Even before recovering the memories of his previous life, Saul had always found Lucia difficult to deal with.
She was an elder sister whose thoughts were impossible to read.
At times, he even thought she was every bit as inscrutable as Father—perhaps even more so.
In any case, after exchanging greetings, the four princes and one princess took their respective seats.
As both the youngest and a son of a concubine, Saul had to sit at the far end of the table.
It was not mistreatment. It was simply proper royal etiquette.
Aside from Father, it seemed everyone who could attend had already arrived.
The prince who had gone far away to recuperate because of his frail health would not be able to attend, nor would the princess who was being educated at a temple after committing a grave offense at a young age.
A short while later, the dining hall doors opened, and Maren appeared.
Maren wore the relatively simple formal attire he used when holding brief meetings with his ministers about affairs of state.
He had probably come directly after finishing one such meeting.
Saul quickly rose from his seat.
Everyone else stood as well.
No matter how treasured they were as members of the royal family, the man before them was both their father and their king.
Proper respect had to be shown.
“Welcome, Father.”
Sylvester, as the eldest son, greeted him first, and Saul and the others followed.
“Welcome, Father!”
It had been a long time since Saul had attended a gathering like this, but the etiquette his body remembered was flawless.
The same was true of all the other princes and the princess.
Maren swept his gaze across his children, both as their king and as their father, before heading toward the seat of honor.
“…….”
As he passed, Maren’s eyes met Saul’s, and he smiled.
“……!”
The moment Saul saw that smile, he realized something.
This gathering had been arranged because of him.
Saul decided he needed to be even more careful.
A single slip of the tongue could lead to consequences far worse than he could imagine.
While Saul steeled himself, Maren took the seat of honor, and everyone else sat down as well.
The maids soon brought out the prepared dishes.
They were the finest meals made by the finest chefs using the finest ingredients.
Saul’s usual meals were already luxurious enough, but even to his eyes, the dishes before him now formed an extravagant feast.
“Now, let us eat first.”
“Yes, Father.”
Everyone began their meal.
Saul enjoyed the food before him while keeping his guard up.
It tasted every bit as excellent as it looked.
Not only did Saul savor the food, but he also made an effort to eat more than usual.
He had recently decided to increase the amount he ate as the first step toward strengthening his body.
Jonathan commented on it.
“You’re eating more than usual.”
“Yes, Brother. I want to become healthier.”
“That is a good thing. If you want to become healthy, there is nothing better than eating well and exercising diligently.”
It was not only Jonathan whose attention was focused on Saul.
Everyone present had realized that this gathering had been arranged because of him.
Saul pretended not to notice and continued eating.
Then Maren spoke.
“As all of you already know, Saul was injured not long ago and has since made a full recovery. I arranged this gathering to celebrate his recovery.”
At Maren’s words, all the princes and the princess spoke to Saul as though they had rehearsed it beforehand.
“Congratulations, Saul.”
“Congratulations, Saul.”
Saul quickly swallowed the food in his mouth before accepting their congratulations.
“Thank you, Father. Thank you, Brothers, Sister.”
“And there is something else. Saul said something rather interesting.”
“…….”
“He wishes to begin studying martial arts and magic in earnest.”
Jonathan, who had already heard about it, and the ever-composed Lucia showed no surprise, but Sylvester and Charis looked somewhat taken aback.
“Saul is going to study martial arts and magic?”
“Are you serious?”
At his brothers’ puzzled expressions, Saul decided to state his intentions clearly.
“I am serious, Father.”
“Admirable. In troubled times such as these, even princes and princesses may find themselves needing to learn martial arts or magic—and perhaps even use them. But what made you, a boy who did nothing but read books, suddenly come to such an admirable decision?”
Saul had expected that question.
He answered without hesitation.
“It was only after I was injured that I realized something. How should I put it...? A person never knows when he might die.”
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.
Perhaps those words were too mature for a child.
But Saul had already begun, so he continued.
“Mother passed away young, and I nearly suffered a serious fate myself. It made me realize that no one knows when death will come. If that is the case, I want to see just how far my abilities can take me. And I want to climb as high as I am permitted to go.”
Had that sounded too mature as well?
The heavy atmosphere did not ease.
Not until Maren burst into laughter.
“Hoho, hahahaha!”
Maren’s hearty laughter was unmistakably one of genuine delight.
At that, everyone relaxed and joined him in laughing.
“How admirable. Yes, you are right. So long as you know your place.... Yes, you should hone your abilities and strive to rise higher. Learning martial arts and magic for that purpose is an excellent idea. Until the Kingdom of Gamelda is destroyed, there will be few things more important than the sword and magic.”
“Yes. My wish is to cut off the King of Gamelda’s head, mount it on a pole, and present it to you, Father.”
“Haha. Now that is an admirable ambition.”
Saul’s answer seemed to satisfy everyone.
Neither Sylvester, Charis, nor Jonathan showed any sign of doubting him.
The only person who bothered him was Lucia.
She said nothing and merely stared at him with cold eyes from behind her glasses.
Saul knew perfectly well that Lucia had always been like this.
Despite her young age, when it came to keeping a cool head, she might even surpass Maren, a thoroughly seasoned ruler.
Perhaps Lucia was someone he needed to be even more wary of than the other princes—or even Maren himself.
Saul managed an awkward smile as he met his elder sister’s gaze.
“Very well. Then let us consider this a celebratory banquet for Prince Saul’s recovery and his new beginning.”
“Yes, Father!”
Father and all his siblings congratulated Saul.
Despite the complicated emotions within him, Saul returned their congratulations with an awkward smile.
***
After finishing the banquet with his children, Maren returned to his office.
There was still a considerable amount of work that needed to be completed before morning.
It was nearly midnight by the time Maren finished most of it.
Only one matter remained.
Saul’s words resurfaced in his mind.
‘I want to see just how far my abilities can take me. And I want to climb as high as I am permitted to go.’
A smile spread across Maren’s lips as he recalled them.
It was almost as though the boy had become a different person.
Saul certainly had not been the sort of child to say such things before.
There was no need to interpret the change negatively.
He was still young, and he was intelligent.
If he had finally found a goal for himself, was that not a good thing?
Having finished his thoughts, Maren rang the bell on his desk.
Alef, who had been waiting outside the office, quickly entered.
“You called for me, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. These are the documents I have finished reviewing.”
“I will have them taken away immediately. Is there anything else you would command?”
“One more thing. It concerns Saul.”
“Were you able to speak with the prince?”
“Yes. It was about time the boy came to his senses, and it appears he has done so before it became too late. That is fortunate. If one is born into noble blood in troubled times like these, one must bear the responsibilities that come with it.”
“Understood. Then shall I find suitable instructors so that Prince Saul may study martial arts and magic?”
“There is no need to go to such trouble searching. He is an admirable boy, so I would like to give him the very best teacher.”
“The very best teacher...?”
Maren smiled meaningfully.
“I hear the Black Witch has fully recovered?”
“Pardon?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Alef hurriedly composed himself before answering.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I heard that she no longer has any difficulty moving.”
“Neither we nor the Kingdom of Gamelda intends to break the armistice treaty immediately. That means the Black Witch will have no battlefield on which to appear for some time. So what do you think of making her my son’s teacher?”
“…….”
At first, Alef thought Maren was joking.
But he was not.
The Black Witch.
In the enemy Kingdom of Gamelda, she was indeed known by another name.
The ‘Black Star of Ill Omen.’
***
Several days later.
A message arrived at the palace where Saul resided.
“My teacher is coming today, right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What kind of person is it?”
“I was told that the teacher is an exceptionally skilled mage.”
Saul was to begin learning magic today.
Father had personally arranged to send him a renowned expert.
‘If Father is sending the teacher personally, they probably won’t be incompetent. As long as they’re around the level I reached in my previous life, there should be plenty I can learn.’
Muttering inwardly, Saul headed down to the training ground within the Ivory Palace.
On the way, he recruited one of the palace guards he happened to see to assist him and began exercising.
“Your Highness, please be careful.”
“I’m fine. Just help me with the exercises.”
Saul had no intention of overexerting himself.
He focused on simple exercises that could improve his stamina and health without placing too much strain on his young, frail body.
He needed to build up his body to some extent before he could properly begin studying magic and martial arts.
“Whew....”
Despite the light exercise, it did not take long before he reached the limits of his stamina.
Perhaps because he was frailer than other children his age, even mild exercise placed a noticeable burden on him.
Unless he somehow obtained dragon’s blood and drank it, there was no way to increase his stamina overnight.
What mattered was effort and perseverance.
After finishing his exercise, Saul bathed and changed his clothes. Just then, another message arrived.
“Your Highness. Your teacher will be arriving shortly.”
“Understood. I’ll wait in the reception room. Bring the teacher in as soon as they arrive.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As a prince, receiving his teacher while dressed in ordinary clothes should not be considered disrespectful.
Saul sat in the reception room reading a book as he waited.
What kind of person would it be?
“Hmm?”
As he turned the pages in anticipation, Saul suddenly sensed something strange.
It felt as though an immensely powerful presence was approaching.
And strangely enough, the sensation did not feel entirely unfamiliar.
“Welco—eek!”
“H-His Highness is waiting for you....”
The voices of the maid and attendant outside the door sounded anything but normal.
They sounded so startled that one might have thought they were welcoming an assassin.
Who in the world was coming?
“Y-Your Highness. Your teacher has arrived.”
At the palace guard’s voice, Saul took a deep breath and replied.
“Show the teacher in.”
The door opened.
His teacher appeared.
Saul’s eyes widened.
“What?”
He nearly screamed.
Only because he had mentally prepared himself did he manage to stop at drawing a sharp breath.
The moment he saw the figure slowly entering the room, an image from his previous life overlapped with the present.
Roland’s final day.
A mage with long black hair streaming behind her, who had appeared after shattering the firmly barred inner citadel gate with a single spell.
A mage wearing a black iron mask over her face and a cloak over her body.
The Archmage who was the pride of the Kingdom of Darsen and had once been hailed as the strongest battle mage on Yulen Island.
“The Black Star of Ill Omen.”
The battle mage known as the ‘Black Star of Ill Omen.’
The one called the ‘Black Witch’ in the Kingdom of Darsen.
Kastel.
“…….”
Hearing Saul unconsciously utter the words ‘Black Star of Ill Omen,’ Kastel tilted her masked head.
Only then did Saul realize that he had misspoken.
In this country, Kastel was not the accursed ‘Black Star of Ill Omen,’ but the ‘Black Witch,’ regarded with both fear and respect.
But Saul had no time to worry about covering up his slip of the tongue.
Instinctively lowering his head to hide his expression, he thought,
‘That bastard—no, that bitch—is supposed to be my teacher?’