.｡.:✧ Chapter 21 ✧:.｡.

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
Editor: Shio
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“What kind of nonsense is that…!”
Elena exclaimed with a shocked expression, as if a switch had been flipped or an electric current had passed through her, causing her to jump up.

She had heard that there were many people in the world with various tastes, and that some even got sexually aroused from watching their lover or husband being embraced by another woman. However, she had never once entertained such thoughts in her life, and it wasn’t her taste either. Absolutely not.

“Well, if it’s not, then it’s not. Why are you making such a serious face? You clearly said something that could be misunderstood, Your Highness,” Lassiel remarked with a perplexed expression, insinuating that Elena’s reaction made her seem guilty.

“……”

Seeing Lassiel’s bewildered expression, which seemingly questioned what the issue was, Elena felt her anger surge throughout her body in real-time, for the first time in ages. Yes, it was precisely this aspect that made her avoid associating with Lassiel as much as possible.

How could a naval commander and admiral behave so flippantly towards people? Even Eileen, who stood beside them, had similar thoughts. The deeply rooted prejudice between the North and the South still existed even now.

As a typical Northerner who firmly believed that Southerners were all frivolous and insufferable, Lassiel’s attitude did not sit well with Eileen. If Rudrick had been there, he would have shaken his head, thinking that regional sentiments were the same here too.

“So, Elena, do you think that’s the best option?” Eileen asked.

“…If my hypothesis is correct, then probably,” Elena replied.

Putting aside Lassiel’s nonsense for now, Eileen and Elena put their heads together first to discuss.
The core principal of magic was to first accept and control one’s own mana. Therefore, it seemed plausible that there could be a method to siphon and control the mana of others, not just the mana that naturally exists.

But there was one problem with that……

“If you absorb and use the mana of others, you would likely be a dark mage,” Eileen remarked.

“That would be the case,” Elena nodded in agreement.

There was no way that absorbing and extorting the mana of others through abnormal means, instead of using mana that naturally existed, could be considered orthodox. It was a deviation from the righteous path.

Naturally, this belief created the false narrative that only heretical dark mages practiced this, not ordinary mages. Putting aside the issue of how to recruit one of those persecuted dark mages, the very idea of entrusting Rudrick to a dark mage was somewhat unsettling.

However, since there was no other choice, Elena shook her head.

“I’ll issue an imperial decree to have the dark mages captured. Cousin, it would be great if you could also capture all the dark mages hiding in your duchy,” Elena suggested.

“…I don’t like the idea of entrusting Ric to a dark mage in the first place. But since there’s no other alternative, I suppose it can’t be helped,” Eileen replied.

“Hey, by the way,” Lassiel interjected with a flippant tone, squeezing herself between the two who were having a serious discussion.

“If the curse is due to excessive mana accumulation, we could try performing an exorcism. Anyway, if that’s the problem itself, isn’t there an easier and faster solution?” Lassiel pointed out, hitting the nail on the head.

“What is it?” Elena asked.

“It’s for Ric to marry one of us,” Lassiel stated matter-of-factly.

As soon as Lassiel finished speaking, a long silence followed.

“…Marriage?” Eileen asked, as if questioning the absurdity of the suggestion.

Lassiel tapped her chest, as if frustrated by their lack of understanding. “Well, let’s think about it carefully. Anyway, if Ric chooses one of us to marry, naturally, they would need to have a child, so on the first night, they would consummate the marria… Ack!”

“Admiral Reppert, stop blabbering with that filthy mouth of yours,” Elena coldly interjected, cutting off Lassiel’s words.

Elena could swear that she had never once had such dirty thoughts while looking at Rudrick. If an oath wasn’t enough, she could even swear to God. In fact, even after ascending the throne, if she were to take Rudrick as her empress, they would eventually have to do “that” to produce an heir to inherit the throne after her. But in Elena’s mind, Rudrick was a kind of sanctified existence.

She couldn’t bear to listen to Lassiel’s words till the end. That’s why she chopped the back of Lassiel’s neck with her hand to shut her up.

“…Ouch, that hurts,” Lassiel grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Ahem, such frivolous words that are embarrassing to even utter… Anyway, I understand the meaning behind the Admiral’s words. You mean that there wouldn’t be much of a problem if mana is absorbed during that process. Isn’t that right?” Eileen asked, clearing her throat with a flushed face.

“Well, more or less, yeah,” Lassiel replied, still rubbing the back of her neck.

It must have been quite painful, given the urgency of the situation and the emotional charge behind the blow. However…

‘…Is there really a need to apologize?’ Elena wondered to herself.

After all, Lassiel had uttered words that were embarrassing to even hear, targeting Rudrick of all people. Was there really a need to apologize for shutting her up?

Concluding that there was no need, Elena opened her mouth to wrap up the meeting.

“…For now, let’s issue an imperial decree to arrest all the dark mages throughout the empire, interrogate them, and then continue this discussion,” Elena suggested.

“Then I will capture the dark mages in my duchy and send them to the capital as soon as possible,” Eileen affirmed.

“I would appreciate that, cousin. And as for Admiral Reppert…” Elena turned to Lassiel.

“There are no dark mages among the pirates,” Lassiel shrugged.

“You’re not being helpful,” Elena sighed.

“…It may be true, but it still hurts to hear it straight to my face like that,” Lassiel grumbled.

Ignoring Lassiel’s complaints, Elena reached a conclusion.

“Then it’s decided. You’re all dismissed.”

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There was literally a bit of a commotion.

Returning to the research lab, Rudrick clicked his tongue at Lorenzo, who was absent again today, and sat back down to continue the research he had been working on.

The research mainly involved mixing potions with different ingredients, undergoing a magical purification process, observing what medicinal effects the mixed potion exhibited, and understanding why it exhibited those effects.

Sylphia, who had been diligently doing her share of work even while Rudrick was away, casually asked, “Where did you go?”

“…Ah, I briefly visited Her Highness the Princess’s office. I went there initially because I had something to say, but they were kind of arguing,” Rudrick replied.

“In Her Highness the Princess’s office?” Sylphia asked with a deliberately surprised expression.

“Yeah. I don’t know why grown adults would argue over such things. They were about to have a duel, and I tried to stop them, but I was too scared to interfere,” Rudrick explained.

“That’s understandable. After all, it was none other than Her Highness the Princess…” Sylphia trailed off, swallowing the rest of her words.

Even if she said that she had already grasped the reason why the two fought with magic, it would only raise suspicion about her own identity.

It was a peculiar scenario where no one was being deceived, but everyone was pretending to be deceived. Moreover, perhaps due to Lassiel’s appearance at the end, Rudrick’s thoughts had become a bit more complicated.

The hair covering the back of his neck felt inexplicably itchy, making it difficult for him to concentrate on his research. Rudrick tried to tie his hair back by holding a hair tie in his mouth and gathering his hair, but after repeatedly failing to tie it, he let out a sigh.

“…Ah, I can’t even do this properly now,” he muttered.

“…?” Sylphia tilted her head quizzically.

“Um, Sylphia. Sorry, but could I ask you for a small favor?” Rudrick asked.

“A favor?”

It is a well-known fact that it is more convenient for someone else to tie one’s hair rather than doing it oneself.

“Could you tie my hair for me? It’s bothering me, so I tried to tie it, but it’s not working out,” Rudrick requested.

“…Ah.”

While it was just a casual request from Rudrick’s perspective, Sylphia’s thoughts also became sporadic as she hesitantly received the hair tie.

‘…Ric is asking me to tie his hair.’

It wasn’t exactly a request one would normally make to a random woman. Hair was also a part of the body, and he was asking someone else to touch his body. It wasn’t a common occurrence in this world where men and women were strictly separated.

Moreover, when Sylphia gathered Rudrick’s hair and lifted it up, she couldn’t help but feel tense at the sight of his exposed nape. It was a slender and pale nape that looked like it could be easily snapped if she reached out and grasped it.

‘I can somewhat understand Arwen’s feelings now,’ Sylphia thought to herself.

She could understand why vampires preferred young men when sucking blood and why they sank their teeth into the neck to do so, even though she was a completely different species.

It was the most nerve-wracking moment in her long dragon life.

For Sylphia, Rudrick’s casual request, which he had made without any deeper meaning, was a contradiction that encouraged over-interpretation and even forced her to interpret it in that direction.

With trembling hands, Sylphia gathered Rudrick’s hair, tied it, and secured it with the hair tie. The simple process felt like an eternity to her. Finally completing the simple act of “tying his hair,” Sylphia let out a sigh of relief.

Rudrick, observing her reaction, tilted his head in confusion.

“…Is there a problem? Perhaps,” he asked.

“No. It’s not that…” Sylphia replied, averting her gaze from Rudrick’s questioning look. In a small voice, she added, “…I didn’t have any strange thoughts.”

“Pardon?” Rudrick asked, puzzled.

“…You need to be a bit more careful, Rudrick. If you make such requests to other women, it might lead to strange misunderstandings. I’m not implying that I had any strange thoughts myself,” Sylphia clarified, covering her flushed cheeks with her hand and fanning herself.

“…?”

Rudrick had simply asked Sylphia to tie his hair because he couldn’t do it well himself, but he could only tilt his head in confusion, not understanding Sylphia’s reaction.

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