That night, Masain belatedly confessed about the red stone he had found in the forest.
“The western mountain?”
“Yes, Your Highness. While I was on guard duty, I truly found it by chance.”
“I see.”
Seongjin fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it, though it was only for a fleeting moment, he had indeed felt something ominous in the western mountain, hadn’t he?
Right before Max called him.
“…I apologize for the late report, Your Highness.”
Seeing Seongjin remain silent, Masain bowed his head again, looking apologetic.
“No, it’s fine.”
What’s the big deal about a stone found by chance in the mountain?
Since nothing was certain, he probably thought it wasn’t necessary for me to know.
‘Or perhaps he didn’t want me to get involved.’
Though he could somewhat guess Masain’s intentions, Seongjin pretended not to notice and asked another question.
“So, what did Francis say about the stone’s identity?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Masain continued with his head bowed.
“But Francis said he couldn’t sense any demonic energy from the stone. He also mentioned there didn’t seem to be any traces of a curse. For now, he took the stone back to the imperial capital for investigation.”
So that’s why Francis left in such a hurry.
“Not demonic energy, nor a curse. Then, is it not that dangerous to people?”
“Since…