Chapter 1003: Act 175 – The Aura of War
“Alright, I understand, my lord, you can rest assured, leave it to me, no problem at all… What? Messed up? How could that be? I’ve been following you for so long, you wouldn’t still doubt me, would you? Is that why? No, no, I would never quarrel with Miss Delphine; after all, I am a genuine gentleman of noble birth, how could I argue with a beautiful lady? The last time? That was just an accident! Alright, alright, my lord, I understand—”
“Truly as unreasonable as Darus—” the young wizard muttered to himself as he put down the communication crystal, holding it high. The sunlight from the sea shone through the high tower’s arched windows onto the crystal, refracting a dazzling brilliance. He squinted his eyes slightly—though it was an exceptionally ordinary object, it had its moments of stunning beauty, just like this tranquil bay, which contained everything truly worth cherishing in the world beneath the mundane, and only when people lost it one day would they regret it deeply.
Those plain and real days would be the most precious memories for people. Charles silently watched the bay shimmering with golden light, as if wanting to firmly etch this moment in his heart.
He turned around, and behind him was the cramped space of the tower, a desk covered with spell scrolls and star maps, a crystal ball in one corner, and a small toy—a metallic disk tethering a gust of breeze that continuously lifted and dropped a few feathers. Behind the desk was a wooden bed and two rows of bookshelves, filled with parchment scrolls and books, cluttered and disorganized, looking from a distance like a garbage dump. An uncontrolled brush swept back and forth on the shelves, continually driving out spiders or other insects from the corners, which then quickly scurried away.
In the room stood several wizards including Duncan, who were once his earliest apprentices and were now official wizards. Some excelled to the point of nearly touching the threshold of gold—a crucial juncture for wizards. Once they entered the golden realm, their world would be vast and boundless, as long as they didn’t unexpectedly perish, they would have a good chance of entering the realm of elements. Unlike swordsmen who stood outside the solid walls of elements, many wizards spent their lives hovering outside the golden door, achieving nothing in the end. Yet among this group of students, many talented individuals began to emerge, one by one touching this mysterious domain.
Charles could almost smell the aura of stirring magic in the air. Something unknown was happening in the ‘Outer Sea.’ The tide of magic seemed to rise endlessly, with the magical factors in Vaunte’s air exceeding the richest levels seen in a millennium. Many babies born in Fatan Port this week were showing signs of magical talent in their bloodlines, and it was reportedly the same in Toniger.
While the common people lived their lives without noticing the changes around them, the nobles, preoccupied with power struggles, also overlooked the most unusual changes in Vaunte this year. Only the wizards were most sensitive to these changes—after a thousand years, the stars of Vaunte’s summer nights had never been as bright as this year. The gods in the sky seemed to be telling mortals something, yet the astrologers’ forecasts for the future were engulfed in a great fog due to the celestial changes caused by the turmoil in the Witch Kingdom, shrouding the future in a huge shadow that made all those who were attentive to it feel a deep unease.
“What are you all looking at?” Charles squinted at his students.
“N-Nothing, my lord,” Duncan and the others tried to appear serious, but their faces revealed their true thoughts, wanting to laugh yet not daring to. Mr. Charles was the chief wizard mentor of Cold Fir Territory and also the right-hand man of the lord. He was friendly and never put on airs, behaving more like someone from a distinguished noble family than the lord himself—this was the surface understanding most people had of this wizard. Only a few knew the hidden truths, like the scenes when he conversed with the lord, which often played out.
Lord Charles was truly under the lord’s thumb; no wonder he was so formidable— even someone as excellent as the grand mentor couldn’t match the lord.
This was likely the true sentiment in the hearts of these few.
“You should be able to smell it,” Charles expressed his dissatisfaction with his students’ dullness.
“Smell what, my lord?”
“The scent of war—” Charles said slowly as he pointed at each of these clumsy fools, admonishing them: “You idiots, haven’t I told you before that a wizard needs a keen heart to perceive the dangers and changes around them? The game of wizards is a hunt for both predator and prey in a jungle fraught with danger; your wisdom determines how far you can go—and the rest can only become stepping stones for others. Those who take pride in mastering two spells are nothing but frauds and charlatans.”
Several students awkwardly replied, “My lord, we have long since grown accustomed to the scent of war. Every day we’ve traveled, how could there be a day we didn’t sleep with one eye open? If you’re asking us whether we’ve sensed the war scent, since the moment the lord swung his sword to cleave open the doors of the Crusians, we should have had this awareness.”
Charles looked at these students and, after hearing their words, surprisingly fell into silence. Duncan and the others originally thought they would soon face another storm, but after so many days together with this wizard, they had already gotten used to each other’s temperament. However, when Charles suddenly went quiet, they felt an unexpected unease: What happened? Did the mentor really get angry? Cautiously, a few of them looked at Charles and found a look of despondency on his face, causing them to slightly startle.
Charles shook his head. “Forget it, telling you wouldn’t make any difference. Just keep floating about in your foolish ways; being like this isn’t without its happiness. But remember this day well; from now on, the Outer Sea will never have this shimmering light again, only endless storms and torrential rains.”
Duncan and the others were a bit confused and anxiously asked, “My lord, are you feeling unwell? If the lord scolded you, please don’t take it to heart—”
Charles almost got pissed off by these fools. He waved his hand helplessly, “Shut up, get out, and notify Miss Delphine that I want to see her.”
“My lord… if you’re looking for someone to argue with… the lord just said—”
“Shut up, get out!”
……
Ding, ding, ding.
Suddenly, a rapid bell tolled throughout Fatan Port.
Haruz was practicing magical techniques with Lady Medusa in a room. They carefully maintained the magical waves between the two of them in a triangle, which was a common training method for witches’ magical skills and the foundation for practicing dark magic. Among those around this little prince, Laisimeka was one of the few who knew he had dark magic talent. Others were Brendel, Princess Grifian, Antinna, and Miss Romaine. Princess Grifian had always been quite worried about her brother’s aptitude for dark magic; after all, for ordinary people, this talent could be a minor trouble, but for royalty, it meant a lifelong secret that must not be disclosed. Brendel advised her that the essence of power depends on whose hands it is in; rather than repressing it wholly, it would be better to channel it appropriately, especially making sure the little prince understands the significance of the power he possesses so he can correctly handle it.
Antinna was one of the few trusted individuals by Brendel who had undergone a complete and systematic magic learning experience (coming from Gherlok’s personal teaching after the battle with Ampere Seale), as well as being his aide. Thus, she was never kept in the dark about this secret. While in Toniger, she often played the role of the little prince’s teacher. As for Charles, he also had similar considerations; however, as a grand mentor who was approaching the element manifestation of gold, he clearly was not suitable to teach the little prince, who was a beginner. Besides, he had many students around him, and this secret was not suitable to be kept in his wizard tower.
Among the several people, Laisimeka was an exception. However, this cunning woman served the little prince day and night, making it too easy to extract some secrets from the simple little prince. After threatening this woman somewhat, Brendel simply assigned her the task of teaching the little prince to practice dark magic. At the very least, this woman was sharp-minded and cautious, which made her well-suited for this secret-keeping task. Moreover, until now, Brendel had yet to discover anything unusual about her.
When the magical practice reached the third stage, suddenly a small fluctuation occurred, and the magical waves between the two instantly dissipated. Haruz blushed somewhat, hurriedly apologizing, “I’m sorry, I got distracted.”
Listening to the urgent ringing outside, Laisimeka smiled slightly and said, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. If you want to go out and take a look, we can continue practicing later.”
Haruz quickly nodded vigorously. He had long been disturbed by the tolling and was very curious to see what was happening outside.
Lady Medusa narrowed her eyes, watching the little one dash out the door, then raised her head, gazing outside with her diamond-shaped pupils.
“The changes in the Outer Sea have already impacted the surface world; I wonder how much time is left…” she murmured, observing the chaotic scene of the whole city from the window. The panic-stricken crowd on the streets made her mutter under her breath. She lowered her head and discovered she had an exquisite gem in her hand, a gem that shimmered brilliantly and seemed to harbor a deep azure glow within it.
In just a moment, Laisimeka closed her palm and tucked the gem into her hand. That dazzling brilliance seemed to exist in the room only for a fleeting moment before returning to darkness.
She sighed softly.
“Spire of Ashes, Etonheim, my god Tiamat…”
Haruz dashed out from a long corridor; before he could step outside, he saw a lady holding her skirt, dashing out from another direction. He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, quickly calling out, “Miss Romaine!” The Business Lady seemed startled, looking around nervously before turning her head to see the little prince, immediately raising her brows, “Haruz, why are you out here?”
“I…” Haruz was momentarily speechless, forgetting to mention that she didn’t refer to him as ‘Your Highness’: “Laisimeka said I could come out—”
For safety reasons, Brendel hadn’t arranged for the little prince to stay in the duke’s castle, instead finding a place for him and Laisimeka at Fatan Port. At the same time, they stayed together with the witches, so that if anything happened, Babasha, JarSugar, and White Mist could protect the little prince, with no worries about the worst-case scenarios.
But he hadn’t finished speaking when Romaine grabbed his arm and pulled him along. The Business Lady made a threatening gesture toward him and placed her finger on her lips in a shushing motion, “Shh, don’t make noise. White Mist is working, you know! Don’t disturb others’ work. Brendel said that is basic courtesy, got it?”
Haruz instinctively felt something was off, but with his character, he couldn’t articulate what was wrong and stammered, not knowing how to reply properly.
“R-Romaine, is something happening outside?” he stammered.
“I don’t know. The chancellor’s daughter seems to be gathering the bishops in the city; I wonder what she wants,” Romaine said, pulling the little prince towards the door. “Anyway, let’s not stay here for now. Do you want to know what’s happening?”
The little prince nodded passively, although he deeply suspected that even if he didn’t nod, this teacher’s fiancée would pretend not to see.
“Okay, I’ll take you to see; just remember to say good things about me in front of Brendel.” Romaine quickly added, feeling quite clever.
In the face of this altered dialogue, Haruz had no idea how to respond, but once they stepped outside, he immediately noticed some activity in the direction of the harbor. He quickly exclaimed, “Miss Romaine, look over there!”
“Eh?”
Romaine was slightly taken aback. The Business Lady naturally did not care at all about what was happening outside; after all, even if the sky fell, there would be someone tall to hold it up. As someone small like her, she had no worries at all. However, she felt like she was about to collapse, being forcibly confined in this place to deal with the relationships among witches. She had felt like her head had grown larger than usual and had finally grabbed the opportunity to run out, so she was determined to take a breath of free air.
But after hearing Haruz’s exclamation, she raised her head only to see that within Fatan Port, the fleet of Valhalla had suddenly begun to move. One by one, the silver warships were hoisting their sails to set out to sea, leaving their berths and heading into the outer space of the harbor in formation.
“Eh,” she softly exclaimed, “Is war about to begin?”
