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Chapter 154
The mansion was unusually noisy today.
“Is something going on?”
As I took the medicine Yuni had prepared, I asked, and Lena, who was organizing books nearby, answered.
“It seems that the mages have come today.”
“Mages?”
“Yes. Their Highness the Grand Duke is personally hosting them.”
“Really?”
Why would mages come all the way to Halbern?
I tilted my head in puzzlement, and then a sudden thought froze me in place.
‘Could it be… they came looking for me?’
The kidnapping incident had faded from memory, but I remembered performing in front of a rampaging mage. I remembered the chaotic reaction of the mages.
‘They must already know I have Ether.’
So much had happened that I had forgotten, but the mages had even been distributing flyers to search for me.
“Oh, my life…”
When will peace ever come to me?
Buzz—
“Ether… it’s your fault.”
While I was the closest to the truth, Yuni and Lena, working with limited information, tried to speculate the reason for the mages’ visit.
“They say the illustrious mages from the Sky Tower have come. Could it be something about your health, Miss?”
“Ah, yes! Perhaps the Sky Tower mages know something about your illness!”
“Uh… maybe…?”
I answered absentmindedly while looking at Yuni and Lena’s hopeful, bright smiles, though I thought it probably wasn’t the case.
After all, I already had the ultimate source of knowledge in my hands.
[Next question reuse cooldown: 11 days 20 hours]
I already knew what my next question would be.
I would ask about the information that had been blocked before when I asked, “How to live longer.”
‘I also want to know my remaining lifespan.’
By simple calculation, it should be roughly [D-482], but for some reason, I felt my fainting might affect it.
It had really hurt when I collapsed.
“I hope the mages figure something out!”
“Right, Miss?”
‘No wonder they said things would go smoothly!’
The hasty mage, Hegé, a 5-star senior among the elder mages, broke into a cold sweat the moment he arrived at Halbern Mansion.
“So, why are you looking for my daughter?”
They had come to the tiger’s den to catch a tiger, but were threatened by a century-old dragon even fiercer than the tiger.
‘I had forgotten.’
A hasty mage from the Sky Tower is usually treated like a kingdom’s authority figure.
There were about a hundred of these hasty mages.
The mistake was that mages, who had never been treated poorly anywhere, had rushed in without thinking.
But they also had something to say.
After receiving the star’s choice, they had been trapped in the chain of destruction they could never escape—but now they had hope of finally throwing it off. How could their eyes not spin with excitement?
“Why are you looking for my daughter?”
Though his face smiled,
with a perfectly sculpted beauty known even to the Sky Tower, why did it send chills down their spines…?
“Did your mouths stick together? Why no answer?”
Hegé, the mage, muttered.
How could they have forgotten… Halbern has…
“Or are you hiding something you find difficult to tell me?”
That a natural enemy lives here.
“Th-that’s not it…”
It couldn’t be helped.
To a mage, an esper is like a natural predator.
Although Sky Tower and Halbern had never been in direct conflict, mages instinctively avoided espers.
‘Espers can interfere with magic.’
Magic is a discipline that takes a long time to systematize and realizes phenomena through rules and laws.
Espers, on the other hand, operate outside known principles, manifesting powers without rules.
Simply put, mages slowly pave a path to a “destination,” but espers teleport directly to that “destination.”
The ability to skip the process and call a result like pressing a button is so alien.
‘And Halbern is like the head of the espers.’
Moreover, espers can influence magic. That alone made the hasty mages shrink like rats in a trap.
‘Damn, what do we do?’
‘Why is the Grand Duke here? Shouldn’t he be at the border?’
‘How should I know? I don’t know either!’
While all the hasty mages were in chaos, one in particular was bewildered in another sense.
Red-haired Robert stared blankly at Valer.
‘How is that man still alive?’
The man he had met at the Founding Dance in the royal palace. He had gone into the underworld with his bare hands and prayed for the deceased.
That man was alive.
And his identity was the Grand Duke of Halbern?
‘Haha. No wonder he’s still alive.’
As Hegé and the other hasty mages wondered if they would be overwhelmed by Valer’s presence, one mage pulled something from his chest.
「※Looking for someone※
The main character of the Mage Tower event! Conqueror of the Secret Room! Apprentice (prospective) of the Grand Mage! Contact us immediately!」
The very flyer that had once caused a stir on the streets!
Hegé’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Yes, Your Highness. That’s why we’re here! Your daughter is the main character of the Mage Tower event. Not only that, but she’s conquered the Secret Room! We have a duty to raise the young lady of Halbern as a proper mage!”
“Exactly, exactly!”
Valer’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Interesting. Go on.”
“Your daughter must have used her outstanding magical power to overcome the Mage Tower’s challenges and enter the Secret Room, a talent that appears once in a thousand years…”
“Get to the point.”
Watching Hegé desperately trying to persuade him, Valer smirked.
“Uh, the point…”
“I hope the Sky Tower isn’t moving for ‘that reason’ alone.”
Hegé crossed his arms and watched Valer calmly, sensing instinctively, ‘This guy knows everything.’
Is it because it’s Halbern? It was uncanny.
No one knew how he could guess the old and secretive matters of the mages, but there was no point in beating around the bush.
Eventually, the mages laid their cards on the table.
“Your Highness, are you aware of the Purification Esper?”
“A little.”
“We came to find it.”
“Of course.”
Hegé’s eyes glinted sharply.
“First, may we ask: is the Purification Esper Halbern’s?”
“No.”
“Then…”
“Our family lineage doesn’t have any pure and cute espers.”
So there are many espers that aren’t pure or cute? Hegé stopped thinking. Just imagining it was terrifying.
“Honestly, the Sky Tower needs Miss Arelin.”
“What do you want to do with my daughter?”
“Obviously…”
“Do you think I don’t know what mages are?”
The hasty mages fell silent.
Some flinched instinctively, feeling exposed.
In truth, they had wanted to research the Purification Esper if given the chance…
‘Not possible.’
A rare opportunity to watch mages, who are always dominant, become submissive and fumble.
Valer, who had been slowly smiling, twisted his lips.
“I love my daughter.”
“…?”
Naturally.
“So, if anyone harms her or makes her sick, I honestly don’t know what I’d do.”
Is… this a threat?
“I want to maintain good relations with the Mage Tower. I quite respect the Grand Mage.”
Is that how you treat someone you respect?!
The mages’ eyes trembled. They had much to say, but swallowed it desperately.
“Of c-course.”
“Haha.”
“…We only need to avoid her going berserk.”
All the hasty mages who had come here were relatively safe. Those truly at risk of going berserk were isolated at the top of the Sky Tower.
And one fact that made them even more anxious…
Hegé, recognizing their reckless behavior, promised Valer:
“We will do our best to ensure Miss Arelin is not harmed.”
Valer silently scanned the mages, who now appeared more earnest and humble, and tilted his head.
“Effort alone isn’t enough.”
His deep purple eyes gleamed like a predator’s.
“If someone has done you a favor, it’s only right to repay it.”
True, absolutely true—but why did it feel like he meant something else…?
“Now, what are you offering?”
Silence fell.
The mages blinked, sweating, trying to understand the situation.
So, right now…
…are we being extorted?!
