Get to Work, Prince! Chapter 7 - The Magic Tower

Around 3 o’clock, on her way to the salon, Renata unexpectedly ran into someone at the nearby market.

 

“Hey, where do I go to find the Alchemist Society in the capital?”

 

A black-haired man was speaking to merchants who looked old enough to be his father with an attitude more arrogant than most high-ranking nobles.

 

The merchant, who had grabbed, tilted his head as if wondering what kind of insolent person this was, then his eyes suddenly flashed with realization as he asked,

 

“Young man, are you by any chance an alchemist?”

 

The black-haired man scolded him, asking why he was only realizing it now, which made the merchant jump in excitement and grab hold of him.

 

“This is perfect, just perfect! I’ve actually been looking for an alchemist to help with potion production lately. The workforce has shrunk so much recently…”

 

“Ah, hi! You—you finally came to the capital?”

 

Renata abruptly shoved her face in front of the man—who appeared to be around her age—while speaking in an unmistakably awkward tone that anyone could tell was forced.

 

She winked with one eye, desperately signaling for him to please play along with her, but the man merely observed her with sparkling brown eyes.

 

‘Yeah, just staying quiet is enough.’

 

According to what Theodore’s subordinates had said at the last gathering, all the recent disappearances had targeted alchemists.

 

“Since it’s been a while since we last met, could you spare me just a moment?”

 

If that was the case, then openly announcing oneself as an alchemist—like the person right in front of her—was extremely dangerous.

 

So, first she needed to coax this man somehow, lead him to a quiet, secluded place, and then explain the current situation…

 

“What the hell is this?”

 

The man, who had been staring intently at Renata, finally spoke—but the words that came out were far from pleasant.

 

“Don’t you remember me? Re…”

 

Was it really a good idea to reveal her identity to an alchemist who was acting this unresponsive and clueless?

 

What if she got dragged off somewhere and accidentally said the wrong thing, dragging herself into the same mess?

 

‘Father told me that getting involved with alchemists would only lead to trouble, so I should avoid even talking to them if possible…!’

 

For a brief moment, Renata was thrown into confusion. She quickly pulled her face back and waved her hands dismissively.

 

“Ahaha, I guess I made a mistake! My friend has, um, blue eyes! Now that I look closely, your eyes are brown? Haha, hahaha…”

 

She decided it would be better not to handle this herself—instead, she should run to the salon and ask Theodore or his subordinates to help this alchemist.

 

If the merchant could just keep him occupied for a few more minutes, he wouldn’t get far, and she could quickly find someone to deal with him.

 

Black long hair, brown eyes, wearing a shabby robe. And… handsome appearance and a peculiar way of speaking.

 

She mentally repeated his distinguishing features like memorizing them, slowly backing away step by step.

 

“Hey, you. Hold it right there.”

 

But Renata’s hopes were once again dashed.

 

Before she knew it, the man had completely shaken off the merchant and was approaching her with a deeply furrowed brow.

 

“Strange… there’s definitely a similar feeling, but…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You just asked me to give you some time. I was thinking of granting the young lady’s earnest request.”

 

Renata stepped back hesitantly, her eyes clearly saying, ‘What the hell is wrong with this crazy guy?’

 

Still, after only a brief moment of hesitation, she judged that getting him away from this scene took priority. She nodded stiffly.

 

“…Just follow me for now.”

 

After walking for a few minutes while leading what she suspected was a very abnormal person, she reached the vicinity of the salon. 

 

After a short internal debate, she finally spoke.

 

“Are you aware that missing persons cases have been happening frequently in the capital recently?”

 

Renata had been about to explain, that the targets were alchemists, that the person behind it was someone very powerful, that she didn’t know the reason, but that what he had just done—openly acting like an alchemist—was extremely dangerous.

 

“As if I wouldn’t know.”

 

“I was just telling you in case you didn’t…, wait, what?”

 

“Mostly alchemists have gone missing, and you must have jumped in because you were worried about my safety. Quite the busybody, aren’t you?”

 

At a glance, the man didn’t appear to be much older than Renata, who was twenty-three.

 

But his speech was quite peculiar, and he acted as if he knew everything, so she unconsciously felt overwhelmed and took several steps back.

 

“I deliberately acted as bait to check something out. And disappearing right before getting caught is something I’m more confident in than anyone else.”

 

With such clear intentions and countermeasures, and the fact that he could say something like that, he was probably a fairly skilled alchemist at the very least.

 

“I see. My apologies. Take care on your way.”

 

Renata saw no particular reason to keep detaining the man, so she gave a brief farewell and tried to slip away.

 

However, the man clearly had no intention of letting her go so easily. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand.

 

“So, about that— what’s your father’s name? Is he doing well and staying healthy?”

 

“…?”

 

Her initial judgment had been correct. This guy really was out of his mind.

 

Asking not the other person’s name but their parent’s identity and well-being upon first meeting wasn’t exactly common—at least not within the bounds of Renata’s common sense.

 

She completely erased the gentle, habitual smile she usually wore and said,

 

“Let go first, then talk.”

 

Polite enough, yet not appearing easy to push around.

 

The best course with a lunatic was to avoid getting entangled.

 

But it seemed he had no intention of releasing her until she answered; he even gripped her hand with both of his.

 

The strength was so weak that a firm push would probably shake him off, yet strangely, from the point of contact, a hot, burning sensation climbed up her arm, leaving Renata frozen in place.

 

‘This alchemist’s refined mana feels… a bit off…?’

 

It was similar yet different from the mana her father occasionally passed to her for educational purposes.

 

If her father’s was light as air and endlessly clear, what this man was conveying was subtly stinging, yet massive and refreshingly cool—like a fierce wind sweeping across the middle of the ocean.

 

It was a captivating power that stirred a sense of challenge, as if just a little more refinement would make it perfect.

 

As Renata stood dazed, staring blankly at the man, he crooked one corner of his mouth into a smirk.

 

“So you really are an alchemist after all? Your aura was so faint I got confused for a second.”

 

At those words, she snapped back to her senses and belatedly tried to pull her hand away, but her arm refused to move.

 

In other words—this was the instinct of an alchemist.

 

It was like the desperate refusal of a body that, after years locked alone in a tiny room without even a sip of water, finally refused to let slip the moment of long-awaited relief.

 

“Please… let go…!”

 

Unable to break free through her own will, Renata laboriously moved her lips and pleaded with him to release her first.

 

The man completely ignored her request and instead stared fixedly at the royal adjutant badge pinned to the collar of her blouse.

 

He scanned Renata up and down with an expression of faint surprise, then muttered under his breath,

 

“So it’s that bloodline after all—the one that’s lost all fear.”

 

As an even fiercer wave of mana poured into her, bringing with it a bizarre, almost euphoric sensation, Renata’s eyes widened when she saw the man’s pupils turn red.

 

‘I’ve never seen anything like that before…?’

 

Wondering if she had imagined it, she blinked hard—only to suddenly realize that his gaze was no longer on her, but directed somewhere above her head.

 

“Didn’t you hear me say I don’t want to look at your disgusting face, so get the hell out of my sight?”

 

A voice thick with revulsion rang out threateningly right above Renata’s head.

 

At some point, Theodore had appeared; he forcibly separated the man from Renata and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.

 

Her mind temporarily foggy from absorbing too much energy, she simply stayed docile in Theodore’s embrace, blankly watching the situation unfold.

 

“Oh, blue eyes? So you’re this young lady’s friend. You had the nerve to flirt with me while mistaking someone like me for you.”

 

“Is that guy spouting nonsense? You actually pulled some ancient trick like that on a creep like him?”

 

When the topic of eye color came up, she reflexively glanced at the black-haired man—only to find his eyes had already returned to their original brown.

 

Or perhaps… it had been her mistake from the very beginning.

 

Theodore, noticing how she kept stealing glances at the man in front of them, irritably bit down on his lower lip.

 

“And ‘friend’? Since when am I your friend?”

 

“Ah… you’re not…?”

 

This unnaturally hesitant question was Renata’s quick-witted ploy to hide his identity—out of fear that this deranged man might cause trouble even for the prince.

 

Things hadn’t gone the way she wanted today, so she had a sinking feeling this attempt was doomed too.

 

Theodore watched her trembling lips in silence for a moment, then grinned as if he’d caught on.

 

“After toying with my body and heart like that, now you call me a ‘friend’? You said you’d take responsibility… was that a lie?”

 

This prince has lost his mind!

 

Renata belatedly remembered a fact she’d momentarily forgotten.

 

He wasn’t exactly normal either.

 

“Ah… right, more than friends. I got confused. Yeah, we’re… especially close.”

 

“But welcoming me with that kind of bullshit? There’s no way you’d do something like that to me, right?”

 

“That guy said he was an alchemist, so…”

 

Only then did she realize she was still held in his arms. 

 

A wave of helpless embarrassment washed over her, and she weakly pulled his arm down from her shoulders. She didn’t want any more of this kind of contact.

 

Theodore’s eyebrow twitched in clear displeasure for a split second, but he obediently let his arm drop.

 

“So… everything that came out of his mouth is true?”

 

“…Yeah.”

 

“Hahaha, this is turning out to be a more interesting relationship than I thought! So that’s why you were hanging around here.”

 

Theodore shot a sharp glare at the man who kept butting shamelessly into their conversation; the crease between his brows deepened.

 

“Ha…!”

 

Theodore let out a short, incredulous laugh before taking Renata by the hand and leading her away.

 

Behind them, the man’s voice followed.

 

“Then… let’s meet again soon.”

 

Theodore’s fist clenched tighter at the words trailing after them.