Translator: Hye; Editor/PR: Hye
“Ha…That cheap jerk…”
The wizard, no, Bel took a deep breath and crossed his arms. Arnoa felt a little sorry.
It must have been a precious secret for him. Did she say it too outright?
“Lord of the Magic Tower Belcari…Bel.”
She continued.
Now’s not the right time to dawdle.
“Make a bet with me.”
Arnoa formally requested with a small smile. She looked at the man in front of her once again.
Anakin’s colleague. A genius wizard who was said to possess a talent that has never been seen in the past 100 years.
The real gift that Anakin gave her was him.
“…What do you want?”
“I don’t want Vainas to sit on the throne.”
She said, looking at his cat-like face, who asked her with seemingly invisible curiosity.
“So if I win–”
“…If you win?”
Arnoa breathed in quietly. She knew very well what Anakin was suggesting. The two of them knew each other well enough to see through each other’s souls.
“…I’ll get a divorce and–”
She spoke in a quiet voice.
“I’ll be the emperor.”
Bel’s beautiful silver-gray eyes grew bigger than before, and Arnoa let out a small laugh.
There was nothing to think about. There was no other way.
No, why does she have to do that if there’s another way?
When Luciano was the emperor, who imprisoned and persecuted her, she kept her mouth shut while being married off to Dirhan, which was equivalent to an exile. And now they have come to this. Her brother couldn’t even run the country, let alone save his own life.
Because of his death without having a successor, the future of the empire as well as Arnoa’s was shaken.
All the hardships she’d been through so far brushed past her head.
The horror when the maids, who had been taking care of her inside the small tower, disappear one by one because of treason, Luciano’s continuous ill-temper and verbal abuse, Arien’s ignorance, Vainas’ mockery, and Count Estea’s assassination attempts.
And if she were to stay still, the new humiliation she would face as the empress next to Vainas.
Arnoa’s sufferings would never end.
Unless she clutched that power herself.
She should have realized it earlier. Why did it take so long?
“You, the messenger of the empire, acknowledge me as the emperor.”
When Arnoa finished speaking, heavy silence filled the room. Her smile deepened as she saw Bel with widened eyes.
She felt how precious Anakin was. He predicted what kind of decision his friend in a dilemma would make and sent one of the strongest allies in the world to her side.
Waiting for you, Anakin.
In other words, come back as an emperor.
***
“That’s a ridiculous offer.”
Bel looked at Arnoa with a puzzled look on his face.
She said she was Anakin’s friend, but the seemingly fine woman’s head was not normal. It was not because he was aiming for the throne.
“Do you even know what I want that you dare make a bet?”
Following the low-pitched voice, the silver-colored eyes were directed dangerously at Arnoa.
Belcarianas Dian Asgal Rupelethion Ferhen Nerdi.
Born with perhaps the strongest mana in history, and the son of Amarillis, the 26th Lord of the Magic Tower. He became the 37th Lord of the Magic Tower and ruler of the Ferhen territory.
Although nominally he’s a lord and a vassal of the empire, the Lord of the Magic Tower possessed independent power and rights that even the Emperor of the Caixion Empire could not treat recklessly.
Ferhen, the land of the wizards, was an area that neither the emperor nor their soldiers could access. With strong magic hanging at the border, whoever invaded it, regardless of status, was torn to death by the Lord of the Magic Tower.
The uncle of Arnoa, an honorable duke and general, was a good example.
After his son’s death, the emperor humbly accepted that there were areas on the continent that he could not rule completely.
The wizards don’t often reveal themselves. They don’t pay taxes and only remained faithful to the role of ‘messenger’ in accordance with the contracts handed down from ancient times.
And only scary unconfirmed rumors merely described them.
‘There are a lot of freaks going into the area.’
‘Among them, the Lord of the Magic Tower has the dirtiest personality.’
‘Don’t they have short lives because they can’t overcome their anger?’
That was the end of the rumors.
Over the past 20 years, whether it was because they received casual retribution for their terrible personalities or because of a powerful curse, many of the Lords of the Magic Tower didn’t live for a long time because of unknown diseases.
Meanwhile, Bel, the 37th Lord of the Magic Tower, was known for his talent and viciousness among his predecessors. He’s a genius who entered the academy at the age of 15 and completed all subjects the following year.
But he did not graduate. Ever.
‘Didn’t he absorbed his colleague’s mana and turned them into a cripple?’
Arnoa, who was lost in thought, searched through her memory.
According to Anakin, as he spent his youth as a student, he devoted himself to tarnishing and conquering the law and order inside the academy. By offering the students a bet, he took away their wealth as well as their artifacts. He even absorbed all the mana from one student, making it difficult to live as a wizard.
Then he was expelled from the academy and went into hiding somewhere.
Returning the following year, he fought a duel with the 27th Lord of the Magic Tower and eventually won the tower with his own hands.
His wretched hands have no affection yet full of desire. With or without mana, he was a wicked person who didn’t hesitate to monopolize people even of the same race.
That was Bel.
“If I tell you what you want, will you accept the bet?”
Arnoa asked.
Unlike the first time she saw the snow leopard, she was not shivering in fear. She didn’t even step back. Sitting on the carpet next to the fireplace, she clearly faced Bel’s silver-gray eyes.
“…My soul stone.”
Bel momentarily stopped all of his movements.
“…Soul stone?”
“Yes. I heard it was an important magical ingredient.”
“The Imperial Family of Caixion’s soul stone…”
In a brief moment, as if possessed by something, a strong desire flashed across his face.
“Do you want it?”
Bel wants it.
It was one of the few things that he coveted because he didn’t need much power due to his natural-born mana.
An imperial soul stone cannot be forcibly taken away. It can only be received if the owner agreed on their own free will.
“Do you know how to make it?”
“Yeah. I’ll be cutting half of my life and turn it into a pretty jewel.”
She said as if she didn’t care and was perfectly fine about it.
Pretty wasn’t the problem.
Everyone’s soul stone contained weak mana. But the strongest was the soul stone of the Imperial Family.
“I heard wizards use it for their magic?”
Arnoa added with a smirk while Bel stared at her calm-looking face.
“You know that too. Its use, even the cost.”
He said.
Why was everything okay for her? Wasn’t it a waste of life?
After staring at Arnoa for a long time, Bel shook his head slowly. There was an unexpected disappointment, but he had to refuse.
“It’s impossible to kill Vainas and make you emperor.”
“…”
“Do you think the founding emperor is a moron? There’s a spell on me, too. The messenger who delivers the obituary cannot kill, harm, or lie using magic to the next emperor.”
He said firmly.
“It’s a good bet, but I can’t listen to it. The bet is invalid if the price cannot be paid.”
Arnoa only stared at him blankly without answering.
“Then how about this?”
Bel pricked up his ears and moved as she calmly added.
“From what I understood, there’s no limit on when to inform the next emperor of the obituary.”
“That’s correct. The messenger work is a nuisance, so I only wanted to get done with it quickly.”
Bel muttered.
“Of course, if I drag it for more than a month at the latest, the next emperor will hear the news from somewhere else. If that happens, won’t I lose face?”
“Then give me a month.”
Arnoa told him back as if she had been waiting for it.
“Just for a month, don’t deliver Luciano’s obituary to Vainas.”
“And why is that?”
“In the meantime, I’ll get a divorce.”
She declared as if it weren’t a big deal.
“…You will get a divorce?”
“Yes, that’s our bet. Whether I could get a divorce and become the emperor myself.”
“…If you get divorced within a month, you would win the bet?”
“Yes. If not, I’ll give you half of my life.”
Bel frowned, but Arnoa didn’t seem to care.
“If I win, I am the next Emperor so I’ll be the one you’ll declare, anyway. If I lose the bet, you just have to do what you need to do.”
“Then, isn’t it meaningless to you?”
Her request meant that she wanted nothing from him, even after betting against the Lord of the Magic Tower.
He felt a strange sense of resentment. Was this how it feels when one’s pride was hurt?
“It’s meaningful.”
Arnoa shook her head a little.
“For the bet to be fully fulfilled, you have to postpone delivering the obituary.”
Bel saw Arnoa’s face properly for the first time. A distinct conviction was visible in her deep blue eyes.
“Besides, if you want my soul stone, you’ll help me stay alive until then.”
A small smile formed on her lips.
“No matter what crazy things I do.”
The red flames coming from the fireplace were reflected in her cold blue eyes, creating a special ambiance.
“…I’m stuck in a strange plan.”
Bel murmured in a small voice.
“The reason for the bet was to induce my help after all?”
She nodded with a proud face. Bel closed his eyes gently and opened them again.
All of her words made sense.