Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 153: Escaped Again

Chapter 153: Escaped Again

"Why do you not believe the magician’s story?" Ferdinand asked once they have settled down with tea in his office.

They were talking about work so it was where Alwin brought them.

"As I’ve said before, he looks too calm for someone who’s about to be executed. He looks like he lied about the story he told us too. It cannot be proven since the elders he said to have seen him before were already dead. If he did lie, even if we execute him, we would be left in the dark about what was truly going on. What if he had allies he was hiding? They may cause harm to the Safirans again," Arabella explained.

[She’s looking out for everyone. She cares so much to even be observant and wary of the magician even though he’s already getting executed. She’s already thinking of the future.] Ferdinand smiled slightly.

’I just don’t want more problems in the future after everything that was done and prepared to help Safiro recover. They had suffered more than enough too. They should be allowed to live a better life now.’

"That’s right. I was also worried he might have comrades. We left Arno since his allies may attack to try and save him."

Ferdinand revealed that they purposely made the guard lax in Arno during the trial and execution so Hayden’s allies may enter.

"What?! Then what about the other people in Arno? What if they got wrapped up in it too?" Arabella frowned.

"Please be rest assured. Alwin and the other magicians will take care of it. I didn’t bring a lot of knights in Arno so they would think we have let our guard down and believed Hayden’s story."

"Right. The magicians are there," Arabella sighed in relief, relieved that Hayden was not used as bait regardless of the safety of the people.

’Wait. When did they have the time to plan this? I didn’t even hear about it in anyone’s thoughts.’ But then again, everyone had the time to talk about it once she returned to the palace during the night.

Ferdinand explained that since Hayden was so calm after his attempt to retrieve Blanca previously failed, they were certain he would be rescued by his allies before the execution.

The prison Alwin made for Hayden was secure so he wouldn’t be able to escape again no matter what he tried.

Thus, Hayden’s only chance for escape was during the trial or the execution when he was brought out of his cell.

Alwin and the other magicians also didn’t show themselves and hid their presence to fool Hayden or his allies that they were not around so they could let their guard down.

Hayden’s execution was a trap to capture his allies or at least get some information about them.

’Thank goodness. Here I was panicking for nothing. Why did I even think they believed Hayden’s lies?’

"I’m sorry we didn’t tell you about it," Ferdinand apologized.

Alwin was apparently heavily against it since Arabella might make it obvious with her facial expressions or by acting too nervous during the trial. It could alert Hayden something was up.

The others agreed so Ferdinand had no choice but keep it a secret from her too.

It was military operations after all. Only the knights and magicians involved were supposed to know about it.

Ferdinand had just finished telling Arabella about the operation when Alwin returned.

"Your Majesty, the execution was completed successfully," Alwin reported and Ferdinand frowned.

"Successfully? Hayden’s allies did not come?"

Alwin glanced at Arabella.

"It’s alright. I already told her about the plan."

Alwin then gave his report.

"All the other executions were completed successfully except for Hayden’s. None of Hayden’s allies came to rescue him as we formerly thought. But he had a way to leave on his own. His head was cut off but he was able to escape," Alwin explained.

"Huh? How is that possible? Isn’t he already dead?" Arabella thought she misheard.

"That should be the case, Your Majesty. This is also the first time I encountered this. However, I was able to sense that Hayden’s spirit left his body right before his head was lopped off."

"That can happen?!" Arabella was dumbfounded. She had to remind herself that anything was possible.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It is a rare occurrence but it can happen. He left his body to escape elsewhere."

Alwin tried to catch the said spirit but was not able to since he was quick to escape.

’He could even catch spirits?’ Arabella tilted her head. ’Oh, right, in the past, he even bound me to my corpse so I wouldn’t be able to leave.’

Alwin just let everyone else believe that the magician was successfully executed since they had no way of explaining the occurrence to the people anyway.

It could also provoke fear and panic among the people if they learned something like this was possible. Thus, it had to be kept a top secret.

"But how would he survive anyway if his body was already dead?"

"This may sound unbelievable but I think Your Majesty had already encountered a lot of formerly unbelievable and impossible things to be able to perceive this is possible. I believe that the magician we met was not the real Hayden. His body was possessed by someone else’s spirit."

Arabella nodded for Alwin to continue. She had resolved to just believe his words since he wasn’t lying.

"I see. Our former conjecture is true then. He just used the identity of Hayden, ’the magician’ so his true identity would not be revealed," Ferdinand added.

[This is getting a lot more complicated than we thought.]

"You already knew about it?" Arabella blinked.

"Yes. I was just about to tell you when Alwin returned. I sent investigators to Hayden’s homeland," Ferdinand began and Arabella listened attentively.

"The investigators found that even before Hayden began the deal with Dempsey to mine magic ores in Safiro, he was barely at home. He visited just once in six months to ensure the house was maintained."