Chapter 30
The Royal Palace (3)
"What? But ….. A..alright."
That was all that Ian could hear. The guard spoke loudly since he was embarra.s.sed, however, the other person didn’t speak loud enough.
‘Two people?’
There were two people who were stepping down through the stairs.
Maybe the guard was coming along?
‘The sound of the footsteps stopped.’
Both of them stopped at the bottom of the haven.
Their lantern didn’t reach Ian.
He was still hidden from them.
"Princess. I know we don’t have much choice, but this place…."
The first voice was a man’s.
Not the voice of the guard, but that of a middle-aged man.
‘Princess?’
At this moment, there were three people in the royal family who might be called princess.
Fortunately, it wasn’t Ragnar.(E/N: lol, Princess Ragnar)
That was enough to relieve Ian.
He hid right next to the coffin of the first emperor.
"Rarely does anyone visit here, no visitors, nor sounds may sneak out."
The voice wasn’t mature like that of a lady, but Ian could feel a unique matureness in the voice.
"I came here to do my princess duty, and Sir Kevin came here to check the magic spell on the haven. Good enough excuse, isn’t it?"
Considering the ages of the current princesses, This must be the emperor’s daughter, the sibling of the crown prince.
‘Hyri Greenriver’.
"People have said that there is no safe zone in the palace. However, this haven. I guarantee is. There is no such place safer than this place."
"Maybe we’d better go outside of the palace…"
"The outside is even more dangerous. You should know, Sir Kevin."
The flow of their conversation was weird.
It was weird enough for many others to suspect their relations.h.i.+p.
"My ancestors will understand. It is for our father and my brother."
"Sigh…."
With her persuasion, Kevin sighed.
"Alright. I am afraid the wrath of heaven may punish me, but I don’t have a choice."
Finally, Kevin accepted the princess’ request.
What are they going to do?
"I taught you the basic formulas before, have you memorized them?"
"Of course I have."
While pointing at her head, she answered.
After watching her confident face, Kevin continued his words.
"Fine. Then, let’s start with light."
Just then, a light sphere appeared.
It must be the 1st cla.s.s spell, light.
‘A mage?’
There were few mages who stayed in the royal palace. Most were the ones who couldn’t overcome the limit of 1st cla.s.s, ‘Untalented’ middle aged mages. They usually managed magical devices in the royal palace. Of course, there was no reason for them to sneak into the haven with the princess.
"Now, your turn, Lady."
"Hmm, so, like this……"
What? Was the princess going to use magic as well?
Ian’s eyes opened widely with surprise.
"Light!"
A small light sphere that the princess made, it was at the level of a beginning academy student.
However still, Ian couldn’t help but be surprised.
A mage, in the royal family?
Ian had never known.
‘Had they hidden that fact?’
Except for the Academy and the Ivory Tower, teaching magic was a heavy crime.
In addition, hiding magical talent from the Ivory Tower was another heavy crime.
There must be a reason as to why they were doing it so secretly.
‘It seems the mage is teaching it fluently.’
1st cla.s.s mages were also one of the mages of the Ivory Tower.
He must have known that what he was doing right now was a heavy crime.
Still, the mage, Kevin, didn’t hesitate.
He only hesitated about the place he was teaching.
"Huh? Why is mine so small?’
"There are several conditions which may cause it to be small. Insufficient quant.i.ty and quality of mana, detailed control on the formulae, proficiency of the spell. For you…. all of them."
"You’re so mean….."
"B..but since you started the mana breath a bit late, and your circ.u.mstances don’t allow you to practice….."
"Haha! Just joking."
They weren’t that serious.
The magic lesson between the mage
‘When will it end?’
Ian started to get bored.
At first, it was interesting to see.
A princess born with a mana heart and mana brain.
But why was she hiding the fact?
It caused Ian to be curious.
But soon after, it got boring.
‘She wasn’t even that talented.’
Too late to start learning, and lack of practice.
Regarding all of those conditions, still, she wasn’t the talented one.
She might stay at the 1st cla.s.s forever. Soon, the question ‘Why did she hide it?’ became ‘Why the heck did she hide it?’
‘Now it will be hard to get out without any problem.’
It would work if he revealed himself at the very beginning.
He could give excuses such as, I was touring and arrived here eventually, and since the guard was sleeping, I didn’t know it was a forbidden place. However, the problem was the situation. They were learning magic secretly. They wouldn’t dare to let him leave him easily now.
"Light!"
While Ian shook his body due to boredness, the princess’ light was getting bigger.
Now, it was s.h.i.+ning enough to replace the lantern.
"Woaaahhh……!"
The princess was surprised like a child by the light globe she made.
She was around 5 years older than Ian.
‘She may have had different characteristics when she was young.’
In Ian’s memory, Hyri was not a woman who had a bright characteristic.
Like the crown prince, she had a great appearance.
However, she always kept her mouth shut firmly, and with a darkened face.
A woman who spent her life like a bird in a cage and died.
‘Well, of course, she hasn’t experienced anything bad yet.’
The emperor was still standing firmly, and so was her brother. It was a completely different situation to her former life.
"Princess, how about we finish our cla.s.s for today?"
Kevin finally said the word Ian was looking forward to hearing.
"If we stay here too long, people will suspect us."
The princess agreed by nodding her head.
"Thank you. I know it is a harsh request, but you have always helped me.
"No worries. Rather I feel sorry for you. I am only a 1st cla.s.s mage. There must be a huge limitation to my teaching."
Kevin was also a 1st cla.s.s mage.
He wasn’t on the level where he could teach others.
Although he may have had more proficiency than the princess, he was still on the level of the 1st cla.s.s.
"Maybe we should inform the ivory tower…."
"N..no way! It will get you caught up in the danger, as well….."
With the words "Ivory Tower", the princess reacted sensitively.
The reason for her sensitive response to the ivory tower was different to the crown princes.
The crown prince hated the ivory tower due to his sense of inferiority.
On the other side, the princess ‘feared’ the ivory tower.
"I will do my best. The mage who entered the palace with my brother, Ian Page wasn’t he? People said he wields magic even though no one taught him. If I try my best, one day I may….."
As she knew it was near impossible, she was losing her confidence.
"Princess, you don’t need to worry about me. I will always do my best to support you. Please don’t lose your confidence."
It sounded like a consolation from a master to his apprentice.
Soon, they left the area at different times purposely.
Shortly after that, Ian left the area quietly.
To leave the area before the guard came back.
‘It is a bit weird. Especially the reaction of the princess.’
Ian was living his second life.
It meant he was able to expect the flow of events.
However, the reason that the princess of the giant Empire was so afraid to reveal her talent to the Ivory Tower wasn’t clear to Ian. Fear was always caused by some reason. Her reaction was completely different to her brother. There must be something.
‘Something I don’t know.’
In his former life, Ian became the newbie of the academy at this moment.
While he was the student of the academy, he had learned of the events between the Royal and Ivory Towers by reading history books. However, at this time, he was in a different situation. He might have to confront those events directly.
‘It may be related to the tower lord. That old fart has long prepared to make Ragnar be the next emperor.’
It was the only case he could suggest.
It was the most likely scenario.
‘I should visit the royal library next time.’
Without any obstacles, Ian left the haven.
It took longer than he had planned.
He was satisfied with the mushrooms and the newly gained information.
"Sir Ian. Did you enjoy the tour?"
The guards who guided Ian before had asked.
While making an innocent child’s smile, he replied.
"Yes indeed! It was very enjoyable."