Chapter 37 : Chapter 37

Chapter 37

That night, Marcel tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

His sensitive nerves and frequent headaches played a part, but Eddie’s words haunted him.

As a result, Eddie had to keep an eye on him for hours after the lights went out.

‘He’s finally asleep.’

Confirming Marcel’s even breathing, Eddie quietly rose.

He reached out, grasping a paper and pen that appeared in the air.

He’d waited for Marcel to sleep to write a letter to Leodimir.

[The investigation into the Kirhausen Family’s Circe and the task you mentioned are complete. If you wish, I can arrange a meeting tomorrow.]

Eddie reread the letter that had flown through the window earlier.

‘As expected, Leo gets things done quickly.’

After returning from Pasquier, Eddie had asked Leodimir for one more task besides investigating Sylvia.

To rebuild Palamedes, they needed to gather its remnants.

Given the political climate, it was a tall order, expected to take days or weeks.

But his disciple was more capable than anticipated.

‘This will let me organize the forces I can use at the academy.’

Satisfied, Eddie’s pen moved eagerly as he wrote his reply.

[Good work, Leo. I’ll meet them tomorrow night…]

His pen stopped abruptly.

He sensed magic outside the door.

Quickly hiding the letter, he turned toward the door.

‘Not one person. An attack on Kirhausen?’

The aura was mana—two people’s worth.

Preparing for a possible attack, Eddie quietly grabbed his wand from the bedside table.

He cast Search to assess the intruders’ strength.

His mana reached the mana outside.

And then—

‘…What’s this?’

Identifying the intruders, Eddie tilted his head.

The two outside weren’t threats—they were academy students.

Judging by their unrefined mana, likely first-years.

‘What are they doing? Visiting a classmate’s dorm at this hour…?’

Then—

Slide—

The door opened silently, about a hand’s width.

They were attempting a break-in.

Pretending to sleep, Eddie hid under the covers, subtly manipulating mana.

His specialty, the tracking spell Tracker, slipped through the door crack.

As it latched onto the nearest student, their whispers reached him.

[“The door’s open. Now what? Are we really stealing it?”]

[“Why ask now? You want to back out after coming this far?”]

Their conversation was unexpected.

Thieves, then.

Stunned by their purpose, Eddie was dumbfounded.

‘Stealing? A petty crime by commoners? But to steal so recklessly in the academy?’

Their next words cleared his doubts.

[“Get a grip, Hendricks. What choice do we have? When the young masters order us, we obey.”]

[“…Alright. But the voucher’s so small, it’s hard to calculate the range properly.”]

[“Do it anyway…! We need to close the door and leave before we’re caught…!”]

Hearing the two tails’ conversation, Eddie let out a hollow laugh.

Young masters.

The voucher.

He grasped their intent.

Swish—

With a light wand wave, the voucher on Marcel’s desk floated.

It drifted into the hands of the two tails.

Having completed their theft, they quietly closed the door and left.

Eddie, who’d sensed it all, rose silently.

Rubbing his face, he sighed deeply.

‘The Dickens heir ordering his tail to steal…’

One of the thieves was Hendricks Dean, Alexein’s tail.

The unbelievable truth gave him a headache.

The reason for the theft was obvious.

Listening to the retreating tails’ breathing, Eddie silently prayed.

‘Please don’t stoop to something so disgraceful…’

But the conversation through Tracker confirmed his fears.

[“Heh, well done, Hendricks. I was about to kick out that useless tail, but you’ve proven useful.”]

[“Th-Thank you, young master.”]

[“Now we just need this voucher to be found in some commoner’s possession. They’re the only ones who need it, so the motive’s clear.”]

Alexein and his accomplice’s voices came through Tracker.

Eddie sighed, still listening.

[“But what if the punishment isn’t severe? What if those commoner professors protect them?”]

[“Think, Russel. A commoner stole from Kirhausen’s heir. No matter how much the commoner professors want to shield them, what power do they have if senior professors intervene?”]

Alexein scoffed at his friend’s concern.

He was right.

Eddie imagined the commoners caught in their scheme.

It wouldn’t be pretty.

[“True. So, who’ll we plant the voucher on tomorrow? That cocky redhead, right?”]

[“…”]

Alexein’s low chuckle answered Russel’s question.

After laughing, he began explaining the plan to his group.

Eddie heard every detail.

‘…Hmph, not bad.’

Narrowing his eyes, Eddie’s gaze gleamed in the dark.

‘I thought he was just a fool picking stupid fights, but he’s sharper than I expected.’

He was impressed by the meticulous plot.

But he had no intention of letting it succeed.

‘Tomorrow will be a long day.’

Alexein’s plan was set for the afternoon.

Eddie had planned to conserve energy for Corkis that night but changed his mind.

Since the plot’s mastermind was the Dickens heir, he couldn’t ignore it.

‘To topple the current Kirhausen, I need to fix Dickens first.’

Unlike Kirhausen, which rose with Edmund, Dickens was a historic family deeply embedded in the magical world.

Many magical families trusted and followed them.

‘If the current Kirhausen falls, the magical world will face chaos. Dickens is the only one that can stabilize it.’

Even a justified reclamation would shock the conservative magical world.

That shock would breed chaos.

And chaos would give external forces an opportunity.

‘If outsiders seize that chance to dominate the magical world, Kirhausen’s issues will become the entire magical world’s problem.’

Thus, the current Dickens was as much a target for Eddie to correct as Kirhausen.

‘Especially with an heir like that.’

Sighing, Eddie picked up his pen and added lines to Leodimir’s letter.

The finished letter was longer than expected.

Rubbing his stiff neck, he closed his eyes.

Tomorrow’s tasks had doubled, and he was tired.

‘If Eustaph were alive, this would’ve been easier.’

Smiling bitterly, Eddie recalled his lifelong rival, the former Dickens head.

‘You felt so rigid back then, but now I might be the rigid one.’

Taking on Dickens might be greedy or just a “tactic for smoother revenge.”

But he couldn’t confidently walk into Corkis leaving Dickens’ heir as is.

***

The next morning, Eddie rose earlier than usual and approached the window.

Swish—

His wand moved, silently opening the window.

The 1-star chaos spell Sonusvelo controlled sound.

The same spell the tail used last night, but executed more perfectly.

Eddie reached through the window, feeling along the outer wall.

Grasping an object, he closed the window and checked on Marcel.

Thankfully, Marcel was still asleep.

Eddie nodded, examining the small paper bird in his hand.

Leodimir’s reply had the item Eddie requested tied to it.

Untying it, the bird unfolded into a note.

A single line in Leodimir’s handwriting: [Good luck.]

Eddie chuckled at the concise message.

‘Still the same, Leo.’

Glancing past the sleeping Marcel to his desk, he saw the Emporium voucher was, predictably, gone.

***

Morning classes, lunch, and Fred’s class passed without incident.

The final class was Powell Showman’s Practical Wand Handling.

Students headed to the classroom, Dennis Room.

Eddie and Marcel were among them.

“…”

Marcel walked half a step ahead, as usual, speaking only if he initiated.

Then—

Tap, tap, tap—

Unsteady footsteps approached from behind.

They rapidly closed in, and a student collided heavily with Marcel.

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

“Young master!”

Marcel groaned, staggering.

Eddie steadied him, but Marcel’s belongings scattered across the floor.

“Young master, are you alright?”

Eddie’s feigned concern checked Marcel’s state.

Rubbing his sore left shoulder, Marcel frowned but regained composure.

“…I’m fine.”

“What the…”

Eddie turned to see who’d collided.

But before he could, an overly loud, nervous voice rang out.

“I-I’m so sorry…! I tripped and…”

The student, bowing, spoke formally to Marcel.

A commoner, then.

But Eddie noticed something else.

‘The tail who was with Hendricks last night.’

He recognized the voice from Tracker.

It was Russel Morrison’s tail, part of Alexein’s scheme.

‘They’re starting.’

“What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

“Russel’s tail bumped into Marcel?”

The commotion drew students’ attention.

Only a few uninterested students and commoners avoiding trouble didn’t look.

Most stopped to watch.

Then, a voice spoke as if waiting.

“Ugh… I told him to secure a classroom seat, and he can’t even do that without causing trouble.”

The affected tone belonged to Russel Morrison, Alexein’s accomplice.

Tip: Tap/click the left or right side of the screen to go to previous/next chapter.