Chapter 56
Raphaella flung the door open irritably, barging in as if it weren’t even her own room. Annie, who had been cleaning inside, jumped in surprise.
“Eek! Ah—Your Highness! I’m so sorry, you startled me.”
“Annie, bring some refreshments.”
“Yes.”
Noticing Raphaella’s unusual expression, Annie quickly grasped the situation. Years of experience as a maid told her that this was a signal to leave the room. She swiftly gathered her cleaning tools and exited.
William narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Annie’s retreating figure for a moment.
Raphaella picked up the water pitcher on the reception table and gulped it down straight from the spout. Water spilled over, soaking her clothes, but she didn’t care. She slammed the pitcher down and spoke.
“Ah—finally. I feel a bit more alive. Want some water too, Duke?”
“I’m fine.”
Raphaella trudged over to the long sofa and flopped down on it. Pressing hard against her throbbing forehead, she muttered,
“Ugh. Why does today feel so long? Fighting magical beasts is easier than this. I’m exhausted.”
When she suddenly collapsed onto the sofa, William was briefly taken aback, but he had grown accustomed enough to her behavior to seat himself naturally on the opposite sofa. Holding back his urge to nag was still difficult, though.
Raphaella lay there with her eyes closed, hand on her forehead, letting out quiet sighs.
William had many questions—far too many. He also had much he wanted to say.
But unable to decide where to begin, he simply sat straight-backed and waited for Raphaella to open the conversation first.
Without changing her posture, Raphaella moved only her lips. Her voice was weak, drained of energy.
“Duke. If there’s anything else you want to say besides what you already mentioned, say it first. I’ll talk after.”
She wanted to rest as soon as possible, so she decided to hear everything William had to say in one go, then unload everything she had at once and be done with it.
“Then I will speak first.”
But the very first question William asked sent Raphaella’s hopes for a quick rest flying far away.
“What exactly is Your Highness’s true identity?”
At the same time, at the harbor of the Cester territory.
Something streaked through the dark sky, slicing through the night wind. The colorful, glittering figure soared even higher in an instant.
“Brr… it’s cold. I should’ve dressed warmer.”
Leo muttered as he looked down from the dizzying height. That was when a suspicious island entered his field of vision.
The island lay some distance from the harbor. At first glance, it looked like one of the many small, ordinary uninhabited islands scattered along the coast. But the magic leaking from it was anything but ordinary.
Leo clicked his tongue quietly.
“Damn. Looks like Elaela’s guess was right.”
To a mage’s eyes, it was an obviously suspicious place, magic energy pouring out of it. But to ordinary people, it would appear as nothing more than another useless, abandoned island.
“Should I take a closer look… or not? Hmm, what to do.”
As he hesitated, Raphaella’s whispered words resurfaced vividly in his mind.
“I know about an incredible mana stone mine that no one else knows about!”
“!!!”
“Judging by you, I’d say your magic affinity is either production-type or manipulation-type. You need lots of mana stones, right?”
“No—how did you know that? Are you a mage too, Elaela? No, that can’t be. You don’t have even a speck of mana.”
“Hey, hey. That’s not what matters right now, my friend. This is big. Focus.”
“…Sometimes you really sound like a street thug.”
“Hey!”
“Sorry….”
“Anyway! The thing mages go crazy over! Especially research-obsessed ones like you—something you can never have enough of! Mana stones!”
“…Now you sound like a snake-oil salesman.”
Thud—
“Ugh. Sorry. Please continue.”
“If you help me with this, I’ll personally guide you to that mine. Then you’ll know I’m telling the truth. What do you say? A perfectly clean deal, right?”
“Hmm… it is tempting. But it’s suspicious.”
“What is, now?”
“If it’s such a massive vein, there’s no way past mages wouldn’t have known about it. How could something like that stay undiscovered?”
“Yes, it could.”
“Huh?”
“It could.”
“How?”
“Mages use wide-area mana detection to scan regions for deposits, right?”
“Right. Detection magic is accurate.”
“You really think it’s perfectly accurate?”
“Elaela, I think the blood’s not reaching my brain. So please loosen your arm from around my neck and explain calmly, okay? I promise I won’t interrupt.”
“Hmm. Fine.”
“Ah… I can breathe again.”
“There’s a flaw in detection magic. It’s a tiny gap that humans have a hard time noticing—”
“That can’t be! So many mages have studied it over centuries—”
“……”
“Sorry.”
“……”
“I’ll shut up! I’ll cover my mouth with my hands!”
“……”
“Mmph!!”
“Hah. You’ve completely killed my motivation.”
“Mmph—mmph?! Mmph—!”
“Begging won’t help now. I’ve lost interest.”
“Mmph—mmph—!”
“Fine. I am grateful for the boots you made, but stop flaunting it.”
“?! Mmph?!”
“How can I understand you?”
“Mmph!”
“It’s written all over your face.”
“Gasp!!”
Recalling the conversation, Leo chuckled softly and brushed his windblown hair back.
“Seriously. She’s hilarious.”
Adjusting his posture to glide, Leo poured mana into the red bracelet on his wrist. The golden magic circle engraved into the ruby hummed, and then his form—his presence, scent, everything—vanished.
He flicked a passing seagull’s beak with his finger, but the bird noticed nothing and continued flying on.
It was a stealth artifact that perfectly erased one’s presence from any living being. One of Leo’s greatest recent masterpieces.
“Mm—yeah. I really am a genius.”
Admiring the bracelet with satisfaction, Leo soon angled downward, rapidly descending toward the strange island leaking unfamiliar magic.
Still lying down, Raphaella turned her head to look at William and smirked casually.
“As you can see, I’m a princess.”
“That is not what I’m asking.”
William spoke seriously, carefully choosing his words.
“Of course… as you said earlier, if you do not yet trust me, you need not answer. However, if you trust me even a little, I ask that you tell me the truth.”
“What truth?”
William clasped his hands together on his knees and paused to gather his thoughts.
During that time, Raphaella slowly pushed herself upright, pondering how best to get through this situation.
She felt completely drained. Thinking back, she had spent the morning caring for Rosalie, listened to Leo’s complaints from noon until evening, and then exhausted herself again calming Rosalie, talking nonstop.
“No wonder my mouth tastes sweet.”
She realized she hadn’t eaten dinner, having rushed here almost at a run after making Rosalie cry. Her hunger hit harder now.
“I wish I had some snacks… why is Annie taking so long?”
Raphaella had no idea that Annie had interpreted her words in formal noble language and stepped out on her own.
William took a breath, steeling himself.
“I have never seen a spirit before. I have seen priests who wield divine power, but one strong enough to purify black poison in a single attempt is extremely rare. To my knowledge, only someone of papal rank could accomplish that.”
“……”
“Your Highness possesses divine power equal to the Pope’s, and at the same time, you are the first spirit contractor I have ever seen.”
“So?”
“Leaving aside the sins I confessed earlier, I believe that knowing at least the basics about the person I serve is neither improper nor a breach of etiquette.”
As Raphaella feared, William pressed forward with relentless logic.
“What I am most curious about is this: to what extent has information about Your Highness’s abilities spread? Even the duke’s intelligence network was unaware, so I assume you deliberately concealed it until now. In that case, must we continue to maintain secrecy going forward? And to what degree should this information be classified?”
It was a sharp question.
Most likely, William’s concern centered on the fact that Raphaella’s life itself was now in danger.
Recognizing that, Raphaella answered honestly.
“Everything about Ferry has probably already spread. Especially to the Empress’s side—they were watching me closely, after all. And since I openly showed Ferry, even commoners must be talking about it.”
“I agree.”
“As for my divine power…”
Raphaella hesitated briefly—then once again chose to speak the truth.
