Chapter 19
Chapter 19
A Wizard Incident!
The language of the Holy Eldar Empire is the Empire’s official tongue—Eldian.
Its syntax is similar to that of the Indo-European language family.
However, “Awakened Girl Concert” is a game made in Korea.
Perhaps that’s why the activation phrases for magic spells are in Korean?
“So, everyone, you can use magic by injecting mana into your wand with your will and then calling the designated activation phrase. Like this.”
Baroness Bylem demonstrated boiling water with her wand.
The students were astonished.
“You did that without a verbal incantation?”
“If your will properly evokes the activation phrase, there’s no need to speak it aloud. I’m not expecting you all to reach this level… but I wanted to show that it’s possible if you understand the structure and principles of magic. Now, shall we practice? Normally, this class focuses on understanding the basic structure of magic, then analyzing and understanding various activation phrases. But it’s better to learn the hot-water spell as soon as possible, isn’t it?”
Baroness Bylem arranged countless beakers and water in front of the students.
Everyone watched in awe as beakers flew onto the tables and filled with water right before their eyes.
Some wizards outside the academy could do this, but Baroness Bylem controlled this many simultaneously with precision.
Truly a professor of the academy.
Her magical skill was incredible.
“Now, everyone, try casting the hot-water spell. You don’t need to do it without a verbal incantation like me. Just focus your will into the wand while speaking.”
“Hmm.”
Idnia broke into a cold sweat.
As she tried to infuse her will, the aura and aggression naturally flowed into her wand, interfering with the magic.
“Ugh…”
“Having trouble, Idnia?”
Baroness Bylem looked at her with a slightly smug expression.
“Oh, I’m not blaming you. It really seems like you haven’t done any pre-study. Ha ha. That’s a good attitude.
But earlier, in the Illusion Crystal class, you were shouting and waking up on your own—if you do that in this class too, wouldn’t life at the academy be difficult?”
While speaking to Idnia, Baroness Bylem checked the other students’ results.
Students with prior training, good bloodlines, or wealthy aristocratic backgrounds succeeded easily.
Every time, Baroness Bylem praised them excessively.
It was obvious she loved noble and wealthy families. Her favoritism was extreme.
The problem was that whenever she praised someone, she would inevitably push Idnia again.
Each time, Idnia’s mind faltered, and aura surged instead of mana.
If this continued, even a wizard who had learned magic from the start without first learning aura would fail.
“The more I try to focus, the worse I get. Maybe I’ll just concentrate on the activation phrase? But… can I use my own words instead of ‘heat water’?”
Cautiously, Idnia chose her usual phrase: “Water, warm up.”
At the same time, she visualized vibrating the water molecules to raise their temperature.
Then…
-BOOM!
The beaker in front of Idnia exploded.
Idnia was struggling.
Groaning and concentrating on magic, it was clear she had no prior training and was completely new to magic.
Izolde Polzen felt a quiet sense of superiority as she watched.
She had no trouble successfully heating her water.
“Perfect. Truly the bloodline of a great person.”
Baroness Bylem praised her, but the compliment was slightly unpleasant.
‘She really believes I’m the Emperor’s daughter, doesn’t she?’
Idnia disliked being criticized as the illegitimate daughter of Chonghee, born from a union the Trinity Church didn’t recognize.
But she also disliked people assuming she must be the Emperor’s daughter and fawning over her.
Izolde herself had lived under the care of Crown Prince Rudolf, calling him “Orabeoni” and thinking, “This child might actually be my half-brother,” but that was her relationship with Rudolf.
She didn’t want strangers deciding whether she was Chonghee’s daughter.
‘Still, this female professor is useful in teasing Idnia. She must have been Chonghee’s daughter too.’
However, Idnia wanted recognition for skill, not bloodline.
She was confident her magical ability surpassed any student here.
After all, she had learned the hot-water spell at five years old.
She could already heat water comfortably while controlling magic without a verbal incantation.
But to avoid outshining Crown Prince Rudolf, she adjusted her skill level to match him.
Rudolf himself was far beyond any other academy student.
Even a skilled magician could judge a person’s mastery from such a basic spell, and he was truly a genius.
‘As expected of Orabeoni. Learning aura too, and achieving this level…’
Izolde felt pride even greater than her own magical skill.
‘Orabeoni was worried about that wicked Idnia showing interest, but it was unnecessary. Of course, it’s natural to notice a girl who kicked him when he was young. Still… annoyingly tall, great figure, beautiful face, bright hair. Damn.’
Having finished heating her water, Izolde looked around confidently.
‘Maria of Astraea should become the saint. Idnia, the girl who humiliated Orabeoni, becoming a saint? Impossible! But…’
Maria struggled.
Her mana was abundant, but she stumbled over the activation phrase.
‘She really hasn’t done any pre-study. No doubt she’s the saint, huh?’
Then suddenly, a loud explosion came from the back.
The water in front of Idnia boiled instantly, erupting in steam, and the force shattered the beaker.
“Kyah!?”
“Wha—What happened?!”
The classroom erupted into chaos. Baroness Bylem was particularly shocked.
She was responsible for safety in this class.
‘But I haven’t seen such concentrated magical power before?’
Magic practice naturally involves risk. Even a well-known beginner spell can cause injury or death if mishandled.
Baroness Bylem had been on high alert, checking for students using dangerous amounts of mana.
Until just now, no student had triggered her concern.
Which meant…
‘Did she conceal her mana so I wouldn’t notice? No, impossible.’
Rookie wizards wouldn’t go that far.
The most skilled student here was Izolde Polzen, who deliberately hid her power.
Probably to avoid the academy’s disapproval of pre-study, but even that disguise was easy for Baroness Bylem to see through.
Idnia, however…
“Are you alright, Idnia?”
“Ah. Yes, Professor. I’m fine.”
Idnia carefully placed the broken beaker shards on the table.
“Why… are you holding broken shards?”
Baroness Bylem was startled.
Idnia wasn’t holding the glass for no reason.
The shards had flown when the beaker exploded.
‘She caught the flying shards?’
They must have been moving incredibly fast… and she caught them without injury?
‘Hmm. Duke Betelgeuse must have taught her aura. Perhaps… Uric the Tyrant’s training? No, that couldn’t be. I heard it’s not something to teach women.’
Baroness Bylem’s mood soured realizing Idnia was skilled in aura.
She had enjoyed seeing Idnia struggle to properly train her magic, which relied on sensitivity.
But if aura was Idnia’s main specialty, that changed everything.
Baroness Bylem didn’t want Flora’s daughter to excel in any field.
Ideally, she wished for her complete ruin.
‘The daughter is innocent, but what her mother left behind is all you. At least it soothes my pain. Did she infuse aura into that beaker?’
Sometimes, aura users accidentally infused aura and will into a wand instead of mana, which could break the wand.
Idnia’s wand looked fine.
‘It doesn’t seem like aura interference…’
Baroness Bylem cautiously summoned a steam elemental to check the energy injected before it became vapor.
She was astonished.
‘Such enormous energy injected explosively in such a short time? Impossible.
The activation phrase “mul-depyo!” has a safety code: even with massive mana, it heats more water, not raise its temperature. Without the code, this output is still…’
Baroness Bylem turned to Idnia. Simple observation wasn’t enough. She needed a precise investigation.
“Idnia, if you’re willing, would you show me again right here?”
“Eh? Ah. Yes. No problem.”
“Good.”
Baroness Bylem was relieved that Idnia, despite the explosion, wanted to cast magic again without fear.
Many wizards develop trauma after their first magical accident, linking visualization to explosions or death, which causes repeated accidents, sometimes giving up magic entirely.
But Idnia remained calm.
‘Bold. This could make her great. If she doesn’t die from accidents, she has the potential to be a Grand Magus. I wondered if she would refuse to use magic, but she calmly casts again. Truly daring. As expected of Betelgeuse’s princess…’
Baroness Bylem was startled.
Was she relieved that Idnia intended to continue lessons as a wizard?
Why?
If that were the case, she couldn’t take revenge.
‘Heh. My conscience as a teacher collides with my resentment toward the wicked Flora. For now, conscience prevails. She’s still a rookie wizard anyway.’
Recalling Flora’s past torment, Baroness Bylem cast protective spells on Idnia and increased the safeguards.
Flora is Flora; the daughter is the daughter. As a teacher, she couldn’t let her student get hurt. Of course not.
“Hmm. If the accident was caused by excessive mana, one beaker isn’t enough. Increase the water to a bathtub’s worth and set protective magic just in case.”
Baroness Bylem applied protective spells on Idnia and the surroundings, created a magical barrier, and summoned a large quantity of water floating in midair.
“Now, cast the hot-water spell on this!”
“Yes!”
Idnia gripped her wand.