Chapter 152

Episode 151

“The use of magic is strictly prohibited by Imperial law. Those who can sense mana must register with the Magic Tower. I question Sir O’Brien’s motives for hiding his magic until now. This needs to be clarified.”

“I agree, Your Grace. Prince Romero’s words have some validity. Hiding magical talent is a clear violation of the law. As the scribe, I request reconsideration.”

It seemed Scribe Maxim had decided to support the Second Prince. He was deliberately ignoring the reason why the Duke had come all the way here.

Maxim would soon become a relic of the past, so I wasn’t too concerned about him. But Romero was a different story.

Just you wait, Second Prince. I’ll show you what justice truly means.

“I understand Romero’s lack of experience and foolishness, but I never thought the scribe would make such a judgment. Are you getting too old for this?”

“…Your Grace, what do you mean?”

“Do you truly not understand why I’m here? I’ve known about Sir O’Brien’s ability to use magic for a long time. Why do you think I kept it a secret?”

Maxim’s eyes twitched, but he kept his mouth shut, waiting for the Duke’s next words.

“It was all for the sake of the family.”

An irrefutable truth.

Duke Kalisto raised his voice and continued his sermon.

“Sir O’Brien’s concealment of his magic was a deliberate act. He told me everything without hiding anything. It was to prepare for Arthur’s transformation into a magical experiment subject. Isn’t concealing one’s strength a basic military tactic? Prince Karma even promised to cover it up. How pathetic, Romero. I’ll ask you this.”

“Y-Yes, Your Grace!”

“Do you truly believe that Sir O’Brien giving up everything and working for the Imperial Family in the Magic Tower would benefit our family?”

If Arthur hadn’t caused trouble, they might have been able to justify it.

But inhumane experiments were being conducted in the Magic Tower.

Moreover, a member of the Imperial Family was involved in attacking the Dukedom. In this situation, arguing for the Empire and the Imperial Family was like digging their own grave.

Romero finally realized his mistake.

“Why should magic be the exclusive domain of the Imperial Family? Isn’t that the reason this incident happened in the first place? We must reclaim our rights.”

“…My thinking was shortsighted. Please forgive me.”

“You should apologize to Sir O’Brien, not me.”

“Forgive me, Sir O’Brien.”

“It’s alright. I understand it was a misunderstanding.”

I could have ended it here, but I decided to score some more points with the Duke and put those who needed to be put in their place.

“We’re all working for the betterment of Kalisto. Instead of tearing each other down, we should consider right and wrong from a broader perspective. As the plenipotentiary, I’ll act solely for the benefit of House Kalisto.”

“I want to know what you plan to demand from the Imperial Family.”

Maxim asked, but I didn’t feel the need to answer. He hadn’t apologized to me.

“You’ll find out eventually. There’s no need to rush, Scribe. Just wait a little longer. Everything will work out naturally.”

The pressure was palpable.

Maxim was displeased, but he couldn’t show it in this situation. The Duke’s remark about him being too old must have stung.

“Then let’s conclude the meeting here. Sir O’Brien, when do you plan to leave for the capital?”

“I’ll move when Prince Karma summons me. They’re still searching for Muon, so it’ll take some time.”

“I understand. Good luck.”

Duke Kalisto left for the main castle of the Dukedom after wishing Lady Lucia good health.

It seemed like her family home was now here.

But the vassals didn’t move.

They exchanged glances and then started approaching me one by one.

“My lord, someone from Viscount Luigi’s family is here. They want to meet you.”

Jericho was struggling in the middle. There had been over ten meeting requests so far. I heard they were also requesting an audience with Lady Lucia.

“How many guests is this today?”

“This is the fifth one. It’s too many to simply refuse.”

It seemed I had to meet a few of them.

These were the nobles who wanted to curry favor with Lucia. Most of them were probably neutral, not belonging to either Romero or Lucia’s faction.

‘My appointment as plenipotentiary must have sealed the deal.’

In short, it meant I was the most trusted person in the family.

They would eventually have to choose a side, and the sooner, the better. That’s why they were competitively requesting meetings.

“It seems like the Lady is gaining a lot of power. Showing off your magic was a good move. We should be thanking Arthur.”

“We just did what we had to do. Don’t overthink it. It’ll make us complacent.”

“You’re really working non-stop? You’ll get sick.”

“With a doctor by my side, what’s there to worry about?”

We shared a laugh. It was nice to have this kind of leeway.

“Let’s randomly select two people to meet. We’ll wait until today and choose a few to meet tomorrow.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to meet those who are friendly to us first?”

“Right now, it’s more important to gauge the vassals’ opinions of the Lady than to gather support. Hasty actions can easily backfire.”

The First Prince, Hylix, was currently confined to the villa. I wouldn’t see him for a year.

We had to be even more careful in this situation.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“And summon our vassals this afternoon. I’ll hold a meeting since I’ll be away for a long time if we receive a message from the capital.”

“Yes, I’ll prepare immediately.”

That afternoon, the knights who had been searching Alpheon returned. Vice-captain Paris personally led the knights and searched the entire area.

I had high hopes for him due to his experience, but the results were disappointing.

“I apologize, my lord. We thoroughly searched the area around the battle, but we couldn’t find anything.”

“An archmage wouldn’t leave any clues. It’s a great achievement that you confirmed the safety of our territory. Good work.”

Muon would undoubtedly conduct more outrageous magical experiments somewhere we didn’t know.

People like him usually end up corrupted.

If that happened, it would actually be beneficial. It was related to the Lady’s goal, so I would gladly offer my time.

I had a feeling that the Inspection Unit’s future missions would involve tracking Muon’s movements.

I should reread at this opportunity.

“Let’s start by checking the trade situation. Hassale, how’s the gold trade going?”

“As I reported before, we found another gold nugget, increasing our assets by about 10%. We’ve gotten the hang of it now, and mining operations are twice as fast.”

The vassals were all pleased.

I had adopted a meritocratic system. I didn’t just grant fiefs; I also rewarded those who made achievements.

Perhaps later, when the territory was more stable, but for now, it was important to foster a sense of growth together. In a way, our family was like a venture company.

“Next, I’d like to hear about the knight order’s training status. Lady Selendis, how’s the training going?”

“I’ve divided the knight order’s training into two divisions. In the training I supervise, they’re mainly learning sword techniques. We should be able to announce the ‘Walker Swordsmanship’ soon.”

“Our family’s own swordsmanship. Interesting.”

If there was a knight order representing the family, there should naturally be a martial art representing the family. ‘Walker Swordsmanship.’ It sounded impressive.

It was an aggressive modification of the ‘Savion Swordsmanship,’ one of the supreme sword techniques, so I had high hopes for its balance.

After all, hadn’t it recently defeated the Bellatrix technique?

Its fame would spread quickly.

“In the other division, Vice-captain Paris is conducting tactical training and physical conditioning. The results are good, but there’s still a long way to go.”

“If you plan to add another division later, it might be good to ask Sir Gladius. We could call it ‘Combat Swordsmanship.’ I heard everyone is interested in Lady Ionia’s swordsmanship.”

“I’ll consider it.”

Gladius, Ionia’s father and a renowned mercenary, had been appointed as the leader of the Walker Mercenary Corps and was conducting training comparable to the knight order.

“Balzac, how are things in Alpheon?”

“Thanks to our knight order’s dedication, everyone is relieved. Most of the monsters have been eliminated, and public order has stabilized.”

Most of my concerns were addressed. Then, a certain face came to mind, and I asked Ionia,

“Lady Ionia, is Sage doing well?”

“He’s working hard, in his own way.”

“You still seem dissatisfied. Are you teaching him swordsmanship?”

“We started recently.”

I heard that the head of the Mahon Trading Company was acting as Sage’s guardian. He had generously provided a house and supplies for his family.

In a way, a knight’s squire was no different from a youth club athlete.

The knight order was the professional league. Sage would become our family’s first franchise star.

“If there’s nothing else to add, let’s conclude the meeting. Selendis, Jericho, we’re going to the Inspection Unit headquarters. Prepare yourselves.”

“Wait, my lord. I just remembered, what about the summer vacation? It’s right around the corner.”

I had forgotten. I had promised to go on a summer trip to Caleon with the Lady.

“Right now, as the plenipotentiary, I need to await the Imperial Family’s orders. It’s best to postpone the vacation. You should explain it to the Lady so she’s not offended.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Soon, Selendis prepared the carriage. I boarded and headed to the Inspection Unit headquarters.

We passed through the bustling city center and entered the grand Inspection Unit building.

The Inspection Unit was also undergoing changes.

It was thanks to Chloe, the office assistant.

To overcome the situation where we could only accept a limited number of cases, she started a consulting business. She also added information brokerage to our services.

I later learned that she realized there were many cases that could be solved just by utilizing the Inspection Unit’s investigators.

Thanks to her, we started to clear the backlog of requests. The workflow was established so that cases Chloe couldn’t handle would be escalated to me.

Any leader would agree. People who create their own value are the best.

To empower her, I recently hired another office assistant. And Chloe was promoted from office assistant to office manager.

“You seem busy.”

“Ah! Welcome!”

Chloe and a familiar girl stood up to greet us. The new employee’s name was Sarah. I heard she was the same age as Chloe.

“Is the work manageable?”

“Yes, Office Manager Chloe is helping me a lot.”

“I’m a bit concerned that Chloe is helping you so much.”

“…Huh?”

Chloe’s face turned red.

“Oh, come on, don’t say that in front of the new employee! I’m already worried she might turn out like Jericho!”

“I was just expressing concern.”

As we were chatting, someone rushed in. It was Jericho.

“My lord! Lady Lucia is summoning you! She has a new mission!”

But Jericho’s expression seemed bright.

Was I mistaken?