Chapter 65
The reason I showed everyone the grimoire was simple.
To help Elodie grow.
And to pick up a little magic myself while I was at it.
And to do something good for my master, Rinoa, too.
But then.
[This young lady is a witch, isn't she? I may be generous to pretty children, but I'm not such a lecherous old man that I'd pass my knowledge on to a witch.]
Iscalon, who had spent his whole life studying magic and only late in life developed a taste for women, suddenly said with a stern face.
“A witch? Our lady?”
I have a rough idea of what a witch is.
In the literal sense, it's a woman who uses magic.
More specifically, mages value orthodoxy and wield magic within rules and reason.
They are fanatics obsessed with magic, but they know how to stay within the lines.
By contrast, witches.
For witches, there is no such thing as a line. Those lofty standards of rules and reason were long ago thrown to the dogs.
They are the sort who have no qualms about touching the world's taboos or ethics if it serves their goals.
That is why witches are despised.
Witch hunts happen often too. The problem is that they're hard to catch.
But Rinoa, a witch?
“Were you a witch?”
“That's the sort of slander only a child would make. Great Sage, my foot. You're really just a senile old man, aren't you?”
“That's what he says.”
[No, my eyes are not wrong. Though it isn't complete, there is definitely witchly power flowing through your body.]
“Hmm...”
At Iscalon's words, I fell into thought for a moment. This was also something that didn't happen in the original story.
'Could it be because I directly received Rinoa's mana?'
Then I caught Rinoa's eyes for a moment.
Though we said nothing, we were probably thinking of the same person.
'Rinoa's biological mother.'
Duke Pascal's concubine.
The unidentified woman who died right after giving birth to Rinoa.
Neither I nor Rinoa had any information about her.
'Then was that woman a witch?'
As I pondered with a serious expression, I realized we weren't the only ones here.
Startled, I looked around and saw Elodie and Aiter staring at us.
Aiter in particular looked especially grim.
It was a bad turn. I needed to change the subject.
“Old man, mind your words. The blood of House Edelheid, the great magical house, flows in our lady's veins.”
[A magical noble house?]
“She's a mage, not a witch. You must have mistaken her because of that incredible talent.”
[Hmm, is that so? Though the aura does seem slightly different from the witches I know....]
When I responded firmly, Iscalon started to get confused instead.
[Well, seven hundred years have passed since I entered this grimoire. I suppose I could have been mistaken.]
“That's right. And even so, you're still going to discriminate against our lady?”
[…Yes, I understand. I'll teach that child magic too.]
“That's the right call.”
I subtly gauged Aiter's reaction. When our eyes met, he tilted his head slightly as if asking why I was staring.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to suspect much. I let out a silent sigh of relief.
“Then from now on, let's gather together and learn magic among ourselves. As for keeping the book, since I was the one who found it....”
[I refuse!]
“What?”
[I like that child! Child, please take care of me!]
The eye Iscalon had fixed on was none other than Elodie.
“Huh?! M-me?”
“This old man still hasn't come to his senses.”
[I am no ordinary grimoire. I have a mind of my own! I have the right to choose my master!]
What kind of nonsense is this now.
This really is the end of the world.
“Even I, a slave, can't choose my own master. How dare a book think it can.”
“If it could choose?”
“Don't be ridiculous. Of course it would have to be changed....”
Rinoa was staring at me.
I cleared my throat and hedged.
Rinoa let out a sigh.
“Just give it to her.”
“Would that be all right?”
“What if it isn't? I'd have to listen to that old man's whining for 24 hours.”
“That's true too.”
“As expected of our lady.”
The good stuff in my pocket.
Trash in Elodie's pocket.
Even if the world changes, that rotten mindset of yours never does.
But this time, I agree.
“Here you go, Miss Elodie. Take it.”
“Oh, is it really okay for me to take something like this?”
“Of course. Keeping it on you will help a great deal.”
Well, even if we handed the grimoire's ownership to Elodie, it wouldn't matter much anyway. It had been hers from the start.
[Ahhh, after being next to a sweaty swordsman, even the air feels different.... If this isn't paradise, then what is?]
Maybe burning it really would have been better.
***
After my conversation with Iscalon wrapped up, Rinoa and Elodie left together to take care of some private business.
It was a precious chance for Leon to get away from Rinoa's side.
“Leon, why don't you and I go out and get some air for a bit?”
“Sure.”
Leon readily accepted Aiter's suggestion.
If Rinoa came back later and was told Aiter had taken him away, she'd have no choice but to accept it.
The two of them left the building and began strolling along the path.
“Phew. If you have to deal with young ladies' silent power struggles all day, it wears you out. Being with you makes me feel like I can breathe again. It's so relaxing.”
“Just so you know, I like women.”
“That's ridiculous. To instantly label an imperial prince a homosexual. No one in this world treats me this casually except you.”
“I see.”
Leon nodded.
“But men are off-limits.”
“You bastard.”
Even so, Aiter didn't seem to feel the least bit offended by Leon's attitude.
Instead, he wore a relieved smile.
Leon's attitude toward Aiter was very peculiar.
He was casual like a friend, sometimes seemingly rude, yet he never crossed the line.
Watching that precarious tightrope act in person was enough to make Aiter admire him rather than get angry.
Thanks to that, he could set down the heavy burden of being an imperial prince for a moment when talking to him.
Elodie, a commoner, was much the same.
They still hadn't spoken much, but Elodie had an indescribable charm.
Drawn in by that charm, Aiter wanted to know more about her.
And Rinoa too. She, too, was very different from the image he'd imagined.
But the reason he couldn't treat her as casually as the other two was that she was the duke's daughter.
'The aura of a witch.'
Iscalon's words kept circling in Aiter's head.
On the night of the banquet, he had ordered the emperor's direct subordinates to dig into Rinoa's identity.
The plan failed because of Leon, who was right next to her. The assassins, too, had said they hadn't found anything unusual about Rinoa.
He had started to wonder whether they'd been barking up the wrong tree, and then today Iscalon pointed at Rinoa and called her a witch.
He couldn't just brush it off.
But it wasn't something he could ask the person herself so openly.
What Aiter came up with was targeting Leon, Rinoa's guard knight.
“Leon.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of the duke's daughter?”
Leon is no ordinary knight. For all his skill, he is a lowly slave.
From what he said about manumission last time, he doesn't swear loyalty to a house like ordinary knights do.
Rather, he seemed like someone who would leave the ducal house if he could.
In that case.
If he could only win Leon over, it would be a huge help.
Aiter tested Leon subtly with that thought in mind.
“No idea. She's stiff, unreasonable, thinks she's the best, and treats people like dolls.”
“Really? I thought she was much kinder than I expected. Like when she protected Elodie during the last quarrel.”
“It's all an act. Everything. She just does it for her own benefit.”
Aiter was slightly taken aback by the unexpectedly frank answer.
“…… That's a harsh criticism, even for my ears. I never expected you thought of her that way.”
“I'm only a knight in name, but my conduct is closer to a slave's, so it's hard to be polite. In that sense, I'm glad I'm not a noble.”
“Haha. I sometimes imagine that too. If I had been born a commoner, maybe I'd have thrown off this burden and lived freely.”
“What about a slave?”
“That's a bit much.”
No matter how low he set the bar, a commoner was the limit. Aiter wasn't ignorant of how slaves were treated, either. Leon was simply unusual.
'This might work out better than I expected....'
Leon's loyalty to Rinoa was far lower than he had expected.
A little coaxing might be enough to bring him over to his side.
“As for the next topic, that grimoire. I never thought something like that would be in the academy library. Somehow it managed not to get found until now.”
“Indeed.”
“Iscalon, was it? I'd never heard that name. He calls himself a Great Sage from the Mythic Age—what do you think?”
“It can't be a lie. What he showed yesterday was real. If that was the level of power he had even while sealed in a book, he must have been much stronger when he had a body.”
“Now that you say it, I trust you. A Great Sage from the Mythic Age.... I'm terribly curious what sort of magic he used.”
“I'm sure he'll be of great help to you too. Try learning from him with an open mind.”
“I should.”
For a moment, the conversation fell silent. Then Aiter spoke again.
Now came the main point.
“Do you remember what the sage said earlier?”
“Hmm, what did he say?”
“That he wouldn't teach magic to a witch. And he looked at the duke's daughter.”
“Ah, you mean that.”
“Do you really think the duke's daughter is a witch?”
So it had come to this after all.
Leon, who had roughly anticipated this, didn't panic and beat him to it.
“Honestly, I've sometimes thought our lady might be a witch too.”
“What? Really?”
“If she weren't a witch, she'd be so awful it wouldn't make sense. A witch? Please. She'd be more like a demon king.”
So that was what he meant.
Aiter felt slightly disappointed by the answer; it wasn't what he'd expected.
“Should we head back now? Our lady will be looking for me. If I'm late, I'm the only one who gets scolded.”
“Hmm, yes, we should. But before that, one last thing.”
Aiter's voice suddenly became solemn. The atmosphere dropped low.
“Leon. If the duke's daughter really is a witch, what will you do?”
“Hm? Our lady? That wouldn't be all that surprising.”
“Witches are subject to punishment simply for existing. If she really is a witch, the ducal house and you would both suffer greatly.”
“Mm....”
“I'm sincerely worried. I truly hope the sage was mistaken.”
That's enough for today.
If he tried to force the issue too quickly, he might only make things worse.
All he needed was to plant a little doubt and unease.
He just had to make the other side come to him first.
“It was a fruitful walk. Just talking to you makes me feel at ease. Let's go for another walk sometime.”
Aiter turned on his heel and headed back to the building.
Leon, watching him go, wore a refreshed expression as if a long-standing worry had finally lifted.
He smiled faintly.
‘Aiter. So it really was you after all.”
The one who had sent assassins after Rinoa.