Chapter 30: The Duel of Wits and Magic

Click.

“Phew…”

As soon as the door closed, Natia’s mask fell away.

The radiant smile she had worn moments ago vanished, replaced by a face twisted in fury.

“What is it you called me for?”

Having seen this side of her multiple times before, and already aware of her true nature, Luke wasn’t fazed.

“What is it?” Natia exhaled sharply, her tone dripping with disbelief, and tossed a grimoire onto the desk with a thud.

“Were you dissatisfied with the grimoire I gave you?”

It was the original copy of the spatial magic grimoire Luke had handed over earlier.

“Do you intend to mock the lady of the Bertein family?”

“I’m not sure what you’re implying.”

“Playing dumb, are we? Even though the entire thing is written in strange, incomprehensible symbols—!”

Unbelievable.

Calling Hangul strange symbols.

“If the creator of this script heard you, they’d be heartbroken.”

“There’s someone who actually created these symbols?”

“Well, surely you don’t think I made them myself.”

Seeing her silence, it seemed she had indeed been mistaken.

“No matter how talented I am, creating a whole new alphabet is beyond me.”

“Then what kind of script is this? I’ve never seen it before in my life, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find it anywhere!”

She had actually gone out of her way to search for it. She must have been desperate to learn spatial magic.

“It’s a unique script from a small country somewhere,” Luke said, making something up on the spot as he tilted his head slightly.

“Anyway, what exactly do you want to say?”

“Pardon?”

“I never claimed that the original copy of the grimoire I wrote was written in the Empire’s language.”

“What are you talking about—”

“I only said that there was a single original copy of the grimoire I authored.”

After losing the bet, Luke had transferred ownership of the grimoire as promised.

“And when I said it could be published for the academic world to see, what I meant was—”

“‘If you’re capable of doing it, you’re welcome to try,’ wasn’t it?”

Did she think he’d hand over a spatial magic patent without any ulterior motives?

Luke always had his plans.

“Ugh…!”

Watching Natia’s perpetually serene smile crumble into a mix of anger and humiliation was quite a sight.

“In that case, let’s have another bet,” she said, her voice laced with venom.

“You mean the one about the lady’s skill level?” Luke clarified.

Natia nodded with a snake-like glint in her eyes.

“This time, if Elin achieves results I deem impressive at the exchange meeting, I won’t object to whoever you choose to bring on as a personal maid.”

“Are you serious about this?”

“I stake my position as the Duchess on this promise.”

This broadened the range of possibilities significantly. Even bringing in a commoner would now be permissible without objection.

“But,” Natia added, as expected, attaching a condition.

“If Elin fails to meet my expectations, you’ll translate the entire grimoire into the Empire’s language.”

“Agreed,” Luke answered confidently.

Would Natia simply feign dissatisfaction to win the bet? That seemed unlikely. Once she saw Elin’s magic, such thoughts would never even cross her mind.

“How bold you must be to make such a wager. Let’s see how this unfolds.”

With her usual smile back in place, Natia opened the door and stepped out.

“Try not to be too shocked,” she said with a smirk.

As Luke followed her back to the reception hall, an aggrieved shout echoed from ahead.

“I already told you, that’s not true!”

What’s going on?

Is someone arguing?

Worried something might have happened to Elin, Luke quickened his pace.

The scene awaiting him was unexpected.

“Let’s see whose magic is superior!”

Elin, glaring fiercely, stood before Fabiana, who was nearly half a head taller than her.

“Oh.”

This might lead to the result of the bet sooner than expected.

Relief washed over Luke. He had worried Elin might struggle to fit in among the other promising talents, but here she was, holding her ground.

She growled, like a Chihuahua standing firm against a Great Dane. It fit perfectly with the purpose of the exchange meeting—demonstrating their abilities and interacting.

“What’s going on here?” Natia asked, rushing over to Fabiana, who appeared flustered.

“Oh, Aunt, it’s… it’s just a minor misunderstanding…”

“She insulted my mentor’s magic!” Elin shouted.

“That’s not true!” Fabiana denied, her eyes welling with tears. The situation seemed… heavily summarized.

“Let’s get the full story. What exactly happened?”

Fabiana had been the first to ask for a demonstration of spatial magic earlier. Could she really have insulted it right after?

Unlikely. Not even Natia would be so two-faced.

“Eek…”

Perhaps because his gaze had unconsciously sharpened, Fabiana flinched and took a step back.

“Well, um, I just meant that after seeing your mentor’s magic and comparing it to the lady’s magic, there seemed to be… a slight difference in skill level. I didn’t mean to say the lady was bad or anything—just that there was… a noticeable gap, is all…”

Though Fabiana stammered, Luke understood what she meant.

“So, you fully trust my skills, but doubt my teaching ability?”

“N-no, that’s not—”

“Isn’t it?”

“… Yes. But just a little… only a little…”

Her voice grew smaller as tears threatened to spill.

“… This is the end of my academy life,” Fabiana muttered under her breath.

“What nonsense. Do you think upsetting me ends your academy career?” Luke scoffed.

He was just a former senior, after all. Why the dramatics?

“And for the record, I’m not upset. It’s only natural that the lady’s magic seemed unimpressive. After all, she only demonstrated inventory magic, didn’t she?”

Nodding vigorously, Elin folded her arms in agreement.

“In that case, let’s truly settle this,” Luke proposed.

“What?”

“Fabiana, you received lessons from a private tutor in the Leyston family, correct?”

“That’s right…”

“Then let’s compare. Who’s the better teacher—your tutor or me? And the only way to do that is by having our students compete.”

“That… makes sense?”

Fabiana, realizing she was being baited into this competition, hesitated but couldn’t refuse.

“Well then, let’s have a proper match and settle this cleanly.”

“O… Okay…”

Fabiana, now fully ensnared, could only gape in bewilderment.

“What do you think?” Luke asked, turning to Natia.

“It seems we can conclude our bet earlier than anticipated.”

“Fine,” Natia agreed immediately, convinced Fabiana would win.

A smirk tugged at Luke’s lips. With a snap of his fingers, a massive portal opened, swallowing the reception room whole.

“Since it’s cramped here, let’s move somewhere more suitable.”

The portal transported everything—including the reception room’s table—to a spacious garden.

“This place should be perfect,” Luke said.

“…Sir,” Elin whispered, sidling up to him and tugging on his sleeve.

“Do I have to fight personally?” Her nervousness was evident, the little tuft of hair on her head trembling slightly.

“Of course not. The Leyston family isn’t known for combat magic either,” Luke reassured her.

Among the Empire’s three great magical families, only the Bucklin family specialized in combat magic. Naturally, this wouldn’t be a physical duel.

“The judges will evaluate your performances instead.”

Aside from the attendants accompanying the promising students, the judges were Luke, Ranian, and Natia—three accomplished high-level mages.

Each student would demonstrate their specialty magic, and the judges would evaluate based on completion, casting speed, practicality, academic depth, and artistic quality.

“Let’s get started without delay. Who will go first?”

Before they could proceed, another voice cut in.

“Brother! May I join as well?”

Felice stood up, raising his hand confidently.

“Of course. All promising students here will be evaluated,” Luke replied.

“Thank you!” Felice beamed as he sat back down.

Meanwhile, Nia, caught up in the sudden evaluation, looked overwhelmed.

“Wait, magic evaluation? What do I even show them…”

On the other side, Bena nervously fidgeted like a buzzing pager.