Daniel, without even glancing back once, walked calmly through the stone hallways. Each of his steps echoed with a short sound in the tower’s silent space.
Serys moved a few steps behind him. Her mind was still consumed by the founder’s name and Ryndor’s six recorded meetings.
The truths she had uncovered during this time had greatly changed her view of the world. Never, even in her wildest nightmares, had she thought that the founder and Professor Ryndor could be involved in the murders and even cover them up.
If that was the case, then who else in this tower could be trusted? When the founder himself had covered up the murders, was there really anything they could do?
Finally, she broke the silence.
"Now what?" She herself had no idea. No idea what she could do. It wouldn’t be a lie if she said she had even lost hope.
Now, the only remaining hope for her was this man.
Daniel didn’t even slow his pace.
"It’s time to pull the first link in the chain."
"Professor Ryndor?" Serys thought for a few moments, then said quietly.
"Not to prove his guilt, but to see his reaction." Daniel shook his head.
Serys frowned quietly.
"You mean you’re not even looking for a confession?"
Daniel smiled very faintly.
"A confession is only valuable when the other person has lost their sense of security."
"I just want to see where the first crack in his wall appears."
Serys fell silent. She didn’t understand why she could never grasp this man’s words. He always spoke cryptically, and only when his plan was executed would it become clear what he meant.
A few minutes later, they stood before one of the largest professors’ residences in the tower.
A three-story building with white walls covered in magical silver lines, surrounded by a small garden of rare plants.
Two guards stood at the door.
As soon as they saw the tower leader’s insignia on Serys’s robe, they bowed almost simultaneously.
"Professor Serys."
"Do you have any specific orders?"
Serys raised the insignia.
"Official inspection."
No questions were asked. The news of the inspections had spread among all the professors, and everyone had concluded that these were just routine checks.
The heavy door of the residence opened quietly.
A few moments later, a middle-aged man in neat attire appeared from the inner hallway.
Ryndor.
Contrary to expectations, not the slightest trace of worry could be seen on his face.
On the contrary, a calm smile was on his lips; the same smile always seen in his classes.
"Serys and... Daniel." His gaze lingered on Daniel for a few moments.
"The presence of both of you in my residence is an unexpected occurrence." Then he calmly stepped aside.
"Please, come in."
The reception room was simple but very elegant.
A large library covered almost the entire wall, and the smell of freshly brewed tea filled the room.
Ryndor personally poured a cup of tea for both of them.
"Before anything else... I hope you’re both doing well."
Serys, without touching the cup, just stared at him. But Daniel picked up the cup, smelled it, and quietly placed it back on the table.
He didn’t have time for nonsense and wanted to get straight to the point.
"When did you first see Lioran?"
Ryndor was slightly taken aback. He hadn’t expected such a sudden question.
"I thought you were here about Morcan. What does this have to do with my student?"
"Please just answer the question." Serys added, and Ryndor frowned but finally answered:
"About four years ago. He was just an ordinary student back then."
"Why did you take him as your student?" Daniel immediately asked the next question.
"Because no one else was willing to do it. I believed that every mage, regardless of their talent, deserves a chance."
"Why did no one else accept him?"
Ryndor shrugged.
"He didn’t show any particular talent. Many thought he had no future. The only reason he was admitted to the tower was because of his family name."
"What changed after he awakened his talent?" Daniel continued with the same calmness.
A very brief pause occurred between the question and the answer. So brief that perhaps no one but Daniel would have noticed it.
"Like any other genius... he progressed."
Daniel said nothing.
But he carefully observed the very slight change in Ryndor’s breathing, the unconscious movement of his fingers on the cup’s handle, and the momentary contraction of his pupils.
He wasn’t lying, but he wasn telling the whole truth either.
"Six meetings." And he suddenly changed the subject.
Ryndor’s hand stopped for a fraction of a second. Just that one moment, and then his smile returned.
"What do you mean?" He said as if he had no idea what Daniel meant.
Daniel tossed the file he had brought from the archive onto the table, opened a page, and turned it toward Ryndor.
"Six meetings with the founder, all within two months, after Lioran’s talent awakened. And after that... nothing."
This time, Ryndor’s smile was no longer completely natural. The corner of his lip dropped slightly.
"You’ve reviewed the archive files?"
"It’s our duty."
Serys stepped forward, the tower leader’s insignia gleaming in her hand.
"From this moment, this is an official interrogation."
Simultaneously, several golden runes lit up in the four corners of the room.
The walls trembled, a transparent layer covered all the windows, and anti-escape spells were activated.
Ryndor only glanced briefly at the runes.
"Interesting."
"Please answer the question. In those six meetings... what did the founder give you or tell you?" Daniel walked calmly toward him.
Ryndor answered without a moment’s hesitation.
"Nothing. We just talked about the tower’s future. There was nothing confidential. Lioran had no connection to those meetings. I’m one of the tower’s senior and long-standing professors, and meeting the founder is normal." He said in the most casual tone possible.
All his excuses were flawless, and no lies could be detected in them.
"Wouldn’t it be better to tell the truth? Morcan confessed before he died." Daniel breathed slowly and suddenly raised the tension.
For the first time, Ryndor’s gaze flickered, but he still remained silent.
Daniel continued.
"The poison maker also talked. We know almost everything. We just want to understand how big your role was. If you cooperate, your punishment won’t be severe."
A small drop of sweat slowly trickled down from Ryndor’s temple. A few seconds of silence continued.
Then suddenly... his fist slammed onto the table with full force, and the sound of breaking wood echoed through the room.
"Morcan... that fool..." At that moment, it was as if he had just realized what he had said.
Silence. A silence that made even the ticking of the wall clock feel heavier. As if he understood what a mistake he had made and tried to correct it.
"Morcan that fool is just trying to frame me!"
Though his words had no effect. It was clear they were a bunch of lies.
"You... knew from the very beginning." Serys whispered in disbelief.
All the lingering hope in her heart was gone... So this man had truly been involved in covering up the murders?
Ryndor said nothing more. He just quietly leaned back in his chair. It was unclear what he was thinking. No one could tell either.
A few seconds later, another smile appeared on his face. This time, not one of calmness, but the smile of someone who had accepted that the game had entered a new stage.
"You have no evidence, do you?" His gaze shifted between Daniel and Serys.
"Even if everything is exposed, the tower leader himself will come to interrogate me personally, not you."
Daniel stared at him for a few moments, then said quietly:
"I’m giving you one last chance. Why is Lioran so precious to the founder? Why is he willing to support him?"
Ryndor was silent for a few seconds, then gave that same calm smile again.
"Of course... talent. All talented mages in the tower are precious to the founder." His sentence again didn’t seem like a lie.
Daniel sighed deeply. No trace of curiosity remained in his gaze, only a kind of cold certainty.
"You chose this path yourself."
He slowly raised his right hand. A small, almost insignificant movement. But at that moment, all the runes in the room flared with a blue light.
Hundreds of magical threads emerged from the floor, ceiling, and walls, covering the entire room like massive spiderwebs.
Layer after layer settled. Anti-surveillance spells, anti-espionage spells, communication-cutoff spells, area-isolation spells.
The room’s air suddenly grew heavy; so heavy that even breathing seemed difficult.
For the first time, Ryndor lost his smile. And Daniel, amidst the flickering light of the runes, took just one more step toward him.
The time had come to use force in the interrogation.