Episode 12: The Demon King’s Magic Class
Muriel couldn’t help but be surprised.
Rovelia’s sunken eyes were dark, and her visible pupils were filled with flickering madness.
“What brings you here..?”
Rovelia, who had changed so much in just a few days, seemed awkward to Muriel. Rovelia trembled as if her soul had left her body. It was uncomfortable to face her because she seemed as if she was possessed by a ghost. Muriel wondered if this is how it felt to face a demon.
Muriel frowned, but Rovelia didn’t react as sensitively as usual. She seemed too preoccupied to pay attention to Muriel’s mood.
“I came because I have something to ask of you, Muriel.”
Rovelia said, embracing her trembling body. She laughed at the end of each sentence, sounding like a madman.
It felt like Rovelia had thousands of glowing and vibrating bees inside her. It was difficult to calm the ferocious things down. Her body trembled involuntarily, and the vibrating was evident in the breaths that escaped her.
“Muriel, isn’t it unfair? You finally had the chance to silence people’s disregard and criticism all at once, but it was taken away so easily, wasn’t it?”
Muriel couldn’t easily understand what Rovelia was saying. So when she asked what opportunity Rovelia was talking about, Rovelia responded nervously. Muriel tried to soothe her gently, but her patience ran out, and her broken voice burst out easily.
“The Oracle, you know! We are the ones who will become saints. We are the ones born under the star that will save the kingdom. You know what I’m saying, right, Muriel?”
Absolutely not. As Muriel listened with a blank expression, Rovelia crumpled her face and clenched her teeth as if she couldn’t stand it.
“Our star cannot be taken away by anyone. Even if it’s Sharan. Do you understand?”
Rovelia was annoyed with Muriel’s dumbfounded expression. Sharan had taken away the opportunity that the heavens had bestowed upon them because he was afraid the Saint would threaten his position. Yet Muriel returned to her mansion without saying a word, like a fool.
Muriel should have protested against Sharan. She should have stubbornly insisted that she wouldn’t leave the royal palace until the identity of the saint was determined.
Rovelia became anxious as Muriel seemed to know herself much more than she’d expected. Was Muriel not making any efforts because she already knew that she wasn’t the saint?
Rovelia wanted to gently coax Muriel into thinking that she could be the saint. That way, she would have another chance. She could reclaim the opportunity that Sharan had arrogantly taken away.
“If Muriel becomes the saint, people won’t mock her for having a useless amount of Pacio or call her a liar anymore. Think about it. Everyone will look up to Muriel. Can you really give up?”
“Everyone looking up to me… I don’t need that. It’s rather bothersome. That’s all.”
Rovelia was frustrated. She hadn’t expected this idiot to be so unambitious. She needed to persuade her. She had to make Muriel insist on taking magic classes again or to use the High Priest’s power so that their powers could wake up or something…
The fierce-faced fool in front of her stood with a blank face and seemed unable to understand even after she said all this, since she just stupidly tilted her head.
“Ask Sharan for another chance. Say that the Saint of the Oracle isn’t someone who’ll defeat the Demon King. The Saint is simply a comforting presence to the people. She doesn’t need magic or prophetic abilities. Just ask him to confirm who the Saint is.”
“Me? Why me…”
Before she could even properly ask the question, Rovelia’s eyes bulged. Her body jolted as if she was going to jump on Muriel at any moment now.
“Because Muriel is the Saint! It’s Muriel’s right given by the heavens!! Of course, we have to bring her. No one can take away the position of the Saint.”
Muriel let out a bitter laugh. She knew what Rovelia wanted. She had sensed it from the beginning, but she had been pressed by the momentum, so she wondered if it was possible to tell her.
Muriel looked at the restless young girl in front of her. How much of a fool did she think she was? Did she think she’d be seduced by the obvious lies she spewed and immediately go running to Sharan? Did she think she would become her doll, and become her shield, taking all the arrows for her?
In the first place, it was Rovelia who didn’t want to learn magic and went tattling to Sharan. Why should Muriel clean up her mess?
“I’m really not interested in becoming a Saint. If you want it so badly, why don’t you do it yourself, Rovelia? Mr. Crawford wants to find the saint badly as well, so he’ll be on your side. And the Duke of Dachini too.”
“That’s stupid!”
Rovelia couldn’t help but shout at Muriel’s frustrating words. When she saw Muriel’s eyes widen, Rovelia was also taken aback by her own impulsive outburst.
In order to quickly resolve the situation, she forced a gentle smile.
Muriel had always thought of Rovelia as a poised and kind young lady, but she never knew she had such a dark and insidious side. Well, she never really cared either.
“Crawford won’t come and help me now! Stop saying that and help me, Muriel! Muriel has nothing to lose!”
Unable to contain her anxiety, Rovelia quickly got up from her seat and walked briskly towards Muriel. Muriel instinctively tensed up, thinking she was being attacked, but Rovelia only took Muriel’s hand and knelt down.
Muriel tried to withdraw her hand, feeling burdened, but Rovelia’s sharp nails firmly held onto her hand, not letting go.
“You have to listen to me! The kingdom needs a saint!”
It wasn’t the kingdom that needed a Saint, but Rovelia. Muriel looked into the emerald eyes that desperately held onto her hand.
Why was the young lady of Dachini clinging to the title of a saint like this?
Even if Rovelia became a saint, she didn’t have the power of prophecy or the ability to kill the Demon King, as Kaiton said. Nothing would be different from now, so Muriel couldn’t understand her obsession.
“Please help me. I’ll… grant any favor you ask of me in return. Just tell me what you want. I can get you anything. Should I give you money?”
Rovelia’s Talisman crossed her mind. If she had that ring shining with a red glow, wouldn’t it help in finding the fragments of Ur? She might even be able to perform at least one offense spell. Even if white magic was impossible for her, it might be possible with the water magic she was compatible with.
Unknowingly, Muriel stared at the ring on Rovelia’s hand with desire, then suddenly turned her head in surprise.
She must be crazy.
She knew well what would happen if she went hungry for power. That ring was the seed of evil that would burn down Sharan’s mountains and disrupt the world’s peace. She couldn’t believe she was being foolishly greedy for it. It would be better to use the fragment of Ur instead…
“Ah…!”
Muriel suddenly realized something and tightly grasped Rovelia’s hand.
Muriel knew exactly where the next fragment of Ur, which would give her the leash on Kaiton Ur, was. It was thanks to knowing the entire contents of the novel, so she knew where most of them were, but the last one was the only one whose whereabouts were unknown. Now that she thought about it, the answer was too obvious.
How could Muriel have been the only one to receive a piece of Ur? If Kaiton couldn’t figure out who the saint was, he would just think of eliminating all the saint candidates.
“Rovelia.”
“Are you going to help me, Muriel?”
“You said you’d give me anything I wanted in return, right?”
“Sure, anything is fine. Shall I give you an estate? A part of the territory that I will inherit…”
“No. Please give me the fragment of Ur.”
There was a moment of silence. Rovelia eyes swirled like a forest in a typhoon.
“…What…?”
“You have it. The fragment of Ur.”
“What blasphemy!!!”
Rovelia shouted like a thunderbolt, throwing Muriel’s hand away. To ask her, who inherited the name of the guardian, to present a fragment of Ur. There was no greater insult.
Having the fragment of Ur meant being a follower of evil. A traitor. A rebel. An underling of the Demon King who threatened not only Sharan but the entire kingdom. Rovelia screamed with flushed cheeks.
She preached how loyal she was as a faithful servant of Sharan and the proud successor of the guardian, Dachini, without realizing how sensitive her reaction was and how she’d completely lost her composure at the question.
“I’m only trying to dispose of the Ur fragments safely. I’m not curious about how the fragment came to be in Rovelia’s possession, so give it to me. Then, I will fulfill your request.”
Rovelia stared at Muriel with a suspicious gaze. One day, the fragment of Ur appeared by her bedside, in the royal palace which was guarded by Sharan’s eyes.
How did Muriel know something she had never mentioned to anyone… Muriel must also possess a fragment.
Rovelia counted the case in her favor. Merely possessing the fragment of Ur would make her a traitor who violated the kingdom’s laws. Should she threaten Muriel?
She had already hidden the fragment of Ur, so even if Muriel said something, it wouldn’t harm her. But Muriel might have already hidden the fragment of Ur as well. Well, unless she was completely a fool, she would have done so.
“I will give it to you. I’ll give it to you when we return to the palace.”
Of course, Rovelia had no intention of simply handing over such an important thing to Muriel. The fragment of Ur would be a useful tool for her to prove her power as a saint.
She planned to create a fake to give to Muriel. If Muriel recognized it as a fake, it would imply that she had used the fragment of Ur, and then she could be dealt with according to the kingdom’s laws.
Lovelia had to be the saint. She was born with the Dachini name, but never received proper treatment in her life due to her insignificant Pacio.
There was no better family than Dachini, so she had no way to elevate her status. She had considered marrying into the prestigious Eklum family, but that alone wouldn’t change her worth.
But then, a miracle happened. She was chosen as the candidate to become Saint. As long as she became the Saint, she would become indispensable to the kingdom. And if she married Sharan, it would be an even greater achievement than being born into the Dachini name.
Rovelia neatly pulled herself together.
Yes, it wasn’t over yet. Panic had overtaken her when she saw her father rushing to marry her off to not Eklum, not foreign royalty, but a vassal family as if he’d realized all her worth. But there was no need to rush, since it wasn’t the end yet. She had the Saint’s star and the fragment of Ur that would prove her abilities.
“Then I’ll see you again at the palace, Muriel.”
There were times when she was annoyed by Muriel, thinking that she was hindering her path. But if she could use her like this, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. After all, the star of the saint belonged to her. Muriel was just a stepping stone to make her shine even brighter.
Aw she’s delulu too
Honestly though, I feel bad for Rovelia still.
I feel bad for Rovelia too. I hope that she’s not a side character that will get tossed aside😖