章 19: Chapter 19: The Machinations of the Puppeteer?

Chapter 19: The Machinations of the Puppeteer?

"You…" Camus wore a gloomy expression, utterly caught off guard by William's straightforward response, leaving him no room to maneuver.

Camus reluctantly pondered the situation. Under the suppression of Welf, the Golden Warrior, he had no chance of turning things around.

He could only pretend to care about Jonny's injuries and, together with the others, carried Jonny towards the academy infirmary.

Before leaving, he cast a regretful glance at the Fire Element Gemstone that William was toying with. Seeing William flaunting it, Camus gritted his teeth and left without uttering a word.

William didn't stop him, merely watching them leave quietly, seemingly lost in thought.

The onlookers, disappointed by the anticlimactic end of the spectacle, gradually dispersed.

Seeing Camus and the others disappearing from view, William continued on his way to the Fifth Magic Workshop with Welf. It was getting late.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Finding an excuse to leave the crowd, Camus returned to his dormitory at the academy. As an outstanding student, he had been assigned a single-person dormitory, safe from unexpected intrusions.

The smile that Camus had maintained outside finally vanished as he angrily swept everything off the table, causing a loud clatter. His face darkened with an intimidating expression.

After venting his frustration, Camus finally calmed down and began contemplating the consequences of his failed probe.

The covert manipulation of Jonny and his companions should not have been discovered, but what should he do now that the mission had failed? There might not be another opportunity like this in the future.

As for the assistant qualification, Camus couldn't care less!

He had secretly learned that William had been invited to the Fifth Magic Workshop today and had deliberately arranged for Jonny and the others to 'accidentally' encounter him.

Originally, according to the plan, Jonny, as a Bronze Advanced Mage, was supposed to probe William's strength and any hidden cards, and it wouldn't matter if he lost. It was just a normal magical duel, and even if the academy found out, it wouldn't matter.

But who knew that William wouldn't play by the rules at all!

That shouldn't be the case. In Camus's impression, William was a silent person who only cared about magical research. He had never acted like a noble viscount.

After not seeing him for a while, why did it suddenly seem like he had changed?

This is troublesome!

The master wants me to probe William's current strength and any protective measures he might have, but if he won't even participate in a magical duel, what can I do?

Camus pondered. Although he didn't understand why the master wanted him to do this, William was just a junior mage, and the only thing that might be of interest was his noble viscount status.

Camus was confident that he could surpass William with the same conditions.

With the master's noble status, he shouldn't care about such an ordinary noble like William.

And to probe William's protective measures?

Could it be...

Camus suddenly shivered and stopped his dangerous thoughts.

What the master arranges for me to do, the upper echelons' machinations are not something a small fry like me can participate in.

'I'm just one of the hands secretly cultivated by the master. If it weren't for this task, I wouldn't even have had the chance to meet the master.'

Thinking of this, Camus remembered the Fire Element Gemstone bestowed upon him by the master, and a pang of heartache pierced his heart.

Originally, this precious magical gemstone was intended for this mission. If he had successfully completed the task, it would have been his.

But now, not only had the mission failed, but even the gemstone had been snatched away by that despicable guy, William!

If things didn't work out, he would have to do that!

Camus thought bitterly, revealing a hint of madness in his darkened expression.

---

Welf followed behind William, carrying his sword, as they walked along the quiet academy avenue.

Despite admonishing those people and obtaining a valuable high-level magic gemstone, shouldn't Master William be happy? Why did he look so grave?

Welf was puzzled, unaware of what was going through William's mind.

William, however, paid no attention to Welf beside him, twirling the Fire Element Gemstone he had just acquired in his hand, his mind still contemplating the events that had just transpired.

That Camus had a problem!

He received an invitation to return to the Fis Royal Academy of Magic today, and these few people 'happened' to encounter him, 'spontaneously' decided to duel with him, and even brought out a highly valuable high-level magic gemstone!

For reference, the emerald gemstone embedded in the staff he used was only worth as much as this Fire Element Gemstone, which was already worth over ten thousand gold coins.

These few people, without background or accumulation, he didn't believe they could come up with such a treasure on their own.

Could it be that the Lord of Dawn sent someone specifically to give him treasures?

Really? I don't believe it!

William didn't think of himself as someone who could attract treasures even when sleeping at home.

So those people must have a problem! And their leader, Camus, is the most suspicious one.

Then why did they challenge me to a duel? It's definitely not about that so-called assistant qualification.

The opportunity to study at the Fis Royal Academy of Magic's Fifth Magic Workshop is rare, but for a commoner to openly challenge a noble viscount for it is just ridiculous.

Especially that Camus! The fact that he could walk away when faced with my rebuttal proves that he's not the kind of person who would recklessly challenge a noble just for a qualification, right?

So since it's not for the qualification, and I have no other connection with them, then their goal is the duel itself! For the sake of fighting me? To test me, to figure out my strengths and weaknesses?

As William pieced together what had just happened, he increasingly felt that this incident was not as simple as it seemed, especially considering the impending assassination attempt he knew he would face in three months.

Perhaps this is just a test by the puppeteer behind the scenes?

William suddenly smiled confidently. If that's the case, then great! He wasn't afraid of being tested, but rather feared that his opponent would remain hidden, without revealing any weaknesses.

As long as their ultimate goal is still to assassinate him at the Annual Holy Festival, they definitely wouldn't arrange for high-level professionals to deal with him in advance, so as not to alert him.

Or rather, they would definitely ensure that nothing happens to him before the Feast of the Saints!

Knowing the future storyline gave him the greatest advantage!

After clarifying his thoughts, William glanced at Welf, the Golden Warrior, beside him, feeling a sense of security. He solemnly said to him: "Welf, my safety will depend on you from now on. Keep up the good work!"

Welf looked at William, who suddenly turned around and spoke to him, with a few question marks seemingly popping up on his not-so-intelligent head.

What's wrong with the young master? Has he developed paranoia? Of course, he couldn't say such things. Welf just nodded calmly, giving William a look that said "You can trust me."

Protecting the young master was, of course, a given. Welf couldn't imagine how Joyce, the steward, would "take care" of him if something happened to William.

Just thinking about it gave Welf chills, but his gaze became even more determined.

William looked strangely at the captain of his guard who suddenly spoke to him out of nowhere, wondering why this guy's expression changed three times in response to just one sentence from him?

But William soon had no time to idle with Welf.

Because ahead of him was the Fifth Magic Workshop of the academy.

The workshop resembled a mage tower in structure, or rather, in a sense, the Fifth Magic Workshop of the Fis Royal Academy of Magic was a "public" mage tower, passed down among the academy's mages.

The deep black walls were reinforced with multiple magical runes, impervious even to cannon fire.

The multi-layered tower seemed to radiate a silvery-white light, and to ensure the stability of the research environment inside, there were almost no windows on the entire tower.

Especially without a sign saying "Such-and-such Magic Workshop," if William hadn't been attending the school for several years, he wouldn't have recognized this as one of the core magic workshops of the kingdom, the Fifth Magic Workshop of the Fis Royal Academy of Magic.

Before William could even reach the door, the heavy walls opened like automatic doors, and a clear and familiar voice sounded in his ears: "William, why are you so slow to arrive?"