The Prince Of Magic

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There was a lot of details printed on the doc.u.ment, but the one thing that stood out to Hadrian was the photo located at the top and clipped on the paper to keep it in place.

The image was that of a man in his late 30's, who wears a blank expression on his face.

He has short blonde hair that was slicked back, a pair of cold, piercing blue eyes and he held himself with an air of severity, which was a trait that most first class magi often adopt. His features were well-regulated, and he can be seen wearing a suit and black gloves in the photo.

'One of the leaders of the Scladio family, an American mafia organization. Public persona is the CEO of an industrial waste. Suspected to be connected to the murders of over one hundred and twenty murder cases, including several mages, but evidence was always insufficient, which puts him under the surveillance of the Department of Justice Administration. Interesting…' He mused as he read.

Noticing the file he was reading, Edward spoke.

"That man in the picture is Bazdilot Cordelion." The Chief Director explained. "A dangerous Magus that we have seen to be lurking around in areas that were connected to the murder cases. Despite the lack of evidence towards him, Lord Schweinorg was more than aware of his involvement with the murders to convince the High Council to keep an eye on him, and he was right to do so."

"Has he been seen around the city? Here?" Hadrian's brows furrowed slightly.

"No, we received report that he was in Russia at this current time." Hugo answered.

"But we did saw some of his underlings lurking around here in this country. So, our suspicion is justified." Edward added. "The problem is someone else. Please read the next file."

Hadrian did as he was instructed, and his eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw the contents.

While there were some details written regarding the target, the main thing that caught his attention was the photo clipped on the top edge of the file.

The young heir looked up, turning to both Hugo and Edward.

"Couldn't you have gotten a better photo? All I see here is a silhouette." Hadrian said with a raised brow.

The two older magi chuckled dryly, as if not knowing whether to be amused or be upset at his words.

Based on what he was sensing, the emotion was not directed at Hadrian but something else instead, which was the only reason that Hadrian was not offended.

That did not stopped some of his retainers to look sharply at the two older magi though.

Charles, Rider, Dia and Arturia looked particularly observant as they seemed to glare at the two men, which they noticed immediately since Hugo and Edward seemed to sobered up and straighten up in their seats, coughing to break the slight tension.

"Believe it or not, young master, that's the best that we can get." Hugo reasoned with a sigh.

"Yes, unfortunately." Edward pitched in, looking weary as the other magus. "We tried to get a better quality, but…"

"But?" Charles prompted, who was standing behind Hadrian's right.

"The photographers all ended up dead, or they get the same capture as that one." Hugo finished with a grim smile.

"Really?" Astolfo asked, eyes wide in shock.

"Yes, really." Hugo said with a faint smile of amus.e.m.e.nt.

"The target was simply that good at hiding." Edward continued, looking weary as he leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "We also tried to a different route by having an inside man in their organization to get a closer look at the suspect, but in two days or a week, they either become MIA or we just find them dead in some corner of the world."

"We also tried to get more information through normal means, but as you can see, we came up empty, despite our resources." Hugo added.

"Hmm…" Hadrian hummed in thought, staring at the photo with a piercing expression.

Bright cyan eyes lowered to the printed contents below the image, reading the words silently.

'Name: unknown. Gender: unknown. Profile: unknown. Huh. The only thing noteworthy here is this person's relation to the Scladio family, and yet they were able to evade detection from the rest of the world, despite these guys' efforts. How suspicious. That's not normal, even by magus standards. Something is strange here…' He mused.

Hadrian thought about using the Moon Cell to find more information about the suspect, but decided to keep it as an option since he has a feeling that his grandfather might know something about it. He also cannot help but think back to what happened to him at the abandoned mansion.

'The pieces just keeps on coming together, yet the main part is still missing. I wonder…' Bright cyan eyes narrowed, piercing and thoughtful.

Hadrian shook his head, not just to snap himself out of his musings, but to also disregard the fleeting thought that came to his mind.

'Nothing is concrete yet. It's just an assumption. Possibility, but not yet actually confirmed. Better to set it aside for now.' Hadrian's lips pursed lightly.

He sighed before he looked up to Edward, who was patient and courteous enough to give him some time to think.

"Well, this is a matter that we'll have to deal with later on. I'll do what I can on my end to find out who this suspect really is." Hadrian announced, placing the folder on the table.

Hugo and Edward sighed in relief, looking as if the weight on their shoulders lightened up.

"That would be much appreciated, young master." Edward smiled.

"Yes." Hugo nodded, smiling. "Given how much effort and sacrifices was put into this matter, your help is welcome here."

"Hmm, I simply gave you my word since this matter does concerned the Spider. I have yet to actually make an effort to help you guys." Hadrian waved off their words, feeling a bit uncomfortable by their high expectations of him.

"Nonetheless, young master, your presence here alone is reassuring enough for us." Hugo insisted.

"Indeed." Edward took over. "As surprising as this sounds coming from us, we are not that powerful enough to contend with people like the Scladio family. We are already stressed out and occupied enough with watching over the Spider's status, but to also deal with the suspects' movements at the same time."

Without saying anything more, Edward shook his head tiredly with a sigh.

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