Chapter : 9
“The credibility of that certificate and testimony are separate matters.”
“The world doesn’t see it that way. That’s why protection certificates are so valuable. People tend to equate the words of someone with a certificate to the words of the Tower Master. I didn’t think you’d be unaware of that perception—it’s been around for a very, very long time.”
From the moment the wizard with a protection certificate testified, the Central Tower was utterly at a disadvantage in this threat—or rather, diplomatic negotiation. Utterly? No, that’s still too mild. They were at an absolute disadvantage.
The king smiled. His posture relaxed slightly compared to before. The Tower Master’s nostrils twitched, but no words came out pointing out any breach of diplomacy.
“Exactly. But there’s still more. The wedge is important,” Valombrosa continued, humming lightly.
“That painting was made in Onnevalle, and the person who painted it might have been a wizard, according to that young lady,” he said.
“……”
“So, should we lodge a complaint with Onnevalle? And, while doing so, maybe casually let it slip that the Central Tower targeted Onnevalle—what do you think would happen?”
Without a second thought, the Central Tower would be in serious trouble. Worse than anything compared to the current situation.
Onnevalle would express displeasure and lodge a formal complaint with the Central Tower, demanding something—perhaps knowledge, or the asylum of a scholar.
The current emperor of Onnevalle was known to be rather assertive, so they might even demand something utterly absurd.
The political moves of that noblewoman were impossible to predict by ordinary logic. The young emperor was confident and clever, but hardly conventional. Anyone who knew their limits would never dare touch the young duke, known as the shield of Onnevalle, in such a way.
The Tower Master swallowed deeply, his chest boiling.
He had no idea why the wizard would even bring up Onnevalle. If by some mistake they truly got involved with Onnevalle, the most inconvenient party would never be the Central Tower. Ah, this crazy human…
The old man, groaning inwardly, finally spoke.
“What is it that you want?”
The king’s question came very easily. He had anticipated this, but actually experiencing it was amusing.
Valombrosa laughed.
The negotiation—or rather, the threat disguised as negotiation—was wrapped up over two days.
The Tower Master arrived yesterday. The negotiation was finalized today. Thanks to the unprecedented speed of the results, Valombrosa was extremely pleased.
After coordinating opinions and taking a short break, they drafted the agreed-upon contents into a document.
Before entering the meeting room to write, there was one request from the Tower Master.
They requested that the wizard be called. Valombrosa, curious but agreeable, complied. His attendant headed to the royal library.
Placing the revised draft aside, Valombrosa first made a copy, which took about twenty minutes to transcribe and review. Satisfied, he handed the draft to the Tower Master. The Tower Master let out a soft sigh and picked up a pen.
Watching with his chin resting on his hand, Valombrosa saw the slow signing process finish.
“All done.”
The two exchanged copies to review each other’s content. Finding no errors, they signed the copy transcribed by the other. They laid the two copies side by side for a second verification, then signed their own. Now both copies bore the signatures of both parties. The king and the Tower Master exchanged copies once more.
The copy the king had transcribed went to the Tower Master; the copy the Tower Master had transcribed went to the king.
As a final step, Valombrosa handed the document he held to Elcier, who had been waiting nearby.
Some clauses of the Central Tower negotiation would be extremely useful for the Silver Fox Guild in the future, which was why Elcier was present during the drafting.
If the great nobles learned that the king had secretly handled the negotiation with the Central Tower, it would have caused an uproar.
The king was certain that they would oppose granting more power to the already powerful Silver Fox Guild.
Among the royal-paid officials, there were only military groups—the Silver Fox Guild, the royal guard, the city guard, and the royal city defense units—and intelligence and medical organizations—the Silver Wolf Bureau and the White Eagle Bureau. Among these, the knightly orders were only the Silver Fox Guild, the royal guard, and the Silver Wolf Bureau.
The leaders of these orders were all from well-established noble families or heirs, which naturally drew scrutiny. The heads of the Silver Fox Guild and Silver Wolf Bureau were even young men under forty.
“……”
Elcier, who had been quietly reading the document, finally looked up.
When the king raised his eyebrows to ask if he was satisfied with the paper, Elcier bowed politely. He was indeed satisfied.
Checking the clock, it had already been an hour. Valombrosa suddenly remembered that the wizard had been called to wait before drafting began. The old man, staring blankly at the confidential agreement, seemed to have completely forgotten her.
Ultimately, Valombrosa reminded him.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“That young lady… wasn’t she called earlier?”
“She was.”
“She’s been waiting quite a while. Her legs might break.”
The Tower Master folded the document twice into an envelope without replying. She was likely waiting with a sly smile rather than complaining. Probably.
The old man was very gloomy. The fact that he had the chance to get back at the king was enough to keep him from despairing completely. Without that, he might have gone mad and expelled the wizard from the Tower entirely.
Doing so would have been a severe blow to the wizard—but the Central Tower would have been affected too.
Though not widely known by name, the wizard was famous in her research field, and all her papers were remarkable. Even someone with no interest in study might have heard her name once. Moreover, she possessed rare books that were listed in the Central Tower but not owned by it…
If that were all, the old man might have already expelled her, accepting all the losses.
Those who have their weaknesses exploited are so helpless.
He sighed and stood.
“If it’s alright, may she enter here?”
“What for?”
“Just a… conversation.”
Objectively, it seemed as though fists might fly. From the Central Tower’s perspective, the wizard was a traitor or fool.
However, seeing the Tower Master’s solemn expression, Valombrosa reluctantly agreed.
He gestured to the steward in the corner, who opened the door and brought in the wizard.
The wizard entered quietly, glanced around the meeting room, and smiled absentmindedly. She seemed not to remember Valombrosa from the library visit, nor Elcier. The only person she recognized was the Tower Master.
Valombrosa marveled at such an intriguing memory. But the oblivious wizard asked the Tower Master casually,
“Why did you call me?”
“Here.”
No one questioned what “here” meant. The wizard stepped forward as if expecting it and began searching Clark’s inner pocket. The Tower Master let out a hollow laugh. If someone claimed all this had been orchestrated just for that single declaration, he wouldn’t have been surprised.
In reality, the wizard could have exposed the Tower so thoroughly that it could never recover.
She not only knew many Central Tower secrets but also possessed the skill and intellect to potentially collapse the Tower within a decade. The moment a researcher joins as a scholar under the Tower, why would a Tower mage cast spells on the scholar?
It was unfortunate that such magic simply didn’t work on this wizard.
Truly. Unfortunate.
The wizard placed a brooch in the old man’s outstretched hand. The red gemstone-studded piece was a symbol possessed by only three people in this world.
The old hand clenched the brooch tightly.
The Tower Master spoke to her.
“I hereby relieve you of the position of Deputy Tower Master. All privileges and honors you received as Deputy Tower Master are revoked, and your duties are canceled. Any objections?”
The wizard smiled brightly.
“None.”
Her answer was crisp and clear.
When had she planned this?
Since he forcibly gave her the position she didn’t want?
Reluctantly admitting it, this was an outcome the Central Tower had brought upon itself. They must have deliberately done this so she could never be pressured again.
“Uh… wait a moment.”
The king awkwardly interrupted the atmosphere between the two scholars.
The Tower Master immediately realized from the trembling voice that he had successfully tricked the king.
How sly.
The old man shoved the brooch into his pocket and stroked his beard with his left hand. For the first time since arriving yesterday, he felt something resembling happiness.
Valombrosa’s gaze blankly rested on the wizard.
“Wait, what did you say, young lady? Deputy… Tower Master? The Deputy Tower Master? The Central Tower Deputy Tower Master?”
“I was the former Deputy Tower Master,” the wizard replied with a radiant smile, as if a flower had bloomed.
Even Elcier was speechless at this revelation. Seeing the reactions of the two Arions, the Tower Master finally burst into laughter. Valombrosa, snapping out of the shock, glared at the Tower Master. That old man…!
But the Tower Master laughed like a child, forgetting his age.
His eyebrows danced up and down rapidly—an utterly irritating expression. The king’s stomach twisted at the sight.
Had he known beforehand that the testifying person held a protection certificate as Deputy Tower Master, he could have gotten even more during the negotiation!
Throughout the threat-disguised negotiation, the Tower Master had mostly nodded along. He must have thought this approach was better than negotiating while knowing she was the Deputy Tower Master. At least it minimized what would be lost… Ah, that old man!
As soon as the Tower Master and the wizard left the meeting room, Valombrosa pressed his hand to his forehead.
The last humiliation is always the most memorable. Such a shame. If he had known earlier, he could have squeezed even more out of them.
A groan escaped him.
Would another opportunity arise to hold such absolute advantage over the Central Tower? He was a great king and politician, but even so, moments like this often left him with deep regret. This was one such moment.
The opportunity missed due to insufficient information would likely haunt him until his death. It was that weighty.
Struggling to calm his heated mind, he spoke quietly.
“Your Excellency.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
And now, the wizard had naturally omitted key parts in her explanations. That innocent face. Those innocent words.
“That young lady, a former Deputy Tower Master, not remembering names or faces—is that even possible? I’ve never been so disregarded in my life.”
Truly. Nearly sixty, and never had he been ignored so thoroughly. He wanted to wave a handkerchief to get her attention.
The king continued venting his frustration.
“Also, wouldn’t you normally notice that one of us here is the king? This is the Central Palace, after all. The only one who could negotiate with the Tower Master was the king!”
“……”
“And you see, after acting as if you revealed everything, you withheld the really important parts. Truly, there’s no one reliable in this world.”
Seeing her expression and manner, even after just a brief encounter, he had almost completely relaxed. Valombrosa scratched his temple lightly with the fingers of the hand he had pressed to his forehead.
Elcier, who had been observing the king, finally spoke.
(To be continued in the next chapter)
