Episode 84
The wizard leading them whispered a warning.
“Once we reach the target location, find and disable any activated magic first. Do not move recklessly.”
This was a mission that had already failed twice.
Not a single person had returned to report the outcome, leaving them clueless about what had happened.
Thus, this time, a wizard was sent along.
‘We must finish this as quietly as possible.’
He was one of the senior wizards who had long been part of the Magic Tower.
That is, until seven years ago, when a wet-behind-the-ears brat took the seat of the Tower Lord.
Disgusted by the sight of that arrogant upstart lording it over the Tower, he had left of his own accord and subsequently received immeasurable favors from the Damiani family.
Although the oath to the Magic Tower was eternal for as long as one lived, helping the Empress’s family was something he could do.
‘Her Majesty the Empress’s will is the Imperial Family’s will, after all.’
Although the once-firm Crown Prince had been deposed, shaking the Damiani family’s influence, that made it all the more appropriate to demonstrate their longstanding friendship and loyalty.
In the distance, soft lights illuminated the Edessa hotel.
It was the place where dozens of private soldiers had vanished without a trace, yet the hotel looked merely tranquil.
The wizard approached the hotel to gauge the active magic.
‘Two layers of protective barriers.’
It wasn’t a level to be scoffed at, but any competent wizard could disable them with the right tools.
‘Typical of the caliber of mages employed by Flavi.’
The wizard disabled all the barriers and detonated sleep grenades.
The guards collapsed as if gently falling asleep.
“Move cautiously.”
Under his command, the soldiers entered the hotel.
The fifty soldiers moved in perfect unison, soon completed their mission, and exited the hotel.
From a sack carried by one of them, a strand of brilliant pink hair escaped and swayed in the air.
“Was she unharmed?”
“Of course.”
The youngest Princess was asleep as if dead.
The Empress had claimed that the Second Prince was plotting treason in the Crown Prince’s absence, using a non-existent illness as a pretext to hide his sister in Flavi.
‘The effects of the sleep grenades won’t last long.’
If the Princess woke up during transport, it would cause a major commotion.
‘I, too, have eaten the Imperial bread all my life…’
Even if she was a Princess without strong backing, the situation of kidnapping her was far from comfortable.
Anxious, the mage didn’t even return to the lakeside and opened a temporary gate right in the hotel garden.
Flicker, flicker. As the flashing light formed the shape of a door, the black-clad men poured out like a tide.
Darkness fell upon the garden for a mere instant.
Immediately afterwards, lights turned on everywhere, torches were lit, and the hotel became as bright as day.
The guards who had collapsed rose to their feet unsteadily, as if waking from sleep.
“Ah, slept well.”
“They say sleep magic is the best cure for insomnia; my body feels incredibly refreshed.”
Crown Prince Ernst and his scribe, both with nonchalant faces, appeared in the chaotic garden.
“Toruan.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The two walked leisurely among the murmuring guards.
“If I ever try to act up using my friendship with the Tower Lord as an excuse in the future, stop me. You only live once.”
“…Haven’t I told you that many times already?”
At his scribe’s words, Ernst shook his head vigorously.
“Wow, I really thought it was Louise.”
“Me too. Even though I saw with my own eyes that Her Highness went to Babenberg, my heart lurched every time that sack moved.”
While the two men shared their impressions, the defensive mages revealed themselves.
“To think such outdated magic tools still exist?”
“Indeed. It was quite fascinating to see the artifact working.”
The mages recognized the one who had stood at the forefront of the intruders moments before.
It was the former senior wizard, Declan.
Declan had clashed with Ren at every turn after he became Tower Lord and eventually left the Tower of his own accord.
“Wow, I’d hoped the rumors were true that Sir Declan was comfortably enjoying his retirement latched onto some noble family.”
Someone’s mocking comment drew snickers from all around.
“Ugh, it’s better to be a bit unwell. This is just a disgrace to mages.”
The mages gossiped but didn’t stop their work.
“Alright, let’s clean up quickly and restore everything to its original state.”
“Of course. If we mess up here, the Tower Lord will actually kill us. He’ll be so angry, asking why we keep making him come back and forth when he’s busy enough to die.”
None among them were skilled in illusion magic, forcing Tower Lord Ren to painstakingly make time to travel to Edessa.
Someone pouted and grumbled.
“Even so, to not even be able to cast a simple illusion spell. Unless Lord Moghold jumps out of his sickbed, who besides Lord Ren knows how to use that darn magic? What a waste of magical power, what use is it normally?”
Noticing the Flavi Crown Prince standing in the corner, he started and fell silent.
It was a nationally famous fact that the eccentric Tower Lord was close not only with the notoriously arrogant Grand Duke of Babenberg but also with the Flavi Crown Prince, known as the ‘Flower of Flavi’.
Under the wizards’ tense gazes, Scribe Toruan spoke as if making small talk.
“Ah, of course. A completely useless magic. If you used an illusion spell to make a maid look like Her Highness the Princess under normal circumstances, it would constitute lèse-majesté.”
Judging by the wizards growing even quieter, Toruan’s attempt to lighten the mood failed.
Ernst chuckled and interjected.
“Anyway, it’s fine to curse Len Daft all you want, isn’t it? I’m not his friend.”
His loyal scribe advised him again.
“I keep telling you, it’s much more advantageous to just remain friends…”
The wizards cleared their throats and began moving again.
In the garden, bustling as if it were early morning despite the late hour, Ernst’s golden eyes shone like stars.
An interesting day was about to begin.
Some time later, in the Capital.
The Damiani family’s mansion, surrounded by torches held by the Imperial Guard, was as bright as day even in the dead of night.
Duke Gideon Damiani bowed his head before the Emperor, looking flustered.
“Your Majesty, there seems to be some misunderstanding…”
But the Emperor listened to Gideon half-heartedly, his gaze fixed on the Tower Lord.
“Are you certain this is the location where the temporary gate will open?”
The Tower Lord answered coldly, as if the Duke bowing before the Emperor was beneath his notice.
“If the intelligence regarding the number of people is correct, then yes. This is the only place.”
“Lord Daphte, I don’t know what intelligence you’ve received from where…”
But before the Duke’s earnest words could finish, a gate of light appeared in the center of the training grounds.
The Emperor’s chilly gaze turned toward Gideon, who was also his brother-in-law.
As the Duke finally fell silent, a temporary gate opened right in the middle of the training grounds behind the great mansion.
—Thud.
One soldier, stepping onto the sandy ground with a light footstep, saw the Imperial standard and dropped to his knees in surprise.
“…Your Majesty.”
All the soldiers pouring out followed suit.
The Emperor, standing imposingly in the center, let out a deep sigh.
“…So the Empress went this far.”
Initially, he hadn’t believed that the Empress would kidnap her own daughter behind his back to threaten his remaining son.
But Crown Prince Ernst of Flavi had secretly visited him in the dead of night, strongly insisting, forcing him to reluctantly bribe a few servants from the Empress’s quarters.
“When they deposed my son, right before my eyes, while he was alive and well! His Majesty must have been prepared to ruin one of his own children!”
Even when he heard from a maid that the Empress had said that, he hadn’t wanted to believe it was true…
“Do I have only Hart as a child?”
But that particular statement was something only the Empress would say.
Tonight, he stood here hoping that the Damiani private soldiers would actually fail.
‘Please, let it not come to me personally punishing the Empress for kidnapping an Imperial Princess in front of so many witnesses.’
It had been a loveless political marriage, but as the Empress said, he had received much from the Damiani family.
‘That’s why I haven’t even evicted the 1st Prince from the Crown Prince’s palace yet.’
But he couldn’t commit the folly of giving the throne to his second daughter, Cyril, who was as reckless as a naked thunderbolt, just because he didn’t want to repay kindness with enmity.
That girl would likely hand over the entire Empire to the Grand Duke of Babenberg, for whom she had long held affection.
Despite the Emperor’s unspoken troubles, one wizard emerged last from the gate, alongside a man carrying a sack over his shoulder.
“Your Majesty…?”
The startled wizard hastily knelt on the ground like the other Damiani soldiers.
