CH 16

"I'm pleased to see that Sion was successfully able to make a contract with the grimoire."

We were in a reception room.

Duke Bernard, who was seated across from me and Fiona, took one sip from her teacup filled with tea. Next to him sat Lady Sion, clad in a modest white dress, clutching her grimoire.

She was giving off a solemn vibe, but it was still fresh in my mind that she interrupted our praise with such force that she physically slammed into us and hugged us while crying. I can still see a little trace of tears on her face.

He really was a father who loved his children.

"You are only the 7th Book of Wisdom holder in the kingdom. In the future, you will have an influential voice in this country."

"More than authority over the kingdom, I hope that you will become a mage worthy of your title."

"That's true. I believe that Sion will never be too arrogant about her power, and that she will develop properly."

A person who flaunts their power to such an extreme is rare even among nobles. If His Majesty hears that you are doing something like that, he will summon you to the palace immediately, verify the facts, and then punish you in some way. His Majesty is a good person, you know.

Well, there's a downside that he's being too soft on your own children - the prince and princess.

"I'm confident that Lady Sion will become a wonderful mage in the future. Now that we have that out of the way..."

"It's about the future, isn't it?"

The Duke pressed his index finger to his temple looking troubled.

I've already settled on my future plans.

First, we need to identify and capture the person who placed the curse on Lady Sion.

Secondly, in the meantime, I will keep Lady Sion from coming into contact with too many people, and have her under my protection whenever she goes out.

The capable butler had already made a list of all the people with whom she had met, dined, and attended parties with in the past four months, but the list was too large. To be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to make it to the opening ceremony of the magic school, which is only two weeks away.

Unless they are stupid enough to come and attack us or something like that.

... A part of me has some idea of what's going to happen.

"Even though you have gotten a grimoire, Lady Sion is still inexperienced. You need to have someone with adequate skills as your escort."

"Precisely...?"

"As I already told Her Highness Fiona, it is ideal to have a person who can immediately detect a suspicious person, who is competent, and can eliminate poisons and dangerous magic in advance when eating. From that standpoint, I'm going to ask Her Highness to have the Vice Commander of the Court Mages as her guard."

"...I don't think we're going to find anyone like that so easily..."

"That's right. There are several people in the court mages, one of whom is escorting Princess Fiona, and if we assign more people, the royal palace will be stretched thin..."

"So, is there ......?"

The Duke crossed his arms uneasily.

"The number of people who have had contact with Sion in the past four months or so is enormous. If you were to ask me honestly, I'm sure I wouldn't know. As a duke, I'm sure I've been the subject of resentment and jealousy from various people."

"If we don't look deeper, we'll never find the culprit. I think it will take several months at the earliest to uncover and gather evidence."

"There are not many people who can be entrusted with that kind of time..."

Even court mages don't have much time to spare.

If a talented person, even the vice commander, is sent to guard Fiona, the others will become extremely busy to fill the gap.

It's not like they'll be there all the time, but at least they'll need a skilled guard who can stay with them when they're out and about.

"I think it's safest for me to stay by your side, Serel."

"What?"

"No..."

I let out a sound when I heard what the Duke had said to Lady Sion, who was happily looking at the grimoire. Fiona next to me also stuck a smile on her face, but her movements were stiff.

"No, Sion. Serel has been entrusted with the library by His Majesty the King. You can't be on guard duty and be absent from the library where that huge amount of materials, documents and magic books are stored..."

"I'll just have to stay in the library all the time then."

"Wha-"

While the Duke frowned, Lady Sion began to persuade him of the advantages, or rather, the importance of convincing him.

No, I don't mind staying in the library, but... I'm too scared to look at Fiona. I can feel her stare, but... I'm not going to look!

"Mr Serel is able to sense the magic of people in the library. If someone suspicious is trying to approach me, he can sense it in advance and take action. Actually, if he is teaching me my studies, he can stay with me."

"Oh, with all due respect, Lady Sion. I'm afraid we are not allowed to engage in intensive fighting in the library, so if we are attacked..."

"We can defeat them before they attack us, right? Just like before."

But it seems that the princess next to me is not satisfied with that...

"Well, then it's probably safer for me to stay in the library too..."

"Fiona, you're probably going to be visiting a lot of places on official business, and you're being escorted by a member of the Court Mages, right? If so, I think you'll be quite safe."

"Well, that's..."

"In addition, since I'm going to be starting school this year, I was hoping to do a little prep work while I still can, so having Mr Serel teach me makes a lot of sense since he can watch me study and protect me just by being close to me."

"..."

I can't afford for you to look at me like that.

I don't think I can win this one with my mouth. It's true that Fiona has official business to attend to, and it's also true that Lady Sion is safe in the library.

You've completely lost this time, Fiona.

"From what I've been told... it seems that being by your side is the safest."

"It would seem so. I don't mind since because that's what Lady Sion wants. I really hope that Lady Sion will put in a lot of effort in her studies and earn the title of Head of the Class... Your Highness?"

"What is it?"

"... Nothing, nothing."

It's not nothing...

It's just that she's been hurling a bunch of magic at me since a while ago. And it's so subtle that it even bounces off the wall behind me to avoid being detected.

It doesn't hurt, but I can tell she's sulking.

I'll have to make sure to be nice to her next time. I know you want to keep me around, but you have to be patient.

"All right. I'm sure the library will be fine. I'm sure there are concerns about my abilities, so I think it would be more reliable to have an escort also be selected by the Duke... What do you think? I'll be the one to detect it, and the guards will be the ones to defeat it."

"Sion. What do you want?"

"I don't think we need an escort."

"Yes, yes. After your work is done, you can stay in this house for a while. I'll have a guest room prepared for you. I know I'll be causing you a lot of trouble, but can you please do me this favor? Of course, I'll pay you handsomely."

"I understand. Well, even if I do, it will be business as usual."

I'll just go about my normal business, detecting suspicious individuals in advance and capturing those who approach Lady Sion, even if they faint. They must be guilty of a crime, so only if they show signs of activating some kind of magic. As a rule, invoking magic is prohibited in the library. If you want to use magic to increase reading ability, improve vision, or increase comprehension, consult with me beforehand. If you are using any other magic than the one you have requested, I will immediately use electric shocks to prevent you from activating it and lecture you. Penalties may also be given.

"Anyway, we've taken care of the escort. How long do you need?"

"The sooner the better. You just signed a contract with a grimoire today, so... two days from now, I would say. I'm sure you've used up a lot of magic and you need to rest."

"Father, I'd prefer to leave today."

After dismissing the duke's suggestion abruptly, Lady Sion said as she looked down at her grimoire.

"I want to make up for my late start as soon as possible."

"But you've used a lot of magic power, haven't you? I'm sure re very tired."

"I don't want to waste even a single day. I'm not tired at all, so don't worry."

"But..."

"I'm fine."

Lady Sion takes a strong stance with a smile on her face.

It's a little intimidating. I can't say exactly what it is, but I can feel the power that can't be defied.

The duke eventually (quite quickly) drooped his head and nodded his approval.

"... Okay."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Serel, I look forward to working with you from today."

"Yes, it's my pleasure."

I guess it's going to be a little busy from now on. I've got a lot of work to do, guarding and studying.

But I guess the first thing I have to do is to appease the sulking princess...

This might be the most difficult task of them all.