Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Mana-Devouring Ice
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4th Grade Mage Gordon was an extra among extras, someone who never even appeared once in the original story.
Though several mages, including one sub-male lead, did show up in the original work, they were mostly from the capital headquarters.
In contrast, Gordon and three 1st Grade Mages hailed from the northern branch.
In other words, whatever I did to them wouldn't impact the original story in the slightest.
"J-just a moment, Your Grace! I'm sorry! If you could just give me a little more time..."
"......"
"4th Grade Mage Gordon, you clearly entered into a contract with His Grace the Grand Duke. And according to the added clause..."
"Shut your mouth! How dare a mere butler...!"
"Mage."
"G-Gasp, Y-Your Grace! Th-there's, there's a reason for this! Unlike last year, there's this strange ice mixed into every road...!"
"And I should care about that why?"
"Hngh."
Gordon gulped in a sharp breath at my words.
Of course, the ice he was talking about was my handiwork.
I'd done it using the power of the Winterguard.
There was definitely a scene in the original where the mage sub-male lead clashed with Cassius.
In that scene, the mage—right in the thick of battle—noticed something off and managed to rescue the kidnapped Yelena before escaping.
That part, combined with my own insights from handling the Winterguard power firsthand, had prompted me to give the roads a freeze...
And it had worked better than expected.
Mana-devouring ice, huh.
To be precise, it absorbed some mana upon contact with spells, thereby reducing the damage.
In effect, neutralizing the Winterguard power required far more mana than usual, and that applied to Gordon too, eating up both his time and mana.
If I'd trained more with it... Gordon wouldn't have melted a single patch of ice.
But since the power was still unfamiliar to me, all I'd managed was to delay the melting time.
Still, it had been more than enough to make the plan succeed.
"4th Grade Mage. What I entrusted to you was the ice-making for the roads. You confidently demanded three times last year's contract fee—or exclusive rights to monster byproducts."
"Th-that's..."
"So, prioritizing the safety of our territory's people, I signed the contract despite the exorbitant price... only for you to fail because of some 'unexpected ice'?"
I fixed Gordon with a cold stare as I spoke.
"How is that any different from confessing your own incompetence and guilt?"
"I-it's not incompetence...! That ice is definitely strange...!"
"And?"
"...Pardon?"
"In the end, you couldn't melt it, could you?"
"......"
Gordon's face drained of color.
"If we hadn't included that clause... it would've been a disaster for us."
"Clause...... Ah."
Gordon, finally grasping the gravity of the contract, flattened himself to the ground in apology, but I kept my expression unchanged as I regarded him.
"P-please, spare my life!"
He seemed to have mistaken me for someone gripped by mania, ready to kill him on the spot.
I decided to correct that misunderstanding.
"Mage, I have no intention of killing you."
"R-really?"
"If I killed you... who'd take responsibility then?"
"......Pardon?"
Gordon's relieved face turned blank.
"Alf, what imperial laws apply here?"
"Imperial Commercial Code, Chapter 4, Articles 15 and 16. Article 15 covers contract breaches and full refunds of the contract fee. Article 16 relates to damages due to negligence."
"Considering Gordon's negligence and the contract's importance?"
"Failure to fulfill the road icing contract—which critically impacts Winterguard territory's traffic and commerce—along with the resulting losses to merchants and residents..."
Alf paused briefly, calculating in his head, before answering.
"In a similar case in the western region, they ruled for compensation up to four times the contract fee."
"F-four times..."
Four times the contract fee.
In other words, Gordon would have to pay damages equivalent to four times the value of the exclusive byproduct rights.
Or, if I showed mercy, just the contract fee in damages...
That's nearly twelve times last year's rate.
Even that would plump up Winterguard's budget for the year handsomely.
But Alf's response wasn't over yet.
"That's not all. Under the Imperial Criminal Code, we could tie in fraud and noble deception charges too."
"Wh-what are you saying?! That's absurd...!"
"Your Grace, we've received word from Count Baltras's family. They contracted for ice-making just three days before us."
They were even dragging in another northern house?
Clearly, the Baltras family was furious at Gordon for trying to toy with House Winterguard.
That's why they say quiet people are the scariest when angered.
"The Baltras family didn't disclose full details, but they paid about 1.5 times last year's fee. The mages dispatched by the Association were one 4th Grade, two 3rd Grade, and one 2nd Grade."
"......Indeed, they tried to defraud House Winterguard."
"Th-that's......"
Gordon's face turned ashen gray.
Part of me wanted to pin it all on him for directly insulting us...
But I couldn't.
The scale of mocking a grand duke's house wasn't something a single 4th Grade Mage could dream up alone.
Someone higher up had definitely meddled.
The Mage Association.
I turned to the waiting Storm Knights.
"Detain him. Alf, prepare a letter."
"Understood."
"Time to inform the Mage Association."
That very night, the Mage Association's reply arrived faster than expected.
"Greetings, Your Grace, Grand Duke Cassius Winterguard."
"......"
I couldn't help drawing in a breath at the sight of the man who'd delivered the reply.
"I'm Nailus, an 8th Grade Mage dispatched from the Mage Association's capital headquarters to handle today's incident."
This guy's the sub-male lead.
"The capital headquarters, not the northern branch."
"Yes. The northern branch couldn't handle the fallout—it was too significant."
We were keeping things civil for now, but it was clear.
The man who later became the Association's vice chairman.
The sub-male lead Nailus, with his strikingly green hair.
At its core, the original novel Until the Ice Flower Melts followed a reverse harem structure.
Several male leads vied for the heroine Yelena, with one ultimately winning out.
And with multiple male leads, each had their own distinct personality.
Cassius... if I had to classify him, he'd be a yandere.
In male-oriented terms, a yandere. In romance fantasy lingo, an obsessive tyrant? Something like that.
Anyway, Nailus's defining trait was...
"So, after internal deliberations, they sent me—the Association's shining star."
"......"
His utter narcissism.
A crazy narcissist.
Which might explain why he was the only male lead who didn't fall for Yelena from the start.
Though he did pursue her aggressively later... for the most ridiculous reason.
"You're attractive, sure, but I find myself desiring you even more attractive."
What a dogshit line. It stuck with me.
Still, for all his narcissism, his skills and status were the real deal.
He was genuinely here to resolve the issue.
And that implied one thing.
Has the original story's start... changed?
The original never mentioned Cassius and Nailus having prior acquaintance.
Their first encounter was roughly during that Yelena kidnapping rescue battle I'd mentioned before.
Of course, just because it wasn't mentioned didn't mean it never happened.
But a mania-stricken Cassius handling things like I did, leading to this meeting? Hard to buy.
The original hasn't fully derailed yet.
For now, we needed to discuss the Gordon matter.
"I see. Good to hear. I half-expected the Association to brush it off."
"We couldn't. Not when Your Grace spelled it out so clearly—how could we take it lightly?"
I met Nailus's gaze steadily.
"Halting northern monster byproduct supplies to the Association over a contract breach? Naturally, we'd react strongly."
My letter hadn't limited it to Winterguard territory's byproducts.
If needed, I'd leverage the grand duke's and house's influence to coordinate with other families and control all northern monsters.
That was the stance I'd declared.
"I see."
"Yes. Our investigation into 4th Grade Mage Gordon and certain northern branch members' corruption is nearly complete. Your Grace is the clear victim here."
Mage through and through.
In less than a day, they'd wrapped up most of the probe.
The result? I was unequivocally the victim.
"Not taking his side, I see."
"Why tarnish my beautiful face by siding with kin? I'd have to cut it out."
What the hell is he saying?
Still, things were heading in a favorable direction.
"For the remaining work in Winterguard territory, we'll dispatch two 6th Grade Mages soon. It'll be semi-permanent, so no material costs over the winter. Additionally..."
Nailus's compensation proposal was quite enticing.
Not quite the fourfold damages Alf mentioned, but substantial enough, drawn from the northern branch's budget.
Plus, two 6th Grade Mages assigned gratis to finish the icing, with no ongoing coating maintenance fees—which would've been steady expenses otherwise.
On top of that, punishments and personnel shakeups at the northern branch, Gordon's handling, and more.
Even lightly considered, it was atonement on a silver platter.
Considering the grand duke position... it's only natural.
Not just any duke—this was the Northern Grand Duke ruling most of the empire's northern lands.
I wasn't pressing it now due to circumstances, but a grand duke held power to casually converse with the emperor himself. The Association knew to tread lightly.
"......The work will start tomorrow."
"Understood. Then leave the 4th Grade Mage's punishment to the Association."
"Thank you."
I signaled Alf to release Gordon, who was likely wallowing in despair in custody.
Just as I was wrapping up...
"By the way, Your Grace, may I ask something out of curiosity?"
I nodded, and Nailus spoke.
"While investigating the contract, I came across something intriguing. By any chance..."
For a split second, Nailus flashed an amused smile.
"Do you know anything about the blue ice that prevented Gordon from fulfilling the contract?"