Chapter 07 : MAGIK TING 

After such a loud commotion, the imperial officials working inside the headquarters rushed outside with anxious faces.

When they saw Almerius Vermillion's facial expression after the five knights pointed the tip of their swords toward him, they instinctively froze in fear. 

His eyes were glowing in a vivid red, as if the violent firestorm brewing inside him was about to erupt. 

Even the knights lost all confidence in themselves and took a step back. If just a glare could paralyze them, what would happen if the Duke unsheathed his sword ? At this moment, they regretted their foolish acts.

Everyone was watching the Duke, waiting for his reaction. 

Under this tense atmosphere, Almerius closed his eyes for a second. When he reopened them, his eyes were back to normal.

Contrary to what everyone expected, the Duke regained his calm and didn't say anything. He passed through the knights to enter the building as if nothing happened. 

Not punishing a public crime of lèse-majesté may look like proof of weakness from Vermillion in front of Laurel, but the officials knew the truth.

They knew that these knights' lives already ended the moment they drew their swords. 

The officials were used to the high nobles' way of fighting each other behind the scenes. Even if Duke Vermillion is an upright and straightforward man, he remains a noble.

Those among the officials who studied the Reinhardt Empire's history during their time in the civil-servant academy knew how frightening the descendants of Julius Sanguinus Vermillion are. 

Since the first generation, no Vermillion has ever left a disgrace toward their family unpunished.

The Vermillion household emphasizes the noblesse of its lineage through a perfect étiquette ; lacking respect in front of them is unforgivable, it is akin to suicide.

If the Duke didn't act immediately, it was most likely because he didn't want to show a bad side of him publically. Painting the wall in red when women and children were watching wasn't an action befitting of his high noble title.

After the Duke entered the building without saying anything, the people who gathered around the building spread out and went back to their occupations.

"My Lord, please let me punish them!" This unexpected incident made Vestan furious, he couldn't believe the knights of Laurel went this far. 

"Enough." 

After hearing the cold voice of his liege, Vestan bowed and bit his lips in anger.

"My apologies." It was hard for him to stay calm when some trash from Laurel publically humiliated his Liege.

Arlen, on the other hand, didn't dare to say anything. He already knew that these fools would not live long enough to see another day.

The moment the knights unsheathed their swords, Arlen noticed the shadow under the Duke's feet flickering. 

He couldn't see 'them' since he wasn't powerful enough to trace their movements, but he knew that whenever the Duke summoned 'them', the lifeless bodies of his enemies would later be found in the sewers. 

The duke ignored the officials nervously staring at him and went straight to the teleportation platform that leads to the commander's office situated at the peak of the tower.

He was about to step on the array, when a melodious woman's voice greeted him from behind.

"Almerius."

The Duke stopped for a second. He didn't need to turn his head to recognize the owner of this voice he hated so much.

"Celine." He answered coldly, before stepping onto the teleportation platform.

He already sensed her presence a while ago. Instead of intervening earlier to reprimand her knights' misconduct, she quietly enjoyed the entire scene from afar.

This sly woman was the reason why, despite the urge to skin these knights alive, he regained his calm and didn't do anything.

When the Duke's back vanished into the teleportation array, the cunning woman left the building harboring a hideous grin.

"Tic, tac... Your time is counted, my dear."

___

A week passed since the Duke left the estate.

While his father went north to visit the Steel Legion, Angelus asked his servant Aura to bring him to the best places for mages in Encarmine.

The city was so big that it took a whole week for them to tour all the shops and libraries related to magic.

Since Angelus resolved his mind to follow his late mother's wish and enter the Silver Lotus academy, he decided to properly prepare himself before leaving the Vermillion estate.

Compared to the other nobles of his age who have been blessed by a mana heart, Angelus never learned any spell. So far, his only experience with a weapon has been the swordsmanship lesson given by his father's knights. 

His father has always forbidden him to learn magic before reaching adulthood.

At first, Angelus didn't know why no heir of Vermillion could learn magic before reaching adulthood, but now that he passed the ordeal of the Million Pandora Box... he understood why such a rule has been set.

During the short time his mind has been engulfed in the pandora box's endless darkness, Angelus felt that the souls trapped inside were avid of any trace of mana present in his body.

More souls would have been drawn to Angelus if his mana heart had been even just a little bit more developed. He would have endured even more pain and suffering than he already did. 

As a result, he would have certainly died horribly without even knowing why. 

He didn't know where these souls came from, but the moment he opened the box and his entire body froze, he realized something horrifying : he was nothing more than a snack for these otherwordly souls. If a single soul from the box has almost eaten him alive, resisting another one was impossible. 

It would have been a certain death. 

"Young Master, this shop is the last on our list." While Angelus was lost in thoughts, Aura led him in front of a crumbling building in a small alley.

"Uh ?... Can you even call this a shop ?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure it's not the wrong address ?"

"I am."

"Aura, you sure you're not making fun of me ?"

"I don't."

"..."

The windows were broken, and the wooden door at its entrance was detached and placed on the side. 

There were fissures on the walls, and no board nor sign of any kind could be seen at its front, except for an oddly written "MAGIK TING" painted in red on the ground.

Whoever owned the shop didn't even bother to remove the spiders' webs blocking the entrance.

If Aura didn't call it a shop, Angelus would have thought that it was a repair of bandits coming straight from the Imperial Capital's slums.

"I kept it last in the list, as the owner is... special."

"What do you mean by spec..." Before Angelus could finish his sentence, a loud explosion broke inside the building.

The little remaining glass in the windows shattered, and a thick cloud of smoke erupted from the entrance. 

"cough... Do you still want to go in, Young Master ?" 

Aura asked, with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

___

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