Chapter 96
Severian was having restless days. He was desperately trying to find a way into the Forbidden Archive.
Five days later, in a secluded hallway inside the Crown Prince’s palace, he was busy scolding the palace magicians he had bribed.
“Ugh, you useless fools! You’re all supposedly so great at detecting dark magic, yet you can’t even cast a simple youth spell? Can’t you even do a transformation spell or something?”
“Magic that alters the body is highly dangerous and thus illegal in the Empire. If you truly insist, we can try, but you’ll have to deal with the side effects.”
“What kind of side effects?”
“The spell might never wear off… or your internal organs could twist.”
“…Forget it. I’ll find another way.”
Severian hurried away, almost fleeing the hallway. Climbing the stairs leading to his room, he was lost in thought.
‘Damn it, when is Ibelia going to wake up? If she wakes up, I could easily find the location of the final soul fragment.’
Maybe Ibelia had left something behind? As a prophet, she might have anticipated her own collapse.
Just then, someone appeared from the opposite side of the corridor. It was Ren, Ibelia’s knight escort.
Spotting Severian, Ren rushed over and bowed deeply.
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“Skip the greetings. What do you want?”
“I came to deliver a note left by Princess Ibelia. A maid found it while cleaning the princess’s study.”
Severian snatched the note in haste.
“I feel an unpleasant sensation. If something happens to me, call Severian to my study.”
Of course. This was so like Ibelia.
“She wants me to come to her study? Was there anything else?”
“No. That was the only thing left on her desk.”
“I’ll go check it out.”
Severian headed toward the princess’s palace with Ren. Before going to the study, he stopped by Ibelia’s bedroom.
The healer in the room awkwardly greeted him.
“O-Oh! Your Highness… The princess’s condition is…”
“No need to say it. You’re going to tell me you still don’t know why she won’t wake up, right?”
“…Yes.”
“Useless fool. Do you even know anything?”
“Well… If I may cautiously speculate, perhaps it’s the work of a witch? After reviewing various documents and drawing from my long experience, I can’t explain this otherwise.”
“There’s no such thing as witches. Don’t make me laugh.”
A disgustingly competent fool. Severian swallowed his true feelings and checked on Ibelia’s condition. She had looked pale and frail at first, but after being dipped in the Lake of Purification, she showed a bit more color.
‘She’s improving. She’ll wake up soon.’
Letting out a small sigh of relief, Severian left the room. They hadn’t been particularly close anyway, so it felt awkward to linger. Confirming she was recovering was enough.
Guided by Ren, Severian headed to the study. The room felt unnecessarily large.
‘It’s as big as the Imperial Library. Why does she love books this much? It’s creepy.’
So, what did Ibelia mean by calling him here? Wandering through the vast study, Severian started with the desk where the maid had found the note.
Luckily, it was easy to find. There was only one desk in the entire room.
Opening the drawer just in case, he found a single white book.
“What the heck is this?”
No title, all blank pages inside. The only notable thing was a small label on the book spine indicating its original location.
So… he probably had to return it to its designated place.
“Location: B1?”
Severian carried the white book and wandered through the study. He quickly found the right spot—a bookshelf stuck against a corner wall.
Every book on the shelf was neatly arranged. At the very bottom, there was exactly one empty space, as if waiting for the white book.
‘Of course. She wants me to put it back here.’
As soon as Severian slotted the book into the empty spot—click—he heard something unlock.
The sound came from the floor tiles.
‘This tile?’
One tile was slightly raised. Lifting it revealed a hidden compartment containing a box.
Severian set the tile aside and pulled the box out. Opening it, he found some gemstones, unfamiliar plants, and a sheet of paper.
‘What is this purple gem…? Isn’t this crystal only found in the Kingdom of Sekron? These herbs too… They grow only there.’
The paper inside the box had instructions written on it:
“Safe Youth Potion Recipe
(A Secret Recipe from the Magicians of Sekron Kingdom)
For some reason, I feel I must pass this on to Severian.”
“What? Is this real?”
Below, a detailed brewing process was written out. The crystals and plants were potion ingredients.
Of course, Ibelia wouldn’t fall without a backup plan!
‘If she left behind something like this, there must really be something in the Forbidden Archive. But… is this truly safe? I’m scared to drink it.’
As if she had anticipated his hesitation, a line at the bottom of the paper caught his eye:
“I personally tried it. It’s safe. Duration: 2 hours.”
Reassuring. And it made the recipe seem even more trustworthy. Knowing Ibelia, she probably predicted that her brother would chicken out.
Severian hurried back to the Crown Prince’s palace and summoned the magicians he had bribed.
He shoved the box and recipe at them.
“Here. Make this.”
The two magicians eagerly read the recipe.
“Oh! It’s quite simple. We have all the necessary equipment and ingredients. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Then go make it. No time to waste.”
“However… According to the recipe, it requires five days of aging. Even if we start now, it’ll take at least a week.”
“What? A week? Damn it!”
Alarms went off in Severian’s head. A week? What if the demons made another move during that time? There wasn’t a moment to lose.
The clueless magicians stayed calm.
“Well, Your Highness, you already look quite youthful without any potion.”
“Indeed. While we understand your desire to look even younger…”
“Both of you shut it and just make the thing. And in case you’re misunderstanding, this isn’t just a youth potion for appearances. It’s a potion that’ll temporarily shrink me into a child’s body… Why are you looking at me like that? Like I’m some kind of pervert?”
The magicians laughed awkwardly.
“Oh… We didn’t expect Your Highness to long for your childhood so much… You want to become a kid again and be loved like before?”
“Anyway! We’ll do our best to help Your Highness achieve his goal! Haha! We fully understand and respect all of Your Highness’s… tastes.”
“What the hell are you imagining?! Just go and make it already.”
Severian kicked them out. While catching his breath on the sofa, a letter from Chesion appeared before him.
‘Looks like there’s a split between the Demon King and the witches? Thanks to that, the human realm should be safe for a while?’
The contents eased Severian’s urgency a little. He quickly sent a reply.
“Mori, Severian found a way to get younger. Ibelia left behind a potion recipe. But it’ll take at least a week to finish.”
Inside Chesion’s bedroom, Gremory, who had been dozing lazily in his arms, blinked.
“A week, huh. That’s enough time.”
A week later. Around then… it would be Chesion’s birthday.
Gremory decided on Chesion’s birthday gift. After understanding the true meaning behind gifts thanks to the ball Chesion had prepared before, choosing wasn’t hard.
‘A week should be enough to make it. Starting tomorrow, I’ll sneak out to gather materials.’
Gremory smiled proudly into the air. What kind of reaction would Chesion show upon receiving the gift?
‘It’s Chesion who’ll get the present, but why am I the one more excited? Is this the fun part of surprise gifts?’
She couldn’t wait for Chesion’s birthday. And if the witches caused trouble again before then, she’d rip them apart to make sure Chesion’s birthday stayed peaceful.
“What do you mean, enough time?”
“Oh… It’s nothing.”
“What is it? You’re making me curious.”
“I said it’s nothing. I’m sleepy. Pet me.”
“Mhm.”
Gremory snuggled into Chesion’s arms. Without asking further, Chesion gently stroked her head.
