Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Won't You Stay?
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"Won't you stay the night?"
I never imagined she'd come right out and say something like that.
Damian barely held back a curse and kept his expression neutral.
Empress Abigail often said that among her children, Erewin resembled her the most—and had she inherited this kind of disposition too?
A woman with a proper fiancée shouldn't be saying things like this.
"Let's head up first."
He averted his gaze as he spoke. It was a roundabout refusal.
Erewin didn't seem to mind even that, hiding her smile. She thought Damian was just being shy.
Of course, he had no intention of sharing a bed with her, not even for show.
Even if it helped with his revenge, it would cross a line far beyond acceptance.
"Ah... my legs won't hold me. Guess the tension's worn off."
With that, she held out both arms. She wanted to be carried.
'What a childish act...'
His stomach churned, but he went along with it for now.
"Mmm."
As Damian offered his back, Erewin wriggled against him endlessly. It felt like bugs crawling over his skin.
Still, he endured it as best he could and headed upstairs.
He'd withstood the agony of black magic, after all.
He could handle this torment with sheer willpower.
Besides, if he ignored their half-sibling relationship, these were fairly normal feelings.
They paled in comparison to Rubia's obsessive mania.
In a way, it resembled what Agnes had once felt for him.
The difference was that Erewin hadn't noticed the deception, and this relationship had zero chance of ending well.
'Go ahead and run wild as much as you want.'
Erewin's recklessness would be a headache for both the orthodox and reform factions.
He didn't expect much from it anyway. If it even tripped them up, it was a win for Damian.
"Pr-Princess! What on earth happened downstairs?"
"Are you alright? I-I'll fetch a healer right away."
When Erewin appeared carried on Damian's back, the servants paled.
They couldn't imagine the two having a secret rendezvous underground, so they assumed she'd suffered a grave injury.
With a flick of her hand, Erewin stopped them. No fuss, no following.
"I'm going to see the Tower Master."
"...Can't you stay just a little longer?"
As Damian laid her on the bed and turned to leave, she grabbed his sleeve.
Her eyes glistened with moisture. Her emotions were disgustingly genuine.
"You know better."
"Mmm..."
Incestuous marriages might have happened in the imperial family of old, but they weren't acceptable in this era.
If word got out, it would be a scandal that destroyed them both.
The only time he could ever announce it publicly would be after becoming emperor—and even then, Erewin wouldn't be sitting beside him.
'People's hearts...'
The haughty expression she'd worn moments ago had vanished completely.
Separate from her goal of achieving her ambitions through Damian, she was lost in these current feelings.
Though he'd intended it, he hadn't expected such a dramatic shift.
Love was, in some ways, more lethal than the temptations of black magic.
'Lucas too...'
Had Emperor Lucas been ruined by emotions like these?
* * *
"You're here. I've been waiting."
As Damian entered the Tower Master's room, Ariella greeted him with a bright smile.
It was a lively grin, impossible to imagine from someone who'd just been trapped in another phase.
"......"
In front of her sat Ezekiel and Dennis, looking like their souls had been sucked out.
They'd been worried for Ariella's safety, of course—and in Ezekiel's case, the burden of potentially becoming Tower Master himself.
"I know the rough outline, but why don't you tell me yourself?"
The story was simple. Boris and Erewin had retrieved an artifact from ancient ruins.
It had a function similar to maintaining the world in his memories, but issues arose during research.
"Of course, that wasn't the only problem."
Ariella had been conducting an experiment right before vanishing.
Several other experiments had interacted, trapping her in another phase.
In a way, it was fortunate she'd only been confined.
Any other mage wouldn't have escaped even if they'd smashed the artifact.
"What happened to that artifact?"
"I destroyed it. It went berserk midway; I had no choice."
"Nothing else?"
"...No."
Nothing left that he could say openly.
The culprits behind the attack on Rubia were Boris and Erewin.
Erewin harbored forbidden feelings for Damian.
And Damian had deceived her.
Even as a fake relationship, it was a secret only he and Erewin could share.
"If there's no major issue with the princess's health, I'll take my leave."
"Go on. We'll properly reward your contributions this time—look forward to it."
"Good work, good work."
"Haa... Thank you so much, as always, Damian."
Damian bowed politely and turned away.
Ariella waved gently with a soft smile until he fully left the room.
"So, what is it?"
"Shouldn't we still call a healer?"
"No. It's not that kind of issue."
Once Damian was out of sight, Ariella's expression hardened abruptly.
But it wasn't the problem Ezekiel and Dennis feared.
The phase where Ariella had been trapped.
It was a place that was the magic tower yet not the magic tower.
Because of that, she'd seen things normally invisible.
Among them was something utterly unique and bizarre.
Pondering what it could be and how to escape, Ariella had observed it.
[Damian?]
[Are you alright, ma'am?]
Its identity was none other than Ariella's nephew's son, Damian, child of Marian.
She'd known he was born with special talents, but the power she'd observed from that other phase couldn't be captured by words like "special."
It differed in nature from unique colors or singularities. She questioned if such power was even permitted to humans.
"......"
Ariella glimpsed Damian's future. But she couldn't guarantee it would benefit him.
All she could do was pray.
May Marian's child find happiness.
* * *
Ariella's disappearance was wrapped up as a simple accident.
Research continued into exactly how she'd been trapped in another phase, but no clear results yet.
"Damian. Where to today?"
For days, Damian suffered Erewin's attentions.
Dinners alone with her, replying to her cringeworthy love letters.
"You two. When did you get so close?"
"What are you talking about? We've always been close. Right?"
Not even Boris or those around them sensed anything off. They just seemed like affectionate siblings.
"You met with Lady Erewin again today."
"Yeah... Let's spar tomorrow."
"Yes, you've worked hard."
Agnes wore a subtle expression but didn't pry. That restraint was a huge courtesy.
'The 2nd Prince has returned to the capital.'
Still, he'd gathered plenty of valuable intel.
Of course, victory on such preparations alone was absurd. Erewin's dreams would remain just that.
A few days later.
"I've been in your care."
No more business at the magic tower for now.
Time to return to the annex, assess the situation, and head north next.
"It's not like we won't see each other again. You're a full-fledged magic tower mage now anyway."
Ezekiel lightly patted Damian's shoulder. Unlike his "eccentric" moniker, his reputation as a councilor was solid.
"I-It was all thanks to you, Damian. I'll keep working hard!"
Dylan suddenly burst into tears.
Since he'd promised to work hard, Damian would squeeze him more.
"I think I'll stay at the tower a bit longer with Dylan."
Anya patted Dylan as she spoke. The mana potion business was thriving daily.
Damian didn't need to micromanage it. The key was how to use the profits.
"Let's go, Damian."
Agnes would return to the capital with him. She had no more business here either.
She'd said goodbye to Erewin and Boris yesterday. They had separate matters today.
Erewin planned to visit the capital in a few days—of course, to see Damian.
"I could've come myself."
Stepping out, Ariella and Dennis waited.
"But I couldn't skip seeing off the two of you."
Dennis offered a handshake. Not fully Damian's man, but a reliable ally now.
"Come here, both of you."
Whoosh. Ariella pulled Damian and Agnes into a hug.
It conveyed her sincerity more than any words.
A grand mage he'd never even met before regression. Now, a precious connection.
Her presence—and the intact magic tower—would greatly aid his revenge.
* * *
Unlike his first visit, they used the warp gate normally for the return to the capital.
"Th-That's Damian Renekht..."
"Ezekiel's disciple. The magic tower's rising star."
"Sh-Should I go say hi?"
"You nuts?"
The atmosphere had been tense even in Lemer, the eastern hub, but it was worse in the capital.
"That kid took down a councilor at his age. Those guys are top-tier in imperial magic!"
"And the demon worshippers he purged—those cockroaches vanished from the east."
"Hilton Trading Company's new mana potions? Damian's the one behind them."
The incidents before his tower entry were old news, overshadowed by the recent tower crisis.
Still just the process. How would the empire react when Damian claimed the throne?
"Feels like real autumn now."
"Yeah."
Returning to the imperial capital after so long, the falling leaves reminded him of time's passage.
"Young master! Miss Agnes!"
Outside the warp gate, the annex carriage awaited.
Curious kids peeked but were shooed by the coachman.
Only Anna and Felix had come to greet him.
All the annex servants had wanted to, but Damian refused.
He disliked flashy welcomes.
"You've worked hard. But..."
Anna hesitated. Something up? Felix answered.
"The capital guard is looking for you, young master."
"Me? Why?"
"We're not sure. Just that they want you there ASAP."
"Anything happen in the capital?"
"Nothing major... Oh, yesterday, two travelers from the south caused a scene at the warp gate. One's a desert nomad woman, and the other... not sure, but hair color..."
"Sky blue?"
"Y-Yes! How did you...?"
Haaa. Damian pressed his temple with a sigh. Agnes and the other two tilted their heads, clueless.
Faruzan and Saliba.
The main reason Damian had visited the south.
Desert Rose Faruzan.
The era's top magic beast hunter, a comrade from his past travels with Damian.
Survivor of her tribe slaughtered by Hashashin, cursed by her father to seek revenge.
The curse tormented her mind, but Damian freed her from it.
She hadn't fully cleared her grudges, but now she could choose her own future.
She chose to stay with Damian—to repay her debt.
And Magic Knight Saliba.
Former guerrilla comrade.
Talented in magic but denied proper chances.
Stuck at mediocre levels in both aura and magic.
Thus, "Magic Knight" was a mocking title.
One reason his life twisted: Imur, head of Byzantine underworld.
No more worries there. Imur fell to Damian's schemes.
If Saliba were content, their ties ended. But no.
He had ambitions—to shatter the chains of being a traitor's descendant.
Damian would help, and Saliba would aid Damian.
'Couldn't they have come quietly...'
Both key allies in his revenge.
That's why he'd visited the capital to check on them.
Not like this, though.