Chapter 76
While Princess Muriela was breaking her training schedule and fast asleep, another carriage was actively moving.
It was the double-horse carriage carrying Sylvius, who was en route to the capital.
It had been five days since they departed from the territory of Aryen and Hadwin. They were now nearing the capital.
Inside the carriage, Sylvius, who had been dozing off, stretched.
Despite the cramped space, he moved about to loosen his stiff body, then opened his eyes to check the scenery outside.
“Hmm… where are we…”
His vision was still blurry. But as he looked around, familiar scenery entered his sight.
“Good. We’re almost there. Break time is over. Once I’m back, it’s back to being busy.”
Inside a moving carriage, there wasn’t much he could do anyway. So it had been four days of forced rest.
But even in the finest of carriages, a carriage was still a carriage. The quality of rest wasn’t all that great.
He had stretched his legs every time they stopped, but sitting for so long left his body stiff.
As he continued loosening up, he reviewed the tasks ahead.
‘First, I need to return to the merchant guild and assess the situation. Not just operations, but also gather detailed updates on what’s happened in the capital while I was away.’
He had been away from the capital for only a bit over ten days.
But he knew well—ten days was enough time for anything to happen.
Disasters capable of reducing a city to ruins could strike in just seconds.
And human actions weren’t to be underestimated either.
A major riot could destabilize the entire country in just a few days.
Though judging by the peaceful atmosphere outside the carriage, it was clear that nothing like that had happened.
Still, in extreme cases, such things could occur—not that he believed this time was one of them.
“Let me off here.”
“Huh? But sir, we’re still a fair distance from the estate…”
“It’s fine. My back is aching from sitting so long. I’ll walk the rest of the way as light exercise.”
“As you wish.”
As requested, the coachman brought the carriage to a halt. Sylvius paid the fare and began walking toward his estate.
Being Sunday, the city streets were somewhat lively.
Even though Silbrenoa’s economy was in poor shape, Sundays were still Sundays.
Parents walked with their children, and people were out walking their pets.
Though their faces weren’t full of joy, there was strength in their stride.
For a nation in decline, its people seemed surprisingly full of life.
“What a beautiful day.”
It was a rather pleasing scene to witness.
Of course, not everything was good. For example, some shops were closed even during business hours.
With the economy deteriorating, shuttered businesses had become a more common sight.
Things might be fine now, but if this trend continued, those smiling faces would likely darken.
Even on Muriela’s first outing, there had been drunks wandering about in broad daylight.
If they wanted to minimize the damage, the kingdom had to be handed over to Solinor as soon as possible.
He was already preparing for it, but more time was still needed.
“Well then, let’s hurry… hmm?”
As he arrived in front of his estate, he felt something off.
His danger-sensing instincts, honed from adventuring with Solinor, flared.
Though mages were slower to perceive physical threats than warriors, they were still well above average.
Just like Solinor used to say—maybe not with a zap, but he could still sense something was wrong.
“Is it just because I haven’t seen it in ten days? …No. This is definitely different. Something’s here.”
That said, he couldn’t just not go inside.
Without stepping in, nothing would start.
If there really was something dangerous, it needed to be confirmed.
Of course, Sylvius wasn’t foolish enough to rush in blindly. He wasn’t like Solinor.
Instead, his chosen approach was to thoroughly survey the inside from outside.
In short—reconnaissance. But since it was inside a building, he needed something special.
Stopping before the estate gate, his eyes began to glow. He activated a vision spell.
The flesh of his long-lived home peeled away under his sharp gaze, revealing the structure beneath.
But he wasn’t an architect—he had no interest in the building’s frame. He focused once more.
Now even the frame vanished, and what he saw instead were human heat signatures.
“Let’s see… What the hell? Who are these weirdos hiding in there?”
Even if he had been living lazily, he knew everyone who lived in his home.
And clearly, these shapes didn’t belong to his household or his staff.
On closer look, they weren’t even really hiding.
This wasn’t stealth—they were practically flaunting themselves.
There were three of them loitering near the front entrance alone—what kind of hiding was that?
“What, that dumb brother of mine let the house fall into this state? …No, wait. That’s not it. This guy… What the hell is he planning?”
Since their retired parents had moved to a countryside villa, Sylvius’ younger brother was in charge during his absence.
There was no way so many strangers could move around the estate freely without his brother’s permission.
The possibility that his brother had been captured or was being threatened was dismissed immediately.
He was sitting comfortably in the parlor, sipping tea.
“This bastard… has he finally decided to get rid of me? But he has no justification for that.”
His younger brother was only a year younger, and their relationship was extremely strained.
They lived under the same roof, but were practically strangers.
While it was understandable to some extent, since they were competing for the top position in the merchant guild, things had gone a bit too far.
Sylvius always treated him with indifferent disregard, but his brother openly displayed his dislike.
Still, it wasn’t as though they were out to kill each other.
They kept business professional and worked together properly.
It was only their personal relationship that was a disaster.
“And all the servants are still in their places… so he managed to win them over in just ten days? How is that even possible?”
Which made the current situation all the more baffling.
Despite his obvious disdain, his brother had continued to work with him without issues.
There had never been a strong enough motive to remove Sylvius.
And their factions among the servants had always been fairly balanced.
So to see what now looked like complete betrayal was shocking.
And what were those unidentified strangers?
Judging from their disciplined posture, they clearly weren’t ordinary people.
“Tch… This is troublesome. I really didn’t want to draw attention at this point…”
Sylvius clicked his tongue.
Not because he feared being attacked—far from it.
He already knew their positions and had a rough sense of their capabilities.
If anything, he could catch them off guard.
From his estimation, he could neutralize them within seconds of entering the house.
But there was a problem with doing so.
“It would be easy to take them down, but then I’d have no way to explain my powers. What to do…”
Where would the guild master have learned magic?
Especially now, when even the Royal Magic Institute had been shut down.
Since that incident, it had become nearly impossible to find a properly trained mage in Silbrenoa.
So if someone suddenly appeared wielding powerful magic, the royal family would definitely take notice.
And there was absolutely no way to explain it.
With so many servants around, rumors would spread in no time.
He couldn’t just imprison everyone to keep them from leaving—this was a merchant guild, not a dungeon.
Just the act of sealing off the estate would raise too much suspicion.
Which meant he had to keep his secrets while people continued to come and go.
Clients and guests would be in and out of the reception room daily.
How could he possibly manage that?
“This is seriously bad. Ugh… why now, of all times, when I’m in the middle of something important…”
Namely, the plan to elevate Solinor—no, Princess Muriela—to seize the throne.
Creating a stir and attracting attention was the last thing he needed right now.
With his level of magic, he couldn’t be defeated unless he allowed it.
“Wait, allow it? That’s right… I could pretend to be defeated.”
A sly grin crept across his face.
With his magic, it would be easy to fake being overpowered without sustaining any real injury.
Then he could investigate their identities and his brother’s intentions.
Once he had gathered enough intel, he could decide their fates at his leisure.
“It’s been a while… maybe I’ll have some fun with this.”
Having made up his mind, Sylvius strode boldly toward the estate entrance.
—
Meanwhile, Princess Muriela was still fast asleep, even as lunchtime approached.
“Mnyah mnyaa…”
As she rolled around, her pajama top riding up, she scratched her small, pale belly with her tiny hand.
—
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