NOVEL NEXT Chapter 357
Chapter 357: I Want to See It (1)
At Hubert’s words, the Elders wore sour expressions.
“Vanessa…?”
“Yeah, that Vanessa who made it to the 6th Circle.”
Everyone’s faces drooped at that. Even Hubert, who mentioned Vanessa, wore a similar expression.
They had heard the rumors about Vanessa too. Claude was spreading word here and there for wizard fishing, so there was no way they could avoid it.
Of course, he didn’t name names outright, but it wasn’t exactly a secret either. Although it was nominal, the Tower of the Bloody Flame had a branch in the Territory of Penris, making it easy to figure out the identity of a 6th Circle Mage.
“Sigh… she was just a maid. How on earth did she become a 6th Circle Mage?”
Muttering gloomily, Hubert drew similar responses from the Elders.
“What kind of scheme did Count Penris use?”
“She was a kid who couldn’t even sense mana.”
“Her growth rate is far too fast. It’s a realm most wouldn’t reach in a lifetime of effort.”
It had been quite a while since Vanessa followed Ghislaine, but reaching the 6th Circle in that timeframe was simply impossible.
Yet, after checking multiple times and hearing that she had indeed reached it, they couldn’t help but believe it.
Many had witnessed her prowess during the war against Count Desmond.
Letting such a genius go meant there was no discerning eye at the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
After sighing, the Elders posed another question.
“So, can we just ask to borrow Vanessa?”
Hubert grimaced at this.
“That Alfoy guy is still at the 3rd Circle, right?”
“Yeah. This is a complete embarrassment.”
Though now he was half-avoided, Alfoy was once a promising talent at the Mage Tower. Yet, the successor of the tower was still stuck at the 3rd Circle.
Given that he spent all day on construction, it was understandable, but to think a tower’s successor would be worse off than a maid was undeniable proof that the Tower of the Bloody Flame truly lacked discerning eyes.
“That guy can just live there for life, so let’s revoke his successor status soon.”
At this, the Elders all nodded. To be frank, the ones over there were practically vegetables at this point.
Though it was nominally a branch, those were just guys who were tossed in to maintain relations with Ghislaine.
“One Vanessa should be enough. That way, we won’t suffer a total defeat in the competition, right? Let’s aim to end the embarrassment at a reasonable level.”
It seemed the Tower of the Bloody Flame was determined to humiliate them, so they would surely bring only highly skilled disciples.
There was no need to face them earnestly. If they weren’t careful, their disciples could get seriously injured or even die.
“There’s probably no one among their disciples who can beat Vanessa. We can bring her out toward the end and claim at least one victory, right? We can save our own disciples.”
After suffering for a while due to the Tower of the Bloody Flame, Hubert had become quite realistic.
The Elders nodded, as if agreeing with his point.
Vanessa wasn’t technically part of the Tower of the Bloody Flame, but guest mages could participate in the tower’s competitions. Such connections among Wizards were also considered a skill.
Thus, wandering mages staying briefly at the tower could participate whenever they wanted.
Originally, the exchange event had started as a means to form relations with various mages. There were often cases where realizations came from competitions too.
Moreover, since Vanessa originally hailed from the Tower of the Bloody Flame, it didn’t look bad either.
“Isn’t it a bit late to invite mages from other regions?”
“Yeah. How do you plan to persuade and bring them? Those guys at the Tower of the Crimson Flame will keep provoking us and interfering until then.”
“Ugh… those bastards. Just wait and see.”
Hubert gritted his teeth. This time he would let them win a bit, but next time he wouldn’t let it go so easily.
Agreeing to take on this level of humiliation was no small resolution for him. Was it a step forward or a retreat?
Unless a full-on war broke out later, he didn’t want to fight like this right now. Growing the tower was more important.
If he just bore a moment of shame, he believed he could pressure the Tower of the Crimson Flame with a more powerful force later.
With Ghislaine supporting them with food and runestones, he was confident they would eventually squeeze the Tower of the Crimson Flame dry.
Having made that decision, Hubert and the Elders went to find Ghislaine packed with gifts.
*
“Hmm, an exchange event… So you’re asking to borrow ‘our’ Vanessa as a guest mage, right?”
“Y-yes. If the Count could lend a bit of attention, we could save some face…”
Wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead repeatedly, Hubert spoke.
Unlike before when he used to be humble in speech, now it was hard even for him to face the tower lord.
Usually, it wouldn’t matter if it was just any lord, but this was a grand lord from the North with considerable strength. And he was the nobility most favored by the Crown Prince Faction.
No matter how much of a tower lord he was, he had to bow down a little.
Seeing Hubert act like this, Ghislaine crossed her legs and said.
“Why so tense between us? Is it because it’s been a while?”
“Ah, well… uh, yes, I suppose it feels that way after such a long time.”
‘Damn it! This is why I didn’t want to come!’
He had seen her ever since she was a rookie dragging around mercenaries, but now the gap had grown too wide. The petty Hubert was feeling quite upset.
But he couldn’t show any displeasure since he came to make a request. Like the Elders, he awkwardly smiled and said.
“Uh, anyway, can we count on you to give that much, perhaps?”
“Really? You want me to just lend her for free when I’m selling food and runestones for cheap?”
Hubert then pulled a box from his robe.
“I brought a little gift with me. It’s something quite valuable.”
What Hubert pulled out was a truly luxurious jewelry box. It was so encrusted with jewels on the outside that it was hard to tell whether it was meant to store the jewels inside or merely display them outside.
“…You still collect things like this?”
“Isn’t this pretty?”
Seeing Ghislaine not particularly fond of it made Hubert panic. How could she not like something so expensive and beautiful? He simply couldn’t understand.
But Ghislaine quickly took the jewelry box and continued.
“Well, for this much, I suppose I can agree. But there’s one condition.”
“W-what is it?”
Hubert and the Elders swallowed nervously. The conditions that came from her mouth were always anything but ordinary.
However, what Ghislaine said was unexpected.
“Would it be alright for me to observe as well?”
“Observe?”
“Yeah, I also want to see the duel between the mages.”
“Hmm…”
Hubert scratched his head.
The exchange event was supposed to be for mages only. No matter how noble you were, you couldn’t just barge in.
However, it wasn’t completely unheard of. Though exceedingly rare, there had been cases of nobles participating in the exchange.
Seeing the Elders hinting at him, Hubert nodded cheerfully.
“Let’s do it! The Count can join and watch! But don’t make it too obvious. Just a little, you know?”
“Of course. I’ve been quite curious about the tower’s exchange event which I’ve only heard about.”
From Hubert’s perspective, this was indeed a fruitful outcome. That outrageous guy didn’t seem to be asking for a great price.
Just when he was feeling good about that, Ghislaine subtly asked,
“However… will the lord of the Tower of the Crimson Flame simply retreat after the competition?”
“What do you mean?”
“He is a 7th Circle Mage, isn’t he? He could go crazy and kill everyone there.”
To that, Hubert burst out laughing.
“Ha ha ha! No, the Count is famously fearless. Why are you worrying more than I am? That will never happen.”
“Why not?”
“No matter how much a dispute between towers, there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Even if he could kill a few of his disciples under the guise of a duel… that’s as far as it goes.”
Hubert collected his voice and continued.
“Think about it. Even if the lords don’t interfere in disputes between towers, they wouldn’t just ignore such a big incident. Our tower is protected by Count Brivant. And Count Brivant belongs to the Crown Prince Faction.”
“Hmm…”
Ghislaine nodded. Count Brivant was the lord selected as a supportive figure by the Crown Prince Faction before supporting Ghislaine.
Though she had swooped in and taken him for herself, it meant that he was still a trusted lord by the Crown Prince Faction.
The Brivant Territory depended heavily on the taxes from the tower. What would happen if the Tower of the Crimson Flame suddenly wiped out such a tower?
Both places weren’t small towers; they were rumored to be huge ones. It wouldn’t just end with ‘there was a fight between towers, and one collapsed.’
Surely, the Crown Prince Faction would politically pressure the Tower of the Crimson Flame and launch an investigation.
Unless they intended to completely shut down trade in the North, the Tower of the Crimson Flame wouldn’t execute such a crazy plan.
“Moreover, if such a thing happens, they will receive scorn from every mage in the kingdom. Everyone would either be wary or hostile towards the Tower of the Crimson Flame. There’s nothing good for them either.”
“What if they still go through with such madness?”
At Ghislaine’s question, Hubert responded with confidence.
“The exchange event will be hosted by us. No matter how strong Delmood is, he won’t be able to take on all of us.”
The gap in power due to circles was absolute, but the advantage of numbers couldn’t be overlooked. The Tower of the Bloody Flame had five 6th Circle Mages and five 5th Circle Mages, plus hundreds of disciples.
Though there would be significant damage, Hubert was confident that they could win by fighting from their main force.
Of course, if it truly came down to a fight, they would both likely perish in the end. That’s why Hubert believed that such a thing wouldn’t actually happen.
“And… if the Count observes, Delmood will certainly think twice about his actions, right? He’s just trying to cut our momentum and embarrass us.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ghislaine nodded readily.
Certainly, Hubert didn’t know anything. Either way, if a civil war occurred, what did it matter whether they faced political pressure from the Crown Prince Faction or scorn and wariness from the mages?
The Duke was planning to wipe out anyone who wouldn’t listen to him.
The fact that the Tower of the Crimson Flame was moving meant that the Duke was now seriously preparing for civil war.
Hubert was oblivious to this and merely judged based on the common sense of the day.
Ghislaine simply nodded. Since she was going anyway, there was no need to dispute further here.
“Understood. Then let’s have Vanessa participate as a guest mage. Ah, but… can we leave Alfoy behind?”
“Alfoy? We can do without him. What use is a talent like that who’s still stuck at the 3rd Circle?”
“…”
Ghislaine pursed her lips at Hubert’s words, treating Alfoy as if he were completely disposable now. Although he was annoying, he had still contributed greatly here.
It seemed she would need to shift her perception somewhat.
“I’ll add one more condition.”
“What is it?”
“Let Alfoy participate in the duel as well. After all, he’s the successor of the tower; he needs to have that experience, doesn’t he?”
“Hmm…”
Considering when to revoke his status as successor, telling him to participate in that capacity was a conundrum. After a brief period of thought, Hubert nodded.
“Fine. It doesn’t really matter who comes out anyway.”
To minimize damage, they were planning not to send any truly outstanding disciples. It didn’t matter if Alfoy joined or not.
However, the only reason to leave him out was that he was still technically the tower’s successor.
‘Ah, that guy is going to lose, and it’s going to be an embarrassment for the whole neighborhood.’
To be honest, they didn’t expect to win, so losing in itself wasn’t a huge issue, but having the successor lose would hit their reputation hard.
But with Vanessa around, they could manage. Claiming at least one victory was better than none!
Once Ghislaine gave her approval, Hubert immediately returned to accept the exchange event. Almost immediately afterward, the Tower of the Crimson Flame halted their provocations toward the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
“I knew it would come to this. Just you wait. This time I’ll let you win.”
Hubert, fired up, began preparing for the exchange. However, the preparations were different from a typical exchange event.
After all, since they were also trying to humiliate them, there was no need to prepare minor things.
They just needed to be ready to clash in a suitably spacious area.
Finally, the promised date came, and the mages from the Tower of the Crimson Flame arrived at the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
Delmood brought two Elders and nearly fifty disciples with him.
Seeing that, Hubert’s eyebrows twitched.
‘What the… they brought this many?’
There were just over a hundred disciples in the Tower of the Crimson Flame. Yet, they brought half of them along; it was too excessive for a duel.
Of course, this side prepared a similar number just in case.
‘Surely they aren’t planning to go all the way with this?’
Realizing they had brought more than expected, Hubert momentarily stiffened his face but quickly relaxed it.
‘Count Penris is here, so what’s the big deal? If they know Penris is around, they’ll hold back.’
Still, Hubert’s head was in the clouds. But Delmood, who had come here, was different.
‘Today, the Tower of the Bloody Flame will fall.’
He said directly to Hubert upon arriving.
“It’s been a while. Hubert.”
“Yeah, it has been a while. Delmood.”
Fire sparked in the eyes of the two men.
They had met a few times in their youth. Even then, as rival towers, their relationship wasn’t good. No, Hubert, at that time a promising successor of a flourishing tower, outright ignored Delmood.
But now Delmood had grown stronger. So, of course, Hubert wouldn’t be feeling good about this.
“Since we know each other, there’s no need for unnecessary preparations, right? We are ready to fight right away.”
“Quick-witted as ever.”
Delmood smirked slightly and looked around. The one sitting in the honorary seat with a bored expression was particularly irritating.
Delmood coldly asked Hubert.
“Who’s that person?”
At that question, Hubert grinned and replied.
“Oh, first time seeing her? Let me introduce you. This is the very impressive Count Penris, who is currently the most prominent figure in the North. We brought her in as an observer.”
“Count Penris?”
Delmood’s eyes widened. Seeing that reaction made Hubert internally chuckle.
‘Heh, surprised, huh? No matter what you had planned, you won’t be able to move recklessly now.’
Surely, Delmood was genuinely shocked. But contrary to Hubert’s expectations, he was secretly quite pleased.
‘Today! I’ll kill Count Penris too!’
His eyes gleamed dangerously.