10
Philip irritably pushed aside a stack of papers with the ink barely dry and massaged his temples.
Under normal circumstances, with the hunting competition approaching, he should have been at the heart of high society, flaunting a magnificent formal suit and enjoying himself with noble ladies. Instead, the reality was a mountain of documents awaiting his approval, piled high before his eyes.
And the cause of all this?
‘Should I have to hear that you aren’t working from the Duke’s mouth, of all people!’
The King had shouted, his voice nearly a scream filled with fury.
‘As soon as Cedric stepped away due to his chronic illness, problems even arose with the supplies for the Royal Border Guard! The Duke asked me why his son, who is in poor health, has to take charge of menial tasks that the royal family should be handling. I’ve lost face because of you, utterly lost face!’
Cedric had taken a leave of absence citing his illness, and the resulting void had caused an overwhelming volume of paperwork to spill out from every corner of the kingdom.
However….
“Chronic illness, my foot. That madman is finally trying to pick a fight with me.”
Philip, of course, did not believe that nonsense. He knew all too well Cedric’s utterly despicable attitude—how he had been catching Philip at every turn lately to make him look like a fool.
I’ll have to pay him back for all of this in due time.
While he was brooding over such thoughts, an aide burst through the door and shouted, clutching a file.
“I’ve found it, Your Highness! I’ve finally found something decisive!”
This was one of the aides Philip had commanded to find a weakness in Cedric. Philip irritably signed a document and turned the page, speaking without looking up.
“Keep it down. If you’re going to tell me another pathetic story about how Cedric laughed with some noblewoman and we can frame it as an affair, just leave. I don’t have the energy to tolerate your incompetence.”
“No, Your Highness! This time it’s the real thing!”
The aide hurriedly spilled the documents onto the desk. Philip waved his hand in annoyance at the mess.
“Damn it, don’t mix them up!”
But right then, the ‘Royal Magic Society Seal’ stamped at the bottom of the scattered papers caught his eye. Philip hastily picked up the documents and scanned them.
“What is all this?”
“It’s a report that weather manipulation occurred on the day of the lakeside picnic. After analyzing the mana waveforms, they’ve concluded that Master Cedric was the one who called down that rain.”
The pen in Philip’s hand clattered to the floor. The pressure of the document piles that had plagued him for days and the shameful scolding from his father vanished as if they had never been; in their place, a thrilling shiver ran through him.
“Unauthorized use of magic within the capital, is it…?”
It was the feeling of victory that comes from clutching someone’s leash.
Unauthorized use of magic within the capital—and even manipulating the royal weather—was a capital offense akin to treason.
A dry laugh escaped him.
The madman had committed such a crazy act and apparently thought he wouldn’t get caught. Arrogant bastard, Philip muttered, turning to his aide with a delighted heart.
“This is certainly a report my father must hear. Where is he?”
It was the first time he had asked that question with such genuine joy.
***
Thus, two hours after Philip sought out the King, Cedric was summoned to the audience chamber.
The King sat with his head in his hand, unable to even look up, glaring at the Magic Society’s reports scattered across his desk. Inside the chamber, the strange sense of victory radiating from Philip and the King’s heavy exhaustion mingled to create a peculiar atmosphere.
The moment Cedric entered, he offered his greetings with his usual dignified posture. Philip watched him, thinking, The madman still doesn’t realize what’s happening.
“Why did you do it?”
The question that finally fell after a long silence was closer to despondency than anger.
In truth, from the King’s perspective, this situation was incredibly complicated. The fact that the person responsible for protecting the kingdom’s magical system had manipulated the weather was a disgrace to the family and a massive political headache.
Philip found it a bit irritating that his father was still asking for “reasons” even after Cedric had caused such an incident, but he stepped forward with a forced, smooth smile.
“Father, look at this. Cedric has finally shown his true colors. Just because his achievements during the post-war process were reviewed a bit strictly, he dared to vent his anger in this fashion. You know it yourself—since he is royalty, we cannot reward his merits exactly as they are. You explained this to him sufficiently, and he pretended to accept it then, but behind your back, he was pulling these stunts and manipulating the capital to his whim.”
Cedric, who had been standing with a bored expression, let out a low sigh. Philip interpreted this sigh as a ‘groan of being caught’ and drove the point home.
“Specifically, shaking the skies over Emerald Lake—the very symbol of the capital—so violently is nothing short of a declaration of war against this country. This cannot be overlooked lightly. You must punish Cedric severely to restore royal discipline. Unauthorized magic in the capital is a felony in itself, but the sin of mocking Your Majesty’s mercy is by no means small.”
The King let out a heavy sigh.
It was no wonder his son was babbling on so excitedly. Cedric, who had always seemed so perfect, had essentially handed over his own leash. If it had been anything else, it might have been different, but the symbolism of the airspace over Emerald Lake was unique.
“If you were dissatisfied with your rewards, you should have filed a formal appeal. This time, you were arrogant.”
The King scolded Cedric softly, his voice steeped in fatigue.
In truth, he felt a secret pity for Cedric. The King was well aware that the absurdly small rewards Cedric received for his massive achievements were the result of Philip’s meddling and manipulation.
It made sense that Cedric might have been hurt enough to act out. However, if he went as far as such an arrogant act, the aftermath would be difficult to handle. The King did not want to be seen dealing out a severe punishment right after the royal family had given Cedric such a half-hearted reward.
But Cedric’s following answer shattered the King’s generous assumptions.
“That is not it.”
“Not it? Then what on earth was the reason?”
At the King’s question, Cedric slowly and very politely knelt.
“I fell in love.”
A chilling silence blanketed the audience chamber. The King’s hand, which had been supporting his forehead, stopped moving, and Philip’s triumphant, mocking expression twisted grotesquely.
“……What?”
“I fell in love and committed a mad act. I called down the rain because I wanted to be trapped in a carriage alone with the lady, and I stuck the wheels in the mud because I wanted to stay by her side just a moment longer. It was not political ambition, nor was it dissatisfaction with post-war rewards. I simply… went mad for a woman.”
Cedric confessed calmly, staring at the floor.
Had it been political defiance, there would have at least been a ‘plausible justification.’ The fact that he had manipulated the capital’s skies for the sake of mere ‘romance’ was far more absurd and insulting to the King.
The King burst into a hollow, incredulous laugh.
“Because of a mere girl… you caused this mess? The head of the kingdom’s magic, no less?”
“Yes.”
“Just who on earth did you do this for?”
When faced with an answer that defies all common sense, a person’s curiosity is bound to be piqued.
The King asked out of sudden wonder, and as if he had been waiting for the moment, Cedric raised his head and stared fixedly at Philip. Philip’s face hardened in annoyance, as if asking why Cedric was looking at him, then went blank as if realizing something, then turned pale, and finally flushed bright red.
It was because the pieces had finally clicked—that a certain person had been at the center of all the mad actions Cedric had committed.
“……Don’t tell me that woman is…”
As Philip muttered blankly, Cedric gave an innocent nod.
“Yes. That’s right. The person slated to be your fiancée.”
Philip’s mouth hung open ungracefully. The composure he had shown while driving a wedge between Cedric and the King was gone.
He had known for a long time that the fellow was arrogant and eccentric, but he hadn’t realized he was a madman who wouldn’t hesitate to declare his intent to steal a fiancée right in front of the King, his own father.
“Are you in your right mind? My fiancée…!”
“The seal hasn’t even been pressed yet.”
“…….”
“To be precise, she is someone who might become your fiancée. So in truth, aren’t you nothing to each other? Besides, if she must marry into the royal family, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be me.”
“Cedric! You truly don’t know your place…!”
Philip couldn’t hold back and shouted, clenching his fists, but Cedric didn’t even blink. Still kneeling, he merely tilted his head and slowly scanned Philip from his feet to the top of his head. It was a look that seemed to ask, ‘What exactly do you have that is better than me?’
“Don’t be mistaken. You’re the one who doesn’t know your place. To think you could just naturally occupy the space by Lavinia’s side. Has something gone wrong with your head?”
Following Cedric’s irritable remark, a bizarre silence filled the audience chamber. Philip stood there blankly like a man whose soul had been snatched away, and the King seemed beyond even a headache—he couldn’t even manage a hollow laugh anymore.
His nephew, the one meant to guard the kingdom’s magical system, had brought a storm to the capital just to steal his son’s fiancée. The day this news spread through high society, the royal family’s prestige would surely hit rock bottom.
“A madman…… a true madman indeed. If you weren’t my nephew, your head would be hanging in the square by now!”
The King struck the desk with a trembling hand.
“Drag this man out at once! Stay holed up in your estate and reflect on your actions for the time being. If even a single hair of yours is seen outside your walls during your house arrest, I will burn your mana circuits entirely and exile you to the northern wilderness!”
Even at the King’s thunderous roar, Cedric kept his head bowed obediently until the end. As he was led out of the audience chamber, his retreating back looked almost refreshed, as if a weight had been lifted now that the truth was out.
Only Philip stood there, feeling as though he had been struck in the back of the head, utterly dumbfounded by the sight of Cedric’s departing back.
