Chapter 122: Mimicry

Chapter 122: Mimicry

“A letter from the royal family… Why…?”

Scarlett immediately showed a worried expression.

She took Euston’s letter with slightly trembling hands.

In this situation, there was no reason for the kingdom to send a letter.

Or, was it a letter to urge the sacrifice?

Everyone in the kitchen, including myself, had unpleasant expressions.

“I don’t know either. It’s a letter I just received from a carrier pigeon.”

“Damn it… Why… Why now, of all times, a letter?”

She bit her fingernails again and clutched the letter tightly.

Scarlett tore open the crumpled letter and began to read its contents.

Euston looked quite tense.

“To Scarlett Friedman, Lord of the Friedman family. This letter was written by the Kingdom’s Royal Treasurer, not by myself…”

The beginning was filled with useless content.

It said it wasn’t written by the King himself, but was dictated.

Other than that, there were greetings asking about her well-being and condition.

And from the middle part, the real purpose of sending the letter was written.

“Leaving behind the King’s grand and magnificent birthday celebration, suspicious intentions from neighboring countries have been observed… We wish for you to attend the kingdom and lend your outstanding magical talent.”

That was the end of the letter.

After that, it was just wishing her good health and promising a generous reward upon completion of this task.

These were useless yet practical words.

After reading the letter, Scarlett gritted her teeth.

Rip, riip-

She mercilessly tore the letter to shreds.

“No… No… Damn it…!”

Scarlett muttered curses and showed an anxious expression.

She clenched her fists and paced around the kitchen, then

Grabbed her head.

Then, trembling, she gritted her teeth and lifted her head.

Was this a result of stress-induced madness?

Scarlett’s eyes, showing extreme anxiety, were slightly bloodshot.

“Ha… Th-that, that… it’s out there, openly… targeting Cecil…”

Scarlett, muttering frantically, sank to the floor.

Her cursed voice showed no signs of stopping.

“Why now… Why…? Did that disgusting bastard do something again…? Just leave me alone… Leave me alone!!”

Then, Scarlett, greatly agitated, screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her voice echoed through the kitchen, and Euston knelt before her.

“Young Lady… Please calm down. Young Lady!”

“It must be his doing… Just like last time…”

Scarlett’s mental state was completely shattered.

She was always anxious and couldn’t sleep well.

Before, she wouldn’t wake up easily from sleep.

But since the wyvern incident, she woke up at the slightest sound or movement.

Every day, she cast various protective spells in her room, preparing for an unknown attack.

And the biggest change was.

She had recently started packing her belongings.

‘My prediction was wrong…’

It was obvious that Scarlett intended to escape with me.

However, I thought she would do it after the Kingdom Festival.

If the pressures on her increased like this, Scarlett would become increasingly impatient.

She shed tears and let out a deep sigh.

Then Scarlett got up and trudged out of the kitchen.

“..I’m not very hungry. I’m just going to go to my room and sleep.”

“How would you like to be summoned? They are asking you to come to the kingdom within two days.”

“I want to think about it after I wake up.”

“Understood. Rest well.”

Scarlett then walked weakly down the hallway and went to her room.

I quietly watched her pathetic retreating figure.

“..Let’s eat.”

Euston’s attempt to break the silence led us to resume our meal with wry smiles.

Later, when I went up to my room.

Scarlett was asleep with tear-stained cheeks.

****

“Young Lady. Would you like some water?”

“Thank you.”

Scarlett, with a weak expression, picked up the water bottle handed to her by Euston.

She drank it down and coughed lightly.

In front of her, the grand gates of the royal castle were wide open.

Scarlett, who had been crying and clinging to Cecil, had

Ultimately been unable to refuse the royal decree, so she had no choice but to come here.

Even at this moment, she didn’t know where Carlson was.

She had entrusted Cecil to Lucy and used hundreds of protective spells, but she was still anxious.

She wanted to finish the task as quickly as possible and go to see Cecil.

That was all Scarlett could think about.

‘I hope nothing happens…’

She thought.

After all, this summons was simply to gather those who could use protective magic.

Therefore, it wouldn’t take too much time.

Besides Scarlett, all court mages and mages with strong magic power were considered to have attended.

As proof, several mages in luxurious robes were chatting over there.

They glanced at Scarlett and then whispered something.

‘Honestly, these old folks… they can only do magic and gossip.’

It was obvious that the conversation wasn’t pleasant.

They were all so old, with beards reaching their chests or wrinkles etched on their faces.

She found them pathetic.

Isn’t it a bit strange that at their age, all they do is openly whisper?

“You’ve arrived, Lord Scarlett.”

“..Yes.”

The only one who welcomed her was the Kingdom’s Royal Treasurer, Rain.

Perhaps remembering her previous embarrassing display, her cheeks twitched slightly.

Given her usual behavior, it would have been quite embarrassing.

Then, after another mage arrived, the reception room was filled with about 10 mages.

Rain was in charge of all of them.

Although she was only called the Treasurer, she was actually in charge of all the kingdom’s miscellaneous tasks, which were quite numerous.

And they didn’t even pay her more for it.

It made her realize anew how poor the kingdom’s welfare was.

Not that it mattered much.

“Thank you all for attending, despite your busy schedules. How have you all been?”

“We’ve been well. Young Treasurer, you look a bit unwell.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well lately… I’m fine.”

“Tsk tsk, that won’t do. Would you like a potion?”

An elderly man, slightly hunched over and holding a staff, spoke to Rain, who was leading the mages.

He was covering his mouth with a cloth.

The old man took out a small potion from his pocket and offered it to Rain.

Rain looked at it for a moment.

“..No, thank you.”

“Oh, come now. If an elder offers it, just accept it. I won’t charge you for it.”

“Hmm… If you insist…”

As the old man insisted, Rain nodded and accepted the potion.

Mages often offered potions to Rain or other attendants, saying, ‘You look tired.’

And when the recipient drank the potion, they would charge them for it, extorting money.

Rain had been tricked by this method once, so she was cautious.

“Hmm… You look a bit tired too. How about a potion?”

“..Are you talking to me?”

After Rain finished the potion, the old man spoke to Scarlett.

She hesitated slightly and shook her head.

She didn’t feel like eating or drinking anything at the moment.

‘But… was there a mage like that in the kingdom?’

She thought she might have mistaken him because of the cloth,

But that wasn’t the case.

In this kingdom, Scarlett knew everyone by face.

After all, mages in the kingdom were rare, and kingdom mages knew each other.

So, how could she not know a mage of that age?

“Don’t refuse. We mages live by sharing, don’t we?”

“..It’s okay. I’m not really thirsty.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

The old man put away the potion bottle without further comment and sat quietly in his seat.

“Then… we will first proceed with the kingdom protection work. Place the core here, and slowly cover the kingdom.”

She, whose fatigue seemed to have vanished, continued speaking.

A core is the key to a stationary spell.

Its size can be increased, and the spell can be modified by controlling the core.

The task at hand was to grow this core from the reception room and cover the kingdom with a protective spell.

This was also why many mages were needed.

“Alright, everyone, let’s hurry and go home. Gather around here.”

A young mage suddenly stood up and pointed to the table.

After all, the core only serves as a medium.

Once the protective spell is cast, it doesn’t matter much if it hides or is stored somewhere.

Thus, the mages began casting the protective spell.

Mages with strong magic poured mana into the core, and the remaining mages manipulated the protective spell.

‘If I manipulate it like this…’

Scarlett was in charge of manipulating the magic.

It was very difficult for four mages to cast spells without interfering with each other’s magic formulas.

However, kingdom mages made it possible.

“Hmm… Your skills are amazing for your young age. You’ll become a great mage in the future.”

“..Thank you.”

Scarlett thanked the old man next to her, who was manipulating magic with her.

What should I say?

Strangely, it felt familiar.

‘The formula seems a bit different…’

Mages can sense each other’s formulas.

However, the formula the old man created was quite peculiar.

It was something like magic, but not magic.

“Hoo… It’s tough. As expected, at this age, complex formulas like this are a bit tiring.”

Contrary to Scarlett’s strange feeling, the protective spell formula was completed faster than expected.

All that was left was to pour mana into it.

It took about an hour.

“Everyone… just a little more effort. Haaahm… Just a little more…”

Rain, who was watching the mages work, yawned widely.

She must have been very tired from not sleeping well lately.

However, her condition was quite different from ‘normal’ sleepiness.

She swayed her legs slightly while standing.

“Just a little… Ugh… Why am I so sleepy…?”

At the same time, she lurched forward and collapsed.

“Oh, oh my…!”

Fortunately, a mage who was pouring mana next to her managed to catch her.

However, the mana supply to the core was interrupted.

“Oh dear. She seems very tired. It would be better to take that young lady to a maid. I’ll take over her spot, so why don’t you go?”

“Uh… Is that okay?”

“It’s fine. We mages help each other out.”

Since pouring mana was a very draining task,

The mage who caught Rain left the reception room with a look of having hit the jackpot.

And as the old man smiled and placed his hand on the core,

Saaiaaaa-

The surrounding air changed instantly.

“Wh-what…?”

There were no precursors at all.

The white core gradually turned black, and a heavy sensation enveloped them as if the reception room was sinking.

Scarlett immediately sensed it.

This is dangerous.

Shiiiiiiiik-

At the same time, a strong gust of wind flew from the core, charging at the mages.

Scarlett, gritting her teeth, wrapped herself in a gale and collided with the wall.

Eujijijik!

Then, a sound like something being crushed into pieces was heard.

Kwaang!

Scarlett, wrapped in a gale, felt a slight stinging sensation on her cheek,

And rolled on the floor after breaking through the wall.

“Ah, dear… I missed one. It doesn’t matter much, but…”

And in the center of it all, the old man, who had been smiling, lowered the cloth covering his chin.

Instantly, his skin flowed downwards like melting slime.

Seeing the revealed appearance, Scarlett gritted her teeth.

“Carlson…!”

“As expected, you are different from the others.”

There.

Carlson, wearing a robe, was smiling.