No Sealing Spell? Oh No...
I stared at her in shock. No sealing spell? What the hell? And why was Charlene here at this hour?
For a split second, Princess Mage and I locked eyes in pure panic.
“Um… well…”
What was that look on her face? She looked exactly like someone caught in the middle of an affair who’d just run into the wife of her lover. Her face went deathly pale as she fumbled for words, then she dove under the bed with shocking speed.
…That was way too practiced. Don’t tell me the great Princess Mage had been through something like this before.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
In the meantime, Charlene knocked on the door again.
“Master? Were you doing something weird in there by yourself? Why won’t you open the door?”
I shot up like lightning and flung the door open.
“Oh, C-Charlene. What brings you here so late?”
She stared straight at my face, narrowed her eyes, and spoke.
“Suspicious.”
Suspicious? Before I could even answer, she shoved past me and stepped inside, slowly scanning the entire room.
Gulp.
Why was I the one getting nervous?
Charlene sniffed the air a few times, then looked at me with those same half-lidded eyes.
“I smell Princess Mage’s perfume. Master? Did the princess come by?”
Wow. Unnecessarily sharp as always.
I scratched the back of my head and tried to sound as casual as possible.
“What? No way. Why would the princess come to my room? I think her perfume must’ve gotten on my clothes earlier at dinner.”
“No. That doesn’t seem right. This is definitely—”
Charlene strode across the room and threw open the closet door.
“Hmm. Strange.”
Damn it. This wasn’t some adultery stakeout. What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
After thoroughly inspecting the closet, she closed it and immediately moved on to the wardrobe, yanking that door open too.
“…Was it just my imagination?”
“Yeah. Charlene, why are you so suspicious of me? Do I look like the kind of guy who lies? Huh?”
“It’s weird. I could’ve sworn I smelled the princess in this room.”
After scanning the wardrobe, Charlene shrugged and sat down on the very chair Princess Mage had been sitting on just minutes ago.
“Why are both chairs pulled out? Shouldn’t there only be one?”
She tapped her nails sharply on the table as she asked the question.
Wow. Was she a detective? Seriously, way too sharp for her own good.
“I pulled both out earlier while cleaning. This room hasn’t been used in a while, so there was dust all over the floor.”
“You, who barely cleans anything, suddenly acting all neat and tidy…”
Charlene crossed her legs and gave me a disapproving look.
Phew. Somehow, I seemed to have dodged the dangerous part.
“So? Why did you come looking for me at this hour?”
“Master. Are you really planning to team up with the imperial family to defeat Apocryon?”
“Of course. It’s way better than not getting their help.”
“I don’t think they’ll be much help. Especially Princess Mage—she’ll probably just drag us down.”
“The princess? Why would you think that?”
“Just a woman’s intuition. I don’t like her more and more. Always wagging her tail at you.”
“W-wagging her tail? At me? No way.”
Oh god, I was going to lose my mind. The subject of this gossip was currently hiding under the bed, listening to every single word. I had to change the subject somehow.
“Anyway, Charlene. Do you have any plans for what we should do starting tomorrow?”
“Hmm. What do you think, Master?”
“I think we should find the sealing spell for Apocryon first.”
“…Yeah. That doesn’t sound bad. But will we even be able to find Apocryon?”
“We’ll figure out a way. It’s not impossible.”
Suddenly, Charlene poked my cheek hard with her finger.
“What was that for?”
“I just like that confidence of yours. You’re usually such a coward, but when it really counts, you get recklessly brave. Master, do you really think you can beat Apocryon?”
“What choice do I have? If I can’t beat him, we all die anyway.”
“That’s true, I guess.”
With that, Charlene stood up. Wearing a flowing, dress-like nightgown, she spun around gracefully and spoke.
“Master?”
“Yeah? What?”
“You’re not lying to me right now, are you?”
Ugh. Was this her final test? Had she noticed something?
If I lost this battle of wills to Charlene, I’d probably be under her thumb for the rest of my life.
“You know better than anyone that I’m a terrible liar. Why are you acting like this today?”
“Fine, I got it. Then I’ll trust what you said. Good night.”
With that calm reply, Charlene quietly opened the door and left.
About three minutes after she was gone, Princess Mage finally crawled out from under the bed.
“…Princess. What exactly is this situation?”
“You’re telling me. The princess of the Arcadia Empire is in quite the undignified state.”
Princess Mage let out a long sigh.
“Charlene really seems to hate me. Did I do something wrong?”
“N-no, not at all. Charlene’s just… got a weird personality. Don’t pay any attention to what she said.”
“Thanks for the comfort. Since she already misunderstood me for wagging my tail, should I just go ahead and do it openly?”
“Huh?”
“I’m joking.”
Princess Mage gave an awkward little laugh and carefully opened the door.
“Kailon?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for today. I won’t forget it.”
With those words, she gently closed the door behind her.
What was she thanking me for? Sigh. I had no idea.
I flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Just a few months ago I was drowning in debt and worrying about money every day. Now here I was in the imperial palace, dealing with problems like this. Life really was unpredictable.
Still… what the hell was I supposed to do about Apocryon…?
The next morning, Charlene, Princess Mage, Prince Cassian, and I headed to the imperial library. We were looking for the spell that could seal Apocryon.
…But it wasn’t there.
No matter how much we searched, it was nowhere to be found.
And the library was ridiculously huge. There were over fifty shelves packed with thick leather-bound books…
Sigh.
“Master? No matter how hard I look, I can’t find any book with the Apocryon sealing spell,” Charlene said from atop a library ladder as she scanned the shelves.
Prince Cassian answered, looking embarrassed.
“I-I’m sorry, Miss Charlene. I thought the imperial library would have every piece of knowledge…”
“It’s not your fault, Your Highness. Things were never going to be that easy.”
Just then, we heard the click of heels as Princess Mage approached from the other side of the room.
“Kailon. If there’s no book with the Apocryon sealing spell here, what do we do now?”
“I don’t know. That spell is the most important thing we need right now… If it’s not here, then where could it be?”
Princess Mage and I exchanged troubled glances.
At that moment, Charlene lightly jumped down from the ladder, landing between us.
“Master? I think we should look at history books first instead of magic spell books. Who sealed Apocryon?”
Prince Cassian quickly answered.
“Eight hundred and twelve years ago. The Great Mage Macius sealed him, Miss Charlene.”
Ugh. This prince had been dying to talk to Charlene first since earlier. Even worse, Charlene didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in him.
“Great Mage Macius? Ah… so it was that guy…?”
“Charlene, you know Macius?”
When I asked, she nodded.
“Of course. I’ve met him before. The title of Great Mage suited him well. Back then, Macius was—”
Sudden silence fell over the room. Both Princess Mage and Prince Cassian stared at Charlene in shock.
Oh no… Charlene, are you about to blow your cover with another slip of the tongue?
Charlene seemed to realize her mistake. She awkwardly scratched the back of her head and laughed.
“I mean, I met him in a dream! The Great Mage Macius appeared in my dream. Please pretend you didn’t hear that last part. Hahaha.”
Phew… Somehow we’d gotten past it again.
Charlene pulled out a random book and flipped through it without really looking as she continued.
“Then where is the temple that worships Macius? A mage of his caliber should have a temple preserving his legacy, right?”
“W-well…”
It seemed neither the prince nor the princess knew.
Charlene closed the book with a sigh.
“If the sealing spell isn’t here, then there’s a high chance it’s at the temple dedicated to Macius. We should head there, Master.”
I nodded. There was no time to be taking it easy. The Demon King’s army could come pouring out again at any moment, anywhere.
I turned to Princess Mage.
“Princess. Please tell me the location of Macius’s temple. Charlene and I will go secure the sealing spell.”
“Alright. I’ll do that.”
Both Prince Cassian and Princess Mage nodded in agreement, but they couldn’t hide the suspicious looks they kept giving Charlene.
“Master, let’s go get lunch first. The food here was amazing yesterday. Come on.”
Charlene grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the library.
Ugh. She really did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
As I was being pulled along, I glanced back at the prince and princess. Both of them had their lips slightly pursed, looking like they’d just gotten fired up about something.
Why those expressions? Sigh. I really didn’t understand any of this.
One hour later, in Emperor Valderic’s office.
Prince Cassian and Princess Mage had come to see him.
“So? There was no sealing spell for Apocryon in the imperial library?”
At the emperor’s question, Princess Mage answered.
“Yes, Father. From what we’ve gathered, it seems the spell is likely at Macius’s temple.”
“Macius’s temple? Then you’ll have to travel quite far.”
“Father, do you know where Macius’s temple is located?”
“Of course. It’s in Retsher City, far to the west. It’s a place with deep historical significance.”
The prince and princess exchanged glances and nodded. Then Prince Cassian spoke.
“Father. Could we accompany Kailon and Miss Charlene?”
“Hm? You two?”
“Yes, Father. We also want to play a role in saving the empire. That way we can put Eisenbelt in his place, can’t we?”
“No. It would be problematic if both of you left the palace. Cassian, you will remain here.”
“What?”
“We are still at war. Just in case, it would be best for the prince to stay and protect the palace.”
Cassian clenched his fists tightly. Princess Mage placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder and whispered.
“Brother, Father is right. I’ll go with Kailon’s group instead.”
With a heavy sigh, Prince Cassian reluctantly nodded.
“I understand, Father. Then… may I ask one more favor?”
“What other request do you have?”
After a brief hesitation, Prince Cassian bit his lip and answered.
“If I propose to Miss Charlene and she accepts… would it be alright for us to get married?”
“What?”
Both the emperor and the princess stared at the prince in shock. His eyes were completely serious.