Chapter 141

Episode 141

I climbed the stairs leading to the castle wall. Thanks to recent repairs, they provided solid footing.

Above, the elite guards of House Walker stood with large spears, watching the front.

Just seeing them was reassuring.

‘It’s good to see the results of training manifesting clearly.’

I approached as quietly as possible. Unless they were aura users, no one here would notice my approach.

“Any suspicious movements?”

“Ah! M-My lord! All clear during duty!”

“All clear during duty!”

The soldiers, startled, gripped their spears tighter. I wasn’t here to reprimand them, so I raised my hand and smiled leisurely.

“No need to be alarmed. I’m just on patrol, so don’t be tense. You’ve been working hard late into the night. But this situation might bring more hardship than the territorial war. So, brace yourselves.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Nearby, there was a bell ready to be rung.

This was an installation based on my idea.

From my experience infiltrating the Gerard family’s main castle and neutralizing it, I learned the importance of having multiple ways to alert others nearby. Without them, people could be taken out silently, one by one.

Currently, the guards were paired in twos. In emergencies, they were trained to swing their spears and ring the bell immediately.

And each guard post had at least one bell.

‘If the magic revolution succeeds, it might reduce such efforts.’

Early warning systems and magic that could directly impact intruders could be installed.

But that’s a concern for later. I reminded the soldiers of the precautions.

“The enemy won’t just come from the ground. They could approach from the air or underground, so keep an eye on all directions. Report anything unusual immediately.”

“Yes! As you command!”

After delivering the message to the wall guards, I moved to the Lady’s quarters. Sir Deneb and Sir Ionia were on guard there.

Besides Selendis and Jericho, these two and Sir Paris were the strongest forces.

“My lord, welcome. All clear during duty.”

Deneb reported dutifully. The more I saw him, the more I liked him as a knight.

“Is the Lady resting?”

“Yes, she seems to have gone to bed early today.”

“Starting today, I’ll be waiting in the adjacent room. If there’s an attack, you’ll be the last line of defense. It would be great if you could buy some time.”

“We’ll protect the Lady with our lives.”

After encouraging the two, I entered the adjacent room.

In fact, there was a hidden passage here. It connected directly to Lady Lucia’s quarters.

A simple partition was set up to break easily with a little force, and wallpaper was applied to make it look like a blocked space.

I spent my time there meditating calmly. When my mana was full, I would cast Enclave and practice magic.

Four days passed like that.

Today, as usual, I finished my meal and was about to practice magic when I heard a tapping sound from the window.

‘It’s finally here!’

It was a messenger hawk sent by Jericho. I opened the window, let it land on my arm, and opened the message tube.

My heart sank as I read the note.

‘Beatrice… was attacked?’

According to the note, Beatrice and her knight subordinates were severely injured. They were being transported to the main castle.

The area around the battle had become a ruin. It was evidence that the magic Prince Arthur used was not ordinary.

‘I was a step too late.’

Now, all I could do was hope Selendis and Jericho could safely return with the princess.

‘But did they not manage to inflict any damage on Arthur?’

Beatrice wasn’t ordinary. Her subordinates were also promising knights from the Imperial Guard.

But Jericho’s note didn’t mention any such details.

All I could do was wait.

I immediately called for the administrator.

“Sir Selendis and Sir Jericho will be bringing the injured soon. Prepare for immediate treatment. Gather all the doctors in the city.”

“Yes, my lord.”

That night, two well-known doctors from the city arrived at the main castle. I instructed them to prepare medicinal herbs for external injuries and made all necessary preparations to receive the patients.

And three days later.

“My lord! Sir Selendis and Sir Jericho have returned with the injured!”

Upon the soldier’s report, I immediately went to the inner castle.

Fortunately, Selendis and Jericho seemed unharmed, as if they hadn’t been caught in the battle. But the knights on the cart were the problem.

I had set up a temporary medical tent outside the inner castle to treat the knights.

“Move the knights to the tent and start treatment. Everything happening inside the castle must remain confidential.”

“Yes!”

“Sir Paris!”

The middle-aged knight answered my call from afar.

“Reorganize the returning knights and soldiers immediately and deploy them as defense forces. Send the remaining troops to the city to protect the residents. And make sure to communicate with other cities at least once every six hours.”

“As you command!”

After quickly issuing all the instructions, I approached Princess Beatrice, who was on a stretcher.

“Your Highness, it’s O’Brien.”

She lay unconscious on the stretcher. Her face was pale, and her body was covered in blood and wounds. Her right hand was completely scraped, symbolizing the fierce battle.

Did she recognize my voice?

Her eyelids fluttered slightly and opened a bit.

“…Aubrey?”

“Are you conscious? This is our family’s main castle. You’re safe now. Rest assured.”

“Ah… thank… goodness…”

Unfortunately, the princess lost consciousness again. I urged Jericho to move her to a room inside the castle.

All preparations were completed in an instant. The princess lay on a comfortable bed, receiving treatment from Jericho.

The external injuries didn’t seem severe, but the problem was the internal injuries.

So Jericho had to spend quite a bit of time examining her. I waited patiently.

After a while, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up.

“Should I say it’s a blessing in disguise? The internal injuries are severe, but the aura circle isn’t destroyed.”

“Will she recover?”

“Honestly, it might be difficult. The internal injuries are severe, and even with healing magic, there’s a limit.”

His usual boastful demeanor as a top graduate of Kalisto Academy was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a serious expression.

I felt heavy-hearted.

If I had acted faster, this might not have happened.

“Shouldn’t we inform the Imperial Family about this? The princess survived, but the Imperial Guard knights might not wake up.”

“We must act cautiously. There are more enemies than allies in the Imperial Family. There will surely be those who try to exploit this politically.”

“That’s true.”

The first person that came to mind was Count Apellai. He had been quiet since cutting ties with Rosalyn, but who knows when he’ll reveal his true intentions.

Moreover, if Court Magician Muon is behind this, things won’t go our way. For now, all we can do is pray for Beatrice to wake up.

“I have a connection with Prince Karma, so I’ll send someone to inform him.”

“Then I’ll take responsibility and ensure the princess recovers.”

At that moment, Selendis approached and bowed to Jericho.

“Sir Jericho, I owe my life to the princess. Please, heal her. I want to see her smile again.”

“If I can’t do it, I don’t deserve to be called a top graduate. I’ll make it happen! Leave it to me!”

Jericho immediately took his position and used healing magic on Beatrice.

*Buzz!*

*Flash!*

A clear and pure light, unlike anything I’d seen before, burst forth. I hoped he wasn’t using something like innate energy.

“It seems we’ll be in the way, so let’s leave.”

I still had things to discuss with Selendis. We moved to the office and activated ‘Enclave.’

“How did you find the princess?”

“While patrolling, we sensed a strong aura from the mountain range. It took about an hour to reach, but the situation was already over.”

“I heard the area became a ruin due to magical impact. Is that true?”

“I’m not well-versed in magic, but it wasn’t something that could be done with aura. There were several large craters, and Sir Jericho said it seemed like Prince Arthur used magic.”

“Then it’s certain.”

“And before the princess lost consciousness, she told us something.”

What followed was truly shocking, even for someone like me.

“Prince Arthur said he received a mana circuit transplant from an archmage.”

“…A mana circuit from an archmage?”

“It didn’t have the exact same effect, but I heard he could use high-level magic.”

It was the moment the secret behind Muon’s magical experiment was revealed.

Come to think of it, I recently received intelligence that one of the three court magicians, excluding Muon, had suddenly disappeared.

We couldn’t investigate further due to a lack of information.

There was a general reverence for magicians, and they often disappeared for closed-door training or magical research.

Moreover, the missing magician belonged to a faction hostile to Muon, so we thought it was unrelated to this incident.

But hearing about a mana circuit being ‘transplanted’ made me think of the missing archmage.

‘Could they have sacrificed that magician to transplant the mana circuit?’

If Muon is the magician we know, it’s entirely possible.

Things were escalating beyond expectations.

“Still, I heard the princess’s attack had some effect. Prince Arthur was injured and fled.”

“Then we’ve bought some time. Selendis, I’ll write a letter now, so send a trusted subordinate to the capital. We need to inform Prince Karma.”

A young knight soon stood before me. I sealed the letter with the Walker family crest and handed it to him.

“You must protect this letter with your life. If you can’t deliver it to Prince Karma, destroy it. It must never fall into someone else’s hands. Understood?”

“I’ll remember, my lord!”

We had secured evidence that Prince Arthur learned magic. Now, we needed to secure the fake Arthur in the capital.

Prince Karma should be able to handle that.

“Selendis, from now on, the defense of this castle is entirely up to you. The main principle is that the Lady must never be put in danger.”

After exchanging brief opinions on defense and reconnaissance with Selendis, I left the office.

“Aubrey.”

I heard the Lady’s voice. Turning around, I saw her approaching with her maids.