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"What? You're going to join the Council of nine archmages?"
Marcel's eyes shook violently.
Iana knew it well.
Succeeding their father as a member of the Council of nine archmages.
It was what her brother had desperately wanted.
"Why should I help you when our deal is off?"
Marcel sneered, as if he lacked nothing.
Iana could see Marcel's dark intentions clearly.
'Brother is negotiating until the end. Trying to get his due.'
She sat down on the chair and spoke calmly.
"Because you have no other choice, brother."
"What?"
"Why, are you going to side with Riel and Duke Havel now? You tried to kill Riel, refused Duke Havel's offer, and publicly supported the Empress."
"⋯⋯!"
"You know it too, and that's why you refused. Because you knew you'd end up being used and discarded just like Riel's methods."
Bang!
Marcel couldn't contain his anger and slammed his hands on the table.
Iana also stood up from her seat and shouted.
"Don't try to negotiate recklessly when you're cornered. Not if you want to protect your life and the Rechelles family."
For a moment, the two's gazes clashed intensely.
"Do you think the Council of nine archmages will accept you just because your magical power is strong?"
Marcel sneered and scoffed until the end.
But his question was expected.
Iana brought up the words she had prepared as if she had been waiting.
"Isn't the most important thing to the rotten Council of nine archmages the family they come from?"
"So, so what?"
Marcel asked in an ominous voice.
Iana approached Marcel and whispered softly.
"Reinstate me into the Rechelles family. Secretly, without them knowing⋯⋯."
"Reinstatement? Absolutely not!"
Marcel's eyes were filled with anger.
Iana took a step back and gave a twisted smile.
"Then I'll wait until Riel and Duke Havel attack you."
"⋯⋯!"
"Because I'll make sure I inherit the Rechelles family when you're gone."
✦ ✦ ✦
Iana finished talking with Marcel and left the Empress Palace.
Marcel adamantly refused Iana's offer.
But her brother had no choice.
'If I wait, I'll get an answer.'
As Iana was lost in thought and walking towards the Imperial Garden.
She saw the Emperor walking ahead, surrounded by a dozen royal guards.
It seemed that the Emperor's guard within the Imperial Palace had been strengthened since the monsters appeared in the capital.
At that moment, a good idea flashed through Iana's mind.
'That's it. That's how I can separate the Emperor and Riel⋯⋯.'
That evening, Iana heard that Charles had gone out of the Imperial Palace and returned, so she headed to his room.
Knock knock.
She knocked on his door.
"Your Highness, are you inside? I came because I have something to tell you."
After a while, Charles opened the door and came out, and a faint smell of alcohol wafted out.
"Have you come? Come in."
Iana followed Charles into his room.
The first thing she saw was the bottle of alcohol and glass on the table.
"Were you drinking?"
She asked with a worried face.
It seemed to be very painful for him to watch the Emperor from nearby.
"I was a little confused⋯⋯ Anyway, what did you want to say?"
The two sat facing each other on the sofa.
Iana carefully opened her mouth.
"How about I become His Majesty the Emperor's guard mage? To separate His Majesty the Emperor and Riel."
"His Majesty's guard mage?"
Charles frowned.
"I thought I could immediately stop the tricks Riel is playing on His Majesty the Emperor."
"⋯⋯."
When Charles didn't react, Iana examined his expression and continued.
"Are there other archmages in the capital, so it won't work? But right now, I'm the only one who can use purification magic⋯⋯."
"Conversely, if you are next to His Majesty the Emperor, you could become a hostage. As a means of threatening me."
"I thought about that too. But I thought that at least when I'm useful, they won't harm me and Your Highness."
"⋯⋯."
Charles was silent as if he was contemplating.
After a while, he spoke in a meaningful voice.
"I think it's time for a change. The way I treat His Majesty the Emperor."
"The way you treat His Majesty the Emperor? How?"
Iana felt uneasy for some reason.
"If my sincerity won't reach him in the end, as you said⋯⋯."
"⋯⋯."
"I think I should stop my brother's tyranny by any means necessary now."
Charles' eyes, filled with sadness, were determined as if he had made a big decision. He drank the alcohol without saying a word.
She could understand his heart.
Charles was more intelligent than anyone else, but he treated the Emperor with his heart, not his head.
But the fact that Riel became the Emperor's mistress was a decisive trigger, and he seemed to have given up.
Tak-.
Charles put down the glass he was drinking from and said firmly.
"His Majesty is a very suspicious person. He won't keep you by his side just because he needs you, who is my person."
"Then, I'll think about another way."
At Iana's words, Charles opened his mouth slowly with a thoughtful face.
"I'll make His Majesty choose himself. To make you his guard mage."
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day in the afternoon, Charles headed to the greenhouse at the Emperor's call.
As Charles entered, the rare plants inside the greenhouse came into view.
The Emperor was sitting leisurely at a table in the center of the greenhouse, and a chessboard was placed on the table.
He approached the Emperor, bowed his head, and greeted him.
"Your Majesty, did you call me?"
"I thought I'd play chess with you for the first time in a while."
"Now?"
"Why, are you unhappy? To leisurely play chess when we don't know when monsters will appear."
"⋯⋯."
Charles did not answer affirmatively.
"We have to play chess to face each other. Otherwise, wouldn't the atmosphere become harsh again?"
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Charles quietly sat opposite the Emperor.
The Emperor moved a pawn one space forward and said.
"When I appointed you as the commander of The First Order of Knights, the officials protested a lot."
"I know. Wasn't it because it could create an excuse for a rebellion?"
This time, the moment Charles was about to place a pawn on the chessboard.
The Emperor threw out the words in a calm voice.
"Come back to the capital now."
"⋯⋯."
"Didn't you also make precious connections? You can't keep wandering around the battlefield and being the lord of cursed land forever."
The Emperor's voice was more gentle than ever.
It was the same as when he used to explain books to young Charles.
But Charles knew exactly.
'Precious connections, huh⋯⋯'
Charles repeated inwardly.
The Emperor's words seemed like persuasion, but they were a threat.
A threat not to oppose him anymore, using Iana as an excuse.
'Now is the chance.'
When Charles didn't answer, the Emperor pressured him more explicitly.
"If you don't give in, I'll have no choice but to bring Iana Archmage to the capital."
Charles pretended not to be shaken and said.
"Your Majesty, there are many people in the capital who are trying to harm me. But why do you think I brought Iana as my guard mage?"
"⋯⋯?"
"Purification magic can also be used by other archmages in the territory."
Charles deliberately emphasized the words guard mage.
"Well⋯⋯."
The Emperor's eyes changed sharply.
Charles leaned forward and gave a soft warning.
"Your Majesty, if I may give you a word of advice, don't treat a powerful archmage carelessly."
"⋯⋯."
"Iana is a mage with strong power that is comparable to the Council of nine archmages."
For a moment, the two's gazes clashed intensely.
Then, an evil smile spread across the Emperor's lips.
"Then I shouldn't leave her in Ervin even more. Especially next to you, who is being disrespectful to the Emperor."
As expected, the Emperor seemed to be planning to break his heart by taking Iana hostage.
"Iana is clearly the Archmage of Ervin and my guard mage."
Charles pretended to strongly object.
He spoke and examined the Emperor's expression.
Even if he was the Emperor, he couldn't take away the archmage selected from the territory without justification.
He hoped that the justification would move in the direction he had planned.
And Charles's thoughts hit the mark exactly.
The Emperor said with a smiling face as if he had seized the victory.
"Isn't this a time of war? The safety of the Emperor and the Imperial Family is the most important thing."
"⋯⋯."
"I will appoint Iana Archmage as the Imperial Palace's Archmage."
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