Of course, Sein Marcus was an Archmage, but a seventh-tier spell for a barrier around a mere baron’s residence?
Since barriers were usually made by layering spells of fourth tier or lower, it was strange.
Of course, that was only Rachel’s opinion.
Baron Orlando, a sixth-tier mage, spoke with a hint of excitement.
“You said the Archmage of the Magic Tower came and installed the barrier himself, didn’t you? It is a little unusual, but perhaps he installed a high-level barrier in his own way. With this, the barrier won’t break unless the mana runs out or an extremely powerful mage comes along.”
“You mean the place is now very safe.”
“My goodness. Isn’t this the kind of barrier you would expect to find around a royal palace? It’s truly remarkable.”
“……”
As she watched the mages chat among themselves,
Rachel quietly lowered her gaze. If someone else had installed the barrier and left, she might have thought the same.
But the person in question was Sein Marcus. According to the “Records,” he had been sinister since childhood and was still dangerous now. No one knew what the mad Archmage might become in the future.
He had used all sorts of underhanded tricks, wielding not only magic but also the supernatural ability <Insight>. In her previous life, he had even tried to unseal the Great Monster.
Of course, it was said that things had ended well because he restrained his madness after realizing his love for Aisha Labelyn.
But that was about six years later.
Rachel did not think the current Sein Marcus was anywhere near sane. She asked the mages,
“Then what would we need to do to properly inspect this magic circle?”
“We would need to bring in a mage of seventh tier or higher. Still, it doesn’t seem to be a ninth-tier spell, so if we invite a top-tier mage of seventh or eighth tier, they should be able to analyze it.”
“But is there really a need to go that far? It seems the Archmage kindly installed a powerful barrier for you.”
Rachel shook her head.
“We still need to check it. We never know what might happen.”
“……”
The mages looked at her with slightly puzzled expressions, but they stepped back without saying anything more. After all, this was Rachel’s decision to make.
She turned to her younger brother’s aide.
“That Archmage is staying at the Labelyn residence. I want to invite a top-tier mage without them finding out. Would that be possible?”
“Of course. However, since you said he belongs to the Magic Tower, it would be difficult to make another request to them. Within the country, the Imperial Family and the Valencia family both have top-tier mages. Which one should we contact?”
“……”
It was a difficult choice to make. One was the Imperial Family, whom she was currently avoiding, and the other was the Valencia family, with whom she had only just ended her relationship.
At that moment, Illya spoke up.
“How about inviting a top-tier mage from another country, Sister? That would be better if you want to handle this quietly.”
“……”
Rachel looked at her younger brother for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“That sounds best. Please arrange it that way, Aide.”
“Yes. Leave it to me. I’ll handle everything discreetly so that no word reaches the Labelyn family.”
After thinking for a moment, Rachel also gave Becky an order.
“Let’s stay at the Ingrave residence for the time being. Tell everyone, from the knights to the servants, to finish preparing to move by the end of today, Becky.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At last, everyone began looking at her as if to say, Isn’t that a little too much?
But Rachel paid them no mind. The only one whose eyes lit up was Illya, who was delighted.
“That sounds great, Sister. Since you’ll be staying there anyway, make sure you get plenty of rest. Oh, I should tell the head chef to prepare only your favorite dishes for dinner tonight—”
“……”
Rachel watched Illya immediately begin giving the aide one instruction after another, then turned away for now.
She hoped it was all just a needless worry.
But there was no harm in being careful. Rachel immediately took all her retainers and moved to the Ingrave residence. It had been a long time since her last visit.
The Valencia Residence in the Capital.
After nearly two weeks of inspecting the family’s territory, Nathan Valencia returned. This had originally been scheduled to take place right after he inherited the title, but it had been delayed by a series of problems, including the attempted assassination of the Emperor and the inspection of the North.
The former Duke of Valencia, who had left with him, was not at his side. The former Duke planned to remain in the territory for a while and rest.
“Welcome back, Duke.”
The butler greeted Nathan respectfully. As Nathan casually removed his cloak and entered the hall, he spotted his aide, Geeks Emelo, standing there and stopped.
“Welcome back, Duke.”
“Seeing you waiting here, I take it that something special has happened.”
With his extensive experience, Geeks Emelo had supported the duties of successive dukes for generations.
This time, too, he had been handling the estate’s affairs in Nathan’s absence.
Geeks bowed respectfully.
“Yes.”
“Let’s go to my office.”
His adjutant, Vale, followed behind him like a shadow.
Once they reached the office, Geeks began his report.
“You once ordered Sir Vale to find out where the living Archmages were, didn’t you?”
“I did.”
“One of the Archmages has recently made a move. Here is the report.”
His sharp red eyes fixed on the document placed on the desk. He had yet to forget the unpleasant traces he had found on the outer wall of the Imperial Palace.
Even though the Olsher Empire’s Intelligence Department had stepped in, they still had not uncovered the identity of the Archmage who had helped with the attempted assassination of the Emperor.
It felt unsettling to leave the matter entirely in their hands. Besides, hadn’t the King of Borza said something about him, too?
—He had a childish side to him. And yet, he seemed able to see right through people. He often approached nobles and drove wedges between them, and it worked very well. Then he would watch them fight and laugh. Honestly, he didn’t seem right in the head. It was as if he didn’t see people as people.
“……People like that always end up causing major trouble.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Let’s take a look first.”
He no longer had any attachment to being a duke.
Even so, he couldn’t simply quit now. In that case, he might as well make things comfortable for himself while he was here.
With that in mind, Nathan had been happily ignoring his retainers’ constant demands that he hurry up and get married. He lowered his gaze to the document.
“There seem to be a lot of incidents and accidents around him.”
Nathan muttered quietly as he read the report. Sein Marcus, the Archmage of the Magic Tower who had recently made a move, had a somewhat unusual history.
“Age nine. The entire Count Marcus estate burned down. A mage from the Magic Tower happened to be passing by and rescued Sein Marcus, the sole survivor. Recognizing his extraordinary magical talent, the mage took him to the Magic Tower and raised him.”
“Age thirteen. Earned the title of youngest Archmage.”
“Age fourteen. His teacher and guardian, a mage, disappeared. He occasionally searches for his teacher himself, but to this day, no clues, bodies, or anything else that might offer a lead have been found.”
His aide, Geeks, added,
“Wasn’t he the youngest Archmage? I suspect that might be why he got caught up in so many incidents.”
“……”
The only other unusual detail was that, at the age of fifteen, he became Lady Aisha Labelyn’s friend and teacher, helping her control her supernatural ability.
If he had made a move now—
“Is he searching for his teacher again?”
“No. This time, he came to the Olsher capital. Since he went straight to the Labelyn residence, we believe he came to see Lady Aisha. However, he also carried out a request from the Magic Tower. We confirmed that he went to the Easton residence yesterday and installed a barrier.”
Since it was difficult for nobles below the middle ranks to employ powerful mages, they usually asked the Magic Tower to install barriers for them.
Rachel had suddenly become the acting head of the Ingrave family.
If she had made the request before that, things might have unfolded this way. But the problem was what happened next.
“Please look at the next page.”
“……Did something go wrong with the barrier?”
On the very day the barrier was installed,
Rachel Ingrave summoned three high-ranking mages from the Ingrave family, then immediately vacated the Easton residence and moved to the Ingrave estate. She was also secretly making arrangements to invite a top-tier mage from another country.
“That is what the circumstances suggest.”
“……”
She was looking for another top-tier mage instead of relying on the person who had installed the barrier?
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