TYHL 200

~Chapter 200~

Just past midnight.

Knock, knock.

Someone rapped on my door. I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I hopped out of bed and flung it open.

“You.”

Khalid stood there, his usually smooth brows twisted into a mess.

“What? Did something go wrong?”

Did the straw mage not behave?

Hazel said she’d locked him up properly…

When I asked, a little uneasy, Khalid let out a low sigh.

“You shouldn’t open the door without checking who it is.”

“Huh?”

“At this hour, too. It’s dangerous—”

I tilted my head.

“Of course I opened it. I knew it was you.”

And… I was a little glad to see him.

“You’re dangerous? Yeah? You gonna attack me or something?”

I poked him teasingly. An awkward silence followed.

“…You never know.”

“…Wow.”

What was that? He’d been doing great as a knight lately—was he suddenly competitive about everything?

“Anyway… I’m coming in.”

Khalid, the back of his neck faintly red, strode inside. He casually draped the large robe he’d been holding over my shoulders.

Why does he always want to give me clothes?

“As expected, the messenger pigeon was sent.”

He flipped the firewood in the hearth and got straight to it.

“Hazel gave him a room with a balcony in the back. He ate well, took a bath, checked there was no surveillance—and the moment he relaxed, he moved.”

I took the letter Khalid handed me.

“Where was the pigeon headed?”

He twisted his lips into a slight smile.

“The imperial palace.”

“Just like we thought. He’s reaching out to the King of Casalia.”

I read the intercepted letter.

Expose the fact that the Zebert family’s young lady is a mage at tomorrow’s ceremony. It must be done in front of Emperor Barmilon and the nobles.

I will appear at an appropriate moment, so prepare the paternity potion in advance. Even if I fail to appear, it’s best to throw the stone first.

If you follow this order, the alliance between Casalia and Arcadia will remain unbreakable.

A cold smile crept onto my lips. It really hadn’t strayed even an inch from what I expected.

There was more.

Be sure to emphasize that the young lady is not an ordinary mage, but a high-ranking Arcadian mage—and the Magic King’s “seventh.”

I pictured it.

The King of Casalia showing up at my coming-of-age ceremony, playing his part perfectly.

“This confrontation with the Magic Kingdom happened because of Lady Zebert!”

Something like that.

“They stole a child who was practically the Magic King’s own and hid her away! Who truly dragged this continent toward war?!”

The Barmilon nobles would be shocked. The hall would sink into silence—just the calm before the storm.

“And what about the demons appearing across the continent? Isn’t that because of the young lady too? How are we supposed to stop mages who attack with intent? Casalia has suffered because of this as well!”

Neatly justifying his own collusion.

Then, right on cue, the mage would appear with a rigged paternity potion.

“This mage is the young lady’s real father! Let us confirm the blood of a true mage! House Zebert will not escape responsibility!”

I crumpled the letter in my fist.

So I was Zebert’s weakness.

A mage from an enemy nation, hiding her identity.

Too easy to exploit.

“I almost had my coming-of-age ceremony completely ruined, huh?”

“Ruby.”

I tried to sound calm, but the voice behind me was thick with anger.

Khalid stood there, one hand braced on the sofa back, having read along. He was smiling faintly—but his temper was clearly frayed.

“Should I go kill them right now?”

How does he always know exactly how I feel?

“Just say the word.”

He sounded like he was begging, but his eyes were blazing.

I turned fully, climbed onto the sofa on my knees, and faced him. When I reached out, he bent instinctively.

Thunk.

I tapped the top of his head with the edge of my hand.

“No impulsive charges.”

As tempting as it was.

“Let’s start by catching that potato king instead.”

I imagined the King of Casalia, all prickly and stubborn like a sack of potatoes.

Sure enough, the letter bore the seal of the Magic Kingdom.

To prove you were a Magic Kingdom mage on paper, that seal was the only way.

The seal works like a magic tool.

It carried a unique mana signature—visible even to non-mages as a shimmering light. Hard to forge. Hard to copy.

“But I’ve got this.”

I hopped off the sofa and opened a drawer.

Inside were the tombstone formulas I’d collected over time, bound together—basically a grimoire by now.

I’d spent years gathering magic circles hidden across the continent. And with Wizeria on my side, tampering with a seal like this wasn’t hard at all.

“Hehe. This level of forgery is a piece of cake.”

“You sound like the head of a crime syndicate.”

With a fully charged backup battery beside me, I quickly used a magic circle to copy the seal—and the handwriting along with it.

After a moment’s thought, I wrote another letter myself and handed it to Khalid, pinched arrogantly between my index and middle fingers.

“Off you go.”

“Yes, my lady.”

My henchman vanished at once.

I have to decide.

The King of Casalia paced the room, his face tight with anxiety.

I really have to decide now.

In his hand was a letter bearing the seal of the Magic Kingdom.

It had come from the mage—ordering him to help their plans more actively.

We require the potion you possess. Let us meet at the location below at dawn.

If you follow this order, the alliance between Casalia and Arcadia will remain unbreakable.

He’d suspected it might be fake, but the seal matched previous letters exactly. Just to be safe, he’d had a Casalian mage verify it. Same result.

Dawn crept closer.

As the red sun began to rise, the king steeled himself, as if burned by its light.

That’s right. This is for the greater good.

It wasn’t betrayal.

It was the best decision to protect Casalia—perhaps even a brilliant diplomatic move.

And if Sevelena gets engaged to a decent Barmilon man this time…

Even if problems arose, the imperial family wouldn’t easily cast him aside.

His relationship with the emperor was good.

Marrying Sevelena off and settling her here might not be a bad idea at all.

“Good thing I still have a daughter.”

She was a bit stiff, sure—but her looks, inherited from his bloodline, were a blessing.

If I’d raised her from childhood, I could’ve shaped her better.

That’s how royal daughters were raised—polished and obedient, then married off abroad. He’d been praised often enough to think himself a decent father.

Creak.

His thick hand tightened around the potion.

“I need to hurry…”

Good thing he’d brought it with him before coming to Barmilon—also on the Magic Kingdom’s instructions.

With bloodshot eyes, the king donned plain clothes and left the room.

It was still early dawn.

Not many people were about.

The annex the emperor had given him was enormous—so large it felt like a smaller Casalian palace within the imperial grounds.

No one recognized the king beneath his gray robe.

“Huff… huff…”

He ran.

The meeting point was the seventh ornament in the garden near the palace’s north gate.

Behind it was a narrow path leading to a small hole in the palace wall.

The wall…

A sudden thought struck him.

Come to think of it…

Wasn’t this his first time leaving the annex like this?

Whenever he’d tried before, the emperor would conveniently appear—or a sudden party would be scheduled, or invited musicians would arrive, or an art salon would open…

J-just my imagination.

After all, he’d made it out just fine now.

He lingered near the ornament, pulling his robe low. Then—

Rustle.

He turned, pulling the potion from his pocket.

“Mage—!”

Something cold pressed against his neck.

His green eyes flew wide open