Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part Two]

CHAPTER 227: Eleonore Winterhart

Eleonore's gaze drifted lazily toward the balcony where the clouds rolled like slow waves across the sky. "I wondered which of the two would knock first," she said.

Daisuke raised an eyebrow.

"I've been expecting one of you," her voice chimed again, unhurried, the kind that didn't seek to impress—but to instruct. "It was always going to be you, Princess Lumielle. I doubt Prince Reneal would ever consider coming to me for help."

The princess stepped forward. "Why didn't you take the initiative to help us?" she asked. "The kingdom is under siege. My family is being destroyed from the inside."

The archmage's response came slowly as though she weighed each word before giving it permission to exist. "Because action without clarity creates more chaos than stillness ever could. I've taken a neutral stance not out of indifference, but because the circumstances demand restraint.

There is no verifiable proof that your father has been tampered with. No request for aid. No decree from the throne. The official story remains unchanged—the king's condition is the result of grief, not conspiracy."

Lyndoria folded her arms tightly, her expression soured.

Lumielle pressed further. "But you know that's not true. You have to."

Eleonore's eyes shifted briefly to Zephyr, then settled on Daisuke. The air grew heavier as she peered into the golden light stirring in his eyes.

"You possess the sight, don't you?" she murmured, intrigued. "Eyes that chase lies into corners and smoke from mirrors."

Daisuke returned her gaze evenly. "You're not lying. But you're not being entirely honest either. There's more you're not saying."

Again, the archmage didn't respond immediately. Her fingers, like the bony roots of an old tree, turned a page in the massive tome before her. Then, with eyes still fixed on the script, she replied, "You're more perceptive than I anticipated. Then I won't waste your time with half-truths."

She turned, resting her hands on the edge of the table, her gaze distant. "This tower is more than stone and knowledge. It is leverage. It is danger. And it is temptation. If I involved myself openly—if I took a side—I would be risking not only the tower's integrity but the safety of everyone who relies on its neutrality.

In a war between nations where enemies march under banners, the lines are clear. But what we face now is something else. The danger is internal. Quiet. Difficult to name and harder to expose."

Lumielle's brow furrowed. "I still don't understand."

Eleonore nodded. "Most don't. But you must try. In times like these, truth alone is insufficient. The world doesn't bend for the truth. It bends for perception. You may find the evidence, the proof, the logic—but if public sentiment doesn't align with it, it will be discarded. People trust what they feel, not what they are told. And right now, those in control have mastered the art of shaping what others feel."

She looked to Lumielle again. "You're not taken seriously. Prince Reneal lacks heart and conviction. And the king is in no condition to speak for himself. In that vacuum, the false narrative becomes the prevailing one."

"But if we exposed them—" Lumielle began.

"It wouldn't matter," Eleonore interrupted softly. "If I stepped in, they would paint me as a threat. They would stir fear in the hearts of the people, twist my silence into guilt, and seize the tower while the people cheered them on. That is the trap. They are not trying to defeat me—they are trying to provoke me. If I respond, they win. And if I do nothing, they assume I've surrendered. But what I've chosen... is to wait. And to prepare."

Daisuke frowned. "So, you've left it to us."

"Yes," she said simply. "I'm leaving the next move to those who can still move freely. I can't act directly, not without consequences I can't control. But I can offer some guidance."

She turned back to the shelf behind her, removed a grimoire, and handed it to Lumielle.

"There's an information broker in the city. She's elusive, but she's there for the next few days. Take this. She'll trade information for it. Not gold, not favors. Just this."

Lumielle looked down at the worn leather tome in her hands. "Why help at all, then?"

Eleonore's expression remained unchanged. "Because knowledge is meant to be shared. And because silence, though necessary, must eventually give way to understanding. But I can't let that understanding be traced back here. If this tower becomes a battlefield and falls into enemy hands, we all lose."

She closed the heavy tome on her desk with a measured exhale. "This kingdom is unraveling because too many assumed the truth would defend itself. But it won't. It never has. It has to be fought for, built up piece by piece, and held with conviction. That task falls to you now. You have to salvage the damage your father has burdened us with."

"So that's it?" Daisuke asked.

"For now," Eleonore replied. "You'll have no more answers here. Only questions that might serve you elsewhere. Use them wisely. I wish you all the clarity you'll need. You're going to need it."

Then with a snap of her fingers, they were gone.