That would also help increase my influence.
Aisha smiled brightly as she picked up her quill.
“To my dear friend and teacher, Sein.
A problem has come up. I need your help, so could you come as soon as possible? It’s about magical training. And while you’re here, I’d appreciate it if you could help bolster my standing as well.
Aisha Labelyn.
P.S. I don’t accept refusals.”
The completed letter was immediately sent to Sein through magic.
She found it a little strange that it consumed less magical power than she had expected, but—
“Perhaps Sein was nearby.”
Aisha didn’t give it much more thought and became absorbed in planning her magical training from this point onward.
Her goal was to become a great mage within at least three months.
***
After dropping Rachel off—
Nathan Valencia was on his way back to the Imperial Palace.
Because of the Borza Kingdom’s attack, an emergency court council had been convened at the Imperial Palace for high-ranking nobles of marquis rank and above, as well as the ministers.
They would probably be discussing the war.
If that happened, he, who possessed one of the greatest martial powers in the Empire, might be the first to be sent to the battlefield.
But—
“…….”
Even in a situation like this, the only person occupying his thoughts was Rachel Ingrave.
—……I sincerely hope this clears up your suspicions of me. Truly.
‘What do I want to do?’
His instincts still told him that she was hiding something.
But the circumstances that were gradually coming to light were making it difficult for him to continue suspecting her.
She was serious enough about marrying the son of a viscount or baron that she had even told the Emperor so herself.
The distance she maintained from most nobles, rather than just high-ranking ones, was somewhat strange.
But even after pushing her this far, there had been no sign that she was trying to make contact with anyone.
Instead, in the meantime, she had noticed an attempt on the Emperor’s life, proving that she truly did possess some special method of obtaining information.
It was becoming exceedingly difficult to continue suspecting her.
“…….”
Perhaps Nathan had to admit it now.
That he had been mistaken.
That she had no ulterior motive whatsoever and had simply wanted to break off her engagement as quickly as possible and leave her family.
……And yet, the lingering doubts still held him back.
Her reaction of feeling uneasy around the Emperor and most of the nobles, as well as the distant look that sometimes appeared in her eyes—
Even if it had nothing to do with this incident, didn’t it feel as though she was hiding something else entirely?
“……Just what are you?”
The reason Rachel Ingrave had caught his attention in the first place was those distant eyes.
They seemed to plead with him, almost as though she were clinging to him for help.
And yet, at the same time, she seemed to be searching into the distance as if recalling something impossibly far away.
It was a gaze he could not understand.
And just moments ago, in the banquet hall—
Rachel Ingrave had looked at him in exactly that way again.
Just as she had during their first meeting.
“……Hah.”
Even after all this, could he really say she wasn’t suspicious?
It was then, as he let out a long breath and his expression twisted, that Nathan’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
He immediately knocked on the wall of the carriage.
The carriage came to a stop.
The door opened, and Sir Blake, the deputy commander of the Valencia Knights and captain of the escort, along with his aide, Vale, respectfully greeted him.
“What is it, Duke?”
“Let’s stop over there for a moment.”
The place Nathan headed toward was the outer wall of the Imperial Capital, where traces of enormous magical power remained.
He placed his hand precisely where someone had touched it.
‘Here.’
Someone had poured out a concentrated amount of mana.
Thanks to that, the barrier surrounding the Imperial Capital had been rendered powerless for a very brief moment.
So that was how such a large group had managed to infiltrate so quietly.
There had been a hidden accomplice.
And one on the level of a great mage.
“…….”
A considerable amount of time had passed, and the traces of magical power had already faded, making them difficult to detect.
Even so, with eyes that had reached the realm, he could see the faint remnants that remained.
The color of the mana had been concealed, but there was still a trace of something else—
A faint trace of delight and malice.
“Has a great mage appeared in Borza?”
Nathan frowned as he withdrew his hand.
As far as he remembered, the Borza Kingdom had neither a great mage nor even a swordsman who had reached the realm.
Vale immediately shook his head.
“No. There haven’t been any reports of them recruiting one recently, either.”
“…….”
Then there was a possibility that someone from elsewhere had intervened.
It was rare for a great mage to wander around without belonging to an organization.
“Find out where all the great mages currently alive are located. As quickly as possible.”
“Understood.”
He shook his hand as though trying to brush off the lingering malice before turning back toward the carriage.
In truth, Nathan had found something about this attack somewhat suspicious.
At the very end, while the representative of the Borza Kingdom’s delegation was speaking—
One of the surviving members of the delegation had suddenly activated an ability in an attempt to kill the others.
If Nathan had not intervened, it certainly would have succeeded.
In any case, the reactions of the envoys and assassins at that moment had caught his attention.
‘They looked at that man with utter shock.’
As though they had been struck by an action that had never been agreed upon beforehand.
Of course, it was common for those who had failed an assassination attempt to take their own lives or be silenced.
But for some reason, that scene continued to bother him.
“…….”
The Valencia carriage soon set off again and entered the Imperial Capital.
The agenda of the emergency court council, held late that night, was how to respond to the Borza Kingdom’s attempt to assassinate the Emperor and whether to declare war.
In other words, war was right on their doorstep.
For the first time, Nathan stepped into the grand council chamber.
The seven ministers summoned by the Emperor and the high-ranking nobles of marquis rank and above were already seated.
Seated upon the lofty throne, Emperor Terrius Rogdan di Olsher welcomed Nathan.
“Welcome, Duke. Did you bring Lady Ingrave home safely?”
“Yes.”
After giving a brief formal greeting, Nathan took the empty seventh deputy minister’s seat closest to the throne.
For a moment, Marquis Ingrave looked at him, but he did not react.
The eyes of the other nobles were also moving busily.
Everyone already knew that he and Rachel Ingrave had rescued the Emperor from danger.
And in particular, everyone was aware of how extraordinary Nathan Valencia’s performance had been.
“Good, then—”
In the spotless, gleaming white chamber, the Emperor’s expression turned cold as he raised a hand.
“We shall begin the emergency court council.”
Around the same time, news of the gathering storm was rapidly spreading throughout the capital.
Rachel had washed up and was waiting in her bedroom for the physician.
The physician had originally been scheduled to come to Rachel first, but the Marchioness of Ingrave had returned half-conscious with fear, causing her to be pushed back in the queue for a while.
Becky, who had returned with her mother, temporarily placed ice on Rachel’s swollen foot and ankle.
Seeing the scratches and blisters, Becky looked close to tears.
“My lady, are you all right?”
“Yeah. It’s not that serious.”
A single bottle of healing potion would probably make it good as new.
Rachel, gazing toward the window, asked Becky,
“What about Mother?”
“She’s with the Young Master. Young Master is comforting Madam.”
“I see……”
There was no reason for everyone at the Ingrave estate to be worrying about her right now.
Instead, Rachel thought of the person who, like her father, would have gone straight from the ballroom to the grand council chamber.
Marquis Tauren.
He was the great lord of the North who would later be identified as the main culprit responsible for triggering this crisis.
Using his position as the Minister of Intelligence, he had deliberately blocked information about the Borza Kingdom.
He had embezzled the funds being sent as aid to Borza.
And in collusion with the other northern lords, he had driven up the prices of food and lumber, making enormous profits from trade with the Borza Kingdom.
According to 「Record」, all the documents and evidence were stored in a secret vault in the Tauren estate.
Originally, Aisha Labelyn was supposed to bring that evidence back.
But—
“……This time, I have to do it.”
And this time, she would surely be able to receive a title for her contribution.
Rachel was quietly watching the Capital Defense Knights occasionally passing beyond the estate walls when—
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, My lady.”
The physician soon entered.
Rachel asked casually,
“I heard Illya is with Mother.”
“Yes. Fortunately, Young Master stayed with Madam, and her condition has settled down quickly. Just in case, I asked the Young Master to stay with Madam tonight before coming here.”
After examining the condition of Rachel’s foot and ankle for some time, the physician took out a healing potion and poured it over the injured area.
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