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Chapter 06 — I Woke Up the Sleeping Prince of the Magic Tower?
Is it the same in every world, that it’s hard to get up in the morning? Today again, I barely managed to drag myself out of the tiny bed, and pulled out my toothbrush and toiletries from the drawer beside it.
‘What a dirty world. Junior mages don’t even get a private bathroom!’
Intermediate mages and above can have private rooms and even private research labs, but such luxuries were impossible for a junior mage.
The one saving grace was that I was the only junior mage in this Magic Tower.
Thanks to that, I could use the small washroom all by myself. It was practically my own private one!
“Right, no matter where you go, the important thing is a victory of the mind!”
The tears flowing right now are definitely not tears……
I pressed my puffy cheeks, swollen from a good night’s sleep, and stood before the mirror.
Even though it was a face I saw every morning and evening, I still wasn’t quite used to it—Ethel, now my reflection, was looking back at me.
A small girl with bright silver hair flowing down to her waist was gazing into the mirror. Her lavender-like, soft light purple eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Honestly, isn’t this incredibly cute and charming for an extra?”
Right? No matter how I thought about it, it seemed that way.
“Hehe.”
Feeling satisfied with my self-question and answer, I cheerfully spun around once.
It wasn’t for nothing; Ethel was truly an adorable child. Not just her personality, but her appearance too. It was baffling that she had been described as a faint impression of an extra in the original novel.
“Of course, the male lead’s visuals are on another level, though.”
Well, I’m grateful for that. Stopping my observation, I pulled out my toothbrush and toothpaste from my pocket again.
“First, I’ll brush my teeth… Hmm?”
Hmm? Hmmmm? What is it?
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
I moved closer to the mirror and began examining my face.
“Oh?”
This time, I raised one hand and swept up the silver bangs that had grown close to my eyes. My pale white forehead was revealed.
“Uh?”
No matter how much I strained my eyes and looked, it wasn’t there. The scar.
“Where did the scar go?”
Ethel had lost consciousness after falling from a ladder, and at the same time, I possessed her. Because she had been injured on her forehead during the fall, I had to keep a bandage on my forehead for a while.
Lady Melizes, startled, had used healing magic on me, but perhaps because the scar had been deep, it hadn’t completely disappeared.
“There was definitely a red mark here.”
Hmm, was my memory wrong? I usually covered it with my bangs, but still, the red mark was quite noticeable every time I washed my face. It was a scar that stood out even more because Ethel’s skin was so fair.
“That’s strange.”
No, this is really strange. As a veteran rofan (romance fantasy) fan of many years, in unexpected situations like this, there’s usually a reason!
“But to find a reason, I need to have a clue first.”
Since she had said it was a scar that was hard to erase unless one received a blessing or something, it was even more puzzling.
‘There’s no way Lady Melizes brought a high priest either.’
And she wouldn’t have treated me while I was asleep and then left, right? No matter how I thought about it, it was a strange situation. Hmm. Staring blankly at the mirror wasn’t going to give me any answers.
“Argh, I’ll just ask Lady Melizes to take a look at it later!”
—
The Imperial Palace of the Empire, filled with white marble and sparkling jewels.
The reception room of the Empress’s Palace, decorated with splendid chandeliers.
The current Emperor, Ergo Glacies Ruden, Empress Allicia, and the Second Prince, Kaiden, sat in a silent, somber atmosphere.
The food placed before them was nothing short of luxurious and splendid, but no one seemed to be enjoying the meal.
The 27th Emperor, Ergo Glacies Ruden.
Compared to previous emperors, he wasn’t a particularly outstanding one, but he was sometimes evaluated as a wise ruler due to his generous nature and unassuming attitude.
Though he had suffered the tragedy of losing the Late Empress, whom he had married for love over twenty years ago, he had taken the young lady of the Marquis of Kaion, a powerful family of the Empire, as his new Empress, steadily solidifying his imperial authority.
He had appointed his first prince, Licht, as the Crown Prince and was about to step back from the front lines to live peacefully, when the incident occurred.
His first son, Prince Licht—who possessed the outstanding looks resembling the Late Empress, sword skills unmatched within the Knights, and had been evaluated as an emperor who would usher in a new era for the Empire by actively participating in state affairs since childhood—had fallen under the curse of the Apostles.
From that tragic day onward, except for meetings with the Magic Tower Master, Duchess Melizes Evgenin, the Emperor rarely showed himself in public or even in private.
For Empress Ellicia, who had wanted to sort out all the situations during Licht’s incapacitation, it was an incredibly frustrating situation.
She had barely managed to call the Emperor today, but she had to endure countless hours of silent waiting for this one opportunity.
Even the servants of the Empress’s Palace lined up behind her stood nervously, not even daring to breathe, knowing how much the Empress had anticipated today’s dinner.
“Your Majesty, please have a little more before you put down your spoon. I worry you’ll harm your health like this.”
“This is enough.”
As the Emperor, who had been silently staring at the food, finally put down his spoon, the Empress spoke with a worried expression. Today was a luncheon held at the Empress’s Palace for the first time in a while.
The Emperor had never been one to frequent the Empress’s Palace often, but since Licht had collapsed, he had become even more reclusive, making today’s gathering a crucial opportunity for Empress Ellicia.
An opportunity to elevate her son to the Crown Prince.
“For today’s luncheon, my father personally procured fresh ingredients from Sedenka Beach.”
“…”
“Please, for the sake of our sincerity, Your Majesty.”
After the Late Empress had given birth to the First Prince, Licht, her health had declined and she soon passed away. Pressured by the noble faction led by Marquis Kaion, Ellicia was able to secure the position of Empress.
She was the precious young lady of Marquis Kaion, a powerful figure in the Empire, and had been the acknowledged flower of the social circle since her debutante days, receiving endless marriage proposals.
While she was confident that the seat most befitting her was by the Emperor’s side, the sudden death of the Empress was welcome news for both her and her father.
Until she realized that the Emperor’s desperate love for the Late Empress, for whom he had even given up his support base, was being passed directly to her son, Prince Licht.
“I’m tired. I must go to my chambers and rest.”
“Oh, but surely not so soon!”
Whether he saw the Empress’s face, pitiful as a single flower, or not, the Emperor rose from his seat as soon as he finished speaking.
The servants of the Imperial Palace waiting nearby discreetly bowed and followed behind the Emperor. The servants of the Imperial Palace were equally tense.
The Emperor, who had been walking out silently, finally turned his head as if just remembering, and threw a single remark to Kaiden, who sat silently.
“You stay and spend some more time with the Empress. I will take my leave.”
And before he could hear a reply, he left the reception room. The luncheon that the Empress had so carefully prepared lasted less than thirty minutes.
Kaiden, who had been watching the entire scene impassively, murmured to himself.
‘I hope no one gets seriously hurt today.’
It was usually like this. Kaiden’s mother, Empress Ellicia, would try her best to engage the Emperor in conversation, but it rarely went well.
It must be the Emperor’s own way of handling things. If the Empress began to push for the Crown Prince’s appointment with the support of the nobles, the Emperor would find it difficult to openly refuse.
Yet, it would be beneath the Empress’s dignity to forcibly detain the Emperor and make him stay. And so, today again, Empress Ellicia’s efforts came to nothing.
And now it was.
“You there.”
Empress Ellicia, who had been sitting silently with her head bowed, tilted her chin towards a maid standing on the left side of the table.
The maid who received her gaze trembled like a leaf and knelt down.
“Yes, yes! Your Majesty the Empress!”
“Yes, you. How dare you make a sound at the dining table of the Imperial family and displease His Majesty the Emperor!”
“Pardon? But Your Majesty, I didn’t make any sound— Aack!”
*Crash!* The sound of breaking dishes began.
Kaiden calmly averted his gaze. It was time for him to leave.
When conversations with the Emperor didn’t go well, the Empress had a pattern of starting to act like a madwoman, throwing violent tantrums.
But there was no way this fact could leak out. Everyone knew implicitly that the moment the Empress’s true nature was revealed, no one—not the attendants, not the maids of the Empress’s Palace—would survive.
So they could only hope that today, no one would die, no one would be seriously injured. They just prayed for this moment to pass.
Yes, there was no one who could stop his mother.
Not even Kaiden himself, her own son.
With a bitter expression, Kaiden rose and left the reception room.
The loud screams continued without end until he had left the corridors of the Empress’s Palace.
