Chapter 86

Chapter 86 – Monica von Hoffman

Cornelia, who visited the personnel office of the Imperial Court Mages Division, asked the director general and all the staff members who welcomed her to make a slight effort and show her the personal papers of the court mages.

Before turning eighteen and going into public affairs, she had not had any particular interest in wanting to meet the people who served the empire, and so now all the staff members immediately gathered together and brought them over.

“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Your Highness. This document is a summary of the personnel relations of the court mage division.”

“Is it all right if I take these documents out of here?”

“Of course. All of these materials belong to His Majesty the Emperor, and by extension, the royal family. If these materials are useful to Her Highness, then we who compiled them will be more than honored.”

“Thank you very much. Then…”

Cornelia nodded, and Wynn, who was behind her, and Locke, who had returned from the knight’s quarters, received the documents. Then, with all the members of the Court Mage Division dismissing them, they decided to borrow a suitable room in the Imperial Palace and read the documents there. The reason for borrowing a room was that Locke was not allowed to enter Cornelia’s private quarters which were located in the palace.

“When I asked them to lend me some documents in the heraldry office, I was obliged to go through a great many departments and complete a number of documents.”

“That’s what you would expect. It wouldn’t be right to compare Her Imperial Highness to Locke.”

“Hmm… I’m glad I could be of some help.” Cornelia said a little contentedly.

Cornelia’s maid, Mary, prepared tea for the four of them. Then Wynn, Leticia, Cornelia and Locke quietly searched for the document containing the information about Raymond von Hoffman. Shortly thereafter…

“I found it. Maybe it’s him?” Said Locke, who was sitting across from Wynn and studying the documents. He pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to Wynn.

The document certainly showed that Raymond had been enrolled in the Court Magicians Division for seven years. It contained the date he entered the division and his origins.

“…Just as Paul-san had said. This man is also Raymond von Hoffman. He had been moving from place to place in the local noble territories since just after the incident seven years ago.”

“Oh, I found him too.” Cornelia, who was sitting next to Locke and examining the list of the current Court Mages Order and their biographies, also spread out a document in the center of the table. “Here is also the name of Raymond von Hoffman. It seems that the resignation was not issued as a new appointment as a court magician, but in the form of a transfer from the local territory to the imperial capital.”

“…And what does that mean?”

When Locke heard what Cornelia said, he groaned with his head in his hands. Raymond, whom Wynn and Leticia had known when they were children, was undoubtedly a mage with the proper skills of a court mage. He was the commander of five knights who had come to support them, so there was no way he could fool them into thinking he was a court mage. Four knights had died in the battle against Veldaroth, but they were worthy knights. It was the year 1972 of the imperial calendar when Raymond was appointed as a court mage in the Empire, and he was just 18 years old. When he fought Veldaroth he was 27. Now he was 35.

“The Mage Raymond I knew in the imperial palace looked no older than thirty-five.”

“He looked to me, too, like he looked to be at most about twenty-five.” Mary, who, like Wynn, had met Raymond in person, nodded.

“Where’s the sketch we took to the slums earlier?”

“Here it is.” Cornelia held out a piece of linen paper to Locke.

This was a portrait kept in the court mages’ register. It was drawn when he joined the group and they borrowed it when they went to investigate the slums, but Raymond’s face was youthful, and he didn’t look 35.

“But isn’t he a court mage under direct orders from the emperor? I’m sure they’re running the checks, so how could they have falsified his background?” Locke had a good point. It was impossible to think that the court magicians would name any person whose origins were unclear.

“Onii-chan, over here. Look at this.” Leticia pulled out a document and extended it to Wynn. It was an inventory of the family structure, assets, and other data on Viscount Hoffman’s family, held by the Upper House.

“Raymond has a younger sister. Her name is Monica von Hoffman. She is 24 years old…”

◇◆◇◆◇

A large library built in the Imperial Palace. There was someone standing in front of the bookshelf and turning pages at a tremendous speed, suddenly a woman called out to him from behind.

“Mage Raymond-dono.”

“Yes? What is it, is there something that brought you to…?” Raymond closed the book, turned the pages, looked back, and stopped talking because he bit his tongue when he saw the woman standing in front of him.

“Raymond… no, Monica von Hoffman-dono, right?”

“Princess… Your Highness.”

Cornelia was in the lead, with Wynn, Leticia and Locke behind her.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you. May I?”

“…Yes.” At Cornelia’s words, Monica dropped her shoulders and nodded her head, smiling as if she had given up everything.

◇◆◇◆◇

For Monica von Hoffman, her older brother, Raymond, who was ten years older than her, was a figure to look up to. This, as he was a genius who was already expected to be appointed court mage for as long as Monica had been able to remember. In addition to court mage, the people around him were certain that he would be selected to fill the position of magistrate, a position that only one person in the history of Viscount Hoffman’s family, a prestigious family of mages, had been able to obtain.

Influenced by her brother, Monica also studied hard to become a court mage. Monica was a fast reader, and her talent surpassed her brother’s, so people around her had high expectations of her. Besides, there was no doubt that she could become a court mage like her brother. She enrolled in the Knights School of Simurgh and acquired the qualification of apprentice knight. From there, she studied like crazy to become a court mage.

And she failed the exam five times.

Five times, all in the first round. She had the knowledge. She could say her written exam was perfect. However, the power and accuracy of her magic on the practical exams were well below the passing line to become a court mage.

After failing the exam for the fifth time, Monica decided to leave the imperial city of Simurgh and return to her hometown. Fortunately, the Hoffman family had a genius: her older brother Raymond. Thanks to the Hoffman family’s stable and prestigious position as a family of mages, just because she caved in didn’t shake them in the slightest. So, Monica decided to open a private school in her hometown and spend her days teaching magic to children who aspired to become mages in the future.

Then, one day…

It was a day with a nice breeze and sunshine. As she was reading a book in the shade of a tree, a shadow suddenly appeared.

“Hey, Monica. You look good.”

“Nii-san!”

Her brother Raymond, who was a professor at a university in the Marquisate Cliffdorf, returned home after a year.

“As usual, you don’t stop reading, Monica.”

“You seem to be doing well too, Nii-san.”

Raymond clicked his tongue, sounding like a little bird, and then laughed. It was Raymond’s habit to click his tongue. Apparently, it was a habit that appeared while he was reading. Come to think of it, his father had a similar habit. When Monica was little, she remembered hearing her father and brother click their tongues when their mother looked in the family library, and she laughed and said, “That’s a funny habit for both father and son to have.”

Monica let out a little giggle. She made a little hand gesture to Raymond, who gave her a questioning look, saying it was nothing. Raymond sat down in the chair across from Monica, brought two mugs and a ceramic jug in his hands, and poured the contents.

“A little gift. It’s orange juice. It’s cold, so it must be delicious.”

As she took a sip from the cup poured for her, the refreshingly tart and sweet juice with a cool aftertaste spread through her mouth.

“Delicious.”

“Tch, right? There was a fruit juice vendor right in front of the house, and it looked delicious, so I bought some.”

Raymond also sipped the juice and drank it in one gulp.

“I hear you’re building a private school to teach magic and knowledge to children.”

“Yes. Anyway, I have nothing to do but stay cooped up at home.”

“Wow, I think that’s a good thing. It’s not a bad thing for people to gain knowledge, and if the children are educated, they can find many avenues in the future.”

Raymond then poured all the rest of the juice into Monica’s empty mug.

“By the way, Nii-san, what happened to you today, didn’t you have college?”

“They’re going to call me back to Simurgh.”

“Really!?” Monica’s face lit up.

One day she received a letter telling her that her brother, who had been promoted as a court mage in the imperial capital, had suddenly been transferred to the mansion of a local noble. She worried that he might have been demoted to another position, but if it was to obtain the position of magistrate, it was an important job to tour the provincial territories and make connections. She thought her brother would accomplish the latter. He was supposed to go around the local territory and would be called to the imperial capital as she believed. In other words, he was on the right path to success.

“For the past few years, I thought I had been displaced when I was made to be going around the empire’s territories, but the leader of the court mages, Meissen-sama, called me back.”

“Congratulations, Nii-san.”

“Haha, thank you.”

When Monica saw the embarrassed smile on her brother’s face, she looked down at herself and was suddenly overcome with a feeling of pity.

“Compared to Nii-san, why am I so different? I’ve taken the exam five times and failed, and I can’t even live up to others’ expectations…” She let out a deep sigh.

“Really?” With a small click of his tongue, Raymond tilted his head. “I, on the other hand, think you, Monica, are even more amazing. I may be a successful mage, and I think I’m better than Monica in that field. But when it comes to other areas, I don’t think I can even reach the soles of your shoes.”

Monica was surprised to hear her brother’s tone of voice, whom she admired, turn bitter.

“That’s not true. If Nii-san were to study seriously, the knowledge I have acquired would be…”

“If I really studied, I probably wouldn’t be half as good as you. You would probably learn three times as much before I could finish reading a single book.”

Raymond thought his sister, who could read and memorize books several times faster than the others, was much more skilled. She just lacked a little more magical power to become a court mage.

“I was impressed when I heard that you were teaching magic and knowledge to children. I think that’s much more meaningful and fitting than becoming a court mage.”

“Really?”

“Tch. It’s a job that allows children to dream about their future. I was never allowed to live that way.”

Monica was surprised. She hadn’t thought her brother, whom she had admired so much, would think that way. It was as if he didn’t want to be a court mage at all.

“Nii-san, you…”

“Raymond.”

That was when Monica opened her mouth to ask her brother that. From a small distance away, someone called out to her brother. The person who called out to him was a man with a gray hood over his eyes: her father, Viscount Reynard.

“Oops, Dad wants to see me, so I’d better go.”

“Yes.”

Raymond stood up with a little click of his tongue and patted his sister on the head.

“By the way, how’s it going with the boys, have you found anyone you like yet?”

“Ah, wait, Nii-san!”

“Hahaha, it was a joke, a joke.” Raymond started walking towards the mansion next to his father, laughing merrily as he clicked his tongue. “Well, let’s talk again at dinnertime.”

Looking back once, Raymond waved to Monica. She gave a small wave as well and flashed a smile at her brother.

And… that was the last time Monica saw Raymond alive.

Her father and brother did not appear at the dinner. Although he did not become a magistrate, her father Reynard was also an excellent magician who contributed to the empire as a court mage until he succeeded to the viscountcy. It was a pity that Monica had not been able to share the table with her brother, for he had often been absorbed in his research, and she and her mother dined together.

“Monica? I’m sorry, but can you take this to your father and Raymond for me?”

Her mother prepared sandwiches for the two of them, who were still locked in the basement lab, and asked Monica to take them. The sandwiches could be eaten while they worked. Monica put the sandwiches, a pitcher of thirst-quenching wine, and two mugs on a tray and went down to the basement lab.

Then she opened the door.

She didn’t quite remember what happened next. A smell of blood assailed his nose. The image of his brother Raymond, lying on his back on a bed-like platform with a look of agony on his face; his heart extracted. Her mother, hearing the sound of the broken jars and dishes Monica had dropped, ran downstairs, looked in and screamed.

And then her father, Raynard von Hoffman, disappeared that night.

◇◆◇◆◇

“Many valuable grimoires disappeared from my father’s laboratory.”

Monica was not talented enough to become a court mage, but she had an extraordinary memory. She could remember the titles of most of the books that were lined up in her father’s room. However, these books were not available in ordinary bookstores. She could not even find them in the libraries of local lords or the wealthy. However, she could find some books that mentioned these grimoires. She suspected that her father, Reynard, had been studying forbidden magic. Her brother, Raymond, may have been killed as a test subject for Raynard’s experiments.

To confirm this, Monica cut her long hair, dressed as a man and went to Simurgh, posing as Raymond. If she was a court mage, she would have access to the great library of the Imperial Palace, which had the largest collection of books in the Empire. In addition, it was necessary to conceal the fact that the head of the viscount’s family had killed his son. If Raymond did not serve in the imperial palace for some time, even if he had been invited by the court mages corps, there was a risk that they would send someone and the situation would be discovered.

For these reasons, Monica decided to pose as Raymond. Fortunately, a friend of hers from knight school was able to help her sneak into the Court Mages Order. There was a total of three hundred court mages in the Empire. Of these, about fifty were huddled in the imperial capital, and the rest were attached to the territories of the empire’s nobles and private schools built in various places.

Raymond also worked as a teacher in a school built by local lords. Just before returning to the imperial capital, he had been a professor at Cliffdorf University, the main family. After seven years, few people would remember Raymond’s face. Aside from the top ten court mages who had been given magistrate’s seats and allowed to attend meetings with the emperor, the other court mages were often assigned individually for investigations. And Monica, thanks to her collaborator, was able to infiltrate the Court Mages as Raymond.

◇◆◇◆◇

When she first saw the knight school in the former imperial palace, she was impressed and overwhelmed by the size of the building and the grounds. The white marble and high ceilings. The richly dressed people who appeared to be nobility, the bureaucrats and servants who served the palace, and the court knights who occupied important places.

Monica’s heart was beating wildly as she disguised herself as a man and pretended to be Raymond, fearing that her disguise might be discovered at any moment.

Anyway, the imperial palace was huge.

It was a long way to the laboratory that Monica had received as Raymond. She was holding a large, puffy leather bag. The weight of the bag completely numbed Monica’s arms, who was not very wealthy, but was still the daughter of the viscount’s family. None of the servants had been brought along, as she had left them at home to care for her mother, who had collapsed after seeing her brother’s corpse.

She wanted to burst into tears, but she was too tired, anxious and nervous to ask anyone to help her. She dropped her bag in the hallway and took a deep breath. Just as she rubbed her numb hands together to rest, Monica’s eyes widened. A young man in a nostalgic knight school uniform. In the imperial palace, he stood out clearly from his surroundings. Upon closer inspection, the young man’s face was also smooth and simple. He did not look like a noble. He was younger than Monica, and he certainly did not even know Raymond’s face. Then.

“Hey you, over there!” Monica couldn’t help but call out to him.

…I’m sorry, but could you help me carry my bag? Trying to continue, Monica’s mouth dropped open. The young man turned around and saw beside him a high-ranking maid.

She was hidden in the young man’s shadow and could not be seen from Monica’s position. It was only after she had called out to him that she became aware of the maid’s presence, and inwardly she felt impatient.

“You don’t look like a noble, but the fact that you can enter the depths of the palace means that you belong to a family of knights… Good thing. I’m having trouble, as it seems my servant has gone astray.”

She remembered the tone of voice of the high-ranking nobles she used to see in the imperial capital when she attended knight school and tried her best to imitate it.

“Look at this. This vast and magnificent palace. It is certainly what could be expected of an Emperor. However, this vastness is causing me a few problems at the moment.”

“Eh…”

Monica suddenly turned to the young man and the maid, both with a puzzled expression on their faces.

“I was appointed court magician this spring, but the baggage I have to carry is too heavy. I am a scholar. It is unworthy of me to perform manual labor. I would like to make you my servant.”

“Serva- Huh!? A servant!?”

“This character is the knight guardian of the princess. Even a noble is not allowed to give him orders.”

“Thank you for coming to help me. I’m sure it would be awful if I were late on my first day.”

She was surprised to learn that this handsome young man was a servant of Her Imperial Highness, but pretended not to hear her and spoke in a rush, while the maid frowned in distaste.

“Therefore, you will help me carry my belongings.”

“As I said…”

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

She nodded with a movement so big she thought she was exaggerating. Monica’s heart was pounding so hard she thought they could hear it. Her legs were shaking hard. To disguise it, she knelt down and took the maid’s hand.

“Of course, I’m not telling you to do it for free. Allow me to introduce myself: I am Viscount Raymond von Hoffman. I may not look it, but I have connections with Marquis Cliffdorf, so I’m sure it would be in your best interest to meet me personally. Hey, you’re very attractive.”

She also mentioned the Marquis Cliffdorf, the leading family to which Viscount Hoffman belonged. House Hoffman was a rural noble family, but Marquis Cliffdorf’s was a House with a long history in the Imperial Capital. She was sure there would be no unnecessary scrutiny. She didn’t want to take advantage of the influence of others in that way, and she really hated herself for it, but it couldn’t be otherwise. The maid frowned as she listened to her. Her palms were sweating from nervousness.

“Very well. We’ll help you with your belongings, Viscount Hoffman.”

“Uh, Wynn-sama?”

“No problem. It seems Her Highness Cornelia hasn’t returned yet, and I’ll be back as soon as I’ve helped him with his luggage.”

Monica, who had felt like going into prayer, almost lost all her strength from relief. However, she hastened to her feet, strained her slackened face, and, maintaining a haughty attitude, issued a warning to the young man named Wynn.

“Be careful with that. Don’t even think of getting your hands on what’s in there. Commoners have notoriously sticky hands.”

“Viscount Hoffman, that’s a bit extreme, there’s no one in this palace who would dare commit such insolence!”

‘Oops… did I say too much?’

The maid’s stern tone made Monica wonder if she had gone too far.

“It’s okay.” Said the young man named Wynn with a smile.

“Does your mistress commonly employ such rude servants? You’d better remember your place. Speaking of which, what are my servants doing? I can’t let commoners take care of this.”

She began to think she was overdoing it, but she couldn’t stop acting now that she’d gotten this far.

“Oh, right, I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing your name.” Although she was nervous inside, she tried to put her hand on the maid’s shoulder as if she was used to women, but was easily rebuffed.

“Ah, hey…”

“I have work to do. Please don’t keep Wynn-sama for too long.” With that, the maid gave a slight bow towards Monica and headed back into the hallway.

‘I did it!’ She turned to Wynn, shouting with delight in her heart.

“So, which way should I take it?” The serious-looking young man showed no anger at Monica’s repeated annoyance, but waited for her with his heavy bag.

As Raymond did, she clicked her tongue and walked away in front of Wynn as she said “this way”.

I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… She kept repeating words of apology in her mind. I will definitely go apologize to him later.

After such an incident, Monica’s life in the Imperial Palace as Raymond began. The large library in the Imperial Palace, which was the focus of this project, contained almost all the books published in the imperial capital. Every day, Monica went to the Great Library to fetch the books she had recalled from memory and read them cover to cover.

◇◆◇◆◇

“That’s why she approached me…” Wynn muttered upon hearing the story.

“I thought something was wrong at that time. In the imperial palace, there are servants who take care of nobles who come to the palace for the first time. There should have been someone to show her around.”

“But that person might have known my brother from some document. So I tried to avoid them as much as possible.”

“Who is the person you say helped you?”

“It was me.”

“Brother…”

The one who answered Cornelia’s question was Alfred, who quietly entered Cornelia’s room. Mary, who had been in the room waiting, gave a deep salute, and Wynn and Locke also hurriedly got up and saluted.

“Monica and I were classmates at Knight School.”

Monica looked down and ducked her small head. Alfred’s eyes nodded toward her; a soft light in them.

“So that’s why she was able to sneak into the Court Mage Corps so easily…” muttered Locke under his breath. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could lend his assistance, it would certainly be easier for the person to sneak in.

“However, the mage Raymond von Hoffman is exempt from the obligation to attend meetings and the like by special order from me. To divert information coming from the Knights. I could only do this,” muttered Alfred apologetically, and Cornelia’s eyes widened slightly. It was rare for her brother to honestly express such feelings in words.

“No, your help is enough. Your Highness…” Monica put her hand over her mouth and said her thanks. There were faint tears in her eyes.

“I see. That’s why your figure was seen in the slums.”

She had heard that kidnappings were prevalent not only in the Imperial City, but also in the slums, and had been investigating on her own. Monica nodded and turned to Wynn.

“…Servant Wynn. When you once asked me what kind of books I read, I replied that I was researching the Demon King and demons.”

Wynn nodded. That happened when they met at the Imperial Palace training grounds.

“Many of the books that went missing from my father’s archives were about the Demon King and demons, did you know that? The Demon King once manifested himself by entering a human body.”

“The King of Thane, I think.”

Leticia told him once.

“It’s possible my father was researching the matter. The infusion of a life form from a higher dimension into the body of a human acting as a vessel…”

“That’s what Sarah Ferrule was researching…”

Cornelia covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. The two of them, Wynn and Leticia, exchanged glances. It might be related to the theft of Conrad Heisenberg’s legacy that the crown prince of Lyon, Raoul, the Saint of the Sword, had spoken of.

“I thought so too.”

“Why hasn’t this been investigated yet?”

“Viscount Hoffman belongs to a prominent family that is also related to Marquis Cliffdorf. As for the study of the Demon King and demons, it is not uncommon for mages to study it. To judge them, we need clear evidence.”

“If it’s clear evidence, what about the charges of his son’s murder?”

“If so, Viscount Hoffman’s House would certainly be brought down, but the people who are pulling the strings behind it will vanish.”

Alfred looked at everyone’s faces as he answered Cornelia.

“We still need clear evidence. So, I’m sure Royce will inform us anyway, but you guys, including Cornelia, will get an order. No, I should say it’s an order for Leticia-dono. But before that, we must at least first take care of those lurking in the darkness of the Imperial City.”