The next day, I returned to the temple.
My excuse was that I had carried out a special mission according to Mr. Epinhauser’s instructions, and that was why Ellen and Harriet didn’t get angry at me.
Although, to be honest, it was the most dangerous moment I have experienced recently, I couldn’t even talk about it, and in the end, I was the one who sought danger, whether Ellen was worried or not.
I felt apologetic.
But it was something that couldn’t be avoided, so my guilt became even greater.
There will be many more of these kinds of things in the future.
“What was the special mission?”
Ellen asked me, and I briefly clicked my tongue.
“It’s not so much a special mission… well, that’s not really the issue.”
Did you cause another accident?
It looked like Ellen’s expression was going to twist, so I shook my head wildly.
“Because of something related to Tiamata.”
“You were caught?”
“Sort of…”
It was partly true and partly not.
Charlotte and Saviolin Turner knew that I had become the owner of Tiamata.
In the end, it was a lie, and I was terrified that Ellen would see through my lie.
“They agreed to keep it a secret, so there won’t be any other problems.”
“…Thank goodness.”
Ellen stared at me blankly.
“Were you worried?”
“Yes.”
Seeing Ellen calmly say that, my heart felt like it was being squeezed.
“It would have been better if nothing had happened.”
That’s all Ellen said.
Charlotte was fine that night, so she said she would return to Temple after spending the weekend at the palace.
I thought it would be better if Charlotte and I returned to Temple separately, because Bertus might find it strange if we returned at the same time. I didn’t think anything would happen in the next few days anyway.
Charlotte’s survival had been confirmed as an inflection point in history. I don’t know how long this guarantee will last, but there will be no problems for a while.
This newly acquired ability. The role of Word Magic was significant.
It was a stormy few days. Yesterday was Friday, so today is the weekend.
In the end, we got through it safely. Ellen grabbed my arm.
“You have something to do.”
“…Huh? What do you mean? Training?”
“No.”
Ellen shook her head in frustration.
“Studying.”
“…What?”
“Everyone is waiting.”
Ellen grabbed my arm and hauled me off somewhere.
She took me to the study hall, a room in the A-class dorms.
There were Liana, Harriet, and Adelia sitting there, huddling together.
“Oh, the protagonist has arrived. Did your mission fail completely? What was it anyway?”
Liana greeted me with a quizzical expression. Harriet looked at me and then stood up with a determined expression, and Ellen pulled me towards the table and made me sit down.
“What’s all this… suddenly as soon as I came back?”
Harriet put a notebook in front of me.
“It’s a summary of the key points and expected questions for the integrated final exam this time. I made it with Ellen and Adelia.”
No.
What?
What did you say?
Harriet’s eyes sparkled.
Come to think of it, the final exam was only a few days away.
“If you just read this, you won’t be in last place.”
No.
Hey, guys.
Why are you trying to impress me with this kind of thing?
“Don’t fall behind Ludwig again. Got it?”
I don’t really need this kind of thing.
Ellen, Harriet, and Adelia’s expressions were so serious that I couldn’t say I didn’t care about my test scores.
My competitor is Ludwig.
How far have I fallen…
Sunday.
Winter Palace.
After receiving the report, Bertus sat quietly in his office chair. It wasn’t his usual carefree smile, but a stiff expression.
Bertus read the report without any expression.
The content was simple.
The protective measures for Charlotte de Gardias and the Spring Palace, under the emperor’s secret order, have been lifted.
“…Didn’t you say that she couldn’t control that power?”
“Yes, Your Highness. We thought so, so we expected that measures would be taken soon for the First Princess… but…”
Bertus had learned of Charlotte’s ability not long ago.
A supernatural ability to manipulate shadows.
Wasn’t it quite odd for someone who was imprisoned in the Demon King’s castle to have such an ability?
Depending on how it’s perceived, Charlotte’s power can be turned into a power born of evil, and that’s why Bertus thought it could be easily twisted and used against her by associating it with the curse of the demon king.
However, there was no need to do so.
There are some things that cannot be hidden even if one tries to hide it.
Precautions for the protection of the Spring Palace.
News that Saviolin Turner has started to reside in the Spring Palace, and reducing the number of people to a minimum.
An incident where a maid was killed at midnight in the Spring Palace.
After various situations and deductions, Bertus sensed that Charlotte’s end was near.
So he left it alone.
However, now that the protection measures have been lifted and Charlotte is safe, it means that this matter has been resolved safely.
The competitor who was expected to fall will rise again.
“Did she get better?”
He should have seized the opportunity to spread that rumor when he saw it.
Regarding whether Charlotte’s abilities were under control; if she had succeeded in such an endeavor, the story that the princess was cursed would not be believed if he spread the rumor at this point.
Also, it would be an act that undermines the honor of the imperial family. The wrath of the emperor would be directed towards him.
The question of succession was a competition where fairness didn’t exist, but the emperor wanted it and ordered it to be so.
There is a way to attack, but it is uncertain whether it will be effective.
It will also go against the emperor’s wishes.
“What happened exactly…?”
Leaving Charlotte alone was like a final act of mercy.
He didn’t feel like touching the dying princess. There was also a risk of causing unnecessary trouble by doing so.
If her problem has been resolved, they would have to start fighting again.
How should he resolve this situation?
“What about the Spring Palace’s defenses?”
“They have been reinforced.”
“Hmm… It will be difficult to get any more information.”
It was clear that the ironclad defenses would be reinforced even more than before.
“If it were Saviolin Turner, she would have seen everything… but…”
“She won’t say anything.”
“Of course, she won’t.”
She is the commander of Shanapell who only listens to the emperor’s orders. Sending her to the Spring Palace was a very unusual thing. Originally, she had been striving for perfect neutrality regarding the matter of the imperial succession.
If Charlotte had recovered, she should have returned to neutrality.
“Find out something, anything. Even whether the first princess’s condition has improved.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After the courtier left, Bertus crossed his arms.
The fall of his rival.
He should feel bad about it being overturned, but strangely, Bertus didn’t feel too bad. Wasn’t this a situation where he should stomp on the ground, throw something, and shout in anger?
However, Bertus smiled.
-Hey, why are you always so gloomy? That’s bad luck.
-What’s the matter?
-It’s even worse when you’re already ugly. Just smile while you’re walking. Who’s going to slap you for smiling?-
-Who would dare slap my face?
-You always understand my words strangely. You always twist my words no matter what I say.
-It’s because you always speak strangely. You always start an argument.
-Anyway, just smile a little. It’s already annoying, but it’s worse to see your face without a smile.-
-Ah, it’s really bothersome. Will I die if I don’t smile?
-I don’t know if you’ll die, but maybe you’ll be a little less unfortunate.
Bertus, who had never really smiled before, Bertus, who hadn’t smiled since his mother passed away, gave an awkward smile at that moment.
-Okay, that’s better. You still look unfortunate, though.
-What do you want me to do?
When he was very young, he had a conversation like that. He doesn’t even remember how old he was back then.
It was when he didn’t hate his half-sister as much as he did now.
It was when he didn’t really understand what kind of relationship they had.
But she had always been a jerk.
That’s what Charlotte was to Bertus, and that’s what he was to her.
They are two people that cannot coexist.
If one exists, the other cannot exist.
Just when he thought everything was over, it suddenly wasn’t.
That’s the fun part.
Bertus thought so, and he smiled quietly in his office.
Name: Valier
Age: 17
Current Ability Stats: [Strength 10.2(C)] [Agility 9.9(C-)] [Dexterity 11.9(C)] [Magic Power 14.2(B-)] [Stamina 15.2(B-)]
Race: Archdemon
Talent: Self Suggestion, Word Magic, Mana Sensitivity, Mana Control.
Traits:
[Sacred Spirit] - Increased resistance to mental magic.
[Hero’s Blood] - Significant increase in growth limits and growth speed.
[Qi sense] - Perception of danger.
Abilities:
[Demon Domination B] (Unique Archdemon Ability) (Cannot be used in current state)
[Self suggestion A]
[Word Magic F]
[Magic Body Enhancement D]
Overall Ability Evaluation - Intermediate Demon King
Combat Level Evaluation - A
Looking at my stats after a long time, the increases were quite high.
Due to the influence of Hero’s Blood, I felt that my stat growth speed had increased significantly.
My combat level is now A-rank.
It feels like only yesterday when I was at F-rank, but I have improved a lot.
In addition to being able to enhance my magic power, I have reached A-rank in Self-Suggestion, and even though it’s the lowest rank, I have awakened Word Magic.
Before I knew it, Demon Domination had risen from C-rank to B-rank too.
The combat level of A-rank now means that I have nothing to envy compared to other skilled opponents.
The interesting thing is that Self-Suggestion has separated into another supernatural ability rather than evolving into Word magic.
I only reported it to Mr.Epinhauser and he decided to keep the details secret, so I’m not sure if he received the full information.
Even though I told him about Word Magic, he only replied with an ‘Is that so?’ to the existence of a supernatural ability that seemed extremely powerful
Although my abilities will be revealed in a physical scan, Professor Epinhauser will keep the secret..
I still don’t know the full extent of its use. I didn’t have time to experiment with it alone.
And there was new information regarding Tiamata. I now know that it reacts to my anger.
I was forced to study for the final exams with the kids’ support.
They don’t know what happened, and I’ve kept it a secret.
Saving Charlotte was fortunate, but it was also something I needed to do for myself.
“Reinhardt.”
“Oh, Charlotte.”
Charlotte returned on Monday morning.
Judging by her expression, nothing seemed to have happened even when she was alone.
The shadows seemed to have lifted from her face, which always seemed to bear some kind of darkness.
I wondered if Eleris would know something if I told her about this, but I decided not to.
If she knew it was the mark of the Demon King, Eleris might take action.
Sarkegar would try to revive it, and Eleris would try to eliminate it.
Of course, there is a possibility that Eleris will not move if I could persuade her not to, but even the imperial magicians were not a match for her
I am the only one who can calm Charlotte’s power. The fewer people who know, the better.
And now it’s difficult to leave Temple.
This is due to the pressure from Harriet and Ellen, who tell me to study quietly without going anywhere.
As there doesn’t seem to be an immediate threat to Charlotte’s safety, I will just continue to observe the situation.
Now that Charlotte’s situation has passed, I needed to think about the next problem.
The revolutionary forces.
I think the imperial family overlooked the presence of the revolutionary forces because of the matter regarding Charlotte, which took the attention of her competitor, Bertus and the emperor himself.
If I do not take action, a civil war or rebellion may erupt in the empire, and if the Gate Incident occurs next, it will be a decisive blow to the faltering empire.
There is no other choice; the revolutionary forces must be eliminated.
But how do I go about it?
Sarkegaar, who is in charge of infiltration and information gathering, thinks I am going to use them to cause chaos in the empire and rebuild the Demon Realm.
So I can’t give an order to Sarkegaar to kill their leader.
If I give information to Charlotte or Bertus, I cannot explain how I found out.
The only thing that comes to mind is to say that it is information obtained through the Thieves’ Guild.
But the actual source of the information is not the Thieves’ Guild. If they investigate the organization, they can easily find out that the source is false.
Charlotte has more trust in me than Bertus, so even if I can’t explain it, I could probably go to her with information.
Time passed, but I couldn’t make a decision easily.
I didn’t want to influence the future succession, or rather, I didn’t want to raise Charlotte’s influence and make an enemy out of Bertus nor did I want to raise Bertus’s influence and cause Charlotte’s downfall.
I couldn’t make that decision easily.
Despite my many problems, time passed for the students at Temple.
It is just before the final exams.
In addition to Charlotte’s return, there have been other changes.
It has been judged that Charlotte has established a tentative control over her supernatural ability.
However, it is only tentative.
Therefore, the imperial family, or more precisely, the emperor seemed to have decided to bring Charlotte back to Temple and of course, to consider other safety measures.
On Monday morning, before the start of class, the Royal Class gathered only the first-year students in the dormitory.
Miss Saviolin Turner was introduced by Mr. Ephinhauser and Mr. Mustang as the new Dormitory Supervisor for the Royal Class first-year students.
“A pleasure. I am Saviolin Turner, your new Dormitory Supervisor in charge of educating you on daily safety and dormitory life.”
Saviolin Turner was unexpectedly placed in the Royal Class dormitory.
Please report to us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!