The Genius Tamer of the Academy

Chapter 206

Betty’s death sent shockwaves through Ardel Academy.

A death within the school grounds. Clear evidence of poisoning by someone. The academy’s inability to catch the culprit or even identify a suspect.

Parents, especially nobles, began talking about pulling their children from the academy and suspending their education entirely.

Han Taesu was no different.

“It seems like the work of dark magicians. Their movements are becoming more suspicious. If you wish to return to Castica, let me know. I’ll send a carriage and trusted escorts.”

After carefully reading Han Taesu’s letter, I tucked it back into my pocket.

While his concern was appreciated, leaving Ardel Academy now made even less sense.

Was Castica even safe?

No.

Soon, there would be no safe place within the entire Ardel Empire.

If they dared to commit a poisoning right here at the academy, it meant their influence had grown significantly, enough to operate in the open.

How many Cubes have they consumed?

Of course, there were practical reasons to stay, but…

There was an emotional reason too.

Though we weren’t close, Betty was a senior I was fond of.

Whoever killed her.

We needed to find the culprit and make them pay.

Everyone in the task force.

We gathered in the basement of Natalie’s workshop, all wearing grim expressions.

Despite trying to act unaffected, no one here was alright.

I may have been the one who saw Betty the most, but it seemed others had some level of connection with her too.

She was a kind senior who always welcomed juniors who approached her freely.

There was no dispute among us: Betty was a genuinely good person.

And that made it even more tragic.

And even harder to understand.

“She wasn’t someone who would have enemies.”

I didn’t know all the details, but I was sure of that. Betty wasn’t the kind of person who would provoke someone enough to make them want to hurt her.

Yet, she was poisoned by a potion with traces of dark magic.

“I agree. There must have been another reason. A compelling reason why she had to be killed.”

Adela nodded at my words.

“But we just don’t know what that reason is. She was affiliated with the magic department, but she didn’t have any combat talents. She wouldn’t have fought dark magicians; she mostly stayed in the lab….”

“Research.”

I repeated the word, looking at Adela.

“Could it be that she was doing research that she shouldn’t have?”

“Research she shouldn’t have been doing?”

Han Si-hyuk had once warned me.

When I first created the detoxification artifact, he said some would find its discovery unsettling. That someone might even try to harm me to stop the research.

Now, it was possible that Betty had gotten involved in some dangerous research.

“We need to consider all possibilities. We’re not investigators, and the information we can gather right now is severely limited.”

Originally, Han Si-hyuk should have started investigating as soon as the incident occurred.

If he had, Adela and I might have been able to join as assistants in this case.

However, due to Han Si-hyuk’s absence, the academy lacked an internal investigator. Until a new one was appointed, Professor Grint had taken over the role.

While Professor Grint was a skilled teacher, he wasn’t an expert in this field.

We couldn’t afford to sit around and wait, not knowing when he’d start.

Adela seemed to share my thoughts.

Her voice, unusually shaky, echoed through the workshop.

“We can’t just let this go. Betty’s death… it’s tragic, but if we ignore this, who knows who’ll be next? We have to catch whoever’s responsible to prevent something worse.”

Adela turned to look at me.

“Han Siha, I know it’s a tough task, but… please check on the research topic Betty was working on.”

“Alright.”

“If not the topic, then look into the recent papers she was reading. If anything seems off, let us know.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

I was the one with the easiest access to Betty’s research.

Going through the belongings of Betty, which were now relics, would be anything but pleasant, but it had to be done.

Honestly, though, I was more worried about something else.

Betty had left everything in Professor Ernst’s lab abruptly.

If her research topic was indeed the problem, I feared that dark magicians might have already seized those records.

We had to act fast.

* * *

An artifact that could store external mana.

The draft of the thesis Betty had planned to show me contained a risky subject, and it seemed increasingly likely that her research was indeed the cause, just as we had theorized.

But before we could pinpoint the exact cause, we received unexpected news about Betty.

“Han Siha! Han Siha!”

Natalie had discovered the direct reason behind Betty’s death.

It was something we didn’t expect to find here.

Natalie, with a somber expression, pulled out last week’s sales records.

“…A necklace is missing.”

A necklace?

“It wasn’t supposed to be for sale, but it seems one of my employees sold it to Betty for research purposes….”

The moment Natalie said this, I immediately knew which necklace it was.

“It’s a necklace with stored mana.”

“It can draw in external mana.”

“It’s essentially an early Cube prototype. It was scrapped because the mana draw was too weak.”

A necklace that operated on a principle similar to that of the Cube.

I asked Natalie with a cold, stiff expression.

“Why didn’t you dispose of it?”

I knew that Natalie couldn’t simply discard the artifacts in the workshop she hadn’t fully inherited yet.

But the fact that this oversight had led to such a tragedy made it impossible not to blame her.

“You should have warned the staff more firmly.”

“I told them it wasn’t for sale, but I didn’t explain why. I just said it was a discarded item….”

She hadn’t disclosed the true nature of the necklace, thinking it was better to avoid spreading rumors.

“I said not to sell it. I never imagined this would happen… If I had just destroyed it earlier, none of this would have happened… It’s all my fault….”

The necklace acquired for research purposes had been found by someone at the academy, and Betty had been poisoned.

Since there was no mention of her belongings being found, it was likely that someone had taken the necklace.

Natalie stood frozen, her expression hardened.

The usually cheerful Natalie seemed on the verge of tears, standing still as if paralyzed.

Maybe she thought even tears were a luxury; her dry face was marked only by deep regret.

I understood her feelings.

Though not the closest of friends, this incident must have been deeply shocking for Natalie.

However, there was no use in self-blame at this moment.

If I had reviewed her thesis a bit earlier,

if I had noticed the dangers of her research and warned Betty…

Or if we had destroyed the necklace back then, maybe none of this would have happened.

But regretting what was already in the past was meaningless.

At least Natalie’s testimony could be crucial in identifying the culprit.

This wasn’t something we could handle on our own.

I decided to trust someone more reliable.

“Let’s go to Professor Grint.”

* * *

Professor Grint stared at the case file with a cold, detached expression.

Betty, a model student in her sixth year, was dead. Her relationships were amicable, and she didn’t seem like the type to harbor grudges.

Yet, she died within the academy.

In Ardel Academy, the place that should have been the safest.

It was the first case of poisoning.

“This makes no sense….”

Professor Grint muttered, furrowing his brow. First, there was the dark magicians’ attack on the investigation room, and now the academy was no longer safe.

Ardel Academy, nurtured by Dean Ernest, supported by the royal family, and developed through his own life’s work, was now crumbling.

It had reached the point where no professor, no student could be trusted.

“Parasites….”

That was how Professor Grint referred to the dark magicians.

They were parasites of society, hiding in the shadows and committing evil acts.

The culprit was undoubtedly within the academy.

There was no sign of external intrusion, and there wasn’t enough time to escape after the incident.

So the investigation returned to square one.

Who was bold enough to carry out such an act within the academy?

Why kill an innocent student…?

However, Professor Grint’s doubts were soon answered.

In a voice as cold as ice, he asked.

“The necklace was stolen?”

Two students had come to him, saying they had something urgent to discuss.

Seeing their somber expressions, he had allowed them in privately.

And then he heard an unexpected testimony.

The necklace related to Betty’s research topic had gone missing from the scene.

Professor Grint looked up at Han Siha and Natalie slowly.

“Is it a necklace from your workshop?”

“Y-yes!”

Natalie nodded repeatedly, clasping her hands together. Her eyes still bore the weight of guilt.

Professor Grint was already aware of Betty’s thesis topic.

However, since there were no significant results or progress in the research, he hadn’t considered it as a direct cause of her death.

But if the actual artifact existed, the story changed.

“….”

There’s a difference between holding dangerous ideas in your head and possessing a tangible object that embodies them.

An artifact that could draw in external mana…

Even at a glance, it was something the dark magicians would covet.

“It was a dangerous item.”

And simultaneously, it was an extraordinary discovery that any magician would envy.

If Betty’s thesis had been published with sufficient evidence, it would have caused a massive stir in the magical community.

Even coming up with such a concept showed her genius.

Losing such a genius was a tragedy, but…

Professor Grint turned to Natalie, who stood frozen, and spoke.

“It’s not your fault.”

Flinch.

Even when Han Siha had said the same words, Natalie hadn’t been able to fully accept them.

She thought that Siha was just trying to comfort her, and that the responsibility lay solely with her for not having destroyed the dangerous item sooner.

Natalie still believed that.

But….

“Thank you.”

The reassurance, unexpected from someone like Professor Grint, was clearly a comfort to Natalie.

She gave a sad smile as she held the documents she had brought.

Professor Grint, feeling that their discussion was concluded, turned back to his desk.

“Your testimony was quite helpful. If the investigation makes progress, I’ll make sure you’re informed.”

“Yes, understood.”

“You can leave now.”

From this point on, he considered it his responsibility.

He sent Han Siha and Natalie off in the same detached manner as before.

Natalie’s valuable testimony and the motive behind the poisoning…

It was a brief meeting, but a lot had been uncovered.

Professor Grint believed that he would soon be able to catch those responsible for Betty’s death.

But contrary to his hopes,

The case began to take an entirely different direction.