Chapter 44: The Mad Magus Arrives in Style

Chapter 44. The Mad Magus Arrives in Style

The first thing I noticed was the silence.

Not complete silence, of course. The palace courtyard was filled with arriving carriages, servants calling instructions, horses stamping their hooves, and nobles exchanging the sort of polite greetings that probably concealed three generations of mutual hatred.

But as our shadow passed over the entrance?

Conversations faltered.

Heads tilted upward.

A few people pointed.

Then someone shouted.

"Something’s coming!"

Ah, the welcoming committee.

I looked down from my position beside the carriage.

Several palace guards had already moved into formation. Some reached for their swords, while others raised their shields and stared at the enormous Cloudcrest Rocs pulling a crystal carriage through the sky.

One official dropped his documents.

Another simply stood there with his mouth open.

Wonderful.

We’d been here for approximately seven seconds, and I’d already caused an administrative incident.

I raised one hand and adjusted the Voidwind currents beneath the carriage.

Slowly.

Carefully.

The Rocs reduced their speed as we descended toward the designated arrival courtyard.

I kept my Abyssal Eye focused on the reinforcement formations.

Suspension stable.

Harness tension normal.

Air-pressure barrier intact.

The carriage lowered another few meters.

A guard shouted for everyone to stand back.

Several nobles hurried away from the landing area, gathering their expensive clothing as though the carriage might suddenly develop a personal grudge against them.

Honestly, fair.

I’d seen magical experiments do worse.

The wheels approached the ground.

One meter.

Half a meter.

Then...

-Thump!

A perfectly smooth landing.

I allowed myself a small smile.

The first proper journey had been a success.

More importantly, my wives were safe.

That was worth considerably more than the stunned expressions surrounding us.

Although those were a delightful bonus.

Lily descended first.

Naturally.

My fairy princess had recovered from her earlier... aerial malfunction.

And apparently, she was determined to ensure nobody remembered her as the woman whose wings had stopped working because her husband had licked cake crumbs off her fingers.

She floated down gracefully, her dress fluttering around her as her delicate wings caught the sunlight.

I almost applauded.

Then Seris descended beside her.

Her crimson wings spread in a magnificent arc before folding neatly behind her back.

The guards stared.

The nobles stared.

One particularly unfortunate young official nearly walked into a pillar.

Understandable.

My phoenix princess looked devastating.

And judging by the slight lift of her chin, she knew it.

I remained airborne for a few more moments.

One final inspection.

Only then did I descend.

Voidwind gathered beneath my feet, slowing my fall until my boots touched the courtyard stones.

My magus coat settled around me.

I straightened.

And found myself facing approximately thirty people who appeared to have forgotten how breathing worked.

This was awkward.

For them.

Not me.

One official finally recovered enough to approach. "L-Lord Rey!" He bowed so quickly I was briefly concerned about his neck. "Welcome to the palace!"

I nodded. "Thank you."

He remained bent forward.

I waited.

He straightened.

Then glanced at the carriage.

Then at me.

Then back at the carriage.

His expression suggested he had several hundred questions and absolutely no intention of asking any of them.

A wise man.

I stepped toward the carriage door.

Behind me, the courtyard remained suspiciously quiet.

Perhaps they were shocked by the flying carriage.

Perhaps they hadn’t expected me to attend.

Or perhaps they were wondering why a supposedly dying, completely insane Royal Magus looked like he’d just returned from an extremely pleasant vacation.

All reasonable possibilities.

I opened the carriage door.

And the situation became considerably worse.

For their composure, anyway.

Ariel stepped down first.

She accepted my hand, her pale gown flowing elegantly around her as she emerged into the sunlight.

Several people nearby made strange noises.

I chose not to investigate.

Liora followed.

My Crystal Elf Princess descended with quiet confidence, her jewelry catching the light in subtle flashes.

She carried herself with the effortless dignity of someone who could calculate the value of the entire courtyard without needing to look at the accounting records.

Then...

Nia.

My fox princess stepped out of the carriage like she’d been waiting her entire life for this exact moment.

Her tail swayed.

Her smile was radiant.

And her jewelry... Holy shit.

The sunlight struck the enchanted stones.

Tiny currents of elemental light shimmered across her necklace, earrings, bracelets, and hair ornaments.

Nothing flashed violently.

Nothing exploded.

Thank the heavens.

But the combined effect was impossible to ignore.

A carefully arranged display of expensive elegance and magical craftsmanship.

Nia paused just long enough for everyone to see it.

The woman was advertising.

At a royal banquet.

Using herself as the display stand.

I was so proud.

And slightly terrified.

Then I noticed something else.

The attention wasn’t limited to Nia.

People were looking at Ariel’s pendant.

Seris’s ornaments.

Lily’s accessories.

Liora’s bracelet.

Every piece had its own distinct enchantment.

And every piece was currently making the surrounding nobles look at their own jewelry with growing dissatisfaction.

Nia’s marketing campaign had officially begun. I hadn’t even entered the palace yet.

I approached the official who’d welcomed us. "Would you mind showing us the way?"

He blinked. "Uh..."

His gaze flicked toward Nia’s necklace. Then back to me. "Yes! Of course, my lord!" He gestured toward the palace entrance. "This way, please."

Before we followed him, Seris moved toward the carriage.

She checked the harnesses once.

Then released the ropes securing the Cloudcrest Rocs.

The enormous birds spread their wings.

Several guards instinctively stepped backward.

Seris gave a short command in the Phoenix tribe’s language.

The Rocs answered with low cries.

Then they launched into the sky.

Their wings beat powerfully, sending a gust of wind across the courtyard.

A few hats nearly escaped.

One actually did.

Tragic.

The birds climbed above the palace towers and disappeared toward the distant hills.

They were trained.

They’d return as soon as Seris called them.

She turned toward the official responsible for managing arriving carriages. "You may park ours with the others."

The man stared at the crystal carriage. "Y-yes, Your Highness."

He looked as though he’d just been handed responsibility for a priceless artifact that might take off without warning.

Which, technically... Well. I decided not to make his day worse.

We followed our guide inside.

The palace was exactly as I remembered it.

Or rather, exactly as Rey’s memories remembered it.

Tall marble pillars.

Expensive tapestries.

Polished floors that reflected the light from enormous chandeliers.

Gold.

Silver.

More gold.

Apparently, the royal family had never encountered a decorative surface they couldn’t improve by attaching something expensive to it.

My gaze traveled along the grand entrance hall.

The last time Rey had come here, he’d received his Royal Magus title. He’d also been formally bestowed his marriages to the five princesses.

A ceremony intended to honor one of the kingdom’s greatest heroes.

How quickly things changed.

Back then, the palace had welcomed him as a savior.

Now?

Judging by the whispers beginning around us, people weren’t entirely sure whether they should welcome me or start preparing an evacuation route.

"Was that really a flying carriage?"

"I’ve never seen anything like it!"

"Those birds were enormous!"

"Look at the princesses’ accessories."

"All enchanted?"

"They must be. Did you see the mana flowing through them?"

"Every piece looks different."

"I wonder if the Royal Magus gave them those?"

Nia’s ears twitched.

Her smile widened.

Oh, she heard that.

I could practically see her mentally adding another zero to the price tags.

We continued walking.

The whispers followed.

"I heard Lord Rey had gone mad."

"He looks perfectly fine to me."

"Perhaps the rumors were exaggerated."

"Or perhaps he’s recovered?"

"Didn’t they say he practiced forbidden magic and went mad because of it?"

I kept my expression neutral.

They’d expected a broken man.

Instead, I’d arrived in a flying carriage with five princesses wearing enough enchanted jewelry to make a royal treasury nervous.

I wondered how my former comrades would react.

Hopefully, badly.

I was looking forward to that.

Then...

"Darius is handsome, of course."

A woman’s voice.

"And Raven is mysterious."

Another woman hummed in agreement.

"But Rey Valen..."

I glanced toward them.

Three young noblewomen stood near a marble pillar.

The one speaking met my eyes.

Her face immediately turned pink.

"He has both," she whispered.

Her companion leaned closer. "But he was a commoner."

The first woman looked at me again. Then smiled. "A hot commoner is still hot."

...

I nearly missed a step.

Not because I was offended.

Quite the opposite.

That was possibly the most reasonable political analysis I’d heard since arriving.

Behind me, Nia made a suspicious choking sound.

Lily covered her mouth.

Seris’s gaze sharpened.

Ariel smiled into her hand.

And Liora, my composed, dignified Crystal Elf Princess, quietly slipped her arm through mine.

Territorial behavior.

How adorable.

I looked down at her.

She smiled sweetly.

A little too sweetly.

I decided not to comment.

I valued my continued existence.