Episode 27
“The Treasure of Karlraden.”
There it was—in the book of the Great Sage.
“Great. With this, I’ll have plenty of stories to tell at night.”
Troy cleared his throat and picked up the translation orb, preparing to start a new conversation.
“You seem quite interested in the Great Sage, Miss Miel.”
“Eh? Ah, um… a bit, yes.”
Miel regretted bringing the book. Why was the topic suddenly veering toward the Great Sage?
Originally, she had planned to quickly complete the Crown Prince’s commission and report back to her mentor.
But it seemed the Crown Prince had no intention of returning to the palace any time soon.
“The Great Sage made tremendous contributions to the Hargan Empire. For many years, he conducted magical research in the Magic Tower for the empire, and instead of building a personal family like others, he devoted himself to the world. He chose the path of helping others over his own happiness.”
Troy proudly displayed his knowledge. In social circles, saying things like this usually earned him admiring looks.
But Miel wasn’t impressed. Her response was cold, even dismissive.
“That’s not true.”
“…What?”
Troy looked a bit taken aback by her blunt response. Miel continued firmly,
“The Great Sage had a family. He even had children. It’s true that he made sacrifices, but he was also devoted to his family.”
“…What?”
Troy was flustered. This wasn’t something he had read in any book.
Miel spoke as if she were someone close to the Great Sage himself. Troy blinked, unsure how to respond.
Eventually, he reached a conclusion.
‘I see… Miss Miel must know much more about the Great Sage than I do. It makes sense—most mages idolize him. Of course she’d know more than me.’
He slowly nodded and spoke.
“I see… You must know a lot about him. As expected from a mage of the Magic Tower.”
Though he tried to sound casual, he was inwardly embarrassed. Bragging about knowledge in front of a real mage—what a humiliating blunder.
“Well, I’ve received the translation orb, so I’ll take my leave. It was very pleasant speaking with you today. I hope we meet again soon.”
“Yes. Please take care.”
Troy kept smiling until he left the drawing room. But the moment he was out of her sight, his expression hardened.
He was deeply embarrassed.
After the short meeting with the Crown Prince, Miel headed straight to the top floor of the Magic Tower.
Having completed her initial research on the treasures, it was time to report.
Knock knock. A reply came instantly. Miel cautiously opened the door and entered.
The Tower Master’s room was always the same—an entire wall of bookshelves, a long table in front of them.
On the table were piles of paperwork—documents awaiting approval, already approved, or still pending. Stacks and stacks, like mountains.
At the center sat Jade.
“Miel.”
A faint smile appeared on Jade’s lips when he saw her. He set aside his document and welcomed her.
“Master, this is something Princess Revina asked me to pass on to you yesterday.”
Miel held out another invitation she’d received from Revina.
Jade barely looked at it and set it aside. It wasn’t urgent.
However, he didn’t notice the brief stiffening of Miel’s expression.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I’ll soon have to leave the tower for a while.”
“Seems you’ve studied quite a bit about the treasures already. When are you planning to depart?”
“I’ve been invited to the Princess’s birthday party, so I’ll attend that first, then spend a little time with my tower companions before I go. I plan to leave sometime next week.”
Next week… Jade stroked his chin. It was a bit earlier than expected.
As he mulled it over, Miel spoke again.
“Looking at the locations overall, the treasures are evenly distributed across the continents. One of them is even located in the unexplored region.”
“…The unexplored region?”
At the mention of that place, Jade’s eyes narrowed. It was a truly dangerous place.
Even he, the Master of the Magic Tower, could not guarantee safety there.
“I plan to go there last. Based on the general distances and locations, I think it would be more efficient to retrieve one treasure, return to the tower, and then repeat, rather than circling the entire world in one go.”
As she spoke, Miel unfolded a world map. Jade studied it carefully.
The map marked all the suspected treasure locations.
A single trip around the world wasn’t realistic. Trying to do so would complicate supply logistics, increase fatigue, and ultimately be inefficient.
“I see…”
“According to my calculations, each treasure might take about a month to locate—maybe even longer.”
“Yes. Who knows what might be waiting at each location.”
Each continent had its distinct traits, but no one knew what monsters or situations awaited until they arrived. So it was impossible to predict exact durations.
“Oh right—the Crown Prince’s commission. Is it done?”
“Yes. He visited a short while ago and took the translation orb with him.”
“You said you’re leaving after the Princess’s birthday party, next week…”
Miel stared at Jade as he trailed off. What was he hesitating to say?
Just spit it out already, she thought.
Then he finally spoke.
“Alright. I’ll go with you.”
“…Huh? Master, aren’t you busy?”
Miel wanted to convince him otherwise. But her teacher was just like her—stubborn.
“Not particularly.”
Jade responded firmly. Though, in truth, he was busy. The paperwork kept piling up every day.
But if he worked through the nights for the next few days, he could finish it all. Of course, he planned to pass some of it onto Shulien.
“But…”
“The Great Sage personally cast a spell on me to ensure I accompanied you. And besides, I’m quite interested in treasure hunting too.”
There was no arguing with that. The one who had entrusted the treasures was her father—and Jade had ties to him as well.
In the end, Miel had to nod.
“…Alright.”
It would probably be safer than going alone, she thought, reassuring herself.
—
The main palace of the imperial court was, as befitting the residence of an emperor, an awe-inspiring sight.
At the main gate, golden lion statues—symbols of the royal family—stood guard. Between the white outer walls were gold-painted murals.
The murals depicted the founding legend of the empire, offering a spectacle for first-time visitors to the palace.
Beyond the gate, the floors and ceiling were adorned in gold.
Thankfully, the inner walls were white to protect the eyes of visitors.
Luxurious decorations and paintings lined the halls, placed at regular intervals along the corridors.
Despite the dazzling surroundings, Crown Prince Troy walked silently, not sparing a glance. He was heading straight for the emperor’s office.
As Troy approached, an attendant opened the door. At the center of the office, seated on a golden throne, was the current emperor—Karot de Hargan.
He opened his arms warmly at the sight of his son.
“Come in, Troy.”
“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”
Troy knelt on one knee and greeted him with formal etiquette. Karot smiled.
Sometimes, he thought his son was too uptight. The way he never accepted magic, and how he had always addressed his father not as ‘father’ but as ‘Your Majesty’ since childhood.
“I called you today because we have something important to discuss.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“You’re already twenty-four years old now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Troy already had a vague idea of where this was going. Ever since he became Crown Prince, he had heard this countless times:
That he needed to hurry up and choose a Crown Princess.
Previous Crown Princes had married around the age of eighteen. Compared to them, Troy was quite late.
But Troy had no intention of getting married anytime soon.
“I’m starting to think I should begin stepping away from government affairs…”
“I refuse.”
