In one corner of the room, thirty or so skeletons were piled up.
They carried the energy of the dead in order of their deaths.
The white skeletons of those who died recently had relatively strong lingering thoughts, while those who died long ago, now yellowish-brown, had almost no lingering thoughts left.
However, there was one that deviated from this pattern.
It possessed stronger lingering thoughts than all the other skulls combined.
I used psychokinesis to separate that skeleton and place it in front of me.
“What are you going to do with that?”
Fabre asked with bright, curious eyes.
I met his gaze and said,
“In seven days, a powerful mage is coming to this mansion. He’s coming to kill me. I might die soon, and that’s why I need your help, Fabre.”
Fabre’s eyes widened slightly.
I continued,
“If you help me, I can make sure you learn magic properly…”
Fabre suddenly cut me off.
“No. Ran the mage, please become my master.”
I tilted my head. Fabre had previously said he didn’t want a master.
“Didn’t you just ask to be friends when I mentioned it before?”
Fabre answered softly.
“Back then, Ran the mage wasn’t that great.”
“And now?”
“You’re not great.”
“Then?”
“But if you survive this crisis, you’ll surely become great. I have a feeling. Then you won’t be lacking as my master.”
Truly a mage’s way of thinking.
I smiled faintly.
“Alright. If I survive this crisis. I’ll take you as my disciple. Although I’m not sure if I can guide you properly.”
Contrary to my words, I spoke with confidence, and Fabre smiled slightly.
“How can I help you?”
“For now, this is my plan. Based on what Butler Clark told me, we’ll utilize all the defensive magic in this house…”
I slowly and thoroughly explained my plan.
After quietly listening to everything I said, Fabre spoke softly.
“Then these guys can help too.”
As he glanced back, over 500 different types of beetles emerged from the collection and lined up behind him.
“What kind of guys are they?”
Fabre opened his left hand, and there was another beetle in it.
“It’s called a bombardier beetle. It’s one of the beetles with a unique attack.”
I glanced at the beetle in his left hand along with the 500 or so beetles behind him.
“They all look different?”
“There are about 500 species of bombardier beetles alone.”
I remembered him saying before that there were 350,000 species of beetles.
Seeing it like this, beetles could indeed become a form of magic.
“Good. If we can make use of them, we’ll have an even better plan to deal with Merlin.”
Fabre grinned and lowered his hand.
Then he glanced at the skeleton behind me and asked,
“By the way, what kind of magic does Ran the Mage use?”
I couldn’t answer readily.
According to Master Avana’s words, death magic should be the most secret.
He might have already guessed from the moment I asked for the skeleton.
“You don’t have to tell me if it’s difficult.”
Fabre lowered his head slightly, trying to hide his expression, but his disappointment was clear.
I patted his head, met his eyes, and said,
“Since you’ll be my disciple, I’ll tell you. This magic is death magic, Fabre.”
Fabre’s eyes widened as he looked up at me.
“Death magic?”
“This is a powerful magic that’s taboo in the magical world. It must be kept absolutely secret.”
“So that’s why it was hard for you to tell me.”
He seemed to have been considerate in his own way.
I spoke gently.
“Without your help, I can’t survive, and even if I do survive, you’ll be my disciple, so I don’t want to hide it from you.”
Fabre was silent.
Then he nodded firmly and said,
“I’ll prepare thoroughly, Master. So that you can survive.”
To think he’d suddenly call me Master when he wouldn’t even call me senior before.
I was overcome by a strange feeling.
“Alright, thank you.”
Fabre even clenched both his fists to show his determination.
After that, I put the skeleton inside my robe and left Fabre’s room.
Before I even made it out of the room, Fabre was already communicating with his beetles, beginning the preparations for the next seven days.
Fabre’s door closed, and I stood in the hallway.
Thud.
I took a step forward to carry out my next plan.
Dorma said the magic book wasn’t complete yet.
For that, I needed a jewel of the same material.
And Priest Hansis had given that jewel to Princess Elisabeth.
Now it was time to meet her.
I asked a passing maid,
“Has Princess Elisabeth returned to the mansion?”
“Yes. I believe she’s on the first-floor terrace now.”
I headed straight for the terrace.
But there was no one on the first-floor terrace.
Looking at the sky, I realized it was already late at night.
She must have already returned to her room.
Should I wait until tomorrow?
At that moment, I noticed the fountain in the distance.
I walked past the empty terrace towards the fountain.
And as I calmly gazed at it, I fell into contemplation.
When dealing with fire, the amount of water isn’t important. Even last time when I mobilized all the river water, I couldn’t extinguish Merlin’s familiar’s fire. It seemed that unless it was the sea, water didn’t hold much magical significance.
In that case, increasing the quality of the water was the better approach. And the method for that is to endlessly infuse my magical power to make it my water.
After repeating this process for over a hundred years, Master Avana had been able to extinguish even the flames of a phoenix.
Of course, I only had seven days.
This fountain was probably built along with the mansion.
Apart from aesthetics, its purpose is clear.
It’s the first water resource to be used in case of a fire.
Considering its purpose of extinguishing fires in the mansion, the magical significance of this water is great.
“I need to make a deal. With the will residing in this fountain.”
I spread both hands towards the water’s surface.
“Really, don’t you even know I’m here?”
A sudden voice from behind.
I turned my head to look back.
Just a few steps behind me was Princess Elisabeth.
“Are there fish in there? What had you so focused?”
“Ah, I was just thinking about a few things.”
The princess gave me a brief glance before turning and walking over to the chairs and table.
“I can’t sleep. Come over here and keep me company.”
I couldn’t use magic in front of her.
I followed her and sat down across from her.
“What’s troubling you?”
“Well, what reason is there for sleeplessness? I’m just worried about whether I made the right choice.”
“Choice?”
“Yeah. Choosing Count Furst. I’ve never made such an overt move before.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Choosing Count Furst is considered an overt move?”
“He destroyed the Crown Prince’s ship, didn’t he? Thanks to that, the Crown Prince, who was trying to make a fortune and gain power through his New Continent business, is in a miserable state.”
If she joined hands with such a count, it’s tantamount to a declaration of war.
“It’s going to be tough for you from now on.”
“Yes. That’s why my head feels heavy.”
In the meantime, maids had prepared refreshments. It seemed the princess had requested them in advance.
I looked at the refreshments and took a bite.
As expected, it wasn’t good.
“It doesn’t taste good, right? As a mage, this level can’t be delicious.”
The expanded senses due to magic have a big impact on taste.
Cheap sweetness disguised as good taste tasted as bitter as medicine.
The princess made the comment nonchalantly and then picked up a piece herself, smiling as if it were delicious.
Is she trying to hide being a mage with every little thing like this?
I asked,
“You seem to know a lot about mages?”
The princess smiled slightly and said,
“I’m close to one. Well, he gave up magic, though. Oh, you know him too. Priest Hansis. I met him earlier today.”
How convenient of her to bring it up.
I said calmly,
“Is that so? I’ve met him once too. I didn’t know you were close to him.”
“It’s rare for a priest who serves a god to learn magic, so it’s unusual, right?”
“Well, yes. Magic is often seen as defying the natural order created by the gods.”
“Well. That might be part of it, but he said something different.”
“What did he say?”
Princess Elisabeth just smiled and ate another biscuit without answering.
Soon, she took out a transparent jewel from her pocket.
“Here, this. I heard you asked Priest Hansis for it? He said to give it to you since I’m staying here.”
The moment I saw that jewel, I instinctively knew.
It was the same material used to create my magic book.
It was twice as big as what Dorma had. With that much, I could probably even make a staff.
“Huh, seeing your eyes light up, it must be quite a treasure. Though I don’t really understand.”
I looked at her.
“I didn’t think you’d really bring it. It must be very precious?”
“It is. It’s one of the treasures of the Franche royal family. Actually, I brought it personally at Priest Hansis’s request.”
“You personally brought a royal treasure? Your relationship with Priest Hansis must be quite deep.”
“Yes, we’re lovers.”
I couldn’t help but cough as I choked for a moment.
“W-what? Really? A priest and you? H-how?”
“I’m joking, of course. Did you really believe that?”
“……”
She crossed her arms and said,
“Anyway, Priest Hansis said that if you receive this, you should work for Duke Balkan from now on. He told me to make sure you say it with your own mouth.”
I was overcome with a strange feeling.
Because of this, I raised my head and looked at the night sky.
Countless stars.
Behind them, in the deep darkness, it felt like someone was watching me.
An enormous red eye, big enough to swallow the world.
—
“A high level means having greater influence. The things I want to happen will happen more often, and the things I don’t like will happen less. In simple terms, you could say your luck improves.”
“It’s best for you two to stay together, away from me.”
—
I lowered my head again and looked at the princess.
“Tell him I’ll work for Duke Balkan.”
The princess smiled slightly and said,
“Ah, and I’m leaving right away. Tomorrow morning.”
“Didn’t you say you’d stay for three days?”
“There’s nothing more to do. I finished the contract yesterday, and I’ve met everyone I needed to meet today. And tomorrow is technically the third day, strictly speaking.”
“It’s a shame you’re leaving like this.”
“I know. I’m too disappointed. That’s why I wanted to tell you something today.”
“What is it?”
“Now that you’ve become a mage, you’ll gain powerful abilities in the future. Especially if you work under Duke Balkan. I wonder if you might try to take revenge for your family.”
Is she testing me?
When I didn’t say anything, the princess leaned forward slightly and continued,
“When the time comes, I’ll help you with your revenge. I’ll personally deliver my father and his subordinate nobles who exterminated your family to you. If you kill them all, it will be much easier for me to seize the throne.”
I crossed my arms.
“Is that why you told me all the secrets of my family?”
“Yes. I wanted to let you know that you and I are on the same side. That we can help each other for our respective goals.”
In other words, she’s suggesting we kill the King of Franche together.
The princess was too young at the time to have been involved in the extermination of the Prejean family. Therefore, there’s no reason not to join hands with her.
But I must be cautious.
The princess is not a trustworthy person yet.
The fact that she’s hiding her identity as a mage, and that she used mind magic on me, leaves no room for trust.
I finished my thoughts and said softly,
“I’m sorry, but I don’t particularly want to take revenge for that incident.”
“Why?”
“It would be hard for an ordinary person to understand. As you learn magic, you tend to become detached from worldly affairs.”
Princess Elisabeth stared at me intently, and I didn’t avoid her gaze.
She soon got up from her seat.
“You’re less interesting than I thought. I’m getting sleepy. I’ll head in now.”
“Sleep well. Ah, please make sure to relay the message to Priest Hansis.”
She waved her hand with her back turned, then suddenly stopped and turned her head to say,
“By the way, about that ring. Is it really your mother’s keepsake?”
“Of course not. How could I have kept something so expensive-looking after becoming a slave at such a young age?”
Princess Elisabeth’s eyes wavered for a moment.
“Right? Yes. That didn’t make sense.”
I grinned.
“This is a wedding ring. I’m married, you see.”
The princess’s expression became puzzled for a moment. Then she soon smiled as before and said,
“I see. So that’s why…”
She chuckled once more and quickly left the terrace.
I stood there for a while, and after confirming that her presence had completely disappeared, I walked to the fountain.
“Alright. Let’s get started then.”
I looked at the water’s surface and recalled the water magic spell.
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