“They must have had contact, but… why are you asking all of a sudden? Are you suspecting that Vivian Sancia is involved?”
Caesar put down his fork and asked.
“She seems like the type who would.”
“Even after being exiled, instead of reflecting, she pulls something like this?”
Caesar’s brows furrowed. He looked like he was seriously considering bringing her back just to punish her.
I pondered. Vivian had definitely been exiled, so I had assumed she wouldn’t be able to spread rumors from outside the empire.
“What if someone used her thirst for revenge?”
“Used her?”
“Yes. Say, for example, someone gave her a listening magic device and had her plant it on Sir Alvin….”
“So they only took the information?”
“Exactly. Sir Alvin knew about your abilities, so that would explain how the rumor started—oh, right!”
I suddenly dropped my fork and shouted.
“Speaking of abilities! What exactly is your ability?”
Between opening up to each other, cleaning, bathing, and feeding him, I had completely forgotten the most important thing.
Just what was the ability that Caesar had finally awakened?
Caesar hesitated before answering.
“Erasure.”
“…Erasure? You mean making things disappear?”
“Yes.”
I must have looked completely lost because Caesar gestured toward my plate.
In an instant, the peas I had pushed to the side disappeared.
“This… This just now….”
“I did that.”
My jaw dropped.
I had never imagined such an ability.
Maybe because I knew that the legendary woman in the original story could control fire, I had assumed Caesar’s power would be something like water or lightning—or at least something along those lines.
“And Ian’s ability in the original was healing, if I remember correctly. But of all things, Caesar’s power is erasure?”
I stared at the empty space where the peas had been, my expression serious.
“…You don’t like it?”
Caesar hesitated, as if he had picked up on my unease.
“No, it’s not that! But how far does it work? Are there any conditions to using it?”
Caesar began explaining—how he had secretly trained with Alvin and what he had discovered through their training.
As I listened, my face grew stiffer and stiffer.
“…That’s an incredible ability.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
“No, it’s just… too incredible….”
I bit my lower lip.
An ability that could erase anything? That was far more unique and powerful than I had expected.
But power that strong tended to inspire fear. If his ability had been water, fire, or even healing, people might accept it—but erasure?
“It’d be best to keep this ability a secret for now.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s hard to frame it in a positive light. I originally planned to present whatever ability you had as a blessing, but… erasure is…”
I couldn’t help but think of Katana’s case—the way the Magic Tower persecuted her, claiming she had made a deal with a demon, that she used dark magic.
“It looks ominous, doesn’t it?”
Caesar’s face fell. I hurried to reassure him.
“But it’s still an incredibly powerful ability! If we create the right situation, it’ll be fine.”
“A situation?”
“Yes, like… say the empire is in danger, and you use your power to save it.”
“You want me to become a hero.”
“Exactly. Setting up that situation won’t be easy, but… for now, let’s keep it secret. If rumors spread prematurely, it could be dangerous.”
As I explained, a thought crossed my mind.
“By the way, Your Majesty, Sir Alvin knows everything about your ability, right? Since you trained together?”
“That’s right.”
“If someone extracted information from him, they would know all the details. So why haven’t there been any specific rumors?”
The rumors about his ability were vague—so vague that even the maid who spread them thought they were exaggerated.
Caesar, who had been deep in thought, spoke up.
“Maybe they didn’t spread it because they don’t know the details?”
“Huh?”
“I made sure Alvin kept his mouth shut. No matter how much he was tricked, he wouldn’t have revealed the specifics.”
“Hmm…”
“Or maybe they really used a listening magic device.”
“In that case, wouldn’t they have all the details?”
Caesar shook his head.
“The imperial palace has security magic. Magic devices can’t function inside. All of my training happened inside the emperor’s office, within the palace. Eavesdropping wouldn’t have been possible.”
“Oh…!”
I let out a small gasp.
Now that I thought about it, Baron Gobet’s surveillance magic device had the same limitation.
“It could replay recorded footage, but it couldn’t be installed anywhere inside the palace.”
“Then the only information they could have gathered was what Sir Alvin said outside the palace—to his friends or family.”
“Exactly.”
“But even to his closest people, would Sir Alvin really talk about Your Majesty’s ability?”
“He wouldn’t have spread it on purpose, but he could have vented his frustrations.”
“Vented?”
“He always regretted that we weren’t using this incredible power to strengthen the empire’s military.”
I could picture it.
A casual complaint—”If only I had that power…”—combined with the fact that training had suddenly moved from the training grounds to the emperor’s office.
By piecing together bits of information, someone could have deduced that Caesar had some sort of special ability.
Even if they were wrong, spreading the rumor would do them no harm.
That meant they had some information about his ability but not the full picture.
The only way that condition could be met was if they had used a magic device.
“So they definitely used a magic device?”
Excited by the discovery, I asked, and Caesar nodded.
“It’s looking more likely.”
“Just to be sure, we should have Katana check for any surveillance magic. Oh, and let’s keep this from Sir Alvin for now. If we act recklessly, it might backfire.”
“Understood.”
Caesar nodded, and I sneaked in one more request.
“And, Your Majesty, can you do it one more time?”
“Do what?”
“Your ability. It’s just so fascinating.”
Regardless of how ominous it might seem, it was undeniably an amazing power.
As I looked at him with eager eyes, the corners of Caesar’s lips twitched up slightly.
****
Caesar had to immediately take care of the external schedule that had been postponed for a week. As a result, the imperial palace became busier as well.
Of course, the same went for me. And since I had also been absent for a week, I had a mountain of work to handle.
“Are you feeling okay?”
Arinne, who was sitting next to me reviewing documents, asked.
“Yes, I’m fine now. Thank you.”
Thanks to Caesar having Alvin cover for me by saying I was sick, I had become someone who had simply been ill for a week. Since I had actually been stressed out, my complexion must not have looked great, and everyone believed it without question.
“You don’t look well… Don’t push yourself too hard.”
I simply smiled at Arinne’s words without replying. There was no choice but to push myself, given the workload.
‘When will I even get through all this? Will I be able to see Katana today?’
It had already been two days since I decided to ask Katana to detect magic tools in Alvin’s belongings, but I had been too busy to find the time.
‘Still, at this pace, I might be able to finish by this evening.’
As I stared at the overwhelming pile of documents, Arinne suddenly added another stack beside me.
“…What is this?”
“Documents related to the upcoming Snow Festival. They need to be reviewed and sent by tomorrow.”
“Huh? Why is the imperial palace reviewing the Snow Festival?”
The capital, located in the northern part of the empire, experienced heavy snowfall, leading to an annual Snow Festival each winter. However, it wasn’t an enormous event—just a simple celebration enjoyed by the citizens, with no real involvement from the imperial family.
Arinne shrugged.
“His Majesty the Emperor and Her Highness the Former Princess have decided to attend.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea. They suddenly announced their attendance today. I already went through the documents once, so just check them over and send them to the head maid.”
“Alright…”
I quickly skimmed through the papers.
The documents contained a basic explanation of the festival, which was scheduled to take place in a month. It would last for three days, and the day Caesar and Floria were set to attend was the final day.
‘Is it because of this?’
It wasn’t hard to guess the reason for their sudden attendance. A large parade was planned for the last day, featuring sculptures made entirely of snow.
‘Floria used to love snow…’
I could vividly imagine Floria pestering Caesar to go, and Caesar reluctantly agreeing.
There was probably a political reason as well. Rumors about him being a tyrant were already spreading, so it wouldn’t look good if only Floria attended the festival alone.
‘It’s a good opportunity to show a united front.’
With the emperor and the former princess attending together, the entire empire’s attention would undoubtedly be on them. It would help dispel the rumors, even if only slightly.
After finishing the explanation about the festival, I turned the page to find information regarding Caesar. It detailed everything about his schedule for the event—the security arrangements, his outfit, his speech, and more.
Thanks to Arinne’s meticulous review, there wasn’t much that needed changing.
Just as I was about to flip the page without much thought, an interesting idea struck me.
‘Maybe I can use this festival to find out who’s been spreading the rumors.’
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