Chapter 22: The Teacher

"I have a favor to ask."

At Ian's words, the teacher hesitated. He was a penniless man, a bastard, and probably a more insignificant figure than Ian, who was in a hostage situation. What could such a man possibly expect from him?

"What kind of...?"

"Have a meeting with my father next week. The content doesn't matter, but the place should be the garden, not his office. And about 30 minutes would be appropriate."

This would give him plenty of time to sneak into the office. He needed to melt the wax for the seal as well.

The teacher wore a completely baffled expression.

"You don't need to know the details."

"Will you keep Molin Jing's relationship a secret if I do that?"

"Of course. Even the attempt to search the butler's room."

"No! It's really a misunderstanding!"

The teacher jumped up, waving his hands. Given the situation where everything was already exposed, it seemed he had some ulterior motive.

"Really?"

"It wasn't to steal a trinket—"

The teacher's mouth opened and closed. The confession was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. When Ian gave him a pressing look, he reluctantly sighed and spoke.

"I needed a pass."

"A pass?"

"The front line of the Bratz territory is off-limits to civilians. I needed it to see the Great Desert with my own eyes. Especially, I need to observe between Tower 3 and Tower 4, but the viscount refuses to grant permission for safety reasons."

But if he had the butler's pass?

It was unrestricted because it was stamped by Derga himself. If anything happened to the viscount, the butler had to act as his proxy. The teacher was trying to steal the butler's pass to complete his research.

"Is that so?"

Ian stroked his chin, thinking deeply. He had seen many people obsessed with a single subject. Rarely did their research spirit waver even when their lives were at stake.

"How far along is your research?"

"It's been a long time since I came here. I've almost finished measuring the climate changes in Bratz, and now I plan to head to Blaster to continue my research."

His thesis topic was "The Correlation Between the Climate Changes of the Great Desert and the Blaster Sea." Naturally, he would have to spend an indefinite amount of time there.

Suddenly, an interesting idea came to mind.

"Is that so? Then let me ask you one thing."

"What kind of...?"

"I have to leave for the Great Desert, the Qianli Clan's base, in late spring. Can you calculate the climate conditions for that time?"

The desert wasn't always scorching hot. The extreme temperatures and sandstorms were unpredictable.

The teacher muttered awkwardly in response to Ian's question.

"It's difficult to be precise. It will also take some time."

"That's fine. I just need to know before I leave. There should be a desert map, right?"

"It's from ten years ago, but I do have one."

"I'd appreciate it if you could prepare it for me. In that case, I'll get you the pass."

"Really? A pass?"

A seal was essential for the pass, so he could just stamp one more while he was at it.

The teacher blinked at Ian's confident attitude. He seemed to understand the words but not the meaning.

"What do you think? If you tell me everything about the desert, I can give you everything you need."

"That would be very grateful, if you could do that."

Ian smiled and extended his hand.

"Good. Then let's make a deal."

The teacher stared at the child's hand.

Should he take it? Was there some other hidden motive? Ian's life was in Derga's hands, and if he cooperated, would it result in his exile being changed to execution? As a scholar, he had no experience in such matters.

"I want to live, and you want to live, don't you? You'll cross the border as soon as you use the pass, right?"

"...Yes."

Then there was no reason to hesitate. Even if something went wrong, he would be crossing the desert.

The teacher, with a determined look, shook Ian's hand. The deal between a middle-aged man and a child was so solemn. Ian smiled and pointed to the desk.

"Then, let's talk about the details while we study."

* * *

The teacher had decided on a pretext to call Derga.

He would suddenly quit his job as a tutor. Since he would leave Bratz as soon as he got the pass, it wasn't a complete lie.

Ian put the wet handkerchief in his pocket and looked at Hana. Thick leather gloves were also essential.

"Hana, did you get what I asked for?"

"Here it is."

In a hushed voice, though only Beric was there, Hana took out a small wooden key. One was for the office, and the other was for the drawer safe.

"I told the carpenter I'd pay him next week. Actually, he'd probably let it slide for a bottle of wine, even if it's late."

Since that day, Hana had sneaked back into the butler's room. He made a mold of the key using mud and commissioned the carpenter to make it from a non-conductive wood. The surface was even coated with rubber.

"Thank you."

"Then I'll leave now."

Creak.

Hana left, and Ian checked the time. It was almost the time he had agreed with the teacher. While Derga's office was empty, he needed to quickly stamp the seals.

"Are you ready?"

"Hmph. Why do I have to do this?"

Tap tap!

Beric grumbled but followed Ian. His skill in reducing noise was quite impressive. They didn't encounter anyone as they moved from the annex to the main building's upper floor, thanks to Hana's information about the servants' schedules.

"There it is."

Through the window, a familiar back appeared. Derga was walking in front, and the teacher was beside him. The butler was also there, gathered perfectly. The teacher fidgeted and said something, and Derga immediately showed discomfort.

"Now you stay here and guard it. Don't let anyone in until I come back."

Zzzz.

And the magic power he sent to him. As Ian's golden eyes glowed and his hair fluttered, Beric chuckled, feeling the rapid flow of blood.

"You look like you want someone to come."

"Does it look that way? You have a good eye."

"It's important. Beric. If you cause trouble, we can't handle it."

"Anyway, you'll cut me loose if we get caught. Just saying."

Beric waved his hand, annoyed. If things went wrong and someone approached, his role was to create a disturbance and draw attention. The most natural scenario would be that he was caught stealing gold coins from Cel's room downstairs.

"I'll be right out."

For this reason, Ian pushed the maximum amount of magic power into Beric's body. To make it easier to escape or to recover faster if he was whipped.

Tap tap!

Creak.

Ian used the prepared key to unlock the office. Despite not visiting it recently, nothing had changed.

Thud!

He headed straight to Derga's desk without hesitation. He opened the largest drawer and examined the inside.

'There it is.'

A groove in the gap. A hole was right where he could push the diamond. Ian carefully took out the wooden key he had prepared.

Zzzz.

Just in case, he gathered all the magic power in his body. Even a wooden key coated with rubber could be dangerous if the voltage was too high. If any other energy entered his fingertips, he would instinctively create a barrier. Whether it would work for a bastard's body was uncertain...

Click.

The key slid smoothly into the hole. When he pushed it in, another secret drawer appeared.

"Ah."

Inside were the seal, a magic power brooch, two gold bars, and some old letters. Ian knelt and examined the contents.

He placed a wax stand on the desk. While the spoon was heating up, Ian decided to look at the letters.

'...Is this correspondence with the Qianli Clan?'

Damn, they were all written in the Qianli language, which he couldn't decipher. He knew a few words, but they were too fragmented.

'Next... female king... after?'

What the hell! He couldn't understand the barbarian language of the frontier, even if it was a foreign language. Instead, he wrote down the words on parchment, planning to decipher them later.

Swish swish!

The spoon heated up, and the wax lump melted into a liquid. Ian poured the wax and stamped the seal.

Bang! Thud!

Once on the letter to be sent to the center, and once on the pass for the teacher. After that, he skillfully cleaned up the wax. The key was to wipe it with a wet cloth before it hardened.

Sizzle.

The heated spoon smoked and cooled rapidly. To avoid Derga feeling the heat when he returned, Ian blew on the spoon to cool it down.

"Done."

Everything went smoothly. He put the items back in place and confirmed that the seals were properly stamped. Now he just needed to leave...

Rattle.

A sound from somewhere.

Ian's body stiffened. Was it from outside the door? No, it would have been louder and more abrupt if Beric had caused a disturbance. Then the only remaining place was...

"Viscount, are you there?"

The office of the assistant attached to the office. Ian suppressed his presence as much as possible and hid behind the curtain. He didn't understand why the assistant was here. He shouldn't be in the room alone without Derga.

"Viscount?"

Creak.

The door to the small inner office opened, and the disheveled assistant appeared. The blackout curtains were a blessing. If it had been sheer curtains, he might have been spotted immediately.

"Strange. I just heard a noise..."

His eyes were puffy, as if he had just woken up from an all-nighter. Unfortunately, it was at the worst possible time.

"...?"

The assistant, sensing something amiss, looked at the curtain where Ian was hiding. He cautiously approached.

Rustle.

The parchment in Ian's hand was so thin that it made a sound with his breathing. This made the assistant even more tense and put Ian in a difficult position.

"Is someone there?"

Ian turned his head to look out the window. The sky was clear, and the sunlight shone brightly. Everything was strangely quiet. It was his habit and attitude.

Calm instead of tension. Action instead of worry.

Mistakes can be fixed, but failure cannot.

Zzzz.

"Ugh!"

As soon as the assistant grabbed the curtain, Ian struck with magic. The condensed wind burst, sending energy flying around.

At the same time, the assistant burst into a nosebleed and fell backward. The curtain he had grabbed fluttered back, but he didn't see anyone standing there.

Boom!

He fell flat on his back, eyes rolled up. Ian tidied the curtain and quietly slipped out of the office.

"Done?"

Beric, who had been sitting on the stairs, jumped up at the sight of Ian. Ian nodded briefly and led the way down the stairs. Through the window, the backs of the three men were still visible. The teacher looked up and met Ian's eyes.

The calm expression on the child's face was the answer that everything went well.