Youngest 234

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Benjamin was silent for a moment. There was no need or reason to persist in stubbornness any longer.

“…The coordinates the Mage King gave me were indeed for the northern part of Arcadia.”

He spoke in a strained, almost groaning voice.

“You were right about everything, Princess. He’s trying to use this old man to set a trap for you.”

“…”

“The moment your ship lands in north Arcadia, the Mage King will try to control you through the crest. Or perhaps his ‘First’ is lying in wait with soldiers, ready to launch a fierce attack.”

The old man covered his face with his wrinkled hands, which shook as he spoke.

“So… you came to stop me from heading to the Mage Kingdom because you were afraid I’d fall into a trap. But why?”

Rubian’s tone was genuinely curious.

“If he finds out you disobeyed his orders, he’ll kill you.”

At this, the old mage let out a quiet, dry laugh.

“Princess, do you know what the Mage King’s great flaw is?”

“Hmm…”

“It’s assuming that what he desires must be what everyone else desires.”

“…”

“Limitless power, eternal rule, immortal life—such trivialities…”

Benjamin looked at Rubian. In her limpid eyes, clear as a polished mirror, he saw the passage of his own years reflected, and felt a sting of shame.

“For an old man like me, who would consider it a blessing to die tomorrow, death is no threat. What frightens me now is… how I’ll be remembered after I’m gone.”

“…”

“If a person’s life is like a book, it matters most where you choose to place the period. At least, that’s what I think.”

There was a time when he’d believed living as a mage of the kingdom was the greatest honor. But at some point, doubt and helplessness crept in. When had it started?

Perhaps, it was when he learned that the Mage King had begun abducting children, branding them with numbers, and turning them into his own ‘weapons’.

He hadn’t known what to strive for. Nor had he the courage or power to fight back. Isolation was the path of least resistance, and his simplest avenue of escape.

Benjamin felt sorry toward Rubian. He wanted to apologize for failing to fulfill an adult’s duty, for wounding her through his inaction. Yet, he concealed all that guilt, putting on the mask of an old man indifferent to death.

With that half-hearted apology, he hoped she wouldn’t feel compelled to respond with the heavy burden of forgiveness. It was a coward’s atonement.

“But Benjamin—in seeing those children, I suppose you’ve pieced it together…”

Benjamin pressed his lips tightly shut.

“I won’t go down so easily.”

Yes, that was a variable he hadn’t foreseen.

‘To think she’s solved the crest problem.’

A long sigh escaped him.

“Haaah… You exceed my every expectation, Princess.”

She was stronger and wiser than he had imagined. Was it right, then, for him to hinder such a person’s path?

Rubian asked softly,

“I heard you once guarded the ruined southern shrine when you were in the kingdom, Benjamin.”

His eyes widened.

“How could you possibly…? Only someone deeply versed in the palace’s secrets would know that…”

Unable to fathom that the Mage King’s ‘Second’ had leaked information to Rubian, Benjamin ceased his conjectures.

“That’s correct. I… was merely a humble servant sweeping and tending the goddess’s sanctuary.”

He hesitated, then spoke again,

“Of course… I did happen to know a bit more than most about that place.”

Rubian smiled.

“Then you must know the coordinates for southern Arcadia.”

Hmmm.

“Tell me, Outpost Mage and former priest of the south, the coordinates. The rest I’ll take care of.”

The Mage King had given Benjamin the northern coordinates for Arcadia.

Rubian intended to slip in through the southern coast and catch the Mage King unawares.

“Princess.”

“In return, I’ll see to that hideous mark you bear. Just a little adjustment!”

Her cheerful tone didn’t match the seriousness of her words.

Benjamin’s jaw dropped.

She was going to erase the crest?

He hastily wiped his mouth and face, unable to process what was happening.

Regardless, Rubian removed the nullification spell inscribed on his palm. She told him he’d have to spend some time in custody.

“Report to the Mage King that you succeeded in your mission. He may try to check on you through the crest, so it’s best for you to stay under watch in prison for now. It might be discovered sooner rather than later, though… In any case, removing the crest comes next.”

“…Understood.”

“Then, once the coordinates are ready, will you send them to me? I’m a bit busy at the moment…”

With a polite farewell, Rubian moved to stand. The distant duke rushed over.

Suddenly, overtaken by curiosity, Benjamin hurriedly grasped at her sleeve.

“P-Princess, did you remove your own crest as well?”

Those blue eyes flickered with an odd light.

“Ah.”

Rubian glanced at Duke Zevert, who was now approaching, and replied with a meaningful, mysterious smile.

No.

“…Why not?”

“I’ve still got some use for mine.”

“…Huh.”

“Shh. It’s all right! Like, you know, a Sword Master or something… I’ll be a Crest Master.”

A… what master?

“So keep this a secret!”

“What secret?”

The duke intruded, perfectly timed.

“If it’s a secret, I obviously can’t tell you. How else am I supposed to say I was talking behind Father’s back?”

“You—are you going to go whisper everything to Khalid again?”

“I’m not—! That’s not it…”

Benjamin watched, dazed, as father and daughter drifted off, bickering quietly.

The crest of the Mage Kingdom had long bound the mages in chains.

If the princess could truly erase it…

Something would change.

Chills broke out over his body. His heart, long grown still, pounded as if it might burst; blood he thought had turned cold now surged, hot, throughout his body.

‘The Mage Kingdom, the world of magi, will change at its very core.’

And when the storm of transformation swept everything away, what would remain for the princess?

What record would be left of Rubian Zevert?

With his teeth clenched, Benjamin kept his eyes fixed on her departing figure.

‘Whatever it is.’

Princess—

“Crest Master is unacceptable…”

It’s just too much…

---

Meanwhile, as Rubian was meeting Benjamin,

Licht stood atop the highest western spire of the imperial palace.

His smooth, handsome face was adorned with the same gentle smile as ever. Yet, like an angel of god glazed by melancholy, his aspect was touched by sorrow.

“If only it were a farewell to a corpse.”

Wickedly, he imagined not a sacred blessing, but a cruel destruction.

The western gate, used by the lowest of the low, those unworthy of the palace. Through that small postern, a creaking carriage was departing.

Inside it was the convicted criminal, the deposed First Prince.

They hadn’t managed to bring him to the executioner’s scaffold, but they had succeeded in banishing him to the desolate west for the rest of his life.

And yet, what had any of it achieved?

‘Because of me, Rubian was hurt.’

It was the delay in severing his enemy’s head that had caused her harm.

He had searched for the easiest moment to achieve his goal, only to lose the moment to protect the one beside him.

In that, he was no different from his father.

In struggling to defend his own station, he had wounded the one he cherished. He was no different.

“I really am useless.”

The worthless prince. Perhaps the First Prince had been right.

His mood plummeted with no end in sight.

He was soon to be named Crown Prince, the very post he’d so desperately coveted, yet he felt no will to go on. He’d reached his goal—but lost everything.

Does Rubian no longer need me?

Still, there was use in him—he would be Crown Prince soon, after all.

No, that’s not it.

She was clever—so clever she’d see right through someone weak and incompetent like him. Maybe it was already too late—

“Fourth Prince?”

Lost in his spirals of thought, a gentle voice called out to him.

Turning, he saw Sevelena standing at the top of the stairs, her smile serene, a letter gripped in her hand.

Licht’s fingers twitched involuntarily as he recognized the handwriting from afar.

“What is it?”

“Princess Rubian says… she’s rescuing Your Highness from your cave and sending you out for some fresh air.”

In the lush eastern woods of Eosia,

The two raced in secret, crossing the border on horseback.

“To think the Mage King’s ‘Second’ was still alive…”

Licht murmured.

Sevelena, sensing his confusion, told him briefly of her tie to the ‘Second’.

“…So that’s how it happened. The ‘Second’ whom Rubian saved fled to Eosia, and that’s where you…”

Their conversation flowed easily as their ride did, and, before long, they reached the edge of a forest village in Eosia.

Sevelena quietly recalled the magic letter Rubian had sent her.

< Your Highness, I have a favor to ask. ‘Second’ suddenly sent me a letter, but I’m not sure I can trust everything it says. Could you confirm it in person for me? >

The contents of the letter said:

First, that southern mage Benjamin could provide coordinates to Arcadia.

And—

It included secret information about a shortcut to the Arcadian palace and all sorts of hidden passages within.

< I think I’ll be able to verify the first part on my own soon. But honestly, I’m uneasy about moving on the rest of this information. If it’s real, storming the palace would be much easier, but… >

Rubian’s handwriting betrayed a hint of doubt.

< I think there’s a high chance it’s a trap. For a mage to recover after losing their mana core… that’s nearly impossible. >

There are no perfect secrets in this world. Even so, ‘Second’—Senia—had survived eight years with relentless tenacity.

The Mage King had planted mages across the continent for years, gathering intelligence, and may well have noticed her presence in the process.

‘Forgery of handwriting is possible even with magic,’ they had said.

Sevelena bit her lip tight. She prayed, more than anything, that she wouldn’t have to kill Senia with her own hands.

They arrived at the village.

Without even considering visiting the elder, they headed for an isolated house. Sevelena, her face tense, quieted her steps.

“Let’s head round the back. This way. Be ready for anything—there might be an ambush…”

At that moment, the door to the cottage burst open.