° m i t s u °

Okay, so some of you may know where this is already going, some of you may not. This is just an idea I had while rereading the manga and to me it makes sense(?) but take everything I say with a grain of salt.

The theory itself regards Qifrey, and specifically the theory that he is actually an Ezrest.

My reasoning involves the following:

In chapter 53, Eoleo has a slip of tongue when speaking to his father, revealing that it is an experiment being conducted rather than a medical procedure. It is even implied that there have perhaps been many (failed) experiments already. He then slips up again, nearly saying that power of magic should be in their grasp specifically.

It should also be noted that on the same page, the scene switches to a panel of Qifrey speaking.

In chapter 87, Lestisse makes an appearance and asks Innia "Do you have the seeds?" Shortly after, Innia hands Lestisse a container presumably holding silverwood seeds.

In the Silver Eve arc, one of Innia's goals was to have an audience with King Deanreldy Ezrest. It can be assumed that it was Innia's mission to deliver the seeds to the King. Why would the King need those? For the ongoing experiments of course.

There are also smaller things. The symbol of the royal family resembles an eye, which is heavily associated with either Iguin (plus brimmed hats in general) or Qifrey. At the end of Silver Eve arc, Eoleo wears a cape strikingly similar to Iguin's cape (who might as well be an Ezrest too but that's a theory for another day). Undeniably, there is some kind of connection between the Ezrests and the brimmed hats.

Another fun detail that I noticed is that all the historical characters Qifrey parallels, the Silver Tree Maiden from the poem (chapter 47) and an unnamed monarch with the witch from the Days of Yore (chapter 39), all wear crowns of some kind.

I think before the failed experiments, Qifrey could've looked like this:

So let's reiterate: I think the Ezrests have cooperated in the same experiments with the brimmed hats in the past. The result is what the Ezrests themselves wanted to have in their own hands, something greater than just the knowledge of magic; It would be far more powerful. This desire could've lead them to participate as the experiments themselves (specifically Qifrey). This failed in a way that hasn't been made clear yet.