NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25: Chapter 24: On Duty (2)
To read until the final episode p.atreon.com/tengri02
༺ On Duty (2) ༻
"It's done, Your Highness."
"... "
At those words, the First Imperial Princess Elizabeth opened her eyes.
"I don't feel different….."
"Patience, Your Highness, it's still daytime. The mimic powers are unstable under the sun, and your actual appearance will be visible through the reflection of mirrors."
"... "
Elizabeth looked at Uphir, the Imperial Warlock, with wary eyes. Nevertheless, she still believed him.
Because there was no reason for him to lie.
"Your Highness, there should be no problems with the mimics' abilities since the scheduled time is near sunset….."
"That's enough, Uphir."
"Your Highness, I'm sorry if this displeased you."
"You should know that the more you try to fix something, the uglier it gets…."
Elizabeth sent Uphir out of the chairwoman's office with an exhausted sigh.
With the Abyss dwellers' help on the underworld's first floor, Elizabeth borrowed the abilities of the mimic to impersonate Professor Ilena, who was scheduled to be on guard duty with Ferzen tonight.
Her family was a known supporter of the Imperial family, especially the Second Imperial Prince, and their loyalty was certain.
Therefore, contacting and convincing her to allow Elizabeth to replace her on tonight's guard duty was a simple matter.
While she agreed with a puzzled expression, the woman knew that it was not her place to question the decisions of the Imperial Family.
'The sun has set rather early today….'
5 P.M.
The last rays of sun peeked through her window as a reddish glow permeated the office, which soon got submerged in the darkness of the dusk. And as such, Elizabeth, who took the appearance of Ilena, left the office.
In 10 or 20 minutes, the sun would be completely overshadowed by the moon.
'More than that…..'
With the current plans of the total centralization of power being implemented by the Imperial Family, it was expected that some aristocrats would not support such ambitions for fear that the Imperial Family would become far too powerful.
If those aristocrats don't stop the Imperial Family, their position in the future would be endangered as their once noble houses would become nothing more than a remembrance.
All their taxation rights would be revoked, and the management of their territory would fall in the hands of the officials under Imperial control…..
But of course, such a grand plan will take a long time to become concrete.
The current Imperial Family wasn't in a hurry either.
However, the Elmarck Empire, since time immemorial, had been in conflict with Ernes and had shown signs of movement, and the Imperial Family had to make the appropriate preparations for battle.
The threat of a foreign enemy was the simplest and most effective way to keep the current Imperial Family in check.
In this regard, Elizabeth's innate talent for reading a person's inner thoughts was a key asset for the Imperial Family.
And the reason she took another appearance and even made arrangements to be on today's guard duty was that she was sure that in this way, she would be able to achieve a successful reading of her target's thoughts.
'I don't doubt Brutein's loyalty, but…..'
Those who do not remember the past are bound to repeat it.
In a world full of death, can things such as true loyalty even exist?
After all the lectures were over, and the students started making their way to the dorms, Elizabeth entered the watch room of Dormitory A.
The shift was scheduled to start at 7 P.M.
While waiting for the promised time, Elizabeth sat comfortably in a rocking chair, drawing a nearby blanket over her body. And soon, she drifted to the land of dreams.
Creak.
Her chair's slow back and forth movement did nothing to alleviate her drowsiness.
* * * * *
'Found him... '
Around 4 P.M, one of the servants came and brought me Jeremiah's letter, and after reading it, my thoughts wandered.
Because in the contents of the letter, it was reported that Ciel Midford was seen crossing the borders of the Ernes Empire and entering the Royal Road.
The witness was a higher shareholder operating in Brutein.
However, when shown the portrait of Ciel Midford, he confessed that he wasn't sure, so this information could be fake.
But I believe it was indeed Ciel Midford.
It wouldn't be difficult for Ciel Midford – The Protagonist – to establish a foothold in the Ernes Empire and even contact Alfred.
But with the Royal Road in the picture, things are different.
There are three kingdoms between the Ernes Empire and the Elmark Empire.
And those kingdoms were no different than pawns in the games between the two empires.
In those kingdoms, the Prince with the most support from either Empire would undoubtedly ascend to the throne.
And now that it was time for two kings who the Ernes Empire supported to step down from the throne.
In addition, The Elmark Empire had removed the southeastern resistance. The political struggle will now be fiercer than ever.
So, the battle for the throne to determine who will become the Crown Prince has begun.
A Warring Period.
The perfect opportunity for a nameless person.
In gaming terms, this would be the starting main quest that would provide the playable character both fame and strength.
And since Brutein has always remained loyal to the Emperor and only him alone, the original Ferzen wouldn't even care about such things happening outside Ernes.
Having Ferzen's ego inside me, I could understand his motives.
But I'm not him.
I am Ferzen Von Schweig Lourerg and not Brutein.
For now, this was…. enough.
'It's almost time….'
It's 5 o'clock.
Bringing a loaf of bread with me for dinner, I walked to the watch room of dormitory A.
Since I could have some privacy there and plan my next steps.
"... "
But it seemed I wasn't the only one who thought about doing that.
I don't know her.
She is probably the assigned professor who will perform the guarding duty with me.
Seeing that my companion was in a deep sleep, I thought it would be rude to wake her up, so I put down the bread basket and silently closed the door.
Then, looking at the mirror near the door, I straightened my attire...
"This..."
The reflection of the sleeping professor was different from her appearance.
When I stared at her, this woman had short blue hair, but in the mirror, I saw Her Highness, the First Imperial Princess, with long golden hair.
As a Warlock myself, naturally, I have knowledge about the first floor of the underworld and how you can contact a particular abyss dweller with mimic powers and use this ability to mask your appearance.
The problem is...
'Why is she doing this?'
It's not like I didn't have an idea as to what could be her goal.
Since my surname is now Louerg, maybe the Princess is here to probe about my intentions of participating in the current political scenario.
However, this is a rather delicate and important matter since my words would still be subject to doubt even if they were spoken directly to the Emperor, much less a 'random professor.'
Since she is the one blessed by the God of Wisdom, she should've known this...
So what is her goal?
Sigh…. I don't know.
Once she wakes up, whether I like it or not, she will proceed with this plan of hers, so I decided to eat my loaf of bread in peace.
6:25 P.M.
The luminescent stones emit a soft glow as the night fell, illuminating the room.
And with the sun no longer shining upon her, the mimic powers' weakness disappeared as Princess Elizabeth's appearance was replaced by her disguise.
"Ummm… "
Letting a yawn, The First Imperial Princess woke up.
"Ah…."
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
"... "
"…You're not fully awake, it seems."
"Wha… P-professor Ferzen?!…. When did you get here?"
"Around 6 P.M."
I lied as naturally as I breathed.
"I see…."
With a relieved sigh, Princess Elizabeth folded the blankets and gazed at me awkwardly.
"You seem to have something to say to me."
"... "
"Say it. It's particularly annoying when people look at you with such hesitant eyes."
To increase the level of my acting, I sat on the chair with a condescending attitude.
Then, as if overwhelmed by my gaze, Princess Elizabeth fiddled with her necklace and bowed her head, breaking our eye contact….
"... "
I must say, her necklace was horrible.
While my Symmetrical compulsion is particularly severe, everyone has variable degrees of a certain compulsion.
The necklace contained a strange combination of gems, and it was so comical that it looked like a painter just brushed random colors on the canvas, hoping for a good result.
If she's going to use such horrible jewelry, why did she even bother using the mimics' power?
The only person who would use such disastrous things was Princess Elizabeth.
No… Wait, this could be an opportunity.
Yes, it wouldn't hurt to use this chance to try to fix her sense of aesthetics somehow.
* * * * *
"Lord Loeurg, as the eldest daughter of the Riviere family, I have to ask….. Is Brutein thinking of maintaining the status quo in the present scenario?"
"Did your father instruct you to ask me this?"
At Ferzen's words, Elizabeth shook her head.
"No, my lord, I asked you of my own volition."
"You're an ambitious woman. However, you don't seem competent enough to realize our ambitions."
"… … "
"The glory of Brutein is not so shallow that the likes of you can even doubt it. So for your own sake, I shall pretend that I didn't hear this stupid question. And let this also serve as a warning, as I will not be merciful the next time you act on your whims and let out such presumptuous remarks."
"I apologize…"
Ferzen's reaction was expected.
Therefore, Elizabeth wasn't surprised by his little outburst.
And so, with the requirements met, she concentrated on her talent.
Suddenly, all manner of sound and color vanished from her senses, as the only thing she could hear was the beating of her own heart in this ashen world, and soon after that, Ferzen's inner thoughts were presented to her.
「 One Second. 」
"Professor Ilena."
—-Her Highness needs to know that her sense of aesthetics is distasteful without a shred of originality or individuality.
「 Two Seconds. 」
"That necklace….."
—-Didn't she ever consult with a professional dresser or a designer? It's not a surprise that she is the only member of the Imperial Family who doesn't have any impact on the fashion trends at all.
「 Three Seconds. 」
"It's disgusting."
—-I sure hope that this shock therapy opened her eyes.
Her talent could only be activated for 3 seconds.
And Elizabeth, whose self-esteem had been thoroughly crushed by Ferzen, blushed and clasped her trembling hands.
The only member of the Imperial Family who had never had any impact on fashion trends.
Even though Elizabeth was ashamed and angered by his thoughts, she maintained her mask.
Meanwhile, Ferzen got up, curious about her lack of response.
7 P.M.
It was finally time to start the guarding duty.
Creak!
Ferzen then closed the door and left.
And Elizabeth, who was left alone in the watch room, fiddled with her necklace and quietly opened her mouth.
"That…..That was quite….rude of him."
Her voice was somber because Ferzen said such rude words even when he knew he was before a member of the Imperial Family.
"Is it really distasteful….?"
How can no one understand my taste?
'He even lied to me, saying he arrived at 6 P.M....'
He probably entered the room right after I fell asleep.
It would have been just before the sunset, so the mimics' ability should have been unstable.
He didn't seem the kind of man who would spread rumors that the Princess herself used a disguise to obtain information about one of her professors, of all people…..
'He won't do such a thing.'
If such rumors were to spread in the first place, there is no way to blame him officially.
Furthermore, since information about my talent is considered an Imperial Secret, there is no way he knew about me reading his thoughts, so it's not a big deal….
Even though he knew who I was, all Ferzen did was heavily criticize my sense of aesthetics.
'... Truly, he's a shameless man.'
With a sigh, Elizabeth walked to the mirror before the door.
"... "
Then she took off her necklace and left the room.
To read until the final episode p.atreon.com/tengri02