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CHAPTER 35
It was Carmen who greeted me and the Imperial Knights at the entrance of the Dark Forest.
Pityingly, he looked at us with a pale face, his clothes and hair in complete disarray.
It seemed he had barely escaped the Tower Master’s wrath.
“…Princess Lirien, First Princess.”
As Carmen called my name with a stiff face, the knights looked at him with cold eyes.
I responded with a bright smile.
“You came out to greet me? How thoughtful of you.”
“…Yes. The Tower Master said they would escort you to the entrance of the forest.”
“Then, I assume Mage Carmen will guide us to the Tower?”
“Yes, as you can see.”
“Then we’ll have to dismiss the knights.”
At that, a man who appeared to be the leader of the Imperial Knights stepped forward and said,
“His Highness, Prince Dmitri, sent a message.”
“A message?”
“Yes.”
He straightened up, his expression hardening, and looked at Carmen.
“If anything threatens the safety of the First Princess, we are to remain by her side and assist her until she returns to the Imperial Palace.”
Carmen and I looked at him, and Carmen’s face crumpled in an instant. He spat back in a low voice,
“Did you not receive the Tower Master’s letter? She limited the Princess’s escort to one person.”
“We’re fully aware. We know storming the Tower with an entire battalion of knights would only unsettle the citizens of Kosaren.”
“Then kindly leave. There’s no need to provoke the Tower Master unnecessarily.”
“Have you all lost your hearing, like the madmen you are? I clearly said I’m here under Prince Dmitri’s orders. Look.”
The knight gestured toward me, drenched and muddy, and knelt to show my injured ankle and scratches.
“If you’re telling me to ignore an injury to a royal, you’re insulting the entire Imperial Family.”
“…”
“As loyal subjects, we cannot leave the Princess in such a state.”
…I was a bit bewildered.
‘Why are they acting like this all of a sudden…?’
They were carrying baskets of herbs that needed to be rushed back to the palace immediately.
Herbs from the Dark Forest are sensitive to light—hence the name—and deteriorate quickly under strong illumination. Besides, these knights had no reason to concern themselves with me.
“Deliver this message to Adix Rodburigo, Tower Master: dead or alive, we’ll be staying in the Tower.”
“…”
“And if your leader is ever injured, feel free to abandon him like you’re suggesting we do.”
“…”
“But we won’t stoop to such lowly behavior.”
“…”
“We’re really going in?”
“…Follow me.”
Backing down now would mean acknowledging that the mages of Rodburigo, proud to be the “heart of magic,” were just a disorganized mob in their leader’s absence.
Knowing that, Carmen turned his back and activated a teleportation spell. Instantly, the magic circle enveloped me and what looked to be thirty knights.
Carmen transported us to the very top of the Tower—specifically, to Adix Rodburigo’s office, where he had likely been observing everything through magical surveillance.
And what we saw there was…
“Huh? You’re not seriously calling this bet off just because you lost, are you~? Oh mighty Tower Master~!”
“Aren’t you supposed to be an Imperial Knight Captain? What’s with that vulgar tone?”
“Oh? Picking on my tone now? Well, I am a noble by birth, but you know the rumors. I grew up rough, hustling guys in alleys.”
There was Cecil, doing her best thug impression.
More precisely, she was playing the role of a lackey teasing the one who looked like the captain.
“Tsk tsk, shame on you. Just admit it—you’re calling it off because you lost to a ten-year-old girl?”
“Ha… Me? Bitter? You think I, Adix Rodburigo, am so petty as to nullify a bet because I’m sore about losing?!”
You definitely look like it.
“Ah~ Judging from how worked up you are, I must’ve hit the mark. Oh? Raising your fist? If you punch me now, you’re admitting I’m right.”
As Adix raised his hand, Cecil hit him right where it hurt—his pride.
Adix, whose pride was everything, lowered his fist and ground his teeth.
“Ha… Who here is being the fool? The bet wasn’t fair. The Princess had help—from the Imperial Family!”
At Adix’s thunderous roar, Cecil tilted her head, eyes wide.
“The restriction said ‘Cecil Blonmind’ couldn’t enter the forest, remember?”
“…!”
“The condition only applied to me. And they weren’t from the Imperial Family, Tower Master.”
Cecil turned back into her usual self when she spotted me and gave a polite bow.
She glanced at the baskets of herbs held by the knights and sneered.
“They were here to gather herbs. The ones who helped were from the House of Elliott.”
“You—!”
“You said Cecil and the Imperial Family couldn’t interfere. But you never mentioned the Dukes.”
…Cecil.
That snark deserves a round of applause.
Honestly, I wanted to applaud her whole “weakest thug in the gang” act, but—
“Turn it all over!”
The Tower Master’s furious outburst forced me to duck for cover first.
“Damn it—!”
Bang!
With a shout, Adix slammed the desk again and again. The collapsing furniture and scattered papers mirrored his crumbling pride, making him even angrier.
Carmen watched nervously, inwardly trembling, unsure when a stray spell might fly his way.
“Damn it, to think Elliott’s young Duke would be involved…!”
“He said he owed the Princess a favor and rallied his private army to the forest.”
“But how did he get here so fast? And what made the Duke and Duchess help a discarded Princess in the first place?”
“That…”
Even Carmen didn’t know.
Beyond the Kosaren region, this nation had practically cut off all contact with outsiders. How could Carmen possibly understand the Princess’s hidden connections?
The real reason Elliott’s forces arrived so quickly was because a part of his territory bordered Kosaren.
“Reports say his Bezek territory is adjacent to Kosaren. There’s a gate there. He probably used that to cross over.”
“Damn. No wonder we detected gate usage from Bezek two days ago… I didn’t think it was him…”
Adix frowned deeply and massaged his temples.
‘At this rate, I might really have to hand over the mana substitute business to the Princess…’
He’d already been forced to back off due to Dorak Taksiden’s treason.
Even Rodburigo’s mages couldn’t compete with Estie’s court mages when it came to mana substitutes.
‘But the reason I couldn’t give up…’
He’d hoped that through theoretical study rather than brute force, Rodburigo might be able to recreate that thing.
He never planned to hand it over in the first place.
‘Even if it’s just an orichalcum alternative, if we could restructure the magical molecules—!’
Just then—
“Hello, Tower Master.”
“Tower Master!”
Lirien stepped into the top of the tower with Asta beside her. Adix’s eyes snapped toward Asta clinging close to the Princess.
Asta smiled at Lirien and shuffled over to hug Adix’s shin.
Adix, trying to suppress his fury, spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why are you here with the Princess? Only you, me, and that child are allowed in this space.”
“But the Princess helped Asta a lot. She said it might be the last time, and she wanted to see you.”
“Even so—!”
Adix slammed the already broken desk again. Wood splintered and cracked beneath his hand.
Asta blinked at him.
Seeing Adix’s blazing eyes, Asta scowled.
“Why are you angry?”
“Because…!”
“You’re acting like a kid.”
“Urk…”
Carmen sucked in a breath.
Asta glared up at Adix, hands on her hips.
“If you take it out on the Princess, I’ll scold you.”
“Asta, I—”
“She’s Jay’s friend. So she’s precious to me too.”
“…Jay?”
Jay, Jay, Jay.
Only one person Asta would call that.
Jayster Asa Rodburigo.
The only connection between me and Artessa—my child.
Adix turned toward me with a demonic expression.
“How dare you bear that woman’s child—!”
His voice was chilling, but I smiled brightly. I stepped between him and Asta and said,
“Artessa’s heart.”
“I told you not to say her name—!”
“Sick of this bet, aren’t you?”
I cut him off and continued.
“It’ll be the first and last time. Let’s speak respectfully, as Tower Master of Rodburigo and Princess of Estie.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You’ve been looking for her heart, haven’t you? I know where it is.”
“If you spout nonsense, I’ll cut off your—!”
Adix began to cast a spell, but Asta kicked his shin and shouted,
“I’m disappointed! Tower Master!”
“Gah—! Asta!”
Adix looked at her in disbelief. Asta hugged me tightly and declared,
“Jayster’s precious friend, so I protect her.”
With Asta clinging like a leech, Adix couldn’t cast anything. He bit his lip.
At that moment, I took something from my pocket.
A stone, the size of a child’s palm.
Turquoise in color, it seemed ordinary—but the ‘wave’ emanating from it made Adix’s eyes widen in shock.
“You—how did you get that…?”
“It’s genuine, right? We should thank the young Duke.”
“How dare you…!”
As Adix lunged, I dodged and said,
“So, do you want to make a deal? Or not, Tower Master?”
Watching me feign a polite bow, Adix thought:
‘What a sly little brat!’
I found Artessa’s heart by sheer luck.
When Jayster was sold into slavery, the village he passed through was in a war zone, full of casualties.
One of the tribe leaders saw the turquoise stone in Jayster’s hand and snatched it to offer to his deity.
Jayster had passed out and didn’t remember any of it.
But I knew who owned the Petinel village.
Rihardt.
Plagued by rebellious tribes, I helped him once, and he repaid that debt by recovering the stone and giving it to me.
That’s how I got Artessa’s heart.
What remains…
“You must’ve stolen it. That heart.”
Adix, ever the paranoid maniac.
I glanced at Asta, who glared at the Tower Master so hard that Adix coughed awkwardly.
“…There are doubts, but I’ll trust you.”
“Good.”
“So you’re using her heart to demand the business rights.”
“To be precise, all authority.”
“Take it.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You didn’t hear me? Take it. I don’t need it anymore.”
“…You’re oddly cooperative.”
The moment I showed him the heart, I noticed Adix’s interest in the mana substitute business fading.
At first, I thought it was my imagination—but no, he really had lost interest.
I eyed him and Carmen suspiciously. Carmen averted his eyes with an awkward smile.
‘Something’s up.’
But that wasn’t my concern.
I had to take the rights and return to the palace.
Though this was supposed to be quick, it dragged on longer than expected.
Clenching my hidden fist under the desk, I said,
“Then hand over the transfer documents and all your research data.”
“You seem desperate. That’s not like you.”
“I’m out of time. Don’t you want the heart back soon too?”
Adix clicked his tongue and gestured to Carmen.
As if waiting for the cue, Carmen summoned documents and data taller than I was.
He laid them in front of me, obscuring Adix’s face.
“How will you explain this to the Emperor?”
“…You knew?”
That this wasn’t mana stone replacement, but orichalcum?
My eyes widened. From beyond the papers, Adix said in a curious voice,
“Judging by your reaction, you knew too.”
Yes, I knew it was orichalcum.
I winced. Just as I was about to bite my lip, something flew over the documents.
I caught it quickly and looked down at it, confused.
“Go show it to them. This is my final acknowledgment.”
It was a mineral—seemingly the orichalcum substitute
