2026-08-31 23:27:08
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Chapter 80
Lord Clifford refused to answer the first three questions.He sat across from Stephan in the council chamber, his hands resting on the table. Two guards stood behind his chair. Since his arrest, his clothes had been replaced with plain prison garments, but he still carried himself like a man accustomed to giving orders.Marcus stood near the window, listening.Stephan placed a copy of the maintenance register on the table.“Do you recognize this facility?”Clifford glanced at the page.“I know the building.”“You knew about it?”“I knew Lord Vale owned several properties outside the eastern district. That does not mean I knew what was inside them.”“Someone has been maintaining this one for months. Equipment was delivered there, and a chamber containing a containment frame was found beneath the building.”Clifford looked up.“Did you open it?”“We found it.”“That wasn't my question.”“We didn't activate anything.”Clifford leaned back. “Then you may have saved yourselves some trouble
Chapter 79
Oren arrived at the northern facility early the following morning with a wooden case of instruments and two assistants from the palace laboratory.Marcus was already there with Stephan and Rowan. His side wound had improved, though the physician had warned him that the healing would take longer if he kept straining it. He had ignored the suggestion to remain in bed but had avoided any unnecessary movement.Oren set his case on the table in the storage room.“I examined the photographs Rowan sent,” he said. “They weren't sufficient to identify the mechanism. I need to see the plate and the surrounding structure.”Stephan led him to the western wall.The soldiers had maintained their positions overnight. No one had entered the building, and the repaired section remained untouched.Oren knelt before the metal plate. He took out a small instrument with a glass dial and held it near the three grooves. The needle moved slightly, then settled.“There's mana running through this,” he said.“C
Chapter 78
The first property records arrived shortly after breakfast.Rowan placed them on the table in the General’s office. They had been gathered from the royal registry, the treasury, and the office responsible for maintaining abandoned government buildings. Most were old documents, some dating back several decades.Marcus stood beside the table, keeping his weight off his injured side.Stephan turned through the first bundle.“Lord Edric Vale owned more than the research archive,” he said. “There were three other properties registered under his name. One was sold to a merchant family. Another was demolished. The third was transferred to the Crown after his death.”“Where is it?”“North of the old military grounds, near the abandoned aqueduct.”Marcus looked at the map Rowan had spread across the table. The property was outside the main residential districts, close enough to the military grounds that someone could have moved equipment between them without crossing the busiest streets.“Was
Chapter 77
Marcus stood beside the archive’s open cabinet while Rowan’s men searched the rooms for a second exit.The intruder had escaped through the rear of the building. Two soldiers had followed him toward the canal, but the narrow streets offered too many places to disappear. By the time they reached the water, the man and his satchel were gone.“Search the nearby warehouses,” Rowan ordered when his men returned. “Check the boats and speak to anyone who was working along the canal. Don’t make arrests without a reason.”The soldiers departed in pairs.Lord Stephan remained near the basement stairs, reading the notes they had recovered. His expression grew more severe with each page.“They knew this place was being investigated,” he said.“They may have been watching it before we arrived,” Marcus replied. “The repairs, the new locks, the register being removed. Someone has been preparing for us.”“Or preparing for whoever came before us.” Stephan folded the paper. “We still don’t know whether
Chapter 76
The archive team returned shortly after noon with the name of the property's last registered owner.Lord Edric Vale had purchased the land twenty-three years earlier, six years before the current king took the throne. He had served in the royal research office but resigned after a dispute over restricted mana experiments. Three years later, he died without a recorded heir.The property had remained in his estate until the crown transferred it to a private holding company. That company had dissolved twelve years ago.“Who owns it now?” Marcus asked.“The registry lists no current owner,” Stephan replied. “The building was marked for demolition, but there is no record that the work was completed.”“Where is it?”“Near the eastern district, beyond the old canal. The archive team found a maintenance report from four years ago. Someone repaired the roof and replaced the locks.”Marcus glanced at Rowan. “Who requested the repairs?”“The report names a contractor, but the payment came from a
Chapter 75
Marcus returned to the council room after the physician allowed him to leave the infirmary.The pain in his side had settled, though each deep breath reminded him that the wound was not ready for another fight. He kept his movements measured and took the chair nearest the table rather than stand through the briefing.Rowan had spread the copied report beside the notes recovered from the scarred man's walking stick. Oren stood at the opposite end, examining a diagram with a magnifying lens. Stephan was speaking with two officials from the royal archives.“Have you found anything about the title?” Marcus asked.“One possible reference,” Stephan replied. “The royal archives contain a register of restricted projects from before the current council was formed. Most entries concern military research, defensive structures, or experiments involving mana cores. One section was removed from the register.”“Removed by whom?”“The record says the section was transferred to a separate archive unde
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