Chapter 5
Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Boon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2. An Unexpected Boon
“What nonsense is this?”
The Second Prince of the Empire, Jess, had come to his office at dawn. He furrowed his brows as he read the incident damage report.
It was content that defied common sense. Kendrick, the leader of the Imperial Magic Corps who had written the report, continued his briefing while breaking out in cold sweats.
“Last night, the top floor of the Green Deer Palace—floors 8 and 7, and part of floor 6—were simultaneously blown away… It’s definitely a ‘Tempest-class’ flame magic spell with its power minimized.”
“Fire of Tempest? You call that plausible?”
Jess slammed the report onto the table.
“Was it you? Did you blow up the Green Deer Palace?”
“What? What absurd accusation! How could I ever… commit such irreverence against the imperial palace? Let alone the annex where Your Highness resides?”
Kendrick shook his head in horror. Jess narrowed his eyes and pressed him.
“You said the magic was a Tempest? Isn’t it true that you’re the only one around here who can cast something like that?”
“N-No, forgive me, but even I couldn’t do it. Tempest is a spell that only an Arch Wizard… or someone approaching that level could use.”
“You admit your incompetence so readily.”
The Imperial Magic Corps was known for being numerically superior but qualitatively lacking. Jess drummed his fingers on the table as he looked at the silent leader.
“Summon all the Arch Wizards in the imperial territory right now. How many are there?”
“Two. But whether they’ll comply with the summons…”
“If any refuse or try to flee, issue a wanted order in the Empire’s name immediately. Make sure they have no place to set foot in this world. You can mobilize as many Anti-Magic Knights as needed—bring them all in.”
“That’s… Understood.”
The Anti-Magic Knights were a knight order equipped with special magic armor designed exclusively for anti-mage warfare. Kendrick glanced nervously at Jess before adding a word.
“Your Highness, however. Given that the mage who destroyed the tower vanished without a trace, the culprit is presumed to have escaped using flight magic.”
“Isn’t flight magic a high-tier spell that only an Arch Wizard can use? That means the suspect is one of those guys.”
“That’s not… The investigation revealed that the Tempest exploded from inside the tower, not from outside.”
“So what?”
“That means the culprit was inside the tower. The Green Deer Palace has no windows from the 5th floor up, so they likely entered through a 4th-floor window and infiltrated up to the 7th floor where Prince Albert was. Therefore…”
“Just the conclusion.”
“Unleashing a Tempest-class spell from this close would mean the caster couldn’t survive unscathed.”
“What?”
“To survive that, they’d need to cast a top-grade defensive spell almost simultaneously. That’s nearly impossible in itself, and even then, it’s doubtful they’d emerge unharmed. Tempest has the characteristic of relentlessly ensnaring everything around it, so even decent wall spells—or elemental defensive magic—…”
“So they minimized the power, right?”
Jess cut off Kendrick and furrowed his brows.
“Anyway, hearing you out only convinces me more that only an Arch Wizard could pull this off. Don’t you agree? Or do you have another opinion?”
“In my view… No, never mind.”
What Kendrick ultimately wanted to say was that this incident would be difficult even for an Arch Wizard.
But even he knew it was pointless. What could possibly rank above an Arch Wizard?
Kendrick quietly shook his head and left Jess’s office. After a moment of silence, Jess softly called the name of the knight standing beside him.
“Phiren.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“From today, double the number of escort knights. Mobilize the Anti-Magic Knights.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
The knight placed his fist over his heart in response. Jess nodded as he eyed the three-star emblem engraved on the knight’s armor.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. One Knight Master is more than enough for protection. But you never know with the ways of the world.”
“It’s only natural to be concerned. The imperial palace, the heart of the Empire, was attacked.”
“True. But I didn’t expect those bastards to move so boldly… And to target that idiot Albert of all people. I have no idea what their goal is. Did Albert rack up some grudge behind my back?”
Of the four Arch Wizards currently in the Payud Empire, two shared the same ‘patron’ as Jess.
This incident was probably the work of one of those two. Since they acted on their own schemes regardless of their patron, there was no way to discern their motives without confronting them directly.
“They’re all going to have to die eventually. But Phiren?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What do you think would happen in a one-on-one fight against an Arch Wizard?”
“I would win.”
The knight, armored from head to toe including his face, answered without the slightest hesitation.
“I’m not the man I used to be. Thanks to the grace Your Highness bestowed upon me, I’ve been completely reborn.”
“It wasn’t me who gave it—it was my patron.”
“Your Highness connected us, so it’s the same thing. No matter what power my opponent wields, in a one-on-one match, no one can defeat me.”
“Good. If it comes to it, I’ll rely on you alone. Until the day I ascend the throne.”
“The Empire is already moving by Your Highness’s hand. Your ascension is only a matter of time.”
Phiren bowed his head in reverence. Jess nodded with a satisfied expression.
“By the way, wasn’t Fennell at the Green Deer Palace too?”
“According to the attendants’ testimonies, yes. He arrived at the annex about an hour before the explosion.”
“Then maybe this wasn’t aimed at Albert, but Fennell. That guy’s shady too… Or both? What do those two have in common? Besides being incompetent?”
“Your Highness! Urgent report!”
At that moment, a messenger knocked and entered the office to deliver urgent news.
“An urgent dispatch just arrived from the Elstone Earldom. The garrison was defeated again by the death spirit army’s advance! The count requests reinforcements immediately!”
“It’s finally collapsed.”
A faint smile spread across Jess’s face. He quickly reverted to an expressionless mask and asked,
“If we stall, the death spirit army’s numbers will keep growing, won’t they?”
“Yes. The enemy raises the corpses of dead soldiers as undead…”
“Got it. I’ll assemble reinforcements today and send them out, so you head back to the earldom first and relay this.”
“I obey!”
The messenger saluted and dashed out of the office. Phiren then lowered his voice.
“Count Elstone is a faction that deliberately keeps its distance from the imperial family. Wouldn’t it be good to use this chance to correct his attitude?”
“That’s a fine idea. Drag it out for about a year, and his tune will change completely. He’ll beg for reinforcements, offering up his guts and all.”
“But why…?”
“Didn’t I say I’m summoning Claude to the palace today?”
“…You intend to finish off Prince Claude completely.”
A low chuckle echoed from Phiren’s helmet, which seemed sealed shut. Jess smiled and nodded as well.
“We’ve had our fun long enough. Now it’s time for the grand finale.”
Thanks to his long-standing scheme, Prince Claude had already become the Empire’s infamous villain and wastrel.
But that wasn’t enough. What he needed now was a legendary infamy to cap off his final days—one that surpassed everything before.
* * *
The moment he woke up in the morning, groans spilled out involuntarily.
“Ugh… Uuugh… This is gonna kill me…”
It wasn’t whining—he really felt like he was dying!
His entire body’s muscles ached so badly he couldn’t move, his parched throat burned relentlessly, and a migraine throbbed mercilessly around his temples.
Looks like last night’s outing was more intense than expected. All he’d done was fly back and forth for an hour using flight magic.
He’d known his post-regression body was a mess, but he hadn’t imagined it would be this bad.
Until now, he’d spent at least the first week—no, at least three days—avoiding exertion, focusing on detoxification and recovery.
But this time, he had to move on a much tighter schedule. That’s why he’d chosen those magic and holy magic imprints.
The problem was his body was still a wreck… So how was he going to overcome this immediate physical hurdle?
‘Bless.’
First, he cast the holy magic to temporarily restore his depleted stamina.
‘Pain Killer.’
Then he layered on the holy magic to temporarily block the pain.
“Ugh…”
Only then did his immobile body start to move bit by bit.
Whew, it’s like oiling up a broken machine or something.