Chapter 74
It wasn’t just Allen—every other male lead insisted on coming along as well.
So, I gave up on taking a walk.
Since I’d already finished everything I had to do at the mansion, there was no point returning if they were all planning to tag along anyway.
‘At this point, we might as well all leave together.’
In the end, we decided to depart from the mansion altogether.
While I was preparing to leave at the main gate, Claude appeared.
Judging by his messy hair, he must have only just regained consciousness—it looked like a bird’s nest.
Evan reached out a hand toward him.
“Claude, I owe you a lot. Thanks for everything.”
“So you do know that, huh? You damn brat.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret safe.”
“Who the hell said I was worried about that?”
Claude replied bluntly and, instead of shaking Evan’s hand, gave his shoulder a light punch.
“So, where are you headed now?”
“Wherever Lady Estelle goes.”
“You’re hopeless.”
Claude shrugged once and turned toward me.
“There’s something I’d like to say to you for a moment, if you don’t mind?”
He looked at Evan as he said it.
“Why are you asking him for permission?” I asked.
Claude turned his head back to me.
“Fair point. You’re Estelle, right?”
“Just call me comfortably.”
“All right. I’ve been wanting to talk to the person who trained Allen.”
“You don’t have to be so formal.”
Even if he lowered his voice and tried to sound dignified now, the image I had of Claude was already firmly set in my mind as a bit of a goof.
“Ahem, right then!”
Claude cleared his throat noisily and put his hands behind his back.
Honestly, both Claude and the others were all technically older than me, even if they were NPCs.
Evan was just naturally like that, so I could overlook it, but I still couldn’t get used to being addressed with such extreme respect by people older than me.
“That kid’s pretty bold, but now that I see it, he takes after you.”
“Allen takes after me?”
I had never thought that before.
Sure, his demeanor had changed recently, but my memory of him acting like a trembling little chihuahua was still way too vivid.
‘Well, we did spend years together.’
I guess it made sense that he’d pick up a few traits from me.
As I was thinking that, Claude spoke again, his gaze shifting to Allen, who was busy packing.
“That kid’s got monstrous talent. The kind that might appear once in a thousand years. You might find it strange, but even I feel jealous of him.”
Claude’s eyes lingered on Allen, but strangely, it was my lips that almost curved into a smile.
“I know what you mean.”
“Thought you might.”
Anyone who saw Allen would probably say the same.
I could relate completely—I’d once been jealous of his talent, too.
“You should keep a close eye on him. The younger they are, the easier it is to get consumed by their own talent.”
“I plan to.”
“I might be overstepping, but I’m saying this because that kid’s dangerous.”
“Allen is?”
“Yeah. My instincts tell me so.”
Claude frowned slightly.
Despite his goofy image, he didn’t seem like someone who’d say something like that without reason.
And a Sword Saint’s intuition wasn’t something to take lightly.
“He seems to listen to you more than anyone else, so make sure he doesn’t go down the wrong path.”
“If that happens, I’ll beat some sense into him, no matter what it takes.”
“Hah! You’re much more straightforward than that stiff bastard. I like it. How about learning under me for real?”
“Didn’t you say you don’t take disciples?”
“That’s only because all those annoying nobles keep begging me to teach their untalented brats.”
Well, considering he became the youngest Sword Saint in history, he probably got countless offers.
I knew exactly how irritating that could be—after winning a gold medal, I’d been swarmed by people asking if I’d coach their kids after retirement.
“Teaching kids with real talent is actually pretty fun.”
Claude straightened his back as he spoke.
“So? What’s your answer?”
“You already know, so why bother asking?”
“Thought so.”
Claude chuckled briefly—just as Allen quietly appeared behind him.
“Master.”
“Whoa, damn it! You scared me!”
He must not have sensed Allen’s presence at all.
Judging by how he literally jumped, Claude was genuinely startled.
“What were you talking about with my sister?” Allen asked.
“Just giving you some career advice. Satisfied?”
“Then why were you smiling?”
“Hah, unbelievable! Do I need permission to smile in my own mansion?”
“I’d prefer that, yeah.”
“You brat! Back in my day, you wouldn’t have even dared look me in the eye! You’ve got no idea how terrifying I used to be—back then, I—”
“Sis, we’re ready. Let’s go.”
Allen cut him off mid-rant.
“At least he still calls you Master,” I said.
“Yeah. Took a lot of effort.”
Did that really take effort?
As I wondered, Claude launched into another long-winded story about his younger days.
Seeing no end to it, Allen and I left him behind and walked out through the main gate, where Evan, Dan, and Heinrich were waiting for us.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call for a carriage?” Evan asked as we approached.
“They said it’s only an hour’s walk. We can just walk there—good exercise.”
“Understood.”
“Why’s he lying like that?” I asked, glancing at Heinrich, who was floating horizontally in midair as if he were lounging in his own living room.
“…I have no idea,” Evan muttered, shaking his head.
His blue eyes wandered blankly, like he was trying to process the shock of Heinrich’s free-spirited behavior before finally giving up.
“Ibnor!”
At that moment, Claude appeared again.
“Claude? Did you forget something?”
“Forget that—take this. I almost forgot to give it to you.”
Claude pulled out a seal engraved with a crest of two crossed swords and tossed it to Evan.
It was the symbol of Claude’s family—basically a noble identification seal in this world.
“What’s this for?” Evan asked, clearly puzzled.
“The Empire’s atmosphere has been tense lately. I won’t be leaving the mansion for a while, so you hold on to it.”
“Something’s happening in the Empire?”
“What, you didn’t know? The First and Second Princes are fighting over the throne—raising hell, the both of them. Anyway, if things get messy, show that seal. It’ll smooth things over.”
“…Thanks, Claude.”
“If you’re thankful, don’t ever come back.”
At this point, I couldn’t tell if Claude liked Evan or hated him.
“That’s all. I’m going.”
And just like that, Claude left without another word.
But what he said stuck with me.
‘The princes are fighting over the throne?’
That wasn’t something I remembered from the game.
Then again, in the original storyline, the Saint didn’t cross into the Aslan Empire until two years later, so it made sense that I wouldn’t know what happened before that.
‘Of all times, why now?’
It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
I had to pass through the Imperial Palace, and this just made things more complicated.
Still, I had a reason to go—the relic I needed couldn’t be obtained from any quest reward. It was sealed within the palace.
‘We’ll just go to the palace first.’
Everything else could be figured out later.
No point wasting time over hypotheticals.
“Evan. Call for a carriage.”
“A carriage?”
“Yes. We’ll head straight to the Imperial Palace.”
“Understood.”
Evan went back into the mansion to make arrangements.
Moments later, a scream—likely Claude’s—echoed from inside.
“Wait, what did I just hear?” Heinrich, who’d been lazily floating in the air, dropped to the ground in a panic.
“You’re going to the Imperial Palace? The royals are probably tearing the place apart looking for me right now!”
Right. I’d almost forgotten about Heinrich.
The reason the Mage Tower had enjoyed such strong royal support was because Heinrich, the Archmage, was its master.
But he had passed his title to someone else without even notifying the palace.
It had been a week since then.
By now, the royals surely knew—and were probably scouring the land for him, just as he said.
Considering Heinrich was an invaluable military asset, their reaction made perfect sense.
“What’s there to worry about?” I asked.
“…Hm?”
“If you change your appearance, no one will recognize you.”
“Now that you mention it… you’re right. Interesting idea, Maria. I’ll do that. Let’s see… this time, maybe I’ll borrow that face.”
He pointed a finger toward Allen.
Before I could even ask what he meant, there were suddenly two Allens standing before me.
