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meet her.

The meeting between the Duke and Camila happened much later than I had anticipated, and in a slightly different manner.

I had expected a quiet encounter between the two around the time of the canonization ceremony, but the Duke called us in only after a considerable amount of time had passed since the meal concluded.

Could it be that he had more on his plate than expected? Perhaps.

She was attending the canonization ceremony and coronation as a representative of the Kien Empire. If someone were to discuss imperial power and governance, the Duke would be the most suitable person. After all, he is the maternal uncle of the revered Emperor Nikolai VI and one of only two living archmages.

It might be that he finally found some free time amidst his busy schedule to summon us.

If the Duke’s schedule is completely open afterward, it could mean he has quite a bit to discuss with us.

What could a hundred-year-old grandmother possibly have to say to her grandchildren, though?

“Let’s go.”

“Sure!”

I set off with Camila and Francesca to find the Duke.

—

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

The path to meet the Duke was not very far.

A considerable amount of time had passed since the canonization ceremony, but many government representatives were still lingering in the Cathedral. The imperial delegation was among them.

As fate would have it, since we were also in the Cathedral, finding the Duke was not too difficult.

Even so, the process leading up to the meeting with the Duke was not straightforward.

“I am Oksana, the personal secretary of Duke Alexandra Petrovna.”

A middle-aged man with an expressionless face greeted us formally. He had an imposing demeanor that suggested he wouldn’t bleed even if pricked by a needle, and he introduced himself as “the Duke’s personal secretary.”

Given the fact that the Duke is royalty, it was reasonable to surmise that a secretary named Oksana belonged to the imperial family.

The royal family is a sought-after workplace for many imperial civil servants.

Although the Duke may not possess the right to the throne, she is the living aunt of Emperor Nikolai VI. The Duke is undeniably royalty, and considering the high status of royalty within the empire, it would be unnecessary to explain how significant the role of a private secretary to royalty is.

“It is an honor to meet you.”

Oksana, the Duke’s secretary, delivered her greeting gracefully and smoothly as if flowing like water.

She began to lead us to where the Duke was located.

While doing so, she also took the opportunity to share some important points with us.

“If you are to meet His Grace the Duke, I recommend that you avoid making direct eye contact for too long. Staring into someone’s eyes for an extended period in the Empire is considered a rude gesture.”

“I don’t know how things might be in your homeland, but here in the Empire, conversations begin with the senior person. Thus, it is preferable for questions to be posed after His Grace has first asked them. You need not think too hard on it—simply wait for His Grace to speak first, and you can respond right after he finishes.”

“His Grace Alexandra Petrovna is not a stern person, and considering the occasion, I believe there isn’t a necessity for you to strictly adhere to the complex protocols of royalty. However, please refrain from any behaviors that may be deemed disrespectful.”

It was not particularly difficult advice. It was merely a generalized warning to be cautious of rude behavior. There was nothing incomprehensible or hard to accept about it.

In truth, even if she hadn’t said this, there would hardly be anyone in this world who would dare behave rudely towards the Duke.

The Duke ended the era of barbarism and founded the Magic Tower; she is a living veteran and power holder. Who among us could possibly be foolish enough to speak out of turn in front of such a presence?

Furthermore, she is someone over a hundred years old.

To put it into perspective, she is akin to a senior who was born in the Joseon Dynasty, survived through the Japanese occupation, World War II, independence, the division of Korea, the Korean War, and the Cold War, right up to the modern times. Even the Queen of England who managed to last 90 years without handing over the throne to a son who strayed would have no choice but to bow before the Duke.

She could easily be playing Go-Stop with my great-grandmother at a senior center. Who would dare be rude to her face?

Unless they had nine lives, or perhaps someone who strolls around with their liver outside their body, would even dare to commit such an act.

“…….”

I subtly rolled my eyes to glance at Camila beside me.

And quietly thought to myself.

Perhaps that’s how it will be.

—

The location the Duke was staying in was one of the rooms in the Cathedral of Tranquille. It was a resting space prepared by the cult for the heads of various countries.

Numerous Suit Men dressed in formal attire were standing guard at the door.

Their tall and sturdy physiques, along with in-ear devices leading into their shirts, indicated they were Imperial Guard personnel.

Looks like we’ve arrived at the right place.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

The Duke’s personal secretary made a polite request for us to wait after conversing with the guards.

“What seems to be the matter?”

“I apologize, but the room will take some time to tidy up due to a guest who left before you.”

“Oh, that’s no problem at all. We can wait.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Though our entry was delayed, it wasn’t a major issue. There were still procedures we had to go through before meeting the Duke.

Security checkpoint.

“We will be conducting a security check. Please cooperate.”

The Imperial Guard personnel conducted a security check on Camila, Francesca, and me. The reason was to confirm the identity and possessions of visitors in contact with the Duke, for the safety of the Duke leading the delegation.

It was a justified and reasonable request, so there was no reason to refuse.

I turned my gaze to observe the expressions of my companions.

“Hmm….”

Francesca maintained a composed face. To be precise, she wore a rather indifferent expression.

Despite the fact we were on our way to meet a great archmage revered and respected by all magicians, Francesca showed no signs of excitement at all.

It was as if she had no particular feelings about it.

Francesca casually admired the architectural beauty of the cathedral. She seemed detached, unbothered by whether the security check happened or not.

It seemed her lineage as the descendant of an archmage allowed her to take the current situation so calmly.

“…Hmm?”

As Francesca looked up at a large painting depicting angels on the ceiling of the corridor, she unexpectedly made eye contact with me.

After a few blinks, she smiled at me, lifting the corners of her mouth. It was an enchanting smile.

In this manner, Francesca absorbed the situation with a calm and tranquil demeanor. There was no sign of anxiety or excitement whatsoever. She merely seemed to think, ‘Well, they called us, so let’s at least see their face.’

In contrast, Camila…

“Do you have any idea why the Duke called us?”

Surprisingly, she sounded quite normal.

Camila was exhibiting a far more composed demeanor than any moment I had seen her in before.

With a calm and serene tone, she gently asked her question, invoking the image of a serene lake. I couldn’t believe this was the same Camila I knew.

It was as if I were witnessing a miraculous transformation. Did she receive some sort of revelation without my knowledge?

Our little miracle worker had changed.

“I don’t know either.”

“Were there no specific messages left for you?”

The Duke’s personal secretary nodded.

“No, there weren’t any special instructions left from His Grace.”

Without much hesitation, Camila accepted this response.

Just after the guards’ simple security check was completed, she stepped closer to me and began to whisper. She discreetly covered her mouth and lowered her voice so others wouldn’t hear.

“What do you think it is?”

“Who knows….”

Although she asked, there was no answer that came to mind.

I am not a magician, after all. Even if I were, there would be very few who could answer Camila’s question. The Duke was not an ordinary magician.

The shrimp cannot know the life of the whale, and the wolf cannot learn the hunting methods of the tiger.

No matter how outstanding a magician may be, in front of the Duke, they are nothing more than a common person who managed to narrowly escape a tumultuous period.

“Maybe she’s trying to establish a teacher-student relationship as I mentioned before?”

“I don’t know enough about magic to learn anything. You can’t learn anything without prior knowledge, right? If I don’t know the basics, how can I learn anything?”

“Camila, you’re smart. You love magic.”

With an intelligence that allowed her to reach the threshold of a world-renowned institution like Cambridge, along with a deep curiosity about magic. Curiosity doesn’t necessarily lead to academic passion, but Camila had talent.

Even without undergoing any substantial education, she could manipulate flames as if it were second nature.

She effortlessly burned through Ironwood, which had solidified over centuries from the high-density magic power leaking from rifts, something that even elite combat magicians found challenging.

Frankly, she seemed unaware of how much talent she had, but with the abilities she possessed, she’d never face starvation no matter where she went. Francesca, well-versed in alchemy and some other fields of magic, was similar.

Though she might not be as skilled in magic as my younger sister—who had been lazing around in her room for years (but recently landed a job)—Camila certainly had what it took to learn it.

There was no way to know for sure if the Duke genuinely wished to take Camila as an apprentice, but that was the only answer that came to mind.

“For now, that’s the most plausible reason. Francesca speculated the same way.”

“Alright. But why did the Duke call both you and Francesca as well?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Think about it: if her aim was simply to take me as an apprentice, wouldn’t she just need to call me alone? Don’t you think so?”

“…….”

Now that she mentioned it, she was right.

If the Duke’s goal was to take Camila as a student, it wouldn’t have been necessary to call me and Francesca. Just calling Camila would have sufficed, and everything could have been discussed quietly.

Why drag in foreigners for a discussion that could be handled right here? Especially public servants who work for foreign governments.

I can concede that the staff at the Magic Tower Secretariat, like Francesca, could have that much leeway.

After all, Francesca is also a magician, a descendant of the great archmage ‘Raniere.’ She might have wanted to see a face she recognized from an old comrade’s granddaughter when they happened to meet.

The problem lies with me.

Agencies like the Imperial Guard HQ and the Empire Information Agency are suspecting that I might not just be a Military Intelligence Agency staff member. The marking placed by the Guardians on my first day in the Empire stands as evidence of that.

It seems they haven’t gathered concrete proof, but attaching a marking suggests at least some reasonable suspicion. That’s why I tried to keep a low profile while staying in the northern regions of the Empire. It wouldn’t be easy to return safely if I got caught under the watchful eyes of the counterintelligence squad in a martial law zone.

Fortunately, there haven’t been any major problems, but there’s definitely some documentation about me somewhere, whether with the Guardians or the counterintelligence agency. Once marked as a subject of interest by an intelligence agency, it’s pretty much a lifetime label. That documentation will likely follow me like a shadow for life.

The real question is, why did the Duke summon me?

…….

Typically, intelligence agencies share information with a few relevant organizations.

In most cases, it’s more like a one-sided “distribution” than true “sharing,” but nonetheless, it’s a fact that they circulate information produced by their agencies.

The police, prosecution, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Science, Ministry of Defense, Office of the Prime Minister, Blue House Secretariat, Presidential Security Service, and so on.

The National Intelligence Service sends official documents daily to each department. The Imperial Guard HQ probably shares information in a similar fashion. And the Imperial Guard, the emperor’s elite unit, likely receives that information as well.

So why did they allow a meeting between a person suspected of being a foreign spy and a figure of importance to happen?

And what’s the Duke thinking by calling me in?

Is it possible that the Guardians didn’t distribute any materials because there’s no evidence suggesting I’m a spy? Or did the Imperial Guard receive the information and simply ignore it?

Whatever the hypothesis, it’s one that I find hard to accept easily.

“Hmm… Indeed, there are some questionable parts.”

“Right?”

After pondering, I couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

But there was no need to worry.

Perhaps soon enough, I would hear that answer.

The guards who had been standing motionless started to busily move. The Suit Men, caressing their earpieces, dispersed to their respective positions as if they had an appointment.

At that moment, the Duke’s secretary, who had been watching the scene with familiarity, spoke up.

“Please, let’s go in.”

And then, the secretary cautiously opened the door and politely addressed us.

“His Highness is waiting.”

We stepped into the room, guided by the secretary.

The interior did not look like a space where a magician would reside. Nor did it seem to be prepared for a priest.

Wood aged by time and a grayish-white stone building exuding a sacred aura.

It felt as if time stood still in that place, where a woman chose to remain as if she had cut through the space with a knife.

Mystical silver hair.

Gleaming blue eyes like jewels.

“You have arrived.”

Her soft voice reverberated through the space.

The archmage, who had sat silently like a statue, rose to her feet. As she moved slowly, remnants of time floated around her, like ancient tomes drifting in the air.

Like a satellite in orbit. A book soaring through the sky landed in the Duke’s hand. The sorceress, who had once dazzled an era, appeared to maintain her youth as if time had forgotten her.

Suddenly, the Duke’s expression changed.

And with it, flowers bloomed in the calm meadow.

“I have been waiting.”

The flower’s name was laughter.

*

The first meeting with the Duke unfolded in a wonderfully gentle atmosphere.

“I have been waiting for you. Please come in.”

Amid the warm lighting and the stone building creating an ambiance, the Duke personally extended her hand, indicating the prepared seats.

Whether through magic or some other device, as she moved her hand, three chairs began to move on their own.

“Please sit.”

It was a rather polite invitation, but it was hard to accept easily.

Not because the Duke made an unreasonable proposal.

“Hmm….”

Camila, sitting across from the Duke, unexpectedly muttered and rolled her eyes. The confusion in her blue irises seemed to dart around like a bumper car before settling on me.

She didn’t have to say it; I understood.

‘What do we do now?’

That was what Camila was asking.

In response, I quietly smiled back, reassuring her with a subtle grin.

‘How would I know?’

No matter how much longer I’ve lived compared to my peers, I couldn’t measure up to the Duke, who had lived for over a century.

Having lived with my grandfather, an investigator from the National Intelligence Service, I had seen all sorts of troubling sights that even my grandmother found challenging. The person who would be my great-grandmother was of the same age as the Duke.

In eastern terms, she was growing up during the time when the Qing dynasty was being torn apart by western powers; in western terms, she was a fossil who had directly witnessed the Fashoda Incident and World War I.

Being a diplomat and all, if such a huge age gap exists, it becomes a burden to even exchange a word. There’s only so much age difference that can be tolerated, and when you’re over a hundred years apart, how can you carry on a conversation? Even ambassadors in their fifties would find that tough to handle.

So how could someone like Camila, barely in her twenties, even handle it?

“Haha….”

Dumbledore, Gandalf, and all those ‘sage-like wizards with long white hair’ she had imagined began to reveal her surprise.

In a very quiet voice, she murmured, “Is that really the Duke? I heard she was a bit… older…”

“Indeed.”

“But she looks so young!”

“Yes.”

Her expression was one of sheer disbelief.

Awestruck by the Duke’s youthful appearance, Camila gasped, “Is this some kind of Benjamin Button situation? Is time flowing backward?”

“Oh, that movie is a classic. I cried while watching it.”

We quickly whispered to each other, but nothing changed.

Camila was staring at the young and vibrant sorceress before her, who was a complete contrast to the image of an ‘aged magician’ she had in mind.

To be precise, it was either Gandalf or Dumbledore. Perhaps it could’ve been Sirius. Given her love for Harry Potter, she might have equated the Duke, who can transform into a cat, with Sirius.

Wait, hold on. Is the cat McGonagall?

Maybe I’m just getting old, but my memories were getting a bit hazy.

It was then that someone pulled me back to reality.

“Grandma.”

The unexpected address was so out of place that it instantly snapped me to attention.

Grandma?

The only person in the room to be addressed like that was, without a doubt, the one and only.

Duke Alexandra Petrovna of the Kien Empire.

Having lived for over a century, it wasn’t strange to be called grandma. In fact, whenever the Empire had some sort of ridiculous incident related to the Magic Tower, foreign press would often sarcastically inquire, “Where is the royal grandmother?”

But never would a politician, diplomat, or journalist dare to directly call the Duke ‘Grandma.’ To be precise, someone with a shred of common sense would never even dream of it.

If that were the case, why wouldn’t they just call the Emperor ‘Grandpa’?

Not a single elementary school student of the unlawful elite would dare address the President to his face as ‘Grandpa.’ Maybe ‘President Grandpa’ would be acceptable, but still.

So who on earth would dare to call the Duke ‘Grandma’?

My mind momentarily hazy, I quickly searched for the person foolish enough to utter those words. A slight turn of my head led me straight to the culprit.

I locked eyes with Camila, who was just turning her head as well. I turned left while she turned right. There was only one person standing between us.

Francesca.

“……”

I stared at Francesca, who wore a blank expression directed at the Duke.

At that moment, Francesca parted her pale pink lips and uttered in a melodious voice.

“Why did you call for me?”

An almost rude inquiry.

Hearing that, a sudden urge to slap Francesca crossed my mind.

 

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