༺ Moonlighting As An Author ༻
Mid-June.
The official notice from the King, issued from Graypond, the capital of the Griffin Kingdom, was surprisingly creating waves across the entire continent.
In the Griffin Kingdom, still marred by the deep scars left by the dark mage Heralhazard, the Royal Palace granted an official position to a dark mage.
This dark mage, now affiliated with the Royal Family, was bestowed with the title ‘Soul Whisperer.’
And he went by the name Deus Verdi.
He was the younger brother of Margrave Norseweden, who was also known as the Giant of the Northern Barrier.
While the neighboring countries were tense due to the sudden changes in Griffin, which had been hostile to dark mages and was now opening its doors, people within the Griffin Kingdom itself perceived the changes as corruption rather than progress.
As a result, adverse criticisms were sweeping through like a storm.
The impact even extended to the Loberne Academy, to which the dark mage was originally affiliated with.
“…Sigh.”
Erica was heading towards the Dean’s office with brisk steps.
Following Deus’ confession and surrender, the academy experienced hectic days. The buzz among students was growing louder with each passing day.
Post the incident with Setima’s Angel, stability was barely restored after convincing and encouraging the students who had submitted withdrawal letters.
Just when they thought the academy might finally be stabilized after the midterm exams, discussions about Deus resurfaced, causing a commotion once again.
Having knocked and opened the door, Erica found Academy Nurse Caren and Gideon already inside as she entered the room.
Gideon immediately frowned once he saw Erica come in, but she paid no attention to him and spoke.
“It doesn’t make sense to dismiss Professor Deus again.”
Calmly and very composed.
Upon hearing Professor Erica’s chilling voice, which almost sounded like her old self, the Dean shuddered and cowered as he replied.
“It’s not confirmed yet. Sigh, what can we do in such a situation?”
Even though he had not officially assumed his position as a professor, Deus’ name was already on the faculty list.
On paper, he was currently away on his quarterly business trip as per the requirements he had demanded during the contract signing.
Taking the opportunity, Gideon stepped forward.
“Do you know how many parents are reaching out to us right now? Many parents want to withdraw their children from the academy saying that they can learn nothing from a dark mage!”
“Hmph.”
That was the problem.
Although the incident with the Setima’s Angel had finally been resolved, another similar incident had emerged. Now, there was no way to prevent the students from withdrawing from the academy.
However, Erica interrupted him again.
“Professor Deus has been given a new title called the ‘Soul Whisperer’ by the Royal Family. Dismissing him could be seen as ignoring the will of the Royal Family.”
Erica argued that holding onto Deus might be beneficial in the long run, putting the Dean in a dilemma once again.
When he glanced at the Academy Nurse Caren, she just shrugged her shoulders, maintaining a neutral position.
The Dean couldn’t understand why this man, Deus, was making everything so complicated.
This gave him the urge to go and confront Deus.
Continuing to exchange sharp remarks, Erica and Gideon engaged in a heated argument.
Gideon’s fiery temperament and Erica’s cold tone clashed like extremes, creating a tense atmosphere between them.
Bang!
Once again, the Dean’s office door was opened and a girl walked in.
The Dean, who was about to scold the girl, who was wearing school uniform, for barging in, remained silent with his mouth agape.
Looking at the brilliant golden blonde hair that symbolized the authority and pride of the Royal Family, it was probably Eleanor Luden Griffin, who confidently secured the top spot among the first years during the recent midterm exams.
She walked through the gap between Erica and Gideon with domineering steps and declared.
“I hear there has been a lot of talk within the academy recently.”
At this moment, Eleanor was not here as a student but as a princess.
She was exerting her dignity and authority.
“It seems like there is talk about Deus Verdi, whom even my brother, His Majesty, has acknowledged.”
“Uh…”
“Certainly, you would not disrespect the individual officially appointed as the Soul Whisperer by the Royal Family, would you? Dark Mage Deus is now associated with the Royal Family, and His Majesty’s favor towards him is quite evident.”
Erica nodded calmly, lending strength to her statement.
Approaching the Dean slowly, Eleanor stared at him intimidatingly and declared.
“I already turned a blind eye at the decision to not publicize the last incident. But if you dare to disregard the Royal Family’s intention this time…”
Eleanor swiftly turned around and asserted.
” You will have to step down from your position within a few days.”
It was an obvious threat.
However, it was undeniably persuasive, a directive that couldn’t be ignored.
The Dean leaned back in his chair, exhaling as if deflated.
It was better this way.
It was a hard decision to make, but she helped him narrow down the options unilaterally.
“Professor Deus is a talent essential for the academy, so we should consider dismissal out of the question.”
Gideon’s expression crumpled at the statement, but he couldn’t say anything.
After all, Eleanor had shed her status as a student and took action as a princess to personally handle the matter.
Satisfied with the Dean’s response, Eleanor was about to leave. However, before leaving, she glanced at Erica.
“…?”
Erica wondered if there was an issue, but Eleanor bit her lip and forcefully opened the door.
“I will win.”
Once again, she had returned to being a naive, young student in love.
* * *
“Ugh!”
The woman who had just gotten off the carriage tried to loosen her body by doing some stretches.
The hair, cascading down to her shoulders, had an unusual color reminiscent of noble silver white.
She quickly covered her head with a hood to conceal the hair that would naturally draw attention and put on neat glasses.
Lastly, instead of a thick volume of a gospel, she was carrying a relatively thin romance novel.
Lucia Saint was the girl’s name, and in the blink of an eye, she had transformed into a different person.
Apart from King Orpheus, she unarguably stood out as one of the most renowned figures in the Griffin Kingdom and was chosen by God.
She was the Saintess.
‘It’s been a while since I visited Graypond.’
The clergy offered to prepare a separate carriage for her, but due to remaining tasks, she had no choice but to send away her private carriage and take the one that came on regular intervals.
However, it wasn’t that bad.
Thanks to that, she could leisurely enjoy the scenery outside and have some time of solitude after a long time.
Besides, it also gave her plenty of time to ponder.
‘A dark mage.’
The clergy sought support from the Saintess regarding the recent incident where a dark mage was unexpectedly appointed as a royal-affiliated mage and was given the title of Soul Whisperer.
The bishops had devised a cunning strategy to bolster their position, suggesting that the mere presence of the Saintess in the upcoming public great debate would greatly strengthen their influence.
Honestly, the Saintess didn’t want to get involved in such matters.
However, she couldn’t help but be curious.
According to the information that was secretly circulating around, he had resolved Princess Eleanor’s nightmares, which even the Saintess herself couldn’t solve. He had even annihilated an Evil Ghost that had been lurking in the Griffin Kingdom.
‘Perhaps the title Soul Whisperer means someone who comforts souls?’
He seemed to be somewhat different from the typical dark mages she knew of.
Honestly, as a Saintess, Lucia should have viewed it skeptically.
Most of the dark mages she had seen were selfish lunatics.
They were even worse when their intentions were not evil, solely focused on research achievements or magic accomplishments.
They didn’t even have an ounce of guilt.
‘Sigh.’
Walking through the city, she could hear protests echoing from various places.
Citizens bravely held up banners and protested on the streets. The content of the banners was quite radical.
– The King is under the control of a dark mage.
– Our land should not be tainted by evil.
– Withdraw it. Don’t let a wicked demon defeat us.
– The Goddess is watching.
And so on.
The slogans were so extreme that it seemed like they would be arrested at any moment for expressing such radical statements.
They even ventured onto the streets with a resolve to become martyrs.
“Hmm?”
Surprisingly, the reaction from the Royal Army was quite lukewarm. Instead of using force to suppress the protestors, they were just observing them blankly.
Feeling doubtful, Lucia surveyed the atmosphere of the street and naturally entered a nearby shop.
It was the Mersen Restaurant.
It wasn’t even that late for lunch, but it was actually the perfect time.
Lucia always visited this restaurant whenever she came to Graypond, and it was considered a top-notch eatery even among the first-rate ones.
Enjoying a cup of coffee by the window while looking at the street view was one of her small pleasures.
Seeing a regular customer of his coming in, the owner of Mersen greeted her with a wide smile.
He knew her identity but chose to play along, for which Lucia was grateful.
“Ah…”
Lucia went towards her usual seat with a cheerful smile. However, she sighed with disappointment when she saw someone else sitting there.
A man was seated there.
He appeared to be quite a tall and attractive-looking gentleman with slightly long hair tied up in a ponytail.
For some reason, there was a gauze on his cheek, which made it look like he had been hit by someone.
Having ordered a coffee and basking in the sun while calmly reading a book, he was charming enough to make the passing women’s hearts flutter.
But for Lucia, he was just an unwelcome customer who had taken her seat.
‘What a shame.’
But there was nothing she could do about it.
It wasn’t labeled as Lucia’s seat, and the customer had simply taken one of the many available seats.
Just as she was about to move and look for another seat…
Stood.
The man got up from his seat and headed towards the counter.
Seeing him carry the coffee cup and the book, Lucia deduced that he had vacated the seat, and she quickly plopped down in the chair.
“Lucky me.”
‘Is the goddess accompanying me?’
After thinking like that, Lucia opened the menu and happily pondered over what to order.
Tap.
However, someone suddenly sat in the opposite chair.
The man who had just refilled his coffee was now sitting and looking at Lucia.
“Ah…”
Lucia realized her mistake and quickly tried to get up.
However, the man glanced at the book in Lucia’s hand and calmly said.
“Rose Mary. It is a good book.”
His voice was calm and cool, matching his impression perfectly.
Without making Lucia uncomfortable, the man gestured with his eyes for her to remain seated and removed the jacket from the book he was reading.
It was indeed the latest volume of Rose Mary.
“Ah.”
When Lucia gasped and made a strange expression, the man raised the book slightly and said.
“This is by an author I like. She goes by the pen name Lusain but has never officially revealed her face. She is one of the authors I would love to meet someday.”
“Uh, I see…”
Lucia felt her face turning red.
Despite being a Saintess, she had secretly written a series of romance novels and published them under the pen name ‘Lusain’, which she randomly picked up from her name ‘Lucia Saint.’
This was the first time she had encountered one of her avid readers.
Feeling embarrassed, Lucia eventually sat back down.
