Just as the butler predicted, Major Ginehart came with a mage in his group. They asked for a private room and called for Cygnus and his group. Astrophos was also present while they waited for the others to come. The room was too tense as the silence persisted because no one was talking and everyone was too serious.
Mr. C opened the door and let the master enter first. He was surprised when he saw who were the people inside and at how depressing the air was inside the room. Cygnus immediately noticed the old mage who was sitting beside the major.
His gaze that was directed at him made Cygnus shudder. The old man was clearly observing him and he must have been using some kind of magic too as he felt that there was a short disturbance in the mana inside the room. He was clearly probing him but the master did his best to calm down as he took the empty seat in front of the major.
"Uhmm, major? What, what is happening?" Cygnus could not help but bite his lips as he slowly felt the pressure inside the room. His fists were now tightly clenched above his lap and his body stiffened as the boring gaze from the mage focused on him.
"I've heard from the major that you are the one who discovered those magic circles and that you decided to pull out from this case?" The old mage relaxed on his chair and retracted his mana that probed around Cygnus.
"Ah y-yes," his lips trembled but he still managed to answer. He bowed his head to avoid the old man's eyes while the butler conscientiously stepped forward and stood beside his master.
"Ah I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just that the situation has escalated a bit and we are looking at every possibility right now," the old man laughed it off. He chuckled in an attempt to ease the atmosphere but it still remained awkward.
"May I ask, what does these possibilities have to do with us right now?" he still asked despite how nervous he was right now. He couldn't help but feel that the man was hinting at something.
"Sir Ignus, he was among the recent victims of disappearances and according to our investigation, you were the one who reported his bad behavior to the major together with the grand mage here," he answered.
He then patted Astrophos's shoulder while squeezing it a little bit too hard. Astrophos winced but he did not comment nor stop the other from squeezing his shoulder. Mr. C who was observing from the side did not miss this detail as his eyes narrowed a bit.
Cygnus nodded, "Well, yes. He was making negative remarks about us and our group naturally wasn't compatible with their group, so, to avoid any more conflicts we decided to stop the cooperation and report about him to the major."
"Then as a result of your action, the victim was then dismissed as a consequence of his action then after that he suddenly disappeared, due to dark magic," the old mage continued and strangely enough, he even put emphasis on the words 'dark magic' like he was making a point.
Those were normal words but Cygnus can't stop feeling that something was up by the way the mage talked. He did not like the tone of that old man. This kind of conversation that was probing only on the surface was making him uncomfortable in many ways.
"Why don't you just get to the point?" this time he raised his head and stared ahead at the old man without flinching. His fists were still tightly clenched but it was not because he was nervous.
This man was clearly insinuating something and he did not like it. His sensitive radar was telling him that the old man was up to no good and he was trying to coax him into saying something that would eventually push him to the pit.
Surprised by the young man's sudden change, the old man laughed once again and slightly leaned forwards to meet the other's gaze. "What I'm trying to say here is that, I suspect that you have something to do with Sir Ignus's disappearance."
Explosions suddenly went off inside the room and everything turned chaotic at those simple words. Nina was totally pissed at what she heard that she threw magic bombs on the old man's face. Swords were drawn and were pointed at them after her action.
"Do you have any evidence that makes us suspects?" Cygnus's voice went cold with those words. He was still looking at the old mage but this time he relaxed.
The old mage wasn't fazed by the other's change in demeanor because he was confident that the young man was only bluffing. "After you came to this town, dark magic also appeared and after you had a misunderstanding with one of the soldiers, he suddenly fell victim to this dark magic. No incidents such as this happened in Alfonso, well, not until your group arrived."
A smirk appeared on the old man's face after saying those words. He was clearly challenging Cygnus to see if he would react. The master didn't move nor blink after hearing the old mage's reasoning.
"Sir Revus!" Astrophos jumped from his seat and looked at the old mage. "Please stop, all of those are just coincidences and we don't even have enough proof so why are you throwing accusations?" He tried to save the situation but the old mage was not going to listen to him.
"Grand Mage Astrophos, you should be careful. Your status as a Grand Mage doesn't work in this situation, remember, the magic tower is currently not happy with you." The old man gave the grand mage a glare which stopped him from saying anything.
Even after all that was happening, Major Ginehart remained seated and remained as an audience. He did not even let the soldier retract their swords that were pointing at them. Cygnus could already get an idea of what was happening.
This Sir Revus was definitely not a simple person, based on the reaction of the major and the grand mage, this old man was someone with both status and power amongst the nobility and the magic tower.
Cygnus who did not disagree nor admit to the old man's statement leaned on his seat then relaxed as he met the old man's gaze once again. He wouldn't talk not unless the man continued to run his mouth.
"Aren't you going to defend yourself? This good grand mage of ours already stood up to side with you," the old man spoke once again.
The master's expression remained bland but he was still silent. He would let this old man speak his mind out and ruin everything along the way. That would be the price he must pay for his terrible accusation.
"How dare you! You can't speak to him like that! You do not have the right!" Nina did not care that there were swords aimed at her throat. She just can't stand this person who was speaking nonsense against the master.
She was about to move forward and use another spell but the master's voice stopped her and so did the swords that were going to pierce her body.
"My dear Nina, please calm down and take a seat. I believe that this man has yet to finish what he was saying and I was merely waiting for him to say it all." Cygnus's bland face was replaced by a smirk that mocked the other. His eyes and aura to overtake the room screamed of arrogance and authority.
