Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 43 - 42- Accused(1)

"Sir Moret was in the mood to create a scene today," Albec spoke as he walked alongside the blue-haired man named Alexander.

"Why does he dislike Sir Adrian?" The younger one asked with clear perplexion on his face.

He has only exchanged a few words with Adrian today, but that brief conversation told Alexander that Adrian was a down-to-earth and polite person.

He didn’t boast of his achievements nor tried to always be the speaker in the conversation. He is a good listener too.

Albec chuckled, "Sir Moret just hates anyone I like. And I don’t need to tell you why that is."

Alexander pressed his lips, his eyes smiling.

It was not unknown to the other Tower members, too, that the older Master of the tower was actually jealous of Albec. Not only because Albec became the Tower Master only after a few years of joining the Tower, but also because of the recognition he has attained in the short span.

While Albec’s thesis and inventions are well sought through the four nations, Moret only remained stuck at supplying one thesis every year which was barely read or asked by people who were not closely related to the world of runes.

So, seeing someone younger and less experienced than him achieving more than Moret ever could, made the baldy become jealous of Albec.

And his recent interest in Adrian gave Moret a chance to belittle Albec by targeting Adrian.

But, "He failed in that too. Sir Adrian responded to all those accusations....hah~so satisfactory."

Alexander sighed, "You should show modesty, sir. You never know when someone is listening to you-"

"Albec!" Alexander flinched as he and Albec came to a halt upon hearing the familiar voice of the same baldy they were talking about, approaching from behind.

Albec frowned...that tone and that expression. He knew something troublesome had occurred.

There were a few more officers behind him who had a serious expression on their faces, as they approached Albec and the one who shared the concern was the Tower Master,

"One of the quiz papers has been stolen!"

"Huh?" Albec was baffled...stolen?

"How can that be?" Alexander asked, almost instinctively.

The locker room of the Tower is the most secure place in the building—guarded by several security runes and Elite guards who never leave their post.

Then...

"We have checked it, sir. All the security runes were disarmed. And the lock of the cabinet in which the papers were stored, was broken. And upon counting a single paper was stolen." The officer confirmed, much to Albec’s shock.

Disarmed the security system? How can that be...

"Have you found any clue?" Albec asked, shelving his concern relating to security for later and focusing on the matter at hand.

Moret scoffed, "We found a single clue...the button of a coat which was worn by a man during the gathering today." The man suddenly extended a round coat button.

With his voice dropping dangerously, the man asked, "And do you want to know whose coat had an identical button?"

Albec narrowed his gaze, "I hope you are not mistaking something here, sir Moret." Albec didn’t need to be particularly told about whom Moret was so contemptuously talking about.

Moret scoffed, "I will resign from my job if I get proven wrong about this."

Alexander and the other officers were taken aback by that statement.

Albec, on the other hand, didn’t show much of a reaction, but inwardly, he was startled too.

However, he decided to not waste time in reacting to such confidence and told Alexander, "Go and inform the Headmistress about it "

Alex gave a firm nod before he excused himself, rushing to the base floor.

Moret and Albec kept staring at each other for a moment before Albec ushered, "Then, since you have already considered Professor Adrian the criminal, let’s head down and find out whether he will remain here today or you."

"Sure. Please," he gave Albec some space with confidence oozing from his voice.

’Just based on a button...how can he blame someone so confidently?’ Albec thought. However, he restrained himself from questioning the man for now.

He was more focused on proving Adrian’s innocence.

They all climbed down to the base floor where Ariana was already waiting.

Her arms crossed and the expression on her face made Albec take a strong gulp.

’That’s the aura of a Warden...’ Albec was not unaware of her reputation in the world of hunting. That’s why he and many others desired her to return to the world where she belonged.

However, right now, he really wanted her to suppress that side of hers...

"I hope you understand the consequences of blaming my staff," Ariana spoke, not caring about the fact that the two in front of her held the authority to even influence a nation.

Moret growled, "You aren’t saving your brother with that attitude." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

"I am not saving anyone right now. But once Adrian is proven innocent, please pray someone saves that person who dared to blame him."

The aggression in Moret’s eyes remained unwavering. He firmly believed that Adrian was the cause behind this heist.

Before the two of them could have argued further, Albec suggested, "Let’s conclude this matter by searching Sir Adrian’s room." He hurriedly moved toward Adrian’s room with others soon following behind.

As they reached the door, Albec was about to knock, when suddenly,

"Break it!" Upon receiving the command, the officer moved in a blur, using his hammer to strike the wooden door and snapping it from the middle.

*Creak*

Adrian, who had barely fallen asleep, was startled as he pushed himself away from the bed, "W-What? Why are you all here?"

Moret scoffed, "Look at him pretending to be all innocent. Go search his room right now!"

The officers instantly started searching all around, making Adrian agitated.

However, before he could lose his cool, Ariana appeared beside him, and while resting her hand on his shoulder, she said, "Let them do whatever they want for now...I promise I will make them pay for this insult."

In the face of Ariana, Adrian decided to remain calm.

He still doesn’t know why this search was going on when the heist of the weapons was scheduled on the third day.

’And why I, a Runesmith will ever steal armament?’ he couldn’t make sense out of it.

However, soon, he realized that it was never about the theft of armaments at all.

"It’s here, sir." One of the officers, who broke the lock of Adrian’s briefcase easily, pulled out a paper from inside on which the symbol of the tower was inscribed.

Adrian’s eyes widened....what the heck?!

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.