Chapter 4 - The Bespectacled Mage
"Didn't the emperor already declare war on the Kingdom of Bern half a year ago? What do you mean we're going to war?" Arthur asked curiously.
The Kingdom of Bern bordered Ollerin to the south. It was the latest victim in Ollerin's millennia-long conquest to eradicate the worship of the god Minaan. That was the official reason, at least.
"He did, and the imperial forces were already pushing deep into Bern. But a few weeks ago, the capital was attacked along with six other northern cities. It wasn't a simple attack either.
Those responsible slaughtered hundreds to open a portal to Minaan's realm. It took the capital four days to close the portal, even with the Nyrian Guard leading the battle. Then the emperor—" Foster suddenly stopped speaking and tilted his head.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and as soon as he heard them, he hastily dashed back to his original position beside the study door.
It was an interesting sight, but Arthur knew why he acted in such a way. He was on probation due to being overly friendly with the aforementioned baron's wife, and he couldn't afford to be seen slacking off if he wanted to keep his job.
A moment after he achieved a perfect soldier's attention stance, two women turned the corner. The first woman was tall with an hourglass-shaped body that most men would sell their souls to spend a night with.
She had short curly blonde hair and appeared in her early thirties. She was objectively beautiful. Even Arthur couldn't deny that fact despite his utter disdain for the woman.
She was Elyria Yor, and she took the place as the primary wife of Arthur's father after his mother's death. As if channeling all the evil stepmothers from Earth's fairytales, she actively tried to find trouble with him whenever possible.
However, after a failed poisoning attempt against Arthur last year that resulted in the death of one of the cooks, it appeared she'd been reigned in by Edward, at least on the surface.
As Arthur and Elyria's eyes met, an expression of disgust flashed across her face.
"Wow! Aunty, you look so beautiful today!" Arthur shouted innocently as he ran over to her with a child-like smile.
Elyria instinctively took a step back in response as if she were wearing a pure white dress and he was covered in mud.
"Boy, don't bother the lady, be on your way!" The older woman standing behind Elyria snapped.
The second woman was the middle-aged woman he had seen first after his birth. Her name was Merin, and like Senna, she used to be a maid serving Arthur's mother. However, unlike Senna, she quickly ran over to Lady Elyria's side after his mother's death.
In response to Merin's shout, Arthur brought his index finger to his mouth in an exaggerated manner and pretended to be deep in thought for a moment.
"Who's boy? Aren't I a young master? You're too silly, Ms. Merin. Don't you know it's a crime for a servant to disrespect a noble? Ah, you don't have to worry, though. I won't tell on you, but you should really be careful. I wouldn't want such a kind lady to be flogged over something so silly." Arthur responded as if showing genuine concern for the old woman before releasing a child-like giggle.
Arthur's act had the intended effect as Merin found herself at a temporary loss for words causing Elyria to expertly step in and save her. "That's enough, Arthur. If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
Elyria didn't bother waiting for Arthur to respond and walked past him before she suddenly stopped after a few steps. "Oh, and by the way, I've just spoken with your father... Let me be the first to congratulate you on your new position." Elyria said as she hid a wicked smile behind her dainty hand.
It was the first genuine smile Arthur had ever seen from the woman, but it didn't make him happy at all. He didn't know what she was talking about, but if his new 'position' made Elyria happy, it would undoubtedly be painful for him.
After speaking Elyria didn't stick around, only leaving behind a girlish giggle as she quickly turned the corner at the end of the corridor.
"Well, that was ominous..." Arthur mumbled as the sound of Foster sighing in relief reached his ears.
"Why do you taunt her so much? You know she would love to see your corpse." Foster asked with a nervous and perplexed expression.
"That's exactly why." Arthur snorted. "She's never been subtle with her disdain for me, and even if I do nothing, she'll still want me dead. So why not get under her skin and at least earn her disdain. Anyway, enough about that. Finish telling me about the situation in the capital."
"Ah, right. So after the forces in the capital closed the portal, the emperor pulled back nearly half of the troops stationed in Bern to help close the other six. However, once the soldiers left, Agelia declared war through a surprise attack, and the imperial troops that stayed behind in Bern were nearly destroyed.
The latest news is that they're currently besieged in a Bernian city by a coalition of Agelian and Bernian troops. I was told the emperor intends to levy the empire's nobles for the first time in centuries."
Arthur wasn't really all that surprised by Agelia's attack. The Ollerin empire was pretty clear in its intention to remove both Agelia and Bern from the face of Nithe. It made sense for them to attack if they could deal a crippling blow.
He had no doubts that the empire expected some form of retaliation, but perhaps they couldn't foresee such a bold move from Agelia.
In the end, the losses of imperial troops amount to little in the grand scheme of things. The empire was massive, nearly twice the size of Bern and Agelia combined.
It had no shortage of able-bodied men to levy for war. Perhaps the emperor would be forced to make some unfavorable deals with the more prominent noble factions, but in the end, Bern and Agelia would fall.
Of course, the war had nothing to do with Arthur, but it never hurt being up to date on current affairs.
Arthur shot Foster an apologetic look. "Does that mean you'll be going to war soon?"
He was fond of Foster and his antics. Foster was probably the only person in the mansion who didn't feel the need to act like a child around since the man acted childish enough for the both of them.
"Hey, what's with that face!? It's like you're already at my funeral! I can easily kill ten—no fifteen Agellian dogs with my hands tied behind my back!" Foster said triumphantly, taking a hero's pose.
"And how would that work? Would you peck them to death like a bird?" Arthur asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, I would—Wait no—You know what I mean, young master." Foster whined.
After speaking with Foster a little more, Arthur entered the study, and as soon as he stepped inside, the stale scent of old books assailed his nostrils.
On either side of him stood floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with everything from cookbooks to books on philosophy and war tactics. It was certainly imposing, but it lacked substance as far as Arthur was concerned.
His raison de'tre, his most fundamental goal in this new life, was to escape death. He had felt the seduction of nihility, and it horrified him. He was convinced that the Buddhists were correct and that all mortals were locked in a never-ending cycle of reincarnation.
Some may find peace in knowing they keep existing in some form even after their ego is erased, but Arthur was not one of those people.
"Ah! You're here." A sudden voice called out the moment Arthur entered.
In the center of the study were four intricately carved desks, and seated at one of them was the bespectacled young man to whom the voice belonged. He appeared in his early-to-mid twenties, rather young for a tutor, Arthur thought.
He wore an eye-catching dark-green robe that Arthur had read about years prior. The robe was a type of identifying mark for mages where the color of the robe signified the circle that the mage had achieved.
However, he had read that most mages didn't wear them anymore as they had gone out of style more than a century ago. He searched his memories for what circle the dark green color represented but came up short as it was something he had only skimmed over years ago to clear his mind.
"My name is Levin Felridge. I'll be your tutor on magic from this day forth. I'm sure you've undoubtedly learned a few things on your own, but we'll be starting with the basics as the curriculum dictates. So if you have no other questions, let's begin." Levin said in a rather pompous voice.
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