Chapter 187: Snow Falling in Summer (3)
“The Paladin of the Order of Autumn has made a move.”
Slurp—
Lourens calmly sipped his tea instead of answering her.
The tea was so flavorful that he almost felt guilty for secretly taking it from Headmaster Wiseman’s private stash.
“1st Order.”
“……!”
While he hadn’t reacted to the mere mention of a Paladin, Lourens stiffened at the words “1st Order.”
She gazed lightly into the air and continued.
“His Majesty has expressed concern. It’s been centuries since the 1st Order has moved within the Empire’s territory after the Empire became independent from the Holy See’s shadow.”
“Wasn’t it the Holy See that crossed the line first?”
Lourens retorted calmly.
“Awakening Celestial Temple Mimesis, even if it wasn’t directly within the Empire’s territory, was definitely crossing the line. That’s why it’s even more worrisome.”
“The strongest Paladin and the most formidable fortress from the Holy See’s golden age are moving together.”
“That’s not all. The pressure from the Free City Alliance is immense as well. That damn revolution this and that.”
Lourens chuckled bitterly.
The magic revolution that began in the magic city of 〈Lille〉 had changed their way of life, and the Seven Wise Men of the merchant city of 〈Delft〉 had finally succeeded in seizing the right to issue currency from each nation and began circulating the continental currency, ‘Del’.
And that wasn’t all.
The mercenary city of 〈Antwerp〉 had embraced the Free City Alliance as the City Alliance, possessing substantial military power.
“I heard they’re planning to establish an academy city this time.”
He then stood up from his seat, teacup in hand.
The woman with aqua-blue hair, who had been sitting on the opposite sofa, rose along with Lourens and stood beside him, gazing out the window.
“Seems like they’ve taken a liking to our academy system.”
“Considering they even named it 〈Istvan〉, it seems they’re serious about nurturing it.”
Whoooosh—
Märchen Academy, visible outside the window, was bustling with life.
It was natural for there to be talk, considering that children of both the old and new nobility, who divided the Empire, were gathered in one place.
But still, children were children.
Eating, sleeping, and playing together, the adults’ way of dividing themselves had no influence on the children.
Slurp.
The woman with aqua-blue hair took a sip of her tea and muttered coldly.
“They must be thinking of making it just like here. Just as we’re trying to eliminate the influence of the old and new nobility, they’re hoping to spread their revolution across the continent.”
To be precise, they had made it impossible for such influences to take hold.
“Should we say something to the City Alliance for stealing Lord Duke’s idea?”
Lourens playfully remarked to the woman, the Duke, who had conceived and implemented this idea.
Crack—
She stomped on Lourens’s foot.
Despite her slender and petite physique, worthy of being called a fairy, the heels she wore were quite high, causing Lourens considerable pain.
“Didn’t I tell you not to call me ‘Lord Duke’ here?”
“Ah, but this is the Headmaster’s office. There’s no one else to hear. Being so cautious is a disease, you know.”
“Lourens. That’s why I am the Administrative Duke.”
“……Yes.”
A strange glint flickered in Lourens’s eyes, contrasting with his usually playful and casual demeanor around her.
“Lady Inphedral, over there.”
Lourens called her softly, and the aqua-haired woman frowned.
Swoosh—
Lourens pointed with his finger towards the two figures approaching the Headmaster’s office from afar.
A dazzlingly beautiful woman with golden hair, as if sunlight itself had been gathered and solidified, and a young man with black hair and an indifferent expression were walking towards them from a distance.
It was Elena and Cain.
Behind them followed Anje, dressed in a maid’s uniform.
“Oh dear.”
Lourens sighed inwardly the moment he saw Anje. Just then, Cain looked up.
It was quite a distance, even for a hero, to detect their presence.
Impressed by Cain’s unfathomable abilities, Lourens waved his hand.
“It seems to be the hero and the Princess.”
She followed Lourens’s lead and waved as well.
From afar, Cain nudged Elena who was beside him, and Elena, noticing their greetings, raised her hand and waved enthusiastically.
“The 13th Princess has changed a lot.”
“It hasn’t been long since she met the hero; something must have happened.”
“I’ve seen the report you submitted. There doesn’t seem to be any particular problem, but it’s still unsettling.”
“What is?”
At Lourens’s question, Duke Inphedral held up nine fingers.
“The single-digit Princes and Princesses are all true-blooded individuals who have fully awakened the blood of Kreuz.”
“As if I wouldn’t know that. We’re in charge of managing the Numbers.”
“And the dual-digit Princesses from the tenth onwards are those who have at least a slight possibility of awakening.”
“……The thirteenth Princess.”
Lourens turned his gaze back to the window, looking at Elena who was smiling brightly, seemingly oblivious to everything.
“It means that the Princesses who are usually granted a dual-digit number in the teens have the potential to soon join the single-digit ranks.”
Duke Inphedral returned to the sofa where she had been sitting, and Lourens leaned against the window and took a sip of his tea.
“Since it was Lord Duke who assigned the Princess her number, why are you so serious about it?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to call me ‘Duke’?”
She was about to hurl her teacup in an instant, and Lourens flinched and backed away.
“Yes, yes, Administrator Morning.”
“This is starting to feel like you’re deliberately trying to tease me?”
“Me? Never!”
Lourens chuckled, rolling his eyes and shrugging, and Morning Inphedral, the Administrative Duke, burst into laughter.
“The boy who used to be like a runaway blade without a hilt has grown up a lot.”
“And Lord Duke is still the same young lady as ever.”
“……I should have cut your tongue out.”
Her words were chilling.
Lourens immediately shut his mouth.
He knew better than anyone that if he teased her any further, his tongue wouldn’t just be cut, but ripped out.
“From what I’ve observed, Princess Elena is quite courageous, but otherwise, just a normal, healthy young woman.”
Lourens spoke about Princess Elena, whom he had been observing so far.
“She seems to have an incredible memory, one that even Wiseman’s ‘night’ magic can’t penetrate, but still, it’s just memory…….”
“Lourens. Don’t you find it strange that the Princess, who is supposedly nothing special, withstood the ‘night’ magic that even you fell victim to?”
“Well, it’s the blood of Kreuz.”
“That’s not wrong.”
She smiled bitterly.
When something strange and mysterious happened in the Kreuz Empire, over 90% of the time, it was related to the blood of Kreuz.
It wasn’t wrong for Lourens to think that way, but…
“But this Princess is different.”
“Why bother saying that when you were the one who placed her as the thirteenth—?”
“I didn’t assign that number.”
“……What?”
Lourens’s eyes widened.
If one were to name the four absolute powers in this vast empire, it would be the three Dukes and the Emperor.
For one of those Dukes to say it wasn’t them was naturally shocking.
“You mean His Majesty personally assigned her number?!”
“Yes.”
“Wait, His Majesty? Himself?”
“Yes, so stop asking.”
She frowned and rested her head on her arm.
Lourens leaned closer, surprised by her words. Even as the Head of the Special Intelligence Division, he was like a firefly compared to the sun when it came to the Dukes.
Especially when it came to information about the Imperial Family, their access levels were completely different, making this even more shocking.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“No. His Majesty usually only personally assigns the number for the First Prince.”
Princes and Princesses of the Empire weren’t numbered in the order of their birth.
Their ranking changed like a ladder depending on how much the blood of Kreuz had manifested and its influence.
Therefore, the Emperor, the pinnacle of all Kreuz bloodlines, always personally chose and numbered the First Prince who would succeed him.
The fact that such an Emperor had personally assigned a number to the thirteenth Princess, and not even the First Princess, made Lourens feel like his common sense was crumbling.
“Was there something that different about her?”
Duke Inphedral stroked her smooth chin with her hand.
It didn’t quite suit her youthful, academy teacher-like appearance to act so much older, but strangely, it did.
An age that couldn’t be discerned from her looks was evident in her demeanor.
“That’s why I tried to look into it, but even my access was restricted.”
“……It must be a top-secret matter that only His Majesty can access.”
Unless it was a secret that could influence the fate of the Empire, the Administrative Duke had access to all information.
The fact that even the Administrative Duke was denied access to the reason behind Elena’s placement as the thirteenth Princess meant that it was a matter concerning the Empire’s rise and fall.
Lourens felt a shiver run down his spine.
The entire 〈Märchen Academy〉, which he had come to because of Margette Wiseman, the Magic Marquis, was an abyss in disguise.
An abyss of darkness where something unknown, its true nature shrouded in secrecy, breathed.
“They’re here.”
Lourens looked towards the door.
He heard the sound of Cain and his companions opening the main door, and Lourens exchanged glances with Inphedral.
🔹🔹🔹
“Nice to meet you. You can call me Morning.”
Morning Inphedral, the Administrative Duke.
The Empire’s spinster and the pillar that swallowed all darkness.
She blinked innocently and brushed her hair back, her aqua-blue hair swaying, and her simple earrings sparkling.
Lourens casually introduced her to Cain.
“This is the administrative official sent from the Imperial Capital. She passed the highest-level administrative examination at a young age and is currently working directly under the Administrative Lord Duke.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Elena extended her hand towards Morning.
Morning gracefully clasped Elena’s hand and bowed her head.
“It is an honor to meet you, 13th Princess.”
As the two exchanged pleasantries with smiles.
Cain leaned back nonchalantly on the chair, his expression as indifferent as a crumpled shirt, and turned his head away.
Morning stared directly at him.
“Hero?”
She called out to him.
Cain clicked his tongue and shook his head in displeasure.
“I don’t talk to old hags who play mind games.”
“……!”
Morning froze momentarily.
Lourens hurriedly interjected.
“Miss Morning here is only in her mid-twenties.”
“More like mid-one hundred twenties. Or maybe mid-two hundred twenties?”
“Even if you are the hero, your words are a bit too much—”
“Besides, that’s not even the real one, is it?”
Cain cut off Lourens’s retort with a question.
At that moment.
The Headmaster’s office, devoid of Wiseman’s presence, turned ice-cold, the previous warmth vanishing without a trace.
[‘Winter’ says she sees that woman like this again.]
[‘Summer’ wonders if it’s possible to have such split thinking, concluding that the ‘bending ca■■era algorithm’ must be established—]
[‘Winter’ retorts that the message won’t be delivered if he keeps talking nonsense.]
Their conversation flowed as usual.
Cain smirked, his gaze fixed on her blue eyes.
“Morning Inphedral, Administrative Duke. It seems like the one here is just one of her puppets.”
Elena was startled by the title of Administrative Duke.
The Knight Duke and the Magic Duke were well-known figures due to their frequent public appearances.
On the other hand, the Administrative Duke was a shadowy figure whose identity, even their gender, remained a mystery.
Even within the Imperial Administration, the Administrative Duke’s orders were delivered only in writing, so no one truly knew who she was.
And Cain had figured it out the moment he saw her.
“Did you hear that just now?”
Lourens asked nervously.
Even if he was a true Sword Master, it was impossible to hear their conversation from such a distance.
He had only been teasing the Duke, but there was no way Cain could have said that unless he had heard them.
“Impossible. It’s already been confirmed through experiments with the Knight Duke. He can’t hear from that distance.”
The sweetly smiling Miss Morning was gone.
The cold-faced Morning Inphedral, the Duke, plopped down on the sofa, interlacing her fingers, and stared directly at Cain.
Cain mirrored her gesture, clasping his hands together, and spoke.
“Just a guess.”
What he said was a lie, but……
“I took a gamble, seeing her old-fashioned attire and the fact that someone of your standing, the Head of the Special Intelligence Division, escorted her.”
The truth lay in a world line long gone.
“But it seems I was right.”
Cain chuckled softly.
Only the exposed Duke Morning and Lourens, the Head of the Special Intelligence Division, who had inadvertently confessed, felt their hearts drop at his laughter.
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