Star Child's Parenting Diary - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 30
Chapter 6. The Vanished Mage’s Trail (10)
Before leaving the study, he extinguished the lamps and shut the door firmly behind him, then led Setia to his private chamber.
“Children with children. Adults with adults.”
“How shameless of you.”
“Must be why I’m so handsome.”
Setia laughed again at her husband’s brazen reply.
Ethan, who had ushered his cheerful wife into his chamber, produced wine with the ease of long practice, setting the mood with natural grace.
He handed Setia a sweet, low-alcohol fruit wine before settling beside her.
“How was your day?”
“Fortunately, Marius helped me considerably. The problem is that the research won’t be easy.”
Setia spoke earnestly about the delicacy and precision of the Magical Artifact that Biles Code had researched.
“The crucial issue is the Magic Stone.”
“What about the Magic Stone?”
“I can’t figure out how he processed it.”
The Magic Stone, depending on how it’s refined, becomes the driving force that allows anyone to use a variety of magical arts.
Moreover, the more advanced the magic, the larger the Magic Stone must be or the better its quality.
Yet Biles Code’s Magical Artifact defied all such convention.
No matter how excellent the Magic Stone’s quality should be, he processed it to the size of a fingernail and generated such tremendous output…….
“I suspect he used another magic to process the Magic Stone so the Ether wouldn’t scatter.”
“Do we need to discover that processing method as well?”
“Hmm. Probably. Since it’s such delicate work, I’m thinking of having a skilled jeweler attempt it.”
“I did notice you bought Magic Stones in large quantities recently. So that’s what it was for.”
Setia answered by nodding and leaned her head against Ethan’s shoulder.
Ethan naturally lowered his body to adjust his posture so she could rest more comfortably.
“And there’s one more thing that troubles me.”
“What is it?”
“Biles Code made the Teleportation Magic public just before he vanished. Apparently, the only magic he ever made public were those he’d researched before being formally recognized as a priest in the Temple.”
After being accepted as a formal priest, he never leaked any of his subsequent research to the outside world.
There were naturally no colleagues working alongside him.
Only when he absolutely had to submit progress reports did he share the bare minimum with his superiors, while everything else was merely diluted with the phrase “still in progress.”
“I think Biles Code discovered something important.”
“And he went into hiding because that something posed a threat to his life or would harm those around him?”
“Yes. Or else…….”
Setia’s expression, which had been animated moments before, suddenly grew somber.
“He had to protect something.”
“……A family member?”
“He never married, or so they say. But there are witnesses who saw him in conversation with a female devotee who came to the Temple regularly to pray.”
“Hmm.”
Ethan mulled over Setia’s words and drained his wine glass in one draught.
‘A woman…….’
As his eyes closed slowly, the image of his father rose naturally to mind.
“Were you all right when you returned to the family?”
“Eh? No? Those mad old fools spouted such nonsense I nearly retched. But what could I do? Childbirth was terribly dangerous, and I wanted to keep both your mother and you alive, so I had to swallow it.”
“……You never actually swallowed anything.”
“Ha-ha-ha! A man doesn’t fret over the small things!”
“Mother said that’s called being insensitive.”
“Then that must be right. Mother’s always correct.”
Even Garen Iback had readily cast aside his own convictions for the sake of his family.
If Biles Code had possessed even a fraction of that resolve, it was entirely possible he had burned his own research to protect the woman he loved.
‘If that’s the case, Biles Code may already be dead.’
Even if he were alive, they would never find him.
The very fact that he’d made the Teleportation Magic public just before disappearing spoke volumes.
How could anyone possibly track a mage who possessed Teleportation Magic?
Even if they managed to find him and had him within sight, one casting of Teleportation Magic and he’d vanish far, far away.
Biles Code’s decision to make the Teleportation Magic public and then burn all the materials was essentially a warning: do not pursue me.
As Ethan imagined the fugitive Biles Code’s circumstances, his eyes snapped open.
“Darling.”
“Yes?”
“If he went into hiding to protect a woman he loved, wouldn’t there be a child between them?”
No matter how thoroughly someone disappears, they wouldn’t have built a cabin deep in the forest and lived as a hermit.
To hide a tree, you hide it in the forest.
More likely, Biles Code had changed his identity and name in a reasonably large city, living as an ordinary married man.
Setia nodded quietly as she listened to Ethan’s conjecture.
“He might have had a child or two by now.”
Her expression sharpened in an instant.
“Burning down the Research Laboratory could have been a smoke screen too.”
Set a fire, leave behind only charred remnants of documents, and make everyone believe all research records were destroyed. A perfect deception.
In reality, he would have taken the crucial materials with him.
He might even have continued his research while living as a fugitive.
“We need to create a portrait of Biles Code. We should search for him and the priestess who spoke with him, focusing on major hub cities where outsiders pass through frequently.”
Biles Code had disappeared approximately sixteen years ago.
“If we consider the possibility that she was already pregnant when he fled, the child would be about fifteen years old now.”
There was also the chance the child had lied about his age, so they’d need to adjust forward and backward by roughly three years. They’d also need to find the whereabouts of the priestess who had spoken with Biles Code.
By combining portraits of both parents, they could even construct a portrait of what their child might look like.
“I should instruct them to hire a mercenary company to put out a bounty.”
Ethan added his thoughts to Setia’s plan.
If they were fortunate, they might recover Biles Code’s research materials again.
* * *
It was a night when small breaths whispered through the darkness.
Lily waited until Ppu-ppu had fallen completely asleep before quietly slipping out of bed.
Click.
Even the sound of the doorknob turning felt deafening in the oppressive silence that followed, her heart sinking.
The girl ran barefoot down the corridor.
Fortunately, the hallway was empty.
The sparse lights that illuminated it cast a soft glow, and no light seeped through the gaps of the doors spaced at regular intervals.
Setia’s Study was the same.
After confirming there was no light leaking from the Study’s doorframe, Lily knocked hesitantly.
If she heard any sound from inside, she planned to hurry straight back to her room.
‘Please.’
Lily suppressed her tangled emotions and squeezed her eyes shut.
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, there was no answer from within.
When she carefully touched the doorknob, it turned smoothly.
“…….”
Darkness spilled through the Study’s open door.
Lily gazed into that darkness for a moment, then stepped boldly inside.
She pressed one hand against the wall and walked slowly deeper into the room.
She couldn’t turn on the lights for fear of being discovered.
‘Will it still be here?’
Lily approached the desk and carefully felt across its surface.
Her fingertips brushed against something solid and heavy.
The moment she opened the box lid by touch alone, a soft violet light bloomed around her.
Lily hastily covered the glow with her hands and looked around frantically.
She was terrified someone might be watching.
Once she confirmed she was alone, Lily examined the Magic Stones filling the small box again.
Deep, transparent purple Magic Stones filled it completely.
They were about the size of a fingernail joint and unpolished, their forms rough and unrefined.
Lily picked up the smallest one.
‘This is theft.’
Theft was a crime.
And Magic Stones of this quality were as expensive as jewels, so the weight of her sin would be equally heavy.
‘But if I have this…….’
Lily swallowed hard.
The Magic Stone in the Magical Artifact hidden from Ppu-ppu was nearly spent.
If the Magical Artifact stopped working properly, it would cause problems for Ppu-ppu too.
‘I just need to replace the Magic Stone.’
With so many Magic Stones here, surely one wouldn’t be missed?
And if these Magic Stones were meant for Magical Artifact research…….
‘Then they’re being used for their proper purpose.’
Lily gripped the Magic Stone tightly.
Light from the Magic Stone seeped through the gaps between her clenched fingers, a faint glow.
Her throat kept drying, and her heart hammered as though it might burst from her ribs.
Her head burned.
“If anything happens to me, go there. Do you understand?”
“Someday you’ll need this. When the time comes, you’ll know what to do.”
Lily, holding fast to that beloved voice in her memory, made her decision at last.
‘Forgive me, Your Grace.’
I’m only borrowing this one thing.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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