Secrets of the Silent Witch - Volume 2 - Chapter SS

Secret Episode: It Was Like Love...

After leaving the student council room, Felix made sure nobody was around, then poked his pocket. When Wildianu peeked out in his white lizard form, the prince spoke to him quietly, still cautious of their surroundings. “You said before that a Spirit King had been summoned, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” replied Wildianu. “I sensed a gate in the vicinity.”

“Sneak into the faculty room and see if the teachers are talking about it.”

Even the student council president would seem suspicious if he hung around the faculty room for no reason. Wildianu was a better fit, as he could infiltrate without being seen.

“What will you do, Master?” the spirit asked.

“I’ll go look around to see if anything seems odd outside.”

“Understood. If anything should happen, call for me right away.”

Wildianu crawled out of his pocket, then quickly moved over to the wall and headed for the faculty room. Felix saw him off, then exited the school building. Unfortunately, he’d never learned any detection spells, so he’d have to rely on his instincts…though there was one place he definitely wanted to check.

The old gardens. Felix knew there was a large-scale barrier protecting the academy hidden in the fountain there. The magic formula had interested him so much, he’d gotten a duplicate key made, and the old gardens had become one of his haunts.

The formula had been made by one of the Seven Sages, the Barrier Mage Louis Miller, and was a work of art even by the prince’s amateurish appraisal. You didn’t get to see such a complex, precise magical formula every day.

Assuming there was an emergency that warranted the summoning of a Spirit King… If the academy was attacked from the outside, the barrier would have activated. And there’s nothing wrong with checking on it anyway, he thought, heading for the old gardens.

The gate leading to them was open, and the lock had fallen to the ground. He picked it up and looked at it, his eyes widening in surprise. Unbelievably, it had been cut clean off the gate. The neatness of the severed portion meant it hadn’t worn down over time—something else had happened.

Very small burn marks… Someone used flame magecraft to burn it? It’s made of metal, yet it was cut so cleanly. That isn’t easy.

His expression turning severe, Felix moved deeper into the gardens. He concealed his footsteps, proceeding with caution. After a turn at the rhododendron beds was a somewhat more open plaza area, with a fountain at its center that was never used… Or that’s what he had expected to find, at least.

Now the fountain was in ruins. Bits of rose vines and flowers were scattered among the debris.

And next to where the fountain used to be, a man was squatting, doing some sort of work. He was young and had a long chestnut-colored braid. He wore a gold-embroidered robe and held a long staff. The moment Felix saw the man, he knew exactly who he was. Only the Seven Sages were allowed to wear those robes and carry those staves. And besides, Felix would never forget that long braid.

A Sage… The Barrier Mage Louis Miller? …What is he doing here?

He would have contacted the school in advance if he had been here for his regular inspection of the barrier. Felix hadn’t heard about any such notice. And the smashed-up fountain debris and rose vines confirmed his suspicion that something out of the ordinary had occurred.

There should be a defensive barrier formula at the bottom of that fountain… Has it been destroyed? What in the world happened here?

Louis continued muttering chants under his breath; he seemed to be making adjustments to the barrier. Meanwhile, a powerful wind blew, and a young woman wearing a maid’s uniform descended from the sky.

Felix had heard that the Barrier Mage had a contract with a high wind spirit. This must be her.

“Lord Louis,” she said, “I have completed my escort mission.”

“Good work,” he replied. “Now, go recover the remains of the Spiralflame in the west storehouse.”

“You certainly drive this spirit hard.”

“I can’t step away at the moment. This barrier is… Ugh. I need to completely redo the entire thing. I know it was to disable the Spiralflame, but this was quite the violent solution.”

Felix frowned at the conversation. He’d heard the word Spiralflame before. It was the name of an extremely lethal magical tool meant for assassinations… Had one been placed in the west storehouse? He’d been there just a little while ago.

Judging from their conversation, someone must have made an attempt on my life, but the Barrier Mage saved me in secret.

Though, considering how Louis was speaking, it sounded like he hadn’t personally been the one to disable the item—it had been someone else.

…But who?

Felix held his breath and focused on their conversation.

Seeming exasperated, Louis looked down at the fountain. “I can’t exactly claim it wore down over time—not when it’s like this. What am I going to say? Sure, this was to protect the second prince, but why a Spirit King? And without even a staff to control the flow of mana…”

He ruffled his perfectly neat hair in frustration.

“The Silent Witch is always so reckless.”

………What?

Felix’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the name leave Louis’s mouth.

The Silent Witch summoned a Spirit King? And saved me?

The scene from several months ago flooded back into Felix’s mind. The gate opening in the sky, the spears of wind surrounded by glittering white lights. The horde of pterodragons, all shot between the eyes. Their giant bodies drifting quietly to the ground like snow.

That utterly silent, beautiful magecraft.

And its user, the Silent Witch, had summoned a Spirit King? To save Felix?

…I want to see her.

Felix’s heart leaped like a little boy hearing a story about a beloved hero.

The Silent Witch was here? Was she just passing by? Has she already infiltrated the school? She seems quite short from what I’ve seen of her during ceremonies… Wait. They aren’t necessarily a woman, either. The Witch of Thorns calls himself a witch, but he’s a man, so it’s possible the Silent Witch is a man as well. In any case, they may have infiltrated the intermediate course… No, they must be one of the faculty members. Wait, no, calm down. It’s still possible they haven’t infiltrated—that they just happened to be in the area.

He felt his thoughts getting away from him. This wasn’t like him. But that was how much Felix practically adored the Silent Witch.

I want to see them. I want to meet them. I want to see their unchanted magecraft up close.

Felix covered his mouth with a hand—his lips had turned up into a smile without his realizing. The hand then served to stifle a sigh of admiration. He felt his cheeks flushing, completely out of character.

He was just like a boy searching for his first love.

Ah, to think they were so close by… The prince grasped the fabric of his uniform to try and calm his pounding heart. The one who excites me…

“You want to know about Monica Norton?” repeated Lindsey Pail, the ballroom dancing teacher, blinking in surprise.

She was talking to Carl Boyd, the one who taught chess, one of the elective classes. He was a giant of a man with a shaved head and stern features. While he looked for all the world like a seasoned soldier, he was actually a marquess from a distinguished family and possessed an impressive intellect.

And now the man had come to her asking about Monica Norton.

Lindsey put a finger to her cheek, thinking for a moment before speaking. “She’s a well-behaved, earnest girl. Her grades are a little all over the place…but she’s a very hard worker.”

“I heard she had to take a retest for ballroom dancing class. Is she still taking supplementary lessons?”

“No, she passed the retest just fine. No extra lessons…”

But why is Boyd concerned about Monica taking extra lessons? wondered Lindsey, confused. The answer didn’t take long to come to her, though. She struck her palm with a fist. “Ah, could this be about the competition?”

“I’d like to have Monica Norton participate,” said Boyd solemnly.

Lindsey broke out into a festive tone. “Oh, how wonderful! She’s just transferred in—and yet she’s being chosen for such a big event!”

She was genuinely happy that a student in her own class was being acknowledged like this.

As her face broke into a smile, another voice interrupted them.

“…She’s a transfer student?”

Lindsey turned around to find the newest addition to their faculty, William Macragan, looking her way. He was the fundamental magecraft teacher. But Monica wasn’t taking his course—why did he know about her?

Oh, I see. She’s on the student council and all… That must be why he remembers her. Satisfied with her explanation, she smiled at him. “Yes. Monica Norton and Glenn Dudley—both of them just transferred in this year.”

“Hmm, I see. The two of them, eh…”

The elderly professor, who once taught at Minerva’s Mage Training Institution, was known for having instructed the Silent Witch and the Barrier Mage, who were now both members of the Seven Sages. He toyed with the white mustache covering his mouth. When he spoke, he sounded a little absentminded.

“Well, this should be very interesting,” he said. “I’m so glad I came to this school.”

On the top floor of the west tower of Castle Ridill was a room that only the Seven Sages and the king himself were permitted to enter. It was called the Jade Chamber. It had an octagonal shape, which was a little unusual for this kingdom, and its ceiling had been extravagantly fitted with a glass pane.

In the center of the room stood a round table and eight chairs. One was for the king, and the other seven were for the Sages.

Only one of them was filled at the moment—by a woman looking up past the glass pane and into the night sky. The loose waves of her silver hair hung at her back, and she wore a robe over a thin silken dress. She was the foremost prophet in the kingdom and one of the Seven Sages: the Starseer Witch Mary Harvey.

By reading the stars in the night sky, she could foretell the kingdom’s future. But right now, the witch’s ghostly pale-blue eyes were narrowed.

“Ah, once again… No matter how many times I try, it doesn’t work. Why can’t I see it?”

The countless stars, glittering like silver sand in the sky, told Mary what lay in store for those most important to the kingdom.

And yet there was one person’s future she was finding it impossible to read.

That person was the grandson of Duke Clockford, the most influential man in the kingdom—the prince Felix Arc Ridill.

He’d inherited the late second queen’s beauty, which had captivated many in elite society. In school, he consistently achieved excellent grades, and his skills in swordplay and horseback riding were first-rate. He was also familiar with the cultures and languages of other nations; in fact, he’d already achieved some success in diplomacy.

Everyone who knew him said he was sure to become a wise ruler, remembered for generations to come.

Mary’d had the chance to see him herself several times during social occasions. He truly was a man of great caliber. It wasn’t just a matter of his appearance, either—his manner and carriage were splendid as well.

Such an incredible person must surely have been born under the brightest of stars—and yet, for some reason, she couldn’t see it.

Up above, she could see several portentous astral lights. They predicted a major event in the Kingdom’s near future. But their twinkling was still faint, and Mary couldn’t foretell what they meant.

“…What is it that lies ahead?” she murmured.

There was nobody around to answer her.

The witch who could read the stars lowered her silver eyelashes and quietly breathed a somber sigh.