Inside a tower illuminated by a pale half-moon, Prince Rivage Myzahn was currently testing out new magic. The walls were made of timeworn stone, and the flames of torches placed across the room swayed, casting the shadows of the people inside.
While Rivage was using magic, his older brother, the king, sat on a wooden chair across from him. The king’s expression looked a little weary, since he’d come here after finishing his official duties. He wasn’t wearing his royal garb that included a heavy mantle and jacket, but light clothing; even Rivage rarely saw him dressed like this.
The king had grown up in an environment surrounded by treacherous relatives, and Rivage was the only person he could trust. Myzahni royalty lived in a dog-eat-dog world from the moment they were born. Everyone aimed for the throne, and those who failed to take it were eliminated. Rivage had lost his mother at an early age and found himself in an unfavorable position in the royal palace; he’d only survived until now thanks to his older brother. Under normal circumstances, two princes wouldn’t cooperate with each other, but the king was an exception and supported Rivage.
As a result of their cooperation, Rivage’s older brother had become the king by taking the position from their father; a common occurrence in Myzahni history. Rivage helped his brother, and by working together, the two of them had maintained the barren desert country of Myzahn to this day. The king looked similar to Rivage but also possessed a powerful presence. Rivage had always idolized his half brother. If he so desired, he could even obtain a saint’s magic and invade Polpystan. Rivage didn’t trust another soul, but his brother was the exception.
Everyone else had been ordered to leave, so the two of them were currently alone in this room. After Rivage finished testing out various things with magic, he turned to his brother.
“How is it, elder brother? Apparently, this is the psychosomatic purification magic possessed by Robin, the one said to be ‘close to a saint’ in Desnim.”
The king was going along with Rivage’s magic experiment.
“Hmm, it’s certainly genuine. I feel my body being purified. The mental recovery magic you used earlier was also good for me. I could feel some of my stress being alleviated.”
Rivage’s lips curled into a tiny smile when he saw his brother looking so satisfied.
“Now then, it’s possible that Robin’s magic really is similar to a saint’s, although there are some differences. His personality seems to be the furthest from a saint’s, though.” Rivage had complicated feelings as he remembered Robin’s behavior from when they’d met.
He was a terrible person. Although the same was true of most Myzahni royalty, Rivage had never met someone quite as selfish as Robin. At first, Rivage’s plan had been to bring Robin himself to Myzahn, but leaving him in Desnim had definitely been the correct choice. No one could control that man. Rivage could easily imagine Robin causing huge problems in Myzahn.
The king looked at his brother curiously and continued their conversation.
“Even though it’s similar to a saint’s, this magic is lacking in power and is far from almighty. It’s a valuable magic that can soothe the citizens, but it’s not what we’re after.”
“Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. It’s not one of the famous types of magic used by saints, like healing wounds, purifying poisons and illnesses, or creating barriers. I ran various experiments and tried using it in different ways, but I only ended up with psychosomatic purification and mental recovery.”
“But depending on how it’s used, it can become a powerful weapon. The original owner of the magic devised a clever way to use it: intentionally putting others in a dazed state.” Just like the king said, although this magic didn’t suit their purposes, it deserved praise for being able to affect people’s minds, even temporarily.
“Making direct contact with Robin was worth it just for stealing this magic. If I use it, I should eventually be able to bring out different effects than Robin did. Magic that affects the mind has rarely been reported, even tracing back through history. That alone proves how powerful it is,” Rivage said with a subdued smile.
The king turned a grim expression toward his brother.
“Incidentally, no one knows about your true magic, do they?”
Rivage nodded deeply.
“I’ve made certain of that. Everyone else should believe that I possess sealing magic.” Rivage’s magic was only effective when it was kept hidden; he understood that very well. That was why he’d asked his brother, the king, to help with his experiments. He hadn’t even told his subordinates about his true magic; they believed that he possessed sealing magic.
“I see. Sealing itself is powerful magic, so it works as good camouflage for your other kinds of magic.”
“Yes, I doubt anyone would imagine I’m hiding two other types of magic.”
“If you include your original magic, you currently have four different kinds in total,” the king pointed out.
“Indeed.” Rivage nodded.
“In any case, your duplication is really convenient magic.”
“I’m not as knowledgeable as the original owner when it comes to magic that isn’t my own. In addition, even if the owner is an incredible user, it’s uncertain whether I can use their magic with the same power.”
“Well, that’s true, but the opposite can also happen.”
Just as Rivage’s brother said, there had been cases where the original owner had been incompetent at using their magic, and Rivage had actually learned to use his copied version more effectively than the original owner ever had. Robin fell under this latter category.
“I need to practice this mental recovery a little more. It’s surprisingly complex, and I need to research its uses,” Rivage said.
“Your earnestness is one of your good points. Whoops, it’s almost time for my next duties. I will excuse myself now. I’m entrusting that matter to you.”
“Of course, elder brother. Please leave the rest to me.” Rivage stood up, bowed, and saw his brother off with a cheerful smile.
After the king left, the room was enveloped in silence. Rivage thought back to an exchange that had taken place in Desnim a short time ago.
That was a very unpleasant visit... Because of his subordinate’s blunder, Rivage had needed to go all the way to Desnim for a conference, take responsibility for the incident, and even give compensation. The king’s brother and the Margrave of Sutrena wrung me dry... But Rivage had endured. Everything had been for the sake of duplicating Robin’s saintly magic and making it his. I managed to quietly get close enough to touch Robin without anyone noticing, so I achieved my goal.
Just like the king had said earlier, Rivage could duplicate up to three kinds of magic. If he wanted to duplicate a new type of magic, he’d need to erase one of the existing three for the new one to take its place. He could erase any magic he’d duplicated at will. Although Robin’s magic had been different from what Rivage had expected, it was unusual and interesting. In addition, it seemed that Robin’s mana was low, while Rivage’s was higher than average, so it was likely he’d be able to use the magic more effectively than its original owner.
“I never expected to end up losing Defi, but such is life.”
Defi had been an outstanding and sensible subordinate. He had a special kind of magic which could release the seal on other people’s magic. However, that was all there was to it. It was an inconvenient magic without much utility. Rivage had kept Defi around because he’d been convenient for undoing seals Rivage had placed. Rivage’s duplication was limited to three kinds of magic, so he didn’t want to waste one of those slots on the largely useless release. Therefore, he’d thought it would be better to just have Defi nearby. Now Rivage had someone else who could use release magic at the ready in Defi’s place. However, that subordinate wasn’t as good at their job as Defi had been.
In addition to accomplishing his objective, Rivage had decided to avoid directly interfering with Defi and had given him a chance, out of respect for his past devotion. However, since Defi had helped Robin escape, it was hard to imagine that he’d be able to live comfortably in Desnim. He’d probably be saddled with full responsibility for the escape and be punished accordingly.
In any case, Sutrena is an area worthy of caution. Rivage had felt that keenly during his visit.
Rivage took a seat and thought about the land he’d been to. After his trip, he’d assigned subordinates exclusively to the task of uncovering Sutrena’s vulnerabilities. Said subordinates were merchants in Desnim and made every effort to learn the weaknesses of the Margrave of Sutrena. Rivage had many such pawns in other countries. But unexpectedly, the Margrave of Sutrena was frighteningly guarded.
I knew that Nazelbart was an outstanding individual, but to think that his only weaknesses are his wife and son... I was hoping for more evidence of wrongdoing or something connected to a scandal.
But Rivage’s subordinates had uncovered no such information, and the people of Sutrena all had nothing but praise for the margrave and margravine. Even when Rivage had tried sending spies to spread malicious rumors, not a single person in Sutrena had reacted. Far from it, in fact: they’d admonished the spies and called them wrong. The lord and his wife were close to the people and regularly interacted with them, so there was no room for ill rumors to creep in.
As proof of the above, there was a wide variety of statues of the margravine erected all across the main town. When the spies had asked about the statues, they’d learned that the margravine hadn’t ordered their construction, but the sculptors were making them voluntarily. In fact, the margravine apparently felt embarrassed and was opposed to their construction. Even though she’d only moved to Sutrena a few years ago, it seemed that she was terrifyingly popular.
As for Nazelbart, he’d once been a prince consort candidate, and possessed exceptional practical skills. He also had a good relationship with the current King of Desnim. He’d once fallen into Robin and Mia’s trap and gotten exiled, but the rumors surrounding that incident had now been rewritten, and his reputation continued to improve year after year.
There are no openings to take advantage of. It looked like a more detailed investigation into Sutrena, and by extension Desnim, was in order.
“It would be useful to have an excellent spy like Defi at a time like this. But there’s nothing I can do since things with him ended up like that; I’ll need to find someone else. I have to live up to my brother’s expectations too.” Rivage let out a long sigh in the empty room.