I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 72
Sys’s body flinched, trembling. The knight who had been following the Emperor spoke with an air of authority.
“His Majesty is asking, are they not. Where are you headed?”
Had he been caught?
That was Sys’s first thought, but it was too soon to jump to conclusions.
“I was just heading to the storage room, sir.”
“The storage room?”
“The champagne and wine seem to be running low, so I was going to procure some in advance.”
At those words, the Emperor raised one eyebrow. His mouth, which had been drawn in a thin line, slowly curved upward.
“Then go and bring back just one bottle of Dry Wine from Pershan Province. The wine there is quite excellent.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sys had worried that the Emperor might see through the lie.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem that way.
Sys bowed respectfully and withdrew without delay.
“Jeron.”
The Emperor, who had not left his seat, called to the knight.
“Follow him at once.”
“You mean the attendant who just passed?”
“Yes.”
The benevolent smile vanished in an instant, replaced by cold mockery.
“Something about this doesn’t sit right.”
Usually, when wine runs low,
“one says they will replenish it.”
Not that they will procure it in advance.
“!”
The knight’s eyes widened.
The Emperor turned slowly.
“Find out where he’s going and who he means to meet. Then bring him back to me immediately.”
“And if he resists?”
“Kill him.”
The one who had destroyed the building had to be captured alive, but this was different.
It would be fine to kill one for the sake of example.
“Your Majesty!”
Just then, the Knight Commander burst into the corridor, shouting.
“Bangcadium!”
“!”
“It is Bangcadium, Your Majesty!”
The Knight Commander drew a deep breath.
“The one who detonated the building was an associate of Bangcadium! High Priest Michael witnessed it himself!”
“Your Majesty!”
The knight standing nearby turned pale, staring at the Emperor.
A grinding sound echoed harshly through the air.
“Seal the entire Imperial Palace at once and announce it to all.”
The one who murdered the Crown Prince.
Bangcadium, currently evading justice, has attacked the Imperial Palace.
* * *
“Damn it. Where the hell is he?”
“We’ve searched the entire area thoroughly, and there’s not a single strand of hair. Where did the little rat slip off to…….”
“Still, he can’t have escaped yet. It won’t be that eas—”
While the knights bustled about below, Hyacinth, perched atop the building watching their movements with ease, let out a smirk.
“Fools. With Invisibility Magic, you can’t find what’s right in front of your nose, can you?”
“…….”
“Call me a lackey or whatever you like, but skill-wise I’m in a league of my own, aren’t I? Quite something, isn’t it? And they still can’t find me?”
“……Wow.”
She was genuinely infuriating.
‘Glad she’s on our side.’
The way she toyed with the knights was something else. It didn’t seem like she was doing this for the first time.
“Munzi, this is the kind of skill a mage can display. Isn’t it thrilling?”
“That’s just showing off.”
“Showing off? It’s the natural result of a skill gap. If you’re unhappy about it, you can roll around in the Mage Tower for years like I did. Haha!”
“……I’d rather learn magic from my sister.”
I understood now why my sister and the Duke had given her such a harsh evaluation.
‘Her skill is incredible.’
But her personality had a slight—very slight—problem.
“Tsk. My lady would teach you things without any fun at all. The thing about studying, Munzi, is that it has to be enjoyable to be worth learning.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Ah, you need to experience this taste.”
Hyacinth shook her head in disappointment.
In the meantime, I scanned my surroundings once more.
‘It’s gone.’
The presence I had felt until just moments ago had vanished somewhere.
‘Where did it go?’
I let my eyes dart around.
But there was no trace of it.
‘I didn’t mistake it.’
How could I ever forget that eerie sensation?
It was certainly not a mistake.
“Hyacinth.”
“Mm?”
“Could something like a jewel be attached to an animal? Something like that?”
I recalled the red light that had shone vividly even beneath the night sky.
“A jewel?”
Hyacinth’s eyes widened.
She fell silent for a moment before licking her lips.
“Hmm. I’m not sure if that’s exactly what you’re asking about…….”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s something called Mind-Enslavement Magic.”
Mind-enslavement.
I understood the meaning of those words.
“Is it the same as Hallucination—a mental magic?”
“Yes. The difference is that Mind-Enslavement Magic is Forbidden Magic.”
Forbidden Magic.
I turned over the words I had just heard.
“Hallucination is temporary, but Mind-Enslavement Magic doesn’t break unless the mage intervenes. That’s the problem. It’s permanent.”
“…….”
“That’s why it’s been outlawed for centuries. If you use it on a person, they’re ruined for life.”
“Would many people be able to use something like that?”
“Similar to Hallucination. It’s such a high-level spell that most people can’t even attempt it.”
“…….”
“But why are you suddenly asking about that?”
Hyacinth tilted her head, apparently surprised at my question.
‘Will it be alright?’
I hesitated for a moment, but then changed my mind. I had my limits trying to figure this out alone.
I quickly explained the presence I had felt and the red jewel.
“You saw something like that?”
Hyacinth asked back with a genuinely shocked expression.
She clearly hadn’t known.
“That’s why I was curious. It really doesn’t seem like I was mistaken.”
“You’re probably right about what you felt. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be asking me.”
Hyacinth’s face grew unusually stern. Forbidden Magic had been used.
This was not something to be brushed aside.
“That’s strange. Why didn’t I sense it?”
“Can you usually sense it?”
“Well, it’s magic after all. As a genius like me, I should have felt it easily…….”
Hyacinth trailed off.
I too fell into thought. No matter how I considered it, nothing made sense.
“There is one possibility, though.”
After a long moment of deliberation, Hyacinth began to speak.
When I looked up at her in surprise, she rubbed her chin.
“But this is… the worst-case scenario.”
“?”
The worst-case scenario?
“What could it be?”
“The Temple.”
Hyacinth spoke just one word.
“You mean the priests did it?”
“Yeah, but didn’t I just say? Mind-Enslavement Magic is incredibly difficult.”
I nodded my head.
“Mages use Magical Energy, priests use Divine Power. They’re similar but a bit different.”
“…….”
“But to cast difficult magic, you need to be skilled enough. That much is the same.”
Hyacinth furrowed her brow.
“Even I find Mind-Enslavement Magic difficult. It’s a bit outside my usual branch of magic.”
“…….”
“If there’s a priest who can do what even a genius like me cannot…….”
Most likely.
“It would have to be the High Priest.”
“!”
“And the High Priest is very close with the Emperor.”
I already knew that.
I had seen in the Newspaper how the Imperial Court regularly sponsored and looked after the Temple.
Wait, if that’s the case—
“The Imperial Court and the High Priest worked together and used Mind-Enslavement Magic?”
“That’s the most likely scenario. If it were anyone else, the knights wouldn’t let them wander around like that.”
I agreed with that assessment.
The place I had seen was the center of the Imperial Palace.
A location where knights would see nothing unusual whatsoever.
But there was still something nagging at me.
‘Why would they release something like that in the Imperial Palace?’
And on the Emperor’s birthday, no less?
‘What are they trying to do with it…….’
As I continued my thoughts, I froze.
The Imperial Court, which despised Bangcadium.
The Temple, which was on good terms with them.
Mind-Enslavement Magic.
Someone heading to the banquet hall where everyone had gathered.
“!”
A chill ran down my spine.
“We have to stop it!”
I grabbed Hyacinth urgently.
“Right now!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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