Chapter 6. The Deal with the Director
Radel’s eyes widened.
He wondered if he had inadvertently made enemies.
He reflected on his short 17 years of life.
But he felt wronged, as all he could recall was living cooped up in the Prince’s Palace without any special incidents.
“As Your Highness might surmise, the factions aligned with the Imperial family are engaged in fierce competition. The person who pushed Your Highness down the stairs recently was hired by His Highness the 2nd Prince’s side.”
“In that case, the 2nd Prince...”
“Unfortunately, there is no material evidence. The attendant immediately took his own life.”
How fast.
Radel could not hide his disappointment.
“However, it is not certain that the 2nd Prince gave the order. Even if a member of the Imperial family does not desire it, there are always those who try to place him on the throne.”
Wherever he went, power was always the problem.
Radel thought he should still keep the 2nd Prince in mind, just in case.
“And His Highness the 9th Prince’s faction is also not to be taken lightly.”
Radel inwardly sighed.
‘It was Leon.’
Leon Silvert Cretian, the 9th Prince.
He had completely forgotten about his twin brother.
Since he was the one who hated Radel more than anyone in the world, the reason was sufficient.
“His Highness the 9th Prince is currently gaining the full support of the Magic Supremacists. They have a tendency to fanatically follow His Highness the 9th Prince.”
Radel thought of Armandy.
He was a mage and the very definition of a follower of the 9th Prince. Hearing this, it seemed he was a Magic Supremacist.
The Magic Supremacists were a gathering of mages who believed that magic was greater than anything else in the world, and who tried to solve everything with magic.
It would be fine if they only pursued magic, but their inclination was too extreme, and they tended to despise and look down on everything outside of magic.
Furthermore, they even mocked and discriminated against those who lacked magical talent or could not use magic.
“They consider His Highness the 9th Prince to be the ideal of a perfect mage.”
“Is that because Leon possesses the Dragon’s Blessing?”
Radel asked, thinking of his twin brother.
Leon’s Ability was specialized in magic.
“That is correct. There are even those who believe he is the Incarnation of the Dragon. Because His Highness the 9th Prince is such a perfect being, they find the 8th Prince, who is the opposite of him, uncomfortable to deal with.”
“I didn’t know that.”
If they were followers of the 9th Prince, they would surely know that Leon hated his twin brother, so it made sense for them to regard Radel as an eyesore.
In the past, he might have been shocked, but the current Radel was different.
He even felt good about the gradually revealed truth.
It was always difficult when you didn't know something, but easy once you knew it.
‘The 8th Prince... the more I see him, the more extraordinary he is.’
Ivan thought inwardly, looking at Radel, who seemed to be in a good mood.
He should be worried or afraid after hearing about the factions aiming for him, yet there was no such sign at all.
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 10.]
[The target's Affinity is now 40.]
A powerless Prince abandoned by the Imperial family.
Even if he manifested an Ability, he probably wouldn’t know how to use it.
‘But he is extraordinary.’
In his view, he was the ideal person needed for the Ability Management Bureau.
Their daily routine was to secretly monitor the Imperial family members with Abilities and respond without panic no matter what happened.
‘That boldness... I desire it.’
If he developed well like this, there was hope.
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 10.]
[The target's Affinity is now 50.]
Radel was flustered by the Affinity suddenly jumping up while they were talking.
‘Why?’
There was no way Radel could know the earnest desire of a manager who wanted to scout any competent talent he saw.
[Status Window is activated!]
Name: Ivan Chartrion Cretian
Age: 52
Position: Director of the Ability Management Bureau
Stats: Health 150, Magic Power 90, Strength 70, Agility 120, Intelligence 100
Overall Ability: A+
Skills: Chartrion Style Drawing Sword (A+), Fairy’s Footsteps (A), Metis's Insight (A)
Trait: King of Beasts (S)
Affinity: 50
Ivan’s Status Window appeared before Radel’s eyes.
But there was something that caught his attention more than anything else.
‘Wait, Cretian?’
That was the surname only permitted to the Imperial family of the Empire.
That implied only one thing.
‘The Director was also a member of the Imperial family?’
The Princes and Princesses of the Empire have their mother’s surname as their middle name.
Then, when the succession war ended, those who did not become Emperor either abandoned their Imperial status and lived as commoners or inherited their mother’s family name.
Chartrion was a quite reputable noble family in the Empire.
He must have abandoned the Imperial surname and chosen Chartrion after the previous succession war ended.
The fact that he, who was once a Prince, became the head of the Ability Management Bureau seemed like a good choice in a way. He would understand the Imperial family’s Abilities better than anyone.
At that moment, something dawned on Radel.
“...Is the Ability Management Bureau also included among those trying to kill me?”
Ivan silently drank his tea.
After a brief silence, he opened his mouth.
“We should count this as your second question. I advise you to think carefully before asking again.”
Radel nodded his head.
“I understand. This is the second question.”
The fact that Armandy came to monitor him, that they secretly collected information on the Imperial family, that the place managing the Imperial family’s Abilities was a secret organization.
The fact that its head was from the Imperial family.
Radel felt certain that all of it was connected.
“What is the extent of the Ability Management Bureau’s authority?”
Ivan smiled, looking at Radel as if impressed.
His glasses glinted sharply.
“Just know this, Your Highness, that this is a matter that would be troublesome to talk about outside.”
Radel held his breath, and he spoke quietly.
“It is enough to execute a member of the Imperial family immediately.”
Not a single breath was heard in the Director’s office where the two were sitting.
“...So please be careful.”
***
“Director, the 8th Prince has returned to the palace.”
“Good. Did he notice the tail?”
“There was no noticeable reaction.”
Ivan listened to the agent’s report and looked at the seat where the 8th Prince had just been sitting.
Next to the empty teacup that the Prince had been drinking from, a crystal ball was placed, and blue glowing letters floated inside the ball.
[Troll’s Heart]
The ability to regenerate any wound.
Strong pain accompanies the activation of the Trait.
“Is that the Ability manifested by the 8th Prince?”
“It is. I confirmed it earlier.”
Ivan nodded at the agent’s words.
The crystal ball placed on the table was an artifact passed down from the Founding Imperial family.
It was a tool that revealed the name and ability of the Trait when an Imperial family member who manifested an Ability placed their hand on the crystal.
“I have never seen this Ability before.”
Troll’s Heart.
It was an Ability that Ivan had never seen before either.
It seemed a first-ever Ability that did not exist in any Imperial records had been discovered.
However, Ivan was also suspicious of another possibility.
Although rare, there were cases where Imperial family members manifested more than two Abilities. Even if there were two or more Abilities, only one was revealed in the artifact.
No one in the Ability Management Bureau could rival Armandy in magic.
The fact that Radel noticed his Illusion Magic meant he was a mage superior to Armandy.
However, the 8th Prince had never learned magic.
In that case...
‘It could be Magic Nullification.’
Ivan recalled someone from history.
An Ability permitted to only one person in the Imperial history of the Empire.
A blessing and a curse where no magic worked on him, but conversely, he could not learn magic.
“The blessing shall become a curse...”
Ivan recited the passage he knew.
He was someone who knew the fear of Ability better than anyone.
A strong Ability came with an equivalent cost.
Manifesting an Ability was not the end of it.
An Ability was a powerful force that transcended human limits.
A power that was given suddenly, not rising step-by-step like swordsmanship or magic.
Many Imperial family members were broken by the easily given power.
That was why more information was needed.
Information about the Troll’s Heart.
What was the limit of its regeneration, what constituted a wound, and how far the strong pain could break a person.
Pain could cloud reason.
‘It's more dangerous because it's the first.’
And the unusual constitution where Heal did not work, combined with noticing a high-level mage’s Illusion Magic.
The 8th Prince was an out-of-the-norm existence.
Was that why?
Ivan thought it was interesting.
He recalled the departing 8th Prince.
‘I gave him too much information.’
Ivan had never met with any Prince or Princess privately.
He easily grasped the Imperial family members through countless reports, records, and verbally conveyed information, and he knew their weaknesses and characteristics well.
Therefore, he could know what kind of person they were without meeting them.
‘But the 8th Prince... is somehow different.’
He was a person whose Ability, skill, and personality could not be properly understood.
However, he had the power to move people's hearts.
Ivan revealed information to Radel that he didn't necessarily have to answer to his question.
He even showed him more favor.
However, he did not regret it.
If the 8th Prince truly possessed Magic Nullification, he could rewrite the Imperial history.
“The next surveillance role for the 8th Prince will not involve magic.”
To confirm that, a definite verification was needed.
***
Radel found the Prince's Palace, which he had returned to after a few days, unfamiliar.
No, it couldn't be helped.
Ding.
[Unknown magic is interfering with the user's perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
Radel's vision was completely covered by System Windows.
‘It’s so bad I can’t even see in front of me. What is this?’
Radel was flustered, but he pretended to be composed, looking around the Prince’s Palace and turning off the System Windows one by one.
Ding.
[Unknown magic is interfering with the user's perception.]
[Status Effect Nullification is activated.]
[A secret door is revealed.]
[Secret Passage No. 13 is revealed.]
Radel had lived in the 8th Prince’s Palace for 17 years.
But this was the first time he realized how full of secrets the 8th Prince’s Palace was.
There were so many passages and doors spread everywhere. It was ridiculous that he had lived without knowing about them.
“Your Highness, we are glad you have returned.”
Radel, interrupted while turning off the System Windows by an unfamiliar voice, looked ahead.
Attendants were lined up from the palace gate entrance to the upper stairs.
More than twice the number of employees as before bowed simultaneously to greet him.
“Your Highness, we are glad you have returned!”
“We are happy that you seem to have fully recovered!”
“Uh... yes.”
No, why were they greeting him like that when he had never even seen them?
Radel involuntarily spoke in formal speech.
He wanted to maintain some distance due to the awkwardness of the situation.
Not a single face was familiar.
It seemed all the attendants had been replaced since Radel fell down the stairs.
‘To change them so quickly.’
A Chief Attendant he had never seen before approached and reported the additional personnel and the current situation to Radel.
In the past, no Chief Attendant would have bothered to report to Radel. But since his Ability had manifested, he felt the treatment had changed.
“You must be tired from recovering. Please go rest. I will have your meal sent up.”
Right.
Since things are this way, should I just lie down and live my life being attended to every day? Should I really not lift a finger?
Radel was about to try the taste of the platinum spoon but changed his mind.
“That’s fine. From now on, please follow my orders.”