The current Emperor of the Borus Empire is ‘Leonius Bell’.
At first glance, he seemed like an extremely spontaneous guy, but those who knew the real emperor were well aware that he was anything but impulsive.
A few years ago, the war with the neighboring Sylvania Kingdom, triggered by the emperor’s unilateral decision, was a prime example.
Only a few knew that this war was actually started as a precaution against the increasing power of the nobles, thanks to the long period of peace after the empire’s unification.
However, even a scheming emperor had his issues that didn’t quite go as planned.
And that was the issue of his successor.
The empire originally had a principle of primogeniture, strictly upheld within the royal family, even more so than among the noble houses.
A succession dispute among the nobles could be seen as just a family squabble, but if it occurred within the royal family, it could escalate into a civil war.
Thus, the eldest son Alex was appointed as the crown prince based on this principle.
But the problem was that his younger sister, Princess Ioleen, and the third prince, Edric, both exhibited remarkable talents.
Both were not only intelligent, but they also had pleasing personalities, winning over many followers.
Moreover?
Prince Edric displayed such outstanding swordsmanship that even Kalen, the empire’s swordmaster and mentor, was left in awe.
In comparison, Crown Prince Alex wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t exceptional either.
In the end, it would’ve been fine, had it stopped there.
After all, just being the firstborn was already a significant advantage.
However, ever since the queen’s death during his childhood, things began to take a turn.
Now, rather than being referred to as the crown prince, it was more common for people to whisper “the good-for-nothing.”
At first, the emperor tried to understand him, reasoning that the grief of a child losing a mother could be overwhelming.
But that sentiment was reaching its limits.
Recently, Alex’s jealousy over his younger siblings’ achievements had become a pressing issue.
The emperor felt that Princess Ioleen had already long declared her disinterest in the position of the crown princess.
To act out against a rival who wasn’t even a competitor?
That was downright petty.
“Bring them in.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Yustaf Heindel and Harun Coelho may enter!”
He had at least sent Alex on a tour of the provinces recently to calm him down. One could only wonder if that experience had brought about some realizations.
Alex had actually been quite calm lately.
So, this time, as a chance to give him a shot, he allowed him to observe the meeting held here in the imperial chamber.
Normally, he would’ve been unable to endure such a serious gathering and would be goofing off, but today he was surprisingly focused on the meeting, which pleased the emperor.
“Your Majesty, I trust you have been well?”
“It’s been a while, Yustaf. I’ve been quite tense ever since I heard you were in a rush to find me.”
A chuckle echoed through the chamber at the emperor’s joke.
After all, the last time Yustaf Heindel visited the palace, he had expressed his desire to step down from being the Master of the Magic Tower.
The position of Master of the Magic Tower historically was decided by elections held by its members, to which the royal family had no say.
With nobody other than Yustaf intending to run, it meant that the position had remained unchanged for over 20 years.
So when Yustaf, wanting to step down, came to the royal family requesting to be appointed as the head of the Imperial Academy, the emperor had been quite put on the spot.
Even a master like him had no authority to stop someone appointed directly by the emperor.
He recalled the intense sweat he’d felt back then when he had to appoint Yustaf as the academy head.
“Apologies, Your Majesty. This time, it may be a matter of the empire’s safety.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
The light atmosphere that had been momentarily created by the emperor’s jest turned cold in an instant.
Not only the officials but even the emperor’s expression hardened like ice.
“I can only speculate for now, but it seems the dark wizards are stirring again.”
“Dark wizards? I thought they had been wiped out completely.”
“Once someone has taken on the essence of magic, they have a tendency to resurface, even if their roots are pulled out.”
The emperor’s hand moved to his temples.
Just as he was starting to relax with Alex behaving well, now there was the possibility of dark wizards stirring up trouble again.
The headache that had settled down for a while made a reappearance.
“If you mention dark wizards, I suspect there’s a reason behind it.”
In response to the emperor’s words, Yustaf glanced over at Harun.
As if on cue, Harun unfurled a scroll, revealing a curious circular design filled with strange symbols.
“What’s that? Is it a transmutation circle? No, it looks like a magic circle sometimes.”
“This is a newly created transmutation circle.”
“A new transmutation circle?”
“That’s right. This is a combination of magic and alchemy, and according to Harun and myself, it is a transmutation circle aimed at creating something.”
All eyes in the room shifted to Yustaf.
A new transmutation circle was fascinating enough, but the fact that it combined magic was even more so.
If announced, it would undoubtedly be a groundbreaking discovery.
“What kind of thing can it create that you linked it to dark wizards?”
“We couldn’t identify it. Until the transmutation is actually performed, it remains just a powerful something.”
“Then why are we being so cautious about an ordinary new transmutation circle?”
After the emperor asked for clarification, Yustaf paused for a moment before speaking.
“This transmutation circle requires a tremendous sacrifice, unlike any existing ones. It’s akin to equivalent exchange.”
– Equivalent exchange?!
The realization shot out from the most unexpected corner: where Crown Prince Alex was sitting.
As all eyes turned toward him, the crown prince gestured for the discussion to continue with an open palm.
“A tremendous sacrifice to create some powerful something.”
What kind of offering are we talking about? Treasure? Special ores or plants?
As thoughts of potential offerings flashed through the emperor’s mind, a chilling dread gripped him for a moment.
“Could it be….”
“Just as Your Majesty inferred, this transmutation circle requires human lives as sacrifices!”
A profound silence enveloped the chamber at Yustaf’s declaration.
To sacrifice human lives?
Indeed, it was only an organization like the dark wizards that would stoop to such depths.
“Is that true?!”
The emperor could not hide his shock, his voice trembling.
“After examining it with Harun for several days, we concluded that activating this transmutation circle requires a minimum of several thousand lives.”
“Where did you find this?”
Yustaf suddenly fell silent at the emperor’s question.
“Speak up!”
“That is…”
*
Recently, Alex had been refraining from his erratic behavior.
It wasn’t that he was trying to become someone fitting of the crown prince duty now, but witnessing someone else sharing his circumstances made it hard not to reflect on his own situation.
Realizing that there were people in the world who had experienced much harsher hardships, he couldn’t help but feel that he had been too absorbed in his own tragedy, neglecting the world around him.
He had even stopped making pointless outbursts of anger.
Yet, his lingering resentment toward his father, the emperor, remained intact.
Participating in meetings like this one was still something he abhorred.
At least, it was slightly more interesting than before, so he found it less boring—a small positive.
As he observed the meeting, when Yustaf Heindel and Harun Coelho appeared, Alex’s interest was piqued.
To see the empire’s top magician and alchemist entering together was quite a rare sight.
And then there was the shocking report that followed.
When the term ‘equivalent exchange’ came up in the discussion, his heart leapt with excitement, reminiscent of a word he had read in a comic book, he couldn’t help but shout out in delight.
But the content Yustaf was conveying was deadly serious.
A transmutation circle that required the lives of thousands of people as sacrifices? Just hearing that was utterly horrifying.
“What do you mean, where did you discover this?”
“That is…”
“Speak up!”
Yustaf, hesitant with his words as the emperor urged him.
Suddenly, Crown Prince Alex recognized the peculiar design of the new transmutation circle drawn on the scroll Harun was holding.
“I discovered it in a book called The Iron-Blooded Alchemist.”
“The Iron-Blooded Alchemist?”
The chamber buzzed with chatter at Yustaf’s response.
The emperor was oblivious, but the officials seemed familiar with the book’s title.
“Who authored this book?”
“It’s not a book! It’s a comic!”
“A comic? Are you talking about that book made to help children learn how to read?”
Alex caught sight of his father’s facial expression twisting in disbelief.
A face he had often seen when being reprimanded.
“Yustaf! I trusted you, but I can’t believe you based your research on that!”
“Your Majesty, please calm down. I understand this is hard to accept, but this book is indeed…”
“No matter how you spin it, to take research results from something like that and present them so seriously—it’s ludicrous!”
The emperor’s irritated expression contrasted with Yustaf’s uncertain one.
‘It’s not just a comic. It’s an autobiographical tale penned by Rupert!’
For some inexplicable reason, Alex found himself siding with Yustaf.
“Ugh, Yustaf and Harun, don’t you have any other evidence?”
Inquiring if they had anything else to support their claim, the emperor stressed this to the two who continued to insist they were certain.
Yet, their response disappointed the emperor’s expectations.
“To test and prepare this transmutation circle, people must have been sacrificed.”
“And?”
“We can collaborate with the empire’s intelligence and guards to investigate missing persons in the area, or any suspicious activities, and we should find evidence.”
The emperor was deep in thought at Yustaf’s suggestion.
Because the order of events was completely inverted. If only there were some evidence, it would be different.
But to rally the imperial administration to find evidence…
From what they were suggesting, this was no small matter. If they were wrong, the damage would be catastrophic.
The empire’s administrative resources could not be squandered.
Not only dark wizards but many others were threatening the empire’s safety as well.
As the emperor’s contemplation deepened, the faces of Yustaf and Harun darkened.
They, too, deemed the idea of using a comic as the basis for their claims quite absurd.
But at that moment, someone unexpected stepped forward.
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