"Awake? We’re almost there." A crisp female voice pulled Rorschach fully from his slumber. To be precise, his sleep had been broken by the clamor outside the carriage.

According to the traditions of Bayern, the first day of May was a festival. To celebrate and give blessings to the newlyweds, the Royal Family had granted special permission for the gates of Wertzburg to be thrown wide open. A carnival was about to begin.

So, in the last three days before the wedding, the city’s residents and nearby villagers had spontaneously formed a market. Colorful tents lined the streets, stretching from the central square all the way out beyond the city gates. Beneath the tents were merchants, as well as performers singing and playing music at the top of their lungs. Rorschach even saw someone leading a small herd of cattle to trade.

As they passed a Minstrel strumming a small lute, a verse of his song drifted into their carriage:

"Sunshine covers the ground, the grapevines grow long;

"The scent of flowers fills the air, the Princess is to be married.

"I wonder who the groom will be,

"The Duke from the east is mighty and strong, the Knight from the south is handsome and dashing,

"But if you ask me, the Duke is old and decrepit, and the Knight knows not how to cherish a delicate flower,

"Oh, beautiful Princess, marry a poet for a song every day, for endless joy and happiness!"

The audience roared with laughter, playfully heckling him to the tune of his song: "If she married you, she’d be singing every day on an empty stomach!"

"Since you all know my stomach is rumbling, then please, good sirs, treat me to a fine meal!"

Rorschach actually did want to give him a tip. Just then, their carriage stopped, and the driver’s voice called out, "My lords, one moment." Rorschach poked his head out. A herd of cattle was blocking the road into the city.

"You, Red Hair! You really think this is a public market? Get these beasts out of here, now!" The Sheriff was choking on the fumes from the grass-eating, farting cattle.

The cattle trader did indeed have a messy shock of red hair. "Sir, it wasn’t easy for me to drive them all the way from the other side of the mountain..."

"Fine. If you won’t move, I won’t either. I’ll just stand here and watch you. I’ll levy a twenty percent tax on every large one you sell, and ten percent on the calves. Also, this spot is public city land. You’ll have to pay three Silver Coins to the City Hall every day."

"Sir, I’m leaving right now! Not selling, not selling!"

"Hmph!"

With that, the traffic jam cleared, and the carriage started moving forward again slowly. A comical scene appeared on the city gate: flanking the red velvet banner of the Royal Family were two purple flags.

Purple was the representative color of the Imperial Family during the Old Empire Era. The current Empire, whether it be the Imperial Family or the Royal Family of Bayern, used red—the deeper the color, the more noble the status. Nowadays, purple was mostly seen on the robes of Middle Level Mages. The Old Empire had fallen who knows how many years ago, so no one cared anymore.

The reappearance of purple flags on the gate tower today signaled neither the restoration of the Old Empire nor that two Middle Level Mages had been sacrificed to the heavens and hung from the gate. It was an advertisement for "Fanta," the wedding’s sponsor and designated beverage supplier.

On the left was the slogan "Enjoy Fanta, Full of Vigor," and on the right was a simple line drawing of the bottle "designed" by Rorschach. The color here, of course, was not the Tyrian purple of Rorschach’s formal robe, but an artificial purple obtained by an Alchemist from Istani through the oxidation of coal tar.

In Rorschach’s professional terminology, it was called aniline purple.

After entering the city, some tents were giving away free soda, on the condition that you drank it on the spot and left the glass bottle behind.

"It’s so lively." Lady Elizabeth was not quite used to an atmosphere so completely opposite to that of the Tower of Secret Techniques. Driven by curiosity, she watched for a moment before closing the carriage window.

"Thank you for letting me ride with you." They had reached the square, from which Rorschach could walk to the Mage Tower. He got out of the carriage and bid farewell to Ouyeni.

Elizabeth nodded. "No need to thank me. If not for what you said, I likely would not have returned here."

Leaning on his cane, Rorschach walked toward the place where Bart worked, but the doors and windows of the tower were now shut tight. He pulled the bell cord and waited for a long time, but there was no response.

’Bart isn’t here?’ Just as he was thinking this, a figure plummeted from above, its trajectory outlined in Blood as it hit the ground.

...

「Fifteen minutes earlier.」

"I’m sorry, Lord Bart is not in. If you have urgent business with him, you can go upstairs." Bart’s assistant opened the door for the visitor. He was first startled by the man’s fierce appearance, but then he noticed the Mage Badge on his chest and quickly ushered him in.

"Alright. Pardon the intrusion." Mariano took off his soft cap and handed it to the assistant. He was a typical southerner of the continent, with black hair, blue eyes, and a neatly groomed beard. He would have been a handsome, mature man, but a scar on his face and a tense expression, born of the current situation, had frightened the young assistant.

"This way, please. You can wait in the reception room." The two ascended the tower’s spiral staircase. The guide was just a boy who had attended Grammar School. He couldn’t use Magic himself; he had first worked at a merchant guild, then followed his young master to the position of assistant to the Town Mage.

"About how long until Mage Bart returns?" Mariano hesitated. As a patrol inspector, he wasn’t supposed to have contact with the Town Mage he was evaluating, but the situation had become so dire he had no other choice.

"It could be any moment, or it could be this evening. You should know, my young master’s wedding day is almost here..."

He had discovered an astonishing secret. At first, it was just the tip of the iceberg, but as he connected the clues he found during his inspections of various places, it made him tremble all over.

Unfortunately, just as he discovered them, they discovered him. And Mariano couldn’t be sure just who "they" were. The Guild was no longer trustworthy. Perhaps seeking out the Tower of Secret Techniques would have been a better choice, but it was too far away, and his pursuers were already closing in.

As for why Bart was trustworthy, the reason was simple: the young Town Mage was on the list, just like him. This list, which he had obtained by accident, was stored in Mariano’s Storage Bag along with other documents.

’He’s not here. Should I go or stay?’ Mariano couldn’t decide. And as he hesitated, he had unknowingly continued up the Mage Tower.

"Please have some tea." The assistant served a porcelain cup; there was tea as well as neatly stacked sugar cubes. Mariano, however, was cautious and didn’t drink. Licking his chapped lips, he asked again, "About how long until Mage Bart returns?"

"I don’t know. What business do you have with him? I can pass on a message."

"No, I have urgent business that I must discuss with Bart in person. How about this: where might he be? I’ll go find him myself."

"There’s no need, sir. How much do you know? Why don’t you tell me first."

"I know..."

Bart’s assistant’s eyes were glazed over. Mariano also fell into a brief trance, but he quickly realized that voice hadn’t come from the young assistant.

It was a woman’s voice, but her tone was low, almost masculine.

"You broke free from the control?" The owner of the voice sounded a little surprised. Footsteps rang out.

’Behind me. Not on the carpet, but on the wooden floorboards. That means she’s at least two meters away...’ Mariano listened to the footsteps and the voice, trying to pinpoint her location. He didn’t know why the enemy hadn’t attacked yet.

The woman was still chattering on, "This Mage Tower has nothing to eat but beans. I even had to provide the tea and sugar cubes. Yet you won’t drink the tea and forget all this, and you won’t answer obediently. You’re making things very difficult for me."

Mariano erupted into action. He flung the teacup behind him, sending tea splashing everywhere. The instant he turned, ice bloomed all around, and the tea turned into a frozen mist.

The volume of the ice mist far exceeded that of a normal cup of tea. The ice crystals were still growing and spreading, reflecting a crystalline chill in the sunlight while simultaneously obscuring Mariano’s movements.

The woman took a step back. In the instant before the countless tiny ice crystals could fall to the ground, a Rapier burst through the shattered teacup. The fragments of the cup were also imbued with kinetic energy, erupting like shrapnel toward the position where Mariano had predicted the enemy to be.

"Difficult? Then let’s not do it at all!" Mariano roared.