Popcorn and Jealousy
Go fetch some popcorn or something.
After meeting Prince Adran, we headed straight to the Magic Tower where Princess Selene’s academic conference was being held. We received a warm welcome there as well.
“Welcome, Baron Landor.”
Just like the Adran faction, the scholars of the Magic Tower brightened the moment they saw me and rose from their seats. After all, I had built them a new tower and supplied generous research funds. They had no reason to dislike me. Yet it was clear I was not the main attraction here.
The scholars greeted Dean Samir with expressions several times more enthusiastic than the ones they had shown me.
“Well, well! If it isn’t the famous Dean Samir! Hahaha!”
“The reputation of the Maldina School has reached us here as well! Haha! You are doing truly magnificent work. Especially treating people through surgery! It’s unfamiliar to us, but what a remarkable approach!”
“Please, have a seat! There is so much we wish to discuss!”
Karl Hansen, Karia, and I were instantly relegated to the sidelines. The scholars launched into a lively conversation with Dean Samir.
“How is it possible to cut into flesh without causing fatal bleeding even when the heart does not stop?”
“We heard you perform procedures that open the brain. Is that true?”
“You do not use magic or spells, so how do you make diagnoses? How do you see inside the body?”
“We have many questions about the medicines you produce as well. What is the principle behind creating disinfectants?”
Highly technical discussions flew back and forth. The interpreter wore a look of utter despair while desperately trying to translate. Meanwhile, we were thoroughly ignored until Princess Selene led us out of the conference hall.
“Those born with divine power are limited in number, yet the patients who need treatment are countless. There was a time when the Magic Tower actively researched methods of healing that did not rely on holy magic.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It was decades ago. We spent enormous sums and time importing medical texts from the western continent by sea and began our research. That field has since developed into what we now call human anatomy.”
“Then why…”
“Well… many scholars devoted themselves to the research because the cause was noble, but treating the common people and studying the human body turned out to be entirely different matters. We made progress in techniques for examining the body, making precise diagnoses, and identifying diseases, yet actually performing fundamental treatments proved beyond the scholars’ capabilities.”
My eyes lit up at her words.
“You say there are many techniques for examination and identifying diseases?”
“Yes. We developed a device that uses magic stones to generate a strong magnetic field for precise internal diagnosis, machines that employ ultrasound for examinations, and technology that uses light to destroy specific cells inside the body. There have been various advancements.”
My mouth fell open.
If I had heard correctly, Princess Selene had just mentioned MRI, ultrasound scanners, and techniques used in cancer treatment.
“You mean you developed medical devices?”
“Yes. The human body is one of the Magic Tower’s major research fields. We need a more accurate understanding of the body to study how mages wield magic with greater precision. These technologies are applied when researching the characteristics of mana circles near the heart, dantian, and head.”
“Those technologies…!”
Just as I was about to declare my immediate investment, Selene smiled elegantly.
“You need not look so surprised, Landor. I intended to hand the technology over to your merchant guild even without you rushing me. Of course, on the condition that we receive proper royalties. However, I plan to set the royalty rate quite low this time.”
Selene quietly gazed outside the palace. Beyond the window, countless people moved along the streets.
“Even the poor should be able to receive timely treatment when they fall ill. Don’t you agree?”
The Princess of Grace. Her words perfectly matched her title. I smiled brightly and took her hand firmly.
“Thank you, Your Highness. This will be a tremendous help! Countless people will receive more accurate diagnoses and excellent treatment!”
Selene did not reject my gesture. She quietly clasped my hand in return.
“I will try believing in your promise to make the empire prosperous. I look forward to hearing more good news from you, Landor.”
“Haha! Of course!”
“Rest somewhere else for now. The conversation with Dean Samir looks like it will take quite a while.”
After saying that, Princess Selene escorted the three of us to a luxurious café inside the Magic Tower. There I enjoyed snacks and tea while excitedly chatting with Karl.
“They already had medical device technology! And they have been researching it for decades! The Magic Tower is a god!”
“Princess Selene is invincible! Hahaha! I can hardly wait to see how wildly the Maldina School doctors will perform once they receive high-end medical equipment! Kyahahaha!”
Karl Hansen, who normally showed no interest in public healthcare or citizen welfare, had a simple reason for laughing so heartily.
“No one will go to Ronald II anymore! That pig bastard! Just imagining how twisted his face will become fills me with joy! Hahahaha!”
I burst into laughter along with Karl Hansen as he wore the most wicked grin imaginable.
“Let’s make sure he gets properly screwed.”
“Absolutely! That pig bastard. We should put him on a diet, shouldn’t we? Hahaha! I have never tasted such delicious desserts before!”
Karl Hansen began devouring the desserts in front of him with gusto. My own appetite stirred, so I tried a little dessert as well. A refined sweetness spread gently across my tongue.
“Princess Karia, you should try this. It is quite delicious…”
I stopped mid-sentence, my smiling face freezing.
Karia’s expression looked strange.
She was smiling, yet there was something oddly furious about it.
“I did not know you and Selene were so close, Landor. It was quite a sight. When you held hands just now.”
“Uh… well, that is…”
“I am sorry. I am a woman whose only talent is smashing things, so I cannot help you the way Selene does by developing medical devices.”
Karl Hansen, who had been enthusiastically stuffing desserts into his mouth, suddenly wore a choked expression and quietly set his dessert down. Karia’s face remained smiling. She elegantly sipped her tea.
“I will return to the Guardian Dragon. Come find me once you finish your work, Landor.”
She rose and left. Karl Hansen remained silent for a long time. So did I.
“Lord Landor, may I speak crudely?”
“What is it?”
“You are screwed, sir.”
“You little… I know.”
I had to rub my face dry.
Because of the Maldina School relocation, I had been extremely busy for several months. As a result, I had paid no attention to Karia at all.
“What should I do?”
“Countless men throughout history have asked that question. None of them ever received a proper answer.”
“……”
Karl Hansen was right.
It seemed I was screwed.
Karia walked through the capital streets while desperately holding back tears that threatened to spill. She paused and looked down at her own hands.
“Ah…!”
Her hands were covered in calluses from gripping a sword.
They were not hands that could be called a woman’s at all.
Having spent her entire life in the military, her muscles were firm and her physique was not the kind most men preferred.
The bright smile Landor had shown while holding Selene’s hand was something Karia, who had always been by his side, had never once seen directed at her.
She could not help comparing herself.
The queen of high society.
A woman of outstanding intellect who conversed skillfully even with the scholars of the Magic Tower.
Selene’s popularity in the capital was said to be explosive.
Landor too.
Any man with eyes would surely prefer such a gentle woman over a blunt soldier like herself.
The thought left Karia feeling utterly miserable.
She clenched her teeth and held back the tears while heading toward the Wyvern Knights headquarters where the Guardian Dragon was stationed.
“Lady Karia.”
At that moment, someone placed a hand on her shoulder. When she turned, she found Landor standing there, breathing hard as though he had run all the way. He quickly took her hand and guided her into a luxurious merchant guild carriage that had been waiting nearby, then locked the door.
“Lady Karia, a princess should not wander the streets so freely without an escort.”
“Do you think I need an escort?”
An escort truly might not suit the empire’s strongest sword, a living weapon of a woman. Yet by ignoring the principle itself, Landor could tell just how emotionally agitated Karia had become.
“Lady Karia.”
At Landor’s gentle call, Karia’s eyes grew even more watery before she lowered her head.
“I am just being jealous. I must look pathetic.”
“No. You look beautiful.”
“I could not bear watching you hold my sister’s hand. You and Selene looked so good together.”
“There is only you for me, Lady Karia.”
“Lies. What is there to like about a woman with ugly hands, a muscular body, and no charm at all!”
Landor gave no reply. He simply kissed her in silence. Karia’s eyes widened. Her face flushed as though heated steel, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably.
The despair that had felt like death moments ago transformed into the peak of happiness with a single kiss. Karia could not regain her composure amid such violent emotional swings.
Once the kiss ended, the treacherous minister’s signature silver tongue went to work.
“Your hair is beautiful. It looks as though the melting golden sunset of the plains was captured and forged into jewels.”
“Ugh…”
“Your eyes are lovely. They are the dreamy black of the most beautiful night sky.”
“Stop…”
“Lady Karia.”
Landor softly kissed her cheek and pulled her into an embrace.
“Never belittle yourself again. You are beautiful and wonderful. You are a woman fully deserving of love. Stand tall, lift your face, and live proudly. No matter how beautiful a woman is, she looks ugly when consumed by inferiority and self-doubt. Do you wish to make me a man who loves an ugly woman?”
Karia shed tears of overwhelming happiness and quietly shook her head.
Landor smiled gently at the sight.
“I love you, Lady Karia. I love you.”
“Hic…”
Karia embraced Landor. The matter did not end there.
“Landor… Landor. I love you. I love you.”
“Lady Karia… Lady Karia? Wait a moment, Lady Karia. It is broad daylight. We are in the middle of the city. Lady Karia!”
Fortunately, the carriage Landor had prepared was once again a high-end model with excellent cushioning. Even with vigorous activity inside, it did not creak enough for passersby to guess what was happening within.
That day, as always, Landor was thoroughly devoured by the princess.
The next day.
Prince Adran delivered the meticulously collected evidence of the Healing Sect’s exorbitant medical fees to the emperor through Landor. The treacherous minister Landor easily obtained the emperor’s permission for a special investigation with his silver tongue.
The moment permission was granted, Prince Adran selected dozens of prosecutors notorious for their ruthless and persistent investigations from the Imperial Supreme Court and began preparing to dismantle the Healing Sect. Amid the promise of a bloody storm…
“The special investigation has begun, Lord Landor! That bastard Ronald II is completely screwed! Puhaha! What do we do now?”
“We who have no power are useless. Karl, go fetch some popcorn.”
“What is popcorn?”
“…Right, popcorn does not exist yet. I will fry some myself and show you. Let us start a popcorn business as well, Karl.”
A man was frying popcorn.