FLNL 37

Chapter 37

Another lord of the Mage Tower greeted the Grand Duchess with flawless etiquette.

Unlike Rihy, who used informal speech even with the Emperor, this one spoke in respectful formal language.

Maia had assumed all high-ranking mages from the Tower would be as arrogantly extreme as Rihy.

But now, comparing Rihy with Hael Terzen, she felt a strange mix of emotions.

Maia looked at Hael Terzen with the same feelings one might have toward a perfect neighbor’s child.

Then, once again, their eyes met.

Maia was caught off guard by his unwavering gaze that seemed far too intentional to be coincidence. As she grew flustered, Hael Terzen began walking toward her.

Facing him up close, Maia opened her mouth in bewilderment.

“I greet Lord Terzen.”

“I’ve already heard quite a lot about you, Duchess of Weston.”

He’s heard about me?

Maia’s smile froze as she stared at Hael Terzen.

The young, handsome man—who was, in fact, a very old mage—smiled gently.

“My close friend often talks about you. Ha-ha, he does it so frequently that—well, rather than saying I’m sick of it, I should say it stirred my curiosity. So I’m glad to finally meet you in person.”

Though some of the words didn’t quite match his pleasant expression, Maia found herself laughing along, caught off guard.

“By close friend… are you referring to Lord Earis?”

The Archduke of Aetherna, who had been watching their conversation with interest, suddenly interjected.

Maia’s face stiffened for a moment, but she quickly reminded herself that this situation was exactly what she had been aiming for, and composed her expression.

Hael answered with wide, gentle eyes.

“Yes, that’s right. But you are…”

“You’ve never seen me before, I assume. I am the Archduke of Aetherna.”

“Oh, I see…!”

Hael Terzen let out a sigh, almost as if lamenting something.

The Archduke’s eyebrow arched slightly at the exaggerated sigh.

Hael looked at him carefully, his expression mixed with many emotions.

“Lord Luare used to speak often… not about the current Archduke, but of the first Archduke of Aetherna…”

“Is that so? Now you have my interest.”

The Archduke of Aetherna leaned in, his green eyes gleaming faintly, as if urging him to continue.

Looking troubled, Hael Terzen finally relented.

“He often said he was an utterly hopeless brat, completely unlike my brother.”

“…?”

Everyone present froze at the unexpected insult toward a founding hero.

The imperial knights, whose faces had grown grim at the disrespectful remark, barely held back their killing intent upon realizing that the speaker was none other than Hiperion Luare—another founding hero, just like the first Archduke himself.

Unfortunately, Hael Terzen went on.

“He’d pick fights with opponents he had no chance of defeating, cry his way back home—it was a regular occurrence. All the cleanup fell to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Adelstein. He said the brat had nothing going for him, was insufferably arrogant, and thoroughly contemptible. The Emperor was so exhausted from handling his younger brother’s messes that Lord Luare couldn’t stand it anymore. So he personally disciplined—not punished, but sternly guided—and trained the Archduke until he no longer troubled the Emperor.”

“…”

It was a precious anecdote, one you’d never find in any history book—straight from someone who was actually there to witness it.

Maia, speechless, watched the Archduke’s expression carefully.

His pale face oddly reminded her of the Crown Prince at the last banquet.

…Rihy and the Lord of the Mage Tower aren’t even the same person. So why do they speak and act so similarly?

Could it be that Rihy picked up his outrageous behavior from the Tower Master?

Maia’s face stiffened.

What kind of example was he setting for his subordinate? The man must be over 2,000 years old. So much for enlightenment and transcendence.

She had never even seen the Tower Master’s face before, but in that moment, Maia’s heart began to quietly sprout a seed of disdain toward him.

“Oh dear, I’ve gone on too long. Anyway, the reason I’ve personally come here today is…”

After thoroughly wrecking the atmosphere, Hael Terzen—unbothered and proudly representing his eccentric friend—gathered a misty blue fog into his palm.

As if drawing something from it, he pulled sharply with his hand.

“Duchess of Weston, this is from Rihail, for you.”

“For… me?”

Maia, her voice wavering at the sudden shift in conversation, looked down at the silver object resting in Hael Terzen’s hand.

“…A gun?”

It was a gun.

A sleek, icy-white pistol that shimmered like Rihy’s hair lay in his palm.

“Tonight, the area you’ll be passing through has a high probability of monster appearances. Even with regular exterminations, small ones often survive. Rihail was concerned for your safety and asked me to deliver this personally. It’s capable of eliminating everything from small to class-12 large monsters. Please accept it.”

…A gun.

“Thank you. Please extend my thanks to Lord Rihail as well.”

“Of course.”

Maia accepted the gun without hesitation, accompanied by a short thank-you.

As the heir to a merchant family, she had once been trained in various physical disciplines.

One of them had been marksmanship.

Her instructor had even praised her as being particularly talented. Though she’d never demonstrated that in front of Rihy.

As she inspected the sleek and beautiful weapon, she began to notice the strange looks around her.

Well, it must look suspicious to others, too.

The noble Lord of the Mage Tower personally sending a weapon to a duchess out of concern for her well-being—it was bound to raise eyebrows.

Still, Maia felt reassured. She looked down at the gun with satisfaction.

This confirmed it—Rihy’s feelings hadn’t changed. Writing him a letter would now be easier.

Hael Terzen gave Maia a slight nod before walking over to the Grand Duchess.

“I’ll inscribe a few simple protection spells and then return to the Tower.”

“Oh, since you’re already here, would you care for some tea…?”

“No, I can’t afford to linger. Lord Luare gave me strict orders to return immediately.”

He walked away with the Grand Duchess, chatting.

Maia turned back toward the carriage, her heart lighter than before.

“You seem to be in quite the good mood.”

But her mood plummeted instantly again. She turned with a heavy expression.

Ellis Keppel, who had been completely invisible during Hael Terzen’s appearance, had somehow come up behind Maia and was now linking arms with her.

“What do you mean by that?”

Maia asked. Ellis toyed with her wavy chestnut hair and answered.

“Word’s been spreading through the social circles lately. That the Duchess of Weston and Lord Earis aren’t just… casually acquainted. That sort of idle gossip, you know.”

That’s great news.

Maia nodded and replied.

“I see. Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Hey!”

Ellis shouted at Maia, who had turned to leave without hesitation.

Suppressing her annoyance, Maia glanced back to see Ellis glaring at her, her expression twisted with displeasure.

“That’s it? You’re not even surprised?”

“Why would I be? I don’t see the point in reacting to groundless rumors. It seems the Marquess’s daughter is hoping I’d be so shocked I’d feel ashamed.”

As Maia said this with a tired voice, Ellis’s eyes turned venomous.

“What a rude thing to say! You speak without any restraint!”

So she wants to pick a fight after all.

Maia stared at Ellis with exhausted eyes. Ellis’s fists were clenched so tight her hands had gone pale. Meanwhile, Maia held a cold pistol in her hand.

…Should I just shoot her?

Maia sighed deeply.

If she could silence this nuisance and escape the situation, how wonderful that would be.

But alas, one should not act that way if one wants to remain a decent human being.

Maia resigned herself and opened her mouth—

“Oh?”

But salvation came from an entirely unexpected direction.

“S-Screeeam!”

A soft groan and then—red liquid splashed all over Ellis’s chest.

Ellis shrieked and jerked her head up.

Maia, equally startled, also looked up and saw the same person standing there.

“Oh my, I seem to have made a terrible mistake.”