My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 63
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 63
* * *
The crown prince never speaks in vain. The next day after I visited the Imperial Palace, an imperial messenger arrived at the Kaerun Duchy.
“...What order has His Highness given me?"
"He has ordered that from now on, any important documents to be handled by the Duke of Kaerun should only be handled by the Duke himself, not by his deputy."
Duke Kaerun stares at the messenger in disbelief, then thumps his chest in retort.
"No, what on earth has my precious daughter done wrong? Are you suggesting that Skyla hasn't done her job correctly?"
“Well, it's not like that….”
"Listen carefully! I don't know what His Highness was thinking to issue such an order, but I am so very proud of my daughter Skyla, and I believe she can do anything!"
To anyone who heard it, his proclamation is a glimpse into his undying love for his daughter. How heartwarming.
But what he's thinking is this,
‘No, if I have to work more, I'll have less time to spend with my sugar cookie!’
"Father." Frustrated, I call out to him.
He glares at the lion before beginning to throw words at me, as though he'd been waiting for me.
"Yes, my daughter, Skyla! That's great! I want you to tell this messenger of how well you're doing as the deputy—”
"Do your job."
“...?”
"I'm supposed to be training Lancer right now, and if he doesn't make any progress in a year, he'll be exiled to the north, so I need you to be working."
“....” My father's pupils dilate at my stinging jab. He stands there with his mouth open in shock, unable to speak. “...God, Skyla… you, how could you….”
"While we're at it, I'll add one more word." With a shallow sigh, I continue, "I'm going to live as I please for the next year, okay?"
"What? You… how are you going to live in earnest when you've only been going outside for business?!"
My father eventually collapses on the couch and starts punching the innocent couch cushions.
He probably wants to show his frustration by punching something, but unfortunately, the cushion he's punching is made of goose feathers, so it wasn't effective. The cushion just makes insignificant sounds like he's shaking a pompom.
"Uh, well… I've delivered the crown prince's message, so I'll be heading back to the palace now….”
‘The atmosphere of this house is so weird… the head of the household is throwing a fit like a child because he doesn't want to work….’
Having unwittingly witnessed a father-daughter conflict in real-time, the messenger slowly disappears from the parlour.
I glanced down at my devastated father. "Do you hate doing what you used to do?"
“...No, it's not that.”
"I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! I hate that I can't believe I have to sit at my desk in my office and do paperwork while leaving behind my wife, the prettiest woman in the world! This damned world!
"Then you can work with Mother in the office," I say in response to Duke Kaerun's ridiculous tantrum.
"...Merging offices?"
"After all, Mother has her own work to do, like managing the duchy's budget and conducting cooperative projects with other noble families, so why don't you share an office with her so you can see her while you work?"
Upon hearing my suggestion, my father lits up as if he'd had a great epiphany. A large exclamation point seems to appear on the side of his head.
"Skyla… are you a genius by any chance?"
"No."
But my father isn't listening to me at all.
He turns next to him to look at my mother. "Duchess, our daughter must be a genius! Well, it's only natural when she's born with your wisdom!"
"Oh, Duke. No, our daughter must be smart because she was born with the Duke's brilliant intelligence."
"Haha, my wife is such a sweet talker! How can you have both a pretty face and a good heart?!"
"It's all because she wants to look good for the Duke!"
My parents embrace each other on the spot.
Subsequent words are omitted.
I leave the parlour with my eyes closed after seeing something I should've never seen.
* * *
Thump, thump, thump!
The sound of hammering can be heard from downstairs in the mansion.
My parents originally had their offices right next door to each other, and as they were impatient, my parents immediately tore down the wall between them.
I mean, they do almost everything together except go to the bathroom, so they'd give anything to be closer to each other.
"It's noisy," I mumble.
I'm sitting in my chambers, not my office, for the first time in a long time.
Now that the crown prince had forcibly taken the work from me and given it back to Duke Kaerun, I have no reason to go to my office anymore.
“If it's so noisy, why don't you go outside for a while?” Phoebe, who was making my bed, suggests. I glance at her. "Outside? You could hear that hammering in the garden."
"Why don't you leave the duchy, and go to the market in the capital?"
"The market?"
"Yes, it's almost autumn, so the harvest is in full swing, isn't it? I've heard from the other maids that there's a lot of new stuff in the market. It would be quite fun to go and see."
Of course, Phoebe advised that with her self-interest in mind.
‘Take me with you, too! Buy me a matching bracelet!’
"Hmm."
On second thought, it doesn't seem like a bad idea. My schedule for the day has been cleared anyway, so I don't have anything to do.
If I stayed here, I'd have to listen to my father and mother hammer away all day to combine their offices. Furthermore, I can already smell the dust from the broken walls downstairs.
"All right, let's go. You should get dressed, too, Phoebe."
"Yes." Phoebe clasps her hands together politely and bows to me.
‘Aaaah! I'm going on a date with you alone! I'm so excited! I'm so glad I was born!’
Inside, she's jumping up and down like a frog on fire.
Unfortunately, her joy is short-lived.
"Oh, and let's bring Lancer."
"...Pardon?"
"I'm taking Lancer to the market with me, so call me in about half an hour to pick him up at the Soli Duchy."
"Are you sure… you'll be okay?" After staring at me blankly, Phoebe questions.
"What do you mean, will I be okay?"
"I mean, that… just a few days ago, Lord Lancer went on a rampage and hurt my lady, and yet you want to take him to the market with you….”
"That's all the more reason to bring him." I declare to her.
When you think about it, Lancer's world is so small, so narrow, so thin. All he has is his family, me, and my parents and servants who occasionally spoke to him.
“Such is the fate of those born to be archmages.”
I recall Prince Cade's words.
“Archmages were born with a power that no one else in their time possesses, so people will naturally keep their distance in fear of them.”
Then he let out a dry laugh as if he'd remembered something funny.
“There were only two types of people who approached my sister with interest: those who are simply curious, or the bad guys who want to use her magic for their gain.”
When I heard him, I nodded in agreement. Prince Cade continued slowly.
“So my parents have always tried to control the people she meets, and as a result, she became socially isolated. But I suppose that's part of the deal with being born an archmage.”
I couldn't agree more with him. Although there's no one around Lancer but me and his family now, he hadn't always been without company.
When I look back to my childhood, there were quite a few people around Lancer.
Mostly those who were curious about his magic, or, as Prince Cade said, those who wanted to gain something with his magic.
There was even a demon lord from a faraway land who came to persuade the Duke and Duchess of Soli to take Lancer with him.
Come to think of it, Lancer was nearly kidnapped as a child.
It happened when members of the Soli Duchy travelled to a nearby province.
While the Duke and Duchess were distracted by their other two sons running around and playing, a group of men with black hoods covering their faces jumped out and tried to snatch Lancer away.
Of course, the kidnapping was a futile attempt, as Lancer used magic to incapacitate them on the spot.
“What do you do with these people?”
Lancer asked as he continued to suck on the lollipop he was holding, pinning those people to the ground with his gravity spell. For a kid who was nearly kidnapped, that was a pretty simple reaction.
After that incident, the Duke and Duchess made sure Lancer had no unnecessary contact with outsiders growing up, so he didn't attend an academy and was home-schooled.
He'd be fascinated if he saw the market, wouldn't he?
The thought of his surprise and delight instantly lifted my spirits.
"Why are you smiling?" Phoebe asks, and I jump out of my seat, suddenly conscious of the smile on my face.
"I'm going to change into my outdoor clothes. You get ready, too."
"Okay."
And so half an hour later, ready to go out, Phoebe and I climb into the carriage driven by Ticef to head for the Soli Duchy.
