# 39
39
“I mean seventh place.”
“……oh.”
“Well, it's only just getting started.”
A hint of disappointment appeared on her features, and Cain smiled faintly as if he realized the misunderstanding.
“This is how the Selene Empire is. Even if the Emperor reaches a high rank, the people here don’t even care about magic. No support, no interest.”
“Hmm, but on the other hand, the Selene Empire is very advanced in sword arts, right?”
He slowly ran his hand over the magic books he had brought with him.
How much effort he put in when he was young to collect these books.
“That is why, when I became Emperor, I was determined to spread magic throughout the empire, even if just a little. And that is why… I need you.”
In fact, she did not understand the true meaning of having a talent that allowed one to reach beyond rank eight.
“Magic transportation tools can only be developed by someone who has reached rank eight. Such a person has not appeared in the empire for nearly a thousand years.”
“As for the transportation tools we currently use, we bought them for an astronomical price from the Gervais Empire. We did not make a single one of them with our own hands.”
It was like a vicious circle.
It is as if Selene's empire is financing, out of nowhere, her arch enemy.
“It is time to break this chain.”
At the heart of this solution was Angelica Ratlay.
“Um…”
But Angelica couldn't hide her nervousness, so she just muttered softly.
She knew she had the “Eye of the Sage,” but she had doubts:
Can you really use magic?
“There was, yes.”
"Knights, by nature, develop aura within their sects and families. They are closed, not reciprocal. Sorcerers, on the other hand, are different. They establish magic towers and share knowledge."
“What's wrong with that?”
“The problem is that exchange means a suitable environment. Magicians, especially those with high abilities, prefer countries that provide full support.”
Angelica felt a little strange, so she extended her hand to one of the books that Cain had brought, and began flipping through its pages.
Immediately, one name caught her eye repeatedly in the author column:
“Gervais Central Tower.”
Then I found the same name in another book... and then another.
“This is a complete monopoly, isn't it?”
She said, looking up at him.
He too had these doubts before, but he never had the wherewithal to act on them.
“I can't say for sure that they're not hiding something. But there are definitely magic tools and potions that are only produced there.”
“Magic tools... and potions...”
The words echoed on her lips, and with them her awareness slowly began to shape towards a truth she did not want to acknowledge.
Angelica was chewing his words in her mind, and suddenly she remembered the nightmares she had been having frequently lately.
'Sure… In that vision, Angelica was also making a potion.'
“Healing potions?”
“Hmm… I’m curious to try it.”
“Don’t say that you are already planning to engrave your name in the continent’s history? We haven’t even started lessons yet!”
"No, no, I just mean I want to try. Not saying I'll succeed. Not now, anyway."
“Really… Is everyone who has the Eye of the Sage a natural genius? Or are geniuses the ones born with this eye?”
“It's not like that!”
"Well, well. For my dear Duchess Bernstein's sake, nothing I won't do. Everything, everything is possible!"
Only at this moment is she called “Duchess.”
As for Cain, who had mainly come to teach, he seemed to have finally regained his enthusiasm, so he straightened his seat and moved his neck slightly.
“Okay, let’s start with feeling the mana first… But, miss, how about we go to the Imperial Palace now? My private laboratory is there, and everything you might need is there. Anything you can think of—”
“I said no, now no.”
He explained to her how to sense the flow of mana, the differences between magic classes, and everything related to the basics of control.
When she woke up, the sun was beginning to set, and she had eaten lunch and dinner together with him without realizing it.
She accompanied Cain outside, where he was preparing to leave.
“Remember, next time you have to come to my laboratory in the palace, okay?”
“Yes, yes.”
“If anything comes to your mind, write it here.”
He handed her a small piece of paper.
“Write anytime, morning or evening, and I will reach you immediately.”
“Wow...”
“Oh, and this, by the way, I only gave to Cyril—”
“Cain Avendel.”
A familiar tone interrupted him from behind her.
Hugo took one step forward, standing between him and Angelica without hesitation.
“Are you still here?”
“I was about to leave, but...”
“Cyril asks when she will be back.”
Cain's expression changed instantly, and his eyes widened lightly.
“Oh! I have to go right away.”
He mounted his horse briskly, waved his hand with a bright smile, before speeding off.
His voice did not disappear until the horse's hooves faded into view.
Angelica finally breathed in relief, dropping her shoulders.
'Oh my God... I'm almost going crazy from being disturbed.'
I forgot for a moment how loud he could be when he got along with someone.
As she turned to leave—
“……?”
She stopped suddenly.
Hugo was standing right behind her, silently blocking her path.
“You...”
He interrupted her before she could finish.
“We agreed that you would call me by my name in the evening, right?”
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