Chapter 60
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Family Banter and the Prophecy Book
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With no foreign dignitaries or royalty visiting the empire, Philomel was currently the sole occupant of the state guest residence.
That meant the residence itself, along with its famously beautiful rear garden, had become the private domain of a certain great archmage and his four children.
"What? Jeremiah's become Phil's guard knight?"
The ever-slow-on-the-uptake Cadin made a noisy fuss all by himself.
"Why Jeremiah! If you'd just give me a shot, I could do it great too!"
"You're not a knight."
Jeremiah replied with a smug air of superiority.
Lexion tilted his head beside them.
"Come to think of it, didn't you say Cadin followed Jeremiah to his magic knight qualification exam?"
Cadin slumped over the table, propping his chin on it as he muttered.
"......I failed the written test."
"That's surprising. Isn't the written part just basic knight common knowledge? Should be a breeze."
"The guy's an idiot."
Jeremiah sneered.
"Still, calling your brother an idiot? Say he has somewhat lacking intellectual faculties."
Their father stepped in to curb the brotherly bickering.
"Quiet down. More importantly, don't you all have work to do? Why do you keep coming to see Phil and me every day?"
Lexion answered leisurely.
"We finished all our tasks, of course. And we're here to see Phil, not you, Tower Master Rguin."
Jeremiah shrugged.
"Don't you know what a guard is? My job is to stay by Philomel's side."
Finally, Cadin chimed in.
"I'm slacking off!"
Philomel just smiled.
"Haha... I'm just glad you all look like you're having fun."
She let out a small sigh and held out what she'd brought.
"Anyway, Rguin. Could you take a look at this?"
Rguin picked up the book Philomel offered with his fingertips.
"What's this? A dictionary?"
To be precise, it was Princess Ellensia disguised with a dictionary cover.
"It's that book I mentioned before—the one I hoped you'd investigate personally."
Not long after resolving to uncover the truth of the book, Philomel had tested the waters with him about the prophecy tome.
The results hadn't differed much from what she already knew.
Even he, the Magic Tower Master, seemed unaware of prophecy books like Princess Ellensia.
Honestly, her disappointment had been immense. But she couldn't stop there.
Gathering her resolve, Philomel decided to entrust it to him.
Though it had taken her quite some time to muster that resolve.
After all, she'd never shown the book to anyone before. Much less handed it over.
She was anxious. Even though she'd memorized everything, the obsession that she couldn't do anything without the physical book lingered. Unbeknownst to herself, she'd grown quite dependent on it.
As Rguin moved to open the book, Philomel hurriedly grabbed his hand.
"......I'm sorry, but could you avoid reading the contents as much as possible?"
"Why?"
"Well......"
Philomel hesitated, unsure what to say.
'Asking him to investigate without checking the contents is probably too unreasonable a request...'
But she didn't want anyone to see the 'Philomel' inside the book.
She had torn out all the pages with truly sensitive content she never wanted shown.
Through various experiments, she'd learned that if more intact pages outnumbered the damaged ones, the book's restoration ability wouldn't activate.
As the hesitant Philomel was about to just let him see it.
"Got it. If you don't want to show it, I won't look."
Rguin said casually.
"Is that really okay? Won't it hinder the investigation...?"
"I can't check the contents, but I can still study the book itself plenty. If you want to show me later, just say so."
"Yes, thank you."
Philomel mumbled her response.
"No big deal. Between us."
Rguin treated it as nothing.
Philomel knew that to get the results she wanted, verifying the contents would likely be necessary.
But still, she couldn't bring herself to show the book to them. Part of it was not wanting to reveal the 'Philomel' in the book, and part was that while she liked them, she didn't fully trust them yet.
'Once we've spent more time together and grown closer, then I'll show it.'
Philomel thought, gazing at her fingertips.
Taking the book from Philomel, Rguin examined it this way and that.
"No particular aura stands out. Looks like I'll need to take it to the Magic Tower for a proper look."
Lexion quickly retorted.
"Yes, why don't you go ahead and knock out all your backlog and urgent tasks while you're at it. Who knows how much longer we'll be here."
Hearing that, Philomel grew a bit worried.
"Is the Magic Tower really buried in work?"
"Don't worry. Nothing major happens without Tower Master Rguin there. Besides, out of all of us, I'm the only one who's actually done proper work at the tower..."
A weary office worker's resentment colored Lexion's voice.
"......Hang in there."
It was all Philomel could say.
Just then, a maid's voice came from the rear garden entrance.
"Lady Philomel! Are you here?"
"Oh no, everyone, hide quick..."
The moment Philomel startled and spoke up.
Rguin turned back into a cat, and Lexion and Cadin's forms vanished in an instant.
Only Jeremiah remained calmly seated as before.
Realizing there was no need to worry about their presences being discovered, Philomel turned to the maid.
"What is it?"
"You're in the garden."
"Just getting some air."
"My apologies for interrupting. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor invites you to an evening banquet. He said it's a light invitation, so no need to feel burdened..."
"Will Princess Ellensia be joining as well?"
Philomel interrupted to ask.
"Yes, she will."
Philomel pondered briefly before nodding.
"Got it. Tell him I'll come."
To learn about Ellensia, she couldn't skip a direct meeting. There were limits to what she could glean from others' reports.
Philomel left for the evening banquet with the Emperor.
Jeremiah followed her, and Cadin hurried back to work before he could get caught slacking.
Only Rguin and Lexion remained in the rear garden.
Rguin was thoroughly displeased.
"What's that? Why's he calling someone else's daughter?"
"He's the one who raised Phil as his daughter for over a decade."
"What nonsense. I'm the one whose blood runs in Phil's veins."
"Giving birth doesn't automatically make parents. In cases like this, whoever the child acknowledges as parents is what matters. You're staying here precisely because you want that child's recognition, aren't you, Tower Master Rguin?"
"Is that so? I hadn't realized."
He pondered something deeply for a moment before speaking again.
"Should I just kill him?"
"......Who?"
Lexion asked with a troubled expression.
"The Emperor. The princess too, as a bonus."
Rguin continued indifferently.
"Are you insane?"
Recalling how Philomel had planted the thieving maid as a spy on Ellensia, Rguin said.
"The reason Phil's staying here seems tied to that princess. Killing her solves everything."
Lexion sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Think the empire will just sit still? Please spare the Magic Tower from danger. I pass on following you to the afterlife."
Rguin bristled at a completely irrelevant point.
"You think I'd lose? I'm stronger than the Emperor."
"......Well, if we're talking pure personal ability, I do think you're superior, Tower Master Rguin. You have the experience too."
The look in his eyes sharpened coldly behind his glasses.
"But you know why the Belleroph imperial family has ruled the continent as overlords for ages. The Emperor wields the power of the gods. It's said one past emperor even summoned a god itself when the nation faced ruin. Even you couldn't stand against a god."
"You don't know till you try."
"Don't get cocky over nothing... Anyway, that's not happening. Just remember—if you do, you'll forever lose any chance of gaining her favor."
Rguin visibly flinched at the words about favor.
"She doesn't much like killing, and she's spent time with them, so affection has probably built up. Like I said before, act like the best person possible in front of Phil."
"......Fine. Just floating the idea."
Rguin grumbled as he stood.
"Guess I should head to the Magic Tower after so long. I'll look into Phil's request while I'm at it."
With a flash of light, Rguin vanished.
Lexion headed out of the garden too.
He muttered like a prayer that nothing major would happen while they stayed here.