บท 16: Wilfrid 3

"Oh, I see," said Wilfrid with a nonchalance.

Suddenly, his lips curved into a smile as he gave Reid a teasing stare, "Earlier, you were hell-bent on killing him, and now praising him? Why does it appear you are a die-hard fan of my cousin?"

He paused for a while and widened his lips into a smirk.

"Hard enough to desire him to die."

Reid rolled his eyes, even though it was concealed by his hood.

He replied, "Well, I can't deny it as I admire him very much. But you already know it well. Despite his brain aiding in the sudden progression of the magic, even possibly entering a new era with him starting it, he wouldn't last long if he remained weak.

The Magic Council has already lost face for granting the Arcane Mage position, one that could rival them, for someone who is actually mana-less. Well, it's not like the Archduke could hide the fact anyway.

Still, it was quite funny that the Magic Council made it still appear that your cousin deserved it while they gave a cold action.

I wouldn't even be surprised that they wished him nothing but to die. After all, he already made a massive contribution, and they don't believe he could give more."

"Well, for someone like you, you really talk a lot, huh?" Wilfrid shook his head in disappointment. "Though, unlike me, you don't know what to say and what's not. You sure are an idiot."

"What did you say?" Reid quickly flew into a rage.

As much as he wanted to activate his artifact to attack Wilfrid, he knew it would remain just a thought.

Unless he wanted to die here, then he must avoid creating chaos as much as possible.

"Be careful with your killing intent. The more concentrated your killing intent is, the more vigorous your life force. And the livelier it is, the more conspicuous it is. And the more eye-catching it is?"

Wilfrid gave Reid a meaningful smile.

That was a rhetorical question, so Reid didn't even need to spend less than a second to comprehend what he meant.

He knew his life would be endangered with the presence of the Archduke.

Not even his Father, another Archduke, could save him.

He could only swallow the humiliation bitterly.

"I'll remember this."

"Of course, and it will be my pleasure."

Reid decided to be silent, not desiring to continue it, or he would lose his mind.

Thankfully, Wilfrid was the type of person to quickly proceed into business if he was done kidding around.

"It seems that it's not only you, huh? Well, I'm also not surprised why the Council appeared nonchalant to my cousin. It's only Uncle who provided him the artifacts, while those dying old people were just praising him, not even providing a single bodyguard. Well, even if they did, my Uncle would decline."

Reid was silent for a while and replied, "That's why I don't mind killing him even if it stagnates the progression of magic for decades. We can't leave it to a mana-less individual, or else we'll become a laughingstock. Worst, those pious believers will go crazy that a non-blessed person like your cousin brother aids the progression instead."

"Well, I can't deny that."

Wilfrid exhaled the air of the tea he sipped as he leaned back on his chair and gazed at the massive window.

His vision pierced through the other, watching a small royal carriage waiting from afar.

He grinned, "But I'm not like them. Even if I met the avatar of the God of the Sun when I received my blessings, I did not become his believer. I'm a believer in my ambitions. Once I succeed, nothing matters."

Reid was taken aback, then panickingly turned his head right and left, checking if someone heard it.

However, there was one that he almost forgot after Wilfrid revealed who he was.

He was even more shocked.

After all, Brandon was not far from them, having mixed reactions – from shock to terror to happiness – until it became ambiguous.

Reid hurriedly glanced at Wilfrid and said, "Huy! Your moron brother is listening! With how wet his saliva is, it will only be a matter of time before a word gets out of our conversation!"

"Be calm. Are you really a prince from another Archduke Kingdom? Why do you lose your composure a lot?"

Wilfrid sighed and turned towards Reid, staring at him as though piercing even his soul.

"Not a word escaped from his mouth. Not even our conversation will remain in his memories."

"What do you-"

Before he could question, he discerned Wilfrid glancing at his little brother, and his pupils danced with vigorous, fiery fire.

Reid itched to turn his head to the other side when something caught his attention.

He glanced at Wilfrid's finger and saw a total of six rings, with three rings each in his hands.

He was surprised by the amount.

After all, there was a limit to the number that a mage could imprint his soul on an artifact.

The soul itself is the bridge, serving as the connection of the mana to the physical body.

When a god blesses the individual to awaken their potential, they can only touch their soul, unable to affect the physical world.

Once the soul is blessed, it would be more apparent, offering the mage a chance to control their soul to imprint a mark for the artifact.

When they do, a portion of a soul would be taken.

So, once the soul appeared to have been taken one-fourth of its size, it would shrink, affecting the connections of the mage to the mana and reducing the effectiveness of their meditation.

If that were the case, then it would lessen their span to attain higher ranks.

It could even affect their concentration when spellcasting!

Hence, even if a mage was born wealthy, they would usually be stingy when it came to imprinting their soul mark.

Furthermore, if the artifact's tier was way above the possessor's current level, there was a higher possibility that the possessor's soul would be damaged.

Even if the talisman existed, only a lucky individual could survive it.

Hence, even now, every individual, even the Archduke himself, marveled at the power of Luke's soul despite not being blessed by the gods.

He even possessed five artifacts!

Even if it was because of the Soul Augmentation Talisman, he would still be considered one in a million to achieve such an amazing feat in the Mage Union!

However, the fact he would remain mana-less still wasn't sufficient for a Magic Council to invest in him.

As a result, Luke was still left alone.

Nevertheless, the fact he could possess five artifacts, with one even being a high-grade Tier 2 artifact, assured his safety.

Not even an Archmage could kill him in an instant with its protection.

Of course, it would only be a matter of time before he would be killed by an Archmage anyway.

He wouldn't even last for seconds.

On the other hand, Wilfrid possessed six artifacts, which, of course, couldn't be compared to Luke, though some might be.

One of Wilfrid's rings, Flare the Film, is a mental-type offensive spell aiming to erase a part of the opponent's memory.

It was only a low-grade Tier 2, but by making use of its full power, it aided him greatly in controlling the people.

Although the side effect would be apparent, no one would question a noble from a royal family.

Even if it was targeted at Brandon, the latter would already be aware if he had been attacked by his elder brother, so he would never question him.

Never!

As a result, Brandon was taken aback, his eyes turned dull as his pupils reflected the fiery flame in Wilfrid's eyes, and he slowly closed his eyes, fainting.

He lay on the couch in an awkward position.

Reid was dumbfounded by it, having been awakened from his stupor after analyzing the ring and then witnessing the event.

He turned his head and glanced at Wilfrid with an indifferent expression and couldn't help but think,

'How cruel!'