Chapter : 16
“Truly amazing.”
Usually lazy about everything, but when it comes to moments like this, they act faster and more perfectly than anyone. That was one of the hundreds of reasons I respected my master.
“That emperor—was he always such a coward?”
…Even if the man in question wasn’t present, speaking of the emperor like that took guts.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling nervous — what if someone heard and told the emperor?
I glanced to gauge the atmosphere; Everett nodded.
“He certainly acted differently today than usual.”
…Huh?
I blinked at Everett’s subtle agreement. It wasn’t common for my master and Everett to share the same opinion.
“He seemed unusually fainthearted, and his mood kept swinging. He was also overly sensitive to external stimuli, almost as if—”
Everett stopped himself, but my master and I both understood immediately.
‘Was he drugged?’
I knew some nobles reached for drugs in pursuit of pleasure. But in the Empire, highly addictive substances were strictly banned on the surface, so they never openly appeared in public events.
‘I don’t know.’
I’d never had an audience with the emperor, so I didn’t know his normal personality. However, Everett, who periodically met the emperor, and my master, who’s often summoned, both sensed something off in his demeanor today.
“We weren’t the only ones to notice, were we?”
My master’s certainty darkened Everett’s expression.
“For a while, His Majesty may not be able to show himself publicly. It’s a huge relief that Her Highness the Princess appeared at the ceremony.”
It looked like Aria would be busier after today.
“This is the second time since the assassination attempt on the princess…”
My master ran his fingers through his hair and frowned. That was not a good sign. My master rarely got angry, but when he did, he turned into a demon.
“They must’ve let the rebels run rampant for too long.”
“Are you saying this incident was the rebels’ doing?”
I asked, surprised by his near-assured tone. Even I, who knew the original story, only had a vague suspicion—how did my master notice?
He nodded.
“When the explosion tore the clothes apart, I saw a sign.”
“…You saw it from that distance?”
“It wasn’t particularly hard to see.”
At Everett’s remark, my master wore an indifferent face.
“It was a snake mark, definitely.”
The snake mark etched on someone’s body was the symbol of the rebels opposing the royal family. Those dissatisfied with the Empire’s current system, trying to change it.
‘When did he see all that?’
If the rebels committed this attack, it explained why they committed collective suicide after failing to assassinate the emperor. They wouldn’t want to leave evidence.
Indeed, the intruders were reduced to dust by the blast; no traces remained. If my master hadn’t noticed, we wouldn’t even have had a lead to call them rebels.
‘The rebels are acting so hostile…’
Until now, the rebels had shown mostly passive acts—harassing nobles who oppressed commoners, sabotaging imperial events—but nothing so aggressive. In the original story, Aria and the rebels didn’t come into direct conflict until much later.
Now that I thought about it, how did the rebels manage to infiltrate a royal event at this moment?
I’d worry about that later. For now, I at last said something I’d been holding back.
“Master, you’re incredible! How could you possibly have seen that in a single instant? I really admire you. That piercing eye, the situational judgment, the charisma to command those who were flustered—truly perfect…”
This wasn’t blind praise. It was simply stating facts.
“Ahem, Themis.”
“Yes.”
At Everett’s call I stopped, turning to him.
“Good work today. Your actions were dazzling.”
Everett cleared his throat as he spoke; then I remembered why he’d been so forward today.
‘But if Master thinks I was trying to build a record to get dispatched, he might try to help. Not this time—I have to do it on my own.’
Worrying about that, I asked a broad question that summarized everything.
“Was it okay?”
Everett was perceptive. He surely understood my intention behind the question.
“Yes. Even the Deputy Consul would be impressed.”
He’d understood me perfectly and gave the ideal answer.
‘This should be enough to be considered for dispatch, right?’
My plan seemed back on track and I felt good. Everett smiled gently and said,
“I only realized today how beautiful the attribute ‘darkness’ can be. Themis, you are truly amazing.”
His words made my face flush. Other than my master, Everett was the first to praise my ability without prejudice. It was somewhat embarrassing.
‘It doesn’t please me as much as praise from Master… but it still feels good.’
Everett was truly someone who could see the good in everyone—the main male lead’s type.
‘I feel guilty that someone like him should be separated from the princess he’s supposed to be with.’
I forced a brighter smile and bowed to hide my heavy heart. Everett’s warmth made me feel more at ease than usual.
“Thank you.”
I looked him in the eye and smiled, and his gaze lingered on me unusually long.
‘Why is he staring like that?’
I averted my eyes feeling awkward, but Everett’s stare persisted, stubbornly fixed on me.
“Um… is something on my face?”
I worried about soot or ash from blocking the explosion being on my face; I didn’t want to show a dirty look in front of my master. Just as Everett was about to reply, an urgent voice cut between the three of us.
“Archmage! Could you help us?”
The commander of the knights, breathless from trying to clean up the scene, ran to my master. Because many high-ranking nobles attended the banquet, even the imperial commander could be overwhelmed.
“…Please.”
“Sigh. I’ll be back soon; wait a moment, Themis.”
With a sigh, my master walked over to the nobles. I watched him pass by in a daze. Even in the middle of this chaos, my master remained dignified and neat. His lightly swept blond hair looked as if sunlight had pooled on a clear day.
His color was always like that—neither too strong nor too faint, harmonious like a carefully painted watercolor.
“Themis, are you okay? You seemed to have used quite a bit of magic.”
I snapped back to reality at Everett’s voice; I’d been staring at my master’s back. “I’m fine. Thank you, cleric.”
I blinked at him as I answered. My heart was sore and my whole body ached, but it was bearable. The endurance I’d built at the magic tower was paying off. When researching magic at the tower, I often combined small spells, and when I shut myself away in the lab to concentrate, I tended to miss healing sessions. Over time I’d built up a tolerance; this level of pain didn’t require treatment.
‘Still, I haven’t fully mastered darkness yet…’
If I gained more practical experience, I could learn to control the power. The staff I summoned had already disappeared, but the memory of darkness cheering in my head remained vivid.
‘I always thought he was gloomy and reserved…’
I didn’t expect him to hide this side. Perhaps this dispatch would be a good chance for me to control darkness.
Everett, still concerned, studied my expression and spoke again.
“If you feel unwell later, contact me immediately.”
We’ll be working together from now on. Even though Everett didn’t say it outright, those words echoed like an afterthought.
‘Even if we don’t work together, clerics and mages inevitably get involved with each other.’
That’s why in the original story, Aria, the mage, and Everett, the cleric, ended up together. Clerics were the only ones who could fully relieve us from the Mana Core’s pain.
‘…Why does it have to be this way?’
Mages with imperfect hearts were essentially given an expiration date. If a mage couldn’t become strong enough to control the Mana Core’s power coursing through their veins, the Mana Core would run wild and kill them.
‘Even my master, who knows how to control the Mana Core, sometimes borrows the cleric’s power; it’s unavoidable.’
Using magic makes mana flow all over the body — that sensation itself is painful. If one overuses magic and goes to the brink of a runaway, it’s said to feel like molten iron boiling in the heart and spreading through the veins.
I’d accepted and adapted to it for so long, but now it felt different.
‘Why must only mages endure this pain?’
I resolved to measure my physical condition while dispatched. Recording the mana flow that arises when I use magic would help stabilize the Mana Core.
At that moment, my master, who had briefly left, came back.
“Finished talking?”
“Yes, Master.”
I had been nodding vigorously, but when I saw my master’s expression had worsened, I froze. Had something happened while he was gone?
My master turned to Everett.
“I think I need to speak with the Deputy Consul.”
His low voice, echoing as if from a cave, hinted that his mood was very grim. Whatever the reason, being on the wrong side of my master in this state would be catastrophic.
“Well… to interview the Deputy Consul, at the earliest—”
Everett narrowed his eyes and counted dates before answering.
“I think it will be after my dispatch.”
At that, I held my breath and watched my master’s face closely.
