I reached into the inner pocket of my fur-lined black coat, retrieving a small bottle of pills. With a sigh, I pulled out the stopper.
The bug beneath my foot wiggled. I ignored him, shaking two pills into my palm, giving them a second look, then adding five more.
"Who sent you guys?" I whispered, my voice husky and sharp from years of smoking.
As the pills began to work, I cast a simple magic from my recently developed series, [The Miracle Series], and spoke inwardly. My words were transferred directly into another's mind.
'Sethon, get the kids out here. We can't refuse them this practice.'
*'Of course, sir. What better payment for assassins?'*
I cut the magic and cast a binding spell on the assassin beneath my foot. A sharp pain teased my heart, making my eyes squint.
"Who sent you guys?"
Silence.
The assassin only kicked around, refusing to answer. I sighed again. I had sensed them enter my mana sensing range during my research, and now this one wouldn't even make things easy for me. Time wasted.
'Now I won't be able to go after the other one.'
"Which of the noble houses sent you this time? Go on." My tone was low, my words confined within the silencing magic I had cast. He still did not answer.
Finally, I reached into my coat and retrieved a certain item—a mask. It was common in my past life, but here, it was unique to me: Henisin Montreign. Its front bore a cruel, grinning smile.
The man's eyes dilated, and I heard his bladder give way.
"Pl-please, please, spare me."
"Who sent you, and why?" I asked, knowing they weren't after me. 'Probably after one of the noble brats.'
I stared into his eyes under the bright light of the full moon.
"I... I—"
"Don't lie. I know you're their leader." He had the strongest mana signature of the group.
"It was House Tefania."
"Ah, so..."
'No wonder they enrolled Jasmine.'
I touched the man's forehead. Nothing happened, yet I knew otherwise. Smoke escaped from his now-empty eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, proof that my spell had worked.
What did it matter that the series had been banned by the Ministry of Magic and Supernatural Complexities? I was the minister.
"So High House Tefania sent Jasmine to the Mage Tower just to take her out and move against me and Aisin."
"We've been discovered! Fall back!" came a gruff shout.
I walked steadily away from the screams and flashes of magic and swords, returning to the tower. It seemed the time had come. Aisin had begun releasing information about his plan. I would need to travel back to the capital.
Then my heart skipped a beat.
A sudden, violent jerk—it stopped. I couldn't breathe. My head felt like it would swell and explode. My breath was caught, my eyes bulging. Yet my hands fumbled through my coat, searching—past packs of cigarettes, bottles of pills, potions—until I found one. At the last moment, I realized I had forgotten the stopper.
Against every instinct, I cast a simple yet painful spell. I only knew it had worked when the liquid finally flowed down my throat, tasting as sweet as the kiss of Gilia.
I picked myself up, took in a deep breath, dusted off my coat, and kept walking.
'I need a new heart. These drugs are too brutal.'
I looked up, letting the chill night air play with my long black hair and kiss my skin as it blew past me. From the meadow ground, I gazed at the castle perched atop a peak—a stark black silhouette against the moonlight shining from behind it. This had been my project for the past seven years. The Mage Tower—a place where my Severed Hands and I personally cultivated talents who had no choice but to aid my brother's goals as long as they had attended this institute.
"Winchester, who had the best performance in the nuisance earlier?" I asked my First Hand.
"Luis Grolton and Fabii Resnad. Although not among the top three or five, Jasmine performed quite well. I think she's more suited to martial arts than mage combat," Winchester replied. Her voice was flowery and beautiful, yet there was no attraction to be perceived in her wicked, unsmiling pale face.
"Hmmm, I see. I'll be taking her to the capital with me."
"Oh, and Fabii has also reached the accumulated points required for graduation."
"Inform him and Jasmine to meet me at the car park."
I tied a towel around my waist and stepped into the bath.
Not long after, I dressed in my signature high-waisted, tailored pants, a long-sleeved cotton top, and my heavy coat.
"Sir, good morning. I'm terribly sad to tell you that your message last night ruined my sleep, and I am unable to drive you with a good conscience," Sethon said in his distinct, articulate manner of speech.
I didn't bother arguing. Of all the men I had known in my twenty long years since reincarnating into this body, Sethon was by far the most frightening existence I had encountered.
"Then go back to your room and sleep until you get uglier and fatter than you already are," I said, walking down the stone hallways without turning back. After all, I had to be in the capital before nightfall. I had a feeling things would begin to get messy before the week's end.
"By the Warrens, if I'm as terribly ugly as you are, then what do you say about yourself?" he retorted in a self-satisfied tone before remembering to add, "Sir."
"Gas off, Sethon."
Managing to insult each other along the way, Sethon and I finally reached the parking lot, where two young students awaited us.
"Greetings, Minister Henisin," said Fabii.
"Greetings, my Prince," said Jasmine.
"From today onwards, you both will call me General. I am only Minister or Headmaster within castle walls. And I am never a prince—I have done nothing but be born to earn that title," I corrected them.
In the middle of my speech, a sharp pain spiked through my heart, making me squint. The two flinched and lowered their heads.
"Now, both of you, get in the back."
Jasmine, a seemingly soft and beautiful young girl—no more than eighteen—with deep black hair and red eyes, lifted a huge bag at least double her weight and climbed into the car. The gas-powered vehicle, with its thin tires and metal panels for doors, groaned under the weight yet lifted back up—proof of its worth. I nodded, impressed with my own taste. Semensem definitely made the best cars.
Fabii entered next. His blond hair marked his Houten blood, a rare mix between two countries. His eyes were a frigid blue, and his face was sharp and slim—simply handsome.
'I can already tell his use in the courthouse. I hope he enjoys flirting with depressed and lonely older women.'
I nodded. Apart from that, he would be a good start to the reformation of my old mage squadron.
A somber thought.
I entered the car, plugged in the key, and ignited the engine. Reaching for the long gear shift paddles, I began our journey.
As we passed through the gates, I saw all twelve of my Hands standing in salute. The kids waved to them, while I gave a brief salute in return. To the kids, they were professors; to me, they were family. Not like my brother and me, but very similar. If not for them, I wouldn't have survived the Two Crowns Civil Wars—or even before that.
'We will meet again.'
But first, they had to complete the training of the new set of professors who would keep the institution going.
As for me… I was finally going to join my brother and make use of this period of growth. After all, what better place to use such growth than in war? And one for a good cause.