Golden Mage - Chapter 67
Volume 3, Episode 7
As the nobles all showed their agreement, Viscount Terrendel wore a strange smile. He glanced at Duke Tregenvally once and continued speaking.
“So, I disagree with Duke Tregenvally’s opinion. I believe it would be more desirable for me to take charge of the forces to defend against the monster invasion, rather than attacking the Hessen Kingdom.”
“…….”
Silence fell. The faces of the Second Prince’s faction, including Duke Tregenvally, turned sour.
Of course! Viscount Terrendel was overtly demanding that the Second Prince’s faction transfer their power to him.
Duke Tregenvally stood up from his seat and addressed Viscount Terrendel.
“Are you saying I should hand over all our forces to you?”
Viscount Terrendel responded in kind.
“It’s important to demonstrate the kingdom’s strength, but building a solid foundation is even more crucial. Now is the time to enhance our power further and be better prepared for the monster invasion, don’t you think?”
“I cannot agree with the Viscount’s opinion. Our kingdom’s power is at its peak. With this strength, if we conquer the Hessen Kingdom, our own kingdom will have even greater influence.”
“But we might be vulnerable to monster invasions.”
Back and forth they went. The conference room became noisy in an instant.
“As expected…”
King Redorf observed the two princes’ sharp confrontation with a grimace. A friendly competition for the sake of the kingdom was ideal, but the intensifying dispute had surpassed a friendly rivalry and was turning into something harmful.
King Redorf made up his mind firmly. This discussion wouldn’t end anytime soon.
He felt the need to change the atmosphere and thought of introducing the mage he entrusted himself to, Marquis El, into the discussion.
Bang!
He knocked on the table, and all eyes turned to King Redorf. He looked at the nobles and spoke.
“It seems this discussion won’t conclude anytime soon. To freshen things up, let me introduce the mage who has entrusted himself to our kingdom.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Marquis Liart responded, catching on to King Redorf’s intentions. Others also expressed their agreement.
Although divided in opinion, Marquis Liart was the highest-ranking noble in the Tollian Kingdom. Moreover, they all felt that continuing the meaningless quarrel was unproductive, so they willingly agreed.
“…….”
The noise subsided, and all eyes focused on King Redorf. He then briefly opened his mouth.
“Let me introduce the mage who has entrusted himself to our kingdom, Elemis.”
With his words, a young man entered the conference room.
He appeared to be around 20 years old, with blonde hair. If dressed as a woman, he could pass for a beautiful and androgynous lady. The golden robe he was wearing complemented him well, exuding a strong aura of a golden mage.
He was El.
As El stepped into the conference room, he calmly surveyed the surroundings.
When his gaze met Marquis Liart and Desillon, they showed welcoming expressions.
However, the other nobles didn’t have such cheerful looks.
Understandably so. From their perspective, El was a significant threat.
Mages were scarce in the Tollian Kingdom. Even neighboring kingdoms lacked mages, causing magic to decline significantly. Hence, when a mage entrusted themselves to the Tollian Kingdom, it became customary to introduce them during kingdom conferences.
Of course, not all mages received such treatment. Only those who were at least 3rd Class mages were given this honor. The attack magic that a 3rd Class mage could unleash was powerful enough to slay monsters in a single blow.
Given the policy of favoring mages to confront the monsters in Monster Land, such criteria were only natural.
In other words, the mage standing before them now must be at least a 3rd Class mage.
That meant he was an exceptional talent. El’s appearance in this uncertain situation felt like a ripple on calm waters.
El glanced at King Redorf.
Having stood in one place and listened to everything in the conference, El understood King Redorf’s indecisiveness between the First and Second Prince’s factions. This was indirectly weakening King Redorf’s authority.
El’s gaze shifted to the nobles. All their attention was already focused on him.
El introduced himself politely.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Elemis, the mage who has entrusted himself to the Tollian Kingdom.”
Most of the nobles responded with cautious eyes, full of vigilance.
Amidst this, there was someone else with a different expression. It was Marquis Lark, who had accompanied Marquis Terrendel to the conference.
While everyone’s gaze was filled with vigilance, Lark was looking at El with eyes blazing with jealousy.
“That guy must be the mage of Count Luvius. He must have approached her because he was infatuated with Lowelin.”
Thinking that, Lark cast a fleeting glance at Lowelin.
She appeared very pleased to see El.
But Lark misunderstood. In his eyes, it looked like Lowelin was looking at El as a lover. This further fueled Lark’s jealousy.
“I can’t let this go. Lowelin is mine!”
This clouded Lark’s judgment.
And then he made up his mind.
He stood up from his seat. As El was introducing himself, Lark suddenly stood up, drawing everyone’s gaze towards him.
Although Lark didn’t hold a high position, he was the nephew of Marquis Terrendel, a Sword Expert, and a talent of the kingdom, so he had enough authority to speak during the conference.
With Lark standing up in the middle of El’s introduction, King Redorf couldn’t interfere.
“Why don’t you wait until the introduction is over to speak? Why do you have something to say while the introduction is ongoing?”
As the King, King Redorf couldn’t help but find it uncomfortable.
El gave a nod that seemed to say it was okay, and King Redorf gave Lark permission.
“Very well. Speak your mind.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Bowing his head to King Redorf, Lark looked around at the nobles with a confident expression.
“The essence of what I want to say is that the kingdom’s social hierarchy has been shaken lately. Recently, I had an encounter with this mage.”
As he said that, Lark glanced at El for a moment before looking at Lowelin.
“As you all know, I am currently engaged to Countess Rubius. And when I recently met this mage at the capital’s inn, he insulted me.”
Lark’s voice grew louder. At that moment, Lowelin recalled what she had said to him and what El had done.
She felt her face burn with embarrassment and anger.
With this, Lark burst out in a fiery rage. He then began to vent his emotions. As he pointed at El, he spoke.
“At that time, the mage insulted me. Even if I have no title, I am the second son of the central figure of the kingdom, Marquis Terrendel. Even without a title, I am a noble. Yet, he disrespected me.”
The improved version takes care of some grammatical errors, adds descriptive details, and makes the dialogue flow more naturally in informal English. However, it’s important to note that without access to the original Korean text, some contextual details might be missing or unclear.