C228: Caroline Monarch
Happy New Year!!!
"What are you doing here?"
Elisa spoke coldly when she saw Caroline.
It was a natural reaction since they just had a confrontation in the Arcane Chamber.
"Elisa Willow."
Caroline frowned at Elisa standing next to Rudger.
From there, their personalities were clearly revealed.
Elisa Willow takes care of her expression and is polite even though she is annoyed and displeased while Caroline Monarch, who is honest with her feelings and expresses her dislikes openly.
Their personalities couldn't mix together like water and oil.
"Answer me."
"It has nothing to do with you."
"You're here to see Mr. Rudger, aren't you? Then, of course, I'm involved since he's our Theon teacher."
"What kind of babysitter are you? It's an abuse of power to go that far because you're the president. Don't interrupt and get out of my way."
"If you have something to say, say it here. Mr. Rudger is busy, so he doesn't have time for a savage like you."
"……You, I told you not to call me that since a long time ago."
Caroline was furious at the word savage.
Caroline and Elisa Willow's bad relationship was deeper than Rudger thought.
They have known each other for more than 10 years when they were both students of Theon.
Caroline, who was always noisy, and Elisa, who was always calm, had no choice but to clash frequently. Furthermore, their talents were great, so people around them have been comparing endlessly.
"Oh, are you in a position to be angry?"
"Don't make me laugh."
"Don't you think it's not right that you came to see Mr. Rudger in the first place?"
Elisa said with a smile.
Didn't Caroline put pressure on Rudger a while ago? What qualifications does she have to have a conversation with Rudger?
Caroline couldn't bear to refute the remark, so she bit her lip and Rudger, who was watching then, stepped up and spoke.
"President, you can stop there."
"Mr. Rudger?"
"Since she's my guest, I'm going to at least hear what she has to say."
When Rudger said so, Elisa did not step forward any more.
"Miss Caroline Monarch."
"You can just call me Caroline comfortably."
"What do you want to tell me?"
"That's…"
Caroline hesitated for a moment, but soon lowered her head toward Rudger.
"Sorry."
Rudger was surprised that she apologized to him.
"At first, I thought you were a bad guy."
"Today it's the first time we meet."
"That's what I'm saying……It sounds like an excuse, but I naturally loathe high-ranking nobles and royals."
"What does hating royalty have to do with me?"
"When I first saw you, I thought you were a royal somewhere. That's why I became hostile. I shouldn't have done that, but it's a mistake that stemmed from my intolerance."
"……."
She thought he was royalty so she judged him differently.
From Caroline's point of view, the high aristocrats and the royals were human beings who stamped everything with authority.
"There are many wizards who use their family name to obtain benefits so I only judge people based on my gut."
It sounded ridiculous, but Rudger didn't make the rebuttal she deserved since to his surprise, Caroline got everything right.
'She is similar to Casey Selmore.'
Her instincts and senses are superior to intuition and reason. He could see why Elisa called her a savage.
"Doesn't Caroline also have the surname Monarch?"
"Oh, you mean the Monarch castle. That's not my real last name. It's just a leash to restrain the disobedient fools, bestowed by the country."
Caroline was originally a commoner so the country has given Caroline, who has exceptional magical talents, a castle and made her a half-noble.
"I didn't like it at first, but the last name was surprisingly helpful since after receiving it my treatment changed. I accepted it because I thought there was something to use."
"Was that how your mercenary corps was made?"
"Yes, the Monarch Mercenaries, it's my own mercenary unit named after the castle."
The castle given only to those who hold high positions in society was used to make a mercenary corps.
It was an outrageous disgrace to the eyes of other nobles since they were not an honorable knighthood made by a noble castle, but an act of tarnishing their reputation since Caroline's hatred for nobles was deeply rooted.
"But you were different. You didn't show authority like the others, and weren't conscious of other people's eyes. In addition, you casually disclosed such a great discovery."
Caroline knew that Rudger didn't have to give in because he was pushed back, but he made that choice because he wanted to.
It didn't matter if he was a real aristocrat and a royal since his decision would be respected regardless of his status.
"I apologize again. I'm sorry."
Knowing that her judgment was wrong, Caroline apologized frankly and Elisa sarcastically put her head down on Caroline's head.
"It is very comfortable. Every time you bite hard, you're trying to hit me with an apology."
"……."
Caroline didn't have anything to say in that part, so she stayed still without raising her head.
Elisa clicked her tongue at Caroline's response and her eyes naturally turned to Rudger asking what to do now.
"Raise your head. It doesn't look good."
"Are you accepting my apology?"
"I didn't do anything to deserve an apology in the first place and the same goes for Caroline. You don't have to feel guilty about me."
Caroline raised her head and looked up at Rudger, asking what he meant.
"The Arcane Chamber is a place where wizards test and collide with the knowledge they have honed. It is a battlefield where any amount of disagreement, large or small, can occur."
"You…"
"I took all that into account from the moment I stood there. Even if Caroline didn't speak, someone else would have said the same thing."
"But I did it in the end and I'm the one who has to take responsibility for that. I don't need you to comfort me."
"If so, I will ask. Is Miss Caroline grateful or annoyed to see the sun rise in the east?"
He didn't think so because that's a given and no one would be annoyed by it.
"It's the same. Someone makes a rebuttal opinion while someone makes a reasonable point. That's natural, it's something that needs to happen."
"……!"
"That's why I don't care. I threw everything that happened a while ago away from the moment I left the place."
Rather, Rudger only thanked Caroline since it was because she led the way that the wizards pressed him strongly to disclose the information like he originally intended to.
Even if she didn't intend it, she made the board as he wanted, so she became Rudger's biggest helper. Caroline, however, did not know this so she was moved by how easily Rudger forgave her.
"If it were other guys in this situation, they would have tried to rip me off somehow. You were such a great fellow!"
"That's also an undeserved assessment."
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore but it doesn't suit my taste to leave while being in debt."
Caroline said so and handed Rudger a business card.
"Take it. It's a business card for our special VIPs of the Monarch mercenaries. Call me whenever you need help later. I'll make sure to carry out any request."
"Any request?"
"Yeah, I'm not saying it carelessly. I'm sure I'll take any requests."
"……I see."
Unable to refuse, Rudger put it in his pocket.
Elisa, who was watching from the side, opened her eyes wide unlike the usual.
'That proud Caroline gave Rudger the Monarch mercenaries VIP card?'
It's a business card that even the emperor of the Exilion Empire did not receive.
It was questionable whether it existed because she heard that there were only a few people who received it so far but she witnessed it before her eyes.
"I'm done talking, so I'll go now. Let's meet again when we have a chance! And Elisa! Screw you! I saw wrinkles around your eyes!"
Looking at Caroline's back, who disappeared like an arrow after speaking, Rudger thought she was a strange person.
He thought she'd make friends with him on the pretext of an apology, but she really disappeared after apologizing and in the meantime, she didn't forget to say mean words to President Elisa.
Elisa pressed her forehead with her fingertips as if she was tired.
"Is she always like that?"
"Ha. Yes. Her unpredictable personality is really a nuisance."
"I think she's pretty high rank for that."
"No matter what anyone says, Caroline is also a sixth-tier wizard. She was my rival when I was in school."
"Are you talking about your school days?"
"Yes. Oh, didn't you know Mr. Rudger? Me and Caroline have been bumping into each other since our school days."
Even if they fight each other every time they meet, does it mean that they acknowledge each other inside?
Rudger had a sudden thought.
Wait, you've been rivals since school?
'Caroline Monarch, unlike her teenager looks, said she was over 30.'
That means that President Elisa…….
"Mr. Rudger?"
When Elisa called his name, Rudger was shocked without realizing it.
"Yes, sir."
"No more than that, all right?"
"……."
Rudger nodded quietly instead of answering and that was enough for Elisa.
* * *
The White Arete Mountains, which cross between the Kingdom of Utah and the Exilion Empire, were full of shrinking cliffs and unmelting ice caps. The natural environment was harsh and the sun can be seen less than a month a year due to the always raging snowstorm.
Setadel of the Black Dawn Society walked alone in the Arete Mountains without any cold protection equipment. Wearing a black robe, he was not affected by the blizzard.
He stopped and when he looked up there was still a strong snowstorm.
The place where he stands is a deep canyon between the mountains.
Setadel reached out and touched the snow. He came looking for someone, but there's no sign of it in the snow.
Even the footprints he made will be erased by the falling snow in 10 minutes. Furthermore, there was no way to see traces that were made months with the naked eye.
Setadel chose the other way instead. Taking a small golden bell out of his arms, he shook it lightly and the blizzard shrank.
A whitish energy popped out of the snow field and flew in one direction.
"That's it."
Setadel walked in the direction the energy was going and soon found a cave under the cliff.
Setadel went into the cold cave without hesitation. Inside there were traces of someone alive but they were weak.
When he reached the end, Setadel found the image of a man lying down with a cold body with burned firewood and ashes spread around him.
"John Doe, did you crawl all the way here without dying right away even though you fell from that cliff?"
However, John Doe, who was living in the cave, eventually died because he had no way to ask for help.
It was a harsh environment where food was not available and even his body had many wounds here and there.
In the end he couldn't hold out and starved to death.
The real John Doe, who should have infiltrated Theon, was here but Setadel wasn't surprised to see him dead.
He took out the golden bell he had just used.
"Open your eyes, sleeping soul. Raise your head and spit out your voice."
With a shake of the bell the body of the dead John Doe wriggled once, and soon a white air stream flowed over the top of his head. It moved slowly and eventually took the shape of John Doe.
[Where are we?]
"John Doe, do you know who I am?"
[Setadel. Zero's deputy]
"You remember it well."
[Why am I here? No, more than that, why are you here…….?]
"No more boring gossip, I'll get to the point first. John Doe, you're dead."
[Dead? Me?]
John Doe's soul still didn't seem to understand the situation.
"Maybe it's because you just awakened so your memory is a bit foggy. John Doe, what was your purpose? Think about it."
[My purpose was to infiltrate Theon as Zero ordered. To do so, I was playing the role of Rudger Chelici. Yes, I remember now.]
"What happened after that?"
[Riding the magic train, talking with the passengers…….And something happened. The train was attacked and the moment I tried to subdue one of the raiders and ask him who he was, he blew himself up…….]
"Well, that's what it is. You, who couldn't prepare for it, so you were thrown off the train."
[I managed to escape the crash by using wind magic but the shock of the explosion was severe and because of the bad environment, I came into this cave while looking for a safe place.]
And he died.
John Doe was disappointed by the fact, but suddenly he had a question.
[Mission. What happened to the mission given by Zero?]
"You don't have to worry because there's someone who does the mission for you."
[Who is that?]
"You know him. He was a passenger on the train like you?"
[A passenger?]
"Didn't you just say that with your own mouth? I talked to a passenger who was on the train."
[Oh, yeah, yeah.]
John Doe's voice became clearer as if the memory of that time was revived and Setadel narrowed his eyes.
"Something's off. If it were you, you would've only talked to regular passengers."
[Just a normal passenger? No. He was never a normal person.]
"Not an ordinary person"
[Yes, I could tell. He was hiding his appearance and identity, but I could tell at a glance who he was.]
"Who the hell is he?"
[A person who wanders around the continent wearing a mask, a shadow without a name.]
"You talked to him even though you knew he was such a suspicious person. Why is that?"
John Doe closed his mouth and Setadel showed his annoyance.
"John Doe, answer me. What are you hiding now?"
[That's…]
"You cannot refuse my orders because your soul has already answered my call. So go ahead and answer me. Why did you contact him? What was the purpose?"
At Setadel's urging, John Doe finally couldn't bear it and opened his mouth.
[It's because I've always admired him]
"……."
[…I was a fan]