Chapter 40

Ultimately, Roseanne decided to personally meet Dalbreon to try and persuade him, rather than threaten him, thereby tying his hands.

Tearen erased the fake marriage between Caldeon and Roseanne that had been implanted in the memory of the entire Empire and implanted a new noble family, the Viscountcy of Ribenus, into their memories. He defined it simply as “this family exists,” without specific details, so no one would recall the family unless it was explicitly mentioned.

While Roseanne and Tearen were busy working in their respective positions, Caldeon was also busy doing what he had to do.

He met with the Emperor and Count Kaznaren directly to tell them that Hayden was his son, born to him and Enria, and that one of the two, Enria or Hayden, was the owner of the oracle. The Emperor, intrigued by the Power of Absolution held by the owner of the oracle, commanded Caldeon to bring Enria and the child to the Imperial Palace, implying that he would acknowledge their marriage through this.

After concluding the conversation, Count Kaznaren called Caldeon to a halt outside the audience chamber.

“Grand Duke Jupiter.”

Count Kaznaren, Caldeon’s father’s friend and the Emperor’s right-hand man, held power and prestige on par with the Grand Ducal family, even though his title was Count. Thus, Caldeon could not treat him carelessly.

“Is there something else you wish to discuss, Count Kaznaren?”

“I’d like to hear the intention behind installing my daughter as the Acting Grand Duchess.”

Count Kaznaren asked, curious about Caldeon’s motive for refusing marriage but still wanting to bring Roseanne into the Grand Duke’s castle as the Acting Grand Duchess.

Caldeon offered him a slight smile and replied.

“Because she is a capable and trustworthy young lady.”

“That makes me even more curious. You absolutely refuse marriage but want to entrust her with the duties of the Grand Duchess. Surely you are not using my daughter because a Viscount’s second daughter did not study to become the mistress of a noble family…”

“Enria is not an incapable woman.”

Caldeon interrupted Count Kaznaren immediately and continued.

“I merely asked for Lady Kaznaren’s assistance so my son’s mother could focus on raising him. You may not know, but Lady Kaznaren and my woman are very close friends.”

Although his words were polite, there was a subtle, strange dignity emanating from Caldeon, whose gaze was colder than ever. That authoritative feeling soon turned into an overwhelming pressure that bore down on Count Kaznaren.

The Count tried to act unbothered and said to Caldeon.

“So, my daughter and the Viscount’s daughter were friends. That must be why the child readily agreed to come to the Grand Duke’s castle.”

“Yes. Above all, Lady Kaznaren is a person with a sense of duty to protect the owner of the oracle.”

Caldeon, his expression relaxing slightly at Count Kaznaren’s words, nodded and spoke.

Count Kaznaren also nodded at that.

“The owner of the oracle, indeed. I’d like to see them sometime.”

“I will gladly escort you to the Grand Duke’s castle anytime.”

“I shall. Ah, I heard that the Viscount’s daughter also contracted with Rahar’s spirits. Does that mean she is also a spirit user?”

Count Kaznaren added that if Enria was a spirit user, she could protect herself from the Magic Tower that was targeting her and her child, which was somewhat reassuring, and then continued, speaking about Silri, the high-level wind spirit contracted with Rahar.

“The Wind Spirit, which contracts with only one human, contracted with the Viscount’s daughter as well. That probably means the owner of the oracle is the Viscount’s daughter, not your child.”

“It is not yet certain.”

“At any rate, His Majesty the Emperor seems very interested in the Power of Absolution, which can resurrect the dead.”

Count Kaznaren also looked like he wanted to know more about that ability.

“Well, there will be no need to use that ability. I have no intention of making my woman or my child do such a thing unless I am dead or gone.”

After finishing his sentence in a firm tone, Caldeon bowed to Count Kaznaren and turned away. Count Kaznaren’s voice followed him from behind.

“That is power granted by the Gods. It is not power you can discuss using or not using as you wish.”

The Count’s words implied that if the Emperor, Count Kaznaren himself, or an important person in the Empire were to die, that power would naturally have to be used.

Caldeon, who understood the meaning precisely, turned his head, looked at Count Kaznaren, and said.

“There is no need to worry. We will do our best to protect everyone so that power is not needed.”

Then he turned around and started walking with long strides.

Count Kaznaren, who was staring intently at Caldeon’s retreating figure, eventually let out a small, self-mocking laugh and muttered.

“Arrogant.”

Count Kaznaren also turned and began walking in the opposite direction. Although Caldeon was certainly arrogant, he felt reassured by Caldeon’s promise to do his best to protect everyone. Caldeon was a man who kept his word no matter what. Besides, wasn’t he the strongest man, possessing the Empire’s best swordsmanship skills and black magic?

“Well, even if the relationship isn’t bound by marriage, this much should be reassuring.”

Count Kaznaren muttered softly, recalling the alliance that would soon be formed.

***

“The owner of the oracle is marrying the Grand Duke of the North?”

Pahomel, the Magic Tower Lord, asked his son, Groen.

The Magic Tower firmly believed that Enria, not Hayden, was the owner of the oracle. This was because they judged that Hayden was too young to use the Power of Absolution, and the oracle had descended before he was born, so he could not possibly be the owner of the oracle.

“Yes, Father. They say they will announce the wedding date soon.”

Groen continued, suggesting to Pahomel that it might be best to eliminate Enria and Hayden simultaneously on the day of the wedding. He was determined to make up for his past mistake of failing to kill Enria in Endelie Village.

“There is a higher possibility of being unable to touch them during the wedding. Most of the humans gathered there will be spirit users or knights.”

He thought of the spirit mages and knights who would gather — and more troubling, of Caldeon’s black mana, which rendered all dark magic useless.

In truth, the man known as Tower Master Pahomel was merely a vessel — his body possessed by a dark sorcerer.

The reason he killed the Magic Tower Lord and was impersonating him was because of the next Magic Tower Lord, Groen, who would go to any length to obey his father. Pahomel was growing old, his magic was not what it used to be, and his son was growing up to wield incredible magic. The best way to manipulate him to his liking was to impersonate Pahomel and treat Groen as his son.

The black magician met the Magic Tower Lord Pahomel in the first place because of Caldeon’s black magic.

Black magic was forbidden in the Empire, but its immense power and ability were enough to conquer the Empire alone. That is, if Caldeon’s black magic didn’t exist.

Black magic was completely ineffective against black magic, and as long as he existed, the dream of world domination with black magic could not be realized.

Since neither the Magic Tower Lord nor Groen had the ability to kill Caldeon, who possessed black magic, the black magician changed his plan: he would kill Caldeon’s woman and take her body, just as he had taken Pahomel’s body.

Although he couldn’t eliminate the black magic, Caldeon would surely try not to use his black magic if he discovered that the woman he loved possessed black magic. According to the investigation, he was such a loving person that he would sacrifice everything for the woman he loved.

In any case, to take over a human body, one had to first kill the human to be taken over. Even if that weren’t the case, the owner of the Power of Absolution, who could resurrect the dead and nullify the Magic Tower’s magic, had to be eliminated.

Therefore, Pahomel told Groen that they should wait for a time when Caldeon and Enria were not together. If Groen failed, there might still be an opportunity to kill Enria using the black magic he had secretly infused into him.

“You must wait for a time when the Grand Duke Jupiter is not with her. Do not repeat the folly of sending monsters unnecessarily when the three of them are together, like last time. Such actions only increase the Grand Duke Jupiter’s vigilance.”

It was Groen who had deliberately released the monster, hoping for an opportunity when Caldeon, Enria, and Hayden went on an outing to the frozen lake. He planned to use the fish monster, along with a magician who had the temporary power to control monsters, to kill Enria and Hayden.

Of course, he knew it wouldn’t be easy since Caldeon was with them, but he thought it would be possible to kill the still-infant Hayden using a large number of fish monsters. The magician, who felt he would be easily discovered if he continued to observe, only controlled the fish monsters to attack them and returned to the Magic Tower, so Groen did not know the details of the situation. However, upon confirming that the leader of the abyssal fish monsters, summoned by the magician for the final attack, was dead, they realized their plan had utterly failed.

“Yes, Father. This time, I will definitely wait for a time when the Grand Duke Jupiter is absent… But will there ever be a time when the Grand Duke Jupiter is not by the side of the young lady he is marrying?”

Based on their investigation, Caldeon was devoted to his people. Groen wondered if Caldeon would ever feel safe enough to leave the castle without his beloved woman and child.

“He has been frequently visiting the Imperial Palace recently. There will be an opportunity soon.”

“Ah… But the Kaznaren siblings always guard her when she goes to the Imperial Palace…”

“Surely, you, the next Magic Tower Lord, are not incapable of defeating a mere spirit user.”

“Rahar’s sister is more of a problem than Rahar. You haven’t seen her, Father, so you wouldn’t know, but that sister… she uses terrifying magic.”

Groen, whose face instinctively turned pale whenever he thought of Roseanne due to being severely defeated by her in the academy, shook his head in disgust.

“If only Rahar were alone, it would be very easy.”

Despite having already failed to kill Enria due to Rahar’s spirit summoning, he still claimed Rahar was easy. Pahomel almost pointed out this flaw but refrained. Confidence was paramount for a magician.

“Let’s think about it a bit more. It’s impossible right now, but there is a way to kill her by dedicating about a month’s time.”

Groen’s eyes sparkled at Pahomel’s words, and he asked him.

“Is there such a way, father?”