Chapter 110
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Archmage Who Went on a House Call (6)
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“What? Say that again.”
First Princess Isabella Belhart furrowed her brow as she asked him to repeat himself.
The nobleman standing before her with his waist bowed trembled visibly as he reported once more.
“W-well... Prince Calian has resumed his official duties... and P-Prince Valerius has collapsed.”
“Huh? Doesn't that seem like the order got mixed up?”
“N-no, it's correct. The First Prince awoke, and then the Second Prince collapsed.”
“I don't think I'm so scatterbrained that I'd mix up Big Brother and Little Brother's names.”
Princess Isabella turned her head to look at Bellus, her guard knight standing steadfast by her side.
“Didn't you report to me this morning that Big Brother had collapsed?”
“Yes, my lady. When I confirmed it, Prince Calian was in critical condition.”
Bellus replied in a polite tone.
Isabella pursed her lips and let out a coquettish hum.
“Hmm~ So what happened? Not even half a day has passed, and the corpse on its last legs is up and about handling his schedule perfectly fine, while the lively mad dog suddenly drops?”
The princess's golden eyes turned back to the nobleman.
“What's the reason?”
“From our investigation... it seems to be the work of someone named Lunaris Evermoon, who met with both princes in succession.”
“Huh? Lunaris Evermoon?”
Princess Isabella tilted her head as if the name were unfamiliar.
Her gaze shifted back to Bellus.
“Who’s that? First time hearing the name.”
“She’s the one recently appointed as an archmage by the imperial family. She even made headlines as the empire’s youngest archmage.”
“Really? And I didn’t know about such talent?”
“When I tried to report it back then, Your Highness said, ‘I’m not interested in some girl’s name,’ so I couldn’t finish the briefing.”
At Bellus’s words, Princess Isabella burst into cheerful laughter—ahaha!
“Well, that does sound like something I’d say.”
All of Princess Isabella’s attendants and guards were exclusively men.
Even the people she kept close were mostly men.
The only women she ever really spoke to were fellow royals or other noble ladies often mentioned alongside her as one of the empire’s three great beauties.
And that made sense, since one of her hobbies was collecting and keeping men around her.
“So, what exactly did this Lunaris or whatever archmage do?”
At the princess’s question, the nobleman explained everything that had happened that day in detail.
In short, Lunaris had healed the First Prince’s illness, then sparred with the Second Prince—and apparently went a bit too hard, leaving him severely injured.
“Prince Valerius’s condition appears quite serious. Not only were his muscles and bones throughout his body crushed, but his mana circuits are all burned out from overload.”
“...Yawn.”
“According to the imperial physician, it’s a miracle he’s even alive...”
As the nobleman rambled on incoherently, Princess Isabella yawned out of boredom.
Her hand, which had been picking at her ear, suddenly dropped down below the sofa.
-Thwack!
She slipped off her shoe and hurled it straight at the nobleman.
Blood trickled down from the tear on his forehead.
“So, are you done talking?”
“Y-yes...”
“You just go on forever. And your voice isn’t even pleasant.”
“...”
“Listening to you was making my ears rot.”
Isabella wiggled her bare foot irritably as she spoke in a annoyed tone.
“Still, the info was useful, so I’ll spare your life.”
“Th-thank you, Your Highness...!”
The nobleman bowed his head without even wiping the blood from his forehead.
Princess Isabella looked down at him with cold eyes.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and fetch my shoe.”
The princess thrust out her pale foot.
The nobleman scrambled to pick up the scuffed high heel.
With trembling hands, he carefully slipped it onto his master’s foot.
He was so cautious not to touch above her ankle that his movements were utterly servile.
“Big Brother’s no slouch in boldness himself.”
As she stroked the cheek of the nobleman kneeling before her with the top of her foot, Princess Isabella rested her chin in her hand and muttered.
“The moment he recovers from illness, he sends his shiny new archmage to beat down his little brother. What’s gotten into that goody-two-shoes personality of his?”
“...My lady. May I say something?”
Bellus, who had been standing silently, slowly opened his mouth.
“Go ahead.”
“I think it’s more likely that the archmage helped the Second Prince.”
“Huh? What do you mean? She half-killed him, didn’t she?”
“Before he’s a prince, the Second Prince is a swordsman. He’ll do anything to satisfy his drive for self-improvement.”
Bellus added flatly that the prince was the type to push his body to the brink of death through overexertion.
“In other words, he might have ended up like that because he wanted to.”
“Pfft! Kyahahaha!!”
Princess Isabella doubled over in laughter.
“That’s total masochism! No way! If my little brother likes getting roughed up that much, he should’ve just told me sooner. I would’ve stomped him until his eyes rolled back!”
“...In any case, the fact that he survived his severe injuries is proof. The recovered prince must have reached a higher realm than before.”
Princess Isabella’s expression turned serious again at Bellus’s analysis that reviewing the spar might help him break through his wall.
“Enough about Little Brother breaking through walls or whatever. He’s just another piece in my collection anyway—he can’t even rank below me.”
The princess narrowed her eyes and changed the subject.
“More importantly, tell me more about that archmage. What do you think, Bellus? How does she stack up to you, roughly?”
Princess Isabella’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Bellus—one of the continent’s rare swordmasters and her first sword.
“I haven’t fought her, so I don’t know.”
“Judging from what I saw at the appointment ceremony... I’d say 6 to 4.”
“Hmm~”
Princess Isabella let out a surprised hum.
“High praise. And she’s young too. Strong enough to match you?”
“Your Highness. The 4 is me.”
“What?”
Princess Isabella’s eyes widened slightly.
She knew Bellus’s skills better than anyone—counted among the empire’s elite.
Seeing him downplay himself was... something new.
“That good? I figured she was nothing special.”
“Considering her growth rate, it might be 7 to 3 by now.”
Bellus gave a wry smile, uncharacteristic for him.
“Isn’t a mage supposed to be weak against knights or something?”
“She’s different. While normal mages take time to chant spells and formulas, she unleashes magic without any delay.”
“...Really?”
“Above all, her magic that manipulates space itself and twists the laws of the world is a knight’s natural predator.”
“Hmm... interesting.”
Princess Isabella’s golden eyes gleamed.
It went beyond mere curiosity—a thick, genuine interest welled up.
“I want to see her once. The girl who turned my rowdy little brother into dough... She might suit my tastes.”
“She’s currently enrolled at the academy.”
“The academy? You mean Elterion?”
“Yes. A freshman this year.”
“So she’s just barely 16? Not a kid anymore, but still a baby~”
Princess Isabella’s eyes softened with nostalgia.
As if reminiscing about her own teenage years.
“I hear there’s a magic exchange tournament coming up soon. The academy opens to outsiders that day, so I’ll go and report back in detail.”
“No, let’s go together.”
The princess placed her hand on Bellus’s shoulder and whispered seductively.
“Since we’re going anyway, let’s play campus couple. How’s that?”
“...You might suit the campus vibe, Your Highness, but I’m getting on in years.”
As Bellus bowed his head awkwardly, Princess Isabella gently lifted his chin.
“Why~ A talented new professor and the prima donna about to graduate. Perfect picture, right?”
The princess’s fingers trailed along the knight’s rough cheek.
“Besides, you still look prime to me.”
A sticky tension flowed between the two.
Princess Isabella’s decadent taste in men was an open secret in the palace.
The nobleman, flattened on the floor, stealthily backed out of the room, holding even his breath.
From the silently closed door seeped excited moans and heated breaths.
Best to pretend he saw and heard nothing.