Novel

These words surprised both Lovellian and Eugene. According to Mer, the final two volumes of Witch Craft should still be in Sienna’s possession.

“Since when did the Royal Family get their hands on those?” Lovellian demanded with a firm expression.

Feeling this piercing gaze directed at him, Honein quickly tacked on an explanation, “Please don’t get the wrong idea. The volumes stored in the royal treasury are only copies that Lady Sienna left us as a gift to the royal family. Even the royal family is still unaware of Lady Sienna's current whereabouts and that of the original two volumes.”

“...Is that really the truth?” Lovellian asked suspiciously.

Honein shrugged, “I have no reason to lie to you.”

Lovellian stared at Honein for a few moments before letting out a heavy sigh. Since the matter of Witch Craft being hidden away by the royal family had occurred hundreds of years ago, it would be ridiculous to quibble over this with the Crown Prince, who was still in his twenties. But while he was able to restrain his anger, Lovellian still felt that it was surprising that the Crown Prince would reveal such a hidden card to lure in Eugene.

“Are you saying that you will let me see your copy of Witch Craft?” Eugene clarified.

“Well, it’s impossible to do so immediately,” Honein admitted with a wry smile as he glanced at Lovellian. “Witch Craft is the greatest grimoire in the history of magic. While it is true that I am favored by his majesty, when it comes to Witch Craft, even if it’s me, I’m still unable to make use of it as I wish. However… once I ascend the throne, I will be a little freer to act on my desires.”

“...,” Eugene fell silent.

“It seems like I’ve finally made you a tempting offer. Sir Eugene, if I do ascend the throne, I swear to use all my power to allow you to peruse Witch Craft,” Honein promised Eugene. “…Though I’m afraid that it will be difficult to extend the same offer to you, Red Tower Master.”

“If you’re allowing me to read it, can’t I just read it together with my master?” Eugene asked hopefully.

“If the Red Tower Master is willing to switch over to the Court Wizards, then I might be able to reconsider,” Honein counter-offered.

Eugene speculated, “But if that’s the case, then it looks like it would be impossible for me to take up the seat of the Commander of the Court Wizards.”

“If I know the Red Tower Master as well as I believe I do, I suspect he won’t be interested in the position, no?” Honein turned this question to Lovellian.

“It appears that you do indeed know me well,” Lovellian replied with a grin. “If it’s for that grimoire, your offer would be enough to tempt anyone, but I have no intention of leaving the Red Tower of Magic. I also have no desire to become a member of the Court Wizards.”

Honein continued to persuade him, “If you truly desire, I may be able to set up a suitable position for you. It will only be a matter of changing your affiliation; there won’t be anything required of you that might disturb or annoy the Red Tower Master.”

Lovellian rejected him, “No, I’m fine where I am. As for Witch Craft…. Though I am sorely tempted, I don’t want to blindly follow in the footsteps of my Master. Because I too have my own ideal form of magic to pursue.”

“If that’s the case, then what about you, Sir Eugene?” Honein turned to Eugene.

But was there really any need for Eugene to consider?

For the past two years, Eugene had surely felt what a truly amazing grimoire Witch Craft was. Even after viewing it hundreds of thousands of times, it was still hard for him to comprehend. It was already so difficult to understand when you could see it right in front of you, but Sienna had managed to create Witch Craft in the first place all by herself.

Since the single volume stored in Akron was already so incredible, how extraordinary would the remaining two volumes be?

And it wasn’t just that. There might be other clues leading to Sienna’s current location in the remaining two volumes of Witch Craft. Though if such clues did remain, then the ones who were storing Witch Craft, Aroth’s royal family, should have already tracked Sienna down somehow….

‘It’s still possible that they just couldn’t understand it even if they did see it,’ Eugene persuaded himself.

Eugene knew Sienna very well. Even if Aroth’s royal family hadn’t spotted the clues she had left behind, if it was Eugene, he might still be able to find them.

Eventually, Eugene asked, “...But you were saying that it’s impossible for now, correct?”

Since that was the case, then he couldn’t just accept the offer immediately. If it would only become possible to read Witch Craft after Honein ascended to the throne, then this could be put off as a matter for ten years from now.

Eugene continued, “Since that’s the case, I’ll be sure to stop by Aroth after the Crown Prince has ascended the throne. Let’s talk about this matter again at that point.”

“So you’re saying that you’ll think about it?” Honein asked.

“It’s truly a mouth-watering proposition, but honestly speaking, there’s no need for me to join the Court Wizards immediately, is there?” Eugene pointed out.

Honein was lost in thought for a few moments. To be honest, he’d been hoping to hear Eugene’s immediate acceptance so that he could quickly recruit Eugene into the Court Wizards.

This was all to ensure the stability of his plans. Although his right of succession could not be shaken, in order to deal with those cunning old foxes in the parliament, he needed power other than that granted to him by his right of succession.

Honein had the support of Aroth’s Court Wizards. Even in this Magic Kingdom, the Court Wizards was a magical corps that was renowned for their skill in combat magic. However, with this alone, Honein felt that he wouldn’t be able to keep in check the power of the Five Towers of Magic or the Wizards Guild, the latter of which was closely tied to the Parliament.

The fortunate thing was that, for now, the Towers of Magic remained neutral. That being said, the Wizards Guild was still a concern. Even though they were made up of wizards who were unable to enter the Towers of Magic, the guild overwhelmingly surpassed the Towers of Magic in terms of pure numbers. Also, the guild had a close relationship with the parliament that truly governed Aroth’s affairs.

Honein considered the situation, ‘The Towers of Magic are only staying neutral for now. They might respect the royal family, but they have closer ties to the Parliament.’

The King reigned, but he did not rule. Aroth had followed the system of a constitutional monarchy for hundreds of years. The kings of Aroth had only managed to hold on to the power to rule over the people for a few generations following the death of Aroth’s Founder, the Magic King.

Honein desired to change this. He wanted to shed the symbolic role that the royal family had taken and reform Aroth. The parliament, which was supposed to justly govern the people, had already been showing signs of corruption from the very start of its existence. Black wizards who had come creeping in from who-knew-where were undermining the guild and had even extended their reach to the parliament. Not only that, the demonfolk from Helmuth and wealthy individuals from other countries were suspected of buying up members of the parliament.

Under these circumstances, the master of the Black Tower of Magic, Balzac Ludbeth, was, fortunately, keeping his distance from both the parliament and the guild, preserving his neutrality. That said, Honein couldn’t help but be wary of Balzac. If it was for the sake of Aroth, all unsettling sprouts had to be uprooted.

That was Honein’s ultimate goal, but the current royal family didn’t have that kind of power. His royal father was a weak-willed man who was reluctant to quarrel with either the parliament or the guild. As such, Honein felt he had no choice but to step forward and do it himself.

‘If I can just pull in Sir Eugene to become the Commander of the Court Wizards… I’ll be able to borrow the Lionheart clan’s strength,’ Honein thought.

In truth, he didn’t enjoy having to do this. Since it was Aroth’s problem, shouldn’t Aroth be the one to fix it?

Honein continued plotting, ‘If I manage to rope in Sir Eugene, I’m sure the Red Tower Master will also lend his strength. It’s a well-known fact that the Red Tower Master hates the Black Tower Master….’

However, Honein couldn’t afford to speak openly and ask Eugene for help. As the Crown Prince, Honein wasn’t in a position where he could freely tell an outsider some of Aroth’s embarrassing secrets. After all, he still only had his suspicions that there was corruption in the parliament. In fact, Bolero Street itself could be said to be a hotbed of corruption, but the existence of that street had also received the tacit acquiescence of the royal family.

Eventually, Honein replied, “...If that’s the case, I will send you a letter when my coronation has been confirmed.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me,” Eugene said.

“By the way, Sir Eugene, would you be able to tell me what exactly you managed to attain from Akron?” Honein asked in curiosity.

Eugene downplayed his achievements, “It’s nothing too impressive. I’ve just… I’ve come to feel that magic truly does have extraordinary possibilities, and I’ve managed to learn just a small amount of knowledge.”

“Is that so.”

Eugene’s reply might have been ambiguous, but Honein was satisfied. A small amount of knowledge, Eugene had said. If someone else had voiced these words, then Honein might not have given them much thought, but the one who had said this was the young lion who was said to have been born with the greatest amount of talent seen since the Great Vermouth.

Honein changed the subject, “I’ve heard that you’ll be leaving Aroth once the thesis that you’re currently working on is completed. Where do you plan to go next?”

Eugene revealed, “I’ll be leaving to eat the ice crabs from the Northern Ruhr Kingdom, and then I’m planning to sample the cactus scorpions of Nahama.”

“...You’re an epicurean?”

“Yep.”Nêww 𝒄hapters will be fully updated at (n)ov(𝒆)l/bin(.)com

“Are you being serious?”

“Yep.”

Honein was stunned, “....”

The reaction shown by Honein wasn’t all that different from Lovellian’s when he first heard of Eugene’s plans. Honein glanced at Lovellian with a bewildered look, only to receive a brief shake of his head from Lovellian.

“...Epicureanism is quite an impressive hobby,” Honein finally commented once he had come back to his senses.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Eugene replied with a grin.

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