LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 15
EP.15 An Unexpected Encounter (4)
“The Knights Order has acquired a means to counter Skebal.”
Such rumors had been circulating on the battlefield.
The Knights, who had been trapped in Skebal’s circuit, had escaped and dismantled the barrier in less than ten minutes.
With this unprecedented event, rumors spread that the Ashen Mage Raniel had returned to the battlefield, but those whispers soon died down.
The former lord of the Red Tower and the current magic advisor of the Knights, Libert, had shown himself dismantling Skebal’s barrier directly.
Of course, Libert hadn’t achieved this alone. The passionate mages under the Red Tower aided him, making it possible. However, that wasn’t what mattered.
They had dismantled Skebal’s barrier.
And that too, in less than ten minutes.
The significance of that fact was immense.
It meant the Knights had a means to oppose that ancient lich. It meant they no longer had to feel despair regarding that barrier.
The knights raised their shields. They lifted their spears.
No matter how much the ancient lich might appear on the battlefield, they would no longer retreat.
That day…
For the first time in a month of constant retreats, the Knights endured a single night.
They hadn’t advanced, but they also hadn’t retreated.
As the morning sun rose, the knights could smile as they gazed at the frontline they had protected.
2.
– Magic advisor of the Knights Order, Libert van Creepyka.
– To Princess Ayla.
A letter sealed with the marks of the Knights Order and the Red Tower.
Ayla tore open the envelope.
There weren’t long sentences in the letter.
– Thank you, Your Highness.
– The Red Tower will not forget this grace.
A short note of gratitude.
Having already received a letter from Heinkel and knowing the current situation, Ayla smiled faintly at the letter.
“Indeed, I’m glad I sent it.”
Her instinct to send the support to the Knights had been right.
Ayla felt a vague sense of pride.
“Now, my brother’s situation should improve a little.”
She finally felt a sense of relief.
Of course, as the Fourth Princess, she had no reason to interfere this much in the battlefield. Even the King did not intervene in the frontline.
However, Ayla was aware of her innate talent.
Knowing that, she had no intention of letting it go to waste.
A child loved by the star.
An extremely developed instinct, close to a kind of prophecy.
That instinct had sometimes revealed traitors siding with the demon race and even predicted areas where the Black Dragon appeared.
“I’m glad to hear it helped once again.”
Finding solace in the fact that she could hear even a single good piece of news, Ayla leaned back against her chair.
Of course, not all news was good.
There weren’t any dramatic changes either.
The situation remained hopeless.
Ever since the Ashen Mage had withdrawn, numerous frontlines had shaken, and the Demon Lord’s Army rampaged even more fiercely.
The frontlines were still precarious. The fearsome existence of the ancient lich Skebal had not changed in that regard.
However…
“That fear is less than before, I suppose.”
It was no longer a fear they couldn’t counter.
The Knights had obtained a means to oppose the barrier created by the ancient lich.
“Although the frontline where Raniel departed and Skebal appeared continued to crumble…”
Perhaps now, it wouldn’t be bad to hope a little.
While it would be hard to fill the void left by the Ashen Mage’s mere existence… perhaps they could alleviate that absence just a little.
“Hmm…”
Ayla sighed and looked up at the ceiling.
Once things settled a bit, one question remained.
“What kind of person was she?”
The woman she had met at the library.
A mage with an unusual appearance reminiscent of someone with ashen hair and blue eyes.
Ayla recalled that enigmatic figure.
For some reason, she felt a familiarity with the woman. There was even a sense of joy, as if she were meeting an old acquaintance.
“Now that I think about it, I might have caused quite a bother.”
While pressuring her for the solution was necessary, Ayla realized she had made one mistake.
“I approached without warning.”
Remembering that mistake made Ayla smile bitterly.
As she matured, Ayla had received several blessings from the star. Among them was a blessing that mages tended to avoid like the plague.
“The Binding of the Star, the loss of mana control.”
Within a certain radius centered on her, unless she allowed it, mages lost their ability to control mana. It didn’t mean they went berserk, but they could no longer pull up mana.
– It’s like being bitten by a mana bug.
– It’s as if a lock is fastening around the circle that surrounds the heart…
Ayla recalled the pale expressions of the royal mages who had said it was an extremely unpleasant feeling they never wanted to experience again.
Loss of mana control.
Not being able to draw up mana.
The shock it brought to mages could be seen from the ashen faces of countless mages.
But how had that woman reacted?
“…She didn’t seem to mind at all.”
Ayla had attempted to withdraw that blessing, but the woman had cut off the Binding of the Star before she could.
One breath.
A few blinks.
With just that, she had severed the Binding of the Star.
The Binding of the Star that none of the royal mages had been able to break.
“Hmm…”
Ayla rested her chin on her hand, and with her index finger, she tapped her lips.
That mage was undoubtedly an extraordinary figure. She had cut the Binding of the Star in an instant, and she had delivered the answer to Skebal’s barrier.
“Put her in a key position.”
“She should be close to the royal family.”
Heinkel had added that.
“It’s like trying to catch the wind.”
Trying to bind the wind is a foolish endeavor.
Thus, the star whispered in her ear.
“Hmm.”
After pondering for a while, Ayla raised her hand and called for her guard knight.
“Heinkel, are you there?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The door opened, and a knight entered.
Ayla handed over the portrait she had drawn earlier. Being someone with an eye for art, the portrait looked just like the woman from her memories.
“Could you identify the person in this portrait?”
Even if she didn’t have her by her side, it wouldn’t hurt to know who she was.
With that thought, Ayla opened her mouth.
“About ten days ago, I met…”
“Oh, if it’s this person, I know her.”
“…What?”
But before she could finish explaining, Heinkel nodded as if he already knew. He looked as if he was in the know.
“You know her?”
“Yes, I’ve seen her before with Lord Rosel. I believe she’s the adopted daughter mentioned by Lord Rosel.”
If she was Lord Rosel’s adopted daughter…
“…Rania van Trias?”
“Yes, I heard she was appointed as a professor at the Apuria Academy.”
“…”
Ayla fell silent for a moment.
That silence didn’t last long.
“Hmm.”
Ayla squinted and looked at her index finger. The pain she had felt recently and the prophecy that had come down from the star surfaced in her mind, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“I guess that meeting I’ve been looking forward to has come.”
“…So that’s what it meant.”
“Yes?”
“No, more importantly, Heinkel?”
Ayla took out a single piece of paper and hastily signed her name.
“Please deliver this to Lord Rosel and his disciple.”
“This is…”
Seeing Heinkel taken aback as he checked the contents of the letter, Ayla smiled.
“Are you thinking it’s too excessive a gift?”
“…”
“Not at all. In fact, it would be insufficient compensation for her contributions.”
“Is that so?”
Heinkel appeared a bit reluctant, but he soon stepped out with the document in hand. Left alone, Ayla instinctively tapped the table.
“I feel a bit unsatisfied.”
Heinkel seemed to think of it as an excessive gift since he didn’t know the backstory of the matter, but Ayla felt that was a bit of a disappointment.
In fact, she wanted to promise something better.
She wanted to acknowledge her contributions, promote her to a high position, and have her by her side.
Someone with such talent was rare.
It meant she was someone they shouldn’t let slip away.
Moreover, what Ayla had encountered might have only been a fragment of the mage’s true abilities. After all, she was the one who had called a problem that had troubled the Knights for years “simple.”
“If I could, I’d want to summon her to the royal family right away but…”
However, Ayla understood.
That would be greed and something she shouldn’t do.
“Raniel didn’t refuse the royal family’s position for no reason.”
This place didn’t yet deserve to be called a good position.
Although an enticing talent, calling her over would be a story for later. It was much better than recklessly acting and ruining everything.
“I wouldn’t want to drag her into the bloody power struggles of the royal family.”
Even the stars hadn’t avoided advising her.
Don’t try to capture the uncatchable wind. There must be a valid reason for the stars to say that.
“Besides, the Apuria Academy is…”
Not bad at all. Rather, it would be easier to form a natural connection with her as a student.
“Phew…”
Having gathered her thoughts, Ayla suddenly gazed out the window.
The winter of falling snow had passed, and spring had arrived at last.
The warm sunshine shone down. The breeze blowing in felt warm.
Winter had faded away, and spring had come.
In this season of beginnings, Ayla felt she would soon leave the suffocating royal atmosphere and enter Apuria.
She sensed that day was drawing near as she swept back her hair blown about by the breeze.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
Especially that meeting with the mage Rania.
3.
“…Do I really have to wear this?”
“It’s a gift from the Princess herself! Plus, the Princess will be present at the entrance ceremony, so if you don’t wear it, what will happen to her face?”
“That’s… true.”
Finally, I reluctantly changed into the robe.
It wasn’t a short robe. It wasn’t overly extravagant either. It wasn’t the first time I had worn a robe…
“The issue was with when I wore this before.”
At the royal library, when I taught Princess Ayla.
It was the same robe she had gifted me. An expensive garment crafted by the royal mages who layered spells upon it.
“I was stunned when I received it…”
Even now, wearing it makes me a bit uneasy. I hope she hasn’t noticed. It doesn’t seem like she caught on by looking at the letter, but…
Wasn’t there something recognizable about it?
…No, I believe there was.
“Ugh…”
What good is it to think of that now?
“Have you dressed yet?”
“Yes, I’m heading out now.”
I adjusted the sleeves of the robe. I controlled the circuit engraved in the robe to fit my size. I pulled out my loose hair caught inside the clothing and fixed it.
As I moved towards the entrance, I couldn’t help but give a wry smile at the unfamiliar face reflected in the mirror.
“Let’s go; we’ll be late.”
“Yes, Master.”
The first day of March.
Today was the entrance ceremony at Apuria.
Author’s Note
It took until Ts to get to five chapters, and for an academy story, it’s taken 15 chapters just to get to the entrance ceremony! ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ
Ta-da!
I’ve managed a weekly 5 chapter release…!