Chapter 246
The Chancellor’s narrowed eyes had been glaring at the tufts of red hair poking out, but upon reaching Ardin, his expression visibly softened.
So talented mages really were beloved after all.
“Young Lord Ardin, I see. How fortuitous.”
The Chancellor beckoned Ardin over and began discussing something with him.
‘I need to deliver my letter too.’
While I was watching for an opening and stealing glances in that direction, Lionel spoke to me.
“The farther the distance traveled, the more severe the side effects.”
“You mean the dizziness?”
“Many times worse. Some feel a crushing pressure on their bodies, and it’s not uncommon for people to faint from headaches that feel like their skulls are splitting.”
Lionel’s words made me go pale.
After all, we had surely only moved within the tower itself this time. Yet even then, I’d floundered in a plunging, roller-coaster-like sensation. I couldn’t even imagine how much worse it could get.
It suddenly brought to mind the hangover-level aftereffects I’d felt the day I met Father and Vaikal in the Imperial Capital. Even that had been over a very short distance, and it had been miserable. At least divine healing had worked on it, which was fortunate.
But now our destination was Hered, a land spanning a full third of the Empire’s territory.
“Don’t worry. Young Lord Ardin will help.”
As if reading my thoughts, Lionel reassured me.
“That’s likely what they’re discussing now.”
“I see.”
Thank goodness there was a way to prepare. This was exactly why having Ardin along was the right call.
As I breathed in a sigh of relief, I watched Ardin and the Chancellor, and when the two finished their conversation, they walked over to us.
“Normally I let people take care of their own matters, but I’ll make a special exception this time.”
The look in the Chancellor’s eyes as he turned to me was anything but ordinary.
‘Hm…?’
That was the expression of someone gearing up to give a scolding. Why…?
“Thank you, Chancellor.”
When that gaze shifted to Lionel, it was genuinely chilling.
As Ardin headed toward Vivian and the rest of the party, the Chancellor approached me and Lionel.
Then, lowering his voice considerably, he said:
“I hear you’re pregnant?”
The unexpected question caught me completely off guard.
Had the lie Lionel told to protect me from the Imperial Family already spread this far?
“Young Lord Ardin informed me. Why would you keep something this important to yourself?”
W-Well… for one thing, I wasn’t actually pregnant, and it wasn’t exactly the sort of news you share with someone who’d drawn a firm line and called himself a stranger.
“Honestly, getting into trouble first and begging forgiveness later. You’re exactly like Belita.”
Wait. Mother did that too?
“You must never trust men too easily.”
The Chancellor shot a pointed look at Lionel through those sharp eyes and said:
“If the Duke makes you unhappy, run away and enroll at the academy. I may not be able to do much else, but protecting the students of this city is both my duty and my right.”
The Chancellor seemed to believe I would easily pass the academy entrance exams. Was the source of that confidence my mother, or my brother?
Vaikal was said to have been a prodigy, at least.
Before long, the Chancellor’s mana enveloped me. It didn’t penetrate inside my body, but it felt more like being layered in coat after coat of mana over my skin.
Seeing him put two or three times as much care into it compared to what he’d done for Lionel, the teleportation magic must be harmful to unborn children. There was no baby in my belly at the moment, but I should keep that in mind for the future.
Even after casting the spell, the Chancellor gazed at me with worried eyes, which gave me the courage to hand over the letter I’d prepared.
“Chancellor, this is a letter I wrote.”
“Hm…?”
“Please read it later.”
I flashed him a bright smile and stepped back a few paces to join Lionel.
Shortly after, an enormous surge of mana shuddered through the air, and the magic circle activated. My vision began to ripple.
Through the haze, I could barely make out the Chancellor clutching my letter and watching me, then tucking it into his robes.
‘Please make the wise choice.’
If the world fell, Cordeluc wouldn’t be spared either. I could only hope he would change his mind, if for nothing else than the sake of this academy.
The instant Lionel pulled me into his arms, an overwhelming pressure struck, as though being forced through a tunnel barely a handspan wide.
Yet it wasn’t terribly painful, similar to being under anesthesia, and I could endure it.
‘I hope Lionel is all right too.’
I had a sneaking suspicion the Chancellor had been rather half-hearted with Lionel’s protective spell.
