The Eagle Seal
Something's off!
"Mikhail. Explain yourself."
Arlea said, wrapping her arms around me. Her bedchamber. I sat on a bed of the finest make, thoroughly cornered.
"Your Highness. Holding me like this won't make me agree to accompany you."
"Mikhail. It's obviously me. Class A, second place. The one trailing after you, licking at your heels."
Pat, pat—
Her hands moved with transparent intent. Not a flicker of change crossed her face. Had she been born in the twenty-first century, she might well have become a great actress. Her talent for this particular brand of performance only kept improving.
Heaven beyond heaven. So the saying went — and here it was.
"You don't really want to keep this up, do you? You've been through so much already… If it's me, can't you trust me with everything?"
"Hmm."
"Don't give me that sulky look."
Trust her with everything? Hardly. Anyone could see she was angling to monopolize me.
The fuller the grain, the lower the head bows — yet hers stood ramrod straight, and the words stuck in my throat.
This is going to be a problem.
Absolutely. This was a warning shot aimed at Sophia. She would recognize it for what it was, no question.
Arlea released the arms that had been binding me.
"Mikhail. First, go take care of something."
"The Holy Spear, Your Highness?"
"No. What I meant was… Professor Sophia. You two seemed to have such a good time last occasion. I'll wait right here, so come back and tell me how it went. I have no classes today anyway."
With a snap of her fingers, Arlea pinched a letter between her index and middle fingers. I snatched it.
The eagle seal.
She'd even invoked the authority of the Imperial House. If word of this got out, the entire empire would be turned on its head. Had she sweet-talked the Court Count into this? Or was it Father?
"So I simply deliver this to Professor Sophia within the day?"
"That's right. Deliver it. Aww, look at you, so precious~"
Arlea kneaded my cheeks like soft clay.
"Please stop that."
"Haah. Even if I explained how adorable you are, Mikhail, you'd never understand."
If only she'd always dote on me like this. Arlea added something more under her breath.
I glanced over the letter. Magic had been woven into the eagle seal — stamped with a special crest.
Best not to open it.
Well… opening it would be entertaining, sure. But getting out of this room was the wiser move. Keep talking and that cunning snake would swallow me whole. I frowned.
"Then I'll be on my way, Your Highness."
"Go on. And don't go lingering in any strange places. Every report comes straight to me."
Arlea waved. A clear promise that she'd be watching my every step. I slipped out of her chambers as discreetly as I could.
It's not as if I'm sneaking off to some secret tryst.
I was wound tight for no good reason — felt exactly like being deployed for a Demon Grand Duke hunt. Whether by Arlea's arrangement or pure luck, no guards were circulating. A relief.
I was in no condition to be seen.
I tugged my collar closed. My collarbones were plastered with kiss marks, practically screaming, I was with a woman!
— That was a tryst, and you know it.
Father's reflection in the glass scolded me.
A tryst? I am strictly the victim here. I twitched an eyebrow.
Royalty singling out one man to torment is a perfectly common occurrence, Father.
— Right. Looking at you, I can believe it.
You were the same, weren't you? Hmm?
— That's that, and this is this.
Mother had always been voracious when it came to Father.
His cheeks, his shoulders, his neck — all of them had been covered in the tooth marks she'd left from chewing on him and the smeared imprints of her lips.
Father had always worn a look of pure misery, and I was beginning to understand why.
I traced my neck with a fingertip.
Ow.
Alongside the marks, sticky traces of saliva clung everywhere. Ugh. Across this life and the last, Arlea was the only one I'd ever held — and I still had zero interest in becoming anyone's kept man.
"Come on, just — just come off already!"
I scrubbed at them with my palm. Magic had been cast on the kiss marks. They only smeared further, showing no sign of fading.
Where did she even learn magic like this?!
I'd have to cover them as best I could.
If anyone saw these, I'd be finished as Mikhail.
The Central Magic Tower. You could think of it as the academy's magic-related association in all but name.
Every mage in the empire had to pass through one of the Four Great Towers or the Central Magic Tower to earn official mage status.
Following the Third Princess's special orders, I stepped into the Central Magic Tower to deliver the letter.
Today's recipient: Sophia.
She resided at the very top of this tower. Now then — where was the elevator?
"Wow. There are a lot of people in here."
I scratched my head.
Getting inside without incident had been the easy part.
Why is this place so enormous?
Originally, the Central Magic Tower had been the unlucky one — subcontracted by the Four Great Towers, a dumping ground for every menial task no one else wanted.
But look at it now.
Even if you combined every other magic tower, I doubted any of them could rival the Central. In the time I'd been gone, Sophia had been exercising enormous influence over the academy.
Sophia… what have you done?
She'd changed far too much. I couldn't even find my way anymore!
I recognized the original layout. But take a few steps off the main path and getting lost was all but guaranteed.
"You there — hold on a second."
I finally caught one of the magic students hurrying past with an armful of cargo. The student scowled. Oh no. A graduate student? Wrong person to stop.
I'd always heard you should never pick a fight with a grad student.
"What is it, knight?"
"I'm here to see Professor Sophia. Would you happen to know which way I should go?"
"…Identify yourself first."
What, he doesn't know who I am?
Fair enough. I was still top of the class, but the rankings hadn't even been announced yet. Knowing Carlos's personality, he was probably running a full background check on me right now.
The Empire's Greatest Swordsman, reduced to bodyguard for some no-name princess… life really did take strange turns.
The magic student jerked his chin.
"And another thing. The Central Magic Tower under Professor Sophia's oversight is not currently receiving visitors."
A teaching assistant, of course. That sickly green cast to his skin made sense now.
Just the first syllable of Sophia's name was enough to turn his face black. He'd clearly been through a lot.
The assistant drew his staff. Pulling out a staff was the magical equivalent of drawing a firearm.
"If you refuse to identify yourself, I'll call the disciplinary committee and a professor."
Do I really look that dangerous?
I explained myself quietly.
"…Her Highness the Third Princess has personally sent a letter."
"—Ah."
The assistant's face went deathly pale. Three seconds. In three seconds flat, he bent at the waist until his head nearly touched the floor.
The Imperial House.
The absolute power that reigned supreme over Imperialis.
Obstructing even a proxy of that authority was grounds for execution.
"I-I'm so sorry! I'll escort you at once!!"
And so I made my way to Sophia's chambers in complete comfort.
The top floor had been built for one person alone.
"H-here we are!"
"Thank you."
"N-not at all! Do your best! G-glory to the Imperial House!!"
With that, the assistant vanished in a state of total exhaustion. Poor grad student. I sighed and knocked on the door before me.
It was the only door on this entire upper floor, after all.
Knock, knock—
A presence stirred within. A voice filtered through — like a wave with resentment rolling quietly beneath its surface.
"Who is it. I said not to come in."
Knock, knock, knock—
"It's me, Mikhail, Professor. I have something to discuss with you, so I've taken the liberty of coming by. Might I come in for a moment?!"
A brief silence settled.
…
…
…
"Oh — Mi, Mikhail?! J-just a moment!"
"Professor. Should I… just wait out here?"
I paced in front of the door until Sophia begged me to come in.
Naturally. What would people think if an unrelated man walked into a lady's private chambers?
They'd get the wrong idea.
She could always try something funny with those herbs of hers.
I chewed a pill from the leather pouch on my belt — equipment related to air freshening and scent control.
It might have been an unnecessary precaution. But Sophia would already have realized that hypnosis didn't work on her.
"Ah, no! The place is a mess — I was just cleaning! I'll be right there!"
A flurry of hurried sounds, and then Sophia opened the door.
"Y-you could have given me some warning… C-come in. It's not a g-great room, but."
Sophia gripped the doorknob, drenched in sweat as though she'd just finished a vigorous workout.
Office, residence, and laboratory all in one — a trinity of a room that even the most generous description couldn't call nice.
Undergarments were scattered here and there, and the lack of ventilation meant a distinctly feminine scent was rising in waves. Still, being on a high floor, the view outside was lovely.
"C-come in! Make yourself at home!"
Sophia couldn't settle her gaze anywhere, like a country girl who'd just seen a man naked for the first time. Even as she fidgeted, her eyes curved into crescent moons and flicked over me again and again.
M-Mikhail, could it be… heheheh.
It was a greedy, suggestive look — and Sophia was wearing nothing but a sleeveless shirt, her skin fully on display.
The soft underside of her chest peeked into view. An underboob style of dress.
I made a concerted effort not to look.
"Mikhail. F-for now, sit down! I should at least offer a guest some te—"
Sophia never finished the sentence.
She wrinkled her nose as if catching some scent, then abruptly fixed me with a hard stare.