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Chapter 6
“Ha… what a cheap guy.”
The wizard, or rather Bell, breathed deeply and folded his arms.
Arnoah felt a little sorry.
It must have been a precious secret in his own way, but why did she say it too quickly?
“Sorcerer Belkari… Bell.”
She continued.
This is too precious of a time to be wasted.
“Let’s make a bet.”
Arnoah formally requested with a small smile.
She looked at the man in front of her again.
Anakin’s motive, a genius wizard who is said to have not had that talent in the past 100 years.
The real gift Anakin gave her is him.
“…What do you want?”
“I would hate it if Vainas sits on the throne.”
She said, looking at her cat-like face, asking with seemingly invisible curiosity.
“So if I win.”
“If you win…?”
Arnoah breathed quietly.
Arnoah knew very well what Anakin was going to suggest.
They knew each other well enough to see through each other’s soul.
“…Divorced.”
She spoke quietly.
“I’ll be the Emperor.”
Bell’s beautiful silver-gray eyes were getting bigger than earlier.
Arnoah threw a subtle laugh.
There is nothing to be ashamed of. There is no other way.
No, if there’s another way, why should they do that?
During Luciano’s reign as emperor, he locked her up and persecuted her, and he kept his mouth shut while he married her off, which is almost like an exile, and now he looks like this.
The author, his brother, did not even preserve his own life, let alone manage the country.
Because he died without having a successor, Arnoah and the future of the empire would be shaken.
All the hardships she had experienced so far have crossed Renault’s head.
In a small tower, the fear of the maid who cared for her being dragged away one by one as treason, Luciano’s constant nervousness and malice, disregarded by Arien, Vainas’ mockery, and Count Estea’s assassination attempt.
And if she stays still like this, she’ll be the queen of nothing but fame next to Vainas.
Arnoah’s ordeal will not end until she has direct power in her own hands. She should have realized it earlier, yet it took her so long.
“You, the messenger of the Empire, acknowledge me as an emperor.”
When Arnoah’s words were finally over, a heavy silence filled the room.
Arnoah’s smile deepened when she looked at Bell whose eyes had grown widely.
She felt how precious Anakin is for the first time.
A friend was in distress, and an unexpected decision was made when he sent one of the strongest allies in the world to her side.
Anakin is waiting for you.
In other words, she should come back as the emperor.
***
“What a ridiculous suggestion.”
Bell looked at Arnoah with a puzzled expression.
As a friend of Anakin’s, this seemingly fine woman’s head is out of order.
It isn’t because she is aiming for the throne.
“Why do you think I would want to bet?”
Following the low voice, the silver lining dangerously directed at Arnoah.
Velcarianas Dian Asgar Rupellesion Ferhen Nerdi.
The son of Amarilis, the 26th Master of Sorcerers, born with perhaps the strongest mana in history.
He is the owner of the 37th Sorcerer Province and the estate of Perhen.
It’s nominally an empire.
The lord, however, had independent powers and qualifications that even the emperor of Caicion could not reckon.
The territory of Perhen, the land of the sorcerers, is not accessible to the emperor or his soldiers.
There is a strong magic hanging on the boundary, and whoever invaded it is torn to death by the hand of a sorcerer, regardless of his position.
Arnoah’s uncle, the honorable duke and general, is a good example.
After his son’s death, the emperor humbly accepted that there is an area on the continent that they could not completely control.
Wizards are not usually seen. They do not pay taxes and are faithful only to the role of a messenger under contracts handed down in ancient times.
Unconfirmed scary rumors only modulated them.
‘There are a lot of nerds who fall into one area.’
‘Among them, the sorcerers have dirty personalities.’
‘I heard that they are short-lived because they can’t get over their anger.’
The rumor circulating around many of the sorcerers is due to unknown diseases that occurred over the past 20 years, but they are subjected as having a poor personality or a strong curse.
Meanwhile, Belle, the 37th head of sorcerers, is famous for being talented and vicious among all the sorcerers.
A genius who entered the academy at the same age as others and finished all the courses the following year.
However, he couldn’t graduate. Forever
‘Did he say that he absorbed mana and made motivation a nuisance?’
Arnoah thought and went back with the use of her memories.
According to Anakin, he swept the Academy as a boy and devoted himself to blurring discipline.
By offering students a bet, he would take away wealth, artifacts, and even magic from some students, making it difficult to live as a wizard.
And then at some point, he was expelled from school and went into hiding somewhere.
The following year, he returned to fight with the 27th Sorcerer, and he took over the academy with his own hands.
The magical power of mana, which is full of desire and no affection in his hand, is a vicious nature of wanting to monopolize it alone, and that’s what makes up Bell.
“If you tell me what you want, you’ll make a bet, right?”
Arnoah asked.
Unlike the first time she looked at his eyes, she was not trembling even for a bit. She didn’t even step back.
Sitting on the carpet, beside the fireplace, she faced Bell’s silver-gray eyes attentively.
“…A soulstone.”
Bell stopped all of his movement in an instant.
“…Soulstone?”
“Yes, it’s an important magical ingredient.”
“The Spirit Stone of Caision…”
In a short moment, as if he was possessed by something, there was a strong desire crossed his face.
“Do you want it?”
Bell wanted to.
It is the few things he coveted that he didn’t need much because of his natural mana.
The spirit stone of the Imperial family, which cannot be taken away by force, must be accepted by a master of free will.
“Do you know how to make it?”
“Yes, I’m cutting half my life and making it into pretty jewelry.”
She spoke as if nothing were wrong.
Being pretty isn’t the problem.
Everyone’s soulstone had a weak mana.
It is the spirit stone of the royal family that is especially powerful, and I said, “Wizards use it as magic.”
Arnoah added with a smirk.
Bell stared at her face that looked calm.
“You know, that would happen either way.”
She said so.
Why is everything alright? Isn’t life a waste?
After staring at her for a long time, Bell shook his head slowly.
It is something he had to refuse, but he felt an unexpected regret.
“It’s impossible to kill Vainas and make you the emperor.”
“…”
“You think my founding fathers are idiots? I have magic in me, too. The messenger who delivers the Emperor’s obituary cannot kill the next emperor, or magically harm or lie though.”
She spoke firmly.
“It’s a bet that I bet on something good, but I can’t accept it as a bet. There’s no bet one can’t pay.”
Arnoah looked at the wizard without answering.
“Well, how about this one?”
Bell’s ears flapped when she calmly continued her words.
“I know there is no limit to how long the next emperor should be informed of the Emperor’s obituary.”
“That’s true. Being a messenger is annoying.” said Bell.
“Of course, the next emperor will hear from somewhere else if he drags on for more than a month at the latest. Then you’ll lose face.”
“Then give me a month.”
Arnoah received his words as if he had waited.
“Don’t tell Vainas the obituary of Luciano for just a month.”
“Why should I?”
“In the meantime, I’ll get the divorce.”
She spoke as if it were insignificant.
“…You know I’m getting a divorce, right?”
“Yes, that’s a bet. Can I get divorced and qualify as an emperor?”
“…If you get divorced within a month, you win the bet with me?”
“Yes, or I’ll give you half of my life.”
Bell frowned, but Arnoah didn’t seem to care.
“If I win, I’m the next emperor.”
“Well, I’m the one who’ll declare you emperor anyway. If you lose to our bet, you just have to do what I say.”
“Then it doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?”
This means that she will bet against the sorcerer and will not desire anything.
There are strange injustices in it. Does she feel this way when her pride is hurt?
“It’s true.”
Arnoah shook her head small.
“In order for the bet to be fully fulfilled, you have to put off delivering the obituary.”
Bell looked at Arnoah’s face for the first time.
There is a certain conviction seen in her blue eyes.
“And if you want to have my soul stone, you’ll help me stay alive until then.”
A small smile came to her lips.
“No matter what I had been thinking, you are doing a crazy thing.”
Her cold blue eyes contained red flames just like a stove, creating a special aura around her.
“…I am definitely caught up in a strange plan.”
Bell murmured softly.
“The reason for the bet, in the end, is to make me help you?”
She nodded her head proudly.
Bell slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.
He is right about everything.