“Excuse me? Suspicious, you say? What do you mean?”
Orgen shook his hand dismissively and straightened his expression.
But Seten was certain that his intuition was right.
The way Orgen reacted so strongly was very suspicious.
“Tell me. What kind of trouble did you cause?”
“Trouble? I’m not a five-year-old child.”
“Then...”
The red eyes, as vivid as his hair, slowly rolled and stopped just as Adrian was entering the Black Forest.
Ah!
A sparkle flashed in those eyes like flying sparks.
“So you need to seal the Grand Duchess’s seal?”
Two magicians were needed to affix the seal.
The spell itself wasn’t complicated, but the method was tricky.
They had to cast two different spells simultaneously.
No matter how skilled, unless they were a hydra with dozens of heads, it was impossible to cast two spells at once with one mouth.
Even for a dragon.
“Ah, so that’s why you told me to go to the Grand Duchy Castle.”
Seton chuckled quietly.
His shoulders shook with laughter, giving off a rather mischievous vibe.
Orgen sighed deeply at Seton’s behavior.
He wanted to let it slide naturally, but it seemed difficult.
So he decided on a straightforward approach.
Orgen spoke in the most polite and respectful tone he could muster.
“I never thought I could deceive you, Seton. I’m asking you, please treat the Grand Duchess kindly.”
“Who do you think you’re ordering? Such arrogance.”
Seton’s sharp, elongated eyes narrowed fiercely.
“Ordering? Of course not. I’m making a request, Seton.
”
Orgen clearly remembered how Seton went wild when he heard the Emperor had appointed the Blessed One’s consort.
He had struggled a lot trying to stop Seton from storming into the Imperial Palace.
There was no way Seton would be friendly to the Grand Duchess.
Orgen called after Seton, who was heading to the carriage.
“I’ll finish quickly and come back. Please rest in a warm bath.”
“Try being late.”
He didn’t answer about the Grand Duchess but threatened instead.
Thud!
“Don’t be so stubborn!”
Orgen added earnestly to the carriage door that slammed shut right in front of him.
There was still no reply.
But he wasn’t very worried.
Despite his attitude, Seton was essentially a kind person.
He loved children and cared for the Northern Territory more than anyone else.
If he learned about the Grand Duchess’s struggles after falling ill harshly in the South, he wouldn’t just grumble and stamp the seal; he would even cast all sorts of minor spells like warming magic for her.
Orgen chuckled quietly at his own silly thoughts, then walked toward the Black Forest, murmuring,
“The Grand Duke shouldn’t have irritated him... What kind of day is this? Why is everyone so gloomy?”
He tilted his head, then walked on.
This time, he had to check on the remaining magicians beyond the forest.
He guessed they’d be in just as bad a shape as Seton.
No, if the tower master Seton was that bad, the magicians would be worse.
“Sigh.”
Hopefully none of them were dead.
At that moment, Adrian was leisurely walking toward the center of the Black Forest.
Crunch, crunch.
Thin frost cracked under his feet, producing a clear, fresh sound.
Black grass, black water, black dead trees—
Everywhere was soaked with dark magic, pitch black, but the air inside was clean and cool to the touch.
Adrian twisted his mouth with a slight smirk.
Though he hadn’t heard anything, seeing such cold magic exuding here, he guessed who was nesting here.
It was definitely a Jaeger, whose unique chill froze not only his own magic but even foul odors.
It looked like a seagull with a long, sharp beak—a born hunter.
One might wonder why a seagull-like monster would nest deep in the mountains, but the Northern Territory borders the sea.
Though half the year it was frozen.
“This is my first Jaeger.”
Typically, Jaegers nest near the dark cliffs by the sea rather than inland Black Forest, so this was unusual.
Though species have their traits, monsters don’t usually care much about their environment when nesting.
Maybe it was pushed here during breeding season due to crowding.
But what did it matter?
The Jaeger would be dealt with today, anyway.
Adrian drew his sword from its sheath and wrapped it in aura.
A cold, white light, like his own, covered the blade, and the Black Forest trembled fiercely.
It was as if the trees themselves were shaking.
Adrian stared at the trembling trees, then sliced his sword horizontally.
Kyaaaaak!
A deafening roar filled the air as thick slime dripped from the sky.
Plop—
Drop—
Adrian swung his sword without pause, beginning with the Jaeger’s death cry.
This was only the start.
A Jaeger guarding eggs sends out juvenile birds the size of adults at the first sign of intruders.
Most intruders can be dealt with by these juveniles after their first molt.
Only when every juvenile is dead does the fully grown adult appear.
“...”
At that moment, as Adrian shook the slime off his wet sword, he slowly raised his head, sensing a massive shadow creeping up to his toes.
There, something so huge that it could not possibly be a bird glared at him.
Its large eyes were full of rage.
Tricks like ‘
seals
’ wouldn’t work on a large species like the Jaeger.
Especially since he didn’t just sneak past quietly but killed all the offspring the mother had raised—she must be furious.
Adrian lightly twisted his wrist as he watched the Jaeger roll its eyes, pondering how to deal with him.
His slender sword spun softly in his hand, humming with a faint afterimage.
After a couple of rotations, Adrian leapt into the air like a graceful stag, his sword flashing.
The Jaeger’s head rolled off.
Thud.
Its body collapsed.
Using the fallen Jaeger as a stepping stone, Adrian quickly jumped again.
He soared once more, swinging his sword fiercely.
His sword’s white light sealed the Black Forest as he hunted down seven of them.
This was just the beginning.
For now, the Jaegers underestimated him and came out one by one.
Soon, however, the real battle would begin.
Jaegers hunt in packs.
As dusk fell, one by one, large winged beasts came flying to him.
When the vast Black Forest began to feel cramped,
Thud.
With a soft tremor in the ground, the last one appeared.
A beast with brilliant blue tail feathers.
“That’s it.”
The pack leader had arrived.
Adrian twirled his sword, now wearing a much colder expression, and faced it head-on.
The Jaeger’s yellow eyes gleamed fiercely with excitement.
Ione, entering the dining hall, was bewildered.
They said an important guest had arrived, so why were there beggars at the castle?
“Warm meat! I never thought I’d eat this again!”
“The butter flavor is quite good, too.”
With snot running down their faces and tattered robes,
their hurried hands and even faster eating—
Even without bias, these two men sitting in the Grand Duke’s dining hall looked like beggars.
“...”
Or rather, pretty beggars...?
Rubbing her eyes, Ione realized they weren’t dirty but quite handsome.
Still, beggars were beggars.
She tightened her loosened lips.
She’d never read about beggars coming to the Grand Duke’s residence before, so what was this...?
“Let’s go in, Your Highness. We’ll be late otherwise.”
Helena whispered to Ione, who was peeking inside the door.
“Huh? Oh, wait a second. They’re eating so hastily, I wonder if we’re disturbing them?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Without warning, Helena flung the door wide open.
The well-oiled wooden door opened silently and smoothly.
All eyes instantly turned to Ione.
Feeling awkward under the sudden gaze, Ione forced a smile.
“Um...”
Just as she was about to greet them, the red-haired man immediately called Helena.
“Helena! Bring me some wine, will you?”
He really was a guest after all.
Helena politely responded to his request.
“Seton, you can’t drink.”
“Helena, don’t you know I just came back from working in the Black Forest?”
“If you use that as an excuse to drink, Adrian will have to save you from the liquor.”
“Wow... that’s a good idea.”
Seton, the man, scratched his sleek chin thoughtfully.
“I’m exhausted from using overlapping magic today. Just one glass of wine, please. Hm?”
“No. You should have a bath first, and remember, you asked for food because you were hungry.”
Helena was firm but polite.
Ione suddenly realized who these messy yet handsome men were.
She recalled what Helena had told her about a visitor.
“Your Highness! The magician who went on a mission is returning.”
She had imagined an elderly man with a white beard in robes or a flamboyant handsome man—but the visitor’s shabby appearance had been so shocking she almost forgot what she’d just heard.
It was not intentional at all.