About a month had passed since Shane had departed for the desert.
First Princess Olicia and one of the twin flowers of the Empire was busily going through a flood of documents pouring in from all directions.
The overwhelming tide of information, something she never had access to before, was beginning to weigh on her mind.
“Hmmm…”
Next to her, Osten, the second son of the Bernshtein Marquisate, was assisting her by reviewing the documents as well.
No, if we’re being precise, I’m the one assisting him.
Osten’s ability to absorb information was unrivaled. Even someone as capable as Olicia could barely keep pace with him.
There were even times when she felt that Osten was intentionally slowing down for her sake.
After finishing the immediate paperwork with Osten, Olicia gently massaged her eyelids, looking tired.
“Phew. Is that everything for today?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Haah, that was exhausting. At least my brother’s staying quiet. That’s a relief.”
“Hmm…”
Osten let out a soft hum at her words, prompting Olicia to raise an eyebrow.
To outsiders, Osten appeared to be someone who stammered awkwardly, but when he did choose to voice his thoughts, he exuded more confidence than anyone.
Even the nobles serving under Olicia would hold their breath whenever Osten revealed that side of himself. So when he acted like this, it naturally caught Olicia’s attention.
“Is there something troubling you?”
“I’m not sure if I would call it a concern, but…”
“It’s fine. Go ahead and speak.”
“…Thank you for your consideration. The truth is—”
Osten was someone who viewed everything through a lens of logic.
When a result appeared, Osten would use it as a base to figure out why that outcome had occurred and then predict what might happen next as a consequence.
His predictions were so accurate that calling them prophecies wouldn’t be an exaggeration. This habit of letting one thought lead to another had long been second nature to Osten.
But recently, even someone like Osten had encountered a troubling dilemma.
At some point, he who always approached matters with logic and cold rationality had begun arriving at answers that had no reasoning behind them.
“Answers without any explanation?”
“Yes. Lately, I’ve started predicting outcomes before any process has even begun. Before anything has actually happened.”
“Hmm…?”
At his words, Olicia tilted her head in confusion.
Simply sitting still and suddenly envisioning an event before it unfolds?
That was the realm of foresight, wasn’t it?
And since Olicia knew Osten’s personality better than anyone, her expression grew even more puzzled.
“Is that even possible?”
“That’s what confuses me too.”
Normally, Osten would analyze any situation logically after the fact to discern its authenticity.
But now he was reaching conclusions without any process at all.
“I don’t know why this is happening… but I think I might have an idea of the cause. The problem is, the one person I could ask about it isn’t here, and that’s frustrating.”
“Someone you could ask?”
“That man.”
“Ah…”
As soon as he said it, Olicia nodded.
That man.
Clayton R. Shane.
He had appeared out of nowhere and quickly made a name for himself, eventually becoming an indispensable asset within Olicia’s camp.
“What do you think the cause is?”
“You’re aware that I can’t use magic, correct?”
“Yes.”
A magic deficient.
A term used to describe those born without the ability to use magic. They were anomalies by nature.
Osten was one such magic-deficient. Despite being born the second son of a marquis, his family had practically abandoned him because of it.
Osten, fully aware of that fact, had never once clung to the idea of magic—
At least, not until he heard Shane’s words.
“One day, he said something to me. He asked if I was truly unable to use magic.”
“……”
After hearing that, Osten began spending many days reflecting on himself.
Now that he thought about it, he’d only ever analyzed the value he possessed, never once questioning why that value existed in the first place.
Wasn’t that strange?
Having the ability to identify the causes behind events and even predict the future outcomes those causes would lead to…that was undoubtedly a gift.
But to awaken such an ability without any form of teaching or guidance…was that truly possible?
After a cold, objective evaluation, the answer was clear: it wasn’t.
“Since that day, I’ve been gathering information whenever I could. There wasn’t much available, but I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a few relevant books.”
He had made formal requests to the renowned library under his family’s name,
And even scoured small, dust-covered bookstores filled with ancient legends and forgotten tomes.
After entering Olicia’s service, he even spent time in the Imperial Library. And through all that effort, Osten finally began to uncover clues about his own ability.
“The Upper Dantian. Normally, warriors use the Lower Dantian, while mages draw power from the Middle Dantian located near the heart, where their magic circle resides. But apparently, there’s a third one…an Upper Dantian.”
“That’s… the first I’ve ever heard of it.”
“It was merely a tale from long ago, a legend at best. I thought of it as nothing more than a fanciful story when I first read about it.”
Then, one day, a book arrived…from Shane.
A worn, grimy book that Shane had unearthed after scouring the underground city.
“But it turned out it wasn’t just a legend. The ancient text written before the Empire even existed contained a method for storing mana in the head.”
However, the technique was incredibly complex and subtle.
It was like being told to clean a cluttered mansion while all five senses were paralyzed.
And yet, astonishingly, Osten had begun to decipher it piece by piece.
And as he did, inexplicable phenomena began to occur.
“That’s when the foresight began, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“But what kind of foresight was it to leave you so unsettled?”
“That’s…”
Osten lowered his eyes, scanning his surroundings cautiously.
What they had discussed up to this point was already highly confidential, but what was about to be said required even greater caution.
At that moment, a shadow sprang up from beneath Olicia and from it emerged a silver-haired girl.
A true-blooded vampire with eyes as red as blood.
It was Evelyn.
“There’s no one nearby. I can’t sense any mana either.”
“Is that so…”
Since it came from a vampire, whose sensitivity to the scent of blood and presence of mana surpassed anyone present, Osten felt reassured enough to speak his next words.
“I saw the Empire… no, the Imperial Family itself engulfed in flames.”
***
That afternoon.
Anastasia headed straight to Olicia after being summoned by her.
Two years earlier, she had successfully defended Arunvida. In recognition of her accomplishments, she was now studying under the Supreme Commander, who was responsible for the Empire’s defense.
“Oh my, you look a bit pale, Sasha.”
At Olicia’s remark, Anastasia gave a wry smile and replied,
“Hmm… I think I’d rather be out fighting on the battlefield.”
Under the Supreme Commander, what she was learning was the ability to read the battlefield.
It was a skill unfamiliar to Anastasia, who had always thrown herself directly into the fighting at Arunvida.
Perhaps that was why her way of speaking had taken on a heavier tone.
“So, why did you call me here?”
“It seems… the time for war may not be far off.”
“War, huh…”
At a glance, the Empire seemed to be at peace. But even someone like Anastasia, who lacked the sharpest political insight, could tell that the Empire was in a precarious state.
“Is it the nobles causing trouble?”
“That’s likely part of it.”
After the recent terrorist incident, many nobles had been purged or faced equally severe punishments.
As a result, several noble houses that had once held significant power within the Empire were now on the verge of collapse, and the empty space they left behind was far from insignificant.
Of course, Olicia had not acted without understanding the consequences of such a move. But it wasn’t something that could be ignored either.
After all, one couldn’t continue living in a building whose supporting pillars were rotting away.
But that didn’t mean the Emperor’s power had grown stronger, either.
The Emperor’s declining health had already become something of an open secret among the people.
The problem was that he had yet to name an heir.
Crown Prince Zephyr D. Wyatt Samuel had lost the nobles’ trust in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attack.
Because of that, most nobles believed Olicia would become the next ruler. But even now, the Emperor remained silent.
“It’s a frustrating situation…”
“A war, under these circumstances? Is it Nameless?”
“Yes. Most likely.”
“Most likely?”
At least from what Anastasia knew of Olicia, she wouldn’t have called her here over something uncertain.
Even so, there was no certainty in Olicia’s voice.
“Osten is still looking into it. We’re short on clues. But he says… it’s likely something will happen within a few months, at the latest.”
“A few months, huh…”
“If only he were here, I feel like everything would be resolved in an instant.”
“Hmm…”
That person.
Anastasia almost nodded at the reference to Shane, of course, but then quickly shook her head.
“We’re members of the Imperial Family. We can’t rely entirely on one person.”
“Oh my… you say that, but somehow, I can’t help feeling there’s another meaning behind those words. Is that just my imagination?”
“……”
Olicia said it with a playful smile.
And indeed, Anastasia didn’t deny it.
“Well, you’re still right. It’s our duty to protect the Empire. That’s why I’m even more concerned.”
“Still, isn’t there some way to narrow down the timing?”
“Osten’s doing everything he can to figure that out. Fortunately, it seems he’s found a lead, so I’m sure we’ll have good news soon.”
“Then we’d better start preparing on our end as well.”
“Preparing?”
“If it’s a certain scale of troops, I can move them at my discretion. Of course, that doesn’t mean I have full command authority.”
“Even that’s reassuring. What we went through in Arunvida is definitely proving useful.”
“Yeah.”
With some of her worries eased, Olicia suddenly shifted the subject.
“Speaking of Arunvida, that reminds me. I wonder how Uncle’s doing these days?”
“Who knows. Whatever else may be true, it’s probably not good news for the northern nobles.”
“Well… even the rumors we’re hearing sound pretty brutal.”
But ironically, that was what reassured Anastasia.
Their uncle once a dominant figure in the undercity and a member of the Four Families
Gold Mine Eldorat.
His real name, Zephyr D. Quiet Elain, was now sweeping through the North with unstoppable momentum.
And he wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by Lindberg J. Anais of the Knights of Judgment.
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