The Princess's Magic (3)
"Hoo."
I caught my breath as I watched the two of them. My head was still spinning, but I had to stay focused.
Asella stepped forward to confront Camilla, golden mana rippling from her outstretched hand.
"Asella, what in the world are you thinking?" Camilla said, barely suppressing her rage.
Asella responded with the ruthless demeanor of the cruel villainess I knew.
"Mother, my retainers are all vital assets for future succession."
"That's not wrong. So? Is that your justification for daring to block my magic?"
"Do you think I'd just stand by and watch you damage my assets and weaken my faction's ruling power?"
"Ha, your faction?" Camilla scoffed.
"Your faction? Where in this imperial palace do you even have a faction? Every knight and servant in this palace pledges loyalty to me, the empress."
"That might have been true until now. But not anymore."
"You—what do you...!"
Asella ignored Camilla's bulging veins and lightly commanded toward the door.
"Knights, enter."
The door burst open with a bang, and Asella's guard knights poured in. They surrounded her protectively. Camilla's order to leave clashed with Asella's order to enter, but the knights chose to obey Asella. It was clear proof that they recognized who truly ruled this Moonlight Palace.
"You—Asella. When did you...!"
"Mother, it's time for you to choose. Will you stand with me, Asella von Württemberg's Third Imperial Princess faction, or continue defying my will and fade into the shadows?"
Camilla lifted her chin at the threat. Murky black mana swirled in her eyes. Asella didn't yield an inch, determined not to back down this time. Sparks flew between them like electricity, the mana flows intensifying.
After a tense standoff, Camilla finally turned and stormed out. Her personal guards followed hastily.
The imperial mother-daughter conflicts are brutal.
I'd gotten caught in the middle for no reason and taken the hit.
[No. 058: Magic Torture 14% → 0%]
[DELETED]
All because of this idiotic bad ending. Still, I'd erased another one. Not bad.
"Cough, cough."
I covered the coughs from my heavy breathing with the back of my hand.
"Teacher, are you alright?"
Tanya helped me up. I waved her off to signal I was fine.
Using combat-level attack magic that was basically torture on her own daughter—the empress wasn't right in the head either.
With the bad ending deleted, Camilla wouldn't harass Asella with magic anymore. That meant no future torture sessions for me either.
I decided to think positively: I'd gotten the painful experience out of the way early.
"Young master."
As I pulled myself together, Asella approached me.
"You called, Princess?"
She'd summoned me but now just glared without a word. What was her problem this time? Maybe she blamed me for meddling and souring things with her mother. Guess I'd have to take responsibility.
"Do you have something to say?"
"...Why did you do that?"
Her voice was listless. I couldn't explain the ending list, so I stuck to the textbook response.
"I was just fulfilling my duty as your personal physician. Preventing injury to your precious body is part of my job."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Asella sighed at my answer.
"A sigh is a clear symptom of stress. I recommend rest and some sunlight..."
"Shut up."
"Then I'll be quiet."
"...Did it hurt?"
No lie—it hurt like hell.
...Hmm. What was the intent behind that question? Asella seemed to be gauging my reaction. Max might worry if I got hurt, but her? Nah.
Or... was she actually concerned? That Asella, about me? No way.
I shook my head to clear the nonsense.
"It couldn't even scratch my sturdy body."
"Pfft."
Did she just laugh? Yeah, yeah, my muscles suck.
"It was magic that could cause serious injury to you, Princess. You should stop the empress's special lessons."
"That's... sigh."
"This palace belongs to you, the heir, not the empress to begin with."
"You're right. Still..."
Asella trailed off.
"She's my mother..."
Her quiet mutter was crystal clear to me. Since becoming her physician, I'd glimpsed a lot of Asella's unexpected sides.
"Did your argument with the empress upset you?"
"Young master, mind your own business."
"Noted."
Asella whipped around, arms crossed, looking quite anxious. Lucy, the head maid, whispered to me.
"Teacher, this is the first time the princess has clashed with the empress like this. She might be pretty shaken."
"I'm shaken too—comfort me."
"Try asking the princess that."
"I'd end up on the guillotine for a date."
Lucy shook her head and continued.
"Tomorrow, the princess has a magic lesson. She'd be thrilled if you passed on the news."
Why me specifically? "Is the magic lesson with the court mage?"
"Yes."
Since Lucy was kindly advising me, I went with it.
"Princess."
"You haven't left yet?"
"You have a magic lesson tomorrow."
"Magic lesson... Right."
At the word "magic," Asella's cheeks puffed up adorably. Come to think of it, she really loved magic.
"You'll come along too, right?"
"Yes, for the time being."
"Hmm... What magic should I show off?"
Asella flashed her first smile since returning to the palace and skipped off lightly.
"Ugh, huff, huff."
The Imperial Medical Office office on the fourth floor always left me gasping by the time I climbed up.
I'd wondered why it was on the fourth floor—turns out the lower levels were all occupied by established factions. Weak factions like mine got shoved to the corner. Obvious, but infuriating.
"If I build up a faction in the Imperial Medical Office, maybe I can move to the first floor. I'll make it happen."
"Just build up your strength, teacher."
Tanya scolded me as I half-slumped in my chair.
"Carry me, Swordmaster."
"My back's full."
Tanya had hauled up two massive boxes big enough to fit a person, and she wasn't even winded.
"Packages from home."
Thud. She set them down. It'd only been a week since arriving at the palace, and already the first parcel had come.
I peeled off the manifest stamped with the Schuppre Trading Company's seal. Sender: Neria Gotberg. The timing suggested she'd sent it right after I left—talk about diligent.
One box contained rose petals she'd carefully plucked one by one, bulk honey candies, willow bark, and various other ingredients.
Dear Brother!
Today the weather at the mansion was absolutely wonderful!
I read the enclosed handwritten note starting with that opener, then tucked it into my pocket. The other box was packed with local specialties like coffee beans and jerky. The jerky was specially from Boris.
"Jerky's great."
Protein is crucial for the body—mine especially might be craving it. Comparing Tanya's solid biceps to my scrawny ones made it feel urgent.
"Strength enhancer... Steroids would be the most straightforward."
Hormones with nasty side effects, but with more physical trials like the former physician exam ahead, a short-term booster for emergencies might be wise.
"At my current alchemy rank, I can't tweak chemical structures freely yet."
Once I passed this stage, maybe I could make various drugs. Medicine boils down to chemistry, after all.
"First up today: Observing Asella's magic lesson."
Time to meet Seymour, the grand archmage called the sage and the empire's court mage.
"Hahaha! Who's this? Asella! Seeing my little magic genius after so long has my sagging butt bouncing with joy!"
Sage Seymour was an old man who looked like a madman with his mustache twisted comically.
"It's been a while since I received your teachings, Master."
Asella, meanwhile, greeted him politely with proper etiquette—a bizarre sight to me. It was like a middle-school girl learning capoeira from a park bum: maximum dissonance.
I observed their magic lesson alongside the guards and attendants.
"Heh heh, it's been so long I can't even remember. Where did we leave off? Ah, right—drawing arrays on multiple planes without formula collisions. Essential skill for developing high-hierarchy magic!"
Asella's expression during the lesson was deadly serious. Her golden eyes sparkled brighter than ever, brimming with curiosity as she devoured knowledge and dove into practice until her mana ran dry.
Pazzz...
The bizarre shapes and formulas Asella drew in the air resembled a Möbius strip in geometric form, endlessly twisting. I couldn't even describe it properly—heck, I had no idea what I was looking at. Midway through, I gave up trying to understand.
Asella occasionally glanced my way, as if checking if I was doing my job.
After about two hours, I popped a candy in my mouth. Seymour waddled over and peered right in my face.
"That—tasty?"
"Specialty from the Gotberg Marquisate. Want one?"
"Hand it over."
Conveniently, Neria had sent some unprocessed originals, so I gave him one. He popped it in, crunched it to bits, and swallowed in one go. Sturdy teeth for his age.
"Worth eating?"
"Hahaha, wouldn't know."
"You don't?"
"I'm a sage. And you're Asella's new personal physician, right?"
"Ras Gotberg."
Seymour grinned and leaned in close. Unlike his hobo vibe, he didn't smell bad. He chuckled as he said,
"You've got some impressive talent, lad."
The sage title wasn't for show—he had sharp instincts.
"Interested in spells?" he asked me.
Hmm.
"Do you have a spell for brewing strength-enhancing potions?"