Chapter 273. Things That Start To Show (2)
Translator: Aura / Editor: SaWarren
The a.s.sa.s.sin also nodded this time.
Rashta, who considered asking the a.s.sa.s.sin to kill Viscount Roteschu once and for all, soon changed her mind.
Didn’t he say that in case he died he had everything ready to spread rumors about me?
“So, can you kill Rivetti? Viscount Roteschu’s daughter.”
The a.s.sa.s.sin accepted.
Rashta took a bunch of jewels out of her pocket and handed them to this man.
However, she changed her request at the last moment.
“No, don’t kill her. Sell her as a slave to another country, is that possible?”
Rivetti considered her a filthy slave and scorned her.
‘The filthy slave will now be you.’
***
During dinner, I looked carefully at Heinley.
Two nights ago. Although he said he believed in the existence of ghosts and was afraid of them, he led his men to the place where the ghost with a crown on his head appeared and I watched him act calmly. But instead of calling him out on the spot, I went straight to my room.
Now I remembered it again, so I thought I’d put Heinley to the test. Yesterday he hadn’t stayed at the palace on another urgent matter.
“Are you still scared of ghosts?”
“Very much so, My Queen. But by your side I feel safe.”
“Really?”
“Of course. My Queen, you give me courage.”
Smiling softly, Heinley extended his hand across the table. When I placed my hand over his, he grabbed it, kissed the back of it and smiled even wider.
His smile was charming and his att.i.tude was lovely. However, I narrowed my eyes at him because he was trembling.
He looked cute pretending to be weak, but it was also strange. He seemed like a huge hound dog whimpering and being excessively pitiful.
In any case, one thing was clear. Heinley was a man who showed a different image as he saw fit.
It was obvious that he had a slightly different att.i.tude when he was with me compared to when he was with others.
***
The next day, Heinley reflected suspiciously on Navier’s expression yesterday.
Navier’s expression, which was usually cold and sometimes gentle, was really strange yesterday.
Navier seemed to want to say something… but in the end she didn’t say anything special.
Heinley felt uncomfortable, so he paced back and forth across his office with his hands clasped behind his back.
But he soon put those thoughts aside. Because the spy stationed in the Eastern Empire came in person.
The spy reported on the ‘phenomenon of the decline of mages’ ongoing in the Eastern Empire.
” … there is a high risk in extracting mana from a skillful mage.”
“By high risk you mean it doesn’t work? Or-”
”There have been several cases where in trying to extract mana the opposite has happened, it has increased even more.”
“… It’s a difficult situation.”
Heinley frowned and pressed his temples. One skillful mage was usually more useful than ten beginner mages. It was a great loss for the Western Empire to further increase the mana of already talented mages.
“Then it is best to extract the mana just after it manifests in a person or when it is not yet well established.”
Heinley considered this a real headache and clicked his tongue. In this scenario, the war he aimed for might have to be delayed a little longer.
As Heinley pondered this, the spy continued.
“And this may not be so important, but Emperor Sovieshu has a new concubine.”
“A concubine? A different concubine than that woman named Rashta?”
“Yes.”
“Is that concubine a mage? If not, I’m not interested.”
“She’s not currently a mage, but she’s an a.s.sistant to a court mage.”
“A court mage?”
A court mage uses someone who is not a mage as an a.s.sistant? Heinley found this fact strange, so he waited to hear the rest of the story,
“What’s more unusual is that this is a person who lost her mana while attending the magical academy. I was wondering if it was related to our plan…”
“How can he place his own concubine, who has lost her mana, as an a.s.sistant to a mage. Emperor Sovieshu is too greedy.”
Heinley laughed.
He caused quite a stir when he divorced Navier and remarried not long ago, did he already have another woman as a concubine already?
But after a while, Heinley asked as if he had realized something,
‘”You said she lost mana while attending the magical academy?”
“That’s right.”
“Her name is…”
“Her name is Evely.”
Heinley immediately recognized the girl’s name. She was the orphan girl that Navier visited at the magical academy to give her encouragement. An intelligent and outstanding girl.
What did Emperor Sovieshu have in mind having that girl with him…?
In any case, this was not good at all.
The mages of the Eastern Empire were brilliant and competent. If the side effects that occurred when extracting mana from mages were studied along with Evely’s case, it could be discovered that the phenomenon of the decline of mages had been artificially amplified.
“First of all, we will stop extracting mana from the mages in the capital of the Eastern Empire. It’s better to avoid trouble.”
Although it might seem silly, Heinley quickly changed the order. He didn’t want to ruin everything, so he made a cautious decision,
“Instead of extracting mana from the mages who already belong to the Eastern Empire’s Imperial Family, it’s better to make sure that the number of mages doesn’t increase.”
“Understood.”
However, unlike usual, the spy did not leave immediately after finis.h.i.+ng with the report.
When Heinley stared at him, wondering why, the spy opened his mouth cautiously,
“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind… may I make a personal remark?”
“Go ahead.”
When Heinley allowed it, the spy said in a firm voice.
“I agree that Her Majesty Navier is a good empress worthy of respect. However, I am concerned that because of Empress Navier, Your Majesty will not be able to go ahead with the plans you have been preparing for a long time.”
Instead of getting angry with the spy, Heinley chose to defend himself and evade his comment.
After the spy left, Heinley asked McKenna.
“Do you think the same, McKenna?”