Chapter 177: Infiltrating the Suspicious Drow’s Room

Night had completely fallen over the castle of Eldoria.

The long hallways were dimly illuminated by magical torches embedded in the walls, creating soft shadows stretching across the marble floor.

And in the middle of that nighttime silence...

Three people moved forward conspiring like extremely unprofessional criminals.

Max walked in front while keeping the Ring of Absolute Silence activated.

The area around them seemed to absorb every sound.

Their footsteps.

Their breathing.

Even the faint rustling of fabric had vanished completely.

Seraphine walked beside him, carefully scanning the surroundings.

Dorian guided them a few steps ahead with a suspiciously focused expression.

And that last part was exactly what raised suspicions.

The mage narrowed her eyes slightly.

"One question."

Dorian didn’t turn around.

"Hmm?"

Seraphine crossed her arms as she walked.

"Why exactly do you know where Thara’s room is?"

Dorian kept walking.

"...It doesn’t matter."

Max immediately raised an eyebrow.

"Wow."

He pointed at the elf.

"That sounded incredibly guilty."

"I agree," Seraphine added.

Dorian finally glanced away slightly.

There was a faint reddish tint of embarrassment on his ears.

"I simply..."

He fake-coughed.

"...happened to pass by casually."

Max looked at him completely dead inside.

"You’re a thirsty elf."

Dorian opened his mouth, offended.

"That’s cruel."

"I’m not even slightly surprised you’re spying on a woman who treats you horribly," Max continued.

"Everyone has their tastes," Dorian replied immediately.

Then he pointed at both of them.

"Besides, if it weren’t for me, you’d have to ask Neros for help."

That made the entire group fall silent for a second.

Because it was true.

Dorian sighed dramatically.

"And Neros tells the king absolutely everything."

Seraphine slowly nodded.

"Yes."

Her expression became serious.

"If we tell him we suspect the princess’s new teacher..."

She lightly shook her head.

"...the entire castle would descend into chaos."

Max slowly exhaled.

"Especially if we’re wrong."

And honestly, he hoped they were wrong.

Because if not...

They had left Elanor alone with a potentially psychotic interdimensional summoning criminal.

Dorian suddenly raised a hand.

The group stopped immediately.

The elf narrowed his eyes.

"...I hear something."

Max’s body instantly tensed.

"What?"

Dorian pointed toward the side corridor ahead of them.

"Thara’s room is there, at the end of the hallway."

The atmosphere instantly became much more tense.

Seraphine placed a hand over her grimoire.

Max stared at the dark corridor for a few seconds.

Then he smiled slightly.

"Don’t worry."

Both of them looked at him.

"I have a plan."

That was never a reassuring sentence coming from Max.

Seraphine sighed.

"That worries me tremendously."

Max completely ignored the comment.

He looked at Seraphine.

"Do you have some kind of spell to put whoever’s awake in there to sleep?"

The mage blinked.

Then she quickly opened her massive grimoire.

The pages flipped on their own until they stopped at one filled with musical notes drawn in blue ink.

"Song of Slumber," she explained.

"It’s a magical vibration-induced sleep spell."

Dorian immediately slipped a hand inside his coat.

And pulled out two small earplugs.

"...What?" Max asked.

Dorian handed him one.

"With these, the spell won’t affect us."

Max stared at him with complete suspicion.

"...I’d rather not ask why you carry those in your pockets."

Dorian smiled proudly.

"Alchemical wisdom."

"That still explains absolutely nothing."

Seraphine closed the grimoire.

"Very well." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She looked at Max.

"And how exactly are you planning to approach the room without being seen?"

Max smiled even wider.

And raised his Economized Movement Controller.

The small relic glowed faintly in his hand.

"With my mist."

He spun it between his fingers.

"No one will notice us."

Seraphine slowly nodded.

"...That’s actually pretty useful."

"Thank you," Max replied with absurd pride.

Dorian had already put the earplugs on.

Max did the same.

And seconds later...

Purple mist began spreading through the hallway.

Completely covering the floor before rising around them like a ghostly cloud.

The torches became partially obscured, their flames no longer illuminating the corridor.

Visibility dropped drastically.

And wrapped in the absolute silence of the ring and the purple mist...

The three of them began advancing.

Step by step.

Toward Thara’s room.

Max could feel his heart pounding hard inside his chest.

Seraphine already had her grimoire open.

Dorian walked with one hand resting over one of his flasks.

And then...

CLACK.

The sound of a door opening suddenly shattered the moment.

A silhouette appeared within the mist.

Seraphine reacted instantly.

Her eyes glowed blue.

And she began to sing.

The melody was soft.

Hypnotic.

Strangely beautiful.

Even with the earplugs in, Max could feel the magic vibrating through the air.

The figure barely took one step.

And then...

THUD.

The body hit the ground heavily.

The three froze for a few seconds.

Then they quickly advanced toward where the figure had fallen.

And when the mist began clearing slightly around the body...

Max slowly widened his eyes.

"...What?"

Seraphine also froze.

Dorian outright frowned in confusion.

The woman lying unconscious on the floor was...

Thara.

Or at least someone identical to her.

Same gray skin.

Same face.

Elegant clothes and glasses.

But...

White hair.

Completely white.

Even with the ring active, the tension in the atmosphere felt deafening.

Max was the first to react.

"Wow..."

He quickly pointed at the unconscious woman.

"This officially went from weird to dangerously weird."

Dorian crouched beside her.

"Is it an illusion?"

Seraphine slowly shook her head.

"No."

She lightly touched the white hair.

"It’s real."

Max looked toward the hallway.

"We need to move her before someone shows up."

Dorian immediately nodded.

Together, they carefully lifted the unconscious drow.

She weighed less than Max expected.

And while they carried her, Seraphine quickly opened the door to Thara’s room.

The three of them hurried inside.

The purple mist slowly disappeared behind them.

And the moment they crossed the doorway...

Seraphine slammed the door shut before any guard or servant could appear and find them carrying an unconscious drow through the castle in the middle of the night.