Chapter 52

Chapter 52

“Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Belma Rubivia, and I am the successor to Wind Gale.”

Unlike before, Belma placed a hand over her chest and bowed formally.

Leonard couldn’t hide his surprise when he heard the name Wind Gale.

“So you’re a royal wizard of Farodia. Wizard Rubivia, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance.”

While the Empire had seven Imperial Wizards, Farodia had four Royal Wizards.

Since magic could no longer be used without magical artifacts, each wizard inherited an artifact belonging to the Empire or their respective kingdom and served that nation.

Wind Gale, which Belma had mentioned, was also a magical artifact owned by the royal family of Farodia.

It was an artifact of wind that allowed its wielder to freely manipulate the air.

“There’s no need to call it an honor. I was simply lucky. If I hadn’t awakened as a wizard, I’d probably have spent the rest of my life picking pockets until I eventually dropped dead somewhere.”

Belma shrugged, prompting Leonard to ask with an expression of curiosity.

“I’ve heard about the awakening process. They say that someone with magical power can awaken as a wizard if a magical artifact chooses them. Is that really true?”

“That’s right. Once you’ve awakened as a wizard, you can use any magical artifact you want, but before that, you have to be chosen by an artifact you’re compatible with.”

A magical artifact chooses its wizard.

There was truly no other way to describe it.

In fact, it was quite common for someone who failed to awaken after touching Artifact A to awaken upon touching Artifact B.

Some even awakened only after a considerable amount of time had passed.

There was also a reason why wizards could use any magical artifact after awakening, but not before.

It was because, before becoming a wizard, they couldn’t even sense the existence of the magical power within their bodies, let alone control it.

“Then, does being chosen by a magical artifact allow you to sense your magical power?”

“Yes. As for what it feels like…”

At Belma’s casual gesture, a wine bottle and an empty wineglass came flying from somewhere.

“Imagine that the wine bottle represents a person and the wineglass represents a magical artifact. I used to live in a world where everyone around me was an empty bottle, so I naturally assumed I was one too…”

The wine bottle and empty glass gently clinked together, and the tilted bottle poured wine into the glass, filling it with a rich, ripe grape fragrance.

“Only after the magical artifact drained all my magical power and left my body completely hollow did I realize that I actually possessed it. After that, I became able to move my magical power whenever I wanted and activate magical artifacts.”

“So the magical artifact drains your magical power? You don’t supply it yourself?”

“That’s how it works when you first awaken as a wizard. It takes a considerable amount of magical power to awaken a dormant artifact.”

That was why quite a number of people collapsed from exhaustion and died the very moment they awakened as wizards.

Once a magical artifact was activated, the flow of magical power couldn’t be stopped.

And if the person didn’t possess enough magical power to activate the artifact, their life force would be consumed instead.

“I see… That was very informative.”

Since this had become an age when encountering a wizard was increasingly rare, Leonard found himself asking quite a few questions.

When he thanked Belma for patiently answering them despite his sudden barrage of questions, she smiled with her eyes.

“If you have more questions, I’d be happy to…”

“Belma.”

“…I wasn’t planning on inviting him over for the night. I really wasn’t.”

As if she hadn’t been thinking exactly that.

Irenea shot Belma an accusing glare.

Even so, she wasn’t genuinely angry with her because she knew Belma was only half-serious about such things.

If Belma had truly intended to make a move on Leonard, she would have whispered sweet nothings to him when Irenea wasn’t around.

“By the way, Belma, have you found your successor yet?”

“No, not yet. I’ve already traveled all across the Empire, so this time I’m thinking of passing through Skellum and heading to Illum. Which brings me to…”

Belma hesitated, as though she were reluctant to ask.

Irenea smiled and replied.

“Stay at the mansion and rest as long as you like, and if you need anything, just tell Daymond. Our head butler will take good care of you.”

“Thank you as always, Irenea! I’ll make sure to repay your kindness someday!”

Belma pulled Irenea into a tight embrace and rubbed her cheek against hers.

Irenea returned the gesture in kind.

“There’s no need to repay me. Instead, could you check on that favor I asked you about before, just one more time?”

“Of course! That’s easy enough. Leave it to me!”

Belma had appeared like a sudden gust of wind, accompanied by the magical artifact she possessed, and she departed just as swiftly.

Although they hadn’t talked for very long, somehow Leonard felt as though she had completely worn him out.

He closed the balcony door again, drew the curtains, and then turned to Irenea.

“Are you close to Wizard Rubivia?”

“More or less? As you’ve probably guessed, ours isn’t a friendship based purely on affection. You could say I’m providing her with something like sponsorship.”

As the successor to Wind Gale, Belma could cover in just a few hours a distance that would take an ordinary person ten days to walk.

The only wizards in the Empire capable of such magic were the Imperial Wizards.

That was why Irenea was willing to sponsor her.

“But why would a Royal Wizard receive sponsorship from you in the Empire? Wouldn’t the royal family provide her with financial support?”

“It’s not as though Belma lacks money. But there’s a limit to how far she can travel around the Empire with the travel permit issued by the King of Farodia.”

To the east of the Kingdom of Farodia lay the Kingdom of Milos, and to the east of Milos lay the Crisetia Empire.

However, between the Kingdom of Milos and the Crisetia Empire stood the Great Weinberg Forest.

It was home to ancient beasts that even exceptionally powerful knights couldn’t face alone.

As a result, communication and trade between the western and eastern parts of the continent were extremely difficult, with the Great Weinberg Forest dividing them.

There were sea routes, of course, but pirates ruled the southern seas, while the northern waters were filled with reefs that made it difficult for large ships to navigate.

Naturally, things changed after Irenea eradicated the pirates and established new shipping routes.

Now that trade between the nations had become much smoother, the three countries—Farodia, Milos, and the Empire—had signed a peace treaty.

As a result, they began exchanging students for the first time this year, allowing them to study one another’s writing systems, languages, cultures, and arts.

Thanks to that, it was now possible to use Farodia’s travel permits within the Empire, but only in the capital.

Once outside the capital, hardly anyone could even recognize Farodia’s written language.

And that was the situation now.

Imagine what it must have been like when Belma first arrived in the Empire.

Had she first set foot in the Empire ten years ago, or was it twenty?

She had endured every hardship imaginable in a place where she could barely communicate with anyone.

It wasn’t until Selen guided her to Irenea that she finally managed to properly carry out the King’s orders.

“…There’s one thing I don’t quite understand.”

“What is it?”

“Why go through all that trouble to find a successor in the Empire? There’s no way the royal family of Farodia would hand over a magical artifact to someone from the Empire… Ah.”

So finding a successor was just an excuse.

Keeping that realization to himself, Leonard looked at Irenea.

She gave him a faint smile and raised her index finger to her lips.

Leonard nodded and brought his wineglass to his mouth.

A wizard belonging to the royal family of Farodia couldn’t leave the kingdom without the King’s permission.

In other words, whatever Belma was searching for was something the King of Farodia himself was looking for.

‘…So that rumor was true?’

The rumor that one of Farodia’s Royal Wizards had disappeared along with her magical artifact.

No one knew whether she had fled, gone missing, or been kidnapped, but if the rumor was true, it was only natural that the King of Farodia would be growing impatient.

After all, that wizard had disappeared approximately twenty-five years ago.

‘Well, it has nothing to do with me.’

What truly surprised him was the extent of Irenea’s connections.

He had known that she had established trade relations with several countries, but he hadn’t imagined she was acquainted with a Royal Wizard of Farodia.

“More importantly, Ray, what was it you wanted to ask me earlier? Before Belma barged in.”

“Ah… I heard you gave Harry Miles 30 million Larcs when you invited Jenni.”

Leonard placed his empty glass on the table and pressed his index finger firmly against his temple, massaging it.

Just thinking about that matter was enough to give him a headache.

“What happened to that money?”

“Oh, that money?”

Unlike Leonard, Irenea smiled without a hint of worry.

“Don’t worry. Her Majesty is going to collect it on my behalf.”

“Her Majesty?”

Surely the Empress wasn’t someone with that much free time?

What on earth was she talking about?

Irenea chuckled softly beside him.

“Considering she didn’t even show up despite receiving a wedding invitation, she’s probably busy trying to get her son out of trouble right about now.”

“Get him out of trouble? Where is Harry Miles right now?”

“Somewhere not just anyone can easily get into?”

After giving him an evasive answer, Irenea gently rested her head against Leonard’s shoulder.

“Harry Miles used the money Hawk gave him to gamble at an illegal gambling den, and he was caught by the Special Investigation Unit.”

“An illegal gambling den?”

“It’s a place established by the remnants of a nasty gang that used to cause trouble in the capital’s back alleys a few years ago.”

The Swamp of Silence.

In order to wipe out those wretched bastards without leaving a single one behind, Selen had relentlessly pursued every trace they left.

The illegal gambling den Harry Miles had visited was the last remaining source of funding they had.

To eliminate them without having to get her own hands dirty, Selen reported the location of the illegal gambling den to the Imperial Special Investigation Unit.

She had calculated the timing precisely, making sure the investigators would arrive only after Harry Miles had gambled away all 30 million Larcs, using the gambling-mad young noblemen to keep him playing until then.

“Have you ever heard of the Swamp of Silence?”

“An assassins’ guild? I heard they used to operate openly in the capital’s back alleys, but were dismantled a few years ago.”

“That’s right. And they caused far more trouble than anyone could imagine, which made Her Majesty absolutely furious with them.”

Among the victims murdered by the Swamp of Silence were naturally several nobles.

One of those nobles had been a maid whom the Empress had cherished dearly ever since her days as a princess.

That was why, upon learning that the remnants of the Swamp of Silence were trying to rebuild their organization using the money they had earned from the illegal gambling den, the Empress personally interrogated everyone arrested there.

Not just the employees, but the customers as well.

Every single one of them, without exception.

Of course, the members of the Shadowmoon Guild who had infiltrated the place as dealers had safely slipped away just beforehand.

“Understandable for the employees, but why the customers?”

“Because the Swamp of Silence’s VIPs had been squandering their money at the illegal gambling den under the pretense of providing sponsorship.”

The employees of the illegal gambling den had maintained a separate sponsorship ledger so they could offer their grateful regular customers a few extra perks in the future.

In the end, rather than allowing them to repay that kindness, the ledger became irrefutable evidence that sent every one of their regular customers straight to prison.

“So, from Her Majesty’s perspective, how suspicious must Harry Miles look, having blown through 30 million Larcs in just two hours?”