The Magical Holy Woman Seraphina - Chapter 33

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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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Magic Saint Seraphina
33
A few hours earlier, in the Imperial Palace.
A beautiful corridor where hundreds of mirrors lined the walls reflected the light streaming through the windows.
Attendants watched in confusion as the crown prince walked past them alone, fuming with each step.
“Meow!”
A gray cat that had been playing with yarn by itself dug its claws into Arden’s leg as he passed, hanging on desperately.
With the cat clinging to his leg, Arden burst through the Emperor’s office door without so much as a greeting.
Slam!
“Your Majesty!”
“Mm?”
The Emperor, who had been working all morning and was just reaching for a book to rest, opened his eyes wide.
“My son?”
You, who had been busy avoiding your mother’s nagging, come walking in of your own accord? What’s this about?
“Did you come to complain about the salt soap imported from the south that your mother fancies?”
Whether the Emperor was being sarcastic or not, Arden paid him no mind. He simply made his demand.
“Those who treat shop clerks with disrespect should be executed.”
“What?”
“I’m not speaking only of those who shout or throw things—clearly threatening behavior. I mean those who ignore greetings, those who ask for help and then leave without thanks the moment their business is done, those who complain because things didn’t go their way. All people who treat those with no power to resist the way they would never treat their equals should be executed. All their wealth confiscated.”
……
“They only sprawl and make demands of those too weak to refuse them. They lack respect for the vulnerable. One act reveals ten truths. Would such people excel in their own work? Not a chance. They’ll grovel before superiors and torment those below them, always shifting blame. They’re utterly useless to society. We should identify and eliminate them now.”
……
“What good is a rising standard of living if people’s consciousness doesn’t rise with it? Our empire will remain backward forever at this rate. I can’t recognize such people as fellow citizens! And this is all our fault for governing poorly—we must reflect on it.”
……
“The more I speak, the more I think execution alone won’t suffice. We should exterminate their entire households, sparing only their dogs, cats, and hamsters….”
“Hold on. Wait a moment.”
The Emperor raised his hand.
Arden, who had been running away with his words, finally fell silent. The Emperor, rubbing his brow as if troubled, asked him a question.
“Did something happen in the Knight Order?”
“No.”
“Then why are you suddenly like this? In all my life, I’ve never heard you speak at such length.”
……
“Tell me. Is someone bothering you?”
“It’s not about me.”
“If not you, then whom?”
……
He wouldn’t answer again.
Now the Emperor saw his son as he truly was—the Arden he knew.
Silent, sullen, offering no answers no matter what was asked. Busy washing his hands.
Parent and child stood staring blankly at each other’s faces for a long while.
“So will you create it? A law against disrespect to shop clerks?”
“Execution is too harsh. If we executed everyone who was rude to a clerk, we’d have to kill half the empire’s population.”
“Is there no way?”
“Hmm, you seem quite earnest about this.”
……
Not answering again and again!
The Emperor, giving up on hearing the full story, waved his hand dismissively.
“If you truly want such a law enacted, instead of sitting in on state council meetings, bring me the consent of five ministers. No one will agree to executions, so work within realistic bounds.”
“Will you prioritize it then?”
“That depends on how useful a law you draft and how skillfully you secure the ministers’ agreement.”
“Understood.”
Arden nodded and withdrew.
The small gray cat that had been dangling from Arden’s leg the whole time let out a tiny mew.
“Get off.”
He’d get fur all over himself. As Arden shook his leg to dislodge the cat, a pile of cat toys stacked in one corner of the office came into his view.
And perched at the very top was… a slingshot?
The Emperor’s Aide, noticing the crown prince’s gaze fixing on the slingshot, quickly offered an explanation.
“This is medicinal in purpose.”
“Medicinal?”
“Yes, these rubber arrows can anesthetize the cat when fired. They’re made of special material, so even when struck, the cat only feels the impact of a gentle tap on its hindquarters. We’ve heard it’s somewhat effective on humans as well.”
“Even to people?”
“Yes.”
……
“Would you like to try it?”
The Aide produced a rubber arrow and slingshot that had been stored nearby. Arden took them without a word and tucked them into his coat pocket.
“Those are mine. Why are you taking them?”
As always, he ignored the Emperor’s protest.
As Arden retraced his steps out of the office, the Crown Prince’s Aide followed at his heels this time.
While Arden, who rarely occupied his residence at the Crown Prince’s Palace, was inside, the Aide quickly gathered the documents requiring approval and thrust them forward.
To the Aide, Arden issued his instructions.
“Pull together a list of lawyers who had access to the Imperial Palace nine years ago, with family relations noted separately. And schedule a meeting with the headmaster of Ruar 13th Regular School. I want to look into cases where teachers’ letters of recommendation have been abused.”
“Understood, sir.”
“Tell the Minister of Education that I need to speak with him. And regarding that matter about the Holy Mage I mentioned before—”
Just as Arden was saying that he would appoint himself as the investigating officer in charge of apprehending the Holy Mage, his eyes caught the document the Aide was holding out.
“…Golly?”
Arden picked up the document bearing the familiar faces of a woman and her husband, tilting his head in confusion.
The Aide answered promptly.
“Ah, I was planning to report this first anyway. A family that had been rising recently appears to be heading toward complete bankruptcy.”
It’s truly unfortunate, the Aide added. To have to suffer such a thing with eyes wide open.
Arden turned to face the Aide and asked.
“Are you saying the Golly family is the victim here?”
* * *
“So what you’re saying is.”
Your teacher’s Golly family is a subcontractor for the Tram barony, which manufactures carriages.
“Recently, they put in a bid to become the sole supplier of specialized carriages for the Tram barony and won the contract.”
“Yes. It was a semi-permanent contract, and given the scale of the business, it was reportedly a golden opportunity for the Golly family.”
“So they borrowed the maximum amount from banks to build a new factory and install production equipment for that project.”
They truly gambled everything on it.
“And this afternoon, Baron Tram changed his mind?”
“Yes. He seized upon some utterly baseless pretext to claim the Golly family was in breach, and terminated the contract. The Golly family knew the truth but had no choice but to accept it.”
“That’s similar to what you did to me.”
Though this time, you’re the victim.
“What reason did Baron Tram give?”
“According to the rumors.”
“Rumors?”
“There’s no evidence, so it remains a rumor, but it’s essentially fact.”
Arden clicked his tongue and continued.
“There’s a third family called Cream. They lost the previous bid to Golly. A few days ago, Baron Tram received a painting as a gift from the Cream family.”
“A painting?”
“Boy Dancing Ballet.”
“Ah.”
It’s a work by a royal painter who was famous a century ago.
“So he received that painting and changed his mind?”
“It’s true that he signed a new contract with the Cream family even before terminating the one with Golly.”
“Then the Golly family.”
“The newly built factory and equipment were made exclusively for the Tram family, so they can’t be used anywhere else. Now all that remains is for them to default on their loans and face bankruptcy.”
“Shouldn’t Baron Tram compensate them? They signed a contract with him and even built a factory. If he unilaterally terminates it, how is that acceptable?”
“Though the Tram side did reverse their position, there’s no way to hold them accountable. It’s not a crime to terminate a contract citing the other party’s breach.”
“But you said he received a painting? That’s evidence, isn’t it? Evidence that Baron Tram accepted a bribe and changed contractors.”
“That’s the thing.”
Arden’s expression turned bitter as he continued.
“Baron Tram isn’t even hiding the fact that he received Boy Dancing Ballet as a gift. He’s even having it hung in his reception room and plans to show it to visitors. The only thing is, he’s insisting it’s not an original but a forgery.”
“A forgery?”
“Yes. He claims it’s merely a convincing copy, not the original, so it’s not a bribe and therefore had nothing to do with his change of mind.”
“Wow.”
He accepted a bribe and then unilaterally changed contractors.
As a result, the subcontractor faces bankruptcy, but Baron Tram insists it wasn’t a bribe and therefore his change of heart had nothing to do with it.
The master proudly displaying it, the guests viewing it, Tram, Golly, Cream—everyone knows that painting is genuine, yet no one can say it out loud.
“Huh.”
This is truly the only fate one can accept with eyes wide open.
Just like I was back then.
“Your teacher… that is to say, the Golly family must be furious.”
“Furious indeed.”
……
The teacher who had oppressed me had now suffered the very same treatment she’d dealt to others.
How was I supposed to react?
Option one: Karma exists after all! Thank you, divine powers! Oh, how sweet! Cheer?
Option two: Yes, my teacher treated me poorly, but that’s one thing and this is another. This isn’t some food chain… and feel bitter about it?
……
I crossed my arms.
I recalled the face of the teacher who’d looked at me earlier and thought, ‘You should have been more careful.’
The face of the teacher’s mother, who’d accepted my help and then demanded, ‘Miss, you’re responsible for a full refund!’
The teacher’s daughter, who’d dragged her dirt-caked shoes across the dress I’d carefully displayed and kicked it with her foot.
……
I am a Magic Saint.
In a world of chaos, it is my duty to pursue justice and aid the wronged in the name of the divine.
If I gloat here, am I unworthy of that title?
And beyond that.
Should I help my teacher?

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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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