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An Audience with the Magus Lord

Translated by: ME

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*****

「An interesting woman.」

Eides Ormirage, the Magus Lord, was intrigued. The author of the letter he held was cut from an entirely different cloth than any of the noble ladies he had encountered before.

In the study of the Marquis of Ormirage’s villa, Eides tossed the letter onto his desk with a light thud. He leaned back into his chair, crossing his legs and resting his interlaced fingers over his stomach.

He looked squarely at the young man standing before him—a youth with violet hair and golden eyes who had paid him a rare visit to deliver this very letter. A smirk played on one side of Eides's face as he addressed the Crown Prince, Leonir Lionel.

「And what, pray tell, do you intend for me to do with this, Your Highness?」

「As abrasive as ever, Eides. You can call me Leo when it's just the two of us.」

Eides shrugged at the words of the boy eight years his junior, who had followed him around like a younger brother since childhood.

「Permitting such insolence from a subject will surely tarnish your majesty, Leo.」

「A subject, is it? It’s insulting that you think I'm so 'dense' that I’d try to act superior in private to a man who holds more power than the Royal Family itself.」

It had been a long time since they had traded barbs like this.

As Leo said, the House of Marquis Ormirage possessed an authority the Royal Family could not ignore. In truth, rather than merely standing alongside the Ducal houses, they held the preeminent position among the nobility.

This power was rooted in the very founding of the Lionel Kingdom.

Long before the nation's birth, the head of House Lionel—which lacked the aptitude to wield magic at the time—had beseeched the House of Marquis Ormirage, a lineage known for producing many exceptional mages. They requested a bride, and the Marquis sent his daughter, the one possessing the strongest mana and violet eyes.

House Lionel had been a martial lineage, excelling in military command, but because they lacked a strong magical bloodline, they had been treated poorly in the kingdom that preceded the current one.

However, the House of Marquis Ormirage recognized the superior capabilities of House Lionel.

While the children born of that union did not inherit violet eyes, they possessed eyes of gold and silver. They rapidly integrated magical arts into their legions, actively employing and training commoners who possessed mana, thereby amassing even greater power.

The circumstances that led to House Lionel becoming the Royal Family were not entirely of their own making.

The royalty and nobility of that era, wary of the rising power of House Lionel, demanded that a daughter of Lionel—one who possessed the gift of healing—be given as a consort. Had it ended there, it might have been seen as a simple exchange of a hostage or a way to buy loyalty through a royal connection.

But the Royal Family of that time underestimated the very Lionel they claimed to fear.

The Queen tormented the girl who had become the consort, and the King turned a blind eye. Furthermore, the King offered no concessions to House Lionel for surrendering their daughter, and he allowed the various nobles to harass and antagonize them without consequence.

While resentment toward the Royal Family festered within the borderlands of the Margraviate, a massive outbreak of magical beasts occurred, coinciding with a plague that swept across the entire kingdom.

House Lionel was forced to deal with both the beasts and the plague, yet their lands suffered far less than others. This was thanks to their powerful legions imbued with magic and the trained healing mages they now possessed.

The foolish Royal Family ordered the consort—the daughter of Lionel with the power of healing—to end the plague.

However, given how she had been treated, there was no hope of coordination between her and the mages of the noble houses who looked down upon her.

The House of Marquis Ormirage was also fully occupied with its own lands and could offer little help. When the consort eventually collapsed after healing countless people alone, the Royal Family treated her even more cruelly.

They called her useless.

Finally, when the Royal Family ordered House Lionel—which had suffered the least—to quell the plague in other territories, the Lionels finally exploded in rage.

They decided the King was no longer worthy of their loyalty. With that judgment, they marched on the capital.

The first to support House Lionel in their quest to reclaim the consort, securing her person and providing sanctuary, was the House of Marquis Ormirage.

To the head of House Ormirage at the time, the consort was his first cousin’s daughter. He had long since lost all patience with the King and the royalist faction of nobles.

Already established as the premiere magical house, the Ormirages had also benefited from House Lionel’s military guidance, and their lands were naturally less affected by the plague.

The Royal Family and their faction, exhausted by the plague and the beasts, had no means to oppose the two houses most powerful in both might and magic. Aside from the consort and her son—the new King—the entire Royal Family and their supporters were executed.

Thus, the Lionel Royal Family was born as the new rulers.

While the House of Marquis Ormirage was a lineage that could easily have been elevated to Dukes, the main branch maintained an appropriate distance from the throne. However, due to the history of the nation’s founding, most of those who became Dukes were also related by blood to the Ormirages. Combined with a succession of talented heads who possessed both magical lineage and a keen sense for business, the house flourished.

The House of Marquis Ormirage had grown into a noble family with influence that extended even to other nations.

Consequently, their ties with the Royal Family were deep, and Eides and Leo, following that tradition, had spent their childhoods more closely than any others.

「So, there is no mistake that the author of this letter is Wellmy Ernest?」

At Eides's question, Leo’s eyes widened in surprise.

「How can you tell?」

「This is the second time I’ve seen this letter.」

As he spoke, Eides pulled a letter from his drawer and showed it to Leo.

「...I see. So the letter she gave me was a backup.」

「She likely wasn't sure if an anonymous letter would ever reach me. If she has realized your true identity, she has made quite the 'errand boy' of you.」

The connection between the Royal Family and the Ormirages was known to everyone in the Lionel Kingdom. It was a famous tale sung by bards and performed in theaters—the very first line of history every noble child learned.

「The letter also mentioned that she entrusted evidence regarding House Ernest's breach of trust to a reliable individual. That choice of contact is also quite interesting.」

「Who is it?」

「Crates Lyloud.」

Eides smirked as he delivered the name, causing Leo to let out a long sigh.

「That is another surprise. How did she establish a connection with a First-Class Curse-Breaker like Lyloud...? Well, considering the color of her eyes, perhaps it isn't so strange, but I’ve never heard that House Ernest shared any blood ties with the Lylouds.」

The House of Duke Lyloud had a slightly different relationship with the Royal Family than the Ormirages.

They were originally a lineage of sorcerers, specializing in curses and their removal. Unlike those who relied solely on mana, they were a unique family capable of requesting the aid of spirits through prayer. To command spirits by force, ignoring their free will, would require a staggering amount of mana.

This was because, unlike familiars, spirits did not enter into master-servant relationships with humans.

Only compensation and their own goodwill moved the spirits. The power of curse-breaking was, in truth, a power that belonged to the spirits themselves.

The sign of that talent was vermilion eyes. To this day, there has never been a recorded instance of that talent manifesting in anyone outside the Lyloud bloodline or its direct descendants.

「Lyloud keeps the truth hidden from all but a very few. Even within the Ducal house, only those close to the head know. Most nobles might find it curious, but they wouldn't think to question it.」

This, too, caught Eides's interest.

「I thought it might be her maternal bloodline, but her mother was supposedly a commoner orphan. The probability is infinitesimally low. Which leaves...」

「...Maternal infidelity, then?」

「It might be amusing to poke at that. If there is a connection between Wellmy and the House of Lyloud, the identity of the paramour should become clear.」

Crates had once left for the city and returned to the life of a commoner. Considering the connection to Wellmy, the possibility of him being her biological father was plausible.

Leo made a face. Despite being royalty, the young man was a bit of a prude—likely a result of the Lionel Kingdom’s history, as well as the fact that the current King and Queen were devoted to each other, and the King took no consorts.

Leo had four younger siblings; there were more than enough heirs, so there was no need for consorts.

「The more I hear, the more those parents sound like absolute trash.」

「Are you familiar with the situation?」

「I’m close with Wellmy’s sister, Lola. She’s being abused. When I tried to help, she stopped me herself. She said, 'I don't want to bring things to light until I can find a way to save Wellmy as well.'」

「I see.」

In addition to the details in the letter, Eides had already begun an investigation into House Ernest. He had heard that the older sister lived in a detached building. He had heard the younger sister was cherished, but it seemed there was no friction between the siblings.

「So, you—who don't seem to harbor particularly warm feelings for the younger sister—why did you deliver this letter?」

「Because I decided it wasn't my job to make the judgment. Her daily behavior and the internal situation I hear about from Lola are just too different. I can't even tell if it's an act. She is unnervingly good at hiding her true heart.」

「Hoh.」

「At first, I wondered if Lola was being manipulated by some kind of secret potion. But she's perfectly sane. ...Besides, Wellmy hates me quite a bit.」

「And why is that?」

「---She called me a coward.」

As Leo spoke with a sullen expression, Eides couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.

「Don't laugh. She thinks I’m so terrified of my father that I won't reveal my status or lift a finger to help Lola.」

「My, my. She's quite a spunky woman to say that while knowing you're the Crown Prince.」

Increasingly intrigued, Eides tossed some documents on the desk toward Leo.

「What are these?」

「Reports of Wellmy’s that I requested from the academy. ...But the handwriting is different from the letter. I looked at Lola's reports as well, and those match the handwriting in the letter.」

「...That’s strange. The content matches the research topics she told me about, and the handwriting looks identical to me.」

「Then these are the reports supposedly written by Lola.」

「...Unless you look very closely, the difference is almost impossible to spot. Are they being mimicked?」

「Who knows. How do you see this situation?」

Normally, one would conclude that Lola wrote the letter. However, part of the letter’s content stated that the reports of the two sisters had been swapped.

「There's no way Lola would write a letter to denounce Wellmy. If she were going to hand something over, she could just give it to me directly...」

「Exactly. Which means, just as Lola said, Wellmy has begun to move. I take it there is no rift between the two?」

「If I'm to believe Lola’s words, then yes. Wellmy hasn't gone around blabbing about my true identity, either.」

---(Interesting.)

Recalling the young girl he had met only once before, Eides's smile deepened.

Those searching, vermilion eyes. Looking back on it, that was the first time Eides had ever felt himself drawn to a noble lady.

「I’m beginning to think I might just play along with her scheme. Depending on the content of the whistleblowing materials, of course.」

He hadn't gone to see Crates yet. Since the destination for the materials was listed as the address of Crates's clinic, there was little doubt as to where they were kept.

「But the letter stated that the condition for handing over the materials was for you to get engaged to Lola and take her away from that house?」

「Wh—!?」

Watching Leo’s panicked reaction with amusement, Eides continued with a smirk.

「Well, I’m not such a villain that I would steal your beloved. Even if I play along, I think I’d like to change the 'flavor' of the plan a bit.」

「...In what way?」

The fact that he was in love with Lola was clearly a bullseye; Eides narrowed his eyes at the blushing Leo.

「If Wellmy is the kind of woman I think she is, and if she aligns with the intentions Lola conveyed to you... then I shall take Wellmy.」

「...Huh?」

As Leo stood there dumbfounded, Eides couldn't suppress his delight as he looked out the window.

「I’ll likely need to get engaged to Lola temporarily just to get her out of there. But I want Wellmy—the one who has the sheer nerve to try and use *me* for her sister’s sake.」

「...In that case, wouldn't my engagement to Lola be enough?」

「You haven't been 'recognized' by Wellmy, have you? Since I'm joining the game, I don't intend to change that part. If you have a way to save even Wellmy on your own, then present it.」

---(Show her your own power, not the majesty of the throne.)

When he conveyed that unspoken message, Leo’s face twisted with frustration. Eides assumed the boy couldn't think of a way to make it happen without relying on Eides’s help or the power of the Royal Family.

「...I’ll establish Wellmy as a witness. If I do that, her innocence will be proven. ...Though I won't be able to avoid using my position as a prince to some extent.」

---(Well, I suppose it’s cruel to ask for more than that.)

Unless Leo were to ask the King himself to intercede, Eides didn't intend to be that pedantic about it.

「If you do it that way, she’ll return to being a commoner along with Lola. You wouldn't be able to hope for a marriage to me or yourself. ...Can you manage to get Lola recognized as a Countess until the transition is complete? If you can do that much, I might just put in a good word for Wellmy.」

Satisfied with the immediate plan his protégé proposed, Eides added more conditions.

「I’ll do it. It’s for her sake. I’ll persuade Minister of Justice Kilrain myself.」

「That’s a passing grade. Now, get moving. I’ll send a marriage proposal to Lola once the annulment is finalized.」

As Eides nodded, Leo let out a sigh of relief. Eides appreciated Leo; though the boy was still poor at hiding his emotions for a royal, he was growing into a brilliant young man.

---(I wonder how that girl from back then has grown.)

He hoped she had grown up noble, without losing that light in her eyes. With that thought, Eides began to write a letter requesting a meeting with Crates.

It would be about six months later that Eides, feigning a chance encounter while accompanied by Lola, would lay eyes on Wellmy in the city.

*****

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