vncnus Page 567
Page 567
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. All her previous sharp and aloof attitude lost its support at that moment.
Magdana also silently watched his daughter, whose face was like a stone sculpture, with only a hint of dangerous, yet restrained, surprise and doubt floating in her eyes.
"Are you saying—'The current Hartres is Kuro'?"
“…This is impossible!”
Ashira's voice seemed to be torn apart, losing its previous calmness and skill, and even carrying a kind of mournful cry that seemed to well up from the depths of her soul.
She no longer stood by indifferently, no longer pretended to be calm, but felt as if she had been hit in the heart by a heavy hammer.
That's why I asked you,"
The Second Prince responded calmly, seemingly ignoring her emotional fluctuations; his voice was completely flat.
Did you examine the body at the time?
Ashira did not answer immediately.
Her face instantly drained of all color, as if all the warmth in her body had been drained away in one breath.
She is an excellent magician, so of course she can control her own blood flow and muscle tension.
But at this moment, she clearly forgot.
Forgot to control your body, forgot to control your face.
"What you've said...everything...is just assumptions upon assumptions, utter nonsense!"
She finally retaliated, but the panic in her tone was more jarring than her rebuttal.
"Of course that's right."
King El-Melloi II nodded.
"These inferences are indeed built on incomplete information. But—"
Chapter 608 Kuro's Talent (4k)
What I'm about to say is not hypothetical.
He paused for a moment, glancing around at every member of the audience in the conference room to make sure everyone's attention was firmly held.
“In Albion, there is a magician who is quite close to us—we have found the evidence.”
The air seemed frozen.
Ashira's pupils contracted sharply, and she leaned forward slightly, as if she subconsciously wanted to stop him from saying what he was about to say, but she knew it was too late.
Aozaki Touko quietly raised her head, a sly glint flashing in her eyes for a moment.
Rufreus's eyes remained as murky as a pool, but beneath those waters, something was stirring.
Olga Marie slowly sat up straight, her fingertips unconsciously touching her lower lip, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"This evidence—"
El-Melloi II spoke at a steady pace, but his voice was so low it seemed to come from underground, carrying an undeniable, steady pressure:
"—That is, the full name of Hartres's disciple... Kuro."
The air seemed to freeze the moment the words were spoken.
No one interrupted, and no one made any rash moves.
Because, at that moment, everyone had the same thought in their minds—he was about to unveil the true nature of the character.
"Both of them were born in Albion."
"They might be childhood sweethearts."
"Even so, betrayal will still occur when betrayal occurs... Magicians are just that kind of creature."
El-Melloi II's words were gentle, yet they were like a sharp blade slowly cutting through the other's silence.
He glanced at Ashira with an almost pitying look.
Who could have driven her to betray them?
"Is it research ambition? Or... Magdana?"
The old lion's gaze remained unchanged, but a very shallow ripple stirred deep within his beastly eyes.
“I bet you don’t know either, Ashira.”
“In this land, no one cares if you don’t have a surname. Even if they did, they wouldn’t mention it easily.”
"If you had actually known Kuro's surname at the time, you probably wouldn't have left that record."
That was not a blame, but a statement.
As always, calm, composed, and irrefutable.
This is El-Melloi II. To piece things together, peel them apart, and reassemble them until the truth reveals its fangs.
He felt only gratitude towards Graf.
Because in this life-or-death meeting, this was the last brilliant move.
"You failed to kill Kuro, who opposed you."
"He most likely used some means to fake the corpse."
"We also know someone who is very good at this type of magic—"
As he said this, his gaze shifted slightly to the unassuming female magician behind Orange.
She was dressed in simple black clothes, with a cold expression, and hadn't uttered a word from beginning to end.
"Oh dear, are you talking about me?"
Lingli blinked, seemingly surprised, her voice as soft as white mist brushing across the water.
Her performance was flawless, and there wasn't a trace of pride in her tone.
But that inorganic "cooperation" precisely demonstrates that she stood on the side of "truth" from beginning to end.
I'm not sure how many points I should give her acting.
But one thing is certain: she didn't come for the oranges, but for this person—Kuro.
"His name is Kurou Adashino."
A moment of silence.
Everyone understood the meaning of those words.
No need for repetition or explanation.
The air froze.
Ashira was struck as if by lightning; her body stiffened to the extreme, as if her soul had left her body.
Olga Marie's Adam's apple bobbed, and she almost instinctively swallowed.
Magdana placed his thick fingers on his neck, as if it had suddenly become heavy.
Rufreus coughed lightly, as if trying to expel the pressure that was pressing on his chest.
And Enolae—her reaction was the most direct.
Her gaze had already subtly swept across the entire round table, beginning to assess whether a new source of danger was already seated among them.
"Change to the Eastern naming order,"
El-Melloi II spoke slowly, his tone clear, yet it was as if a silver needle had pierced his skin.
"That is—Adashino Kurou."
The second prince, who uttered those words, wanted to sigh.
Seriously, where does it all start? There might be strategies spanning decades or even centuries in a clock tower conspiracy, but this one is the most complex.
She's so good at keeping secrets; shouldn't we praise her for being a member of the Legal Affairs Department?
Soon after, Ryori Hana nodded slightly, a hint of admiration appearing in her eyes.
"That's really unexpected... you actually managed to find out."
Her tone remained gentle, but her smile took on a playful and mischievous gleam.
“The current Hartres is very likely my older brother. Ah, of course, ‘older’ only in the sense of blood relation; we are half-brothers.”
She spoke of it casually, as if it were merely an anecdote about an elder in the family that she was talking about after dinner.
“I heard that my father—the one who survived from Albion, the tomb of the dead—abandoned his newborn child and his first wife and set foot on the earth alone.”
"...Was your father a survivor?"
El-Melloi II calmly pressed for an answer.
"Heh, he barely scraped together enough money for 'one person's' exit fee, and I heard the process was extremely embarrassing. As for his skills—they're probably nothing special."
She smiled gently, her sleeves fluttering slightly, her black hair swaying like water plants turning in the night wind.
"Even though it's to prolong the life of a magician... don't you think that way of living is ridiculous?"
She chuckled lightly, as if mocking her father, or perhaps ridiculing fate.
"Oh dear, after being abandoned by his wife and children, he is said to have had a terrible time on Earth. Not long after his remarriage, his new wife gave birth to me, and he fell ill and died a few years later."
His tone was as relaxed as if he were talking about an insignificant old friend, even with a touch of cheerfulness.
"Thanks to that, I really suffered a lot before being adopted by Norwich."
She changed the subject, her eyes shimmering like ripples on water, revealing a hint of deep reminiscence.
"As for my elder brother... he probably doesn't want to use that surname anymore."
As she said this, her smile was slightly askew, as if it contained some kind of emotion, perhaps irony, perhaps understanding.
I couldn't hide the surprise in my heart.
But upon closer reflection, there were indeed hints in her actions.
She claims to be Norwich's adopted son, yet she insists on using the surname "Hakuno"—probably not just to commemorate her lost bloodline. Her choice to enter the Department of Law and Politics might also stem from some kind of obsessive psychological trajectory.