I Stole The Duke - Chapter 104

What the hell. Annoying little pests.

Olive’s chain of thought came to an abrupt stop.

“How do you know the lady?”

These worm-like brats…

His face twisted in irritation. One of the things mages hated most was being interrupted during deep thought.

“What did her voice sound like?”

“Are you trying to become a squire?”

“Why do you look so annoyed?”

If any of you end up as my juniors… you’re finished.

The squires swarmed around Olive like chattering sparrows.

“What does your father do?”

“Shut up. You’re noisy as hell.”

“Did you just tell us to shut up?”

“Why are you speaking informally when we just met?”

Not one of you would last a punch.

Seventeen against one. The atmosphere among the boys was getting tense, just before—

“Ma—!”

A voice called out, saving Olive at the perfect moment.

“Father!”

Before Legionty could finish saying “Master,” Olive shouted “Father!” and cut him off on the spot.

“Oh, uh—son.”

Legionty immediately jumped into character.

“……”

“……”

The squires all went quiet at once. The green-haired man was wearing a white robe clearly marked with the Tower’s insignia.

He’s from the Tower? That scrawny kid is a mage’s son?

Even novice squires knew—never mess with anyone from the Tower.

“Ahem. I was just worried because my son hadn’t returned for quite a while…”

“Let’s go.”

Olive grabbed the hem of Legionty’s robe and slipped out from the ring of squires.

[Prepare teleportation.]

[Yes, Master.]

“Teleport.”

Without hesitation, Legionty followed the order.

“…That was the first time I’ve seen a high-ranking mage.”

“Same here.”

The squires blinked as if they’d seen a ghost. Anyone who could use teleportation magic so effortlessly had to be a high-ranking mage from the Tower.

“If we’d laid a hand on him, we’d be in serious trouble.”

“But didn’t that kid speak informally to his dad?”

“Honestly, it sounded more like an order than casual speech…”

So much for good manners in a mage’s household.

Michalis returned to his office after lunch and immediately began drafting an encrypted message for the Intelligence Bureau.

{ Investigate everything about the Tower Master. Report weekly. }

Flap.

The carrier hawk took off from the windowsill, disappearing into the sky. It would take about four days for the message to reach the agent in charge of Tower surveillance via the central transit point.

Is that boy really the Tower Master…?

Michalis leaned back in thought. The Tower Master’s position was one that could only be attained through overwhelming skill.

Tock. Tock. Tock.

His fingers lightly tapped the surface of his desk.

Did he need to hide behind a robe because of his young face?

There were far too many strange things about the newly appointed Tower Master. Though his robe concealed his appearance, his emotional control had been sloppy—he hadn’t even tried to hide his hostility.

Almost like…

Like a child who had never been properly educated. While it was true that many mages were eccentric, most were still nobles. Magic required talent, yes—but even more than that, it required wealth. The structure of the world simply didn’t allow commoners to become mages.

Could he be a stand-in? And the real Tower Master is someone else?

But that didn’t sit right either. Who sends a stand-in to a major negotiation? And why choose a child?

Why would the Tower Master show such hostility toward me…?

Michalis couldn’t reach a firm conclusion about the boy’s identity.

Is it because of Eliana?

That, at least, he was certain of—the Tower Master desired his wife.

“……”

The fingers tapping the desk stopped.

We probably have about a year left.

Even if the boy from the garden really was the Tower Master, nothing had changed. Eliana was still his wife, and he would protect her with everything he had.

A countermeasure is necessary.

He needed a plan to deal with a mage.

Blink. Blink.

Just as Michalis picked up a document to resume work, the communication orb on his desk began to flash white.

Blink. Blink.

It was rarely used—reserved for emergencies only. The magical communication orb wasn’t ideal for military use, as conversations could be intercepted by other mages, but it remained the only method to contact agents stationed abroad.

[It’s an honor to speak with Your Grace, even if only by voice.]

As Michalis placed his hand on the orb, a familiar voice echoed out.

“What I ordered you to look into.”

He kept his words brief. Though the orb wasn’t ideal for security, it was the only way to relay urgent messages to distant agents.

[The Fire Goddess has returned to her true nature.]

The report was concise—delivered in code, as always.

“Damn it…”

The essence of the Fire Goddess was, unsurprisingly, fire. It was just as Michalis had feared. The Hestia hadn’t sunk due to a storm—it had been set ablaze, likely by an attack.
(Hestia = goddess of fire and hearth.)

“And the saltpeter?”

[It also returned to its essence.]

The saltpeter hadn’t simply been lost at sea either—it had burned.

“……”

Putting the pieces together, the Hestia was likely… deliberately set on fire to keep the saltpeter—the core ingredient in gunpowder—from falling into enemy hands.

“What’s the situation in the chrysanthemum field?”

[It has just reached full bloom.]

The Kingdom of Jaiphen, which had suffered a 31-year civil war, had now unified. A report worthy of urgent transmission.

[A scorpion has also been sighted.]

“Heh…”

The second prince of the Kingdom of Kantoor was now in Jaiphen. That meant Kantoor had likely played a role in Jaiphen’s unification.

“Understood. Keep a close watch on the chrysanthemum field.”

[Yes, Your Grace. That concludes the report.]

Ending the magical transmission, Michalis rose from his desk.

“……”

He moved to stand by the open window, his eyes fixed on the far-off city walls.

There may be war soon.

Whether near or far, enemies were everywhere. There was no time to rest after negotiations with the Tower—there was still a mountain of work to prepare for.

“Master!”

The moment Olive returned to the Tower, he contacted Karahan.

[Well, well. You’re the one calling me first? That’s a surprise.]

“How did things go in the North?”

[…….]

At Olive’s question, Karahan fell silent. No matter how deeply he’d investigated the Duchess’s past, he’d found nothing. Honestly, he was starting to think it had been a false lead. A brief look into her background had made it clear: the Duchess had nothing to do with magic.

[Nothing of note so far. Have you met the Duchess yourself?]

“Yes. Three times, in fact. I didn’t sense any unusual magical energy.”

[No magical resonance at all?]

“None. Not even the faint kind.”

[Hmm…]

Karahan groaned thoughtfully. If the protective magic surrounding her had truly disappeared, then perhaps her story was real after all.

Was it really the artifact she found at sea?

“Master, more importantly—I’ve found a clue to Sardis.”

[What? Teleport.]

“It’s real—I’ve got proof.”

Karahan instantly appeared in Olive’s Tower office.

“Storage.”

Olive, looking quite pleased with himself, pulled a book from his subspace.

“Here it is.”

“Hah…”

Karahan immediately began flipping through the pages, and a wide smile spread across his wrinkled face.

“Hahaha, ha! This is… This is a relic of Sardis! Ha! Hahaha!”

He had spent a lifetime searching—and now it was finally in his hands.

“My student, you little rascal… haha…”

“I’ll escort you to the site myself in a month.”

Of course, courtesy of House Ascher’s warship.

“I misjudged you! Picking you up as my disciple—that’s the best decision I ever made!”

Karahan suddenly pulled Olive into a tight hug.

“Ack! Get off! That’s disgusting!”

“I thought you were a failure, but you came back with the greatest gift of all!”

Karahan was truly overjoyed. He had taken Olive in because of his natural magical talent, but the boy had constantly tested his patience with laziness and poor manners.

“Ugh, stop rubbing your face on me!”

See? Not even a little gratitude in return.

“Haha! It’s because you’re adorable!”

Karahan felt like no matter what the boy said today, he’d still be cute.

“If you think I’m so adorable, can you grant me a wish?”

Olive didn’t miss his chance. Today was the day—even his grumpy master might grant him a favor.

“A wish?”

Karahan’s laughter stopped immediately. He already had a feeling about where this was going.

“No time magic.”

Time magic was dangerously close to divine territory, and the consequences could be catastrophic. Besides, his disciple wasn’t yet ready to handle it.

“I’m not asking you to teach it to me… Just cast it on me.”

“Oh? Want to get even younger?”

“The opposite. I want to fast-forward my body by three years.”

“So you’ll be twenty… What, trying to sneak into somewhere shady?”

“No! It’s not that. I just… want to be taller.”

All Olive wanted was to look a bit more grown-up for the girl he liked.

“Kid, just fast-forwarding time isn’t going to make you taller.”

Karahan shook his head. Judging by Olive’s build, he might grow 3–5 centimeters at most—and he’d just be three years older.

“I have a workaround.”

Olive pulled out a paper from one of the many stacks of research on the desk.

“What if I combine time magic with these two spells?”

“Growth magic and body-balance enhancement?”

Karahan quickly scanned the paper.

“So? Is it possible?”

“Well… It’s not entirely impossible. But if you mess it up, it could ruin your entire body. You sure about this?”

“Wouldn’t you just reverse the time spell if something went wrong?”

“You rotten little scamp.”

The boy had it all figured out. He was determined to take full advantage of his master.

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