Chapter 110
Chapter 110: Should You Call the Authorities After Being Taken Advantage Of?
Listening to Kavra's words, the light in Gwen's eyes dimmed.
From childhood, Gwen had been shaped by the code of the righteous Knight—her heart set on justice, her days spent ceaselessly honing the arts of knighthood to strengthen herself.
But her father was a different matter entirely.
Angus Delin.
He was an absolute pragmatist, someone who viewed his own children as tools to serve his interests.
Precisely because the young Gwen's unwavering integrity made her incapable of bringing him any tangible gain, Angus Delin had sent her off early to learn combat skills at the Knight Company—and never gave her another thought after that.
This meant Gwen had virtually no childhood. From a young age, she had forged herself through endless, relentless hardship in the world of fighting and killing.
As for the Marriage Engagement between Gwen and Viktor?
After Viktor's father died, the Marriage Engagement had become something of a joke.
The Clavena Family seemed to have forgotten it entirely—and after all, the one with authority over the matter was Viktor.
As head of the family, Viktor had no desire to honor the Marriage Engagement, and he was perfectly free to ignore it.
And even more absurdly:
Because Viktor had become head of the Clavena Family—and because of Viktor's nearly 9-year streak of absolute incompetence—Gwen's father had concluded that Viktor was incapable of bringing any benefit to the Delin Family.
The Marriage Engagement was left hanging over Gwen like a transparent, forgotten thing.
Only a fraction of the nobility were even aware that a Marriage Engagement still existed between her and Viktor.
Until now.
In a daze, Gwen noticed Kavra reaching out a hand and waving it in front of her face.
"Gwen? Little Gwen?"
Gwen's eyes slowly came back into focus. She looked at Kavra's fingers and lowered her head.
"Sorry—I spaced out."
Kavra pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a sigh. She knew how much her younger sister despised their family.
But this matter, even as the elder sister, was not hers to decide.
"So—are you going back?"
Gwen kept her head low, her fists clenched tight, and gave no answer.
***
"The north?"
Viktor sat at his Writing Desk, one leg crossed over the other, leaning back against the leather chair, turning something curious over in his hands.
2 iron cards—Leah watched Viktor carefully engrave strange and intricate Runes across their surface, her brow furrowed.
When she looked again a moment later, the markings on the iron cards had vanished.
After so many years, Leah had long since lost any interest in Magic and the like.
So she said nothing more—just shrugged, and patted the envelope sitting on the Writing Desk in front of Viktor.
"That's what Uncle Angus said. Whether you go is up to you. If you don't want to, I'll decline on your behalf."
Earlier that morning, Viktor's Manor had received this letter from the Delin Family's main household, delivered from the Empire's northern frontier.
The contents of the letter were clear and concise: a cordial invitation for Viktor to pay the Delin Family a visit.
His Uncle Angus had some things he wished to say to him in person.
Viktor set down the iron cards in his hand, propped his elbow on the armrest of the chair, rested his head in his palm, and turned it over in his mind.
Did he have time right now?
He had plenty.
After the lecture, the Academy was on holiday, giving him a sizable stretch of free time.
But his identity as a Professor—that should be known to very few people outside the Royal Capital.
It was only after yesterday's lecture topic became a resounding success that his name as Professor had spread along with it.
And yet that was just last night.
"It seems this uncle of mine keeps a close eye on me."
On reflection, it made sense. After all, his becoming a Professor had been partly due to Gwen's assistance.
The other party may well have already made use of connections within the main household.
But the fact that they had seized on the timing of his holiday to extend the invitation made it very hard not to feel this had been planned in advance.
So Viktor's answer was...
"I'll go. Why wouldn't I?"
He opened his eyes slowly and replied with calm.
Leah was taken aback—she hadn't expected Viktor to actually agree to such a tedious invitation.
She had more or less assumed her errand here was purely a formality.
"Gwen will be going back too, won't she."
"Oh? How did you know that?"
Leah raised an eyebrow. Uncle had indeed already notified Gwen—she was probably already preparing to head home right now.
"Let her know—I'll go back with her."
"What?"
Leah couldn't quite believe what Viktor was asking.
What was going on with this brother of hers lately—had he finally come to his senses?
Though puzzled, she turned and left without another word, obediently going to do as told.
Once Leah had gone, Weija opened that single hazy eye of his.
"So what's the plan—are we going out to have some fun?"
This Crow had apparently decided the whole thing was a sightseeing trip.
But as far as Viktor was concerned, it did qualify as a trip without any particular risk.
"Angus Delin is inviting me to make a trip to the northern frontier—and using that as a pretext to call Gwen back ahead of schedule."
"Quite clearly, he may have something in mind concerning the Marriage Engagement between me and Gwen."
Weija looked at Viktor with a flicker of surprise.
"How are you so certain?"
Viktor tapped the side of his own head and let out a quiet, amused sound.
"A brain left unused is better donated to someone who needs it."
Weija was quite offended, having understood perfectly well that it had just been called brainless.
"Why should I think—I'm just a Crow."
"Fair enough. I respect that."
Viktor picked the 2 iron cards back up, channeling Magic Power into them as he etched, and explained in an unhurried tone:
"In everyone's eyes, the relationship between me and Gwen has always been that of an engaged couple."
"That is the only thing that could serve as this uncle's motive."
He had summoned Gwen back ahead of time—perhaps to have a word with her in private before Viktor arrived.
In that case, Viktor might as well go together with Gwen. Whatever comes, he would meet it head-on.
Viktor rather enjoyed doing things this way.
At last, it seemed the 2 iron cards had been engraved with whatever he intended.
2 streams of elemental force were poured into the cards—2 distinct colors, each representing the power of 'Fire' and 'Wood' respectively.
On the back of each card, a portrait of a 'Clown' had been engraved.
Alongside it, a line of text was carved in:
'Joker'
Weija stared with wide, curious eyes, tilting its head to study the 2 cards.
"You're serious?"
"You actually made a Big and Small Joker? And what's with this portrait—you drew 2 Clowns?"
"No."
Viktor tapped the table with his finger—and the 2 cards stood upright on their own.
Across the face of each card, something like flowing, shimmering light danced faintly—just barely visible, as though the 2 Clowns had come alive and were staring outward.
A subtle energy radiated from them, yet even so, anyone could sense that it carried an extraordinary and formidable presence.
The look in Viktor's eyes carried a smile. He surveyed his 2 masterpieces with quiet satisfaction.
"They are Trumps."
The cards snapped back in an instant to Viktor's side, and the energy dissipated into the air without leaving a trace.
Viktor rose to his feet, gave Weija a light pat, and said simply:
"Come on—let's go see Heni."
"I have something to talk to her about."
Weija spread its wings and settled steadily on Viktor's shoulder, and together they left the Study in silence.
At this hour, Heni liked to spend her time in the garden.
After receiving confirmation from the Maidservant, Viktor made his way there.
The moment he stepped into the garden, he was met with the following scene:
Cocotte and Heni were both tucked among the flower beds—Cocotte lying stretched out on her Soft, Fluffy Cloud.
Suspended in the air, Cocotte was slowly constructing a Formation while explaining it to Heni beside her:
"Here—a Rune can be inserted at this point. It causes vibrations in Wood-element Magic, making it more responsive."
"And what about here?"
Heni pointed to a blank section of the Formation floating in the air.
"If a Rune were linked here, wouldn't it be better to build a new pathway between it and the Kaya Rune?"
"No, no—that won't work. It would make the vibrations in the Magic irregular, and too much responsiveness just means instability. And what do you think happens then?"
"An explosion."
"Exactly."
Heni, now a 2nd-Tier Mage, had reached the point where she could study and work with far more complex and intricate Magic.
The 2 of them seemed to be deep in the middle of a lively and enthusiastic discussion about Magic.
After all, Cocotte was a veteran Mage who had lived for who knew how many ages—as a former Council Member, she could certainly be called a true master of knowledge.
Cocotte, lecturing away with her eyes half-closed, suddenly noticed the sunlight in front of her dim considerably.
As if sensing some impending threat, she snapped her eyes wide open.
Viktor's face appeared directly in front of her.
She went instantly on high alert, and the Soft, Fluffy Cloud beneath her drifted quickly backward several paces.
"Vi—Viktor, what are you doing here?"
"I'm telling you right now—I'm on holiday. Don't even think about making me do any more work!"
Without waiting for Viktor to say a single word, Cocotte hastily gave the Cloud beneath her a kick—the Cloud contorted into a weeping face and carried her away at speed.
The moment she spotted Viktor, Heni's face lit up with delight. Not even waiting for Cocotte to get far enough away, she came running toward Viktor at once.
"Professor!"
Viktor reached out and gave Heni's head an easy ruffle.
A warmth rose in Heni's heart—and she was thoroughly content.
Even though she had become a 2nd-Tier Mage, and the Experience Points gained from this daily head-pat ritual were no longer all that significant, Viktor still did it when he could.
After the ruffle, Viktor spoke in his usual calm:
"I'll be away for a stretch of time in the coming days."
"While I'm gone, I need you to keep an eye on things around the house."
He definitely couldn't count on that homebody Elf for anything—even tying a dog to the place would do more good than Cocotte could.
So Heni was the one he needed.
Heni blinked. She very much wanted to say that Miss Leah would be here—but what actually came out was:
"Where are you going?"
"The Empire's northern frontier."
Viktor answered quietly.
"Leah has the Territory's business to attend to—she can't be tied up handling things on the Royal Capital's end indefinitely."
"If anything difficult comes up, go to that Elf. When it comes to matters of real consequence, she won't be idle."
Heni didn't know what to say. A small sadness settled in her chest—but she nodded all the same.
"Oh."
It'll be a long time before I get to see the Professor again, won't it?
"One more thing—bring me Laiton."
Heni nodded. When it came to the Professor's requests, she never asked for reasons.
A mass of red light slowly condensed from Heni's body, and a small, compact Crocodile appeared, draped across Heni's shoulder.
It let out a lazy yawn.
"What are we eating today?"
It had barely finished asking when it caught sight of Viktor standing before it—cold as a glacier—and gave a sudden shudder.
"B—Big Bro!"
"Calm down, Laiton."
Viktor fixed it with a brief look, reached out, and took Laiton into his hand.
The small Crocodile was completely immobilized in his palm. It could only hear 1 thing:
"I'll take you somewhere to eat something better."
With those words, Laiton's consciousness slipped back into darkness, imprisoned once more.
With that done, Viktor turned to leave—and found Heni in front of him, looking unusually fidgety.
"What is it, Heni?"
When one of his people was behaving strangely, he naturally had to pay attention.
Heni only stole a glance at him from the side, a faint timidity in her manner, and said in a very quiet voice:
"Could you... come a little closer?"
Viktor wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but he moved closer to accommodate her all the same.
"Like this?"
He was nearly standing right in front of Heni now—close enough that reaching out an arm could embrace her.
Viktor may have had some idea of what Heni wanted.
Perhaps a hug—she did love those.
But Heni did not do that. Instead she simply gathered a small breath of courage, tilted her head up to look at Viktor, and continued:
"Could you... lower your head just a little?"
"I want to tell you something."
She must be too shy to say it outright—some words simply wouldn't come.
Viktor obliged, bending down as best he could.
Even so, Heni still had to rise onto her tiptoes to bring her lips close to Viktor's ear.
And that was exactly what she did.
She strained up onto her tiptoes, leaning in to whisper something to Viktor.
Before Viktor could react in the slightest—soft, like a delicate bird lightly pecking at a branch.
When he returned to his senses, a faint warmth lingered on his cheek.
He went still for a brief moment, and his gaze drifted forward.
Among the green leaves, a bashful girl stood like a flower in bloom—her face flushed deeply, a shy smile on her lips.
"Professor."
"I like you."
The wind brushed past his ear. The girl fled in a flurry of startled steps.
Leaving only the soft trace her face had left behind.
Cleaner than the wind itself.