Chapter 191: Political Consequences [5]

"Welcome home, cheater."

"Uh?"

The moment Ilya stepped into Professor Nordberg’s office, which had practically become Vera’s personal office by now, he was greeted with an accusation he hadn’t expected to hear.

"Don’t ’uh’ me. Not only did you take another mentor behind my back, you’ve also gotten yourself engaged to another woman. Two betrayals in less than a week. How impressive."

"...I feel like there are several problems with that sentence."

"Of course you would say that. That’s what cheaters usually do when confronted with overwhelming evidence."

Ilya closed the door and made himself comfortable in his usual chair.

He had spent most of the morning dealing with Anastasiya and Oleg, missed several lectures, and somehow the first thing waiting for him upon returning to the academy was an accusation of infidelity from a woman he wasn’t even dating.

His life was becoming increasingly ridiculous.

"Are you actually upset with me, Senior?"

"Would you feel better if I said yes?"

"I’d feel better if you stopped calling me a cheater."

"Then stop cheating."

"Goddamn it, Senior."

She laughed.

Well, that settled it. She was enjoying herself at his expense again.

Nevertheless, Ilya understood why his decision to accept Professor Vinter’s offer might have surprised her. Vera had been responsible for nearly everything he knew about his unusual circumstances. Without her guidance, he would probably have frozen to death months ago.

It was only reasonable that he inform her before accepting another mentor.

"About Professor Vinter, I probably should’ve mentioned it beforehand. Sorry."

Vera regarded him with an expression usually reserved for particularly disappointing students.

"Why are you apologizing? Hakon is an excellent instructor. His practical combat experience exceeds mine, and I doubt there’s anyone better suited to developing your existing abilities."

"So you don’t mind?"

"Why would I? You’re attending an academy, Ilya. It would be rather embarrassing if you graduated having learned everything from a single assistant professor."

That was fair.

In fact, it was precisely why Ilya had accepted Hakon’s offer. Vera understood his condition better than anyone, but her guidance primarily concerned keeping Niflheim under control. Hakon, meanwhile, intended to improve how he fought.

Both were necessary.

"Then we’re good?"

"Regarding Hakon, certainly. Regarding the Princess, however, I’m afraid we still have a problem."

"Can we please leave that alone?"

"Oh? Are you embarrassed?"

"I’m exhausted. There’s a difference."

Vera chuckled before returning to her paperwork.

Unfortunately, the engagement was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The announcement had already circulated throughout the academy, and Ilya suspected he would spend the next several days explaining himself to people who had no business knowing about his personal affairs.

Even worse, he couldn’t give them a proper explanation because he didn’t have one himself.

Liselotte had announced their engagement without consulting him.

Under ordinary circumstances, something like that would have been absurd enough to dismiss outright. Unfortunately, Liselotte happened to be an Imperial Princess, and her words carried considerably more weight than those of an ordinary noblewoman.

"Have you spoken with Her Highness?" Vera asked.

"Not yet. I’ll arrange a meeting once things settle down."

"And what do you intend to say?"

"First, I’ll ask why she did it. Then I’ll decide what to do."

It was the most reasonable approach available.

Ilya had considered several possibilities, but there was little point in making assumptions about Liselotte’s intentions. Perhaps the engagement served some political purpose, or perhaps she genuinely had feelings for him. Both explanations raised questions, and neither justified making a decision before hearing her side.

Besides, publicly rejecting an Imperial Princess without understanding the circumstances would be needlessly reckless.

He might dislike Imperial politics, but that didn’t mean he had to be an idiot about them.

"Your sister must be thrilled," Vera remarked.

"She practically wanted to strangle me."

"Understandable."

"Whose side are you on?"

"The side that provides the most entertainment."

"Figures."

Although Vera continued teasing him, she eventually offered a more serious observation. An engagement involving the Imperial Family would inevitably attract political interests, and Ilya’s position as the second son of House Belozersky made the situation particularly delicate.

Anastasiya had already explained much of that earlier.

What worried Ilya was how easily other people seemed willing to arrange his future without asking what he wanted.

For years, he had been expected to become a swordsman worthy of the Belozersky name. When that proved impossible, his family had prepared a comfortable retirement for him somewhere in the North, where he could spend the rest of his life quietly avoiding embarrassment.

He had finally escaped those expectations by pursuing magic.

Now another arrangement had appeared, one that could place him under obligations far greater than anything House Belozersky had previously demanded.

Vera apparently understood his concerns.

"Whatever Her Highness intends, don’t forget why you came to the Magic Department in the first place."

Ilya nodded.

He had no intention of abandoning his ambitions simply because an Imperial Princess had suddenly taken an interest in him.

Of course, he wasn’t foolish enough to believe he could resolve the engagement through sheer stubbornness. If Liselotte had a political objective, he would need to understand it before deciding how to respond.

Fortunately, there was no immediate reason to make that decision.

"Anyway, Senior. There’s something else I wanted to ask you."

"Oh?"

"About Niflheim."

That finally caught her attention.

Ilya had been reconsidering his condition ever since his conversation with Hakon. The professor had identified several weaknesses in his fighting style, particularly his reliance on abilities that didn’t follow ordinary magical conventions.

It had reminded Ilya how unusual his circumstances really were.

Most wizards spent years studying magic before developing their Domains. He had somehow manifested one without any formal instruction, and it had already reached a scale powerful enough to interfere with Vera’s own Domain when they first met.

Such a phenomenon shouldn’t have been possible.

More importantly, almost everything he believed about his condition came from Vera.

He trusted her judgment, but after months of studying magical theory, he had begun developing questions that hadn’t occurred to him when he was still an ignorant student in the Knight Department.

"Have you ever encountered another Fallen Wizard?"

Vera considered the question.

"Yes. A few."

"And what happened to them?"

"They died."

"...Right."

Well, that was encouraging.

Ilya had expected an answer along those lines, but hearing it stated so casually was still rather unpleasant.

According to the records he had studied, Fallen Wizards inevitably succumbed to their Domains. Some survived for years, while others deteriorated rapidly, but the outcome remained the same.

However, those records rarely explained the precise circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Had they attempted to resist? What methods had they employed? Were their conditions similar to his, or had their Domains developed in completely different ways?

These were important questions, particularly for someone whose life depended on finding a solution.

"Has anyone ever managed to recover?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Then what about slowing the process?"

"That depends on the individual. Domains don’t all function the same way, and neither do the circumstances that cause their owners to fall."

That was already more useful.

Ilya knew his Ring of Fire could temporarily counteract Niflheim’s cold, but it remained a method of managing the symptoms rather than addressing their underlying cause.

If other Fallen Wizards had developed similar methods, their experiences might provide valuable information.

Even their failures could be useful.

"Is there anywhere I can find detailed records of previous cases?"

Vera raised an eyebrow.

"You’ve become rather enthusiastic about researching your own death."

"Well, somebody has to. I’d rather not leave the investigation to whoever performs my autopsy."

That earned him another laugh.

Vera eventually set down her pen and leaned back in her chair.

"Most records concerning Fallen Wizards are incomplete. Their conditions are difficult to study, and by the time researchers become involved, the subjects are often beyond recovery. There are exceptions, of course, but even those rarely provide enough information to establish anything conclusive."

Ilya understood.

A Domain represented its owner’s worldview. Studying one required understanding the individual who manifested it, which made comparing cases difficult.

Still, incomplete information was better than nothing.

"Then I’d like to see whatever records are available."

"You’re quite persistent."

"I’m highly motivated. Dying tends to have that effect."

Vera smiled faintly.

For several seconds, she appeared to consider something before finally reaching for the cigarette case on her desk.

"Tell me, Ilya. When we first met, I told you that your Domain would eventually consume you."

"I remember."

"I also told you that resisting would only make your death more painful."

"Yeah. Terrible introduction, by the way."

"And yet you decided to resist."

Naturally.

He had no intention of surrendering simply because someone told him his situation was hopeless. There were still too many things he wanted to accomplish, and for the first time in years, he actually possessed the means to pursue them.

Besides, accepting death without exhausting every possibility would be a rather disappointing way to end his second life.

"Of course. I’m not particularly interested in dying."

Vera took a slow drag from her cigarette.

"Good."

Something about her answer caught Ilya’s attention.

Vera had always spoken about his condition with absolute confidence, yet she had never discouraged him from studying magic. On the contrary, she had actively helped him develop methods to withstand Niflheim.

Perhaps there was more to her understanding of Fallen Wizards than she had initially revealed.

"Then there’s something I’d like you to reconsider," Vera continued.

"What?"

"The conclusion I gave you when we first met."

Ilya looked at her.

Vera exhaled a thin stream of smoke before continuing.

"I told you that your death was inevitable. However, considering how much progress you’ve made since then, I think there’s a discussion we’ve been putting off for far too long."

Ilya immediately became interested.

"...I’m listening."