How to Survive as a Mage Inside a Game-Chapter 91: Flame Ring (6)

The central garden of Taerang Hall.

There, a man sat leisurely with his legs crossed, savoring a cup of tea.

It was none other than the Fourth Prince, Thayns.

Standing behind him were two royal guards, and several stiff-faced attendants serving him.

Despite his temperament, he had an elegant hobby—enjoying the sun on clear days outdoors.

“His return is quite late.”

Thayns muttered as he lifted his lips from the teacup.

“I’m sure the job’s been taken care of by now.”

The nearby attendants, overhearing him, had to force their expressions to remain neutral.

There was no need to say aloud what that “job” referred to.

Everyone knew. They just chose to keep quiet. But saying it aloud was something else entirely.

Thayns always had a tendency to speak loosely.

The unfortunate ones were the attendants who, unwillingly, ended up hearing things they shouldn’t. After all, they couldn’t plug their ears or flee the scene.

Clink.

Thayns set the teacup down, leaned deep into the chair, and curled up the corners of his mouth.

'This time, survival is impossible.'

He had mobilized dozens of royal knights and nearly a hundred hunters.

The squad captain, Verof, was a high-ranking knight, and among the hunters were several of the most notorious figures even in the Marhargel Kingdom’s underworld.

It was incomparable to the last time, when he had merely sent a few dozen hunters to Regville.

This was an overwhelming force—the best he could muster.

No matter what kind of secrets the Fifth Prince Jurein might be hiding, there was no way he could return to the capital alive this time.

The thought that he wouldn’t have to lay eyes on that repulsive bastard anymore brought Thayns a deep sense of relief.

“Good.”

Wearing a brief smile of satisfaction, Thayns shifted his thoughts.

There was no need to worry anymore about someone who, by now, was likely a cold and rotting corpse.

His thoughts then turned to the Second Prince, Camon.

And with that, Thayns’s expression hardened.

'That guy’s been unusually quiet lately.'

They were brothers, born of the same womb and raised in the same palace, but from a young age, Camon had always been unreadable.

A consistently expressionless face, detached behavior.

He rarely showed himself outside the palace.

And on those rare occasions when Thayns met those indifferent eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine. Truthfully, Thayns feared Camon.

'...Can Brother Kaivern really defeat him?'

There was less than half a year left until the Grand Council.

There were undoubtedly things even Thayns didn’t know about the Third Prince Kaivern. But still, the one closest to the throne at present was undeniably Camon.

With Duke Seinpier at the forefront, Camon had claimed the overwhelming support of the royalist noble faction.

That created a decisive gap.

And that gap wasn’t narrowing—if anything, it was widening.

The death of the First Prince.

Everyone suspected that it had been Camon’s doing.

Otherwise, Duke Seinpier’s abrupt betrayal could not be explained.

Thayns had once thought of probing into that incident, thinking it might help Kaivern. But he had never acted on that thought.

He lacked the ability—and even more so, the courage—to dig into Camon’s affairs.

In the end, all he could do was what he had always done: build up his power in the shadows as much as possible.

‘I should probably make a field appearance soon.’

Just as he reached for the teacup again to enjoy its aroma—

“Your Highness!”

A knight rushed into the garden.

Thayns scowled, his rest interrupted.

“What is it?”

“Well...”

The knight licked his lips, eyes uneasy, before finally speaking.

“The Fifth Prince has returned to [N O V E L I G H T] the capital.”

“...What?”

“He came alone—none of the Rompel knights who accompanied him are present...”

It felt as if someone had struck him over the head with a hammer.

He returned alive?

Alone, without any of the knights?

Stunned for a moment, Thayns quickly rose from his seat.

He followed the knight out of the palace toward the capital’s main gate.

A crowd had already gathered there.

Among them was the Third Prince, Kaivern.

“......!!”

And there, in the middle of the gathering, was Jurein.

He looked perfectly unharmed.

Far from dead—he had returned to the capital very much alive.

A wave of hot blood surged up his neck as Thayns stormed toward Jurein.

“...You bastard!”

Jurein, who had been conversing with the royal guards, turned his head.

And casually gave a small nod.

“Have you been well, brother?”

Then, almost theatrically, he turned away and continued in a voice meant to be overheard.

“It was simply an unfortunate accident. Who would have guessed that the cliff in the canyon would collapse right in the middle of battle? The knights and the minotaurs were all swept away. Only two others and I managed to survive by sheer luck.”

The royal guard listening frowned slightly.

Kaivern, who had been standing nearby with a cold expression, let out a dry laugh and stepped forward.

“Are you seriously saying a simple rockslide killed over twenty royal knights? Even Sir Verof was among them—a high-ranking knight. Do you really think that explanation holds water, little brother?”

Jurein shook his head with a look of regret.

“The minotaurs’ onslaught was so fierce, no one could afford to pay attention to their surroundings. The canyon was narrow—there was little room to evade.”

At that, Thayns suddenly erupted, forgetting everyone around him.

“Shut the hell up with that bullshit! All the knights died, and only you and your attendants survived—how does that make any damn sense...!!”

“Your words sound odd, brother. Almost as if you believe I should have died along with them.”

“......”

“Or... are you trying to suggest that I killed all the knights? Just the three of us—against over twenty royal knights?”

Thayns was struck speechless by how directly Jurein pierced the heart of the matter. He stared at him like he wanted to tear him apart.

That was when Kaivern stepped in again.

“A royal investigation team will settle the matter. Whether Rompel’s knights died in a tragic accident or were killed in some vile conspiracy...”

“......”

“More than twenty of Rompel’s knights, including Sir Verof, have fallen. Did you think this would go unnoticed?”

“Why would I object, brother? As you say, once the royal investigation is dispatched, my claims will be easily verified.”

Jurein took a leisurely step forward.

“But you see, my dear brothers—”

He leaned in close to Thayns and Kaivern’s ears, and whispered clearly, though softly:

“Iblejack, Darkwood, Blurkl, Gamelscher.”

“......!!”

“The hounds’ corpses were buried alongside the knights. If the site is investigated... who do you think will suffer most?”

How does he know those names...?

Thayns turned toward Jurein, disbelief in his eyes.

“You two will have to work hard on my behalf. To make sure this incident doesn’t blow up... and stays as quiet as possible.”

“......”

“Oh, and Brother Thayns—those human hunting guilds? They no longer exist. I figured since I was out there, I might as well clean up some of the pests rotting Marhargel from the inside. That’s why I was a bit late returning.”

Jurein smiled sweetly as he looked straight at Thayns.

“You must be heartbroken, losing all that power you worked so hard to gather. When I dug through those vermin’s hideouts, I found quite a few interesting records. As your younger brother, I say this out of concern—you should probably start watching your back.”

With those final words, Jurein said no more and walked past the two.

The royal guards glanced briefly at the pair, gave a shallow bow, and followed after Jurein.

“......”

Soon, only Thayns and Kaivern remained at the capital’s gate with their respective followers.

Thayns stood in complete shock, staring blankly down at the ground.

“Tsk.”

Kaivern clicked his tongue at the pathetic sight.

He then turned his head and murmured as he watched Jurein’s retreating figure.

“This one really got us good.”

Even when Jurein had returned safely to the capital after the royal rite...

Even when he had used the pretext of poisoning to execute one of Thayns’s men on the spot...

Kaivern hadn’t paid it much mind. He thought of Jurein as a bug soon to be crushed anyway.

And now that the Rompel knights were involved, he figured Thayns would clean it up properly this time.

At present, Kaivern was already burning a lot of his mental energy just keeping an eye on the Second Prince and Aranhel.

But now... it seemed he couldn’t afford to remain a passive observer any longer.

Kaivern turned his gaze back to Jurein’s retreating back.

His eyes were freezing cold.

What are you hiding?

* * *

“...Phew!”

Having finished reporting at Central Hall while surrounded by royal guards, Jurein collapsed face-first onto the bed.

Sephiel, too, looked exhausted, likely due to the long tension—and the weariness from the extended journey outside the capital.

“You look quite tired.”

Karl spoke, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Jurein, looking a bit sheepish, straightened his posture.

“It’s because the tension finally let go. That was the first time I ever confronted Brother Kaivern so boldly. I’ve definitely caught his attention now.”

Unlike Thayns, the Third Prince Kaivern was not someone to be taken lightly.

Karl replied indifferently.

“That was the point of the whole outing, wasn’t it? He looked like he was glaring daggers at your back earlier. Seems like you succeeded.”

Jurein nodded.

He wasn’t without concern, but Kaivern would definitely try to hush the incident as quietly as possible.

The Fourth Prince’s life wasn’t the priority—he simply wouldn’t want to hand the Second Prince or the First Princess even the smallest piece of leverage.

Besides, Jurein had left behind a nice threat about the incriminating records found in those underground guilds tied to Thayns. Even if, in truth, there weren’t any.

Of course, he could’ve gone a step further and fabricated the incident—claiming the royal knights were annihilated in an ambush by those guild hunters. That would’ve made Thayns’s position far more precarious.

But doing that would complicate things far too much. The risk wasn’t worth it just to bring down the Fourth Prince.

If he wanted to avoid a nasty blowback, it was best to leave things at this level with an unspoken mutual understanding.

Sephiel, who had been silently watching nearby, looked at Karl again with a tense expression.

She still remembered vividly how Karl had tracked down the hideouts of those underground guilds—one by one—and carried out ruthless massacres.

They were parasites who lived off every imaginable crime in the kingdom, so they didn’t deserve sympathy, but still...

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“...It’s nothing. I apologize.”

At any rate, there was no real risk of problems arising.

Even if the site were investigated, no one would have the faintest idea what had actually happened.

All they would find were heaps of corpses, a collapsed cliff, and fragments of shattered steel.

Sephiel asked,

“Do you intend to keep provoking the Third Prince like this?”

“I’ll have to. I failed to learn Flame Ring, so at this point, there’s no other method left...”

Karl pushed off from the wall and added,

“No. I think things will go according to Your Highness’s original plan after all.”

Both of them looked puzzled at the sudden statement.

He’d been nothing but negative until now, and suddenly he was changing his tune?

“You’re suggesting I should keep trying to learn Flame Ring? But I still don’t even understand the content...”

Karl shook his head.

“That’s not it. Never mind all that—has the palace archive permit expired?”

“It has, yes...”

“Then please get it reissued as quickly as possible. I need to go back in there.” freeweɓnovel.cѳm

The two of them looked at Karl with even more confusion.

But Karl simply smiled faintly and gazed into the air.

[Current SP: 370,000]

He had gathered all the SP needed to learn Flame Ring by completing quests.

No more holding back.

It was time to stir the capital—stir it into a massive upheaval.

* * *

The permit was reissued a few days later.

There was some concern that the recent expedition might have caused complications, preventing its approval—but thankfully, Kaivern seemed to have covered it well, and there were no problems.

Once Karl re-entered the palace archive, he didn’t spare a glance for anything else. He went straight to the location of the Flame Ring manual.

Just as he remembered, it was fitted into a translucent black stone frame.

[Secret Manual of the Founding King of Marhargel]

“......”

Staring at it quietly for a moment, he then carefully picked it up.

And a message appeared in his mind.

[Consume 350,000 SP to learn 'Flame Ring'?]

Karl answered without hesitation.

“Learn it.”

[You are already forming a circling.]

[Circling location differs, so simultaneous formation is possible.]

FWOOSH!

At once, a blazing heat surged in his lower abdomen like a fireball—and then began to rotate in a circular motion.