Chapter 56
The knight, who had hesitated for a moment, directed a straightforward gaze at the Emperor. The Emperor looked slightly surprised, as if he hadn’t expected an immediate request.
“May I transfer my merit to another?”
“Another? Are you, who is so sparing with yourself, being modest now?”
“I am merely directing the credit for the victory to where it is rightfully due.”
“…Don’t tell me, you. Are you speaking of a mage?”
After a brief moment of silence, the banquet hall began to buzz as if they’d heard something they shouldn’t have.
“A mage? A witch?”
“Ugh! How dare you utter that ill-omened name!”
“Wait, more importantly. It’s been years since the witches were wiped out, hasn’t it? Are you saying there is still a living magic… a witch?”
“This cannot be, Your Majesty! A mage? No matter how much the god’s stature has fallen, a witch is still a witch!”
Amid the increasingly noisy hall, Ronius looked at the Emperor without a hint of wavering. Finally, the Emperor, who had been quietly observing the situation, spoke.
“Everyone, restrain yourselves.”
“She is the one who achieved the greatest merit in this war. If you grant this, there could be no greater grace, Your Majesty.”
“Hoh. And why do you speak at such length without first presenting the subject of this tale before me? Unbecoming of a Knight.”
The Emperor’s lips curved into a slight smile as he finished speaking. Though his expression was unreadable, Ronius immediately saw through his intent. He had probably had this in mind since receiving the war reports.
Johannes was a greedy Emperor. Even ruling over the entire continent beyond the Empire wouldn’t be enough for him. Only having the whole world under his heel would somewhat satisfy him.
How could such a man refuse? A mage who single-handedly shattered the Holy Kingdom’s barrier—the last mage left in this world.
A being who would become more dangerous than anything else if she fell into another’s hands, but an absolute asset if she remained in his own.
The Emperor was not a man who would ever refuse such a creature.
‘He’s the type who will try to bind her to his heel by any means necessary, using any method he can.’
Desire flashed in his eyes. Ronius, concealing his own sinking feeling, stared intently at the empty space beside him.
Everyone in the banquet hall, bewildered, followed his gaze to the empty spot. The moment all eyes converged there, as if on cue, a small, shadowy figure materialized in the previously vacant space. And there she was—a woman with a delicate build, appearing as if by a trick of magic.
A slender figure in a crimson dress. Unlike the voluminous, rounded skirts of typical ladies’ gowns, hers clung to her form before falling smoothly downward.
Click, clack. She took a step, moving toward the knight who stood unwavering. With each step, a glimpse of her pale leg flashed through the slit of her dress.
A silence so profound it stifled even the sound of breathing filled the massive hall.
Faced with this suddenly appearing woman of bewitching beauty, the nobles were uniformly speechless, their mouths agape. Even the Crown Prince, who had been looking around boredly behind the Emperor, widened his eyes in shock.
“B-Black hair…!”
A noble’s stunned exclamation shattered the icy silence. The hall instantly descended into chaos once more.
Despite her attire, which was far from that of a demure noblewoman, and despite her indescribable beauty, the topic buzzing through the hall was singular.
“Black… So the witch truly exists…”
“My Lady, please, try not to even look over there. Who knows what might happen? That black… Are you staring right at it? It’s ill-omened.”
“Didn’t the official proclamation already state it was due to the Holy Kingdom’s scheming from behind the scenes? Marquis, mind your words.”
“Pah! You speak nonsense, Count! How can you deny it when that black-haired creature is standing right before us? Where was she hiding? Didn’t she just appear in the blink of an eye! Like magic!”
“Not ‘like magic.’ It is magic. And she is a mage, not a witch.”
“How insolent! You see, this is why these young nobles… Tch. You go ahead and stare all you want and catch some curse or another! My Lady, we shall be going over—”
“It seems you should be more careful with your words, Marquis. The very black-haired woman you fear so much might be listening to all this and decide to curse you.”
“You! How dare you, Felles! Have you quite finished!?”
The witch—a displeasing, horrifying figure seen only in history book illustrations. The legendary black-haired woman whom everyone claimed no one had ever actually seen.
Her hair, black as a night sea, cascaded down to her waist, its impact so powerful it overshadowed even her unconventional dress.
The murmuring showed no sign of abating. Over nothing more than a hair color, these so-called cultured individuals were engaged in a petty, low-level debate.
‘After all these years, they’re still on about black hair being unlucky, bewitching…’
First, they said not to make eye contact with black eyes for more than three seconds lest you be enchanted, then they said not to make eye contact at all, then they said it didn’t matter…
‘What utter fools… Should I just cut out their tongues?’
Ronius gritted his teeth, infuriated by the bastards openly insulting the person right in front of them. Yet, while murderous intent seethed within him, the woman beside him seemed completely unbothered. She simply stared ahead with those sparkling eyes. The Emperor, who should have been restoring order, merely observed, watching his reaction.
“Ah, after all, hic, gasp, sh-she… she is a witch, isn’t she…?”
Ronius quietly withdrew the murderous intent he had been directing at the raving crowd. Only once the agitated air had settled did he meet the Emperor’s gaze. Emperor Johannes raised an eyebrow with apparent interest. Then, his eyes flickered slightly to the side.
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