I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 14

The East Palace where Duke Vaimal resided— commonly known as the ‘East Palace’.

It went without saying that the royal palace was originally a place where the royal family resided. Furthermore, the highest floor, the very top of the palace, was naturally accessible only to the royal family.

However, the East Palace had long been used by Duke Vaimal as his own palace, and likewise, the West Palace had long been used by Duke Panshin as his.

***

—Thump thump! —M-My Lord Duke! It's an emergency!

Someone knocked strongly and rather impolitely on the door. At that, the nobles frowned slightly and looked at the door, and Duke Vaimal waved his hand casually and said.

“Let him in.”

“Yes!”

At the Duke's permission, a noble near the door opened it. Then, one of Duke Vaimal's retainers, the one who had been knocking, rushed into the room and said.

“D-Duke Panshin went to the Mage Corps barracks with his daughter!”

“Panshin went to the Mage Corps with his daughter?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm…”

As Duke Vaimal thought for a moment, an ominous premonition crossed his mind.

‘Wait a minute… The Head of the Mage Corps is extremely fond of women. C-could it be that Panshin bastard is trying to bring the Mage Corps under his command by giving away his daughter?!’

An uneasy premonition, honed by his long reign at the pinnacle of the noble faction, bloomed in Duke Vaimal’s mind. That premonition had saved him several times before, so Duke Vaimal suddenly began to feel tense.

‘If Panshin gets the Mage Corps under his command as I suspect, it will be a major crisis. Then their forces and my forces will become similar.’

Currently, there were three groups in the Plank Kingdom that were not part of the noble factions. The ‘Kingdom Mage Corps’, the ‘Magic Tower’, and the ‘3rd Knight Order’.

Among them, the Magic Tower consisted of die-hard mages so obsessed with magic that they were impossible to reason with, and Jereuth, the commander of the 3rd Knight Order, was a longtime friend of the King.

So Duke Vaimal wasn't particularly worried about them. Because there was no way for him, or even Panshin, to recruit them. They probably wouldn't follow the noble factions even if offered a fortune.

‘But the Mage Corps is a different story. They pretend to be noble just because they are mages and act as if they don't get involved in politics, but they have always subtly made requests to the nobles when they wanted something.’

It was called a ‘request’, but it was practically a ‘demand’.

The nobles didn't see a need to be on bad terms with the Mage Corps, and they could obtain various strange artifacts through the mages, so they usually accommodated the Mage Corps's demands. In other words, they maintained a smooth relationship for the most part.

Anyway, what was important now was that, unlike the Magic Tower and the 3rd Knight Order, the Kingdom Mage Corps was a group that could be recruited at any time.

‘Originally, mages do not meddle in politics. But there's no guarantee that will be the case this time. Duke Panshin's daughter is a peerless beauty, so the Head of the Mage Corps will lose his mind over her. …I must prevent that at all costs!’

Duke Vaimal quickly issued an order.

“Prepare to go to the Mage Corps immediately. Right now!”

—It was at that moment he spoke.

“There is no need for that. We have come to you.”

A group of people entered through the open door. They wore their robe hoods pulled down low so their faces were not visible, but no one was ignorant of their identity.

Those wearing robes with the Plank Kingdom's crest on their chests were the Kingdom Mage Corps.

Before the Duke could be flustered by their sudden appearance, the first mage from the Mage Corps who entered spoke.

“I am sure Duke Vaimal is also aware that Duke Panshin has visited us. It's because of the ‘Throne Handover Ceremony’. He wants us to join his faction.”

“……”

“But we are wise men, as ‘mages’. So we are willing to hear who makes a better offer. Now then, what kind of gift can Duke Vaimal prepare for us? Duke Panshin said he would give his daughter.”

Speaking, the mage lifted his robe's hood to show his face.

It was the Head of the Kingdom Mage Corps, Kasemiru.

His lecherous smile was disgusting.

***

The Round Table Council Room in the basement of the Magic Tower.

A place where only the Magic Tower Master and the elders were permitted to enter.

At the round table in that council room sat the elders of the Magic Tower, wearing their hoods. They were all quite old, the youngest being a mage in his mid-fifties.

It was not often that the elders gathered like this for a meeting. They rarely gathered unless it was to make an important decision, such as deciding to participate in the war against the demons.

But now, the elders were gathered. All had been summoned by the Magic Tower Master Seria.

However, none of the elders knew why Seria had called them. They only guessed that since the Magic Tower Master had summoned all the elders, it must be no ordinary matter.

“My apologies for being late.”

Someone entered late into the dark council room where a strange silence hung. It was the highest authority of the Magic Tower, the Tower Master Seria.

Woooong—.

As Seria spoke and sat down, the round table began to glow faintly. It was a light indicating that the meeting would begin now that all participants were gathered.

“I know everyone is busy, so I will get straight to the point. I intend to step down from my position as the Magic Tower Master as of today.”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

The elders had expected the topic of the meeting to be no ordinary matter since the Magic Tower Master had summoned them, but this was a topic that far exceeded their expectations.

The oldest of the elders, a white-haired old man, asked with a puzzled expression.

“…Seria, you're quitting as the Magic Tower Master?”

“Yes. I have something I must do personally.”

“Is it something you have to do even if it means quitting as the Magic Tower Master? No, is it something you cannot do as the Magic Tower Master?”

“That is correct. I intend to enter the politics of this kingdom.”

At those words, the elders began to murmur among themselves.

—Enter politics?

—What does that mean?

—The Magic Tower Master… politics?

Even if she quit as the Magic Tower Master, she was a ‘former Magic Tower Master’. Such a being entering ‘politics’ was something that had never happened before.

Swoosh—.

An elder raised his hand to quiet the clamor of the other elders and spoke again.

“Explain in detail. I heard that Crown Prince Leonardo came to see you; is it related to that?”

“Yes. His Highness intends to purge the nobles. For the throne.”

“…!”

The news that the Crown Prince intended to purge the nobles for the throne was certainly one of the most shocking pieces of news the elders had heard in their lives.

However, the elders quickly quieted down. Because they were truly uninterested in worldly affairs outside of what happened in the Magic Tower and magic itself.

Besides, no matter who became king or who held power in the kingdom, nothing in their lives would change.

But then, Seria said something strange again.

“He said that the Mage Corps would follow the nobles, and that he needed my strength to deal with them during the purge. Also, after speaking with him, I have decided to follow him.”

At Seria respectfully referring to Crown Prince Leonardo as ‘he’ three times, an elder tilted his head.

“‘He’? Why do you refer to His Highness Leonardo like that?”

“Because I have sworn to become his vassal.”

“…!!”

The elders murmured again. This time, even the elder who had been talking with Seria couldn't stop them.

He too was quite shocked.

For a former Magic Tower Master to pledge allegiance as a vassal to a powerless Crown Prince, how could they not be surprised? To the elders of the Magic Tower, that was even more shocking than the Crown Prince planning to purge the nobles.

Seria continued to speak.

“As you all know, 10 years ago Helena suffered a terrible thing at the hands of the cowardly Mage Corps. As a result, half of her body has scars that are hard to look at, and even a ‘curse tattoo’ was engraved. A ‘curse tattoo’ that is only used on slaves. For the past several years, I have devoted myself to research to break that curse.”

“…You did.”

“As a result of that research, I found out that Mithril Powder is needed to break the curse. And His Highness Leonardo gave me that precious Mithril Powder.”

“He gave you Mithril Powder?!”

One of the elders, forgetting his age, shot up from his seat and asked in a surprised voice, and Seria showed him the necklace containing the green powder.

—Oh, ooh… it really is Mithril Powder.

—My goodness, was there any left in the kingdom?

—Wait. But isn't that Queen Victoria's memento?

The elders murmured for a moment, then asked Seria.

“So, you decided to follow Crown Prince Leonardo in exchange for this Mithril Powder? Is that why you're going to help with his purge?”

“That is not it. I simply want to follow him sincerely. I don't know why, but… His Highness Leonardo has the feel of my father.”

“Your father… he was a great mage. To a degree that it was hard to believe he came from this small kingdom.”

“Yes. Anyway, so I have decided to become His Highness Leonardo's mana and face the Mage Corps in the purge. Of course, I will also take revenge on the Head of the Mage Corps, Kasemiru, who did that to Helena.”

Seria took a breath and continued.

“However, if I, as the Magic Tower Master, help with His Highness's purge, it might drag in other mages from the Magic Tower. That is why I am quitting as the Magic Tower Master and stepping forward alone.”

“…I see. So you have called this meeting to elect a new Magic Tower Master?”

“That is also a reason, but it's also because I have a favor to ask of you, the elders of the Magic Tower.”

“A favor?”

An elder tilted his head.

Seria looked at the elder silently for a moment, then bowed her head and said.

“Please leave the Magic Tower with me and become vassals serving His Highness Leonardo. And please, deal with the mages of the Mage Corps in the purge of the nobles.”

“……”

“It is not impossible for me to do it alone. But to be certain, more mages are needed. And the mages I can trust the most are you, the elders.”

Seria put strength into her voice and made her request politely, but she was half-doubting her own words.

No matter how good her relationship with the elders was, asking them, who had spent their entire lives in the Magic Tower, to come out into the ‘outside world’ was an excessive request.

‘I hope two… no, at least three of the elders will follow me.’

Just as Seria was harboring such concerns internally.

“I will help the Magic Tower Master, no, she's not the Tower Master anymore, is she? I will help Seria.”

An elder stood up from his seat and said.

As if that was the signal, the other elders also stood up one by one.

“I as well.”

“Me too.”

“This one shall also step forward.”

“Seeing everyone stand up so briskly, your backs must be in good shape. Hehehe.”

“Are you secretly taking something good for your back? Ouch, my back… If you have something good, you should have shared.”

Before long, everyone was on their feet.

“…Elders?”

Seria, who hadn't expected all the elders to help, opened her eyes in surprise, and the oldest elder answered with a firm expression.

“Seria. Your daughter Helena— no, since it's just us, there's no need to call Helena your daughter. I will honestly say your younger sister.”

“…Yes.”

“Your younger sister Helena is like a daughter and a granddaughter to us. In this bleak, anguish-filled, cold Magic Tower where only mana flows, she was the only one who went around with a bright laugh, a child we loved.”

The secret that Helena was actually Seria's younger sister, not her daughter, was unknown to anyone except Leonardo and the elders.

“Helena was a child who showed us a new world, us who were interested in nothing but magic. She was our pride, just like magic. Moreover, that child's talent was truly amazing. She could have become even greater than your father.”

“…Yes.”

“But those bastards from the Mage Corps broke that precious thing. It's infuriating enough that a mage over thirty went against a mere eight-year-old child, but that bastard did something to that little child that should never be done. We too were enraged by it, and in fact, we secretly discussed among ourselves that we would teach those cowardly bastards a lesson when the opportunity arose at a suitable time.”

“…You had such discussions?”

“We did. But we kept it to ourselves. Because you were focused on Helena's treatment rather than revenge.”

“……”

“But hearing about it now, it seems the time has come.”

Swoosh— Thud.

The elder who finished speaking took off the ring he was wearing and placed it on the round table. That became the starting point, and the other elders also took off their rings without delay.

That ring was the symbol of an elder of the Magic Tower. It was a masterpiece that showed no signs of wear even after being worn on the finger for a long time.

Scrape—.

The oldest among the elders gathered all the rings and placed them in the center of the round table. Then he said clearly to Seria.

“We have taken off the elders' rings, so we are no longer elders of the Magic Tower. Now we are just old mages you can see anywhere.”

“……”

“So these old men will show those whelps from the Mage Corps. What ‘real magic’ is, and what a mage's revenge looks like.”

For a gentleman's revenge is not too late even after 10 years—

It seemed the elders had been waiting for just this moment. Perhaps even more than Seria.