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Chapter : 20
To put it simply, Jema’s answer was that there was no precedent.
It was absolutely impossible to extract only the demonic core from a magical beast and implant it into an animal to turn it into a magical beast. In the first place, it was impossible to remove just the core, which was practically the heart of a living magical beast.
Just in case, the other spirit mages left in the tower tried, as an experiment, to freeze a magical beast living in the mountains and carve out only the part containing the core—but it was in vain. Not only could it not be transplanted, but the core would crumble into dust the moment it was removed from the body.
It was what we expected, yet hearing it firsthand made it feel different.
From morning, I sat at the round table with Sierra and Alec, staring at Jema’s letter in the middle of the table, resting my chin on my hand.
“…What the hell is this?”
“No kidding.”
“I don’t understand…”
Alec, who had always had poor stamina, now seemed completely drained, sprawled across the table. Sierra and I weren’t much better. It felt as if all our energy had been sucked away.
Knock, knock.
While the three of us were slumped there, a knock came from the door, and the mansion’s butler entered.
“Miss Lien, a letter has arrived for you.”
“…?”
I took the letter from the butler with a puzzled expression. Normally, he would leave it on the desk, so why now…?
“Well…”
The butler opened his mouth as if to explain, but I read the sender before he could.
Thunk.
I dropped the letter onto the table as if throwing it, buried myself in the chair, and sighed. Right, this was it.
[Yes, your dear younger brother says he’s curious about the woman he fell in love with at first sight.]
Arienne had mentioned it too,
[Then, I will send a letter later. Please remain comfortable while staying at the palace.]
The crown prince had openly said he would summon me. Exhaustion washed over me.
“What’s this?”
Seeing Sierra flip the letter over and frown in real time, I laughed weakly.
“…You’re really going?!”
With a voice full of shock, I nodded.
It annoyed me, but I had already planned to go when the crown prince mentioned it. I wasn’t entirely sure what he intended to do, but if he wasn’t completely foolish, he wouldn’t try to threaten a spirit mage—he’d likely attempt persuasion.
I had a plan in mind.
However, the moment I arrived at the palace and was guided by the attendants, I regretted coming. Why this place, of all places?
“Your Highness! Your Highness! Please look at this!”
“Your Highness, isn’t this flower absolutely beautiful? What is its name?”
I pressed down on my mounting frustration, trying to calm myself, but it only started bubbling up again.
The place I was brought to was the vast garden in front of the crown prince’s palace. I sat in the chair the attendant placed for me and pressed my eyebrows together.
The scenery was different from spring when the flowers had been in full bloom, but I could still hear the faint echo of my younger self calling out to the crown prince with a cheerful voice.
[It suits you.]
[I like you, Arien.]
And the sweet, candy-like words the young crown prince had whispered to me.
I had liked those insufferably sweet words when I was naïve.
[Ah, and that high-ranking person says not to show your face before him again. He finds you disgusting. Well, miss, I’m just passing the message along, okay?]
I had never forgotten the words I heard while screaming in unbearable pain, after my eyes had been gouged out.
No, even if I wanted to forget, I could not.
Never.
“…Spirit mage, spirit mage?”
I snapped my head up. The crown prince was now sitting across from me, calling me. I gathered the emotions boiling inside me with a shudder.
“…Yes.”
He smiled at me with a kind, amicable expression. But his murky violet eyes stared straight through me, as if trying to see my soul.
“It’s been a long time. Thank you for accepting my invitation.”
I nodded.
“I hear this is your first time in the empire. I hope your younger brother has been treating you well.”
The crown prince elegantly sipped his tea, speaking words that were clearly insincere.
“Prince is indeed treating me well. He’s also a good person as a partner.”
“…Is that so.”
When I mentioned the prince as my partner, I saw the corners of the crown prince’s mouth twitch slightly before returning to their normal position.
“Now that I think about it, last time we met, you were with my youngest brother. He had been extremely wary of strangers after a recent incident, but it seems you’ve gotten close somehow.”
He was dragging this out far too long.
“Your Highness?”
“…Yes?”
I smiled faintly, lifting the corners of my mouth.
“Let’s skip the small talk. You must have a reason for summoning me here. Shall we get to the point?”
“Ha, haha, hahaha!”
The crown prince looked at me for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. After laughing for a while, he looked at me seriously.
“Very well. I will be direct. Please become my consort in place of the prince.”
“The emperor said the same thing at the time. I asked then, and I’ll ask again: what will happen to his current fiancée, Princess Aishien? If your answer is the same as the emperor’s, I will refuse.”
“…May I ask what His Majesty said?”
“He said that a man who is to become emperor may have several wives, and that he would take Princess Aishien as a secondary consort.”
“…That was an ill-considered remark. I apologize on his behalf. I swear, if you become my consort, I will not approach any woman besides you. I do not intend to take a secondary wife either. Princess Aishien will be broken off on the day I ascend the throne.”
I tapped the table with my fingers.
“I am currently engaged to the prince. What benefit would I gain from joining hands with you?”
The crown prince smiled faintly.
“I cannot tell you everything yet. You and I have not yet built a relationship of trust. But I can assure you that in the future, I will be able to give you something truly extraordinary.”
“Extraordinary… If you mean wealth or power, I’m not interested.”
“Something different from material things. Even a spirit mage is human at heart. Don’t you have at least one wish?”
I narrowed my eyes. So, there’s something behind this.
“If you become empress of the empire and hold the center of power, I will grant whatever you desire. Is that sufficient? At least, I don’t think it’s a loss.”
“You’re not suggesting we get engaged immediately, then.”
The crown prince lifted the corners of his mouth slightly.
“You are already engaged to the prince. Acting immediately could harm your reputation.”
I nodded.
“…Fine. Tell me what you want.”
A satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
“Investigate the prince’s faction.”
“Investigate?”
“I want you to know what the prince’s faction holds, and what might threaten me when I ascend the throne. And… ultimately, help me defeat the prince. Is that too cruel a request for a lover?”
I scoffed at the crown prince testing me after I had agreed so quickly.
“I have a history with the prince from when we went out to defeat magical beasts. Later, while going to meet Sierra and Marquis Agnes, I encountered the third prince, being chased—I didn’t know he was the third prince then—and helped him. When you suddenly proposed engagement, I thought there was no harm in accepting.”
The crown prince’s face relaxed, and he smiled broadly again.
“Your younger brother has done something cute. Thank you for letting me know. I was a bit surprised your brother suddenly had a lover. I can’t guarantee love, but I will treat you as the best partner.”
“Considering you are taking a spirit mage as your wife, that’s only natural.”
I stood up and replied.
“Ha, I will serve accordingly.”
The crown prince stood with me and extended his hand. I shook it, and he lifted the corners of his mouth.
A few days ago, after finishing the forest survey, just before the prince returned to the palace, I called him over.
“The crown prince, for you?”
“Yes. He seems to want to properly persuade you.”
The prince raised his head.
“What will you do?”
“I have a plan.”
After hearing it, the prince thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“…Indeed. The crown prince probably won’t believe you and I are truly lovers, so it might work.”
“Right?”
The plan was to accept the crown prince’s persuasion and gain his trust over time, then strike him from behind. By earning his trust, I would inevitably learn the weaknesses of the crown prince’s side. As long as I didn’t let my emotions explode in front of him, it was entirely feasible.
“Since it has been less than six months since you and I announced our engagement, he probably won’t try to break it off immediately. Using you as a spy is more likely.”
The prince nodded.
“That makes sense. Deciding too quickly might be unwise, but time is short, so there’s nothing we can do. I’ll leave it to you.”
In the rattling carriage, I rubbed my hands roughly with a handkerchief, cleaning the hand that had shaken the crown prince’s earlier.
It was unpleasant, but my goal had been achieved to some extent—success, I’d say.
I leaned back against the carriage seat, feeling an overwhelming fatigue.
It had been a long day.
