The Great Mage Returns after 4000 Years – Chapter 117 – The Third Imperial Princess (1)
Translator: Seven
Editors: Ana_Banana, Yahiko
“I need time to think.”
“Is three days enough?”
“That’s enough.”
“Alright. Get some rest.”
At Isaka’s words, Frey bowed once and returned to his room.
Coincidentally, it was the butler, Fabian, who led the way.
When he met Frey’s eyes, he subconsciously lowered his head as he said.
“I, I will guide you.”
When he returned to the room, Fabian spoke with a stiff expression, unlike earlier.
“Do you need anything else?”
“The room.”
Frey slowly walked over to the window sill and rubbed his finger through the dust that had accumulated there.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit dirty?”
“I-, I’m sorry. I’ll immed-”
“No. I’ll bear it for today, so take care of it tomorrow.”
“I’ll make sure to clean it while you are having your meal.”
Frey then pointed at the closet.
“Add some more clothes there.”
“Yes.”
“Right. And I’m thinking about going to bed right away today. I’m a little sensitive while I sleep so…”
“I will station a guard. I hope you sleep well.”
He catches on quickly.
Fabian immediately left the room when Frey dismissed him with the shake of his hand.
The attitude he displayed was very different to what he had shown before.
But this was natural.
That man had been able to knock down the heir of the Blake family, Mischael Blake, in a one on one duel.
Moreover, Isaka and Leita, who had always ignored him before, were showing signs of acknowledging Frey as their son.
Only a few servants, including Fabian, had witnessed the fight, but it was certain that everyone in the mansion would learn of it by the next day.
Naturally, Frey’s reputation in the mansion would also rise significantly.
Frey Blake, the loser who had been ignored by everyone was no longer present.
In his place was Frey Blake, the third son of the Blake family.
Fabian was certain.
By the next day, there would be no one else who dared to ignore him.
* * *
Frey was laying on his bed.
Unlike what he told Fabian, he actually had no intention of sleeping.
Instead, he had a much more important task than fighting Mischael and gaining recognition.
Frey closed his eyes and muttered in a low voice.
“Darkming.”
Shik.
The intermediate Dark Spirit, Darkming, appeared.
It looked at Frey with a drowsy look in its eyes.
“I want you to alert me as soon as someone with a hostile aura approaches. Can you do that?”
Darkming nodded.
It could do that much.
Naturally, this Spirit, which looked very much like a house cat, was not very good at fighting.
Frey’s greatest trump card was that he could summon Asura, the ruler of the Slaughter Hell.
If he protected him, then no one in the mansion would be able to hurt him.
‘I could make the summoning circle and call him, but…’
He couldn’t just ask a proud ruler of the Demon World to be his bodyguard.
Darkming was enough.
“Ghost.”
Shik.
Frey’s spirit body came out of his real body.
This was that 8 star spell, Ghost.
He was now in a state where he could ignore all the laws of physics and almost all physical attacks.
Naturally, he was still able to cast some spells.
Most importantly, those who were at a lower level than him wouldn’t be able to see him at all.
It was the perfect spell to search the mansion.
Frey floated through the wall and began searching the house.
He didn’t believe that anyone would be able to see through his spell.
No human at least.
‘Leyrin.’
He couldn’t forget her existence.
Riki had heavily injured three Demigods in their fight.
Agni, Ananta and Nozdog.
‘Leyrin and Lord are still okay.’
Leyrin might be in the Blake family residence.
He wasn’t sure, but Frey still made sure that he was fully prepared for the possibility.
He slowly and patiently expanded the scope of his search.
He wasn’t anxious.
Not even a little.
For Frey, patience was one of the virtues he was most confident in.
And sooner than he expected, he was able to find the characters he was looking for.
“…-id you mean that?”
“Of course I was.”
Isaka and Leita Blake, the two people in charge of the Blake family, were having a serious conversation in their room.
Fortunately, neither of them seemed to notice Frey’s presence.
He continued listening to their conversation from a short distance away.
“Is it because Mischael is like that?”
“I won’t say it doesn’t have some sway in the decision. Alexandro took him to the best physician we have and got the diagnosis. His nasal bones were completely crushed, and it’ll take at least two weeks to heal.”
Leita shrugged.
“We can’t send him to the imperial family with a crushed nose, can we?”
“Right. But we still have Heinz.”
“It can’t be Heinz. Don’t you already know? That child’s talent, his role.”
Isaka was silent for a moment before finally speaking in his characteristic, cold tone.
“…now I understand. You intend to use Frey as a disposable card.”
“Huhu. Frey came back at the perfect time. With some improvement as well.”
Frey furrowed his eyebrows.
With the help of the light from the lone candle in the room, he was able to make out a gentle smile on Leita’s face.
“You were originally going to use Mischael, weren’t you?”
“If worst came to worst, that was the plan, yes. As you know, Fiore, the Third Princess, is no pushover. Even in the whole empire, the people smarter than her can be counted on one hand.”
She sighed.
“…it’s a pity that such a talent couldn’t be on our side.”
“She’s not a member of the Circle.”
“Yes. Leyrin has the entire imperial family in the palm of her hand, so if any risk factors pop up, they’d immediately be ousted.”
Nevertheless, she did not completely obey the orders she got from their side.
Whenever they requested help, she would come up with a plausible excuse and devise ways to extricate herself.
Isaka sighed.
“On the surface, Princess Fiore is maintaining her neutrality.”
“That’s right.”
Leita nodded.
“And yet she proved her worth to Leyrin. She’s a very cunning girl. She’s walking on a tightrope with her own life as collateral… I can’t believe she’s made it so far.”
If she was born a boy or had talent in the fields of magic, martial arts or swordsmanship, her situation would have been many times more difficult than it currently was.
It was the same for her status.
She was fortunate to have been born into such an ambiguous position like the Third Princess.
“Moreover, the Third Princess is backed by the Eleventh Tower Master. And it’s still troublesome for Leyrin to deal with him at the moment.”
The Eleventh Tower Master.
It was a title he’d heard from Hector not so long ago.
He was one of the three best alchemists on the entire continent.
‘Isn’t he also the secret protector of the Empire?’
At that time, he hadn’t paid much attention to it.
After all, even if he was the Empire’s guardian, he wouldn’t be able to do much against the Demigods.
But now, Leita had brought up the Eleventh Tower Master again.
‘It seems he has the ability to deter the Demigods a little.’
Frey became curious about his identity.
If he had the chance, he would have liked to meet him somehow.
No, it wasn’t an option.
He had to meet him.
If he wasn’t on the Demigod’s side, then Frey had to meet him.
“Can’t we cooperate with others from the imperial family? The Third Prince or Fifth Prince, even the First Princess. Their ambition makes them much easier to deal with, and their influence in the imperial family is just as high as Fiore’s.”
“It’s impossible. Only Fiore can give us what we want.”
Isaka sighed and muttered.
“…Illuminium.”
“Shh.”
Leita put her finger to her lips and slowly looked around.
“Don’t you know that Leyrin told use to maintain strict secrecy about that term?”
“I know, but it’s strange. Isn’t it an alloy that Leyrin made herself? Why do we need to rely on the princess?”
“Because we need her skills to get a hold of a large quantity of ‘Harkon’, the most essential metal for creating Illuminium.”
“Hmm…”
“She doesn’t know why we need it. And if we urge her or show her that we need it desperately, she would grow suspicious. I can’t keep doing this tiring thing forever…”
“So you want to make her a member of the Blake family, ostensibly.”
Leita smiled and nodded.
“Just bringing her out of the imperial family is enough to greatly restrict her movements. At least, she wouldn’t be able to act as freely as she is now.”
If her status as Third Princess disappeared, Fiore would no longer be so hard to deal with.
Moreover, if they brought her into the Blake family, then they might be able to coax her over to their side over time.
“Up until now, Fiore has been against marriage. But she’s already 25 years old, so she is being forced to make a decision.”
“…true. There’s still one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Where is Leyrin now?”
Frey held his breath and looked at Leita’s lips.
However, Leita simply let out a smile and said.
“That’s none of your business.”
“…”
At that moment, there was a subtle flash of emotion on Isaka’s face.
Leita didn’t notice, but from his position, Frey was able to see it clearly.
‘Hmm… is Isaka…’
Frey shook his head after making some guesses.
It didn’t matter to him anyway.
That was all he heard that was worth listening to.
From then, the conversation turned to the family situation, the magic tower and the Circle.
There was no useful information, but Frey still stayed around just in case.
An hour passed, and the candle went out.
Only then did Frey return to his room.
It was already dawn, but he didn’t feel tired at all. He simply sat on his bed and organised his thoughts.
‘…so.’
Leita had been ordered by Leyrin to mass produce Illuminium.
But to do that, they needed large quantities of metal called ‘Harkon’, which they needed the help of the Third Princess, Fiore, to acquire.
Currently, the princess didn’t know that Harkon was so useful to the Demigods, and it was possible that they might encounter problems if she were to find out, such as an interruption of the supply.
That was why they planned to bring Fiore into the Blake family and then forcefully isolate her, gradually weakening her influence.
“…”
Leita’s plan seemed plausible at first glance, but Frey was more curious as to how Fiore would face this plan.
After all, he didn’t think that the Third Princess, labeled the Sapphire of the Imperial Family, would fall so easily.
‘Maybe she has a plan, too.’
Frey finished organizing his thoughts.
The Blake family, Illuminium and the Eleventh Tower Master.
Only
Princess Fiore was related to all three of these things, so Frey decided to start there,
‘The question is, how would we meet?’
Even if they were to meet, it would be in the Blake family or the imperial family, neither of which was suitable.
They wouldn’t be able to talk about anything sensitive as it was more likely they would be separated before they could.
If possible, it would be better for the two of them to talk in a quiet, deserted place alone.
Frey currently had no way to contact her.
However, he was unexpectedly given the opportunity the very next day as Fiore came to the Blake family without warning.