The Emperor Who Was Chapter 31 : Chapter 31

Chapter 31

From the mont I began speaking until I finished, Grimiati did not take his eyes off .

And that was all. There was not a single change in his expression. Compared to this guy, even Maximilian or Desmond seed better.

“Seeing how keen your words are, it seems you resemble Her Majesty the Empress not only in appearance but also in inner character.”

Then, lost in thought, he stroked his chin with his fingers and added.

“Though I still need to observe a bit more.”

At that mont, I understood why this man’s gaze felt worse than the glaring gazes of my brothers.

He was not just seeing Mother in ; he was appraising whether or not I was soone shaful as a child of Mother.

“Do as you please. However, do not forget the fact that I have already made up my mind whether or not you are soone worthy of being acknowledged as a person with whom I can share stories of the Mother Empress, that is, a friend of hers.”

“I see I have offended you.”

Grimiati nodded.

“With such a holy face, Her Majesty the Empress possessed a stubbornness reminiscent of a horned fighting bull. Charging forward without caring whether it would be a loss to her or not.”

“Bring the mages.”

I also ignored his reminiscing and charged forward.

“She was also impatient.”

The Duke said so and even smiled faintly. Still, this ti he rang a bell, and a butler ca and bowed.

“All the mages are on standby.”

We went down to the garden. Fifteen mages were lined up in the garden. There would be more than this, but they would probably be in his territory.

All were wearing black robes with hoods pulled down deep, making it difficult to discern their faces.

However, three of them were dressed in the shabby clothes of commoners. They were apprentice mages. The youngest was a girl who looked about ten years old. Trembling in fear.

‘Well, even if I were a mage, it would be terrifying if I had to leave the people I’ve beco accustod to and go to a direct imperial family mber of Valaska, who is hostile to mages.’

“Will you check their skills?”

“Gladly.”

I pretended to be calm, but I was nervous.

It was difficult to find my teacher as she was. If the fact that I was looking for a specific mage was revealed, my teacher would only be in more danger.

Moreover, unless the Duke committed sothing as severe as what he did to , I could not demand a mage as a price.

‘I have to find my teacher as quietly as possible, but I need to know sothing to find her.’

My teacher did not want to talk about her heartbreaking past where she lost all her family. When her family died, she abandoned her na too.

The few words my teacher had let slip from ti to ti back then.

-My master wasn’t that evil. Just a son of a bitch.

All my enemies are sons of bitches, and they are all evil. Then is my teacher’s master not one of my enemies?

-I saw how my master treated you, and at that ti, I even felt pity for you, an imperial family mber.

But considering these words, it couldn’t be that my teacher’s master isn’t one of my enemies.

Above all, my teacher herself was a strong mage, not a mage ant to be owned by anyone below the imperial family. Such a mage would only be branded as a traitor or heretic if not voluntarily offered up.

Furthermore, the Grimiati family was a long-standing collateral family even among the imperial family, and the Duke was soone capable of commanding such a mage besides the direct imperial line.

Thinking deeply, I examined the mages executing magic according to the Duke’s command.

The very first mage was a fire mage who showcased colorful fire magic.

“Wrath of the Sun!”

-Originally, this incantation was ‘Wrath of the Dragon’. But the mages of the previous generation who had to sever the link with dragons changed it.

‘Could it be my teacher? The incantation and effect are exactly the sa magic my teacher used?’

Co to think of it, although I couldn’t see the face, the height and build seed similar. Everyone was wearing robes, but if the height was similar and they didn’t look fatter or thinner than my teacher…

“Wrath of the Sun!”

But the next mage also perford the exact sa magic.

‘…Ah…….’

My teacher was a fire mage and belonged to the orthodox school. She detested magic that deviated from orthodoxy, and I used to be scolded harshly because of that.

So, magic unique to my teacher different from others… there was no such thing.

‘Even so, I can’t say I’ll choose by face.’

When we first t, my teacher had a large burn scar on her face. The incident where my teacher got burned had not happened yet.

‘I don’t know my teacher’s face or voice.’

My teacher never showed her burned face, and her voice also spoke through magic. Because her vocal cords were damaged by toxic smoke, her voice was barely audible without magic.

“That is all, Prince.”

Upon examination, there were four fire mages, two water mages, three earth mages, and three wind mages. The apprentice mages did not step forward, saying it was not yet ti for them to showcase magic.

Excluding those too tall or too small to be my teacher among them, if I chose fire mages who were won like my teacher… there were a total of three.

‘Are they triplets or what?’

Magic aside, their height and build were similar, and even their voices were similar…….

Only then did I realize. They were using hallucination magic.

It wasn’t that mages always unified their attire. It was said that in the old days, mages also dressed up so splendidly that they put noble ladies to sha.

However, when the mage hunt began in earnest, a regulation to unify attire was created to prevent mages from escaping by pretending to be nobles or imperial family mbers. If they didn’t follow the regulation, they were punished.

-And we used that disadvantageous regulation.

As my teacher said, mages added hallucination magic to make everyone look similar in the sa clothes.

-That mage was wearing black clothes, was this tall, and had this build!

Even if there were witnesses, it was useless if mages with the sa conditions ca out in a swarm.

Of course, I could see through the hallucination magic wearing Mother’s ring, but even if I did, since I didn’t know the face anyway.

“Have you chosen, Prince?”

Duke Grimiati asked implicitly.

“It seems to be taking a long ti. Did you think commanding mages was easy?”

I felt a sense of frustration without even the energy to retort to the Duke’s cynicism.

Because I realized that I ca to save my benefactor, but I actually knew nothing about my benefactor.

Even though that benefactor knew .

-There is no hope for you to beco a mage. I believe you know this now too.

My teacher, who watched over

and eventually told

so.

-…I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to do it in the end.

When I answered with a trembling voice, my teacher shook her head.

-Did you truly not know? The more you learned magic, the more you couldn’t help but feel the absence of magic power yourself.

My teacher’s words felt like she was saying I should have realized sooner how futile a task I had been clinging to.

-However, you did not give up. Was it because you weren’t frustrated? Because you’re a fool who can’t even grasp reality?

I didn’t know how to understand my teacher’s words, so I just stared blankly.

-You couldn’t quit because magic was fun. Even while feeling the lack of magic power, even knowing how great the frustration would be when you ultimately failed at magic, you learned magic and learned it again. Because you imrsed yourself in what frustrated you.

When tears welled up in my eyes, my teacher quietly added.

-Because you liked magic that much.

My teacher personally put a black robe on .

-You can’t use magic, but you are my disciple. Because you are the person who loves magic the most.

My teacher’s last words were accompanied by a sowhat bitter smile.

-I want to love magic again like you do.

It was true; I loved magic. That was why the fact that I lost my magic power cut

to the bone.

‘Wait, then…….’

Just as I felt the absence because I lost magic power, I should be able to feel it more strongly now that I have gained greater magic power.

If I feel the world’s magic power but cannot feel another person’s magic power, it is because it is no longer pure magic power. Power tainted by the user’s will.

‘But if I only feel my own magic power and cannot feel others’ magic power, it cannot be called true sensitivity.’

What I felt while continuing to drink Lasilex was the truth that sensitivity to magic power ultimately governs its increase as well.

No matter how full the world is of magic power, if I cannot feel it, I cannot absorb it. Then I have no choice but to polish that sensitivity.

“That is so. The Duke is right. Recognizing mages is not an easy task.”

A look of surprise flashed across the Duke’s always impassive face. Even for , agreeing with his words felt fresh, so how must it be for him?

“Therefore, everyone use magic all at once. I want to feel whose magic is the strongest.”

“To use such an absurd thod.”

The Duke frowned. I spoke to the mages regardless.

“Each of you must have a magic you learned first. The easiest magic you can do well. Do that magic.”

The mages’ gazes turned to the Duke. Even if a Prince was present, they were trained to obey only their master.

The Duke looked at

as if I were a crazy fool but nodded.

Then the mages hesitated slightly. Now, rather than not knowing what to do, it felt like they were holding back sighs because it was absurd but unavoidable?

As expected, there was sothing that communicated among mages. That feeling was also fresh. Even if it’s not my teacher, it would be nice to have a fellow mage.

“One, two, three.”

Especially when I call out the commands.

Even so, they all faithfully conjured magic. Fire mages conjured flas, water mages conjured large water drops, earth mages conjured large lumps of earth, and wind mages conjured whirlwinds.

It wouldn’t have been that big when they first learned it, but now since they only had to focus magic power on the basics, things even bigger than offensive magic ca out. Although they only floated them without throwing.

‘I need to focus on their magic, not the mages.’

I stared piercingly at those magics one by one. Trying to capture the magic power within the magic.

I couldn’t see a single thing.

“Prince, how long must we continue? Everyone has similar skills. Since I only command the best mages.”

“The mages’ skills are the best, but why are you, the master, so impatient? Can you not see that I am appreciating their skills?”

I retorted, but certainly, we couldn’t keep doing this forever.

The mages who were continuously conjuring fire, water, wind, and earth also showed clear signs of dissatisfaction, wondering what this was… Right, each with different attributes.

As expected, since they used different magic simultaneously, the differences stood out more.

‘I can use all of them, but what is the reason they each go for different attribute magic?’

Because each feels magic power differently and reacts differently.

It wasn’t about seeing them separately. I had to see not just the magic power but the magic itself, no, furthermore, the mage, the magic, and the magic power all combined together.

I stopped everything of mine, whether magic power or magic. I concentrated solely on sensitivity. It felt like idling the circle within

without actually using it.

‘I see it.’

Finally.

‘That person has a fla with high temperature but it doesn’t last long, that person has a lower but longer-burning fla, that person’s water is dense and slow, and that person’s earth is―’

“Your Highness the Prince, why are you smiling?”

“I smiled because I was happy thinking that one of these excellent mages would beco my mage.”

“…Smiling like that, you resemble Her Majesty the Empress.”

‘Shut up. You’re distracting .’

I saw all the magic of the mages gathered there. Whose magic was strongest, whose magic was weakest, how their characteristics differed, what their magic power was like, and how that magic and magic power harmonized within a single mage.

‘Beautiful.’

Each and every person manifested their unique power in their unique way. How could they be evil? When they are this beautiful.

However, my teacher was not among them.

“You may stop now.”

“So, have you chosen?”

“Everyone was outstanding, so it was difficult to choose, but I have made a decision.”

In fact, the choice was simple.

If my teacher is not here, there is no reason to risk having my magic discovered by keeping soone by my side who is a forr subordinate of an enemy and not a trustworthy mage like my teacher. If I need magic since I am a mage, I can just do it myself.

Seeing the mage I chose for that reason, a crack appeared in the Duke’s expression. It was good to see the face that always had the sa expression beco vivid.