Chapter 87

EP.87 The Mad Dog and the Mad Maid (2)

It is late at night.

Despite the late hour, sleep does not come.

Princess Lyluel gazes at the burning candle, lost in thought. Many things happened today. Though she usually leads a busy life, today was particularly chaotic and overwhelming.

She sorts through the day while looking at the candle.

Staring at the flickering flame, her mood sinks. It feels as if her true self is being exposed.

Huff.

A breeze blows through the open window.

Though it is early summer, the night wind is cold. The wind makes the candle flame flicker.

“...”

Lyluel leans back in her chair and looks out the window. It is night. A night filled with darkness and silence. In the vast expanse of the black sky, stars shine beautifully.

As always.

They merely shine in their place.

When the princesses of the royal family, who were said to be born with the stars, died, the stars were always shining like that.

“Foolish.”

Suddenly, such a murmur escapes her lips.

It is foolish. It was a foolish matter. Despite the approach of death, she finds it absurd that she can be so calm. The situation itself is absurd.

‘...The summoning circuit, was it?’

Lyluel ponders the words she heard from the professor earlier in the day.

The professor gave the answer so easily. The answer, which the professor presented as if it were nothing, was the answer to the question Lyluel had searched for all her life.

The deaths of her sisters.

The death that would one day come to her and Ayla.

No one knew its true nature, and rumors spread that it was a curse laid upon the royal family.

‘To quell the rumors, my brother suppressed them. It is not a curse. The children were simply weak... he used to say such nonsense.’

Due to my brother's interference, investigations were always conducted in secret. Lyluel had researched the deaths that appeared in her sisters by poring over countless books.

No one could be trusted.

The only one she could trust was herself.

Lyluel delved into the study of magic. She studied how to read circuits. She knows that she has no talent for magic.

However, even without talent...

Reading circuits was within the realm of learning and effort.

So she worked hard.

Her efforts bore fruit.

She became a pillar of honor in the Ivory Tower.

Immediately after becoming a pillar, she searched through all the circuits in the Ivory Tower. Recalling the symptoms that appeared in her sisters, she studied and researched various spells.

However, she could not find it.

She had not been able to find it.

Then, death came to her as well.

There was nothing more she could do on her own. She needed someone's help.

That's how she ended up hiring a professor.

‘Lania von Trias.’

The adopted daughter and disciple of Sir Roselle, who raised a gray mage. And, a professor at the Aphria Academy where Ayla attends. Looking at her, Lyluel thought.

Perhaps, she had this hope.

If it didn't work out, she would have to resign herself to it.

And, God had answered her hope. Everything was resolved so easily. Or rather, it hasn't been resolved yet, but it will be.

-It's the circuit used by the battlefield ritualists.

-Activating the circuit using the target's life force.

The professor said as much.

Those words were neither lies nor conjectures. After hearing them, the evidence Lyluel had gathered over the years aligned, and she affirmed the professor's answer.

Then, there is one remaining question.

How did the professor find something that Lyluel could not, no matter how much she searched? She did not ask the professor directly, but the question remains.

‘The circuit used by the battlefield ritualists, was it?’

Lyluel is also knowledgeable about circuits. Despite her appearance, she is one of the pillars of the Magic Association.

Life is precious.

It holds the highest value of all.

Circuits that handle life are inevitably complex. It is not easy to draw them. Ordinary battlefield mages would not have encountered them.

In fact, Lyluel had only heard of the ritualist units today. She did not lack in studying the spell systems of the battlefield, having encountered them through books and records.

However, there are things that cannot be learned from books.

“Beyond the front lines, the Magic Realm.”

A place where even letters do not reach properly.

A place that has been contaminated by magic for a long time, called the Magic Realm.

‘The spell system there changes almost daily. There is no time to record it. Crafting spells, breaking spells, countering spells...’

The history of magic is rewritten several times a day in the Magic Realm. It is not called the Magic Realm for nothing.

A place where common sense does not apply.

A place where common sense does not apply, and there are no rules.

‘It must have been a circuit from there.’

Why a circuit used only in the Magic Realm would be in the royal palace is unknown. She also has no idea what kind of eccentricity her brother indulged in to obtain it.

One thing is certain.

The professor she hired has the skill to recognize it at a glance. Not only that, she also knows the exact method to dismantle it.

‘...Those were eyes of confidence.’

Those who are confident in their abilities have a different look in their eyes. They have certainty. Actions born from certainty are bold and unwavering.

Such integrity was felt from the professor.

“Unbelievable...”

Lyluel mutters.

Where in the world could such a professor exist?

‘Lucky you, Ayla.’

It seems you have a rather capable person by your side. Murmuring this, Lyluel closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the wind.

Knock knock.

A noise mixes with the sound of the wind.

Someone knocks on the princess's door.

“Come in.”

The one who enters is the professor.

She drags something into the room. Lyluel narrows her eyes and looks at her.

“...What is that?”

“I said I would catch it during the day, didn't I?”

She drops what she is carrying.

It is a middle-aged man. How she managed to drag him in is a mystery, but that is not the important part.

Who is the man the professor brought in?

Lyluel did not need much time to recognize him.

“Those clothes...”

They are the clothes of a court mage, aren't they?

The man, lying on the floor, looks up at Lyluel with trembling eyes.

“Gulp, gulp!”

He cannot even speak, which is strange. Looking closely, a white glove is crumpled in his mouth. After a brief moment, Lyluel spoke.

“...Isn't that Sir Nekelt?”

Court mage, Nekelt.

He avoids Lyluel's gaze. However, the professor does not leave him alone.

“Tsk, tsk.”

She grabs Nekelt by the nape of his neck and pulls him up with ease, as if handling a child. As Nekelt wobbles to his feet, the professor kicks the back of his knees with the tip of her shoe.

“...! ...!”

A silent scream echoes.

Nekelt kneels and bows his head.

“Look up.”

She aligns Nekelt's ankles and steps on them with her heel. Then, she grabs his hair and forces his head up.

Trembling.

Nekelt's eyes, looking up at Lyluel sitting in the chair, tremble. His gaze is almost pleading, as if begging for help from the madwoman holding his hair.

Lyluel tilted her head back.

“...Sigh.”

Then she rubbed her temples.

What is this commotion in the middle of the night?

“Professor?”

“Yes?”

The girl with gray hair tilts her head.

Despite her seemingly innocent appearance, she has an adult male subdued in her hands.

And, he is a court mage.

Unable to utter a single word or cast a single spell, he is helplessly subdued. Seeing this, confusion rather than surprise takes precedence.

“Who are you, really?”

“Um...”

The professor's gaze shifts at the question. Her expression suggests she is about to say something other than the first word that comes to mind.

“A professor at Aphria?”

“...”

What are you trying to say by answering in a question form?

And, where in the world is a professor who can easily subdue a court mage like a piece of cake?

“...Well, if you are, then that's what you are.”

Lyluel gave up on thinking deeply.

2.

I briefly explained the situation to Princess Lyluel. Unlike when I first entered, where she looked at me with a puzzled expression, Princess Lyluel quickly understood what I was saying.

“So.”

She pointed to the kneeling mage.

His name was probably Nekelt.

“This one released surveillance familiars in the secondary palace... and when you dealt with him, he came back to release them again?”

I nodded.

Princess Lyluel sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“I knew most of the court mages were on my brother's side... but to intrude into my secondary palace in such a manner.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“They must think I'm nothing but a dog.”

Her eyes, looking down at Nekelt, were cold. She closed her eyes and then opened them again.

“What was the reason for bringing him here?”

“You seemed to want to beat up the court mages.”

“You really understand me well.”

Princess Lyluel chuckled.

It was a laugh mixed with satisfaction and mischief.

“I understand, Professor.”

The princess nodded.

“It's time for the mad dog to bark.”

3.

Early in the morning, a letter arrived for the court mages. More precisely, it was a letter aimed at the five court mages who serve as the hands and feet of the First Prince.

-Hello, the reason I am sending this letter to you is simple. As the hands and feet of the royal family, I desperately need your help...

The letter was not long.

The short letter could be summarized in two sentences.

-Come immediately.

-If you don't want to die.

At the end of the letter, there is the mana of court mage Nekelt. They also know that Nekelt, who went to engrave a circuit in the middle of the night, has not returned.

“...”

The five mages pondered for a moment and then headed to the secondary palace. A guard knight waiting in the corridor of the secondary palace led them to the audience room.

The door to the audience room opens.

As soon as the door opens, a figure is visible.

Princess Lyluel, the First Princess, is sitting in a chair with her legs crossed. She twirls her silver hair with her fingers and welcomes the guests who have come to her.

“Oh, you're here, sirs.”

She smiles.

“I called you urgently, so I couldn't prepare chairs for you. Please understand. It's a story that can be told while standing there.”

Princess Lyluel gestures.

The court mages bite their lips and stand a certain distance away from Princess Lyluel.

And.

“Close the door.”

The princess's voice lowers.

The door closes with a creak. No one is holding the doorknob.

Lock.

A spell locks the door. It is impossible to tell where the spell originated. An ominous atmosphere fills the room.

“...Why did you call us here?”

“Well, I caught a dirty traitor.”

She gestures.

At some point, a maid standing there steps forward. In her hand is a familiar figure.

‘...Nekelt?’

There is no time to question.

The maid swings her arm. Nekelt falls to the floor with a loud thud, already unconscious.

“...Princess.”

The court mages' expressions twist.

“We serve the royal family. Without solid evidence, you cannot...”

“I have evidence. He came to my secondary palace in the middle of the night without any prior notice.”

“There was a reason for that.”

The mages speak.

It is an excuse they had prepared since they noticed Nekelt's absence.

“Yesterday, all the circuits engraved in the secondary palace stopped working. Isn't it a big deal if the circuits protecting the palace are damaged?”

“Hmm.”

“That fact must not leak out. So, Sir Nekelt came secretly to engrave the circuits again...”

“Came to my secondary palace in the middle of the night, did he?”

The princess hums and nods.

When she raises her head, she looks very disappointed.

“I mistook a loyal servant for a traitor. To punish someone who came to engrave circuits for my safety, risking his life...”

“That's right, a traitor! It is a sad matter for us. Sir Nekelt was purely...”

“Yes, I must have misunderstood.”

Princess Lyluel smiles.

Her narrowed eyes curve. With a chilling smile, she wiggles her fingers.

Thud.

A familiar, resembling a giant eyeball, drops in front of them. The court mages flinch for a moment.

‘How could this be?’

The familiar they thought had flown