Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 148 (Part 1)

Segan’s face became serene. Just moments ago, he had been struggling madly, as if possessed—but now, that seemed like a lie.

“You have returned.”

“I greet the Marquess.”

The fact that he was not feeling any pain meant that the one currently controlling his body was not the ancient soul.

Even before reclaiming his body, Segan the healer had been fully aware of the situation. In other words, while he had surrendered control of his body, his five senses remained intact.

“Are you truly Segan the healer?”

“Yes, my lord. I beg for forgiveness. I was blinded by greed, and that led to this disaster.”

“You say it was greed? I would like to hear the full story. Can you tell me?”

“There is nothing to hide. This body is already falling apart—it won’t last much longer. Before I die, I will tell you everything I know.”

Segan calmly recounted his experiences.

It all started three months ago. He had taken leave to visit his hometown and left the Marquessate of Richmond.

That was when the Roten Marquess House approached him. They proposed a deal: Harrison’s young lord possessed a statue, and they wanted him to retrieve it.

The Roten Marquess House promised an immense reward in exchange for a single statue.

“That damned Roten Marquess…! But how did they know that Harrison had the statue?”

“Well, um… I asked my grandfather about it. I had heard that the Roten Marquess House knew how to use the statue.”

“Was that during the territorial war?”

“Yes. Grandfather said he would subtly inquire about it once the war was over.”

Harrison’s expression darkened considerably.

With each new revelation, he found himself more and more entangled in the matter. Had he not asked his grandfather, the Roten Marquess House would never have known about the statue’s existence.

“Harrison, let’s discuss that later. Segan, what happened next?”

“My deepest apologies, Your Excellency.”

Blinded by greed, Segan had rashly agreed to the deal. As he waited for an opportunity, it just so happened that Harrison’s young lord became heavily intoxicated and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing his chance, Segan opened the cabinet where the young lord kept the statue.

The process was not easy. The cabinet was locked, and he wasted a great deal of time searching for the key.

Even so, he eventually managed to open it—just before dawn.

But to his surprise, the cabinet did not contain just one statue. There were four of them, and he had no way of knowing which one to take.

“Did you choose that stone statue?”

“No. As I was hesitating, I heard a noise from outside. A maid was coming in for early morning cleaning. Startled, I hurriedly put the statues back in their places and left. But in my haste, I made a mistake—I injured my hand.”

“Ah! That’s right. Segan, you were walking around with your hand bandaged for a while, weren’t you?”

Harrison recalled seeing Segan with a bandaged hand a few months ago. Several servants also made faces of realization, as if remembering the same thing.

“Yes. My hand got caught in the cabinet door. The blood that dripped from my wound… it touched one of the statues.”

“…And that’s what took over your body.”

“Yes. That must have been the condition.”

That was as far as Segan’s own actions went. From that point on, it was no longer him—it was the ancient soul that had taken over his body.

“How did the process of losing your body unfold?”

“For about two days, we fought for control. At times, I could move my body, but at other times, it acted against my will. Then, at some point, I lost control completely.”

“Do you remember what happened after that?”

“Yes. I remember everything. Though I lost control, I could still see and hear everything.”

The moment the ancient soul, Husregas, took over Segan’s body, it realized that the body was dying. Enraged, it had even considered casting a powerful curse over the entire lord’s castle, taking everyone down with it.

However, at that moment, it established contact with the Roten Marquess House and learned that the current Roten Marquess was its own nephew.

“That man is an ancient soul?”

“Yes. That’s what he said. It seemed like he had been in control of his body for a long time.”

“Hah… Then what they’re after must be that statue.”

“At first, they wanted the statue. But later, their interest shifted to the pendant.”

At the mention of the pendant, Harrison let out a deep sigh.

Everyone’s eyes were on him. Many were now wondering—just what was this pendant?

“Segan, do you not know what the pendant is?”

“No. He only kept saying that it must be retrieved.”

“Harrison, it seems you can no longer keep this a secret.”

“Haa… Yes. It’s come to this.”

The situation had reached a point where he could no longer feign ignorance.

“Who knows? Perhaps we can uncover something you haven’t. Rodin the Grand Mage is here as well. If anyone can find out what you couldn’t, it would be him.”

“Yes, that’s true… Haa. This pendant contains a map.”

Rodin had already known that the pendant held a map. The only thing he didn’t know was where it led.

“A map?”

“Look.”

Harrison stepped forward and infused the pendant with aura. Though he was only a First-Class Knight, he was capable of activating an artifact.

A large map materialized in the air from the pendant. To Rodin, it was instantly recognizable as a high-level illusion spell, specifically a Fifth-Circle Illusion Magic.

‘Hmm…’

As soon as the magic was activated, Rodin swiftly memorized the map. Mountains, rivers, lakes, roads, forests—every geographical feature was engraved into his mind.

‘This is an old terrain. It can’t be the same as the current one.’

He compared it to every known terrain on the continent.

Dozens of possible locations came to mind.

He eliminated several places that had developed lakes or water channels in the past few centuries. He also ruled out an area where a volcanic eruption 600 years ago had created a forest.

After narrowing them down one by one, only three locations remained.

The western region of the Western Continent,
The border between the Lenox Kingdom and the Maven Kingdom,
And the southern region of the Luvain Kingdom.

‘It can’t be the Western Continent.’

In the desperate final moments before their kingdom fell, there was no way they would have moved their treasure all the way to the Western Continent. Given their limited time, it was most likely near the capital or somewhere close by.

‘The southern region of Luvain Kingdom is the most probable. The border region between Lenox and Maven Kingdoms isn’t impossible either.’

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