Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 113: Using a scapegoat

Chapter 113: Using a scapegoat

Orion wasn’t convinced of Soran’s words.

Or perhaps his assumptions that Soran must have accounted for his loopholes would prove to be true.

"What are you implying, Soran?" Orion queried, not withholding the hostility in his tone. He gently laid Lord Eldric against the wall again and stood up. "You were here when I arrived."

"And you remained here after I left," Soran retorted, folding his arms. "It was you who demanded that I leave when I was simply tending to the circle and ensuring nothing would interfere with the formation. Who’s to say you’re not the one who tampered with the Triune Circle, my Lord?"

He uttered ’my Lord’ with evident disdain.

Orion should have known Soran was wicked enough to redirect the blame to him. In all his anger, he’d forgotten to account for his own presence in the ritual chambers the previous night.

"Or is a Lord Wickan’s word more valuable than a low-ranking Wickan like myself?" Soran bit back, slumping his shoulders with a dramatic sigh. "I did not think justice was quite so unjust amongst us."

Lady Morgana grew impatient. If not for her injury that weighed her down, she would have reminded both Soran and Orion of their places.

"You are both under suspicion in that regard," Lord Eldric intervened, sensing Lady Morgana on the verge of an outburst. "The only way to prove who the culprit is would be to have a look at the scenes from the surveillance jewels."

"A wise and smart suggestion, Lord Eldric," Soran said in an almost patronising tone, which made the Ashenhold Coven Master even more wary of him.

Lord Eldric never doubted Orion for a second but for the sake of impartiality, the young coven master needed to be equally under suspicion.

And Ronan, who’d been listening the entire time, swore that whoever the culprit was, he would deal with them personally.

The harm was caused to his mate.

As her Alpha, he reserved the right to mete out the punishment to the perpetrator.

However, Vivian, in her weary state, didn’t want to suspect or doubt Soran, especially not after he rescued her from the Mirror World.

If the man had come for her even under orders, why would he sabotage the binding ritual that was meant to alter her fate for the better?

Lady Morgana breathed out a deeply troubled sigh. She motioned her fingers, calling the surveillance jewels surrounding the chambers to descend to where she was seated.

They surrounded her, levitating by the will of her magic as they each banded together to reflect the scenes of the events that occurred the previous night.

Soran was so very sure that his innocence would be proved.

After all, dabbling in forbidden arts allowed him to alter the records.

And a backup plan had been set in motion since the previous night.

"You will know the truth now, Milday," Soran said, crouching beside Lady Morgana. "You of all should know I would never dare to tamper with anything that you control yourself."

Lady Morgana, who trusted Soran with everything she had, nodded. He was loyal to her since the ages that were long forgotten, but she reminded herself she needed to be unbiased.

She had no doubt that he would be proven innocent.

But Orion?

Only Lord Eldric, as strange as that might have sounded, was supportive of his innocence.

"I will survey it thoroughly," Lady Morgana said, moving closer to Lord Eldric. "You will bear witness alongside me, Eldric."

In desperation, Soran decided to use a scapegoat.

The fact that Orion interrupted him and was already suspicious of his actions was a grave impediment in his path.

There was no other way out other than to create an opportunity for blame to be directed away from him.

Thus, the previous night he sent out a messenger crow to deliver an instruction to the quarters of the lower-ranked Wickans.

The creature encountered a Wickan by the name of Rowan, a young and upcoming rising prodigy of Sabre Coven who was destined for greatness as declared by Lady Morgana.

Arriving at the lower quarters, the messenger crow immediately perched on Rowan’s shoulder and the lad smiled. While the creature was born purely out of magic, he still regarded it as a living being.

He rubbed his finger under its chin, feeling a spark of magic.

"Master Soran’s crow, ey?" Rowan greeted the creature, taking a stroll outside through the open-air hallways with the bird perched on his shoulder. "What message does he send this time?"

Rowan was quite eager to please, always adhering to the orders of the upper ranks without question. One might declare him naive and foolish, but he called it obedience and respect.

And perhaps that was unknowingly his downfall.

The messenger crow cawed, projecting a visual message from its beak on display, which read, ’The Triune Circle ritual is scheduled for the morning. I am placing you, Rowan, in charge of ensuring that the chambers are tidy and free of any lingering residual energy that may conflict with the ritual. Complete your task at the earliest, Rowan.’

Rowan found the wording rather unusual, compared to the usual style of Soran’s messages but being the obedient fool he was, he never dared to question it.

Normally, the messenger crow would have dissipated upon relaying its message but this one remained intact on his shoulder.

Rowan didn’t mind the extra company and headed for the ritual chambers immediately. Naturally, he moved within the view of every surveillance jewel that recorded his actions and movements.

Perhaps his biggest mistake was lingering for far too long by the Triune Circle with his back facing the surveillance jewels, thus easily placing him as the obvious suspect.

"That should do it," Rowan said, pleased with himself since he cleared away all the dust from the Triune Circle and expelled any residual energy, also unknowingly clearing away some of the lunar energy accumulating directly from the moonlight shining into the chambers.

He looked at his hands, noticing a strange black powder stained them. He tried to rub it off on his robes but the stain seemed permanent.

"This is odd." Rowan muttered to himself. "Did I touch something I shouldn’t have?"

His gaze trailed back to the Triune Circle to ensure that everything was still intact and after confirming so, he assumed the powder must have come from something else.

And completed his task, the messenger crow, who wasn’t visible to the surveillance jewels since Soran wrapped it in a cloaking spell, took flight and hovered right before Rowan’s eyes.

Its own eyes flashed with a purple glow, reflecting the same glow in Ronan’s eyes. It tapped into his mind to alter his memories, removing any traces of the fact that Soran was the one who gave him instructions.

The messenger crow dissipated afterwards, leaving Rowan control of his own mind once more. He shook his head to regain clarity, holding onto the side of his head.

Rowan looked around, not remembering why he was in the ritual chambers in the first place.

"I must have had one of my blackouts again." Rowan concluded, seating himself back down near the Triune Circle. "I need to tell Lady Morgana I’ve been experiencing them frequently. She’ll know what to do."

The scene projection soon faded afterwards, omitting the scene of Rowan being controlled by the messenger crow for a brief moment.

Lady Morgana’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting that the youngest prodigy of her Coven would have sabotaged such an important binding ritual.

Thankfully, there wasn’t anything incriminating against Orion since the projection clearly showed that he never laid a finger or so much as stepped into the Triune Circle.

He was also forced to confess that since he inspected the circle without touching it, he discovered that it wasn’t tampered with, thus proving Soran’s innocence in the moment.

"Do you see? I have no part in this," Soran stated, flashing a subtle cynical smile. "I have never shown ill intentions and Lady Morgana herself can attest to the fact that I always survey the ritual chambers before the commencement of any ritual. It is by habit and duty."

"Then perhaps she should have been clear that even you should have been forbidden this time from setting foot into these chambers before the ritual," Lord Eldric remarked, casting a look in Lady Morgan’s direction.

She simply averted her gaze, silently accepting the facts of her faults.

"Rowan..." Soran gritted his teeth, shaking his head with disappointment. "Why would the lad do this? For what purpose?"

Orion didn’t believe that Rowan was in any way culpable.

Something was off with projection.

But there was no way to prove it.

"Summon him here immediately!" Lady Morgana exclaimed, crushing one of the surveillance jewels with her bare hand.