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The Imperial Palace had its own magician’s tower, dubbed “Orbis’s Tower.” Emperor Marcus built it for his magicians as a brazen insult to the Magic Tower and closed it to anyone but the Imperial magicians.
For the time being, it was the residence of Evergrant von Aswald.
At the top of the tower, two men sat in conversation.
“Princess Sersiarin is now in Britannia Palace, just like you said, Your Highness. And His Majesty didn’t even react…”
Kaisen lived in Britannia Palace.
The other man needed no introduction. If Kaisen was a guest, then obviously, there must be a host.
“Right… Very good.”
“Oh, by the way: I have a question.” Kaisen eyed the middle-aged wizard. “Why help me now? I tried to persuade you earlier, but you didn’t listen.”
Kaisen was a straightforward man and cared little for talking in circles.
“Besides, you aren’t the type of person to change his mind—and it’s impossible that my brother hasn’t made a move.” He scrutinized Evergrant intently. The wizard’s silence did not deter him.
“…Because the Empire is changing.”
Kaisen’s eyes lit up. “You mean the situation?”
“I’m confident that you aren’t a simpleton, My Prince. A genius like you has surely realized that this is the calm before the storm, right?”
“War.”
Evergrant nodded. “I know this is rude, but… since His Majesty is only focused on the outcome of the war, I, as his servant, have no choice but to take over. At least, for the preparations. As his loyal servant, I must be prepared for everything.”
“Prepared for… Avalon losing the war, you mean…”
“Yes.”
Kaisen gave him a cold glare.
“I believe that even if we win the war, the second prince should take over for His Majesty in the aftermath.”
In the eyes of the wider world, Kaisen was an intelligent and adaptable man. They also noted despotic tendencies similar to his father. Realistically, Evergrant should be speaking to the first prince if he wanted to stabilize the country; Kiser was the calm one, not Kaisen, and Kaisen knew it.
“If that’s what you’re after, shouldn’t you go to my brother?”
Evergrant was silent.
“If you refuse to speak, then—”
“I want to be Tower Master.”
“What…?!” Kaisen leaped out of his seat. There was only one way the chief wizard of Avalon could become the Tower Master—turning his back on the Imperial family! “You bastard…”
“At the same time, I want to keep my position as the chief wizard of the Empire.”
The prince’s hand froze on the hilt of his sword.
So this was Evergrant’s true form—his true intentions. Greed makes the man, after all. He wasn’t interested in the war at all, only in what he could get out of it.
It was a tale as old as time.
“Now you seem like a real person.” Kaisen sat down with a chuckle.
“Don’t get me wrong. The Tower means more to me than anything you could possibly offer me.”
“I apologize.” Kaisen’s tone turned curious. “Tell me about your plans.”
“I know how to make an elixir.”
“An elixir?”
“An elixir that, for one day, can make a terminally ill person move as if they’re perfectly healthy. In the east, it’s known as ‘terminal lucidity;’ as you can imagine, the side effects are very, very severe. Simply put, it burns the rest of your lifespan to grant you a day of immunity.” Evergrant’s eyes gleamed. “Once the effects are up, the user will lose their life and suffer from unimaginable pain as they go.”
Kaisen didn’t even blink at the idea of using his sister.
“The elixir will let Princess Sersiarin see the world for the first time… but only for a day.”
“Good for her.” Unimaginably, Kaisen’s lips curled into a smile. “It makes no difference whether she dies now or dies later, anyway, but at least she’ll have some peace. I think this will also inspire some gratitude to us for freeing her from the curse—after all, she’s sacrificed her childhood for someone else’s selfish goals.”
Evergrant stared.
“Go on.”
“Right. Then…”
What Evergrant told Kaisen had the prince enraptured. When they were done speaking, the second prince wore a strange smile on his lips as he stood.
Kaisen offered Evergrant his hand. “I wish the best for you, Evergrant.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“I-I don’t believe it! I don’t believe it! Even if you got everything else, the last one—”
“The dragon’s heart?” Joshua grinned. He fiddled with his ears for a moment, then stretched out his hand, offering Ash a black object. “I answered your second question, and here’s the answer to your first one.”
“The obsidian earrings!” Ash flung his hands into the air. “Are you a fraud?!”
“A fraud? Where?”
“You—” The elf grit his teeth together and wheezed in frustration. All the evidence pointed to it being genuine, unfortunately for him. “You still haven’t answered my question! Even if the obsidian earring allows you to use fear, how can a human use it?”
Right… How? Even Joshua looked a little doubtful. He’d never thought about it before.
“No human can handle the power of those earrings! They’re like a curse, like the eyes of truth—they’re cursed by the most powerful being in the world, a dragon! It’s made out of pure elemental and emotional energy1! No human could stand up to the raw anger of a dragon without going mad instantly!” His voice slowly calmed down. “You…” He examined Joshua seriously. “Who are you?”
This time, Joshua had no response. Why was he able to use the obsidian earrings? He just always could, and that wasn’t a good enough answer for him or the elf.
“Hmm…” The young baron rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Lugia would know, but the spear had been silent since Joshua had awakened the Lord of Dullahans.
If he didn’t have the truth, then all he had to do was tell Ash something believable. Their deal hadn’t included anything about Joshua’s real identity, after all.
If pretending to be a dragon doesn’t work, I’ll just have to commit blasphemy.
Joshua smiled bitterly, to Ash’s consternation.
“Do I still seem like a human?”
Ash swallowed nervously. “You…”
“I…” Joshua stared down at him with a smirk. “I am a god.”
The elf’s knees gave out from underneath him2.
Finally, the servant had learned to listen.
ED/N: Primarily teenage angst. ↩️
ED/N: Are elves easily frightened, or do they just have weak knees? ↩️