Chapter 59 Motive
After completing what hardly felt like training, Silveryn stopped the carriage in front of a hillock on our way back to the mansion.
She alighted from the carriage and gestured for me to follow.
Then she veered off the carriage road and entered a forest path.
As Silveryn walked on, she said to me,
“Remember this location well. You’ll have to come here again.”
The place we arrived at after proceeding was a cemetery with about a dozen gravestones. The dense forest blocked the view around the grounds, and the gravestones were overgrown with weeds and moss, seemingly untended for a long time.
“Once you’re enrolled in Eternia, you’ll be assigned to two dormitories. In addition to that, you’ll have to come and go between three places depending on your needs: those dormitories and my mansion.”
She stopped in front of a grave in the middle and continued,
“And when you need to visit my mansion in disguise, you might come here. It would not be prudent to pass through the main gate in that guise. This place serves as a substitute for such occasions.”
Silveryn beckoned me closer.
“Touch this gravestone and shout, ‘My body to the earth, my soul to the Archmage.’”
I did as she instructed, placing my hand on the stone and calling out,
“My body to the earth, my soul to the Archmage.”
Immediately after, the ground behind the gravestone vibrated and opened, revealing a hidden passageway.
Silveryn was the first to step down the staircase leading underground.
I followed her down.
Beneath the ground was a long, straight stone corridor.
As Silveryn and I fully entered, the entrance closed automatically.
Blue light emitted from the mana tiles our feet touched, illuminating the path.
After about ten minutes, we came to a halt before two stone doors.
Silveryn led me to the doors and said,
“Try pushing them.”
The thick stone doors gave way easily with little force.
Beyond lay a familiar space.
Rows of oak casks filled with wine, it was the cellar of the mansion.
“When you’re disguised, use this route to come here.”
“Understood.”
“And once the term starts, I’ll often be away from my seat. In my absence, you’re the master of this mansion.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“What changes, then?”
“You’ll manage the mansion and serve as host to my guests in my place.”
Silveryn’s guests. I’m not sure if I can handle that responsibility.
“The butler will take care of the trivial matters. But for significant issues, you’ll need to get involved and make decisions yourself.”
“Significant issues like…”
“You’ll have to decide on the severity of the matters.”
It feels like I’m being entrusted with an important role that’s above my station.
“…What if I sell the mansion?”
“If you think that’s the right decision, do it. I’ll praise you if it’s for a good cause, scold you otherwise. I don’t demand perfection. It’s fine to make mistakes, so use it as you need.”
She really plans to entrust me with full authority.
I wouldn’t be throwing parties every day like some prodigal noble. As long as I can host the guests arriving occasionally, there should be no real issue.
“I understand.”
“It’s correct that authority should be transferred to you in the hierarchy. Technically, you’re the first in line for my inheritance.”
Silveryn spoke nonchalantly as she stroked my head.
“…”
I barely kept myself from blurting out a reflexive response.
I was merely taken in as a disciple. Moreover, I couldn’t inherit any of Silveryn’s magical skills or knowledge, nor continue the lineage.
But inheritance?
I wasn’t in a position for that. It seemed Silveryn wasn’t engaging in serious discussion either.
It was less that she’d designated me as her primary heir and more that there were no living relatives left for Silveryn.
***
Bertang glanced at his hand of cards and said,
“When is she coming?”
“Who?”
“That short-haired girl.”
He was referring to Trisha, with whom he had teamed up during the entrance exams.
Cecil narrowed her eyes. It was clear that Bertang was trying his best to appear disinterested.
He shook his head and replied,
“Give it up. She already has someone.”
Bertang jolted and asked,
“What… are you talking about?”
Elias, who had been playing cards alongside them, smacked Bertang hard on the back.
A smacking sound reverberated from Bertang’s ample back.
“Ouch!”
Elias teased him,
“Hey, she said she’s staying away because you’re too overbearing.”
“…What have I done?”
Cecil joined in to tease Bertang,
“You kept on fussing over her with this and that, probably got a bit uncomfortable for her.”
“I’m going crazy. I was just trying to help out. Why is that misunderstood?”
Bertang inspected his hand of cards while nervously shaking his legs under the table.
“But what do you mean she ‘has someone’?”
“Who knows. She’s still young. Says she has her ‘fated one’ or something.”
“Fated one, huh. That’s rich.”
Bertang bit his lip and sulkingly placed his cards down.
“I fold.”
Cecil also threw her cards onto the table.
“I’m out too.”
Elias boasted as he collected the pot,
“Looks like Bertang’s gonna cry himself to sleep tonight.”
Bertang snapped back,
“What do you know about it?”
“The look on your face when you heard Trisha had somebody, it was pretty clear.”
Bertang rolled his eyes, momentarily embarrassed.
“My face… what about it?”
Cecil crossed her arms and threw a sharp jab,
“Bertang’s not exactly the type to be popular with the ladies.”
“What? I’m alright, aren’t I? Passed the Eternia entrance exams, intellectual enough to handle Alchemy…”
Elias shook his head in disgust,
“If being a bit talented in Alchemy got you popular with the ladies, then high society would be dominated by alchemists.”
Alchemists, often reclusive and eccentric with a strong sense of self, were not particularly favored in high society circles.
“And you could stand to lose some…”
“I grew up being told I’m handsome by my parents and maids.”
“That’s the incurable disease of young men from wealthy noble families—overconfidence. Look at you. If you were truly handsome, your name would be buzzing around Rigved by now.”
“Do you think if I asked around on the street, some would know me?”
“Are you serious? Do you really think you’re on the same level as Hubert, Jordi, or Damian?”
“Who are they?”
“Guys famous just for their looks.”
“Are you comparing them yourself?”
“Yeah. I saw Hubert just recently.”
“Hubert?”
Elias frequently attended small gatherings of newly admitted students, due to his acquaintance from the entrance exams.
Discussions about who was good-looking or who was the valedictorian were the main activities of the group.
And Hubert was a name that often popped up in conversations about who was the most handsome among the new enrollees.
Hubert Colgrim.
Having dwarven blood from distant ancestors, the traits had physically been passed down. However, within the Colgrim family, it was only Hubert who was spared the dwarven features, born with fine aesthetics and hence called ‘Mutant Hubert’.
“Where did you see him?”
“Not long ago, wandering around the Rigved herb market. He was with his family.”
Contrary to Elias’s expectation, Cecil looked rather unimpressed.
“He definitely catches the eye. But now I can see why Hubert isn’t considered the very best. I saw someone else at the market too. Damian.”
“…Damian?”
Cecil’s response was one of curiosity, though not due to his appearance. Damian had been a figure of much speculation because, while having the most significant backing among those with recommendations, he had the least visibility in his exploits.
Bertang interjected with a taunt,
“How do you know it was him? Did you even speak to him?”
“No. But it was clear. I thought all those rumors were just exaggerated, but just take a look. Ah, that’s the guy, you can tell right away.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Something about him… once seen, he’s not easily forgotten.”
Bertang challenged the statement again,
“He could just be some passerby with balanced features.”
“He was on an Eternia professor’s carriage, though?”
“…”
They all quieted down for a moment at the mention of an Eternia professor. If Elias was right, it meant it was the carriage of an Archmage.
The thought that such a high-profile figure was staying near Rigved was unusual to them.
And the idea that someone could be a disciple of such a person was hard to fathom.
“Hey, is it true that guy is an apprentice to the Archmage?”
“Yeah. Wigel? Weisel? Those kids told me about it.”
Bertang said,
“I don’t know about the rest, but I can’t believe that Damian is her disciple. What did he do to earn that spot?”
A name unknown to none with even the slightest interest in magic. Many nobles and mages would gladly pay a fortune for a mere hour alone with her, and numerous individuals applied to Eternia hoping to attend her classes.
Damian seemed to be monopolizing the position that all magicians dreamed of and aspired to.
Elias snickered then remarked,
“Maybe his looks played a big part? If I saw him, I would’ve thought, well, better get him on a leash right away.”
“Man, if it were the Archmage, couldn’t she pick and choose the finest boys from the whole continent and make a village if she wanted to? What could she possibly be missing?”
“Maybe she’s already got that village going, and he just happens to be the most outstandingly beautiful boy to take on as an apprentice?”
“You’re crazy. That’s blasphemy and a desecration of the sacred.”
Elias shrugged his shoulders.
Bertang clamped his mouth and shook his head as if he’d rather not associate with such foolish talk.
Cecil, lost in thought, murmured softly to himself,
“More than that… Damian is a bit suspicious.”
“What is?”
Cecil hesitated to respond to Elias’s question.
Taking the opportunity, Bertang spoke up first,
“I feel the same. Having the Archmage’s apprentice in the combat division to begin with is odd. Plus, this year’s combat division seems to be at an unusually subpar level.”
It was established during the entrance exams that there was another peer with substantial talent.
It was tough for one with ordinary abilities to stand out this year when the combat division had received three students with talents typically seen once every three or four years.
Cecil placed a roll-up in her mouth and lit it. She remained silent, deeply absorbed in her thoughts.
It wasn’t Damian’s unique background or unclear capabilities that made Cecil consider him suspicious.
Cecil exhaled smoke and then said,
“Trisha seems to be quite interested in Damian, for no obvious reason.”
Bertang’s expression contorted in an instant.
“…What?”
***
Liria, with a basket full of letters, knocked on Damian’s door.
“Come in.”
She carefully stepped into his room, making sure not to make a sound.
Damian saw the basket she brought and said,
“Ah, thank you.”
“These are all the letters that have piled up since you were absent for the entrance exams.”
“Are there that many?”
“Yes…”
Liria placed the basket on Damian’s desk and pulled out the most critical letter from her bosom to hand it over.
“And there’s this too.”
The letter she had set aside and handed over was adorned with a golden ribbon and stamped with Eternia’s seal.
Upon seeing it, Damian’s expression became gravely serious.
He quickly broke the letter’s seal and unfolded it to read.
“…”
After reading, Damian sighed deeply.
Liria hesitantly asked,
“Um…”
Damian carefully folded the letter from Eternia and stood up, lifting the basket filled with letters.
“Yes. What is it?”
“When you enroll in Eternia… are you going to stay in the dormitory?”
“Yes, that’s right. The letter I just read was the notice for dormitory assignments.”
That implied they would have to be apart during the term. Liria’s face drooped with disappointment.
Damian stood by the fireplace, looking at the sender on each letter in the basket, then tossing them into the flames one by one, unopened.
“So during the semester… Oh no, you can’t!”
Liria cut herself off mid-question, startled, and stopped Damian.
The student was increasingly imitating his mentor’s behavior.
“Damian, you seem to have a lot of heart, yet sometimes you can be really, really cold.”
Liria was partly saddened by the thought that if she sent letters to Damian’s dormitory, they would likely be consigned to the flames just the same.
Snatching the basket as if it was precious cargo, she held it tightly and said,
“I’ll keep these just in case.”
“…You don’t need to do that. So, what did you want to ask?”
“Oh. During the semester, you won’t be visiting the mansion?”
“No, the professor has given me oversight of the mansion, so I’ll be coming and going often. And, sorry, but I think I might need to rely on you during the semester as well.”
Liria’s spirits lifted once more. She vigorously shook her head and assertively responded,
“No, I don’t mind at all! Please visit often. Definitely!”
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