Episode 50
“I’ll think about it at that time.”
He shrugged his shoulders, radiating a mysterious sense of self-confidence.
There’d be serious trouble if Isaac found out his true intentions later.
Clara opened her mouth to say something, but the deafening boom of an explosion was heard from over the mountains.
“Look out! Magic beasts have appeared!”
In the distance, birds flew through the sky making a large commotion. The words ‘magic beasts’ changed what everyone was doing. Tossing aside the vine that he had been holding, Isaac hurriedly rushed over to Clara and stood in front of her to block her way.
“Clara, go back to the villa with the others!”
“We’ll take care of things here, so please return.”
Upon hearing word of an unexpected attack by magic beasts, Clara and the servants quickly started to leave the area. Alex and Isaac mounted their horses, keeping an eye on the direction of the explosion as they secured the path of retreat.
“Ciel.”
“Where the hell is Ciel?”
“It seems everyone is safe.”
Theo used flight magic to land in the courtyard. He was holding Louis, who had fainted, at his side. Clara ran over to Theo as soon as she saw him.
“Brother. Where is Ciel?”
Theo entrusted Louis, still passed out, to the servants. He glowered as he looked out beyond the villa, which was covered in barriers. Before anyone could stop him, Alex secured his sword and urged his horse forward.
“You must have just missed her on the way back. What are you going to do?”
After asking that question, Theo looked at Alex. It was a good opportunity to find out who he had feelings for.
“I am going to find her.”
“But Your Highness…!”
Theo nodded his head when Alex readily stepped up.
“I’ll give you this. It will help you find Ciel.”
Just in case it was needed, he handed Alex a magic tool that could locate the tracking necklace that Ciel was wearing.
“I’ll go too!”
“An immense flood of magic beasts will overrun us soon. Since Louis is unconscious, you and I are the only ones here who can deal with the magic beasts.”
“Brother!”
“Trust in Ciel a little more.”
A massive horde of magic beasts was said to be headed in their direction, but Theo’s reaction was preternaturally calm.
Clara was worried. Theo clasped her hand firmly while Isaac readied his sword in order to deal with their immediate situation.
“Brother, will Ciel really be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. So go inside and stay with Louis.”
Tightly grasping the magic tool that could track Ciel, Alex spurred his horse forward without looking behind him.
“Still, I don’t think we should send him off like that.”
Clara felt uneasy as she watched his back recede into the distance.
Even though he was a strong person who had been able to survive on the perilous battlefield, it was still dangerous.
Theo seemed to have no intention of going to find Ciel. It was hard for her to understand Theo’s behavior.
***
I messed up. While practicing magic I accidentally blew up a nearby cliff where, of all places, a cave filled with magic beasts that were living in hiding must have been.
The magic beasts, whose home had been suddenly attacked, started going berserk. Their golden eyes shone as the magic beasts, which resembled wolves with jet-black claws, set off to find the culprit.
I did it, so I had to fix it.
“Brother. I’ll try to sort this out somehow.”
The magic beasts, which caused harm to humans, needed to be dealt with anyway. In order to develop the forest, the magic beasts would have to be cleared out at some point. Theo patted my head without saying anything.
“They’ll be good opponents to practice on.”
Theo was willing to take a chance on me. It made me feel a little better. He believed in my abilities, but he gave me a magic tool for emergencies all the same.
“Use this teleport scroll if you think you’re in danger.”
Then he hefted Louis, who had already fainted, onto his back.
“Louis, you idiot.”
Poor Louis. He had acted so confident, but after just a few ups and downs my youngest brother had gotten motion sick and had passed out.
Iiiiiidiot. I would have liked to tease him a little more, but since I had learned all of the basics from Theo, I was eager to show off my new skills while I cleared out the magic beasts.
I felt relieved that no one was nearby. I controlled my strength as I twirled Laevateinn around.
“Laevateinn, you need to listen to me now.”
Before using large-scale magic, I needed to understand the lay of the land first. Like riding a magic broomstick in the air, I perched on my wand and took off into the sky.
“Did any innocent people get caught up in all of this?”
As I flew around in the sky, I glanced down at the ground. Enraged magic beasts hurled rocks at me. I dodged this way and that as I looked around for any survivors. Off in the distance a figure was kicking up a cloud of dust as they sped towards me.
“Ciel!”
“Crazy… Why is that guy over there?”
The dark blue energy from his sword danced about as Alex began slashing the magic beasts, which were lunging towards him, at an incredible speed. This wasn’t right. I hurriedly changed course and flew towards the direction that Alex was running.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here?!”
“What about you? Are you alright? Are you unharmed?”
As soon as I landed, Alex jumped off of his horse and hugged me as tightly as he could.
We couldn’t stay like this. If we left the magic beasts alone, they could descend on the villa and cause a lot of trouble.
Orders to evacuate the forest had already been given. The villa was pretty far away, so it was probably safe. If I sent Alex back safely, I could manage everything with my magic somehow.
“Your Highness, you can return to the residence if you use this. Go back with your horse quickly.”
I held out the emergency teleport scroll that Theo had given me just in case. But Alex pushed my hand away.
“How could I leave you and go back by myself?”
The magic that I’d be using from this point forward had a fairly large area of effect and if I made a mistake Alex could get caught up in it.
“I’m okay with it.”
“I’m not okay with it.”
It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand how Alex felt. He didn’t want to run away alone like a coward. But it wasn’t the time for this.
I was going to try to deal with the magic beasts using magic, but Alex had already imbued his sword with aura. Unless I was a mage who was about as powerful as my dad, it would be hard to recklessly provoke an opponent at the level of a sword master.
“If you don’t listen to me, I won’t enter the Imperial Palace!”
“What?”
Resorting to drastic measures, I shoved the teleport scroll at Alex. Alex’s horse, which had been quietly standing next to him, promptly snapped up the paper in my hand.
“Neeeigh!”
“No!”
It wasn’t even a goat, so why did the horse eat my paper scroll? The moment it grabbed the scroll and cheerfully chewed it up, the teleport magic inside was activated and the horse disappeared like it had never been there.
“Oh no.”
The magic beasts that had been knocked down by Alex’s sword began to rise again. I heard something that sounded like the howl of a wolf. In the distance many more magic beasts began descending upon us.
Suddenly, we were besieged by magic beasts. We were screwed. As our means of emergency escape disappeared, Alex immediately hid me behind his back and held out his sword.
“Ciel. I will protect you.”
What was he doing? No matter how strong his male lead buff was, this was unreasonable.
I didn’t hate it when he said that he’d put his life on the line to protect me, even in this situation. But now really wasn’t the time.
It couldn’t be helped. I had no choice but to show him my true power. I had been trying hard not to show him. But now that this had happened, there was no other way.
“Your Highness, please stay behind me.”
“Behind you?”
Alex, who had drawn his sword immediately, moved so that he was practically holding me in his arms. The pose was a little awkward, but it was good enough.
I closed my eyes and focused my magic power on the tips of my fingers. What kind of magic would make all of these magic beasts leave without harming anyone?
The image of that idiot Louis, who had fainted, came to mind along with the image of a spray of water. Right, that would be great.
Filled with my magic power, Laevateinn let off a brilliant light.
“A regional heavy rain warning!” [1]
I recalled the image of rain falling so heavily that I couldn’t see through it.
People here might not understand what I said, but for someone like me, who lacked imagination, this was the best way to envision the magic in my mind.
As beams of light poured out of my wand, massive dark clouds formed in the once blue sky.
I had been worried about whether it would work, but all of a sudden, with a rumbling crash of thunder, the sky was covered with pitch-black rain clouds.
“This is…?”
“It’s a success!”
It worked. Magic was the best. The magic beasts encroached on our position as massive rain clouds rolled in. An enormous, earthshaking clap of thunder resounded followed closely by a bolt of lighting that stuck down just beyond the foot of the mountain.
Fat raindrops fell from the sky and the bewildered magic beasts began to retreat one by one. The joy of success was short-lived. If the rain kept falling like this, we could catch a cold.
I seized the chance to escape as the magic beasts were fleeing. I grabbed Alex’s hand and we hurried in the opposite direction of the one that the magic beasts had come from.
Even though my boots were becoming caked with mud and my whole body was soaking wet, I felt refreshed on the inside. I couldn’t see through the pouring rain, but I was in a good mood.
After running from the magic beasts for quite a while, an empty cave came into view in the distance.
“Your Highness, let’s head over there.”
The two of us were soaked through and through. I finally felt a sense of relief as we entered the cave. A considerable amount of time had passed since I used the magic spell, but the rain still hadn’t let up.
“Incredible…”
“I told you so.”
Alex couldn’t hide his continued amazement as he watched the pouring rain.
It was a mistake to think the only thing I had was a pretty face. I had a tremendous amount of magic power too. I twirled Laevateinn around, shaking the water off of it.
“Is this your magic?”
He couldn’t believe it either, huh? Truthfully, I also hadn’t expected it to be this successful. It was good that I had been able to drive the magic beasts back, but the problem was that no one knew when this rain would end.
It was impractical to try to go back like this. I wondered when Theo would come pick us up.
He wasn’t purposely not coming in order to give the two of us some alone time, right? But then again, Theo was currently under the completely wrong impression that Alex and I liked each other.
It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. I had been worried that he would start to doubt the relationship between the Crown Prince and Clara, so I had mentioned Alex’s proposal. And on top of that, I would be entering the palace.
While I was ripping my hair out in a corner of the cave, Alex diligently began preparing to set up camp.
Notes:
[1] This is referring to the heavy rainfall warnings issued for specific regions by the national weather service.
Episode 50
“I’ll think about it at that time.”
He shrugged his shoulders, radiating a mysterious sense of self-confidence.
There’d be serious trouble if Isaac found out his true intentions later.
Clara opened her mouth to say something, but the deafening boom of an explosion was heard from over the mountains.
“Look out! Magic beasts have appeared!”
In the distance, birds flew through the sky making a large commotion. The words ‘magic beasts’ changed what everyone was doing. Tossing aside the vine that he had been holding, Isaac hurriedly rushed over to Clara and stood in front of her to block her way.
“Clara, go back to the villa with the others!”
“We’ll take care of things here, so please return.”
Upon hearing word of an unexpected attack by magic beasts, Clara and the servants quickly started to leave the area. Alex and Isaac mounted their horses, keeping an eye on the direction of the explosion as they secured the path of retreat.
“Ciel.”
“Where the hell is Ciel?”
“It seems everyone is safe.”
Theo used flight magic to land in the courtyard. He was holding Louis, who had fainted, at his side. Clara ran over to Theo as soon as she saw him.
“Brother. Where is Ciel?”
Theo entrusted Louis, still passed out, to the servants. He glowered as he looked out beyond the villa, which was covered in barriers. Before anyone could stop him, Alex secured his sword and urged his horse forward.
“You must have just missed her on the way back. What are you going to do?”
After asking that question, Theo looked at Alex. It was a good opportunity to find out who he had feelings for.
“I am going to find her.”
“But Your Highness…!”
Theo nodded his head when Alex readily stepped up.
“I’ll give you this. It will help you find Ciel.”
Just in case it was needed, he handed Alex a magic tool that could locate the tracking necklace that Ciel was wearing.
“I’ll go too!”
“An immense flood of magic beasts will overrun us soon. Since Louis is unconscious, you and I are the only ones here who can deal with the magic beasts.”
“Brother!”
“Trust in Ciel a little more.”
A massive horde of magic beasts was said to be headed in their direction, but Theo’s reaction was preternaturally calm.
Clara was worried. Theo clasped her hand firmly while Isaac readied his sword in order to deal with their immediate situation.
“Brother, will Ciel really be okay?”
“She’ll be fine. So go inside and stay with Louis.”
Tightly grasping the magic tool that could track Ciel, Alex spurred his horse forward without looking behind him.
“Still, I don’t think we should send him off like that.”
Clara felt uneasy as she watched his back recede into the distance.
Even though he was a strong person who had been able to survive on the perilous battlefield, it was still dangerous.
Theo seemed to have no intention of going to find Ciel. It was hard for her to understand Theo’s behavior.
***
I messed up. While practicing magic I accidentally blew up a nearby cliff where, of all places, a cave filled with magic beasts that were living in hiding must have been.
The magic beasts, whose home had been suddenly attacked, started going berserk. Their golden eyes shone as the magic beasts, which resembled wolves with jet-black claws, set off to find the culprit.
I did it, so I had to fix it.
“Brother. I’ll try to sort this out somehow.”
The magic beasts, which caused harm to humans, needed to be dealt with anyway. In order to develop the forest, the magic beasts would have to be cleared out at some point. Theo patted my head without saying anything.
“They’ll be good opponents to practice on.”
Theo was willing to take a chance on me. It made me feel a little better. He believed in my abilities, but he gave me a magic tool for emergencies all the same.
“Use this teleport scroll if you think you’re in danger.”
Then he hefted Louis, who had already fainted, onto his back.
“Louis, you idiot.”
Poor Louis. He had acted so confident, but after just a few ups and downs my youngest brother had gotten motion sick and had passed out.
Iiiiiidiot. I would have liked to tease him a little more, but since I had learned all of the basics from Theo, I was eager to show off my new skills while I cleared out the magic beasts.
I felt relieved that no one was nearby. I controlled my strength as I twirled Laevateinn around.
“Laevateinn, you need to listen to me now.”
Before using large-scale magic, I needed to understand the lay of the land first. Like riding a magic broomstick in the air, I perched on my wand and took off into the sky.
“Did any innocent people get caught up in all of this?”
As I flew around in the sky, I glanced down at the ground. Enraged magic beasts hurled rocks at me. I dodged this way and that as I looked around for any survivors. Off in the distance a figure was kicking up a cloud of dust as they sped towards me.
“Ciel!”
“Crazy… Why is that guy over there?”
The dark blue energy from his sword danced about as Alex began slashing the magic beasts, which were lunging towards him, at an incredible speed. This wasn’t right. I hurriedly changed course and flew towards the direction that Alex was running.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here?!”
“What about you? Are you alright? Are you unharmed?”
As soon as I landed, Alex jumped off of his horse and hugged me as tightly as he could.
We couldn’t stay like this. If we left the magic beasts alone, they could descend on the villa and cause a lot of trouble.
Orders to evacuate the forest had already been given. The villa was pretty far away, so it was probably safe. If I sent Alex back safely, I could manage everything with my magic somehow.
“Your Highness, you can return to the residence if you use this. Go back with your horse quickly.”
I held out the emergency teleport scroll that Theo had given me just in case. But Alex pushed my hand away.
“How could I leave you and go back by myself?”
The magic that I’d be using from this point forward had a fairly large area of effect and if I made a mistake Alex could get caught up in it.
“I’m okay with it.”
“I’m not okay with it.”
It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand how Alex felt. He didn’t want to run away alone like a coward. But it wasn’t the time for this.
I was going to try to deal with the magic beasts using magic, but Alex had already imbued his sword with aura. Unless I was a mage who was about as powerful as my dad, it would be hard to recklessly provoke an opponent at the level of a sword master.
“If you don’t listen to me, I won’t enter the Imperial Palace!”
“What?”
Resorting to drastic measures, I shoved the teleport scroll at Alex. Alex’s horse, which had been quietly standing next to him, promptly snapped up the paper in my hand.
“Neeeigh!”
“No!”
It wasn’t even a goat, so why did the horse eat my paper scroll? The moment it grabbed the scroll and cheerfully chewed it up, the teleport magic inside was activated and the horse disappeared like it had never been there.
“Oh no.”
The magic beasts that had been knocked down by Alex’s sword began to rise again. I heard something that sounded like the howl of a wolf. In the distance many more magic beasts began descending upon us.
Suddenly, we were besieged by magic beasts. We were screwed. As our means of emergency escape disappeared, Alex immediately hid me behind his back and held out his sword.
“Ciel. I will protect you.”
What was he doing? No matter how strong his male lead buff was, this was unreasonable.
I didn’t hate it when he said that he’d put his life on the line to protect me, even in this situation. But now really wasn’t the time.
It couldn’t be helped. I had no choice but to show him my true power. I had been trying hard not to show him. But now that this had happened, there was no other way.
“Your Highness, please stay behind me.”
“Behind you?”
Alex, who had drawn his sword immediately, moved so that he was practically holding me in his arms. The pose was a little awkward, but it was good enough.
I closed my eyes and focused my magic power on the tips of my fingers. What kind of magic would make all of these magic beasts leave without harming anyone?
The image of that idiot Louis, who had fainted, came to mind along with the image of a spray of water. Right, that would be great.
Filled with my magic power, Laevateinn let off a brilliant light.
“A regional heavy rain warning!” [1]
I recalled the image of rain falling so heavily that I couldn’t see through it.
People here might not understand what I said, but for someone like me, who lacked imagination, this was the best way to envision the magic in my mind.
As beams of light poured out of my wand, massive dark clouds formed in the once blue sky.
I had been worried about whether it would work, but all of a sudden, with a rumbling crash of thunder, the sky was covered with pitch-black rain clouds.
“This is…?”
“It’s a success!”
It worked. Magic was the best. The magic beasts encroached on our position as massive rain clouds rolled in. An enormous, earthshaking clap of thunder resounded followed closely by a bolt of lighting that stuck down just beyond the foot of the mountain.
Fat raindrops fell from the sky and the bewildered magic beasts began to retreat one by one. The joy of success was short-lived. If the rain kept falling like this, we could catch a cold.
I seized the chance to escape as the magic beasts were fleeing. I grabbed Alex’s hand and we hurried in the opposite direction of the one that the magic beasts had come from.
Even though my boots were becoming caked with mud and my whole body was soaking wet, I felt refreshed on the inside. I couldn’t see through the pouring rain, but I was in a good mood.
After running from the magic beasts for quite a while, an empty cave came into view in the distance.
“Your Highness, let’s head over there.”
The two of us were soaked through and through. I finally felt a sense of relief as we entered the cave. A considerable amount of time had passed since I used the magic spell, but the rain still hadn’t let up.
“Incredible…”
“I told you so.”
Alex couldn’t hide his continued amazement as he watched the pouring rain.
It was a mistake to think the only thing I had was a pretty face. I had a tremendous amount of magic power too. I twirled Laevateinn around, shaking the water off of it.
“Is this your magic?”
He couldn’t believe it either, huh? Truthfully, I also hadn’t expected it to be this successful. It was good that I had been able to drive the magic beasts back, but the problem was that no one knew when this rain would end.
It was impractical to try to go back like this. I wondered when Theo would come pick us up.
He wasn’t purposely not coming in order to give the two of us some alone time, right? But then again, Theo was currently under the completely wrong impression that Alex and I liked each other.
It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. I had been worried that he would start to doubt the relationship between the Crown Prince and Clara, so I had mentioned Alex’s proposal. And on top of that, I would be entering the palace.
While I was ripping my hair out in a corner of the cave, Alex diligently began preparing to set up camp.
Notes:
[1] This is referring to the heavy rainfall warnings issued for specific regions by the national weather service.
