Chapter 596: Coincidences

Cain allowed the silence to stew for several seconds, clearly enjoying the attention he had managed to gather.

"Members of the Blossom family possess naturally powerful mental defences, strengthened further through techniques passed down their bloodline for generations. Their minds are not easily entered, influenced, or manipulated, even by individuals considerably stronger than themselves."

A few of the court mages exchanged knowing glances.

"But those defences serve another purpose." Cain slowly turned toward Liora. "When an outside force attempts to intrude upon their minds, they resist."

He tapped the side of his head lightly.

"And if that force is powerful enough to overwhelm those defences, it leaves behind traces. Damage. Scarring upon the mind itself that can remain long after the technique responsible has disappeared."

Oh...’

He suddenly had a very good idea where this was going, even though he had expected it.

Cain continued.

"Ordinarily, determining whether someone has been subjected to mental manipulation is incredibly difficult. Memories can be altered. Emotions can be changed. Suggestions can be buried so deeply that even the victim may never realise something is wrong."

His gaze moved across the congregation.

"But the Blossom family is different." Cain gestured toward Liora once again. "Their minds remember."

A murmur spread through the court.

"Not necessarily the details of what was done to them, but the intrusion itself. The stronger and more invasive the technique, the clearer the traces it leaves behind."

One of the councillors leaned forward.

"Are you claiming Lady Blossom was subjected to mental manipulation?"

Cain smiled faintly.

"I am claiming considerably more than that; after all, it would be foolhardy to accuse someone of being a demon because they used such a technique." The murmurs immediately grew louder.

Elion stared at Liora.

She had remained strangely quiet throughout Cain’s explanation, sitting perfectly still with her hands resting upon her lap.

And she still hadn’t looked at him.

Cain slowly paced a few steps across the open floor.

"Several months ago, shortly after the young lady Liora began interacting regularly with Elion Nova through their duties within Grimholt Academy’s Disciplinary Committee, she discovered something shocking. Her mind had been breached."

The court immediately stirred.

"Not merely touched by some harmless mental spell. An outside influence had forcibly overcome her natural mental defences." Cain’s eyes moved toward Elion. "And whatever did it was extremely powerful."

Elion remained silent.

At the back, even the queen seemed more interested now.

Her previously relaxed posture straightened slightly, while the two Princesses beside her listened closely.

Nyxara’s expression had changed as well.

As a court mage, she understood perfectly well how serious an accusation involving mental manipulation could become.

Manipulating another person’s mind, whether it involved altering their memories, influencing their emotions, or directly controlling their thoughts, was largely considered taboo.

Fortunately, spells and techniques capable of doing such things were incredibly rare, to the point that most people would be hard-pressed to ever come across someone capable of using such magic in their lifetime.

This fact made the Blossom family an incredibly rare resource.

More specifically, their Matriarch.

It was no overstatement to say that the Blossom Matriarch was greatly feared among high-ranking mages, particularly by those who understood the true extent of what her family’s bloodline was capable of.

It was also one of the reasons why the Blossom Matriarch and most of her people kept largely to themselves.

They were permitted to practise the techniques inherited through their bloodline, but that didn’t mean people were comfortable with them doing so.

Quite the opposite, actually.

Even though they were strictly forbidden from using the worst of their capabilities without proper authorisation, most people who knew what they were capable of remained wary of them regardless.

After all, how exactly were you supposed to know if someone had tampered with your memories when the very thing they had tampered with was what you relied upon to remember it happening?

As a result, the family’s self-imposed seclusion had gradually led to the true extent of their abilities fading from common knowledge over the generations.

It was clear that this was done intentionally, but there were still those who knew.

In fact, among those circles, it was commonly believed that the Blossom family’s bloodline had only been made public in the first place as a precaution.

A way to ensure that the Crown, the Royal Court, and the kingdom’s most powerful families knew exactly what the Blossoms were capable of.

Because if, at some point throughout the generations, one of their powerful leaders became ambitious enough to attempt something as absurd as altering the memories of countless people and staging a coup...

At the very least, the kingdom would know who to suspect.

Dawncrest was, of course, among the circle of people who knew exactly what the Blossom bloodline was capable of.

It was one of the reasons he had gone through the trouble of striking a deal with the Blossom Matriarch to obtain Liora’s service in the first place, even using the great favour she owed him.

Someone with her abilities was far too useful, especially one so talented and so young. She could be groomed into a loyal servant as long as they found a good way to bind her.

And, of course, the Royal Family had taken its own precautions over the years.

Some of the kingdom’s most powerful mentalists were employed directly by the Royal Family under strict, binding blood contracts, serving as protection against the very kinds of abilities people feared from the Blossoms.

Some of them even came from the Blossom family itself, while others were simply exceptionally talented individuals who had awakened rare talents and skills related to the mind.

It was precisely the presence of these people that made Liora apprehensive about outright lying before the Royal Court without some form of reassurance that her words could not be examined.

After all, she of all people understood just how terrifying mind techniques could be.

She knew how difficult it was to hide a deliberate lie from someone who could probe emotions, notice subtle disturbances in thought, or even directly examine the mind if given permission and sufficient reason.

And considering the severity of today’s proceedings, she couldn’t simply assume that no one capable of doing so was present.

If anything, she was almost certain they were, and that knowledge alone was enough to make her extremely uneasy.

Regardless, Cain continued.

"When the intrusion was first discovered, there was no immediate way to determine who was responsible. Liora herself possessed no clear recollection of being attacked, apart from a very vivid dream which she would otherwise think was completely genuine."

He paused.

"Which, as I am sure everyone here understands, is precisely what makes mental manipulation so dangerous."

A few people nodded.

"However, her family possesses methods of examining such attacks."

Cain looked toward Liora.

"And when Lady Liora was examined more thoroughly afterwards, they discovered something far more disturbing than a simple mental attack."

Cain’s smile grew ever so slightly.

"The traces left behind within her mind carried a foreign energy." That caused another round of murmurs.

One of the councillors frowned.

"What kind of energy?"

Cain turned toward him.

"Demonic energy." The word seemed to travel through the entire court like a poison. Whispers exploded across the terraces.

Elion almost facepalmed...

’Now he’s just bulshitting.’

Sure, the ink of yearning probably did some of the things Dawncrest had said about mind attacks, but there was certainly nothing demonic about it.

"Demonic energy?"

"Inside her mind?"

"So the accusations are not unfounded after all..."

"Then he really—"

"Silence!"

Wendy’s voice cut through the chamber. The murmurs gradually died down, though countless gazes remained fixed upon Elion.

Elion rubbed his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

’Well, that’s inconvenient.’

The elderly female councillor narrowed her eyes at Cain.

"You are making an extremely serious claim, Duke Dawncrest."

"I am aware."

"And you can prove this?"

Cain nodded.

"Of course. I’m sure the Royal Family has plenty of powerful mentalists under its employ. It’s simply a matter of examining the girl’s mind and confirming that someone did, in fact, tamper with it."

Those words drew shocked gasps from more than a few people.

After all, who would ever willingly want to have their mind invaded by another person?

It wasn’t simply a matter of such a thing being intrusive.

When examining another person’s mind, distinguishing between one specific memory or thought and another was incredibly difficult, so the easier and more reliable method was often to examine the person’s entire mind and, in turn, see their complete state of being.

Of course, to see into another’s mind, a link first had to be formed, and forming such a link required both individuals to open their minds, leaving them completely vulnerable to one another.

It was essentially the equivalent of stripping yourself bare for someone else to see.

Except this was the mind.

Whatever secrets you harboured, whatever emotions you had ever felt, your deepest fears and desires, and perhaps even things you had never consciously realised about yourself could all be laid bare before another person.

It was no wonder such techniques were considered taboo and, for some, even disgusting.

Of course, if the procedure was so intrusive, why would Dawncrest willingly choose this path?

After all, even if he could prove that Liora’s mind had been tampered with, whoever was chosen to examine her might also see through her memories and discover that Liora and Cain had been plotting this exact scenario.

But Cain had planned everything intricately.

After all, one of the six councillors sitting before him was one such specialist.

And, more importantly...

That councillor happened to be a rather close friend of Dawncrest, one who owed him quite a great deal.

Now, all he had to do was make sure that particular person was assigned to carry out the procedure.

Cain turned toward Elion.

"In any case, before we discuss such drastic measures, I should mention why I found the timing of everything rather interesting."

He began walking slowly again.

"Lady Liora’s mind was breached during the period in which she worked closely alongside Elion Nova."

A step.

"Elion Nova subsequently displayed abilities and physical characteristics that certain individuals who interacted with him identified as demonic. My very own sun suffered at his hand."

Another step.

"When confronted and asked to submit himself for examination, he fled. And when attempts were made to apprehend him..."

Cain stopped.

"...he demonstrated power far beyond what anyone expected of a student of his age and level." His eyes hardened. "Power whose origins remain unexplained up until now."

Elion nearly rolled his eyes dramatically, but Cain wasn’t finished.

"Now, perhaps each of these things could be dismissed individually."

He raised one finger.

"Perhaps the Young Lady Liora was attacked by some mysterious individual who has never revealed themselves."

He raised a second finger.

"Perhaps the demonic characteristics witnessed by multiple individuals were merely misunderstood."

A third.

"Perhaps Elion Nova’s refusal to submit himself for examination was simply the frightened reaction of an innocent young man."

Cain lowered his hand.

"But when all of these events are considered together..."

His gaze settled firmly upon Elion.

"...how many coincidences must we accept before they stop being coincidences?"