Chapter 144

Episode 144

Princess Beatrice woke up.

It had been three days since she was moved to Walker Manor. During that time, Jericho and I took turns treating her.

I wasn’t a doctor, but I could manipulate aura and mana, guiding the princess’s internal aura to heal her internal injuries.

I even shared my own mana and aura when necessary.

The results manifested after a few days.

Of course, the biggest contribution was the elixir Lady Lucia gave me.

“Thank you, Sir O’Brien.”

She was using formal language instead of calling me by my name, which meant she had regained her senses.

Not only I but also Jericho and the key vassals were gathered in the princess’s quarters.

“It was my duty, Your Highness. Are you feeling any discomfort?”

“I’m a bit weak, but otherwise, I’m fine. But where are my knights?”

“We treated them with all our might, but we couldn’t save them. They’ve all gone to a better place.”

“Ah…”

Tears streamed down the princess’s cheeks. I didn’t know how to comfort her.

Unfortunately, all the princess’s knights had perished. I instructed Administrator Balzac to hold a grand funeral for them.

They were young knights with bright futures.

I also attended the funeral to pay my respects.

“It’s my fault for causing a scene and getting the knights killed. I take full responsibility for this.”

“No, Your Highness. You worked tirelessly for the safety of the Imperial Family and the Empire. Your contributions are significant. How can you say you caused a scene?”

“But I still let my brother Arthur get away.”

“I heard you injured him during the battle. That alone bought us time.”

The princess bit her lip. Her tears wouldn’t stop, so Selendis took out a handkerchief and wiped her face.

“Thank you. Did you hear the story from Lady Selendis?”

“Yes, I heard everything.”

“I sent a messenger hawk to the Imperial Palace right before the battle with my brother Arthur. By now, my brother Karma should be on his way here. If things went well, the imposter pretending to be my brother Arthur should be captured.”

It bothered me that she kept calling Arthur “brother.” But they were blood-related, so I had to understand.

“I don’t have high hopes. If they planned a blatant switch, they would have prepared for the possibility of being discovered. They’re dealing with an archmage.”

“Is that so…”

Even if dimensional travel was impossible, they might be able to use a teleportation spell to transport the target over a short distance.

But considering Muon’s personality, he would choose to eliminate the fake rather than risk saving him.

“Still, I hope there’s some progress. I also sent a secret letter to the prince. I informed him about your injuries and the magical experiment.”

“Well done. Does Duke Kalisto know about this?”

“Not yet. But I’m planning to send a separate secret letter soon.”

It was best to keep this matter confidential until it was resolved. Informing the enemy prematurely could give them a chance to prepare.

But Duke Kalisto was different.

He was one of the few Swordmasters in the Empire, not just the ruler of the Kalisto Dukedom.

I had to consider the possibility of losing to Arthur.

“Your Highness, I’m going to prepare for battle.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to wait for my brother here?”

“I believe the best defense is a good offense. If we don’t act quickly, the people of Alpheon might suffer.”

“…That’s a very young lord-like thought. I’ll protect this place. Don’t worry and go.”

“Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet. Please rest for now.”

After finishing the conversation with the princess, I immediately started preparing to move to Alpheon.

“My lord, wouldn’t it be better to wait here as the princess suggested? It could be troublesome if we miss each other on the way.”

Jericho had a point.

But as I mentioned before, Alpheon was in grave danger. In this era, population equaled power. We couldn’t afford unnecessary casualties.

Of course, it wasn’t because I was a benevolent lord who cared about the people. If the Lady wasn’t the mastermind, I wouldn’t even consider this.

With a being of much higher status than me in this castle, it would be safe.

Moreover, Sommelier and Jericho would stay behind. I would also send an urgent message to Duke Kalisto, so he would take action.

So, it was best to go to Alpheon and lure him out.

“His goal is to kill me. It’s more likely he’ll come to where I am. I’ll leave the defense of the castle to you, so if he appears, show him the true power of the Tulu family.”

“Oh! The true power of the Tulu family? Does that mean I can use magic freely?”

“Of course.”

Arthur had already struck first. The injured princess and knights were proof.

So I wasn’t going to hide my magical power. Self-defense was already justified.

Back in my office, I moved the pair of rings I was wearing on different fingers to my middle fingers.

*Click!*

The rings contracted, fitting snugly. At the same time, the circles connected to my mana circuit started to vibrate.

These rings were said to have been used by Archmage Stormbringer. Wearing them on the same finger of both hands amplified magical power.

I wasn’t sure if they were truly used by an archmage, but the effect was undeniable.

‘The effects of training are significant.’

After mastering basic magic and learning intermediate magic, the purity and amount of my mana increased. It also affected my aura, allowing me to fight more comfortably than before.

It felt like a small stream flowing down a mountain had become a mighty river.

But I wasn’t going to be complacent.

My opponent wasn’t a naive fool. He was a magical experiment subject who had received a mana circuit transplant from an archmage. Anything could happen.

“Selendis.”

I asked her as I donned my armor and equipped the ‘Sword of Chaos.’

“I want to take you with me to this fight. What do you think? Will you join me? Your life could be in danger.”

“I’ll go anywhere my lord commands.”

Selendis looked thrilled. Her taste was quite unique.

“Then prepare yourself. Our opponent is on a different level from those we’ve fought before. We need to be thoroughly prepared.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Soon, we mounted the horses prepared outside the inner castle. They were healthy horses that wouldn’t tire even after a long ride.

Jericho came to see us off on behalf of the vassals.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

It was a thick bag. Inside were various potions.

“I prepared some magic resistance potions. The green ones. The yellow ones increase mana. And the deep purple ones… You might have seen them before. That’s right, it’s the mental strengthening potion you had in Cliff.”

I suddenly felt nauseous. Selendis also frowned slightly.

“I don’t want to drink this.”

“Oh, come on! He’s a magical experiment subject, so he might use illusion magic! I’m doing this to prevent you from attacking each other, so drink one bottle each as soon as you arrive in Alpheon. It would be best to drink two bottles each, but that might be difficult.”

“…Alright.”

We left Walker’s main castle and headed towards the eastern mountain range of Alpheon, where the enemy had disappeared. It was about a two-day journey if we used aura to ride diligently.

‘I’ll either unleash my magic there or search for traces of mana.’

For now, it was easier for him to find me than for me to find him. So I wasn’t going to hide my aura or magic.

We entered Alpheon in one day. It would take more time to reach the east, but we had arrived quite quickly.

I stopped my horse. Selendis followed suit.

“We need to be more vigilant from now on. It’s best to drink the potions in advance.”

I handed Selendis one magic resistance potion and two mental strengthening potions.

Her expression was unusual as she looked at the two mental strengthening potions.

“It would be better to drink the mental strengthening potions first and then the magic resistance potion, right?”

“If you drink the terrible one last, the terrible taste will linger.”

Selendis unhesitatingly opened the bottles and drank the mental strengthening potions in succession.

“…”

I was truly impressed. She could endure it without even frowning.

Then she drank the magic resistance potion.

“Cough! Hack!”

She started coughing before she even finished drinking it.

“Did you choke?”

“…”

Selendis stared at the green potion and muttered, “This one tastes worse.”

It was a horrifying review, almost as bad as the news about Arthur’s mana circuit transplant.

As a magician, I had to drink the mana enhancement potion too. If the resistance potion was this bad, what would the mana enhancement potion taste like?

To honor Selendis’s noble sacrifice, I drank the magic resistance potion first.

“Ugh.”

A groan escaped my lips. What on earth did they grind up to make this taste? It felt like I had shoved all the garbage in the world into my mouth.

I somehow endured and poured the yellow mana enhancement potion into my mouth.

…

This was on another level. I could barely swallow it because the magic resistance potion had already ruined my taste buds.

It was a taste that would haunt my nightmares.

Finally, I drank the mental strengthening potion.

‘Not bad.’

As expected, my thoughts were correct. The previous potions tasted so disgusting that the mental strengthening potion felt like a refreshing drink.

“Let’s drink the magic resistance potion first from now on.”

“…Yes.”

We headed towards the mountain range in the distance. We had to conserve our aura, so we moved solely with the horses’ strength.

The mountain scenery seemed to take forever to approach.

I realized anew that the Alpheon region was much larger than it appeared on the map.

Just then.

A foreign signal struck my mind, forming a clear thought.

— I sense demonic energy.

The saying “the plot thickens” must have been made for this moment.

I analyzed the demonic energy more closely.

‘This level of demonic energy means a demon has appeared.’

It wasn’t a monster. The energy was similar to, or slightly weaker than, the 2-star demon I encountered in the wasteland of Milo Plain.

‘This is strange. If there was demonic energy here, Jericho would have sensed it too.’

But Jericho hadn’t mentioned anything about a demon. He was a demon hunter. He wouldn’t miss something so basic.

In other words, the demonic energy I was sensing was newly generated.

‘This is too coincidental. It feels like everything is scripted.’

Was this also a result of the magical experiment?

I had to see it with my own eyes. As I said before, anything could happen now.

“Selendis, there’s been a change. I’m sensing demonic energy. There might be a demon here, unrelated to Arthur.”

“I don’t think it’s unrelated.”

“I agree. Perhaps the source of the demonic energy is Arthur. We need to confirm it.”

*Clang!*

Selendis drew her frost sword. A chilling cold pierced the night air.

“I’m ready.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

The demonic energy intensified as we went deeper into the mountain range.

I had to revise my previous assessment.

‘At least 2-star. No, at least 3-star.’

And I could also sense powerful mana.

This confirmed it.

The injured Arthur was up to something extraordinary.