episode_0188

‘Beware of the old.’

It was a widely known proverb in the world of wizards.

There were many important factors in evaluating a wizard’s skill, but the most important factor was the amount of mana available, which was an absolute truth that no one could dispute.

“Your Majesty, it’s meeting time.”

“Okay, you go first. I’ll just finish this and then I’ll go.”

“Okay.”

Such mana reserves were important not only innately but also accumulated.

No matter how much mana you are born with, it is difficult to overcome the flow of time.

That’s why most famous wizards tend to be old.

For example, even Yustav, who was considered the greatest wizard on the continent, was an old man with a white beard.

But in this world of wizards, another adage was being born.

A new saying was sweeping the magical world: ‘Beware of the red-haired woman.’

“Jenia Tower Lord enters.”

At the shout of a young wizard who was preparing for a meeting, the elder wizards of the Magic Tower sitting at the round table all stood up from their seats.

“Everyone, please take a seat. Then, shall we begin the meeting?”

A round table in the conference room where only the elders of the Tower and above can sit.

Among them, when Jenny, who was sitting at the highest seat, spoke, all the elders who had been standing sat back down.

“The first agenda item for today’s meeting is a request for new technology development at Somerset Workshop.”

“What is it?”

“Yes, we are developing a helmet-like device that you wear on your head, and we want to give you a feeling of a real experience through this.”

Xenia skillfully leads meetings.

-I must leave to accomplish the last task of my life.

A few years ago, Eustace announced his retirement and took the bold step of handing over the position of headmaster of the academy to Rupert.

And at the same time, he recommended his disciple, Xenia, to the vacant position of the tower master.

‘It doesn’t make sense for someone so young and without any special achievements to be promoted to the top just because he is Yustav’s disciple!’

Of course, there were some who were dissatisfied with such an unconventional appointment.

however,

‘Is she a god?’

Xenia, who showed off her skills in front of everyone and why Yustav recommended her for the top position, was able to rise to the top position unanimously.

“The next agenda item is about the operation of the Magic Tower funds next year. Recently, there have been complaints from battle magicians about the Magic Tower budget being focused too much on research and development… .”

“I think I talked about that part last time.”

“That’s… It seems like the dissatisfaction won’t subside easily.”

Recently, the rooftop has been divided into two factions.

It was a magic tower divided into the Warmage series, which studied the combat-related aspects of magic, and the Magic Engineering series, which focused on the practical aspects and developing magical items.

The current owner of the tower, Xenia, could be said to be the representative of the magical engineering, and because of this, the warmages were feeling dissatisfied.

‘Magic has evolved from ancient times to the present to subdue opponents!’

They did not like the academic atmosphere of the current Magic Tower because they thought that the essence of magic was in battle.

“The direction the continent must now take is culture, not war.”

Although Xenia was aware of the complaints of such warmages, she still had no intention of turning the direction of the magic tower back to how it was before.

“The wizards of old only pursued power and made many mistakes.”

The elders sitting at the round table nodded with gloomy expressions at Xenia’s words.

It wasn’t for nothing that the old wizards were given the derogatory title of ‘the devil’s lackey’.

“I would rather use magic to give a moment of happiness to those who are tired of life than magic to erase a mountain from the map.”

It wasn’t just words.

‘Wow, it’s a wizard!’

Now the people of the empire were not afraid of the wizard, but rather welcomed him.

‘The magicians of our empire are great people who create wondrous objects that are the envy of other countries!’

‘That’s not all. They are truly grateful to the Magic Tower branches all over the empire for helping us when we face difficult and challenging problems.’

Xenia, who wanted to help people who were going through difficult times like she did in the past, even if only a little, started doing various charity work in the name of Matap.

Now in the empire, magic was becoming a beloved profession.

“Oh, and what we are preparing for at Matap for Xenia’s wedding scheduled for next week is… .”

“What happened to ‘it’?”

Xenia’s eyes suddenly became sharp when talking about weddings.

The wizard in charge of running the meeting also answered Xenia’s question with a determined expression.

“Preparations are complete. With this, I am sure that our Matap will be the main character of the wedding.”

“It must be so. We must never be pushed back by the Imperial Family, no, by Bluewell!”

“Don’t worry, drink it, Lord Top.”

Not only Xenia, but also the elders expressed strong agreement with those words.

Bluewell.

It was now the name that had become Matap’s biggest competitor.

***

“I think I need to increase the thickness of the paper a little bit.”

“Yes. In order to ensure the stability of the newly developed sound paper, the current thickness is a bit of a concern for durability.”

A laboratory located on the second floor of Somerset Workshop.

There, a woman with a particularly striking appearance was having a serious discussion with the craftsmen.

“Rupert said he really wanted music to be included in the new Beauty and the Beast.”

“We will definitely improve it by the deadline.”

The craftsmen responded enthusiastically to Amelia’s words.

Making sound in storybooks is something Rupert has always wanted to do, but until now, it had been given up due to technological limitations.

However, the Somerset workshop staff, led by Amelia, were all full of hope as they had finally discovered the secret to the technology and were making significant progress.

“This is a technique that even Krun-nim used with both hands and feet.”

“There’s a reason you were appointed as the director of the research institute.”

The craftsmen were amazed by Amelia’s abilities.

Amelia, who started working at Somerset Workshop after graduating from the academy, was fully demonstrating her outstanding talent.

‘If we’re talking about talent as a magician, Xenia is superior, but as a magic engineer, Amelia is more talented.’

Amelia’s skills in studying magical engineering, which she had studied since her days at the Academy with the sole intention of helping Rupert, advanced Somerset Workshop’s technology to the next level.

No wonder Matap considered the Somerset Research Institute led by her as his biggest competitor.

“How ready is that now?”

“Ah, you mean the congratulatory message for the wedding. That’s in the final stages.”

“You must never be pushed aside by what the Magic Tower has prepared!”

“Of course!”

Around the same time that Xenia became the lord of the Magic Tower, Amelia also became the director of the Somerset Workshop’s research lab.

Perhaps because of this, Matap and Somerset Research Institute were very conscious of each other.

Of course, Somerset and Matap were partners, so they didn’t fight or have any conflicts, but the two were in a fierce competition to develop slightly better technology.

This wedding with Rupert was no different.

‘Hmm, I heard that your brother said he would be the knight of the Imperial Family for this wedding. Even though it is his younger brother’s wedding, isn’t His Majesty being quite impudent?’

-Don’t worry too much, you might get in trouble.

The trigger came from Iolin’s remarks.

The Imperial Knights’ etiquette, which could only be seen at a royal wedding, was truly a sight that could only be seen in a fairy tale.

Amelia and Xenia, who were inspired by that, also declared that they would prepare an event no less than that of the Imperial Knights.

What Amelia prepared was a celebratory firework.

‘On the day of the wedding, we will amaze everyone with beautiful fireworks that light up the sky at the wedding venue!’

Three women who often gathered together to talk after Rupert declared that he would become an honorary duke.

Although they were friendly with each other, a battle of pride began between the women who each considered themselves to be Rupert’s most beloved.

***

“Ayton, don’t make that face.”

“I wanted to serve you for the rest of my life.”

“I also feel sad about leaving this place with you, who I have grown attached to.”

Iolin comforted the chamberlain, Ayton, who had a sad expression on his face as if he was about to cry while he was packing up his luggage.

As Iolin prepares to move for her upcoming wedding next week, she reflects on how many things have happened in the meantime.

‘Snow White’s ending, I’m sure you’ve thought about it before, right?’

This was also where I first met Rupert.

‘Well, if you had given it to me when I asked, wouldn’t this not have happened?’

There was also an incident where he was attacked by Edric, who was after his precious collection.

‘What on earth are you doing?’

As memories of her little brother, whom she had not heard from, came to mind, Iolin thought that she would have to scold him for the first time in a long while when he returned.

“Jorge, you really won’t regret it, right?”

“If not me, who will serve Your Majesty?”

“That’s right.”

Alex had advised her to bring an escort, even though she was an outsider, because she was still a member of the royal family.

But Iolin tried to refuse because the moment he followed her, his life would become farther from success.

‘If I’m not there, who will give you an objective evaluation of the work in the future?’

Jorge, her secret bodyguard, volunteered to follow her.

“Do you remember?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about that commotion we had in the middle of the night to get the limited edition of the comic book.”

“Of course. In fact, I was trembling at that time because I thought Your Majesty would entrust me with such a huge mission.”

“That was a huge mission.”

“If you look at it now, it is true.”

Iolin, Ayton, and Jorge stopped unpacking and chatted for a while, laughing and reminiscing about the past.