At the dining table that morning, the Hainar Family was joined by three special guests for breakfast. Everyone was seated in their usual positions, except that Princess Leia sat beside Ellis—both girls seemed quite friendly and familiar with each other as they giggled and talked among themselves in low voices.

  Master Vincent and his disciple Epher were seated beside the Count, chatting freely and casually. Master Vincent especially could not stop talking about the city.

  Serin took a sip of his tea casually, secretly observing the Count and the Countess, trying to examine their expressions and demeanour to confirm his suspicions. Already he could see that there was a shadow beneath the Countess’s eyes. On the other hand, the Count seemed like his usual self, but Serin could sense something different about him that day.

  While the Count was busy talking with Master Vincent, Serin narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out the source of the oddity he could subconsciously sense.

  Then suddenly, Serin drew a sharp breath in surprise, finally identifying the source of the strangeness.

  One of the Count’s fingers was missing a ring that he usually wore.

  He was a very disciplined man who was always impeccable in how he presented himself before others, so the fact that he had forgotten to put on one of his rings was quite interesting.

  Furthermore, the Count’s expression seemed a little artificial, as if the muscles on his face were frozen. One should never underestimate an aristocrat’s ability to control their facial expressions to perfection—even a theatre actor would pale in comparison.

  But perhaps most significantly, Serin could bet his life that he had not seen those streaks of grey in the long dark hair of the Count the previous day.

  What could have caused his hair to turn grey overnight?

  To Serin, the reason was obvious—especially after what Jagga had told him.

  “Hey… are you okay?” Eldric leaned closer to Serin and whispered, his gaze tinged with suspicion.

  Serin immediately calmed down due to the Anchor Blessing and jolted out of his daze when he heard Eldric’s voice.

  “Uh, I’m fine… It’s nothing,” he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a silky handkerchief.

  Eldric narrowed his eyes even more suspiciously.

  “Really? You’re so pale…”

  Before Serin could respond, everyone’s attention suddenly shifted to the Count as he began speaking.

  “In three days, we will face the seasnake.”

  The hall was immediately shrouded in dark clouds of worry. Everyone stiffened, their nerves suddenly tense.

  Master Vincent chuckled lightly.

  “Worry not. We, the Magi, are masters of handling Chaos Adherents—as no one understands Chaos better than we do.”

  The Count nodded and stretched his hands in a welcoming gesture.

  “We are grateful for your assistance, Master Vincent.”

  “Not at all. It is our pleasure that we could be of some help.” Master Vincent smiled widely.

  Epher also smiled confidently. He took a bite out of the soft, creamy pastry and said,

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “My Master’s primary affinity is Lightning. This will be very beneficial in the battle.”

  Eldric, Count Hainar, and even the Countess looked at Master Vincent with shock and admiration, making Serin rub his head in confusion as he could not quite understand their reactions.

  In fact, this was simply one of the many blind spots in Serin’s knowledge. He did not know much about how magic worked in Eidryth.

  “Your Highness, may I?” Princess Leia noticed the confused frown on Serin’s face and asked with an understanding smile.

  “Yes, please,” Serin nodded immediately. He was eager to learn more about the Magi and their powers.

  “Magic is simply the manipulation of the Worldly Laws using Chaos as a medium to comprehend and wield those laws. All Magi—that is, all those with the affinity to interact with Chaos—are equal in the sense that they share equal potential.”

  Princess Leia paused to drink her tea, while at the same time giving Serin a moment to digest the information.

  How interesting… equal in potential? As in there is no ceiling threshold? That should not be possible.

  “But there must be some sort of limitation, right? Otherwise, wouldn’t all Magi be Masters and Grandmasters?” Serin voiced his doubts cautiously.

  Master Vincent laughed, looking at Serin with appreciation.

  “Correct! How can there be such a good thing as true equality? However, in a sense, it is indeed true that Chaos is equally generous to all Magi.”

  Serin recalled something he had read briefly in the Chronicles of the Known and Unknown World. His perception of magic—at least from Earth—was that different users could only access a certain pool of mana. In this world, it would be Chaos.

  However, that did not seem to be the case in Eidryth.

  “The infamous Shnikevrov Incident… it was called, I believe.”

  The moment Serin said this, he immediately regretted it when he saw Master Vincent and Epher’s expressions fall drastically. Even Princess Leia seemed unsettled.

  “Apologies,” Serin said, lowering his head slightly.

  Master Vincent smiled bitterly and shook his head.

  “There is no need to apologise, Your Highness. History teaches us not to repeat the same mistakes. Attempting to cast high-ranked spells without authorisation is strictly forbidden. It is the greatest taboo.”

  Epher sighed.

  “That unfortunate incident is a shame for the Magi Order and also a lesson. The Magi Order has taken measures to prevent such incidents from happening ever since.”

  “Ahem.”

  Princess Leia cleared her throat and changed the subject.

  “The reason we will have an advantage against Akh’Thal is that only a rare few Magi possess the required aptitude for lightning spells—and lightning is a perfect counter against water.”

  Serin finally understood why everyone seemed so shocked and impressed. He did not need further explanation to realize that such an ability must be extremely rare and difficult to obtain.

  “Then I am relieved!” the Count said in satisfaction, truly looking happy as the muscles on his face loosened naturally. His smile no longer appeared artificial.

  Serin glanced at Master Vincent and gulped.

  He could not help but think how Master Vincent would react if he knew that the Hainar Family had been accused of serious allegations concerning salt—the Empire’s dragon scale.

  Perhaps this is why the Count isn’t making the news public. He must have received the letter after we returned.

  Serin pondered silently.

  “Lord Hainar, have other preparations been made?” Master Vincent asked.

  “Yes. The port has been evacuated along with the surrounding vicinity. The ships have been temporarily moved away from our shores, and word has been sent that the port will be closed until further notice.”

  The Count glanced at Lady Elayne and Eldric with appreciation as he spoke.

  “Apart from this, our cannons are also prepared and facing the sea. High Priest Velenor has also been notified and will be ready when the time comes.”

  Count Hainar concluded confidently and resolutely.

  “Good! Cheers to victory!” Master Vincent raised his glass of wine.

  “Cheers to victory!”

  Everyone echoed the toast. Of course, only the Count drank wine purely out of respect to Master Vincent. Otherwise, who would be so strange as to drink wine so early in the morning?

  The breakfast continued on a brighter and more positive note than it had begun, and even the Count and Lady Elayne seemed a little relieved.

  Naturally, the others assumed they had merely been stressing over the threat from Akh’Thal. No one other than Serin seemed to have noticed the shadow of worry and fear surrounding the couple.

  Pondering the information given by Jagga, the strange nightmares he had been having, and the instincts that were quietly sending him nervous signals, Serin had no appetite.

  In fact, he did not even notice when breakfast came to an end.

  Serin only woke from his daze when Epher approached him afterward.

  “Your Highness, would you join us today to see the festival? It’s the second-to-last day, and after hearing and seeing so much until now, I’m looking forward to seeing the city for a change.”

  Serin thought it would be a good opportunity to interact more with the Magi and learn about them.

  Besides, he had been rather depressed recently and needed a change of pace.

  Perhaps he could even try the cakes baked by the sisters of Hymund and Symund.

  With that thought in mind, he readily agreed without hesitation.