"A piece of the ancient dragon's heart, the dust of an ancient fairy, top-grade Eucalractium."

Yuder didn't know much about the components of magic tools or the like, but he did know that the three ingredients Thais mentioned were all incredibly rare and valuable. Given the rarity of these items, it was reasonable that Thais couldn't procure them on his own and had to request help from Kishiar.

"Are those the only three items?"

"For now, yes."

"Understood. I'll pass this onto the Commander. Also, you might need magic stones for setting up the defensive formation. I'll mention that as well."

At Yuder's words, Thais's pupil, Alik, wore an expression of gratitude.

"Oh, thank you for considering that too. The truth is, we were running low on magic stones."

"If you find anything lacking, please let either me or Kanna know. Ah, was there any contact from the Pearl Tower?"

"We're fine. They still think we're in the Imperial Palace. Even if they find out we're here, given the Master's character, it won't be a major issue..."

"Ahem, Alik. You're unusually talkative today."

At his Master's pointed words, Alik stiffened his shoulders.

'So, that means the other mages from the Pearl Tower are not as interested in the study of the Red Stones as Thais Yulman.'

It was fortunate. Emperor Keilusa had given them only a month to investigate the Red Stones, and several days had already passed. There was no time to delay. Any potential distractions had to be completely ruled out.

'Still... I must ensure their safety.'

Yuder decided he needed to caution them about the dangers of the stone through Kanna as well, to prevent any accidents from mages mishandling the Red Stone. With this thought, he exited the underground.

---

Of the seven walls existing in the capital, the 1st and 2nd walls were the territory of the Imperial Palace. As such, the area accessible to ordinary people truly started from the 3rd wall. However, even prestigious noble families often resided beyond the 4th wall. Entering within the 3rd wall was not an easy task.

Of course, the main house of the Apeto Dukedom, one of the most traditional and prestigious families maintained from the beginning of the empire, was naturally located within the 3rd wall.

Among all the beautiful buildings erected within the 3rd wall, it was the most sacred and graceful. However, that day, it was filled with a precarious atmosphere, as if one was treading on thin ice.

The reason was simple. Lenore Shand Apeto, the second son known for his exceptionally cold nature, was in a very foul mood.

"There's no one at the stronghold, not even any trace of any left behind object or sign... Did they think that I would grant them more time because of such a shoddy report?"

"Of course not, sir."

The servant knelt before Lenore, shivering in fear. He didn't need to look up to feel the icy anger pouring down from above.

Unlike the first son, Aishes, who, bearing the title of heir, didn't need to concern himself with trivial matters, the second son, Lenore, handled many practical affairs. If he wanted to increase his chances, even by a small margin, of surpassing Aishes in the Duke of Apeto's eyes, his only way was to produce good results in his tasks without making mistakes.

Hence, Lenore had been most focused on supporting 'research' related to the Awakeners these days. Since the First Prince didn't express much interest in this field, Lenore saw it as an excellent opportunity to yield results.

For research, the consistent supply of Awakeners to be used as subjects was of utmost importance, and the Eastern base, which had done this job most competently until now, had suddenly lost contact a few days ago. Lenore sent nearby subordinates to investigate, but the only reports that returned conveyed meaningless information: the base was already emptied out, with no clue as to where its inhabitants had gone.

There were only two pieces of information that could be obtained for him. One, the oath of the Eastern base's Warden kept at the headquarters had been stained in red, indicating he had failed to keep the 'secret' and had likely died. And the other, an unfathomable rumor that a gigantic column of fire had suddenly risen and disappeared around the time the contact with the Eastern base was cut off.

'Fire. The last report from the Eastern base said they had captured an Awakener from the Cavalry. His ability was fire, if I remember correctly.'

There were many things Lenore had wished to investigate upon bringing the Cavalry's Awakener here, but everything had gone into disarray with the disappearance of the base itself. Considering that Duke Peletta, the Cavalry Commander, had been silent up till now, it seemed doubtful whether the Eastern base had really captured a member of the Cavalry.

The fact that secrets about the ongoing research at Apeto had been leaked was nothing short of an emergency. There must have been a colossal incident there, and yet it was unbelievable that nothing remained at the scene.

Even more disturbing was the fact that, according to the reports, some time had passed since the site was thoroughly cleaned up, but no suspicious movements had been felt around Apeto family.

'If only someone who caused this mess had threatened us, it would've been easier to deal with.'

The fact that Lenore couldn't identify who leaked the secret was extremely unsettling. If Duke Apeto found out about this, not only would he immediately take back all the tasks he had entrusted to Lenore, but he would also send Lenore far away without hesitation.

"The fact that everything disappeared without a trace means that either the others there planned to kill the Warden and run away, or they were caught somewhere without even having time to escape. What about the possibility that the Diarca family noticed something and took action?"

The Diarca family was the most likely suspect for causing this incident. The East was originally their territory, and if they found an intruder, they would have certainly not let them live. It wouldn't be surprising if they figured out that Apeto was involved in the process.

'But if that was the case, they wouldn't have remained silent till now. If they had that good information, they would either show signs of starting research like us, or give us some hint.'

"The possibility is indeed... plausible."

The servant, who had no clue about Lenore's thoughts, simply stammered and wrung his hands.

"The investigators said that the youngest prince of the Diarca family happened to be training the knight squad nearby a few days ago. Then, is there not a possibility that our people came across them during their training?"

"If you're talking about Diarca's youngest, do you mean Kiolle da Diarca?"

Upon mentioning Kiolle's name, Lenore's expression scrunched up, failing to conceal his disdain.

"Of all people, that fool who thinks he became an Imperial Knight because of his superior skills is not very capable. If he were smart enough to carry out such a bold action without leaving a trace, he would have already earned at least one favor from the Diarca family."

"I apologize if my inadequacies upset your mood, sir."

Immediately, the servant prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead pressing against the floor.

"Enough. Any other peculiarities?"

"..."

"Speak up, anything will do. If you can't prove your worth here, there will be no future for you."

At the chilling threat, the servant trembled and desperately tried to recall the information he'd exchanged while in contact with the Eastern base. He was so terrified that everything he knew seemed to disappear from his mind, but with great effort, a small piece of information popped up.

"The, the people at the Eastern base said they had a few collaborators in the nearby village. Wouldn't we be able to obtain information related to the incident if we find those collaborators?"

"Collaborators."

The Apeto family's 'bases' scattered across the continent did a lot of work, but their most important task was to undermine the powers that followed other aristocratic families. One of the most effective methods was to recruit dissatisfied young nobles, with issues of succession or inheritance, as collaborators.

"I wonder how much they really know... but alright. It's better than not trying. Along with monitoring the movements of the Diarca family, find and investigate these collaborators, then report back."

"Yes, sir!"

Lenore rose from his seat and headed towards the annex behind the main mansion. The annex had a prison in the basement, and it felt strange to see priests in white robes moving around amidst the horrifying scene where groans of pain echoed.

Among the priests, one with the most luxurious holy symbol necklace around his neck turned to Lenore and greeted him immediately.

"Welcome, second young master."

"How is the research going, uncle?"

The middle-aged priest referred to as 'uncle' by Lenore was Beltrail Shand Apeto, one of the illegitimate siblings of the current Duke of Apeto. He had an uncanny resemblance to the duke, suggesting undeniable kinship. Beltrail had joined the Sun God temple at a young age and had risen to the position of one of the twelve senior priests, directly under the Pope.

Outwardly, he seemed utterly incorruptible, but the inner contents didn't align with his appearance. The priest smiled gently and patted Lenore's shoulder.

"As always. We are simply observing the will of God."

God's will. Amid the chorus of agonized groans, it was an eerily absurd phrase to hear, but no one challenged him on it.

"None of the ones you sent last time who had children survived. It seems certain that there are more complicated conditions necessary for them to reproduce than simply waiting for their mating season."

"Is that so? How is the plan to observe their changes coming along?"

At Lenore's question, Beltrail shook his head.

"It seems we need to gather more Awakeners who originally had power. Wouldn't the be differences between an Awakener Priest and an Awakener Mage? It would be best if we could find an Awakener Knight who can use aura, but that might be quite challenging."

The news was negative; they still hadn't obtained clear results. But Lenore couldn't be angry at his uncle, so he simply let out a long sigh.

'It's been over a year since we started this research, and we still haven't achieved any significant results. If Aishes knew about this, he would double over with laughter.'