My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 51
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 51
* * *
Present
After the crown prince left, I lay still in bed, lost in my thoughts.
I wonder what's gonna happen to Lancer. It wasn't his fault, of course. It was no secret that he was incapable of controlling his magical outbursts. This incident was more of a mistake or an accident.
No matter how mystical it seemed, it was clear that Lancer was the one to cause damage to the Imperial Palace, the heart of the Empire.
Even if his family is one of the imperial family's closest confidants, this matter can't be taken lightly.
Thankfully, there were no casualties.
When I first heard that, I thought it was a miracle. There were only a few people left after the ball, but somehow no one was crushed to death by the collapsing walls.
Perhaps Lancer was subconsciously protecting them.
That's what he would've done. That's what I want to believe in.
I lay still, thinking about him until I fell asleep.
I don't know how many hours passed.
Bang bang bang!
The knock on the door didn't even sound like a knock, it was pounding.
Huh? What?
Startled by the noise, fatigued, I force my eyes open.
Just as I'm about to get out of bed, the door bursts open. "My lady!"
Phoebe appeared from the door, she looked like she was ready to tear it open.
"Uh, Phoebe…."
Phoebe ran over and hugged me tightly. So tight I was gasping for air.
"Ph-Phoebe! What's wrong?" Bewildered, I tried to break free of her embrace, but she wouldn't let me.
"My lady…." Her thoughts could be heard, 'I thought I was gonna lose you.'
I froze and stopped trying to push her away. She was crying inside.
"...." I sat still, listening to her inner thoughts, and began to pat her back with one hand.
"I'm sorry, Phoebe."
Come to think of it, I realised that as much as I was worried about Lancer, I should've let the others know that I was okay.
Come to think of it again, do my mother and father even know I'm in the palace? This time, I was short on thought.
"...Don't apologise. I'm fine." She said that, but her thoughts told a different story. 'If anything were to happen to her, I'd die. I can't live without her….'
Well, for her sake, I must live a long life, then.
As I was patting her on the back, the imperial maids running behind her came into my sight.
They bow their heads, unable to hide their regret. "I apologise, Princess. Your maid insisted on seeing you…."
"No, it's all right, I happen to be having a conversation with my handmaiden right now. Will you leave the room for a moment?"
They obeyed my command and left.
"Do my parents know I'm here?" I ask after she calmed down a bit.
She nods. "Yes, Artisina, the basta- No, Viscount told me what happened between you and Lord Lancer, and I relayed it to the Duke and Duchess."
"Good job." So much for being my dedicated handmaiden.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
After observing me for a moment, Phoebe speaks up. "Is… your forehead okay?"
"Huh?"
"I heard that you hit your head on Lord Lancer. Are you feeling any headaches or anything else?"
"Oh, nothing." I touched my forehead with one hand as I spoke, but she didn't seem satisfied with my answer.
I wondered what was wrong until I heard her inner thoughts,
'It must've hurt a lot since Lord Lancer is a great stone….'
(t/n I'm assuming this is either some idiom or wordplay or she means that archmages are precious like gemstones and since gemstones are stones, it must've hurt when Skyla hit her head on one…. I don't know)
I deliberately turned my head away to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst out at any moment.
As I did so, my eyes caught sight of a window. I look out to see sunbeams shining down.
Hmm?
I'd been thinking about Lancer the whole time and hadn't noticed how late in the afternoon it must be.
I turn my attention back to Phoebe. "How many hours have I passed out?"
"You should have asked how many days, not hours." She replied.
"What? I was out for that long?"
"Yes. It's been a day and a half."
"You're lying." My first reaction came out of my mouth.
No way, I'd been asleep for that long? Was I some kind of sleeping beauty? Or a snake enjoying a long nap after predating?
As I was frustrated at the unthinkable, I realised, "Then you don't mean… His Highness was by my side the whole time?"
Phoebe nods, her expressions the same as always, "Most likely. His Highness did say he would stay here until you woke up."
Oh, god. I want to bang my forehead with Lancer again. Better yet, if there was a rat hole nearby, I'd open it up my size and crawl into it.
I thought I fainted for a couple of hours since the crown prince made his exit casual, but it turns out it's been a day and a half?
I grasped my mind and began to worry in a truly aristocratic way, "Wait, why am I in an indoor dress? Who changed me?"
"I changed you."
"Did I wash up?"
"I washed you with a wet towel."
Thank goodness I didn't greet the crown prince with dirt all over.
But my relief was short-lived.
His Highness waited for me….
I'm starting to feel guilty, after all, I wasted his time. I better apologise when I see him again.
But there's something more important than that right now. "So… what's gonna happen to Lancer?"
Lancer.
I can't grab the crown prince and ask him, and I certainly can't call in the maids who don't know what happened. So Phoebe coming to me now is a good opportunity.
"...." She holds her head down slightly as if she guessed I would eventually ask this. "When my lady was lying on the bed, an imperial trial was held with the Emperor himself as a judge. I was also present as a witness yesterday."
"Ah…."
An imperial trial. Ordinary trials would be handled by judges appointed by the Emperor, but occasionally, in national matters, the Emperor himself would appear as one.
And Lancer was the defendant in an imperial trial.
Lancer, you punk… you've never experienced anything like this in your life….
Realising the gravity of the situation, I bite my lower lip slightly, listening as Phoebe continues.
"According to a gatekeeper who was on the stand as a witness before me, the walls came crashing down not long after the ball ended."
This is what Phoebe roughly told me:
After the ball had officially ended, the gatekeepers gathered near the gates to direct traffic so that the guests could leave the ballroom efficiently.
Not long after the majority of the nobles left something happened. According to the gatekeeper, a magnificent light suddenly burst from inside the palace.
At first, he thought it was from a chandelier that had fallen. But instead of diminishing, the light grew like a snowball, and soon engulfed the whole city.
The puzzle pieces I've gotten were coming together after hearing Phoebe's report.
So that's why the mansion was shaking when Hubert was talking about being the Empire's number one defence.
The magic was strong enough to envelop the imperial palace, so of course it would have shaken the entire capital. No wonder the commoners were frightened and rushed out of their homes when I was walking there.
Gatekeepers at the scene also testified that they heard an explosion coming from the palace walls.
The imperial knights sent men to guard the collapsed walls along with search parties to find out who was responsible for the cause. But the luminous light that lit up the imperial palace was soon extinguished.
That must be when Lancer went to hide.
He must've been scared that his rampage could hurt an innocent person. Lancer was a softie at heart.
"So… what was the outcome of the trial?"
"...." Phoebe stayed silent.
She looked at me with a wavering gaze for a long while. As if she'd made a great decision, she clutched the hem of her skirt and spoke,
"...The Emperor has banished Lord Lancer to his Northern Territory."
"No!" I yelled out unknowingly. "T-The Northern Territory? Am I hearing this right?"
"Yes."
My head was throbbing. The Northern Territory? They're sending Lancer to such a horrible place where the four seasons are winter, winter, winter, and winter?
To such an extreme zone the sun doesn't reach, where half of the year is shrouded in darkness because of it, and where it's cold enough to make your snot freeze the moment it runs from your nose?
I spring to my feet and run towards the door.
"My lady, where are you going!"
"I must see the Emperor. It's too harsh of a punishment to banish him there."
"But my lady! Although what Lord Lancer did was an accident, it's technically a sin worthy of death since it harmed national security!"
Phoebe catches up to me and tries to dissuade me.
"The Emperor has thought of the honour of the Soli Duchy and sentenced him to only banishment! You must not protest for any less than that!"
Of course, she was right through and through. However, I lost all my rationality at the mention of him being banished to the North.
"Lancer doesn't wear pyjamas when he sleeps!"
"What?"
"If such a man goes to the North, he'll freeze to death! No way is that gonna happen"
I throw the door open, forgetting that I'm currently in my pyjamas.
As soon as I did, My face slammed into the chest of someone who was standing directly in front of the door.
"Ouch."
"Ow, be careful."
Someone caught me with one hand when I fell, hugging me near them.
I lift my head to see a familiar face, "His Highness…?"
What, you told me to rest earlier, why are you here again?
"I came here because I heard that the princess had recovered enough to be able to talk to the maids…." He slowly lowers his eyes, inspecting my physical condition. "...And unintentionally learnt about Lord Lancer's sleeping habits."
"Ah."
"For your information, I wear pyjamas to sleep."
Oh, sure… I didn't ask. I'm not curious, either.
