SYMDF 49
by samChapter 49
“If the barrier is so utterly flawed, what then shall be done, Your Majesty?”
Vernian stiffened in disbelief at the sight unfolding before him, unable even to blink as he watched the barrier crumble.
The Imperial Capital’s barrier breaking so easily? And this was the very barrier personally cast by the Mage Tower Master himself.
Janice—renowned as the greatest living mage.
No one had ever breached the barrier erected thirty years earlier, yet the very barrier freshly reinforced by Vernian’s own blood was collapsing. It felt unreal.
Trying to regain composure, Vernian asked,
“…Grand Duke, are you trying to threaten the safety of the Imperial Household?”
The already noisy hall fell completely silent. Camillus’s action had been suspicious beyond doubt.
Everyone waited for the Duke’s next words. Duke Krager, sensing gravity, stepped closer to Ion and gripped his hand—a silent warning not to intervene. The danger was that severe.
Yet Camillus showed no sign of nervousness.
“Of course not. I only intend to safeguard Your Majesty’s wellbeing.”
“Duke.”
“Would Your Majesty permit this one to face you directly?”
That brazen request made Vernian’s brows furrow deeply; even before so many witnesses, he could not mask his displeasure.
Barely restraining violent impulses, he reluctantly consented.
“You may raise your head and come closer.”
Having no means now to restrain Camillus—the monster before him—after the barrier broke, Vernian’s unease spiked.
As he had said earlier:
〈One must beware the beast.〉
Camillus was currently a very dangerous creature.
Raising his head and slowly standing, Camillus approached Vernian. Unconsciously, Vernian clenched his still-bleeding hand in tension.
Yet Camillus’s gaze was fixed on the bowl holding Vernian’s blood. He placed his hand atop it and concentrated mana, causing a faint light to glow.
“From now on, this barrier will not break unless the will of the Clodel dynasty allows it.”
“….”
Just as Camillus finished speaking, a different magical circle began forming precisely where Janice had drawn the previous barrier.
The rising protective field drew gasps from many.
But Vernian’s shout quieted them all.
“Janice!”
At the strict summons, Janice quickly knelt to the floor.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“…Can you break the Grand Duke’s barrier?”
Janice stared wide-eyed through the open doors toward the barrier. Observing for some time, he tilted his head with a strange expression.
Perhaps even he was in sudden panic—the perfect magic he had dedicated his life to had been shattered. A shocking event for one so devoted to magical research.
“The method to break it is…”
Janice trailed off awkwardly. After a moment, his answer came opposite of what Vernian wanted to hear.
“I… do not see it.”
For some reason, his sentence ended as a question. Vernian pressed further.
“Janice, can you read that magic?”
He wanted Janice to speak quickly if some strange property existed. Even if fabricated, if Janice uttered it, it could offer an opening. But Janice this time did not evade.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Its function is the same as the barrier I cast over the Imperial Capital.”
Janice’s gaze turned toward Camillus.
“Truly remarkable, Grand Duke. You have shamed the Mage Tower Master.”
Vernian closed his eyes to keep his rising anger at bay. He had expected this to be the greatest day of his life, but now it was tainted by this dark blot. Yet the coronation was no time to halt.
Opening his eyes, Vernian saw Camillus’s exceptionally handsome face.
Though he longed to strike down that throat, he stepped forward instead. When Camillus placed down the bowl, Vernian embraced him openly.
Laughter and applause echoed teasingly around them.
“What are your intentions? Do you wish to sit on the throne?”
Vernian’s voice brimmed with fury. Camillus patted his back gently, as one would a child.
“I only warned you. The throne is of no concern.”
Vernian suddenly softened, stepping back onto the dais and looking down. Camillus lowered himself and bowed deeply.
“May Your Majesty become the everlasting light of O’Brien.”
At least on the surface, the coronation was peaceful.
***
“Damn it, damn it!”
Crash!
Janice gazed down at the shattered vase at his feet, his expression as indifferent as ever.
After the coronation ended, Vernian entered the Solar Palace and began smashing whatever he could grab.
Facing Janice, he could no longer contain his anger.
“How could that bastard possibly break your magic?”
Janice replied calmly, seemingly unafraid:
“Did I not often say? He is a mutant, an irregular human. I anticipated a day like this.”
“And it had to be today.”
“Indeed, that is regrettable.”
“So there is no way to control that fiend?”
Janice rolled his eyes and attempted to use mana but felt suppressed powerlessness.
Despite the magic being his own design, he was now thwarted by it. An unusual feeling of displeasure came over him.
Yet the reality could not be denied.
“I cannot estimate the Grand Duke’s capabilities.”
“Damn it!”
‘Son of a witch.’
That epithet was likely coined and spread by the late Emperor himself. Vernian had some proof to believe so.
Not just because of hatred, but to keep Camillus’s origin secret.
The Emperor believed in the power of language. Instead of leaving the identity of his mother uncertain, inventing a vague “witch” rumor quenched curiosity better.
Denouncing the claim would reveal the mother’s identity, so accepting the epithet ensured denial of rightful succession.
Finally, Camillus’s demonic power was incontrovertibly shown to have come from the maternal line, not the royal house.
It was a convenient label for the late Emperor.
Vernian, panting in anger, uttered dryly,
“Camillus, we need to find that woman.”
Janice raised an eyebrow.
“For what purpose?”
“Since Camillus’s power is not from the royal court, it must have come from his mother, right?”
“Certainly, but that means she is also strong. Catching her could stir a hornet’s nest…”
Janice’s caution was realistic and sound, but Vernian snapped with fury.
“So you want to leave such a troublemaker alone? You can’t even control his power!”
“Does Your Majesty have a method?”
“If his mother lives, I’ll bring her and make her a consort.”
Janice barely contained a frown. The idea of suddenly naming the woman a concubine—who must be over forty if Camillus’s mother—was grotesque.
“If a child is born between her and Your Majesty, would it enter the royal lineage?”
Again, Vernian shouted irritably.
“Why would I bear a bloodline so repugnant as his? He’s a hostage. Take him and prepare to suppress his power immediately. Since you imprisoned him in the Tower by the late Emperor’s order, you must have a solution.”
Fortunately, Janice seemed not to push the matter; whether the situation was safe to trust, he was unsure. But since Vernian so said, he conceded.
“Yes, there are many ways, but wouldn’t Ion Krager as hostage suffice? You made him Empress, did you not?”
When Ion’s name was mentioned, Vernian’s displeasure grew, and he shot Janice a sharp glare.
“Janice.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a complaint? Why do you always meddle?”
Another hornet’s nest.
Ever since the talk of Ion arose, Janice reacted sensitively; it seemed she truly cared for him now.
Embarrassed to point out, she quickly withdrew.
“I was merely voicing immediate questions. Perhaps I was too troublesome.”
Yet Vernian’s expression did not soften, so Janice respectfully joined her hands and bowed.
“I am a servant of the Clodel dynasty. How could I have complaints about my master?”
Her eyes curled in a faint smile, but Vernian sharply retorted,
“I can’t bear to look at you now—leave.”
“My apologies. I shall withdraw.”
Janice, who had remained unobtrusive until then, retreated slowly with her assistant Mariel, leaving behind shattered pottery scattered across the room.
After closing the door with a soft click, they walked silently down the spacious corridor of the Solar Palace. The sound of their footsteps echoed dully as Mariel murmured quietly beside Janice.
“You seem anxious.”
“…”
Janice gave no reply.