“Oh, how can it be…this…this child must have been born to learn magic!”
Carlos, the only mage in the Duchy of Estel, couldn’t hide his excitement when she saw Aria.
“A high affinity to mana, instantaneous output, and exceptional operational faculty, everything is perfect! It seems that this child will surely become a mage who will make a mark in the history of the continent!”
Old Carlos continued to crazily bark at me as his face turned red in excitement.
I mean, I had expected as much.
Aria was a witch with power great enough to bring winter to the entire continent in our pervious timeline. Rather, I might have been surprised if I had been told that she had no talent for magic at all.
“Young Lord! Would it be all right if I take this child as my disciple? I want to teach her. No, I have to teach her! It would be too much of a loss to the whole continent if a child of such talent does not learn magic!”
“Is that so?”
When I responded indifferently, old Carlos couldn’t hide his excitement.
“Ohh, then are you allowing me to accept this child as my disciple?”
At old Carlos’s words, I asked back with an expression that seemed to say that I had heard something absurd.
“No, I never said yes. And why are you asking for my permission?”
“Eh? What do you mean…”
“Isn’t Aria’s will the most important thing here? No matter how talented she is, I’m not going to make her do something she doesn’t want to do, so ask her if she agrees.”
As soon as my words ended, old Carlos strode toward Aria with sparkling eyes. Looking at his behavior, the guy looked like he would kidnap Aria at any moment, so I wondered if I should hit the back of the old man’s head to make him come back to his senses.
“Oh, you say your name is Aria. You must have heard what the Young Lord said just now, right?”
“…yes.”
Aria nodded quietly, and old Carlos nodded as if he was satisfied with her reply.
“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Carlos Hedel. A person who acts on behalf of the will of mana and a mage who studied in the school of Chalcedon.”
“Why did you omit the information about being a third-class mage?”
When I said that from the side, old Carlos looked at me with an absurd expression on his face.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you didn’t say the most important thing, maybe you forgot because you’re old. Shouldn’t Aria know about that?”
When I replied with a smile, old Carlos sighed and turned his gaze to Aria. And the moment he looked at Aria, old Carlos’s expression instantly changed to that of a benevolent old sage.
“Yes, as the Young Lord said, I am a lowly mage who has remained in a third-class position to my current age. But I didn’t mean to deceive you, so please don’t misunderstand.”
Aria nodded calmly at old Carlos’s words.
Judging from the fact that she didn’t react much to the fact that a third-class mage would be teaching her, she seemed to have a pretty good character. It was hard to believe that she became the ‘Witch of Winter’ in the previous timeline.
“As I told the Young Lord, you are born with a natural talent for magic. A natural talent that might make you one of the best mages in this empire if you put in a little effort.”
Saying that, old Carlos looked at Aria as if he were looking at a jewel.
“I have no talent. I could handle mana, but at the same time, that was my limit. After all, I’m stuck as a low-level mage until this age. However, I am not disappointed. I knew very well that this would the result from the time I entered the path of magical arts.”
At that moment, I didn’t miss the sight of old Carlos’s hands shaking slightly.
“I knew full well that I wouldn’t climb to a higher realm as a mage, so I’ve been working hard on my research. I am well aware of the fact that I wouldn’t be able reach the truth with my meager talent, so I eagerly hoped that my knowledge would become a cornerstone for the development of magical path. Yes I did, until I saw you…”
Old Carlos’s hands began to tremble even more.
“You deserve to inherit everything I have amassed. If you manage to inherit all the research results I have accumulated over my life, I think you will be able to go beyond the results of my research and discover the truth beyond. What do you think? Will you be my disciple? If you just nod your head, I will definitely make you the best mage in the empire!”
Aria just tilted her head at old Carlos’s lengthy and passionate speech. Then, blinking her eyes, she asked old Carlos a question.
“If…if I become your disciple, what will I have to do?”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“If I become your disciple, will I have to stay with you and only study magic?”
Old Carlos frowned at Aria’s question for a moment, then answered meekly.
“Hmm, I don’t think you’d need to go that far. However, the study of magic is an in-depth process that cannot be achieved overnight. No matter how small it is, you have to study with me for half of the day and learn the basics. However, that time is essential for you to make great strides as a mage…”
“Then I won’t.”
“Wha..what?”
For a moment, old Carlos looked at Aria with a look of disbelief, as if someone told him that a dog had laid eggs.
“What did you just say? You refuse to be my disciple? Are you saying you won’t become a mage?”
Aria pursed her lips at old Carlos’s words and muttered in an irritated voice.
“But I decided to be Young Lord Cain’s personal maid. I’m just getting used to my work as a maid, so I don’t want to waste my time on magic. Maybe I will if Young Lord Cain permits it, but I won’t if he doesn’t.”
At those words, old Carlos’s mouth widened in disbelief.
****
“Ha ha…seeing the look on old Carlos’s wrinkled face was quite refreshing.”
As soon as I left old Carlos’s residence with Aria, I couldn’t stand it and burst into laughter.
I really didn’t like the way he always held his head high with pride because of his identity as a mage, but watching that prideful head bow down to me felt like I finally managed to relieve a 10-year-old congestion.
However, I also thought that I was being a bit petty, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, what could I have done since I was born that way.
“Aria, you did a very good job.”
“Hehe!”
Just a while ago, I was able to negotiate various ‘terms’ with old Carlos on the condition of persuading Aria, who was adamant on the thought that she didn’t want to become a mage. The ‘terms’ I mentioned were extremely beneficial for the territory. For example, when the Duchy of Estel would be in need of the service of a mage, old Carlos would have to lend a hand. Additionally, he would have to make various items for the territory, and so on.
Even though I desperately persuaded her after the negotiation, Aria’s stubbornness was quite had to brake. Her logic was that she liked being the maid more, so why would she have to do something like becoming a mage?
By the way, when Aria said that, the old Carlos’s expression was really a sight to see.
In the end, after a long and arduous persuasion, it was decided that Aria would receive magic education from old Carlos for six hours a day, three times a week.
Of course, Aria didn’t like that fact very much, but in the end, she nodded her head obediently when she heard that it might be more helpful to me if she learned magic. Her attitude almost made me want to cry. All the mages I knew were half insane, so I don’t expect that Aria would be so kind.
And so, I returned to the Estel estate with Aria with a happy mood. However, I immediately noticed something different about the place.
Only a few hours had passed since I was away, but the Estel estate was exuding a completely different atmosphere than how it was before.
The maids, who normally chatted without doing anything, were moving around busily, and the knights, who were more like ruffians who lived on salaries, were moving quickly while maintaining strict discipline for some reason.
‘What the hell happened while I was away?’
As I blinked my eyes in confusion, a passing knight stopped and greeted me as if he had recognized my face. The face of the young knight saluting me in a disciplined manner seemed quite familiar to me as well.
“Young Lord, it is good to see you! It has been a month, but we have safely returned from our mission.”
“Yes, I’m happy to see you return as well. Um…but your name is…James? Or Hans? I kind of forgot…”
“Umm…my name is Lian Deckersell, Young Lord.”
“Hmm…was it? My apologies.”
In fact, the reason I forgot his name was not because I hadn’t seen him in a month, but in years.
“Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. We received an order from the Duke to give you a message if we found you.”
“Hmm. Did my father return as well?”
“Yeah, the Duke had returned not long ago.”
‘So that’s it.’
It seemed that the atmosphere of the estate had changed because my father had returned after completing patrol of the territory. It was indeed something that usually took a month to complete.
It had to be mentioned that I hadn’t seen my father in about 5 years. Because five years from now, my father would die. He would lose his life while struggling on the front line to block the monsters from entering into the Duchy of Estel.
But not this time.
I had the knowledge of what would happen in the future, so I had no intention of sitting still and doing nothing.
“By the way, what is the message?”
“Ah, the Duke is looking for the Young Lord. He said that he had something to talk about. And…”
“And?”
Lian looked at me and continued to say, “He seemed a bit angry.”
****
After about 10 minutes.
“Good! I have a very competent son!”
As soon as I entered the office, I was greeted by my father’s gloomy face for the first time in 10 years. Seeing my father’s face made me realize just how unfilial I must have been in the past.
“Do you know what this is, Cain?”
My father asked me a question as he waved the finely folded letter from side to side in front of my eyes. And, he continued to speak as if he didn’t intend to hear an answer from the beginning.
“It is a petition for cancellation of betrothal. It is an official document sent in the name of Count Cernard.”
“A petition for cancellation of betrothal? Ah, so that’s it…”
I was feeling quite nervous because I thought something unusual had happened, and I put my mind at ease at the mention of the cancellation of betrothal.
Anyway, the cancellation of betrothal with Sarah was nothing more than an event that was scheduled to happen five years later. So even if the event happened now, it wasn’t that much of a big deal.
“Wait a minute…a petition for cancellation of betrothal?”
Only then did my head begin to work properly. The cancellation of betrothal was supposed to happen five years later, it wasn’t an event that should be happening right now. As far as I could remember, there was no such thing as a petition for cancellation of betrothal sent to me during this moment in the previous timeline.
“Yes, Cain. You have done a great deed indeed.”
My father spoke to me in a melancholic voice and let out a sigh, as if the world was about to end.
“Sarah, that girl said she wants to cancel her betrothal to you. And she wants to do it right now.”
Goblin: Please consider becoming a Patron at Patreon to support me if you can, and you can also support me by sponsoring chapters at BuymeaCoffee! A little support can help me a lot!
If you enjoy this novel, please take some time to rate it on NU
Become a Supreme Patron for only $30 to access all the advanced chapters of all the novels on Goblinslate!
Please point out any mistakes if you find one.
Please whitelist this site in your a*blocker to support the translation.