Supreme Magus

Chapter 4438: Impossible Dilemma (Part 2)

"Same thing if a particular method is conveniently effective for one noble yet useless to everyone else."

"Is there anything Orion and I can do to help you?" Lith asked.

"Just keep us safe." Jirni turned to look at the children. "Gods, this is the first time Dripha is dining without us. I wonder how she’s doing."

"I miss her too, but we couldn’t bring her along." Orion shook his head. "It would be like carrying a sign that says ’I’m with Jirni Ernas’ over our heads. Let’s hope our baby girl isn’t taking it too badly."

***

Meanwhile, at the Verhen Mansion, Dripha was inconsolable. For the first time in her brief life, no matter how much she cried, her parents didn’t come. Lucky, Friya, and Quylla did her best to pacify the baby girl, but to no avail.

She barely ate during the day and nothing at all past sundown.

"Have you tried shapeshifting into Jirni?" Solus asked.

"Yes, but we must have done something wrong because Dripha started to cry again after a single spoonful of food." Quylla replied. "Imitating Dad failed even more spectacularly. She didn’t buy it for one second."

"It’s not my fault." Morok massaged his pulsing temples. "I did my best Orion impression, but there’s no way I can look at her with his loving eyes or that silly rumbling voice he makes when he feeds her."

"Same." Nalrond said. "Is there any chance you can bring Jirni and Orion back home tomorrow, Solus? A baby that young missing too many meals might be dangerous."

"I’m more worried about Dripha growing up afraid of being abandoned." Friya cradled the baby girl in her arms like she had seen Jirni do countless times, but Dripha only cried harder.

"I’ll do what I can." Solus replied.

Tired and defeated, the Ernas put Dripha back into her crib. She fell asleep almost instantly, too tired to keep fighting. When she woke up later at night, her eyes fell on the Rune Stores still piled up in a corner of her crib.

The last time Dripha had seen her parents was that morning, when Jirni had handed her the toys, and she had thrown them away again. In her silly, childish mind, Dripha believed that everything happened because of her.

So she came to the conclusion that her parents had abandoned her because she had refused to play with the Rune Stores. Dripha crawled to the nearest toy, squeezing it again and again to listen to the sound of the Brezza rune.

She could almost feel something clicking inside of her every time the Air Store squeaked. A faint connection to the air element, which, to a mind so young, was difficult to grasp.

This time she didn’t give up, hoping that if she learned what that weird sound was, her parents would take her back.

***

Gernoff’s secret compound, earlier, that same day.

"What do you mean, she’s gone?"

"That we can’t find Jirni Ernas anywhere." Calam Gernoff replied. "It took us a while to notice her disappearance, but she and her husband have been replaced by a couple of masterfully made constructs, but constructs nonetheless.

"We had to wait until they took their afternoon walk in the park to be sure, but the Spyglasses confirmed our suspicions. Those things have the wrong energy signature." He referred to the artifact that extended Life Vision’s range.

"How much advantage has she gotten on us?" Jiza asked.

"A few hours at worst." He said. "She was spotted early this morning. Also, her baby girl is still with the Verhens. Jirni Ernas can’t have gone far."

"It’s worse than that." Jiza drummed her fingers on her desk. "This is a trap, and one for which she must have prepared carefully."

"What makes you think that?" Calam asked.

"I will explain it to you in a minute." She took her communication amulet and asked the network of the Gernoffs’ spies and informants for updates about Jirni’s known associates that she had kept under surveillance.

"It’s just as I feared." Jiza sighed, meeting her aide’s inquisitive look. "Think about it, Calam. If Jirni wanted to disappear for a few days, all she had to do was leave with her daughter, Friya, using a mission on Faluel’s behalf as her cover story.

"Friya is a Harbinger candidate and a dimensional mage, which gives her not only the means to move in ways we can’t follow, but also the protection of the Hydra clan.

"Friya’s pregnancy would be a perfect excuse to bring Jirni with her, and any attack on them, assuming we can find them, would be an act of war against the Hydras.

"Our household would go from seeking rightful justice against a traitor of Oghrom’s blood to being the sworn enemy of an Emperor Beast clan. Even worse, the other Lesser Divine Beasts who seek to learn the Hydras’ bloodline awakening technique would hunt us down to earn the Hydras’ favor.

"Whether we succeed or fail in killing Jirni, we’d have a bloody conflict on our hands we have no hope of winning. Had Jirni done that, we would have been forced to sit back and wait for her return, giving her the time she needs to accomplish her goals.

"Instead, she had her construct follow her routine and walk where she knew that our spies could see it. It’s a foolish move that can only be explained if it’s not us she wants to deceive."

"I agree." Calam nodded. "Her enemies in the Royal Court have no Life Vision, and the constructs are so well-made that they are indistinguishable from the originals. In her shoes, if I wanted to fool us as well, I’d have the constructs remain inside the house.

"Maybe make them visible from the outside only through special enchanted windows. This way, the arrays surrounding the Verhen Mansion and the enchantments would make it impossible to check the energy signature unless one came very close."

"Exactly." Jiza pressed a button on her amulet, projecting the news about Kamila’s investigation and her assistants. "Look at this. I’m supposed to believe that Jirni Ernas disappears, and that this Assistant Constable, whose whereabouts were unknown until this morning, suddenly pops out.

"I’m willing to bet this Trairen is no other than Orion Ernas, and that the entire investigation is nothing more than a cover for a much bigger scheme. Otherwise, why would Jirni Ernas leave the safety of the Verhen Mansion for such an unremarkable case?

"Why use a disguise even a baby can unravel with Life Vision? Why make it so easy for us to notice her absence and locate her?"

Calam thought long and hard about those words but found no other plausible alternative to Jiza’s reasoning.

"There’s a glaring flaw in her plan, though." He said. "Jirni Ernas left the little Dripha at the Mansion. With Verhen and his kids gone, nothing would stop us from taking Dripha hostage and using the girl to draw Jirni in the open."

"And you think an opponent of that caliber would make a stupid mistake like that?" Jiza clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Once again, it’s too obvious. She’s clearly provoking us, hoping we take the bait."

"What kind of bait?" Calam bit his cheek, ashamed of his naivety.