Chapter 96
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96
“You understand now, don’t you? You never did me a favor. You were merely an uninvited guest who betrayed your master on a whim.”
Colin nodded at Lucian’s cold response.
The magic he had just used was something he could only manage once after a long period of preparation. If Lucian had failed to block it even once, he would have died without being able to offer any resistance.
As long as Lucian possessed a defensive scroll, Colin’s betrayal hadn't actually influenced the outcome of the battle.
“I understand. Then, as a wanderer with no ties, please allow me to say one thing to Your Grace.”
“Speak.”
“Please, take me in.”
“...?”
Lucian blinked at the non sequitur. To ask to be taken in out of nowhere?
“Are you saying you want to enter my service?”
“Yes. I wish to work for Your Grace.”
“You’re insane.”
Lucian let out a hollow laugh. It wasn't intentional; the words simply slipped out because the situation was so absurd.
“Do you even know where my loyalties lie?”
“You serve the Imperial Family.”
“And the Imperial Family kills every mage they lay eyes on. Why should I risk being branded a traitor to hire you? More importantly...”
Lucian pointed a finger toward the spot where the lightning had struck. The charred remains of Godfrey and his cronies were still scattered across the ground.
“Now that those fools are dead, I have to explain my innocence. There is no better way to do that than to hand you over as the culprit.”
If it were Calix, he could have made up an excuse that Godfrey died by a freak lightning strike. But Lucian had already allied himself with the Imperial Family, who possessed numerous magical artifacts. Even if he made the same claim, it would lack credibility as long as the Imperial Family was backing him.
“Tell me. Why should I give up all these advantages and keep you by my side when you bring nothing but trouble? No, what made you come to me in the first place?”
Common sense dictated that no mage in their right mind would seek out Lucian. His actions thus far had been the very definition of a loyal subject to the Emperor. Anyone aware of the Imperial witch hunts should have fled at the mere sight of Lucian’s shadow.
Under Lucian’s suspicious gaze, Colin let out a sigh.
“I came here because I trusted another mage’s prophecy.”
“...A prophecy?”
“Being a mage doesn't just mean breathing fire or calling down lightning. Divination and prophecy are also branches of magic.”
With a face of near-total resignation, Colin began to explain calmly. He spoke of an acquaintance who was highly skilled in divination, the prophecy that acquaintance had made regarding Lucian, and how he had betrayed Godfrey’s group based on that prophecy.
“According to the prophecy, if I let Your Grace go, you would become a grim reaper and kill me. Conversely, if I held onto you, you would become my savior.”
“So you came to me based on a single prophecy? Are you out of your mind?”
It was incomprehensible to Lucian. No matter how accurate a divination might be, it lacked any logical foundation. To leap into the lion’s den based on a mere fortune-telling...
Noticing Lucian’s look, Colin gave a bitter smile.
“It must be hard to understand. But Your Grace, those without hope have no choice but to cling to anything—even a prophecy.”
“What do you mean?”
“It has been three hundred years since the Mages’ Rebellion failed and the persecution began. How many mages do you think have been hunted down in that time?”
Forget systematic research; even surviving was a struggle. Some had even starved to death, their magical prowess rendered useless against hunger. It was common for mages to die without passing on their knowledge because they couldn't find apprentices, and even those who did find them were often caught in witch hunts and killed before they could finish their training.
Naturally, the number of mages had plummeted over the generations, and many schools had vanished entirely.
“I am no different from the others. I’ve barely survived through the magic my master taught me and sheer improvisation amidst constant threats to my life. But I’ve reached my limit.”
He couldn't raise a new apprentice; he was too busy hiding, never knowing when he might die. He lived like an assassin to make ends meet, surrounded by people ready to stab him in the back the moment he let his guard down. Meanwhile, his acquaintances disappeared one by one, leaving behind only stories of their gruesome deaths at the hands of witch-hunt units.
Just as he was losing hope and growing weary of life, he had received a strange prophecy from an old classmate.
“If it had only predicted death, I might have ignored it. But the prophecy also hinted at a glimmer of hope. For someone as exhausted as I am, that was reason enough to gamble my life.”
“....”
“If you cannot believe me, I have no other way to convince you. But please know that everything I have said is the truth.”
Having finished his piece, Colin lowered his head. His posture said that he had nothing more to say, so Lucian could kill him if he wished.
As silence stretched on, Lucian rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
How coincidental. Just when I needed a mage, one shows up wanting to serve me because of a prophecy.
Suspicion aside, the possibility that the mage before him was lying was extremely low. Unless it was something like a prophecy, there was virtually no reason for a mage to seek Lucian out first. However, even if everything he said was true, whether he could be trusted enough to be kept close was a separate issue.
The bigger problem is that I have nowhere to put him. Everyone from the guards to the servants was sent by the Imperial Family. No matter where I hide him, he’ll be discovered in no time.
Yet, if he let him go now, he doubted they would ever meet again. The man was a fugitive, and Lucian’s movements were no longer private; their paths might never cross again. Furthermore, there was still the matter of explaining Godfrey’s death.
...No, there is one way.
Lucian refined the solution that had suddenly occurred to him. Though it relied somewhat on luck, if it worked, it could solve all his problems at once.
“I’ll make you a proposal.”
“Pardon? A proposal?”
“It’s a deal where I gain everything and you lose everything. Though, if things go according to plan, you might achieve your goal as well.”
“...?”
Colin instinctively shivered at the ominous words. What on earth was he planning?
A short while later, after hearing the plan, Colin stared at Lucian with a look of pure horror.
*
“His Grace has returned from the Hundred-Day Hunt? What do you mean by that?”
The Northern nobles’ eyes widened at the unexpected news. There were still five days left in the hunt, yet he had returned after only ten.
“Did he give up? The very event His Grace proposed himself?”
“Nonsense! Unless there was some kind of accident...”
“The, the situation is more complicated than you think. His Grace said he would explain personally, so please wait a moment.”
At the servant’s words, the Northern nobles murmured among themselves as they headed toward the banquet hall. What could have happened to make that arrogant brat return mid-event?
Amidst the restless atmosphere, Norbeck gripped his cane with sweaty hands. He had been waiting for good news, but his son hadn't returned—only the target of the assassination had.
Did the assassination fail? Then what happened to Godfrey? How did that boy return?
SLAM!
Just then, the doors swung open with a loud bang, and Lucian strode inside. The grim determination on his face suggested that something significant had occurred.
“Greetings, Your Grace...!”
“Godfrey is dead.”
“...!?”
“He died while trying to kill me. It was a truly cunning trap. I had no idea the Count was such a meticulous man.”
Every eye in the room turned toward Norbeck. Norbeck’s face went pale, his mouth hanging open.
“Godfrey... my son is dead?”
“Bring him in.”
Instead of answering, Lucian gave an order to his retainers. A moment later, they dragged in a man bound tightly with ropes. Upon seeing the man’s face, Norbeck’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“You!”
The sorcerer who claimed he could call down lightning. The man he had attached to his son to be used as a weapon—why was he back in such a state?
Lucian glanced at Norbeck before speaking to Colin.
“Tell them with your own mouth. Who are you, and why were you brought here?”
“I-I am Colin, a mage. I am from the Celestial School. I was hired by that old man to assassinate His Grace.”
“What!?”
Shocked cries erupted from all sides at Colin’s confession. While assassination attempts were somewhat expected, no one imagined he would hire an unauthorized mage—the very thing the Imperial Family loathed most.
“What is the meaning of this!? A mage!? Are you saying that man is an unauthorized mage!?”
Sir Glen, who had been standing back until now, shouted with a flushed face. Hiring an unauthorized mage was an act bordering on treason. It was far too grave a matter to be used as a mere trap to frame a political rival.
“Your Grace, please explain this properly! If that man truly is an unauthorized mage...!”
“The story isn't over yet, so please calm down and listen. Mage, continue.”
“Y-Yes!”
Cowering slightly under Glen’s fierce aura, Colin continued his story. He spoke of how his identity was discovered by House Calix while he was traveling as a wanderer, how he was captured while trying to flee and forced to work like a slave for the Count’s family, and finally, how he was forced to accompany Godfrey to assassinate Lucian.
“...Thus, unable to bear it any longer, I used my magic to kill Godfrey and his gang instead of the target, and then I surrendered to His Grace. His Grace immediately brought me here.”
“You murderous sorcerer! How dare you spout such lies!?”
For the first time in his life, Norbeck felt a rage so intense it felt like his veins were about to burst. Captured and forced to work as a slave? The man had come to sell his services himself, accepted gold coins as payment, and roamed around freely! What kind of bullshit was this?
But Colin remained deadpan, looking around the room with a serious expression.
“I can provide plenty of evidence. I can tell you the location and internal layout of the villa where that old man kept me confined. It’s hidden in a place that’s difficult for ordinary people to find.”
Colin had been the one to ask for a secluded residence in the first place. Having lived there for months, he naturally knew every detail of the interior.
“I also traveled through several secret passages managed by House Calix.”
Since he was a mage, it would have been disastrous if he were seen, so they had shared the secret passages with him. Besides, they had planned to kill him once the job was done anyway.
“Most importantly, I frequently procured catalysts for my magic, so traces of them will remain.”
And even those catalysts were things Colin had demanded first.
A grinding sound echoed from Norbeck’s jaw at this unexpected betrayal.
“Count, is what he says true?”
Glen’s cold gaze fell upon Norbeck. But Norbeck felt no fear. There was something he had to confirm first, treason be damned.
“My son... what happened to Godfrey?”
“I told you. He was hit by the magic intended for me and died. You should have a rough idea of what that looks like, shouldn't you?”
“You expect me to believe that? You might have struck him down yourself!”
“I figured you’d say that, so I brought your son back with me. Fortunately, he became quite light, so he was easy to transport.”
Lucian gave a smirk at the pale Norbeck.
“Would you like to see him? Though I’m not sure you’ll be able to recognize him.”