into eternal damnation.
Her choice to temporarily seize power by deceiving the Empire granted her immense initiative, but she also had to wager that this initiative would provide her the opportunity to overthrow the mastermind behind the scenes.
The mastermind naturally wouldn't expose her; if they attempted to expose her by any means, they would risk leaving clues and revealing themselves. Stepping from the shadows into the light prematurely was the last thing someone who had gone to great pains to manipulate the situation would want.
Cloris had calculated all of this to perfection. It was both a chess match and a high-stakes gamble.
Even the mastermind likely had not expected her to play such a brazen game.
"Perhaps I could drag it out indefinitely, but I doubt someone will allow me to. At most, I'd say we have a little over a month. Once the cooperation between the Resurrection Church and the Empire is fully finalized, even if Duke Morotian's absence leaves a void, that vacancy will be filled, and an evenly matched war will break out."
Cloris spoke with her usual carefree demeanor. Even though she was in the greatest danger of all, she looked completely detached, as if none of it concerned her.
"So what do you need my help with?"
Lanqi was certain that Cloris made an excellent partner.
At this point, their positions aligned and they could mutually benefit one another, which meant a deal was within reach.
The good news was that her power was far greater than he had imagined—she controlled the entire ducal house. The bad news was that partnering with her meant throwing everything into this all-or-nothing gamble alongside her.
Either lose and become a sinner for life, or win and stand as an eternal beacon of light.
"There aren't many avenues of investigation right now... But since you firmly believe those beings are not from the demon race, I would like to ask you to go north and investigate. Slender though the hope may be, as long as you can secure any evidence and bring it back, Associate Professor Sido and I can use all the ducal house's channels to expose it to the world. In return, our ducal house will back you from now on," Cloris spoke slowly.
"The difficulty lies in finding a way to obtain a travel pass to the northern defense line. Right now, the north is not only under a communications blackout, but traveling there also requires a pass issued by the Imperial Defense Department," she added immediately.
Clearly, this was the one thing she could not help Lanqi with. If he were linked to the ducal house before departing, heading north would become extraordinarily dangerous.
In the Imperial Capital of Herrom, Imperial Great Sage Isis and several 8th-rank powerhouses held the fort; any enemy who tried to cause trouble faced massive risks. But up north, things were completely different.
"I already have a pass, so that's not a problem. Coincidentally, I have official business in the north as well," Lanqi said, leaning back comfortably in his chair with the poised dignity of a headmaster.
Even so, Sido, who was sitting over by the sofa, felt his eyelid twitch.
At that moment, Lanqi gave him the distinct impression of someone who carried every conceivable permit and document on him. Usually, people who were excessively prepared like this made one suspect they weren't engaged in honest work.
"Then I leave it in your hands, Headmaster Luoqi."
Cloris stood, offering a smile and curtsying to Lanqi once more.
She didn't hold much hope that Lanqi could unearth anything monumental in the north.
Still, if he truly did bring something back, he might quickly grace the cover of *Empire Weekly*, followed by a whirlwind of interviews and speeches. Even the various nations far to the north would take notice of someone named Luoqi McCarthy.
Yet regrettably, such renown meant very little to him.
He appeared far too devoid of worldly desires—or rather, utterly devoid of ambition.
Perhaps this was the loneliness he carried: even when achieving monumental feats, he had no one with whom to share that joy.
Chapter 303