The Dialectic of Master and Slave - Chapter 236

Volumes 1-4 + Side Stories of DMS are available uncensored on ko-fi! ※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

“Huh? But you just said you were the former Emperor’s teacher…”

Jaha was engulfed in unease. Forty-one years old? That didn’t align with being the former Emperor’s teacher. Even if the former Emperor had married young, his son—the current Emperor—was already grown, meaning the former Emperor had to be at least in his forties by now. Yet his teacher was only forty-one?

Had this mage been so exceptionally talented that he was chosen as a teacher despite being the same age? A peer-like mentor, or something?

‘No. Earlier, I heard him mutter something about “that brat.”’

Wasn’t that phrasing usually reserved for someone significantly younger?

As Jaha spiraled into confusion, the mage chided her in a lecturing tone:

“Drop the prejudice that an Emperor’s teacher must be some wizened old man. When I became Lex’s teacher, people clucked their tongues, saying a twenty-something was too young for such responsibility. Tch.”

“Still, if the age gap is too small, discipline usually becomes difficult—”

“A ten-year difference is plenty. Must the job belong to some white-bearded fossil?”

The retort left Jaha stunned.

If the mage before her was forty-one, then the former Emperor—being at least ten years younger—would’ve been in his twenties or thirties. Yet the current Emperor was also an adult. That age gap didn’t fit a parent-child relationship.

What’s going on? Was the succession not from parent to child, but between siblings?

Did the elder brother, the former Emperor, abdicate in favor of the younger, the current Emperor?

‘Is that how that man originally became Emperor?’

She didn’t know. Gaps still riddled Jaha’s memories. Countless critical details slipped through those holes—like the Emperor’s face, or the timeline of key events.

This riddle couldn’t be solved as things stood. She needed more information.

“Why did the former Emperor abdicate at such a young age? As his teacher, you’d know the truth better than the rumors…”

Jaha tested the waters. At least she’d confirmed the former Emperor, Lex, hadn’t died—his abdication wasn’t automatic. The mage’s earlier remarks made that clear.

“Oh, all sorts of rumors swirl, but few know the truth. Of course, I do.”

The man—who looked mid-fifties but was, bafflingly, only forty-one (making “middle-aged” a stretch)—puffed up at the slightest praise, his earlier prickliness forgotten. Despite his temper, he was surprisingly easy to handle.

“The fact that you possess that ring means you are connected to him in some way, so I suppose it’s fine to tell you. The reason Lex descended from his seat was that he ‘died as a mage.’”

The man’s expression darkened as he spoke up to that point. For the first time, a somber atmosphere clung to the person who had been consistently arrogant.

A face crossed with emotions—something regretful, sorrowful, or perhaps deeply troubled.

It was an uncharacteristic reaction from someone who had previously shown subtle inferiority toward a disciple he considered superior to himself. There was no trace of perverse glee or quiet amusement; instead, he seemed tormented.

Just as the thought struck—After all, a master is still a master—

“An immense amount of magic, said to outlast the Four Seas surrounding the continent, vanished overnight. Can you believe it? It’s enough to make ghosts weep.”

Jaha held her breath.

The mage’s agitated voice continued.

“Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it either. How could so much magic disappear in an instant? To put it in terms even you non-mages can understand, it’s as absurd as the ocean turning into a desert in a single day. Do you think such a thing is possible?”

“Ah… Well, that’s…”

“If he had cast high-level magic ceaselessly, without sleeping for months, as effortlessly as breathing, then maybe there’d be some logic to it—but in that case, this world wouldn’t have remained intact. Had he poured magic into the air, the space itself would’ve warped, tearing apart half the continent. Had he poured it into the sea, calamities would’ve followed. Yet, an amount of magic that couldn’t have vanished quietly disappeared without a single trace.”

The mage seemed less interested in a response as he rambled on, then lowered his voice as if realizing he was getting too worked up.

“That’s why I believe Lex is the one who changed this world. He stepped into a realm forbidden to humans, wielded magic beyond human limits, and paid the price by losing all the magic he once possessed.”

Ah.

Her upper and lower teeth clenched tightly. Not deliberately—it was the uncontrollable chattering of cold, an unbearable chill shaking her to the core.