I’d take revenge on my homeland.
Having made up my mind, I needed to act promptly. I gave Mireille several tasks to complete before we could make our escape.
“That should be all we need,” I concluded.
“Understood, my lady,” stated Mireille. “What about the firm? How should I deal with it?”
“Let me think...”
His Highness the Prince—actually, there was no longer any need for me to respect that scumbag. Friede was replacing my people with his own, obviously seizing control over my firm.
In that case...
“Let him replace our people. I’m sure he’ll dismiss or demote most of those who are loyal to me,” I added. “Tell them to leave the country when that happens. They should use different routes at different times to be careful. Our most influential executives and skilled experts are crucial, so have them lie low for a while. Once I’ve established myself abroad, I’ll contact them so we can move forward.”
“Certainly, my lady. I’ll pass on your orders.”
“While you are at it, ask a few of our trusted partners to remain in the capital. We’ll need them to gather intelligence.”
“Naturally. I’ll ask him to select a few suitable individuals for this task.”
I nodded. Seeing that I had no links with that man, I doubted anyone would make a connection and knew he could handle it.
“We’ll leave in five days, Mireille,” I said. “Right before the king and his retinue return. I’ll leave the preparations to you.”
“Yes, my lady. May your new journey be blessed,” she said with a detached tone before bowing.
I almost couldn’t believe a woman like her had lost her cool entirely earlier. Instead of leaving, though, she stared at me without saying another word.
“What is it, Mireille?” I asked.
“With all due respect...I suggest you do something about that,” she said, gesturing at the hole I’d punched into the wall.
“Right...”
I completely forgot how I’d hit the wall with mana concentrated around my fist. Unless I did something to hide it, the guards would notice immediately.
My decision had agitated me more than expected, and I needed to be careful not to make any mistakes. I couldn’t reveal myself until I made my escape.
“I suppose I’ll have to fix it,” I said. Hence, I stimulated the mana in my body and gathered it in my left hand.
In this world, all living beings had mana. The ability to control it using reason and theory was called magic. A magician’s training culminated in the creation of a Divine Artifact.
Since one materialized their inner mana as a Divine Artifact, everyone had different powers and appearances based on the magician’s preferences, personality, experience, and other factors. In most cases, it took the form of a weapon or armor.
Most magicians who reached the necessary level had to create a Divine Artifact because they were knights or adventurers—basically, people who needed to fight. The exceptions were overzealous researchers and the occasional gifted noble child who’d trained from a young age.
While Divine Artifacts were usually considered weapons, sometimes items with no fighting potential would appear. My Grimoire of Wisdom was one such exception, as it took the form of a tome and recorded all the information I’d seen at least once. It could also decode and translate documents for me.
Or so I’d told everyone around me.
I had kept the true nature of my Divine Artifact a secret—even from my father and the king. Recording and analyzing data was only a fraction of what I could do.
In truth, my real Divine Artifact had taken the form of seven powerful tomes: the Seven Grimoires.
Keeping an ace up one’s sleeve was one of the basics of high society. And so, I hadn’t even told my father—no, I should call him the duke. Someone like him isn’t my family.
Still, I hadn’t told the duke the truth about my abilities. Even Mireille, the person I trusted the most, only knew about four of my grimoires. I hadn’t realized it before, but I seemed to have developed trust issues along the way.
“Grimoire of Beelzebub,” I said, then a crimson tome appeared in my left hand.
The Grimoire of Beelzebub was one of the Seven Grimoires, and it let me record other people’s magic spells. I could cast them even if I didn’t have any affinity with their attributes. That was how I’d been able to use the dark attribute spell Hypnosis when I only had an affinity for water spells.
I flipped through the pages of the Grimoire of Beelzebub until I found the right one.
“Stone Wall,” I recited. Thanks to my Divine Artifact, I could activate this earth attribute spell without issue. “That should do it.”
Once I concealed the hole I made on the wall, I dismissed Mireille and made sure she was gone to lift the effects of Hypnosis. The guard tilted his head to the side with a puzzled look, probably having very fuzzy memories of the past few moments.
I sat back down and started planning my revenge.