Chapter 42

Logan Point of view

"My Lord, we have discovered that someone has infiltrated the castle. We still don't know who it is since his scent is obscured, but we did find traces of him near where you placed the trap." The guard announced so loudly that we couldn't help but gawk at him.

Everyone was eager to hear what he had to say next, but Philo the Duke, who was known for his thorough investigations on Nerus, had already spoken. Fortunately, he has a strong interest in Nerus, which allows me to take advantage of him.

"According to the book, the Witchers are the only ones who have the ability to revive Nerus in a new body."

"Witcher?" Apollo, the duke who enjoyed hunting, was the one who inquired. Philo seemed to be annoyed with him, and I could tell. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Philo isn't really interested in literature, and as a result, he doesn't have much understanding about these topics. That is not a disadvantage for us since he is an excellent fighter.

"That is the result of failing to read and study a book, even when you have the opportunity. If you ever get into a fight, you will very certainly die without knowing who or what killed you." Philo was shaking his head and still hadn't responded to Apollo's phone call, so I answered his question for him.

“The Witcher is the most powerful witch. While they can use another magic, they can also use a forbidden spell, but they should not bring back to life someone who has died, no matter how high in the ranks they have become. Although we battled the witches at the time, the Witcher did not participate since they are like a government that wants to maintain neutrality, and it is improbable that they would withstand the enemy without a compelling reason."

"Would you tell me what it means if they didn't bring Nerus back to life? Then who did it?" Apollo asked once again.

“No. You made a misunderstanding, Apollo. Majesty indicates that the Witcher has the ability to bring the dead back to life, but they are unable to do so since they must maintain neutrality and keep the wolves' realm quiet. The only thing it implies is that someone has instructed a Witcher to perform a ritual in order to resuscitate Nerus and transfer him to Archer."

"After all, isn't Augustus the brain behind it all? It simply shows that we do not need to do any more investigation and that we just need to take Augustus and instruct him to remove the enchantment from Archer, after which Nerus will vanish as well."

"If only it were that simple, but Majesty is interested in learning why Nerus' body was transferred to Archer."

"Who's Archer are you talking about?"

"He was formerly involved with Majesty's mated partner Elle. The reason he wants to find who murdered Archer is because he believes Augustus was not the only responsible. According to what Majesty uncovered, all Augustus knew about Archer's former mate Elle, and he exploited Archer to exploit Majesty's weakness, which is Elle."

"I do not understand."

"I mean, someone informed Augustus of Archer's identity." I spoke. I'm pretty sure I know who informed Augustus, but I'm curious as to why Hugo would bring his cousin back from this life.

I simply sighed at first because I wanted to go back to see what they were referring to when they said the palace had been invaded. But this time I wasn't worried about protecting Elle since I was certain that she would come back to me because I was the one she loved in the first place. On top of that, I recalled Elle's expression the time I left. The idea that he didn't want me to go didn't change my decision to leave. Philo understood that it would be difficult to get rid of Archer's body with Nerus in tow, and he knew that if Nerus was forced to be removed, Archer would die but also resurrect Nerus again. The only thing that has been targeted by Nerus is Archer's physical body, not his intellect.

"Where will you sleep now?" As I adjusted my dragon robe and gazed upon the horse that had been waiting for me, I asked them.

“We will not come first, Your Majesty. We need to beef up our security since things are already rough, and it's possible that Augustus is plotting to conquer our countries. If we find anything further, we'll let you know right away." Philo had something to say. Apollo, on the other hand, seems to be deep in meditation, which might indicate that he is still processing what we said and explained.

I just nodded and walked away. I didn't give them a second glance, and I was relieved to be back in the palace. However, when I returned, I noticed a fragrance that I didn't have to investigate further since the scents were blending together. They can't smell it since it doesn't smell strongly, and the only individuals who can detect it are those who have heightened senses of hearing and smell. I increased the horse's speed even more as it was running.

I clenched my palm as soon as I got off the horse because the stench was leaking and leading into Elle's room. I said that I would not allow anybody to enter her room, so what is this man doing here?

It was difficult for me to go inside Elle's room because there was nothing except her weeping on the bed as soon as I walked through the door. Her hand was resting on his face as she didn't even bother to glance at me, despite the fact that I was already gazing at her and the door was wide open.

“Elle…” I called out to her quietly, but she didn't even bother to look at me, instead just shaking her head.