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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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It had been at least fifty years since the previous Court Mage, Lorenzo Tonali, had taken office.
In other words, Lorenzo had ascended to the rank of Archmage over fifty years ago and had dedicated his life to his research, serving as the Empire’s steadfast Court Mage.
He had assumed the position even before the current Empress ascended to the throne.
The sudden death of the veteran mage, who had served as Court Mage for nearly half a century, naturally left a void.
For instance, appointing a new Court Mage was proving to be a problem.
“…Ugh.”
Voltaire, the current Palace Master, was racking her brains.
She had a habit of chewing on her quill when faced with a difficult task, and she had already gone through two quills today.
It was an unprecedented situation.
It had been fifteen years since she had succeeded her predecessor and become Palace Master.
In all those years, she had never imagined that she would be responsible for overseeing the appointment of a new Court Mage.
Lorenzo Tonali was a renowned Archmage, and it was common knowledge that skilled knights and mages could prolong their youth and lifespans using magic.
When she first heard about Lorenzo’s death in a magical experiment accident, she had scoffed, thinking it was a case of “even monkeys fall from trees.” But now that it had become her responsibility, she couldn’t simply stand by and watch.
“They’ve appointed Court Mages several times in the past, but they didn’t even bother creating a manual? They just did things haphazardly?”
Voltaire sighed dramatically, lamenting her predicament.
She couldn’t criticize her predecessors too harshly, as those who had handled things “haphazardly” were her ancestors, starting with her grandmother.
As a descendant of a family that had served as Palace Masters for generations, Voltaire couldn’t blame them, but she was still frustrated.
She was essentially starting from scratch.
“What am I supposed to do… I have to get approval for everything, even the smallest details, and make sure I’m not overstepping my authority. Then there’s the budget…”
“Mother, why don’t you just ask?”
“Hm?”
Voltaire’s daughter, who was working as her apprentice to gain practical experience, looked at her, puzzled.
“I heard that the youngest son of the Weiss family is going to be the new Court Mage, right? Why don’t you just ask him? Discuss things with him and see how he wants to handle it.”
“You’re still young and naive. It’s not just about getting the appointee’s opinion. The real problem is that the Palace Master has to create the entire framework, including the details.”
“I heard he’s favored by the Second Princess.”
“…That’s true. They were partners at Her Majesty’s birthday celebration.”
“Wouldn’t the Princess smooth things over if there’s a problem? If we follow the appointee’s wishes, I doubt anyone would find fault with it.”
“…Hmm.”
Voltaire pondered this.
It was a valid point.
Nobles had privileges.
They couldn’t be punished for something as trivial as this.
Besides, being the Palace Master was a great honor, even if it came with no tangible rewards.
Perhaps comparing Rudrick to a civil servant in his previous life wasn’t entirely accurate, but there were similarities.
And the self-preservation instincts common to civil servants would apply even to an honorary position like Palace Master.
After much deliberation, Voltaire nodded.
“I’ll go to the laboratory and speak to Rudrick Weiss myself.”
She decided to handle this appointment process based entirely on Rudrick’s wishes.
Even if he wanted an extravagant, ostentatious ceremony, she would accommodate his requests to a certain extent.
If anyone questioned her decisions, she could simply say she was following the appointee’s wishes, and she was certain that Elena, who seemed to be quite close to Rudrick, would defend her.
It was a perfect plan.
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“…So you’re asking me how I want the ceremony to be conducted?”
“That’s right.”
He was surprised when an older woman suddenly showed up at his laboratory, but she was the Palace Master.
He had to remind himself that this was a gender-reversed world.
It was a world where princesses, grand duchesses, and admirals were all women, so why should he be surprised that the Palace Master was a woman?
Sensing his hesitation, the Palace Master added,
“…And there’s no need to be so formal. You’ve been appointed as the Court Mage. You’ll receive a non-hereditary title equivalent to a Marquis and be treated accordingly. It’s a bit… uncomfortable for you to address me so formally.”
“Oh, right. Of course.”
Just a year ago, a high-ranking noble from the capital, especially someone like the Palace Master, would have been someone he couldn’t even dream of speaking to.
Even amongst Countesses, there was a hierarchy.
Someone who had climbed the ranks of the central government and secured a position like Palace Master was leagues above a Countesses from an insignificant, unknown family like his.
But seeing how cautious the Palace Master was acting now, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of irony.
So much had changed in just a few months.
“So you’re saying I can decide how the appointment ceremony will be conducted…?”
“That’s what I’m saying. To be honest, the appointment ceremony for the Court Mage is… quite vague and abstract. The last one was held fifty years ago.”
“…So you’re saying my master was the Court Mage for fifty years?”
“That’s right. To be frank, we don’t have any records to refer to. I don’t know if they were lost or never existed in the first place, but there’s no documentation of how the previous ceremonies were conducted.”
He nodded, listening to the Palace Master’s honest explanation.
It made sense that there wouldn’t be a manual for a ceremony that was held only once every few decades.
It seemed the decision was entirely up to him.
“So you’re saying you’ll follow my wishes because there’s no precedent to refer to?”
“Precisely.”
The Palace Master nodded.
He had all the power.
Well, it felt strange to call it “power” when it was just about a ceremony, but he was essentially in charge of deciding how it would be conducted.
He didn’t even have to think about it.
He had already made up his mind.
“Let’s keep it as simple as possible. We can skip most of the procedures and only include the essentials. Is that possible?”
“Well, we can simplify it to a certain extent, as long as it’s not too expensive… What did you say?”
“I want to keep it simple and brief. It’s all just for show, anyway.”
“…”
The Palace Master was speechless.
She looked at him, as if he had said something shocking.
He just wanted to keep things simple and get it over with as quickly as possible.
Why was she looking at him like that?
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. I just… want to keep it as simple as possible.”
“…This is unexpected. I thought you’d want to make it as grand and extravagant as possible, seeing as it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s a perspective I hadn’t considered.”
“It’s all a waste of money. It’s all taxpayer money, after all. And I don’t want to create unnecessary work for myself.”
“You’re… quite strange. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean that in a bad way. You’re… unpredictable.”
The Palace Master stared at him for a long moment before nodding.
“Very well. We’ll do as you wish.”
She left, and he was about to close the door when he heard a voice.
“Hey, kid. Are you sure about this? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime honor, you know?”
“Ah, Lassiel. Long time no see.”
Lassiel, who had been absent for a while, appeared with her tan even deeper than before.
She was starting to look more and more like a “golden sun,” and she really needed to tone down the tanning.
She casually slung an arm around Rudrick’s shoulders and grinned.
“I heard something quite interesting from the Grand Duchess.”
“What?”
“You decided you couldn’t choose just one, so you’re going to choose all five, huh? I had no idea you were so bold.”
What was she talking about?
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[Lassiel best girl frfr]
The author should create a character named Robespierre (female) and the plot twist is that she tries to create an anti monarchic revolution