NOVEL WEB Chapter 28
“Whew.”
I caught my breath as I watched the two of them.
My head was still spinning, but I needed to focus.
As I stood off against Camilla, Acella took a step forward.
Golden mana flickered in her outstretched hand.
“Acella, what on earth are you thinking?”
Camilla barely held back her rage as she spoke.
Acella, with the demeanor of the cruel wicked woman I knew, answered firmly.
“Your Majesty, all my subordinates are important items for future succession.”
“That’s not incorrect. So? Does that give you the right to block my magic?”
“Do you think I would just sit back and watch you weaken my faction’s authority by destroying our items?”
“Ha, your faction?”
Camilla scoffed.
“Where in this imperial family is there room for your faction? All the knights and maids in this palace are loyal to me, the Empress!”
“Maybe up till now, that was true. But it won’t be anymore.”
“You, what do you mean…!”
Ignoring the blood vessels popping on Camilla’s forehead, Acella lightly commanded towards the door.
“Knights, enter.”
With a bang, the door burst open, and Acella’s escort knights flooded in.
The knights surrounded Acella to protect her.
Camilla’s order of expulsion clashed with Acella’s order of entry.
Yet, the knights chose to follow Acella’s command.
This was proof that they clearly acknowledged who the owner of the Moonlight Palace was.
“You, Acella. When did you…!”
“Your Majesty, now is the time for you to make a choice. Will you stand by me, Acella von Württemberg’s third princess faction, or will you continue to act against my will and retreat to the sidelines?”
Hearing her threat, Camilla lifted her chin.
Swirling dark black mana churned in her eyes.
This time, Acella mirrored her resolve, refusing to back down even an inch.
Between them, the flow of mana grew increasingly charged, like an electric current.
After a brief standoff, Camilla finally turned her body and left.
Her loyal escorts followed behind.
‘The conflict between the imperial mother and daughter is deadly.’
I shouldn’t have gotten involved; it just makes me the loser here.
[No. 058: Magic Torture 14% → 0%]
[Deleted]
Because of this foolish bad ending.
Well, at least I could delete one more.
I was somewhat satisfied.
“Cough, cough.”
I covered my coughing with the back of my hand.
“Teacher, are you alright?”
Tanya helped me up. I waved my hand to indicate I was fine.
Using an attack spell that was almost torture on her daughter, the Empress is clearly not in her right mind.
The bad ending was deleted. This means she will no longer bother Acella with her magic.
Thanks to that, my future of being tortured has vanished as well.
I decided to think positively, like I got a cheap preview.
“Prince.”
As I regained my senses, Acella approached me.
“Did you call, Your Royal Highness?”
She called me over but then just glared silently.
What could be bothering her this time?
Perhaps, since I had meddled and messed up her relationship with the Empress, I should take responsibility.
“Do you have something to say?”
“…Why did you do that?”
Acella asked in a weak voice.
Even if she asked, I couldn’t explain the ending list, so I decided to respond as it should be.
“I only fulfilled my duty as the Attending Physician. Preventing injuries to Your Highness’s precious body is also within the scope of my duties.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
Acella sighed at my answer.
“A sigh is an easily recognizable symptom of stress. I recommend resting and getting some sunlight…”
“Shut up.”
“Then I’ll be quiet.”
“…Didn’t it hurt?”
Honestly, it hurt like hell.
…Hmm.
What’s the intention behind this question?
For some reason, Acella seems to be gauging my reaction.
If it were Max, I would understand, but why would she worry about me getting hurt?
Or maybe not.
Could it be that she’s really concerned?
Acella, of all people?
No way.
I shook my head to toss such useless thoughts away.
“Your weak power couldn’t even scratch my strong body.”
“Pfft.”
Did you just laugh at me?
Yeah, my strength is pathetic.
“I believe it could lead to serious injury for Your Highness. I think you should stop the Empress’s special classes.”
“That’s… sigh.”
“But this palace belongs not to the Empress but to you, the rightful heir, doesn’t it?”
“Your words are right. But….”
Acella trailed off.
“Because she is my mother….”
Though she muttered quietly, I heard it clearly.
Since becoming her Attending Physician, I felt I had learned a lot about Acella’s unexpected side.
“Are you feeling down because of your argument with the Empress?”
“Prince, don’t meddle unnecessarily.”
“I’ll pay attention.”
Twisting her body around with her arms crossed, Acella looked quite anxious.
The Head Maid whispered in my ear.
“Teacher, this is the first time the Princess has clashed with the Empress like this. She could be quite shocked.”
“I was surprised too, so let me comfort her a bit.”
“Why not try asking the Princess directly?”
“That’d probably lead to a date with the guillotine.”
The Head Maid shook her head and continued.
“Tomorrow, the Princess will have a magic class. Wouldn’t it be better if you informed her of this?”
Why does it have to be me?
“Is the magic class conducted with the court magician?”
“Yes.”
Since this rare advice came from the Head Maid, I decided to go along with it.
“Your Highness.”
“Are you still here?”
“Tomorrow, you have a magic class.”
“Oh, a magic class… I see.”
At the mention of magic, Acella’s cheeks puffed up.
Now that I think about it, Acella really loves magic.
“Prince, you’ll be joining too, right?”
“Yes, for the time being.”
“Hmm, …what kind of magic should I show?”
After returning to the Imperial Palace, Acella finally smiled and lightly trotted off.
*
“Huh, huff, huff.”
My office in the Inner Palace on the fourth floor took my breath away every time I came up.
I wondered why I had to be assigned to the fourth floor. They told me the lower levels were already occupied by existing factions, leaving no available spots.
The weaker factions could go die in a corner. Naturally, this made me angry.
“If I can grow a faction in the Inner Palace, I could move my office to the first floor. I’m going to make that happen.”
“If you build your strength, that could be arranged,” Tanya chided as I lay half-draped over the chair.
“Have the Commander carry me.”
“Not enough back to do so.”
Tanya had just hiked up with two enormous boxes on her back, yet she didn’t look the least bit tired.
“Packages that have arrived from the main house.”
Thud, Tanya set the boxes down.
It had only been a week since I arrived at the palace, but the first package was already here.
Peeling off the delivery note with the name of the shipping company, I saw it was from ‘Neria Gothberg.’
Given the timing, it seemed she sent it right after I left, quite diligent of her.
Inside one of the boxes were delicately plucked rose petals, a large quantity of honey candies, and various materials.
—Brother! The weather was really nice today at the mansion!
A handwritten letter starting with such a lead was enclosed, and after reading it thoroughly, I tucked it away.
The other side was packed with local specialties like coffee beans and jerky.
Especially, the jerky was something Boris prepared.
“Jerky is great.”
Protein is important for the body.
My body might be craving it especially hard right now.
Comparing Tanya’s muscular arms with my skinny biceps made me feel a growing need.
“Strength-enhancing elixirs… Steroids are certainly the most direct option.”
Even though it’s a hormone with severe side effects, future work like the Attending Physician’s exam could come up again.
I might need to prepare a short-term strength-enhancing potion for emergencies.
“Right now, with my alchemy rank, it’s still tough to mess with chemical structures as I want.”
Once I get past this stage, I might be able to create various potions.
Ultimately, medicine boils down to chemistry as a base.
“First off, I’ll observe Acella’s magic class.”
The time had come to meet the great wizard known as ‘Sage.’
The Imperial court magician, Seymour, was waiting.
*
“Hahaha, who is this? Acella! Meeting my little magical genius again makes my lazy backside want to bounce off the walls!”
Seymour, the Sage, had mustache ends twisted in a funny way, looking like a madman.
“It’s been a while since I received your teachings, Master.”
Conversely, Acella politely greeted Seymour, presenting a rather bizarre sight to me.
It felt like a strange picture, like a middle school girl learning capoeira from a homeless man in the park.
I observed their magic lesson, accompanied by escort knights and maids.
“Heh heh, it’s been a while, so I can’t even remember. Where did we leave off? Ah, it was how to draw curves in a multi-dimensional plane without formulaic conflicts. This is a technique essential for high-level magic development!”
Acella’s expression during class was serious.
Her golden eyes sparkled more than usual.
Filled with curiosity, she craved knowledge and dived into practical exercises until her mana ran out.
—Pazuzuzu…
Acella drew strange shapes and spells in the air.
It felt like she was creating a version of a Möbius strip, continuously moving.
I had no idea how to describe what I was seeing.
In fact, I gave up trying to understand midway.
Acella glanced back at me from time to time.
As if she was keen on whether I was fulfilling my duties properly.
After about two hours, it was time to take out a candy and pop it in my mouth.
Then Seymour walked over to me, slowly approaching and leaning in.
“Is it tasty?”
“It’s a specialty of the Gothberg Marquisate. Would you like one?”
“Let me try.”
As I happened to have the original candy sent by Neria, I pulled one out and handed it to Seymour.
He popped the candy into his mouth and crunch! Swallowed it in an instant.
His teeth were impressively strong for his age.
“Was it to your taste?”
“Hahaha, I wouldn’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I’m a sage. You’re Acella’s new Attending Physician.”
“I’m Lars Gothberg.”
Seymour grinned and leaned closer to me.
Unlike the homeless man, he didn’t smell bad.
He chuckled and said to me,
“You have remarkable talent.”
That sage title wasn’t given out randomly; he’s a perceptive old man.
“Are you interested in spells?”
He asked me.
Hmm.
“Are there crafting spells for strength-enhancing elixirs?”