CFLBF CH 10

Philip irritably pushed aside the stack of papers whose ink had not even dried yet and pressed his fingers to his temples.

Under normal circumstances, by this time he should have been at the center of high society, which was buzzing with excitement over the upcoming hunting competition, showing off his splendid formal attire while enjoying himself with the young noble ladies. But reality was far less glamorous: mountains of documents awaiting his approval were piled up before him.

And the reason things had turned out this way?

‘Of all people, does the Duke really have to be the one saying that you don’t work?!’

The King had shouted in fury, almost to the point of screaming.

‘The moment Cedric took leave because of his chronic illness, problems even arose with supplies for the Royal Border Guard! The Duke asked me why the royal family was making his son, who isn’t even in good health, take care of all the trivial work that should be handled by the royal family. I have no face left, no face at all!’

Cedric had used his chronic illness as an excuse to step away from his duties, and as a result, the work he had left behind had spilled out from every corner of the kingdom in the form of an overwhelming mountain of paperwork.

But still…

“What illness? That lunatic is finally trying to pick a fight with me.”

Philip obviously didn’t believe a word of it. He knew all too well how utterly underhanded Cedric had been lately, constantly finding ways to trip him up and make things difficult for him.

I need to pay him back for all of this someday.

He was anxiously thinking that when one of his close aides burst through the door, clutching a file, and shouted,

“I found it, Your Highness! I finally found something decisive!”

He was one of the aides Philip had ordered to search for Cedric’s weaknesses. Philip irritably signed another document, flipped the page, and said,

“Quiet. If you’re here to tell me yet again that you saw Cedric laughing and having a good time with some noblewoman so we can accuse him of an affair, then leave. I don’t have the energy to put up with your incompetence.”

“No, Your Highness! This time, it’s real!”

The aide hurriedly dumped the documents onto the desk. Philip waved his hand in annoyance at the mess.

“Damn it, now they’re all mixed up!”

But then the words stamped at the bottom of the pile caught his eye:

‘Royal Society of Magical Studies — Official Seal.’

Philip hurriedly picked up the documents and scanned them.

“What is all this?”

“It is a report stating that weather manipulation occurred on the day of the lakeside picnic. After analyzing the mana waves, they determined that Lord Cedric was the one who caused the rain that day.”

The pen in Philip’s hand slipped and fell to the floor with a soft clack.

The pressure of the mountain of paperwork that had tormented him for days, along with the humiliating scolding he had received from his father, vanished as if it had been washed away.

In their place came a thrilling rush of excitement.

“Unauthorized use of magic within the capital…”

It was the exhilaration of finally getting one’s hands around someone’s throat.

Unauthorized use of magic within the capital—especially manipulating the weather under the authority of the royal family—was a grave crime tantamount to treason.

A disbelieving laugh escaped him.

Apparently, the lunatic had committed such an insane act without realizing he might be caught.

“What an arrogant bastard,” Philip muttered before turning happily toward his aide.

“This is certainly a report Father must hear about. Where is he?”

It was the first time he had ever asked about his father with such genuine delight.

And so, just two hours after Philip went to find the King, Cedric was summoned to the audience chamber.

The King sat with his head lowered, one hand pressed against his forehead as he stared at the Royal Society of Magical Studies’ report scattered across his desk. The strange atmosphere in the room was created by the combination of Philip’s peculiar sense of triumph and the King’s heavy exhaustion.

As soon as Cedric entered, he greeted the King with his usual confident bearing.

Philip thought,

That lunatic still has no idea what’s going on.

“Why did you do it?”

The question finally came after a long silence, and it sounded closer to resignation than anger.

From the King’s perspective, the situation was extraordinarily complicated.

The fact that the person responsible for protecting the kingdom’s magical system had manipulated the weather was both a disgrace to the royal family and a troublesome political liability.

Philip was slightly irritated that, even after Cedric had caused such a serious incident, his father was still bothering to ask him for an explanation. Nevertheless, he forced a pleasant smile and stepped forward.

“Father, look. Cedric has finally shown his true colors. Just because his accomplishments were reviewed a little more strictly during the recent postwar settlement, he chose to vent his frustration like this. You understand, don’t you? Since he is a member of the royal family, we cannot simply praise his achievements exactly as they are. You explained that to Cedric yourself, Father. He pretended to understand at the time, but behind our backs, he was pulling stunts like this and manipulating the capital according to his own will.”

Cedric, who had been standing there with a bored expression, let out a quiet sigh.

Philip interpreted the sigh as nothing more than the sound of a guilty man being caught and drove the point home.

“Above all, violently disturbing the skies above Emerald Lake, the very symbol of the capital, is practically a declaration of war against this country. We cannot overlook it. You must punish Cedric severely and restore discipline within the royal family. Unauthorized use of magic within the capital is a grave crime in itself, and the fact that he mocked Your Majesty’s mercy makes his offense even more serious.”

The King sighed.

It was only natural that his son was so excited that he couldn’t stop talking. Cedric, who had always seemed so perfect, had apparently handed Philip his own leash.

And if it had been anywhere else, perhaps it would have been different. But the skies above Emerald Lake carried a particularly significant symbolic meaning.

“If you were dissatisfied with your achievements, you should have submitted a formal petition. This time, you were arrogant.”

The King quietly rebuked Cedric in an exhausted voice.

In truth, the King secretly felt sorry for him. He knew that Cedric’s accomplishments had been deliberately diminished and his rewards unfairly reduced to suit Philip’s wishes.

In other words, Cedric had every reason to feel hurt and act recklessly.

But even so, if he had committed such an arrogant act, dealing with the aftermath would become troublesome. The King did not want to publicly punish Cedric too harshly after the royal family had already given him such inadequate recognition for his achievements.

However, Cedric’s next answer shattered the King’s generous assumption.

“That isn’t it.”

“Then what was it?”

At the King’s question, Cedric slowly and very respectfully dropped to one knee.

“I fell in love.”

A cold silence descended over the audience chamber.

The King’s hand, which had been resting against his forehead, froze.

Philip’s triumphant expression twisted into something almost grotesque.

“…What did you say?”

“I fell in love, so I did something crazy. I wanted to be trapped alone in a carriage with a young lady, so I made it rain. And because I wanted to stay by her side a little longer, I drove the carriage wheel into the mud. There was no political ambition, nor was I protesting the way my accomplishments were handled after the war. I simply… went mad over one woman.”

Cedric calmly confessed while staring at the floor.

If it had been political defiance, there would at least have been a plausible justification for his actions.

But the fact that he had manipulated the skies above the capital merely because of his affection for a woman was even more absurd—and insulting—to the King.

The King let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“All this… over a mere woman? You, the man responsible for the kingdom’s magic?”

“Yes.”

“Who in the world made you go this far?”

People naturally became curious when they heard an answer that defied common sense so completely.

The King suddenly wanted to know, and Cedric raised his head as though he had been waiting for the question.

He stared directly at Philip.

Philip’s face tightened in irritation, as if wondering why Cedric was looking at him.

Then, as though he suddenly realized something, his expression went blank.

Then pale.

And finally, bright red.

Only then did the pieces fall into place.

The person who had been connected to Cedric’s increasingly insane behavior all this time…

“…Don’t tell me that woman is—”

Philip muttered blankly.

Cedric innocently nodded.

“Yep. The one who’s been designated as your fiancée.”

Philip’s mouth fell open grotesquely.

The composure with which he had been attacking and provoking Cedric only moments ago disappeared without a trace.

He had known for a long time that Cedric was arrogant and bizarre, but he had never imagined that the man was crazy enough to declare, right in front of the King, that he intended to take away his betrothed.

“Are you out of your mind? You’re talking about my fiancée—!”

“You haven’t even put your seal on it yet.”

“…”

“Technically, she’s only someone who might become your fiancée. So we don’t actually have any relationship yet, do we? Besides, if she absolutely has to marry a member of the royal family, I don’t see any reason why that person can’t be me.”

“Cedric! You really don’t know your place—!”

Philip clenched his fists and shouted, unable to contain himself.

Cedric didn’t even blink.

Still kneeling, he merely tilted his head and slowly looked Philip up and down, from his feet to the top of his head.

It was a gaze that seemed to ask:

What exactly makes you better than me?

“Don’t get confused. You’re the one who truly doesn’t know his place. You actually think you can just claim Lavinia’s side as though it naturally belongs to you. Is something wrong with your head?”

After Cedric’s irritated remark, a bizarre silence filled the audience chamber.

Philip stood there blankly, looking as though his soul had been knocked out of him.

The King, meanwhile, seemed to have moved beyond headaches. He couldn’t even summon the energy to laugh anymore.

His nephew, the man responsible for protecting the kingdom’s magical system, had summoned a storm over the capital just because he wanted to steal his own son’s fiancée.

If this became known throughout high society, the royal family’s prestige would surely hit rock bottom.

“Madman… You truly are insane. If you weren’t my nephew, your head would already be hanging in the town square!”

The King slammed his trembling hand down on the desk.

“Take this lunatic away at once! Confine yourself to your estate and behave yourself for the time being. If I see even a single strand of your hair outside those walls during your confinement, I will burn out every last one of your mana circuits and exile you to the northern frontier!”

Despite the King’s furious orders, Cedric obediently lowered his head to the very end.

As he was practically dragged out of the audience chamber, his departing figure looked almost relieved—as though confessing everything had actually lifted a weight from his shoulders.

Only Philip remained standing there, utterly dumbfounded, feeling as though he had just been struck from behind.