Chapter 39 (2/2)
“What’s wrong with your face, Sharl?” The beautiful jade-green-haired princess asked. While enjoying tea on the balcony, she smiled at Charlotte.
“… Princess.”
“You shouldn’t be so worried. I also know about the situation~ if my eldest brother loses, his subjects will try to use me, right? If my second brother loses, then his subjects will do the same.”
Maho had unique brothers.
One was second in line to the throne, and the other was third in line to the Reok Kingdom.
When they first came to study in the empire, they were fifth in line to the succession of the throne, but they fought and rose to their current positions.
“You’d rather fight the two to the death instead of letting that happen. That’s what you’re thinking, right? I know~”
Unlike the empire, which the emperor’s successor would easily inherit, the Reok Kingdom was forged with blood and iron.
Close to being a hostage in her own country, she volunteered to study abroad. The truth was that the empire was the safest place for her.
But now that the emperor was dead, she could no longer stay in this foreign land. Right now, Sophien also didn’t want a hostage in disguise.
Therefore, she had to go back home immediately after showing her face at the enthronement.
“The principality’s response to the letter that you sent them has arrived,” Charlotte replied.
To Maho, her hometown was her limbs. Charlotte intended to entrust her to them, considering she was almost killed when she went to the Reok Kingdom.
“Really? What did my grandfather say?”
“It’s possible, of course—”
“They permitted it?!”
“Naturally.”
However, they would inevitably be attacked on the way.
They obviously couldn’t bring soldiers to the empire’s land. However, at the border, a large number of knights would probably be waiting for them.
“Then, you can think of this as a trip~ that’s great~”
Maho smiled brightly, to which Charlotte replied with a smile of her own, one far more bitter.
“I’m looking for as many escorts as possible. I’m thinking about calling knights, adventures, and, of course, wizards from the tower.”
“But we don’t have money.”
“Don’t worry.”
The princess only had three escort knights, but a large sum of money was prepared for days like this.
“Hmm…”
She rummaged through her drawers.
“I have a little bit of money too! I saved up my allowance, and I also have a lot of jewels—”
“No. It’s fine.”
“How so? Don’t we need a lot of money for this trip to be perfect?”
“…”
She was right.
“Take it.” Maho gave her entire fortune that she had saved up to Charlotte, who remained speechless. Not long after, she left the room with the money in her pocket.
“Kuggghhhh…”
Her tears fell as soon as she closed the door. Walking down the hallway, she looked out the window. The freshness of summer was spreading throughout the whole world.
“It’s already summer, but the Kingdom is in an endless winter…” Charlotte exited the building and walked out of the palace.
“Will there even be adventurers good enough to protect her?”
If she combined Maho’s and her entire fortune, the total would reach about 10 million Elnes, which was enough to hire adventurers to be Maho’s escorts.
She mentioned the knights and the tower to reassure the princess, but the knights wouldn’t involve themselves in political affairs.
The tower… was painful to speak of.
While she was walking and thinking to herself, she saw someone she had seen at the Imperial University.
Deculein, the Head of the Yukline Family.
He came to pay his respects to the deceased emperor four days ago.
Of course, the Heads of the families weren’t allowed to go near the wooden coffin where the emperor was enshrined.
Only the empress and Sophien, the first in line to the throne, could stand beside it. Regardless, the eulogies were courteous; it was the Family Heads’ moral duty. Even if they couldn’t see him, they had to at least cope with it to show their ‘loyalty’ to the throne.
“… It’s been a while.”
Charlotte just wanted to get past him quietly, but Deculein called out to her. She looked at him with slight discomfort.
Deculein, who looked welcoming for some reason, muttered. “You look the same as before.”
“… The same as before? You mean during college?”
“Ah, that’s right. There was such a connection between us.” Deculein nodded.
Charlotte smirked, the edges of her lips curving upward. “The same goes for you. People are gossiping these days about the difficult exam questions that you gave out.”
“That’s half right. It was praised, not gossiped about.”
“What?”
“I made 40 million Elnes out of it.”
“…” Her eyes widened with envy.
He continued in a calm tone. “Are you going to return to the Reok Kingdom with the princess now?”
“…”
“Or the Principality of Yuren?”
At that moment, her forehead scrunched.
‘Are you mocking the princess’s circumstances?’
She answered with her teeth clenched. “We haven’t met in a long time, and today is supposed to be spent grieving, so it would be best if you avoid uttering such harsh words.”
“Take this.” He took a small bead, a crystal marble that allowed communication, from his pocket, but Charlotte didn’t take it.
“… What is it?”
“A line that you can speak to your siblings with.”
“What?”
She was suspicious of it, of course. He looked down at her indifferently. “Charlotte, how close were we?”
“We weren’t close enough for you to call me by my name, at the very least.”
“I also have animosity towards Reok.” Those were the only words Deculein said, knowing full well that she wouldn’t believe him if he were to tell her he had seen the future and that he had known her through a monitor.
In the first place, in the game’s settings, Reok wasn’t a great country. On the contrary, it was beyond help.
“It’s just a matter of time before they screw themselves over.”
“Get lost.”
Deculein’s eyebrows furrowed as he dropped the crystal ball carelessly.
“… Do you still have time to be picky about people? Or, at the very least, do you really have the luxury to nitpick about people who’ll be protecting your lord?”
The bead rolled over the ground.
“Well, proceed as you please, then.” Deculein passed Charlotte.
The princess’s knight didn’t even look at his back. Regardless, he walked more confidently than anyone else in the world before stopping abruptly, his eyes looking at it.
The crystal ball rolling on the ground.
*****
That was how I met Charlotte.
There was a way to save her whether or not she used the crystal ball, but the opportunity would present itself only after the enthronement anyway.
Hence, right now, I had to focus on a far more pressing matter.
“Huu— huu— huu—”
Allen, who was next to me in the Isle of Wizards’ Wealth’s waiting room for lecturers, took deep and nervous breaths.
His behavior dumbfounded me. Allen wouldn’t be the one giving the lecture.
“Why are you nervous?”
“W-what? Ah… I’m sorry, I—”
Knock knock—
The door opened. A wizard wearing a robe entered the room and addressed me.
“Please finalize your preparations for your lecture, Professor Deculein.”
“Okay.”
I fixed my clothes and got up from my seat.
At the Megiseon’s second floor, I stood in front of the lecture room’s door as instructed by the wizard who fetched me. I read the plate that was attached to it.
[Monarch-ranked Deculein: Lecture on Understanding Pure Elemental Magic (Test Paper Included)]
“I-I-I’ll be waiting in the back. If there’s a problem, feel free to call me at any time.” Allen stuttered, his face reddening even further.
I replied with a nod and opened the door. Stepping up to the podium, I looked at every face that attended my lecture.
Strangely, there were a lot of familiar faces.
I saw Professor Relin and the other professors, as well as Sylvia and her fellow debutantes. There were a lot of people from the tower.
But the person who caught my eye the most was the one staring intently at me while laughing ominously for reasons I couldn’t even begin to guess.
The chairman.
I got on the platform without even looking at her.
“Nice to meet you.”