“Kind of a pain…”
Erna patted her hair that had been intricately styled this morning by her maids. She liked it because it was pretty, but she couldn’t use her magic as much as she used to because it had been so meticulously decorated. It would fall apart if she were to move as freely as she wanted.
“This outfit sucks,” she muttered.
The maids had persistently clung to her, saying that her hair and clothes had to match. When Erna finally conceded, she found herself wearing a fancy dress that was much different from her casual attire or wizard uniform.
Out of the dresses the maids had laid out for her to choose, Erna picked a dress that was a little more comfortable to walk around in, but it was still a dress and a nuisance.
Kalion, who had seen her in it yesterday, liked and disliked it. Then, he had said that it would be hard to endure until nighttime, so he had asked if she could take it off once. Erna had made a string of lights, tied him tightly, and left the main house.
Kalion had complained that it would take a long time for the magic to wear off and that he would nearly be tied up until lunch. Erna merely clicked her tongue, saying, “Stop exaggerating.”
Laughing as she remembered that, Erna held in a short sigh and mumbled to herself, “I shouldn’t be wasting my time thinking of something silly. I have to recondition the spell on the entire Grand Castle.”
It is recommended that all magic, except healing magic, be kept out of use in the Grand Castle, which is why Erna had casted a specific spell on the castle. Moreover, it is better if the spell is complicated to prevent wizards, other than herself, from using magic within the Grand Castle.
“To do that, the magic… I think at least a thousand characters will be needed.”
The scale, size, power, and range of the magic are decided by the combining characters. Large-scale magic doesn’t even have more than 20 characters. What scale of magic contains a thousand characters?
“If I do it, it will take about three months,” Erna muttered, “But it’s too much work…”
There wouldn’t even be enough time to do that alone, and she had too much work that needed to be done—from Adelaide being Haband’s delegate to investigating what she’d seen in the ancient ruin.
Erna grabbed the hem of her dress annoyingly as she entered through the front door of the main building. Upon entering, she could see maids diligently moving the furniture. As she’d told Vanessa before, they were making space to investigate the things she had brought back from the ancient ruin. As ordered, the large room near the front door was being tidied up.
Would it have been easier to use my magic in the main building? If so, she could use it to move the heavy items. Erna absently summoned a magic swirl in the air.
“…huh?”
But she was bewildered as she looked at the shiny characters floating in front of her.
How did that happen?
The main building in the Grand Castle was where the power to nullify magic acted most strongly. Therefore, most magic disappears before it starts. Now, however, this magic had formed perfectly…
Did the Grand Castle’s protection magic fade?
Erna felt like her heart had dropped. She knew that it was fading but didn’t know how it had happened so quickly.
* * *
“You’re here.”
Kalion sighed at the presence he felt behind him. Valen had delivered through Cedric the contents of the favor he’d received from Adelaide.
Adelaide had demanded the full information of the knight order and asked them to tell her how she can coincidentally meet Kallion without having to ask for an audience.
As a result, Kalion busied himself on the training grounds, which was far away from the knights’ building. Valen, however, would have informed Adelaide that Kalion always used this place and that he would be here in about an hour.
I knew it. Turning his head, he could see Adelaide walking in this direction with a maid holding a basket. The training ground isn’t part of the knight zone, so she can come and go on her own accord.
Kalion watched her approach.
“Oh, my. Lord Kalion. So this is where you practice.”
“Princess Adelaide…”
If she’d said “I came to meet you” would her likeability have gone up? He wondered. Kalion felt extremely awkward when she openly tried to act close to him. Still, he had no choice; he had to know her intentions.
I’ll have to go back and tell Erna later.
He had told her that he would meet Adelaide alone, and Erna had only looked at him with one eyebrow raised. Oh, how cute she had been feigning indifference. After that, however, she’d said: “Okay. Good luck. I’m going to the Wizard Group for a while to do some work. And I need to check if the new wizard is going okay.”
At that, Kalion bit his lip. She has to go see that guy’s face again.
Erna had told him that the new wizard reminded her of him, which was unpleasant news to Kalion. She would, obviously, treat him well because of that. Kalion suddenly felt beaten. He just wanted to be the only subject of Erna’s interest.
While he thought of Erna, Adelaide was already near, telling the servant to take out the water she had brought in the basket.
What in the hell did they bring, thought Kalion. The transparent glass in the basket was immediately filled with water.
“This is how the knight order’s reputation will be enhanced: by your efforts in training.” Adelaide spoke sweetly while gesturing the maid to hand Kalion the glass of water.
But Kalion’s sweat was not from training; he was sweating at the thought of the male wizard whose face he hadn’t seen before.
Despite himself, Kalion took the water from the maid and swallowed it in one gulp. When the water passed his parched throat, the coolness spread throughout his body. He gave Adelaide a look after returning the glass. She was way too dressed up to go out for a walk. He wanted to say something sarcastic but now was not the time or place, so he decided to be polite.
“Thank you. I was so thir…”
At that moment, Kalion felt something strange.
What is it?
“Thir-irrrr…”
His vision suddenly spun. At the same time, it felt like someone cut his stomach with a knife. He let out a cough he couldn’t hold in. Kalion saw that something was staining his hands. It was blood. His body instantly fell to the floor, and soon heard Adelaide scream.
Kalion belatedly realized what had happened to him: he had drunk poison.
