Salvation Through Delusion C45

Chapter 45

“And did you see the letter he sent back rejecting the gift I sent? My, my—who would’ve thought that man could write so politely and properly?”

“My thoughts exactly. I’ve never seen that arrogant handwriting look so… civilized before. And the contents! You can practically feel his sincerity toward Lord Rue bleeding through every word.”

Sincerity?

“Oh yes, it was touching. When has Tyroc ever cared this much about anyone from the Adeye family before?”

“What on earth did he even write?”

I asked suspiciously, and Solongo, looking as though she’d been waiting for that question, handed me the letter.

‘Your gift is unnecessary.

I pray for the swift recovery of Adeye Rue.

– Koon Tyroc’

That was it. Just two lines.

Thinking there might be something more hidden somewhere, I turned the paper over front and back—but no, that was all.

“How is this supposed to be…?”

“Isn’t it amazing? Not a single insult, not even the faintest trace of sarcasm. He’s actually being polite!”

Dr. Kim chimed in enthusiastically, and Solongo nodded in agreement.

“And unlike his usual habit of stamping only his seal, he even wrote his full name this time. It’s formal, courteous—properly done!”

This was gaslighting. Serious, full-scale delusion. I gave the two of them a pitying look, but I had more important things to worry about.

“Not to mention, he said he prays for Lord Rue’s recovery. That’s basically a confession, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. A love letter, perhaps?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, will you two stop with that nonsense!”

I couldn’t stand it anymore. I shouted and tore the fake “love letter” to shreds.

“Tyroc would sooner kill me than develop any other kind of feeling, all right?!”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“Oh, I can. The probability of your so-called Plan X ever happening is zero, so give it up.”

Dr. Kim pressed her lips together, glaring at me with open disappointment.

What, did she actually expect that stupid plan to work? Unbelievable. I sighed and tried to steer the topic back to something that mattered.

“Anyway—did you look into Biwine’s party yet?”

Flinch. For some reason, both of them stiffened simultaneously. Then, as if on cue, they rose to their feet.

“Well then, since you’re supposed to be resting, you’d better keep pretending to be sick.”

“Yes, we’ve disturbed Lord Rue long enough. We’ll take our leave.”

“Wait—! The hunting competition where Tyroc and that traitor will meet is less than a month away! If you keep dodging me, the whole social season will be over—hey! Are you even listening?!”

Lately, Borhumi Zab’s temper had been growing worse by the day.

His efforts to locate the entrance to the Forest of Crimson Tides had stalled entirely. And now, of all things, the entrance had opened—suddenly, inside the Central Temple’s pond.

The problem was, no one knew how to open it again, and gaining access to that pond was far from easy.

“The Temple has refused our proposal. They claim internal opposition due to the pond’s sacred importance, but I suspect they’re simply afraid—of someone else’s influence.”

The subordinate paused, watching Zab carefully. He knew his master’s temper well. Though the public adored Zab as a man of justice, that image was nothing more than an illusion crafted for popularity.

In truth, Zab was domineering, elitist, and intolerant of failure.

Having been born into power, he had never learned to accept defeat. He took out his frustrations by tormenting those beneath him.

But today, the subordinate didn’t need to fear being the target of that wrath. There was already someone else fulfilling that role.

“Ugh…”

A low groan came from the corner of the room, where a man lay crumpled on the floor, beaten and bleeding.

Zab didn’t even glance at him—he simply gestured lazily with his hand.

Immediately, Ottmar, Zab’s right-hand man, kicked the fallen man hard in the stomach. Another cry echoed through the room, but Zab spoke over it calmly, as though nothing had happened.

“Whose influence are they afraid of?”

“Sarne and Montaine.”

At the mention of two divine houses, Zab’s brow twitched.

Those two rivals had always watched him closely—spying, scheming, desperate to expose even the smallest weakness.

He had wanted to find the Blade of Stillness before they learned of his interest in the Forest of Crimson Tides.

But progress had been slow—too slow. Now, they had caught the scent, swarming like vultures. Disgusting pests.

And yet, there was someone else who angered him more.

“What about Tyroc?”

“The House of Koon has shown no particular interest in the matter.”

“Why? Did that bastard find something out? I heard Tyroc jumped into the pond to save Adeye Rue?”

The first time Zab heard that, he had laughed.

But once he realized the significance of that pond, that laugh turned into fury.

Why was Tyroc always the one blessed with luck?

It had always been that way. No matter how his family fell or how the divine beast abandoned them, fortune still followed him. People adored him, rallied to him, believed in him.

“The Koons haven’t made any official statements regarding the incident.”

“That sly fox… as if he’d really stay out of it. And Adeye Rue? What’s his situation?”

“He only regained consciousness recently, so it’s difficult to confirm. However, the Adeye family head plans to name the pond after their trading house. A perfect excuse to draw attention and advertise their brand.”

“Hah. Typical Lantua. Her brother nearly dies, and she’s still thinking about profit.”

Either way, the growing number of eyes on that pond was becoming a problem.

“Disgusting vermin,” Zab hissed, turning his glare toward the man still groaning on the floor.

“Torrida.”

At the sound of his name, the man on the ground shuddered violently.

His pitiful state only stoked Zab’s rage further.

“If you’d found the entrance to the Forest of Crimson Tides back when you were stationed at the Awik estate, this wouldn’t have happened. But no—you lost the Awiks, found nothing in their empty house, and failed to capture Adeye Rue. Now look what you’ve done.”

“M-My apologies! But I couldn’t get near Adeye Rue—he never leaves his mansion, so I haven’t had a chance to question him about Silian.”

“Stop sniveling.”

Zab ground his teeth, his expression twisting with contempt. That name again. Adeye Rue.

He was sick of hearing it.

“I’ll make sure you meet him myself.”

Three straight days of sleep had restored my energy, sure—but there was a downside.

I’d lost muscle mass. How unfair that just a few days of rest could erase all that progress.

Worse, since I was supposed to be “bedridden,” I couldn’t even go outside to train. Thankfully, my room was large enough to double as a private gym, and there were plenty of exercises I could do indoors.

Unfortunately, Solongo wouldn’t have it.

“There are too many eyes in this mansion. No matter how tight the security, spies always slip through. You must stay in bed and keep pretending to be ill.”

And so, after several more days of lying still, I realized something horrifying: I was going to lose my mind like this.

Dr. Kim didn’t help either.

“If Grand Duke Tyroc had the courtesy to send a heartfelt letter, the least you can do is respond quickly and graciously. What are you waiting for?”

She sent people every hour to remind me—nagging non-stop.

I gave up and dashed off a “long” three-line letter in return:

‘To the honorable Grand Duke Tyroc,

Thank you for your kind regards.

– Adeye Rue’

That was plenty polite, I thought. Done and dusted. I promptly forgot about it—until two days later, when a maid entered looking pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“This letter… it was delivered through a magic portal.”

For a second, I didn’t grasp the gravity of that statement. Then Mo spoke up, clearly exasperated.

[Spatial transfer magic is an advanced spell usable only by top-class magicians. Moreover, the Adeye mansion is protected by layered defensive enchantments that make unauthorized teleportation nearly impossible.

For someone to bypass that means their mage is stronger than any serving the Adeye family. Only a handful of people in all of Tuvine could manage that.]

So… someone had just used one of the continent’s most powerful mages just to deliver me a letter?

Who the hell—?

I quickly reached for the envelope—but paused before breaking the seal.

The wax emblem looked oddly familiar.

Where had I seen this before?

I was just about to open it when the door burst open and Solongo rushed in.

“I heard the letter came through a teleportation portal! Who sent it?”

“No idea. I just received it myself.”

The moment I lifted the envelope, Solongo’s eyes sharpened.

“That’s the seal of Grand Duke Tyroc, isn’t it?”

Him? Why?

“Oh, so the Grand Duke must’ve returned from his monster hunt. But what could be so urgent that he’d use teleportation to send a letter…”

Her expression darkened immediately.

And mine did too, as I stared at the envelope.

Damn it—could it be a declaration of war?

A formal notice that he was coming to crush the Adeye family?

Heart pounding, I tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter.

In the center of the pristine white paper, there was only one word written.