TTND 114

CHAPTER 114

Power Struggles Between Social Classes

While Idnia was feeling flustered, the other students one by one succeeded in casting the retrieval spell.

“It was a bit tricky at first without a wand, but isn’t this just a variation of telekinesis?”
“Since it doesn’t use much mana, I can cast it easily even without a wand.”
“You just need to focus on control.”

Even as the other students succeeded, Idnia—once the top student and best treasure seller—still couldn’t cast the spell.

One of the teaching assistants couldn’t watch any longer and picked up her black-iron wand to hand it to her.

“Idnia, try using your wand and cast the spell on this keychain.”
“Ah, yes.”

Idnia took her wand and tried to cast the retrieval spell on the keychain placed on the floor.

But the spell didn’t activate at all.

In the end, every other student succeeded, and Idnia couldn’t even get her spell to work.

“Hahaha, what’s wrong with Lady Idnia today? Not feeling well?”
“She did raise her hand so eagerly to go to the bathroom during morning class, after all.”

Zephyros’ girls—Izolde’s friends—mocked Idnia loudly on purpose.

Izolde, who had been saved by Idnia, turned red in embarrassment. She had warned her friends not to mess with Idnia, but clearly, they hadn’t listened.

Meanwhile…

‘Hmm… because of my pulse-type mana circuit…’

Idnia had a vague idea of why her magic wasn’t working.

Ironically, it was because her mana had increased.

Up until now, she had compensated for the weaknesses of her pulse-type mana circuit by being extremely good at magic chants, using her Korean-native pronunciation and a scientific mindset.

Her pronunciation was so precise that she could force spells to activate.

But as her mana grew through training, problems began.

Low-level spells like this one didn’t draw enough mana to trigger the pulse in her mana circuit. Because they needed so little mana, they failed to activate.

Even with perfect chanting, if the circuit didn’t pulse and release mana, the spell wouldn’t form.

“To think that increasing my mana would make it harder to use magic… I need a new plan.”

Now Idnia had to figure out:

• How to control her pulse-type circuit,
• How to improve her meals,
• And how to deal with the demons infiltrating Dunaice Academy.

Dinner at the Academy

The dinner was still awful.

It was the kind of meal that made students want to grow their own food just to escape the misery.

“Ugh, I didn’t care about food before. But now that I have money from selling dungeon loot and my father’s allowance, I can’t stand this anymore.”

Still, she endured it.

“I made good money recently, but there’s no guarantee I’ll always earn this much.”

She absolutely refused to rely on the academy’s expensive, low-quality shop.

“As for the pulse-type issue… I’ll run some tests tomorrow.”

She was forcing down her food when Mari approached.

“Um… can I sit here?”
“Oh, of course.”
“Thank you.”

Mari sat across from her and asked,

“Um… are you okay? You couldn’t use magic today….”

“Ah, it’s because I have a pulse-type mana circuit.”
“Pulse-type?”
“Yes. But I know what’s wrong now, so I’ll figure it out. Are you worried about me?”
“Well…”

Just then, mocking laughter came from nearby.

A few girls were staring at Idnia, laughing openly. They were clearly still making fun of her failed spell earlier.

Enter: Prince Rudolf

“Lady Idnia. Miss Mari.”

Rudolf approached their table.

“May I sit with you?”

He had originally been seated with the Zephyros students but had come over to Idnia.

“Of course. But… what brings you here, Your Highness?”
“Please, don’t call me that. I came because I’m thinking of silencing the gossip.”

There was a hint of anger in his voice.

Meanwhile, in the Capital

As Dunaice, the imperial capital, became the cultural and technological hub of the empire, big changes had occurred.

Wealth was shifting from land-owning nobles to business-savvy commoners—the gentry class.

The old aristocracy, especially those who wasted their fortunes on luxury, were losing power.

Though Idnia’s family had fallen due to leading battles against the demons—not indulgence—they were still seen as a symbol of fallen nobility.

To gentry students, Idnia was the perfect example of a ruined noble: a former royal house with duke rank that used to be kings.

Until now, no one had dared mock her, because she was too competent.

But after today’s failure in class, many gentry students began treating her with open scorn.

They had been waiting for her to slip up.

And now that they saw her as weak, their disdain surfaced.

This class tension deeply annoyed Prince Rudolf, who as heir to the empire couldn’t ignore it.

“Lady Idnia,” Rudolf said. “If you’ll allow it, I’d like to discipline the Zephyros students. I can also ask Karl and Lorenzo to—”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. But that may not solve the issue. Instead… could I borrow your name and face later?”

“Pardon? My name and face?”

“Nothing much. Just… I might want to host a party and use you as the official host.”

In other words, she’d do everything but use his name as the figurehead.

“Ah… a party? Of course, that’s fine….”

Rudolf had no idea what she was planning.

“Mari, I think I’ll skip our review session today. I’m going to visit the Wizard Ball storage room.”

“Ah, okay. Sure.”

“I’m done eating, so I’ll leave now. Your Highness, Mari, I want to check on my garden before it gets dark.”

Idnia said goodbye and left.

Rudolf and Mari were now alone at the table, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

“This is like being stuck with a friend’s friend I don’t know well….”

Mari had once fallen for Rudolf at first sight, but she wasn’t very talkative or bold.

Thankfully, Rudolf smiled and spoke first.

“I was worried about Lady Idnia after today’s class, but she doesn’t seem fazed. I guess I was overthinking it. You’re her roommate, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“She mentioned that you two study together.”

“Yes, she’s been helping me a lot. I’m barely keeping up thanks to her.”

“That’s wonderful. Your skills have improved a lot too.”

“Ah, that’s too kind. But… what is Idnia planning, I wonder?”

“That’s what I’d like to know. I’m worried this will escalate if we don’t act soon. Before Karl does something rash, I should intervene.”

Then Rudolf added,

“By the way, Miss Mari… didn’t you come from a monastery?”

He meant: “You’re not gentry either, are you?”

“Yes. I’m just the daughter of a farmer.”

“I see. But with how much your magic has grown, you really do seem like a saintly candidate.”

He praised her sincerely.

“Ugh, now what is this?! I avoided the wolf, only to be bitten by a snake….”

Izolde watched from a distance, anxious.

She couldn’t intervene, especially after being exposed as half-demon by Idnia.

The Next Morning

Baroness Bylem’s mana-enhancing class began.

It involved watching videos that helped students strengthen their magic.

For Idnia—whose mana was already strong—it was pure torture.

“No, I’m not getting stronger. I’m just suffering. That’s all this is.”

This time’s video was a propaganda piece from the imperial court, praising their welfare projects and cotton plantations.

The music video was embarrassingly cheesy—almost like something from North Korea.

A singer, obviously a government-picked performer, sang lyrics like:

“Cotton flowers bloom in our hometown fields!
We wear warm clothes thanks to all the cotton!
Thanks to the emperor’s grace~!
The children eat cottonseed oil to their hearts’ content~!”

Idnia wanted to curl up and die.

“His Majesty looks stylish, but what’s with his awful taste? If this is what sells, then the empire is doomed. This is brain rot.”

“Wait… does the Emperor really use teleportation spells? That might actually be true…”

Idnia wondered if this entire video class was just made to torture her.

From Afar…

Baroness Bylem watched her carefully.

“How strange. She wasn’t impressive at first, but now… she’s growing her mana faster than anyone else.”

Every time Idnia suffered emotionally, her mana increased.

In truth, the person who was benefiting the most from Baroness Bylem’s magic enhancement class…

was Idnia.