Chapter 25
Chapter 25
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Rift (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lian stared at the apple nestled in the fruit basket, listening intently.
Concentrating with the sense to pick out hidden sounds, he caught a whisper like a lazy yawn.
When he pointed his finger at the apple, the sound shifted toward it with curiosity.
At the same time, he felt something snag at his fingertip.
After a short deep breath, he flicked his finger as if tugging at something invisible.
Pong!
The apple shot upward like it had been launched.
"...It works."
Lian felt dazed, even though he had done it himself.
Should he call it a spirit's whisper?
He had simply followed its guidance and naturally mastered it.
He had no way to explain the principle behind it.
What was it like?
It was that vague sense of knowing something intuitively but being utterly unable to put it into words.
At the very least, he now clearly understood why it took so long to learn even a single spell.
Magic couldn't be explained in words, so the only way was to blindly follow in the footsteps of a master's path to enlightenment.
"Telekinesis... though it's a bit lacking for that."
It felt like an invisible presence was making the object fly.
Levitate it in midair or freely change its direction mid-flight? That seemed impossible for now.
Judging by the sensation at his fingertip, there was probably a weight limit to what he could launch.
It was just one little trick—hardly enough to call himself a mage.
Still, he had a feeling that understanding this phenomenon a bit more would let him do so much more.
"Alright, once more."
Lian flicked his finger again.
The apple on the floor traced a parabola through the air and landed neatly in his hand.
Crunch—
He took a big, satisfied bite.
If he had to name this magic, something like 'Newton's Invisible Hand' might fit.
"Not bad for a first step."
He had only just mastered this one minor spell.
Yet Lian already had a premonition that his life was about to change dramatically.
In the middle of a garden brimming with spring air.
Isabel sat by the fountain, leisurely enjoying her afternoon tea time.
"Come on, Miguel. That's a joke, right?"
"I'm serious! Well..."
Just then, a group of men and women passed by the colonnade, laughing hohoho.
They spotted Isabel in the garden and abruptly stopped laughing.
They bowed politely and hurried toward the west annex where the offices were.
"Tsk... They're not even here to visit the merchant house."
Isabel clicked her tongue, following their backs with displeased eyes.
Getting all excited like that while being paid to work.
In her view, Lian was great in every way except for being too lenient with the underlings.
"Speaking of which, where's Lian? In the study again?"
"Yes. He handled some business this morning and has been holed up in the study ever since."
"Hmm. He really loves being busy."
Had he suddenly taken an interest in scholarship?
Isabel tilted her teacup and gazed toward the study.
"Lian is too much! He should spend more time with you when he's finally free."
"Don't make presumptuous remarks about another woman's husband."
"Ah...! I'm sorry!"
The maid, who had tried to flatter Isabel for once, bowed her head as if about to prostrate herself.
"Anyway, I was just thinking it was a shame with all those unread books piling up. As long as someone reads them, it's fine."
"Y-yes! You're absolutely right!"
As a maid in the mansion, pandering to Isabel was no easy task.
She could be generously oblivious one moment, then snap over some trivial thing you never saw coming—it was impossible to predict.
No wonder the head maid, who had served the longest, swore by silence as her secret.
"By the way, didn't we get some tea as a gift recently?"
"Yes! Paulo from Water Street sent it, saying it's a herbal tea good for pregnancy!"
"Perfect. Serve that starting tomorrow."
A herbal tea recommended by the alchemist running the largest workshop in the south harbor.
She expected it to be quite effective.
Already past forty, there were so many things to worry about when trying for a child.
Of course, eating and wearing only the best kept her healthier than most.
But time was relentlessly merciless.
She had no choice but to take care of her body in every way.
"...Does Lian know about that gift?"
"No? I haven't mentioned it."
"Good. Don't tell him about things like this from now on."
"...? Yes, understood."
But she didn't want to make her efforts obvious to her young husband.
It was the last shred of pride for one woman.
It had been ten days since Lian had practically holed himself up in the study.
Of course, it wasn't true seclusion—he joined her faithfully for dinner and bed every evening, and handled all the merchant house business.
Still, he had definitely been neglectful of the outside world.
"What? Today was Leon's succession ceremony?"
Lian, emerging from the study before sunset for the first time in ages, frowned at the outside news from apprentice accountant Letty.
"Yes. That's why they fired off cannons across the entire island at noon."
"Ah, so that was the cannon fire during the day."
Missing such an important event.
This was a far graver breach of etiquette than rejecting his proposal.
"Was there an invitation for me, or any contact...?"
"No, nothing like that."
"Phew. At least that's a relief..."
If he hadn't been invited, it was a different story.
Of course, a commoner like him wouldn't be invited to such an occasion anyway.
The old Leon would have invited him without hesitation.
"Not sending me an invitation... He's definitely sulking."
"Yes. It looks that way, no matter how you see it."
Letty gripped her glasses and nodded vigorously.
At least, as the island's lord's son, he had no intention of picking a real fight.
He would need to think of a way to reconcile slowly later.
But maybe he had expected too much from one person to begin with?
If he wanted to build a proper faction, he should have recruited a wider variety of people.
"Well, for now, send a congratulatory gift in my name. He has a secret taste for cheap booze, so three or four barrels of that might make him happy."
"Souvenir or brewery beer would be perfect. I'll place the order right away!"
"Oh, and on your way out, can you tell someone to bring me some water in a tray?"
Letty tilted her head at Lian's sudden request.
"Pardon? For washing your face?"
"No, nothing like that. Anyway, thanks."
"Yes. I'll be back!"
The apprentice accountant left the office, and shortly after, a maid entered.
Not knowing the purpose, she brought a large tray like a basin filled to the brim with water and set it on the desk.
She stood there blankly, holding a towel in one hand.
"You can go."
"What about the towel...?"
"No need. Take it back."
The maid blinked vacantly at the large tray she had brought.
Was it for drinking?
She hesitated awkwardly, unsure if she should fetch more, but when Lian said nothing, she bowed and left the office.
Now alone in the office.
Lian gazed at the tray and dipped his fingertip lightly into the water.
Then, perking his ears like tuning a radio frequency, he focused on finding the voice he needed.
Soon, along with chatty babbling, small ripples spread across the water's surface in the tray.
"What should it be... Hmm, yes. Show me the scene from Leon's succession ceremony."
As he brought his face close and whispered to the water, the rippling surface gradually calmed.
A moment later.
Like an image in a mirror, the castle slowly appeared above the water.
In a grand hall filled with retainers.
A priest approached Leon on the jade throne and placed a crown on his head.
No sound came through, but soon the orchestra began playing, and applause poured in.
One striking thing: Leon, the star of the ceremony, and most of the attending nobles all wore grim expressions.
"Ugh, look at those faces. Leon's got it rough ahead."
Seeing it like this firsthand, he could fully understand Leon's desperation.
If he understood correctly, this was reading the memories held by the water.
Not a mere illusion, but magic that replayed actual events like CCTV footage.
The perfect name for this magic would be 'Water Knows the Answer'.
"Huh?"
But as he continued watching the succession ceremony, something odd caught his eye.
The moment when everyone raised their glasses in a toast.
If he wasn't mistaken, Leon's cup was empty.
"...Something suspicious."
But the scene shown by the water ended there.
Fresh ripples spread, returning it to an ordinary tray of water.
"Show me that scene in more detail."
But this time, it was all cloudy and blurred—impossible to see clearly.
Apparently, even water didn't know everything.
"Well, whatever scheme Leon pulled there, it's not my business."
If that was the reason he wasn't invited, he was grateful.
At least it meant no grudge over the rejection.
"Anyway, this magic... it's pretty useful."
No, more than useful—this might be enough to legitimately call himself a mage.
Water constantly cycles through the world.
In theory, he could even view scenes hundreds of kilometers away.
"Wait, if that's the case."
Lian suddenly thought of a place he wanted to see with this magic.
A reality he had been ignoring because no news had reached him.
Now he was ready to face it.
"Paula's... show me my home village."
After a brief ripple, the scenery of a rural village rose above the surface.
"......"
But it wasn't the home he remembered.
Half-collapsed houses dangled hanged corpses from every one, and the fields that should have been sown by now were choked with weeds.
The corpses were old and rotten to pieces, but strangely, he could still recognize them all.
The tanner couple, sadly bereft of their daughter.
The carpenter's son who had a crush on Nora and always picked fights with Lian, and his family.
And even his parents, who looked nothing like him.
The entire village had been slaughtered and abandoned in ruin.
"Ha, I shouldn't have looked."
Lian swept his hand across the surface, erasing the image.
Splash—
He opened the window and dumped out all the water from the tray.
He wished the sticky feeling would wash away with it, but no such luck.
The reason the village had ended up like that.
Did he really need to think deeply about it?
The lord's son had been murdered in the village, and the culprit was never caught.
So they massacred the villagers out of spite.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say his heart wasn't heavy.
"But I have no regrets."
Not about severing the head of the bastard who raped and murdered Nora, then tried to violate him too.
Not about fleeing the village to survive.
He didn't think any of it was wrong.
Not even if that result had turned the village into that.
The real wrong was the lord's son who treated the territory's people like his toys.
And the lord who carried out massacres on a whim.
So even if something similar happened again, he would never choose submission, not even in death.
"I'd rather smash them even harder."
A small spark flickered in Lian's eyes as his fist clenched unconsciously.
He was no longer the scrawny kid who could barely protect himself.