.｡.:✧ Chapter 12 ✧:.｡.

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
“Is this the Imperial Palace or a hotel?”

It was already seven o’clock in the evening.

I was sprawled on the plush, luxurious bed, relishing in the comfort and reflecting on the eventful day I had experienced.

I had left my new hometown of twenty years to come to the Imperial Palace, discussed with my mentor what I would start learning from tomorrow onwards, and suddenly, the Northern Grand Duchess had barged into my room, handed me a pseudo-business card that connected directly to her, and left.

And after that, I had spent a leisurely day holed up in my room, lounging around and taking naps.

Though to be fair, I had always spent my days like this back home.

It was such a comfortable and pleasant rest that I almost wondered if I had come for a hotel vacation rather than to the Imperial Palace. I could take a nap and wake up to find delicious meals prepared for me, and there was no father nagging at me to maintain proper decorum befitting a noble.

Hmm, I was convinced. This was indeed a hotel.

Amidst this blissfully relaxing time, albeit a tad boring, I was suddenly interrupted.

“Ah, Rudrick my boy, can you hear me?” My mentor’s voice rang out from the communication crystal orb in the room.

I hastily sat up and placed my hand on the orb, activating the communication spell to respond.

“Yes, I can hear you clearly, mentor.”

“I apologize for disturbing your rest, but there’s an important matter I need to discuss with you.”

“A sudden important matter?” I replied quizzically. Our magic lessons disguised as research were set to begin tomorrow, and it was already evening. What could be so pressing at this hour?

For some reason, my mentor’s voice coming through the crystal orb seemed to tremble slightly. Not with shock or surprise, but rather with a tremor of elation.

“…This old man has been convinced that among all the individuals I’ve encountered, your talent is the most exceptional, Rudrick my boy. But I’ve found another person whose talent rivals even yours.”

“…Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“While I was out for a brief stroll… ah, it’s tiresome to explain in detail. I’ll bring them to you shortly.”

“What? You’re coming right now? At this very moment?”

I asked hurriedly, but no response came.

The communication had been cut off.

I stared at the now-silent crystal orb with a dumbfounded expression and muttered to myself.

“What in the world is this old man talking about all of a sudden?”

I was utterly bewildered.

To summarize what he had said before the abrupt end of the conversation, he had found someone else with magical talent comparable to mine while out for a walk.

And now he was bringing them over? Did that mean he had already taken them on as a disciple?

His decisiveness was quite remarkable.

After a moment of stunned contemplation, I regained my composure and reconsidered the situation more calmly. Something seemed off. Unless grand mages were as common as pebbles on the street, how could such talent be discovered so easily?

And two individuals, including myself, in a single day at that.

“…This feels incredibly suspicious,” I muttered.

My mentor had suddenly gone out for a walk and stumbled upon a future grand mage prodigy with immense talent.

It might not be impossible, but it felt rather contrived, so to speak.

I hastily threw on a robe over my clothes and dashed out of the room.

My destination was my mentor’s research lab, where I had visited earlier in the morning.

By going there and seeing for myself this fellow who would become my mentor’s disciple alongside me, I could ascertain what was really going on.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

It was sheer luck.

There was truly no other way to describe it.

Just before the regression, the role Sylphia had played in the dragon’s game was that of a human mage. She had simply nodded and accepted that this was the concept for Rudrick.

The dragon’s game was akin to a form of method acting, where dragons became actors and wholeheartedly devoted themselves to portraying assigned roles.

Though the game just before the regression might have become a chapter of the longest and most sorrowful memories she could never forget…

‘Things are going exceptionally well this time,’ Sylphia inwardly mused with a delighted smile as she obediently followed the elderly mage.

In the previous timeline, she had to go through the process of demonstrating her outstanding magical prowess and being recognized as a mage of the Imperial Palace. But this time, she had caught the eye of the Imperial Court Mage Lorenzo Tonali without any of those cumbersome steps and become his disciple.

‘…My, to think you possess such an abundance of mana.’

‘Pardon?’

‘Don’t misunderstand and hear me out. I am Lorenzo Tonali, an old man serving as the Imperial Court Mage. The mana swirling around you is extraordinary, young lady. What kind of sorcery have you performed?’

…Although the Imperial Court Mage’s opening lines upon seeing her were so wretched that they evoked the proselytizing of a cult, a good thing was still a good thing.

For Sylphia, who had been contemplating how to proceed, Lorenzo’s presence was quite appealing as it allowed her to skip the process of becoming a palace mage, just as she had in the game before the regression.

‘I suppose even humans can be unexpectedly helpful at times,’ she mused.

Lorenzo Tonali.

In Sylphia’s memories, he was just an old human who could use a bit of magic, but it was remarkable how those memories proved useful in situations like this.

In truth, even someone oblivious to the ways of the world would have immediately turned Lorenzo away as a fraud if they witnessed his approach.

“Your mana resembles flames,” Lorenzo remarked as he walked ahead of Sylphia, who had been lost in thought.

“Pardon?”

“Among mages, there are occasionally those who are born with exceptional talent for specific elemental magic.”

“……”

“And without fail, their hair color matches the element they specialize in. Just like you. Those who specialize in fire magic have red hair, those with an affinity for lightning have blonde hair, and those attuned to darkness have black hair… you get the idea.”

“That’s right. I did have more talent for fire magic compared to other types,” Sylphia agreed.

“As I thought,” Lorenzo nodded, as if he had anticipated this.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

The reason for Sylphia’s red hair was simply because she was a Red Dragon. Her talent for fire magic was also due to her being a Red Dragon.

However, Sylphia saw no need to correct Lorenzo’s misconception. She merely played along, focusing solely on entering the Imperial Palace, the heart of the human empire, without arousing any suspicion.

Even for a dragon’s game, if she didn’t follow such a normal process, the effort required for Sylphia to infiltrate the palace would have been immense.

‘I had been prepared to use large-scale mind manipulation if needed… Things have truly gone more smoothly than expected,’ Sylphia mused.

Manipulating the minds of hundreds or thousands of individuals within the palace to implant the false perception that Sylphia had always been a mage there would have been a tedious and troublesome task, even for her.

Moreover, it would have violated the unspoken “rule” observed among all dragons, carrying a high risk and burden.

In that sense, Lorenzo was practically a benefactor to her, eliminating the need for such a process.

She had simply come to the imperial capital on a whim and encountered Imperial Court Mage Lorenzo Tonali on the street, leading her directly to the palace.

If this wasn’t a stroke of good fortune, what else could it be called?

Sylphia had been heading towards the Imperial Palace in high spirits, but then…

“Ah, that reminds me. Let me share this joyous news right away,” Lorenzo exclaimed.

“Pardon?” Sylphia asked, puzzled by the sudden remark.

“Actually, today I took on another disciple besides you. While accompanying Her Highness the princess on an inspection, I discovered a young boy with talent rivaling yours.”

At those unexpected words, Sylphia felt a chilling sensation coursing through her body, as if her blood had turned to ice.

Inspection. Talent. Young boy.

‘A young male mage with talent comparable to mine…?’ she wondered.

In that instant, Rudrick’s face flashed through Sylphia’s mind before vanishing. For her, who had already experienced the future years ahead, the combination of those three words naturally evoked Rudrick’s image.

At least in her memories, she had never encountered another male mage with such talent, apart from Rudrick.

Just as Sylphia was about to urgently seek clarification, Lorenzo chuckled and continued.

“Indeed. To think it was Weiss County. I had no idea such a territory even existed until recently. Who would have thought that a grand mage’s talent was hidden away in such an obscure place?”

“Rudrick Weiss,” Sylphia murmured.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Weiss County.

Yes, the name of the man Sylphia had loved so deeply, to the point of nearly forgetting her true nature as a dragon amidst their fleeting game, was Rudrick Weiss.

“In any case, since both you and Rudrick will be studying under me, you can be considered fellow disciples. Once we return to the palace, I should have you two exchange greetings,” Lorenzo remarked.

“……”

Sylphia fell silent.

The future she knew had changed. At this point, Rudrick should have still been in his territory, but for some reason, he had already come to the capital and become a disciple of the Imperial Court Mage.

And if he had indeed been discovered while accompanying the princess on an inspection…

‘Has Princess Elena already…?’

The conclusion was easy to reach.

“Ah, Rudrick my boy. Can you hear me? I apologize for disturbing your rest…” Lorenzo, who had been walking ahead, was using a communication crystal to connect with Rudrick, but Sylphia paid no heed. More accurately, she had no time to spare for such matters.

Based on the simple conclusion she had drawn, it seemed she was not the only one who had regressed to the past.

‘So that’s how it is,’ she mused, her crimson eyes narrowing. For a moment, her pupils transformed into those of a reptile, unable to control her emotions, but reverted to normal as she blinked.

Sylphia’s gaze turned towards Lorenzo.

In that fleeting instant, dragon scales had emerged on her skin, and her eyes had changed, but the elderly mage seemed too preoccupied with the communication spell to notice.

The corners of Sylphia’s lips curled upward slightly.

“How fortunate,” she whispered in her usual soft voice, adding with a satisfied expression:

“Exceptionally so.”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇