22. Reconciliation (1)

-Swish

“Ooh!”

-Swish swish

“Oooh!”

Each time Jane’s slender white hands moved delicately, excited exclamations echoed through the palace.

Summoned by the King’s request, Jane had come to the royal palace and begun repairing the magic circles installed throughout the palace.

The problem was that news of this had quickly spread to the academy.

Before long, a crowd of white-bearded mages swarmed into the palace.

Like ducklings following their mother, they trailed behind Jane in a line.

“Ooh, how is the rune coating so flawless?!”

“Good heavens! There’s almost no mana leakage! This is revolutionary!”

“Kyaaah! Count Batory! You’re so beautiful!”

“Count Batory noticed me!!!”

Despite the noisy surroundings, Jane’s expression remained completely impassive.

Ever since she first showcased her self-taught magic to the academy at a young age,

this kind of attention had become all too familiar to her.

With leisurely strokes, Jane finished drawing the runes for the circuit.

After giving the magic circle one last glance, she took a step back.

“Haa… I want to go home.”

She wanted to nuzzle her face against Lily’s soft buttocks.

Lately, Lily wouldn’t even make eye contact, let alone speak to her.

As a result, with her blood Maylily levels depleted, Jane felt utterly drained.

The ordinary(?) mages, oblivious to Jane’s thoughts, immediately swarmed the magic circle.

They were desperately trying to analyze the traces left by the Archmage.

Meanwhile, an attendant who had been waiting nearby opened a box and showed it to Jane.

Inside the heavy wooden box lay a single gray stone.

“Count Batory, I’ve brought the item you requested.”

“Ah, yeah.”

The ordinary-looking stone was wrapped in Eastern silk.

But Jane paid no mind to such trivialities and simply grabbed the stone.

-Hummm

“Ooooh…”

The stone-no, the magic stone-activated in response to Jane’s mana.

The mages clustered around the magic circle immediately reacted to its unexpectedly immense power relative to its size.

“Magnificent.”

“I’d heard the Albion royal family had a hobby of collecting magic stones, but to possess such a high-quality one…”

As the mages’ reactions suggested, the Albion royal palace housed an enormous number of magic stones.

In terms of sheer quantity, they even surpassed the Emperor’s collection.

Though they looked utterly unremarkable, magic stones were highly useful in many applications.

Especially for maintaining activated magic, making them coveted by most mages.

The young imperial princess, Jane Batory, who had fled the Empire, had settled in Albion for this very reason.

It was due to the late King’s promise to grant her freer access to them than what the academy could provide.

-Click

Jane placed the magic stone at the center of the magic circle.

Then, as if annoyed, she waved her hand dismissively.

“Huh?”

“Oh dear, we can use flight magic too, you know.”

“Count Batory’s mana! Count Batory’s mana!”

“Aah! Lady Batory!”

An irresistible, dense force enveloped the mages.

Crimson mana forcibly dragged them out of the palace.

“Remember meee!!!”

With the source of the noise expelled, peace finally returned to the palace.

Was this really okay?

The attendant waiting beside Jane rolled his eyes nervously.

But recalling the strangely serene expressions on the mages’ faces, he simply closed his eyes.

“Count Batory, His Majesty is waiting for you.”

“Annoying.”

“Just follow me.”

“Tell him to come here instead.”

“Count Batory…”

The teary-eyed attendant looked pitiful enough to evoke sympathy.

But Jane had no interest in anyone’s tears except Lily’s.

“…I beg of you.”

“Let’s go.”

Still, she couldn’t actually order the King around.

Reluctantly, Jane followed the attendant at a leisurely pace.

***

“Long time no see, Jane. Was it since last time when you came to steal a carriage for your trip? Haha.”

King Edward of Albion, lounging-no, slouching-on the sofa, waved at Jane.

But Jane gave him a cold look before turning away immediately.

“Alright, alright. Count Batory, please just sit down.”

The King hastily stopped Jane as she made to leave without delay.

Once she sat across from him, however, he immediately began grumbling.

“We’ve known each other for years now. At this point, wouldn’t it be fine to let me call you by your name?”

Naturally, Jane brushed off the King’s words.

Faced with her complete indifference, the King sighed deeply.

If any other noble had behaved this way, he would have penalized them without hesitation.

The problem was that Jane wasn’t just any noble-she was of imperial blood and an Archmage who had reached transcendence.

In the end, it was the frustrated King who raised the white flag.

Rubbing his tired eyes, he spoke.

“First, I apologize for summoning you so abruptly.”

Jane responded curtly to the King, who didn’t look the least bit sorry.

“Just get to the point.”

“Hmm…”

The King broke into a cold sweat at her reaction.

Though she sounded indifferent, he could sense the irritation in her voice.

Still, since he’d called her here, he had to say his piece.

The King dismissed the attendant who had brought tea and even the guards standing silently behind him.

Then he rose from the sofa and walked to his desk.

“Remember those blueprints you gave me last time?”

“Yes.”

The King unrolled the tightly coiled blueprints on the table.

They were what Jane had tossed to him just before leaving on her trip.

“Don’t you think this is too much? Who just throws something like this at someone as if it’s some casual apology gift?”

Naturally, the blueprints had been drawn by Lily.

The problem was that the facility Lily had designed wasn’t one of her usual simple(?) mechanical devices.

“A steelworks?! Why on earth would something like this suddenly appear?!”

Even simplified, the blueprints were clearly of an advanced level.

Upon seeing them, Jane had immediately asked Lily:

‘Were things like this common where you lived?’

But Lily had brushed it off as just a simple hobby.

Jane had debated what to do with the blueprints.

In the end, she figured the King would put them to good use.

Edward was familiar with the large blast furnaces used by the dwarves in the northern continent.

But suddenly being presented with such an advanced steelworks design was overwhelming even for a king.

After losing sleep over it, he had finally summoned Jane.

“This is arson, Jane, arson!”

At the King’s rare outburst, Jane averted her gaze slightly.

Even she had to admit she might have gone a bit too far this time.

“What am I supposed to do with this? Can we even build it?”

The King writhed in agony.

At the same time, he was overjoyed beyond measure.

Making condoms, adult toys, or weaving fabric to rake in money was one thing.

The bigger the business, the more people it employed, and the more taxes it paid.

But a steelworks was another matter.

It clearly required astronomical funding, with no guarantee of success.

Yet the creator’s track record was undeniably impressive.

“Haa…”

The King sighed so deeply it felt like the ground might cave in.

Rubbing his darkened under-eyes, he asked Jane:

“Do you… happen to have detailed blueprints too? No, right? You don’t?”

His tone suggested he expected a negative answer.

Yet his eyes gleamed with greed.

“If you do…”

“If I do?”

“Name your price.”

Edward was a king.

To him, Lily’s blueprints were priceless treasures.

Hearing his declaration, Jane allowed a faint smile.

“Anything I want… huh.”

Crossing her legs leisurely, she smirked slightly.

“Hmm…”

It was just a slight upturn of her lips and a gentle curve of her eyes.

But the King gritted his teeth and closed his eyes.

Even for a devoted family man like Edward, her selfish beauty-as if she’d monopolized divine favor-was hard to endure.

What should she ask for?

Holding the King’s blank check, Jane happily pondered.

Should she have Lily’s collar removed, at least within Albion?

Or defy the Church and dress Lily in a wedding gown?

But her pleasant musings were interrupted.

-Bzzzt

“Huh?”

Startled by the sudden vibration, Jane unbuttoned her shirt.

Then she slipped her hand between her breasts.

“…Why was the communication crystal there?”

The King massaged his temples as a headache threatened.

Jane ignored him and stood up.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“The next room is empty.”

Leaving the parlor, Jane entered the room the King indicated.

She hastily channeled mana into the crystal.

“Lily.”

Ordinary crystals only transmitted voices and needed daily recharging.

But this one, kept between her breasts rather than in her usual coat, was special.

It allowed not just voice calls but video calls, and a single charge lasted about a month.

Moreover, it was paired with the crystal belonging to Lily-Jane’s beloved.

She had definitely told Lily this.

Though Lily hadn’t been in her right mind at the time, she had been informed.

“Lily, Lily.”

Yet now, the sulky, adolescent Lily, who’d been avoiding her, was calling.

A sense of unease gripped Jane as she checked the crystal.

“Huh?”

The screen was black.

-Hng, sniff

A faint moan came through the crystal.

Was she exercising?

Jane’s mind flooded with question marks.

Then-

-Click

“Huh?”

The connection cut off abruptly.

Jane tried calling again, but Lily didn’t answer.

And then-

“Haha.”

So absurdly dumbfounded, Jane burst out laughing.

Her sanity had snapped.