With the start of the new semester, the atmosphere at the Academy was quite different from before.
There had been incidents with corrupts wreaking havoc and even the appearance of demons, but for most students, those things felt distant.
Especially because the problems that did arise at the Academy were dealt with before they could grow too large, thanks to Fernan, Aint, and the headmaster.
However, the situation in the Kingdom of Esrin felt different.
The first, second, and third princes were recruiting private troops, and the nobles were dividing themselves to support one or the other.
Moreover, most of the students from Esrin had not returned to the Academy.
That made even the other students sense the tension of war, and Fernan felt it too.
‘Looks like this is going to drag on much longer than I thought…’
War wasn’t far off. In the Empire, there had always been conflicts among nobles.
But what made Esrin’s case so serious was that it was a war for the throne.
And Esrin was no weak country.
‘So they’re not planning to give up?’
This was different from what Fernan had foreseen.
‘History has changed.’
He thought that with the first prince surviving in Valerich when he should have died, the confusion over succession would be resolved clearly.
His prediction had only been half correct.
It was true that the first prince was the strongest candidate and that nearly everyone thought he would become king.
The problem was that the current king had not proclaimed him as heir.
And the ambition of the other princes had turned out to be far greater than expected.
The king was dying without naming a successor, and the second and third princes took the opportunity to join forces.
If you added the corrupts to the mix, the weight tilting toward the first prince could quickly balance out.
‘Another mistake was thinking the corrupts would stay quiet.’
With Adolf, there had already been a stumble thanks to Fernan, and the plans for the dwarves’ underground city had been ruined.
That’s why he thought at least for a while, they would remain calm. But it was the opposite.
The losses had been enormous, so they had no intention of abandoning Esrin.
‘Don’t they realize that if they rush things again, I’ll stop them with Aint?’
“Hyde, what do you think?”
“Why worry about whether you’ll stop them, young master?”
“You think the same as I do.”
“Yes. They think the young master is still under their illusion. And that Aint can’t do anything alone, so it’s enough to block you.”
Then the answer was obvious.
“Soon, Count Daniel or some other corrupt will come looking for me.”
They would try to place another illusion on him to keep him from getting involved in this matter. Not only Fernan, but also Aint.
“Because they think that by supporting him, I influence him heavily.”
“More than think—it’s the truth, young master.”
“Exactly. So it’ll be obvious.”
The one who suddenly came looking for him—that would be a corrupt.
And that was the moment Fernan was waiting for.
To pretend he’d fallen for the illusion and follow the thread all the way to the root of the corrupts.
“Think they’ll bring another book this time?”
“Most likely.”
“It’d be good to take it and study it.”
“Won’t be easy.”
“Could set a trap for them.”
Either way, if they wanted to place an illusion on him, they had to approach first.
“What kind of trap?”
“Still need to think about it…”
Just as he was about to drop the topic of the corrupts, a new prophecy came to mind.
【An unusual torrential rain falls over Alprosen, completely flooding the vast Hopen Plain in the north.】
【Crops ready for harvest are ruined under the water. Farmers cry in despair.】
Aint, reading the newspaper, showed concern.
— This is a disaster. Isn’t the Hopen Plain one of the most fertile lands on the entire Lutar continent?
“Yes. It’s even called Alprosen’s granary. This is pretty serious.”
No, it was something much more serious than “pretty serious.”
‘A flood in the Hopen Plain?’
Alprosen was one of the few kingdoms capable of rivaling the Empire.
Its territory was just a quarter of the Empire’s, but its population density was high.
And the Hopen Plain was the main agricultural area that fed the kingdom—a massive region, comparable to a small country.
‘And according to the prophecy, it won’t be long before it happens.’
It was a sudden rain. They likely wouldn’t be prepared enough.
‘This would be a chance to make a fortune… but I don’t like it.’
The idea unsettled him because he remembered when the corrupts had manipulated the weather to make it rain.
‘Could it be their doing…?’
Rain big enough to flood the northern half of Alprosen sounded excessive, but he couldn’t rule it out.
Another prophecy surfaced immediately.
“Aint, it’s terrible! Look at this!”
Aria came running, gasping with the newspaper in hand.
【Tragedy in Alprosen. The crown prince, Hein Alprosen, dies in disgrace.】
【During an inspection of the flood-devastated north, the royal party is attacked by a horde of monsters…】
“…The crown prince of Alprosen is dead?”
“Looks like the flood didn’t just sweep away the Hopen Plain, but the entire north. Many monster nests were submerged or destroyed.”
In other words, hordes of enraged, displaced monsters had caught them off guard.
“But… it doesn’t make sense. A crown prince should’ve been well protected.”
“Exactly.”
Aria nodded.
“And the declared escort forces were sufficient. But even so, they were annihilated. There are no monsters in northern Alprosen capable of wiping out the entire royal guard. Doesn’t that seem strange?”
“…Did the corrupts intervene?”
“No doubt. Senior thought the same. Right, Luina?”
Luina’s voice came out cold.
“Doesn’t matter what it is. If they’re corrupts, we just kill them all.”
From her eyes radiated a palpable murderous intent.
The news was more than shocking. There wasn’t even time to reflect on how much Luina had changed since she lost her parents and her lands.
‘The crown prince is dead?’
And not just any prince—the prince of Alprosen.
That kingdom, along with the Empire, was among the major powers. Many even called it a “great kingdom” to distinguish it from the rest.
‘If the corrupts are involved… what are they after?’
The answer was obvious.
‘A civil war.’
They thirsted for blood and corpses. With that, they would fuel summonings of monsters and demons.
“Aint.”
“Daniel.”
A young man with snow-white hair approached Aint.
It had been just a week since the news of the crown prince’s death appeared in the papers.
It was Daniel Alprosen, the third prince. He looked exhausted, worn down by stress.
“I’ll get straight to the point. I need your help.”
‘…So that’s how everything ties together.’
A memory of the next prophecy.
‘Is this…?’
— It’s a pendant.
At the place where the crown prince and his retinue had fought against the monster horde, the rain had uncovered a pendant buried in the mud.
‘Looks valuable. No one picked it up?’
— It must’ve been buried during the battle and surfaced with the rain.
Click.
Aint opened the pendant. Inside was a photo taken with a magical projector.
— That dark blue hair and emotionless gaze… looks familiar.
“…Professor Rosalia?”
Fernan woke up abruptly.
Hyde wiped the cold sweat running down his temple.
“Was it a prophecy, young master?”
“Yes.”
“Seems like you saw something quite bad…”
“I saw something very bad.”
Even though he had managed to change the future before, this time the vision had a high chance of coming true.
Just like with Esrin.
“There’s a prince from Alprosen in second year, right?”
“Yes. Daniel Alprosen, third prince. He’s in the second year of magic, ranked sixth, and lives in the Ravidus Hall.”
“Daniel…”
What a coincidence that he had the same name as that damned corrupt.
“Go tell Aint I want to see him.”
Alprosen and Esrin.
This had to be stopped. No matter what.
***
In an old-style room.
The reddish light of sunset came through the window of the secondary palace, breaking into soft glints.
“…My brother sent a letter to the Academy?”
Tulwin Esrin, third prince of Esrin, turned away from the letter.
The messenger bowed his head.
“Yes, your highness.”
“…Tell Count Flaris to come see me immediately.”
“Yes, your highness!”
The messenger rushed out.
“What do you think of this?”
The prince looked back at the letter, and in the shadowy corner of the study, where the light didn’t reach, a man was calmly reading the newspaper.
“Seems like the first prince is quite the coward.”
Or rather, that he was being cautious would be a more accurate way to put it.
“What disappoints me is that there was a survivor.”
“…That no longer matters. Why do you think my brother sent the letter to the Academy?”
“The same reason you’re already suspecting, your highness.”
“To Aint Armian?”
The man, Count Daniel, nodded.
“When people hear the word ‘demons’, they immediately think of Armian.”
“That’s serious!”
“Not really.”
Daniel calmly flipped the page of the newspaper.
“One of the slaves we gathered for the monster summoning escaped due to negligence, but his mind was already half-broken by magic. Even if he ran with the news to the first prince, whatever he said would sound like mad ramblings.”
Even if it were true, the first prince couldn’t just accept the words of a madman.
“And look. Days have passed since the fugitive went to the first prince’s side, and nowhere is anyone talking about corrupts or monsters.”
The first prince couldn’t go public because he didn’t have solid proof.
If it were true, it would completely sink the third prince, but if it wasn’t, the backlash would be devastating.
“Then the letter isn’t important?”
“I wouldn’t say that. The mere fact that the first prince sent a letter to the Academy, to Aint Armian, says it all.”
His intention was clear—to avoid making noise for now and, through Aint, try to find some lead.
“But the first prince overlooks something.”
That Aint was still a student, and that the Academy had already resumed classes.
“During the semester, it’s not easy for a student to leave the Academy for a long time. Especially not to deal with another kingdom’s affairs.”
“And besides, if it’s discovered that Aint Armian is helping the first prince of Esrin, it will turn against him. Just like you and your brother can’t stand each other, the same goes for Armian and Schwaben.”
If Schwaben found an excuse to attack Armian, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
And Aint didn’t yet have the political power to withstand that pressure.
“That’s why we don’t need to worry about Armian.”
“Then who?”
“Fernan Pellenberg.”
“Fernan? Why are you suddenly talking about Fernan Pellenberg?”
“Many people ignore it, but he has defeated more corrupts and monsters than anyone thinks.”
Together with Aint Armian.
“Recently, too…”
Daniel sighed, recalling the situation with the underground city.
He had tried to seal it with an illusion in Fridian, and then Fernan ruined everything below ground.
“Recently what?”
“Nothing… Back to the point: Fernan has something Aint doesn’t.”
Money and power. And the strength that comes with it.
“Fernan hates corrupts as much as Aint. So, if something happens, he’s the one who will come. Don’t underestimate him.”
“But Fernan Pellenberg isn’t exempt from accusations of interfering in internal affairs either.”
“Not completely. But compared to Armian, the difference is like fireflies against the full moon.”
The Golden Turtle Company had branches all over Esrin. Protecting them from civil war would be excuse enough—even if it wasn’t needed, because the Pellenberg family’s bribe network was so widespread throughout the Empire that it was hard to find someone who hadn’t tasted it.
Neither Schwaben nor any imperial noble would want to make an enemy of Pellenberg over “so little.”
“So little? How can you call internal interference so little?”
“Because Pellenberg has the power to make it seem so.”
“Then there’s no way to counter that?”
“Don’t worry, your highness.”
Daniel brought a pastry to his mouth.
“Fernan is dangerous, and even more so with his house backing him—but there are methods.”
His mind had already been tainted by magic once.
The first time is hard. After that, it’s easy.
“Fernan won’t be able to intervene in Esrin’s civil war. So, your highness…”
“Prepare offerings in abundance.”
“I’ll make you king of Esrin.”
“I’ll trust in you. But just in case, I’ll send a letter to Aint. All I need is to stir up some confusion.”
“As you wish, your highness.”
“And no one must ever know of our connection.”
“Of course, your highness. Besides, the monster incident wasn’t our fault, right?”
“…Don’t forget that.”
The corrupt, and the prince who wanted to be king even if he had to ally with them, shook hands—each hiding their true intentions.
____
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