Merlin made a face that was a sight to see.
He must have too much on his mind already . Isaac was suddenly behaving strangely. Isaac suddenly became strong. Isaac suddenly knew Mana Breathing Technique.
Now, Isaac suddenly decided his marriage partner.
Merlin opened his mouth to refute, but he caught himself on time.
Refusing the princess was not a good thing.
He had to stay silent. The princess would refuse the marriage anyway.
"Please don’t joke about this. No one likes having their feelings toyed with, and I’ve liked you for a long time. I’m being serious, so I hope you’ll take my words seriously as well," Vera said.
"I am serious. I was going to send Merlin to have the patent for Mana Breathing Technique because he created it," Isaac replied.
Vera did not express her feelings again.
Gears were turning in her mind quickly.
She would not have expected Isaac to let go of Mana Breathing Technique just to escape from the marriage with her.
"If it’s Merlin who will have the patent for Mana Breathing Technique, why will it be you who gets 60% of the profits?" Vera asked.
"Because it’s my reward for winning the Sacred Duel," Isaac said.
Merlin made a strange face once again. His expression was saying, ’How come I don’t know about this?’
Vera looked at Merlin for confirmation.
The protagonist quickly regained control of his expression and nodded, "Sacred Duel reward must be given as long as it’s not asking for life or asking someone to do anything life-threatening. Since I lost the Sacred Duel, I’m willing to give the profits to Isaac even if the patent is in my name."
Not like he created the Mana Breathing Technique anyway.
Vera had a confused expression. She could not make sense as to why Merlin was giving such a reward to Isaac.
Mana Breathing Technique was precious. He could get someone—even a noble—to help him assassinate Isaac for some profit percentage, and they would help happily.
If Isaac was gone, Merlin wouldn’t need to give away all of the profits.
"So, still want to marry me?" Isaac asked.
"On second thought, I don’t actually have the authority to choose my own marriage partner. As a royal, that decision rests with the king. But my feelings are real, Isaac. I’ve liked you for a long time," Vera said with a smile.
Isaac almost rolled his eyes.
This girl quickly backtracked after realizing Isaac would not get the patent in his name. Without it, she wouldn’t have the justification to marry Isaac, and would have to marry Merlin instead. But Merlin wasn’t going to get any money.
"Let’s make a contract regarding the deal. Do you have the time to go to the courtroom now?" Vera asked.
"I won’t be coming. You can take Merlin, since he will be the one having the patent," Isaac replied.
"Aren’t you worried Merlin and I will plot something against you, and change the contract details in our favor?" Vera asked.
"No." Isaac shook his head. Then, he stood up. "I have some work today. I will send Merlin to you tomorrow."
He was leaving when he noticed Vera following him.
"What are you doing?"
"Following you?"
"I’m asking why are you following me?"
"Because I’m free today, and I have to keep an eye on you to make sure you won’t make the same deal with someone else and trick me."
Isaac could feel a headache incoming.
Merlin was annoying in a similar way in the last life. He was a drama queen and wouldn’t leave Isaac alone.
Now, in this life, it seemed Vera had joined the ’annoying idiot’ gang.
He clicked his tongue and moved. She could follow him if she so wanted.
Vera smiled when he didn’t refuse her.
She quickly followed him with Merlin and Strider following behind the duo.
"I was wondering whom you are going to sell the Mana Breathing Technique to? The nobles?" Vera asked.
"The nobles and the citizens. There will be two versions of Mana Breathing Technique. One will be the main one, that would be sold to nobles along with the license for its use. They can teach the Mana Breathing Technique to anyone. Obviously, this main version will be costly. For citizens, we will be selling a weaker version. Citizens can buy a license for it for cheap," Isaac said.
What he didn’t say was that he had another goal.
He had reached the limit of Mana Breathing Technique. At least, the limit he could reach on his own.
But what if he distributed it to tens of thousands of people? With so many different perspectives and experiences, surely someone would find a way to improve it.
That was how progress worked. One person could only go so far, but many people could push far beyond that.
Also, selling Mana Breathing Technique would increase the strength of citizens, soldiers, and nobles. It would allow the entire kingdom to better prepare for the war against the Human King.
As for the Human King’s army obtaining Mana Breathing Technique, Isaac wasn’t concerned. They could not learn the Mana Breathing Technique.
"...you plan to sell it to the citizens?" Vera asked.
"Yes," Isaac nodded.
"The nobles won’t allow it. If citizens become stronger, the risk of rebellion will increase severalfold. And even if no rebellion occurs, most nobles would still oppose it. Empowering commoners does nothing to benefit them and only weakens their position," Vera said.
"I have a solution for that problem. We are going to get it now," Isaac said.
They reached the gates of the academy.
"You," Isaac pointed at a guard.
"Y-Yes, sire!" the guard saluted. He was afraid, knowing the person he was talking to was Isaac.
"Go and get two carriages for us."
"Yes, sire!"
The guard ran down the street to call for any passing empty carriages. The other gate guard looked at Isaac with unhidden unpleasantness, seeing how he was ordering them.
"You don’t have a personal carriage?" Vera asked.
"You think I will have a personal carriage?" Isaac asked back.
Vera chuckled and stopped asking. Although most people dismissed it as a rumor, she knew Isaac would soon be expelled from the Wright Ducal House. It made sense that he had been given no privileges.
The guard brought two carriages.
Isaac climbed into one.
"You three go into the other—"
Before he finished speaking, Vera entered his carriage, followed by Strider. Merlin looked a bit awkward, knowing Isaac didn’t want him in his carriage.
But since everyone had entered the same carriage, Merlin didn’t want to ride in the second one alone. Carriages were expensive, and he didn’t want to waste money on one.
He gritted his teeth, then entered the carriage.
Isaac looked at each person one by one, making sure his gaze told them to get out. Vera smiled back shamelessly. Strider had an apologetic smile. Merlin avoided his gaze.
Isaac clicked his tongue and leaned back.
"Where to, sire?" the coachman asked.
"Wait for a few minutes first. Also, tell the second carriage that it can leave," Isaac replied.
The second coachman nodded when he heard the words from the first coachman. He left without cursing or showing a displeased expression despite having his time wasted. Carriages were expensive, and mostly used by children of wealthy merchants or nobles.
If the second coachman had been called, clearly the caller was someone rich. So he tactfully kept a smiling face as he left.
Ten minutes passed.
"Who are you waiting for?" Vera asked.
Isaac ignored her.
Thirty minutes passed and someone knocked on the carriage door. Opening it, they found Hazel, Isaac’s maid, on the other side.
She was covered in sweat as if she had run a great distance.
"T-This is the Griffin’s heart, young master," she said, giving Isaac what he wanted.
Isaac took it and spoke, "Take a knight and go to the back alleys. There, look for a potioneer named Mira Fedra. Bring her to the estate of Duke Falcon. The exact location of Mira Fedra would be..."
Isaac gave her detailed directions. Hazel had a strained expression, wondering what nefarious plans Isaac had this time. Vera observed him curiously and Merlin had a frown.
After Hazel left, Isaac told the coachman to get moving. Their destination was Duke Falcon’s estate.
Duke Falcon was a ’Central Noble.’
Central Noble referred to the nobles who lived in the capital city. These nobles were in the royal family faction.
Thanks to this, Isaac could reach the estate in a few hours.
"Mira Fedra, isn’t that the potioneer who is known for Lust Potions?" Strider spoke.
"Yes, but how do you know Mira Fedra?" Isaac asked, raising a brow.
"I am from the back alleys. So I know quite a few people there," Strider replied.
Isaac nodded. He didn’t bother asking more questions and opened the box given to him by Hazel.
It had a griffin’s heart.
He ate it.
"What are you doing!?" Strider shouted. She quickly moved, hoping to save him before he burst from an overdose of mana.
Merlin also moved. Vera was stunned.
To everyone’s surprise, he used Mana Breathing Technique to give a flow to the mana radiating from the Griffin’s mana core, then he started to condense it.
Isaac closed his eyes, focusing inwards on mana.
Hours passed. He heard a knock.
"We have reached the destination, sires" the coachman said.
Isaac opened his eyes.
A screen floated before his eyes.
[Magic Core: Unawakened → Awakened (Beginner)]
He closed the screen, only to notice the gazes of the three people in the carriage.
They were staring at him as if they had seen a ghost.
"How are you still alive?" Vera asked after a while.
"I told you my mana control improved while I was attempting to create Mana Breathing Technique. There was a lot of mana in the griffin’s heart, but my mana control is good control to regulate it," Isaac said. This was not a lie.
He left the carriage, and the other three slowly followed. They were still staring at him with a surprised and strange gaze.
Isaac ignored them and looked at the coachman.
"The princess will pay."
He swiftly entered the estate before someone asked him or money. He had nothing left after buying the Griffin’s heart.
Entering the estate of Duke Falcon was easy. Everyone recognized Isaac. He was still the official fiancé of Zara.
Most—if not all—servants and guards were glaring daggers at Isaac.
He ignored them and met with the butler of Duke Falcon, who led them to the Duke Falcon’s office.