When Lloyd returned to his room, a middle-aged man in a robe embroidered with elaborate patterns was waiting for him.
Seeing the emblem of House Seid engraved on the chest of the robe, Lloyd realized that he was the mage Duke Seid had sent.
“Are you the mage Eden sent?”
The mage’s eyebrow twitched.
Then, in a curt voice filled with displeasure, he replied.
“Lord Eden’s title is far higher. No matter how close you are, please show proper respect.”
It was a somewhat arrogant tone.
But the one who flared up at those words was Martin, who had been waiting in the room with Lloyd.
Martin drew his sword, pointed it at the mage’s neck, and growled.
“Before that, you should address Young Master Lloyd respectfully, you insolent bastard.”
“Gah…….”
The mage felt resentful and wronged.
It was bad enough that he had been sent here before he could even finish the research he had been conducting. Now he had to receive treatment like this as well.
‘Have I been cast out of House Seid after all?’
It was true that he had failed to produce results for some time, but was there any reason to send him somewhere completely unrelated to magic?
He let his shoulders droop and released a long sigh.
‘In any case, the knight is right. I was the one who made the mistake.’
Even if Lloyd was an illegitimate child of a count’s house, his status was clearly higher than that of a mage like him.
Admitting his mistake readily, he bowed to Lloyd and apologized.
“I was at fault a moment ago. Please forgive my rudeness, Young Master Lloyd.”
“It is fine. Raise your head. And Sir, put that sword away.”
“Yes!”
Once Martin put away his sword, Cotton let out a sigh of relief.
He had secretly worried that Lloyd might use his noble pride as an excuse not to forgive him, but fortunately, that had not happened.
“Ah, my introduction is late. I am Cotton Briger, and at Lord Eden’s request, I will be staying here for some time. I look forward to working with you.”
That was the moment the mage Cotton Briger came under Lloyd’s command.
Cotton could not close his gaping mouth for quite some time.
It was because of the countless Magic Stones laid out before him.
“I have never seen so many Magic Stones in my life.”
As he said that, he picked up one Magic Stone and began examining it closely.
Its size and quality were nearly perfect.
Even in the Seid Ducal House, he had never seen Magic Stones of such excellent quality.
“I hear magical research costs a great deal of money. I intend to provide about this many Magic Stones every month. Is that not enough?”
“N-No! It is more than enough!”
With that quantity, he could not only continue the research he had been conducting, but also purchase expensive magical books and materials.
‘There are so many different studies that I could not attempt because of financial problems.’
Thinking that he could now conduct the research he had only imagined until then brought a smile to Cotton’s face.
But that lasted only a moment.
Cotton suddenly grew uneasy.
‘What does he intend to make me do?’
What could he possibly want Cotton to do in exchange for providing so many Magic Stones?
Having always believed that nothing was free, Cotton cautiously asked,
“What am I supposed to do here?”
“You only need to Enchant these.”
Lloyd took out the Cores he had gathered so far from his Inventory and handed them to Cotton.
“T-These are…….”
Cotton could not help being shocked.
As a Magic Scholar, he had Enchanted countless objects, but he had never seen anything like this before.
“What in the world are these?”
“They are called Cores. They are the key material for Enchant Magic.”
Along with those words, Lloyd explained the Cores in detail. As Cotton listened, his eyes steadily widened.
“Good heavens, what an absurd ability…….”
Cotton examined the Cores Lloyd had handed him with a stunned expression, then murmured in confusion.
“How are these things called Cores structured? I will need to understand their structure to some extent before I can Enchant them.”
As Cotton muttered while examining the Cores from every angle, Lloyd slightly furrowed his brow and asked in a quiet voice.
“Do not tell me you came all the way here to say that you cannot do it.”
At the tone and expression that did not suit a fourteen-year-old boy, Cotton involuntarily shrank back.
“N-No, that is not it. They are simply materials I have never seen before…… If you give me time, I will certainly find a way to Enchant them.”
Lloyd had all the time in the world.
There was no need to hurry.
Since Eden had sent him, Lloyd could trust his skill.
“Research is fine, but handle the work I have instructed first.”
“Yes, of course.”
“I will arrange a room and a laboratory for you soon, so stay in the guest room for the time being.”
As he said that, Lloyd signaled Martin to guide Cotton to the guest room.
Understanding Lloyd’s intention, Martin stepped forward.
“Follow me.”
Cotton nodded and was about to follow Martin when he suddenly stopped, as though he had remembered something.
“Ah, I nearly forgot something important because I was nervous.”
As he said that, Cotton took a ring that appeared suited for a man from his clothes.
He handed it to Lloyd and spoke.
“Duke Seid told me to deliver this to you as a gift.”
“This is a ring?”
“It appears to be an ordinary ring, but it is an Artifact inscribed with Grand Shield magic. Duke Seid made it himself.”
“Grand Shield?”
When Lloyd, who knew little about magic, asked in confusion, Cotton answered.
“Grand Shield is a Sixth Circle protective spell capable of blocking all magic up to the Fifth Circle, as well as attacks at the level of a Low-Rank Sword Expert.”
At Cotton’s explanation, even Lloyd, who was rarely surprised, could not hide his astonishment this time.
Sixth Circle magic was comparable to a High-Rank Sword Expert. An Artifact inscribed with such powerful magic would be tremendously expensive, but beyond that, it would be difficult to make and extremely rare.
“I am grateful, but is it truly all right for me to accept something this valuable?”
“Of course it is. Duke Seid made it for you from the beginning, Young Master Lloyd.”
“Hmm, I should at least send a letter of thanks.”
“Duke Seid will be pleased as well.”
Cotton smiled warmly.
For some reason, Duke Seid seemed to like Lloyd very much.
He had even personally made and given him an Artifact containing high-circle magic that was difficult to create.
‘Still, I cannot see anything particularly special about him…….’
If Cotton had to name anything, it would be that Lloyd’s swordsmanship was slightly better than that of his peers, and that he was acquainted with the Master of the Hertina Guild.
But that alone did not seem enough to win Duke Seid’s favor.
‘I wonder what it is about someone who is not even a mage that Duke Seid likes so much.’
The curiosity and interest characteristic of a mage began quietly rising in Cotton’s mind.
***
Meanwhile, Countess Bled was pacing around her room, biting her nails as though something had made her anxious.
‘This is bad. Nothing like this has ever happened before…….’
Until recently, when Lloyd had been called an incapable child with no mana, he had been outside Count Bled’s interest.
But now, Count Bled intended to accept Lloyd as a member of the house.
‘It is not just him. After the Master of the Hertina Guild, even Lord Eden and Lady Yuria…….’
She recalled the sight of Lloyd speaking amicably with Eden and Yuria not long ago.
Then she had heard that Lloyd had held a private audience with Duke Seid, and she had been deeply upset.
Even now, thinking about it made her feel stifled and anxious.
But the one who made her even more frustrated was Hailed.
For a while, he had seemed withdrawn as though frightened by something. Yet with each passing day, her son grew more irritable.
While Lloyd’s status continued to rise, Hailed’s reputation, which had not been good to begin with, fell even further.
‘Still, I had been reassured because Hailed’s amount of Mana was greater.’
Lloyd’s amount of Mana was fundamentally lower than Hailed’s.
If one had less Mana, their growth potential would be lower and their limits would come sooner.
In other words, even if he lagged behind a little now, Hailed could overtake him with enough time.
‘But in this situation, I cannot wait leisurely for that day to come.’
Thinking that she could not remain idle any longer, Countess Bled decided to use an item she had acquired with great difficulty not long ago.
***
It was an ordinary evening, no different from any other.
Lloyd gave an Energy Bar to the Dove, which was crying for food, and then sat down.
Anna began setting out food in front of Lloyd as though she had been waiting.
“Tonight’s dinner was made by the new chef who recently joined us. He is very skilled.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I am sure Young Master Lloyd will like it as well.”
Since Anna said so much, Lloyd had begun to look forward to the meal. Just as he was about to eat,
“KRAAWK!”
The Dove, which had been eating the Energy Bar Lloyd gave it, suddenly fluttered up and knocked the food laid out on the table away with its wings.
CRASH!
With a loud sound, the plates holding the food fell, shattered, and spilled their contents across the floor.
“Ah! What should I do?”
“…….”
While Anna hurriedly cleaned the floor, Lloyd silently got up and took away the Energy Bar the Dove had been eating.
The Dove looked at Lloyd with pleading eyes and cried urgently, as though trying to explain something.
“KRAAWK, KRAAAWK.”
But unable to understand an animal’s words, Lloyd threw the Energy Bar straight into the trash.
At that sight, the Dove seemed furious. It glared at Lloyd once before flying out the window.
“Is that not too harsh for a single mistake? It must be hungry as well.”
Anna looked out the window the Dove had flown through and spoke with some concern.
But Lloyd did not care.
“Since words do not work with it, I need to be even stricter when it does something wrong.”
“That is true, but…… Ah, this is not the time. I will hurry and bring more food.”
After saying that, Anna hurriedly left the room.
A little while later.
She brought fresh, warm bread and stew full of chunks of meat.
“You are hungry, correct? Please eat quickly.”
“Mm.”
Hungry, Lloyd nodded and picked up the bread.
At that exact moment, the Dove, which he had thought had flown far away, returned. It silently stared at the bread and stew before flying away again.
“What is it trying to do……?”
Lloyd could not understand the Dove’s behavior at all.
If only he could communicate with it.
‘At times like this, I miss Seong-hui’s ability.’
Seong-hui’s ability was Animal Leader.
It allowed her to communicate not only with animals, but with monsters as well, making it useful in many ways.
‘For now, I can only wait for Iriana to find Seong-hui and the other comrades.’
Thinking that, Lloyd put bread in his mouth and began to soothe his hungry stomach.
***
The Dove’s strange behavior continued even the next day.
Whenever it was mealtime, it came without fail and interfered so Lloyd could not eat.
Lloyd used Telekinesis to catch the Dove without Anna noticing, but by this point, something felt wrong.
“Why is this creature suddenly acting like this? Does it have a reason?”
Sensing that something was amiss from the Dove’s continuing strange behavior, Lloyd sank into thought.
The Dove gazed at Lloyd for a long moment before beginning to peck at food that had spilled onto the floor.
“Ah! If you eat something that fell on the floor……”
Anna, who had been cleaning up the food, hurriedly tried to stop it, but she could not finish speaking.
After eating a little of the food that had spilled onto the floor, the Dove suddenly began foaming at the mouth and collapsed.
“Could it be poison!?”
Lloyd hurried over and checked the collapsed Dove’s condition.
He knew little about animals, but one thing was certain.
The Dove had been poisoned.
“Anna, hurry and bring Sir Cotton.”
“Y-Yes!”
Magic Scholars made various kinds of antidote potions, so when it came to poison, they were as knowledgeable as physicians and pharmacists.
A Magic Scholar like Cotton would be able to identify the poison that had poisoned the Dove.
‘I cannot leave the creature that ate poison in my place to die like this.’
While Anna went to bring Cotton, Lloyd took out the Artifact containing Healing Magic and Detoxification Magic that Yuria had given him and used it on the Dove.