🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 44
“No matter how hard you try to use magic, you can’t even match a fraction of that prince’s power. You know that, don’t you?”
“Wow, isn’t that a little harsh?”
He’s been laying into me too much! With a sulky look, I snapped back. But Zen didn’t even blink. As if making excuses, I hurried to add,
“But Lady Meliz said when she sent me to the palace that the wards around it have been built up over a long time, so apostles wouldn’t be able to approach easily. That’s why she said it would be safe…”
“That was true—up until today. That old lady rarely makes mistakes, after all.”
“But earlier, bam! That creepy chill suddenly hit me!”
I flailed both arms in the air, trying to convey the suffocating dread I’d felt. Zen barely glanced at me, stuffing the cookies in front of him into his mouth with an indifferent expression. For all his nagging, he looked like his sugar levels had dropped.
“What kind of feeling?”
“You know—the feeling of apostles, dark magic, that kind of feeling.”
“Not just the color of magic you saw?”
“No, before that. That awfully bad vibe, don’t you know? Ugh, why are you acting like a trainee mage?”
Was he joking? But Zen looked genuinely clueless. He frowned and tilted his head as if he truly didn’t understand.
I recalled the sensation I’d felt the day before I left the Tower, when I first encountered dark magic: heavy, oppressive, gloomy, like the stench of iron… disgusting and unpleasant.
“There’s no way to confuse that feeling, okay? It was real!”
“Really?”
Then Zen’s eyes glimmered as if something had just clicked.
“Yes! If you had been there, you would’ve felt it too.”
“…Really?”
What’s with that half-hearted reaction?
Frustrated, I pounded my chest and tried again to describe that vivid memory. It wasn’t something you could mistake. Zen just blinked, lost in thought.
“Ah! I said it was real!”
Unable to hold it in, I slammed the table. Zen quickly raised his hand to calm me, his face unusually serious.
“I don’t doubt you. It’s just… something doesn’t add up.”
“Doesn’t add up?”
“Yeah. But it’s nothing major.”
Coming from someone like Zen, who always knew more than he let on, those words made my heart shrink. Things I didn’t understand kept happening, and it was making me uneasy.
“Then just tell me what you’re thinking! Don’t leave me hanging like this.”
“Normally, it’s hard to sense a mage’s magical traits before they actually cast a spell. Apostles, sure, they usually give themselves away, but…”
“Huh.”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you. But to recognize that presence even before the explosion happened, without seeing the caster—that’s not something even I can explain.”
I paused, trying to digest his explanation. So normally, it’s almost impossible to sense an apostle’s aura before they actually cast magic?
Seeing my confusion, Zen shrugged and changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ll check into that myself, so don’t worry about it. What matters is—who would’ve thought someone would directly cast long-range magic onto a mana stone like that?”
But I was worried… Still, he was right that the more pressing issue was the attack at the palace.
Casting magic on mana stones was common enough, but casting an explosion spell remotely through one? That required advanced skill and immense power. It had to be at least a high-level mage.
Perhaps even Deus, the leader of the apostles—or someone of similar caliber.
‘But surely the final boss wouldn’t show up this early at the palace… right?’
“One thing’s certain—the palace’s barrier system has been breached. Maybe someone inside deliberately shattered a portion of it.”
“The barrier…”
That part matched the original novel. Though I didn’t recall it being weakened enough that apostles could just stroll into the royal ball. Maybe in this version, things had already changed.
‘So far, the broad strokes of the story are intact, but there are way too many variables inside.’
I calmly recalled the original storyline: The Empress carefully chipped away at the barrier around the main hall for years, just to smuggle in an item imbued with dark magic.
The Ludentia Empire, since its founding, had a legacy of fighting against dark mages. Every year, they would reinforce their divine wards, layering protections based on Merdemia’s blessing.
That painstaking tradition made everyone confident apostles couldn’t easily break through.
‘And yet they wrecked something built up over centuries… what heritage-destroying vandals!’
Still, I knew the Empress couldn’t be openly accused. She had secretly used her father, Marquis Kaion, and disposable pawns to install a hidden magic circle that gradually corroded the barrier around the main hall.
Slowly, subtly. Since the yearly reinforcement hadn’t yet occurred, the breach went unnoticed. Even so, she likely never expected apostles themselves would stage a direct attack.
She had only prepared a cursed item carrying a target spell meant for Licht. That was the whole reason she weakened the barrier.
But the flow was already diverging. Relying on the original storyline alone could get me—or the people I cared about—killed.
‘That wasn’t a target spell. Everyone in the ballroom could have been hurt.’
Who knew what might happen next? I couldn’t even be sure Sephina would appear when she was supposed to.
“Right.”
And suddenly I remembered: I had planned to ask Zen for help finding Sephina. Since I didn’t know when he’d be back at the palace, I should probably bring it up now. Just then—
Bang!
The heavy doors flew open with a crash.
“Your Highness!”
Licht strode in, his crimson cape billowing. He must have run here, sweat gleaming on his smooth brow. For once, his movements were uncharacteristically rushed.
Lelia, whom I’d sent outside to give me space with Zen, hurried in after him, calling out to the prince.
“H-Huh? Your Highness?”
Startled, I searched Licht’s face. Earlier, he’d looked subdued, but now his whole being radiated intense energy.
“Already finished your audience with His Majesty…?”
I tried to speak, but Licht closed the distance, staring down into my face. He looked ready to cup my cheeks in both hands.
‘W-What the—!’
His blue eyes swept over me, as though examining every detail to make sure I was unharmed.
His sudden inspection froze me, Zen, and even Lelia in place.
“Your Highness?”
Unable to bear the tension, I prompted him again. At last, Licht responded—but completely off-topic.
“Why were you crying? Who dared make you weep?”
Right. I had forgotten—the puffiness around my eyes hadn’t gone down yet. Flustered, I raised a hand to cover them and backed away.
Lelia shouted to the maids outside for a cold cloth to soothe my eyes. In the meantime, Licht’s gaze shifted to Zen. His eyes were sharp enough to cut.
“What? Me?”
Zen, baffled, pointed to himself. Licht’s brows drew together, his expression openly hostile.
If only Zen were the type to calmly explain. But of course, he wasn’t. Instead, he met Licht’s glare with equal sharpness, locking eyes in a silent battle.
Apparently, Licht thought I’d been crying because of Zen. That was the only explanation for his sudden fury.
“No, no! It’s not because of Zen…!”
I frantically threw myself between them.
“Zen! Wait—please!!!”
Words failed me, so I tried to plead with my eyes.
‘That man is the prince of the Ludentia Empire. The prince! You know this!’
But my look didn’t reach him. Both men had already crossed the line. Their fighting spirit burned like knights heading into battle.
One was a high-level mage. The other, a magic-sword user. Even a short skirmish between them could destroy my chambers—or half the palace.
‘Are they out of their minds?! This is not the time!’
“Please, Your Highness, calm down…”
But I was drained from crying and worn out from Zen’s endless scolding. My body had little strength left. Still, I stretched my arms as wide as I could, trying to stop them.
Of course, my short frame barely reached their chests. Their locked gazes remained fixed far above me.
‘Unbelievable. Have they completely lost it?!’
