Chapter 38
4. What’s This? Give Me Back My Good Kids (3)
Astair visited the royal palace early in the morning.
Dressed in a pristine white robe, he gave off a gentle impression, but his eyes carried an inexplicable chill.
It was a side of him quite different from how he usually appeared in front of others.
Arriving at the audience hall, Astair gave a light nod to the knight standing guard instead of issuing a formal command.
The simple, non-authoritative gesture was enough to overwhelm the knight, who reported with a slight delay.
“Your Highness, the Cardinal requests an audience.”
“Send him in.”
Once the crown prince gave his permission, two knights guarding the door opened the massive doors to the audience hall.
A red carpet stretched from the entrance, up the stairs, all the way to the throne atop the dais.
Seated on the throne was a young man with deep blue hair like the night sky.
Cedric Russel de Hartwig.
He was the crown prince of the Artes Empire, the largest empire on the continent, and currently the only person who could sit on the throne while the emperor lay bedridden.
Astair approached the dais and bowed deeply.
“I pay my respects to His Highness, the great leader of the Empire and the great magician.”
It was said that the founder of the Artes Empire was a grand wizard with immense mana.
His two sons, inheriting his mana, were born with vivid crimson eyes, the manifestation of their concentrated magical power.
One founded the Artes Empire, the other established the Mage Tower.
Unlike the first prince, who intended to preserve the empire through his descendants, the second prince decided that the Mage Tower should be inherited by the strongest wizard of the era, regardless of lineage.
Because of this, in the early years, the Mage Tower and the Empire shared struggles as if they were brothers. Over time, however, the relationship faded, and the Tower eventually became independent from the Empire.
Now, generations later, the Mage Tower no longer maintained the tradition of crimson eyes due to merit-based succession, but the royal family still carried the strong magical power of their ancestors.
Those who inherited this power were born with crimson eyes and, following tradition, became heirs to the throne.
Cedric was one such descendant, born with these crimson eyes.
Astair addressed him as “great magician” simply because that was the custom of the Empire.
“You are welcomed, Guardian of Light, representative of the Holy Kingdom.”
Cedric greeted Astair with a similarly formal expression and immediately got to the point.
“Why does a Cardinal come at this early hour? I thought this was the time for morning prayers.”
“I have urgent matters to report, Your Highness.”
“Urgent matters more pressing than your prayers?”
“It concerns the incident related to the dimensional rift I mentioned previously.”
At the mention of “dimensional rift,” Cedric’s expression stiffened for a moment.
“Last night, we found clues at Count Lort’s estate.”
Lancelot, who had been waiting behind Astair, stepped forward and opened a small box he was carrying.
Inside were fragments of a rift recovered from Count Lort’s estate the previous day.
“Moreover, the count and his wife hired dark wizards to brainwash nobles attending the banquet to worship demons.”
“……”
“While the count feigns ignorance of all these actions, we suspect a larger force is behind them. Therefore, we intend to conduct a public investigation.”
“……”
“To prevent further damage or to assess unknown harm, I urge you to inform the populace of this matter.”
Cedric, who had been listening with a stern expression, finally spoke.
“I respect you, Guardian of Light, who always confronts danger head-on.”
“……”
“However, as I’ve said before, it’s only been three years since the demons vanished. To reintroduce that fear to people who are just returning to normal life seems cruel, doesn’t it?”
Cedric spoke like a benevolent prince genuinely concerned for his people.
But Astair, who knew his true intentions, simply met his gaze with a cold stare.
The crown prince and the royal family merely disliked using their budget to address issues that surfaced publicly—just as they had three years ago when demons still existed.
Astair presented the decisive card that forced the royal family to address this incident publicly.
“Are you saying that the person behind this incident is impersonating Your Highness?”
“…What?”
At Astair’s words, Cedric, who had been leaning on his hand, straightened up. His crimson eyes betrayed his unease.
Astair did not miss the subtle reaction and continued.
“Yesterday, a masked man visited Count Lort’s estate. He had crimson eyes, just like Your Highness.”
“……”
“Will you just let him go?”
Impersonating a royal was a capital crime and a grave insult, punishable by death.
Knowing that an impersonator of the crown prince was involved and ignoring it would be tantamount to tarnishing the royal family’s prestige.
“I no longer intend to investigate this matter secretly, so rumors will inevitably spread. The people will find out.”
“……”
“Therefore, wouldn’t it be better for Your Highness to personally address the populace regarding how you will handle this matter? Even as a warning against that mysterious group whose identity is unknown.”
By bringing up the impersonator, Astair forced Cedric to abandon any plan of covering up the incident.
Understanding the tactic, Cedric looked down at Astair with a stern expression.
Astair met his gaze without flinching.
Cedric was a man who, while pliant and smiling in front of others, never bent his will before his father or anyone he deemed his equal.
‘Unbelievable that this is the son of the Marquis of Perdian. The saint really raised one sharp dog,’ Cedric thought, silently admiring Astair’s forthrightness—so unlike the sly Marquis of Perdian, who twisted and turned in front of the royals.
After a brief pause, Cedric composed himself and replied,
“The Cardinal is right. I underestimated this matter.”
“……”
“The Empire will fully cooperate in uncovering the truth of this incident and will send capable individuals to assist.”
This meant that, if the incident could not be covered up, Cedric intended to actively intervene to turn it to his advantage.
Astair, aware of this, could do nothing to oppose the crown prince’s involvement in Empire affairs.
But his main goal in visiting the palace was simply to gain consent to bring this matter to light, so that was enough.
“Following Your Highness’s wishes, I will investigate the mastermind behind this incident thoroughly.”
Astair’s cold gaze was fixed solely on Cedric, as if issuing a direct warning.
“I shall take my leave now.”
With polite but precise courtesy, Astair turned and left the audience hall.
Cedric, watching Astair’s departing figure, recalled what he had said earlier:
“Yesterday, a masked man visited Count Lort’s estate. He had crimson eyes, just like Your Highness.”
Astair seemed to believe that the man impersonating him was the true mastermind behind the incident, using his identity to commit these acts. Cedric, the person being impersonated, knew the truth.
‘The one impersonating me knows that I am the real mastermind.’
For whatever reason he was impersonating Cedric, one thing was clear: leaving him alive would be of no benefit.
‘Separate from that, letting the Temple investigate this further is not in my interest.’
He had to catch the impersonator before the Temple and quietly resolve the incident.
After some thought, Cedric smirked slightly, having come up with a plan.
“A loyal dog must be met with a loyal dog.”
He gave an order to the steward nearby.
“Summon Duke Rittenhouse.”
A few days later, Elshez finished a leisurely breakfast and climbed into a carriage, instructing the driver to head somewhere other than the guild or temple.
“To Duke Rittenhouse’s estate.”
With only Elshez and the driver in the carriage, Reti popped out from his pocket and began dangling from the window, gazing at the scenery.
Elshez, watching the passing view, recalled what Leni had told her.
“Second and fourth Wednesdays, you have tea with Duke Rittenhouse, right?”
Today was the second Wednesday.
Elshez intended to meet Tezet and discuss their broken engagement.
‘It’s not proper to simply notify someone in writing about a broken engagement, even if briefly engaged. It’s a matter of courtesy.’
Although she still had debts, she decided it was best to repay a small amount and inform him in advance. That way, he could find a replacement fiancée.
And…
‘I’m also curious how he’s been.’
He was the most unpredictable of the four heroes and had caused the most trouble, but they had been comrades for ten years.
Now, with the power of the demon, he was somewhat frightening, but having met Cassian, Astair, and Rasiel—even briefly—made her curious about his current state.
“Smells delicious.”
Reti twitched his ears and peered out the window.
Sure enough, the sweet aroma from a nearby bakery wafted into the carriage.
It was a soft, sweet scent that lifted the spirits just by smelling it.
As she savored the scent, a memory from the first cycle flashed in Elshez’s mind.
She urgently tapped the window leading to the driver’s seat.
“Could you stop the carriage for a moment?”
