My Contract Husband is Going Crazy Because of My Iron Wall - Chapter 56.1
Chapter 56.1
I escaped the barrier with Reinhardt and entered the command center that controlled it.
“Oh? Your Graces! What brings you here?”
John, the head administrator of the command center, scrambled out, having been slacking off with his subordinates. Reinhardt stared coldly at John and muttered under his breath.
“That’s why they didn’t even notice us crossing the barrier….”
“Pardon? What did you say?”
“I said you’re doing a good job.”
Reinhardt strode forward on his long legs and stopped before a large crystal ball.
“This device controls the creation and deactivation of the barrier.”
“Only those with Erestein blood can create the barrier, but anyone can deactivate it, correct?”
“That is correct… but how do you know that? I don’t recall explaining it to you.”
“That’s not important right now.”
I couldn’t tell him I knew because I’d read the novel, so I glossed over it. Fortunately, given the circumstances, Reinhardt didn’t press the matter.
“That means if someone were to suddenly attack and try to deactivate the barrier, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.”
“Not at all. While it’s fundamentally a magical tool, it’s also combined with mechanical components. It can’t be operated without knowing how. To prevent the very scenario you described, only the head of the Erestein family and the commander-in-chief are privy to its operation, and it has been this way for generations.”
That meant that even though only a select few knew how to operate it, the barrier could be easily deactivated if someone who knew how was ordered to do so.
Just like last time when the Emperor issued an emergency decree to deactivate the barrier.
‘I was right.’
Roxanne must have ordered the barrier’s deactivation with her ability, replacing the problematic decree that I had restored. A simple command to forget it would have granted her easy access inside the barrier without any issues.
‘Conversely… if I could make her commands ineffective, she wouldn’t be able to enter the barrier at all.’
I smiled secretly to myself and addressed Reinhardt and John.
“Can I leave this here?”
“Hmm? What is that?”
“A recording device.”
“A recording device? Why would you suddenly…?”
Ignoring John’s puzzled expression, I poured magic stones from my bag and pressed the play button on the recording device.
“When you press this, it plays the recorded voice. I’ll leave these magic stones here, so please replace them regularly and keep it playing.”
Rumble—Boom!
Just then, thunder roared, and torrential rain began to pour. It meant the future I had foreseen was not far from becoming the present.
* * *
Roxanne gazed down at the decree that Irovel Erestein had submitted as evidence during the trial. As far as she knew, there was only one way to weaken the power of ink infused with magic stones: by borrowing the power of Larboris.
Had the Eresteins borrowed Larboris’s power? Still, like all Tartars, Larboris would never cooperate with humans.
A demon, or a half-demon, perhaps.
Then, the answer was simple.
‘There’s a half-demon on the Erestein side.’
Who could it be? Duke Erestein had already undergone the magic examination when he was a prince, so he was ruled out. Perhaps it was one of the Erestein’s servants—or perhaps the Duchess.
“I won’t give up… If I can’t be loved either way, I’ll choose the path with less hatred…”
“Don’t give up. Make Irovel Erestein yours.”
That was why Roxanne had ensured that the Emperor wouldn’t give up on Irovel Erestein. It would be a significant loss for Roxanne not to push her, a potential half-demon, into the Gates of Judgment.
‘I need more power…’
Roxanne thought, feeling the magic surrounding her.
The magic gained from a single human passing through the Gates of Judgment wasn’t enough. Roxanne desired a purer form of magic.
That was why she wanted a half-demon. A half-demon would provide her with incomparable magic. The one fortunate aspect was that, thanks to the yearly increase in concubines, she had accumulated enough magic to influence even a high-ranking Tartar like Larboris.
“Your Majesty, I will be making a brief trip to Tahita. Do not inform anyone.”
As soon as the Day of Judgment ended, Roxanne secretly headed north. Until now, her insufficient magic had made it difficult for her to act directly, but now that she had recovered some of it, there was no need to manipulate Gerard from behind the scenes.
“Y-Your Majesty?! What brings you here?”
Rumble—Boom!
John, startled by Roxanne’s arrival amidst the raging thunder and her entrance into the barrier command center, scrambled to his feet.
“Are you John Eclipse, the Northern Commander?”
“Y-Yes… That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“You would know how to deactivate the barrier, then.”
“Th-That is correct… However, deactivating the barrier requires the Emperor’s permission.”
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