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Volume 1 Chapter 3 Part 4

His only condition for doing that was that he would have Theo promise to not expand his new territories by annexing the ones that already belong to the kingdom of Clovis.

 

Theo managed to defeat Lassic and then subdue the attack of the four Lords in a pretty spectacular fashion, so it was quite possible that the King of Clovis must have been wary of the momentum at which Theo and his allies were currently going. However, the main reason why the negotiations with the King of Clovis have turned out so favorably for them was because Saturus, who was acting as Theo’s envoy, has been serving as a contracted Mage for the Lords of  these lands for over 40 years.

 

「I am very grateful to you for everything that you did for us . 」

 

Siluca greeted Saturus as he entered the room with a smile and held his hand tightly. But Saturus’ expression was a grim one, and in a stern voice…

 

「Are you not  overdoing it? 」

 

He said something like that.

 

「Have you not been taught the most important rule back at the Magic University? The rule that says that a Mage should be nothing more than an advisor to the Lord that they are contracted to, and that they should never strive to be anything more that? Or could it be that you have already forgotten about that? If you would have adhered to the rule, everything would have been fine, but right now, the rumors are already circulating around. The rumors that say that you are the mastermind behind all of the victories that you have achieved and that the Lord with whom you have made a contract is nothing more but a decoration. Think about it for a moment. It is unusual for a nameless wandering Lord to expand his territory in the blink of an eye like he did, so the more malicious rumors say that he was able to do that because you are a Dark Mage, or that you are secretly collaborating with the Earl of Artuk. There is even quite a large number of Lords who claim that what you did was a clear violation of the terms of the agreement, so if the Earl of Artuk ever decides to sue you to the Mages Association, it is more than probable that you are going to be the one who is going to receive severe punishment. 」

「I am aware of that, and I’m prepared for that as well. 」

 

Siluca nodded obediently.

 

「That’s why I had to hurry with our plans as much as possible. Many unexpected things have happened to us along the way, but fortunately, it seems that for the time being everything is going in the right direction for Lord Theo. And even if I end up being summoned to Elam to be punished, I am sure that Master Saturus will continue to support Lord Theo so that he can keep his territory and fulfill his dream. 」

 

And then she bowed her head to the old Mage.

 

「Don’t be unreasonable. If I had that kind of talent, I wouldn’t have signed a contract with the Medrick family in the first place. I’m old, so I’m thinking of retiring when the current situation settles down, because if we will have to fight against other Lords, then I am afraid that I will not be able to be of much help to you. 」

 

「You do not have to worry about that, Master Saturus. I will not let you to stand on the battlefield. 」

 

Siluca said hurriedly.

 

「Are you sure that this is going to be a good idea? 」

 

Saturus said while letting out a wry smile.

 

「We will have to make a decision after discussing it with Lord Theo. Lord Theo, I am sure that right now you will undoubtedly believe that everything you are doing right is the right thing to do, but let me just tell you that someday, there might come a day where you might regret the choices that you have made now. 」

 

I have to make a decision after consulting Master Theo. Shiren

 

「I will be sure to keep those words in mind. 」

 

Indeed, Siluca was the one who decided everything when it comes to their plans without consulting them with Theo, so to those around him, it must have definitely seem like a strange thing to do.

 

So far, Theo has acknowledged it, but Siluca knew better than anyone else that the relationship between them was not like a typical relationship between a Lord and his contracted Mage should be.

 

As his court rank will keep increasing, Theo’s self-esteem will keep increasing as well. In time,  he is probably going to have enough confidence in himself to make his own decisions without having to consult them with anyone. After all, it is not strange for a Lord to not listen to the words of their contracted Mage if their opinions differ too much from one another, and the number of such Lords only increased in recent years.

 

 

 

「However, since I met all of you, I have to admit that I have been feeling thrilled like I have never been before. I never would have dreamed that I will be able to experience so many tense situations one after another. 」

 

「Sorry for having you go through all this trouble… 」

 

「Anyway, I think that you should definitely  talk more with Lord Theo. He might be inexperienced as a Lord, but who is to say if maybe he is not an inexperienced genius that just needs more time to properly grow? 」

 

「I feel the same way… 」

 

Siluca now realized that her first encounter with Theo was by no means an accident. He realized that a Mage belonging to the Mages Association was about to be attacked and that such an attack was a serious breach of the agreement, so he purposely ran his horse into those soldiers back there to stop them.

 

Whether he chose to save Siluca or not, the fact of the matter is that he had nothing to do with the foolish Lord who decided to break the rules of the agreement… but if he managed to stop the attack from being carried out, then no one would end up getting hurt.

 

That must have been what Theo was thinking at that moment.

 

It was the same when Siluca summoned Orthros so that Theo could defeat it and absorb its Chaos Core, Theo went on to exterminate it first and foremost because he thought that if it were to be left alone, then the people who would happen to pass by along the highway would have been killed by it. Not only that, but the two-headed demon dog that inhabited the world of Tartarus was not just your average enemy that just about anyone could defeat, but it should have been a formidable opponent for Theo back then when he still had barely any strength to him.

 

But still,  Theo did not give up, challenge Orthros head on and persevered.

 

(I feel like Lord Theo possesses the rare ability to clearly see what is the right thing to do in any given situation, and he also has no hesitation with putting his thoughts into action. That’s because he has the courage and conviction that every true Lord should have…)

 

After Saturus left, Siluca made her way to Theo’s private room. It is now night, but the night was still young, so Theo should not be asleep yet at this hour. Siluca stood in front of Theo’s room and hesitated for quite some time before she finally gathered up the courage and knocked on the door.

 

「Who’s there? 」

 

She  heard Theo’s voice from the other side of the door.

 

「…It’s me,  Siluca. 」

 

She could feel her voice tremble slightly when she answered his question just now.

 

「Is there anything urgent that you wish to discuss? 」

 

Theo’s voice and footsteps got closer, and the door opened soon after.

 

Theo was wearing a loose gown, which was one of the few articles of clothing that remained in the castle after they conquered it. It was too big for him and obviously did not fit him all that well.

 

When she saw him like that, the first thing that Siluca thought to herself was that she should probably arrange for a tailor from Elam to come here and make clothes that would be of appropriate size for him.

 

(Not that I am any better though.)

 

Other than her  underwear, the only clothes that Siluca had herself were her two sets of the uniform issued to her by the Magic University and the robes given to her by the Earl of Artuk.

 

She doesn’t really care that much about fashion, and even when she was living in Elam, she only used a few plain sets of clothes other than the Magic University uniform.