Beneath the Surface

The Jade Room, on the top floor of the west wing of Riddill Kingdom's castle, is a special chamber that only the Seven Sages and the king are permitted to enter. As such, it is protected by multiple barriers.

On the floor below the Jade Room were private chambers set aside for the Seven Sages.

Whenever a Sage stayed at the castle, they were provided with a splendid suite. These private chambers were therefore nominally classified as offices.

Each Sage used their office differently, but most used theirs to store documents and luggage, leaving the rooms cluttered. Louis was probably the only one who actually did any work in his office.

Among them was an office as lovely as a guest room, furnished with a canopied bed and elegant furnishings.

It belonged to the oldest of the Seven Sages, Mary Harvey, the 〈Star-Reading Witch〉.

She sometimes conducted her star readings in the Jade Room, and it was not unusual for her to take a nap in her office afterward.

But the person sleeping in the magnificent canopied bed now was not the room's owner.

The woman with reddish-brown hair, in her thirties, was Kara Maxwell, the former 〈Star-Spear Witch〉.

Her eyes were closed, and black markings like stains had appeared on her neck, visible above the collar of her nightclothes...