Chapter 47

Chapter 47

“One of your people here drove my son-in-law out of the tower.”

A lightbulb went off in Karlon’s head. This was it. This was the reason the grand duke was badgering him!

“Ahem, I think we’ve talked enough for today. Thank you for the tea. I’ll be on my way now. As you said, I’m a very busy man.”

“Wha— Oh, yes, yes! Of course! I shall see you off, milord.”

Karlon let out a sigh after the duke departed, a profound wave of relief washing over him. He felt triumphant, for he had finally found a way to resolve this crisis. However, his initial glee rapidly faded, and his countenance was overcome with wrath.

Who the hell is it?! Who had dared to mess with the grand duke’s son-in-law and put him in this predicament?! They’ll regret ever being born by the time he got through with them.

“And for that reason, I need to ask you all a favor.”

“Yes, master!”

Karlon summoned his five most trusted and competent pupils and ordered them to conduct a thorough investigation into all the personnel who had been evicted in the past few years. The apprentices meticulously went through each and every individual’s personal details and the cause for their eviction until they were finally able to find a strong candidate.

“Master, please look at this. Leonard Rodeline! His name contains the word ‘Rodel.’”

“He falls within the appropriate age range, and based on the likeness we have on file, he’s remarkably handsome. We’re almost positive Princess Elthea would’ve taken a liking to him.”

“It’s noted on his record that he was extremely talented in potions alchemy. When we consider the caliber of Rodel’s potions, it seems they were on the same level.”

“This guy, I mean, this gentleman here is surely the duke’s son-in-law.”

“Let’s see now...” The documents describe that he was evicted after being accused of stealing his master, Hikeem Sarmatan’s, research. Karlon jumped up in surprise. “Hikeem? Are you sure he was Hikeem’s student?!”

How could this be? The next ivory tower master candidate is mixed up in this scandal?

There’s no way! Absolutely not! But Karlon’s hopes were dashed by the next set of reports.

“Master! This is a detailed report on both Professor Hikeem and the grand duke’s son-in-law.”

“N-nothing’s been finalized yet. Don’t call him son-in-law.”

“Master, with all due respect, I honestly think this man is the duke’s son-in-law.”

“Hm!”

The report compiled by his youngest and most capable pupil was quite shocking indeed. Leonard Rodeline’s entrance exam grades were outstanding, even by the tower’s standards. He was a promising young alchemist and everyone had high hopes for him.

Many elders wished to mentor him early on, but Hikeem, who had been neither an elder nor a talented alchemist himself, snatched Leonard up before anyone else could. The methods he employed were deplorable. He began to alienate the young prodigy by gaslighting him and isolating him from the other elders, telling him no one really wanted to mentor him. Hikeem sealed the deal by deceiving Leonard into thinking he’d be evicted from the tower if he didn’t choose a master by the end of the day.

“What? He put up an act as if he were doing him a big favor and beguiled Rodeline into forming a mentor-student relationship?” Karlon asked.

“Yes, that’s correct, master! His character is the complete opposite of yours!”

“If this is true, he’s a real son of a b*tch! Are you certain the facts on this report are legitimate?”

“Master, do you not trust me? I’m hurt.”

“I’ve misspoken, my boy. I’ve done you a great disservice,” Karlon said. “I’d forgotten that you’re the heir to an underground intelligence guild because of your delightful personality.”

“I understand, master. Even I forget about it sometimes because of how charming I am.”

Karlon drained the flask of nerve-stabilizing potion that his disciples handed him and finished reading the rest of the report. Things really started to get ugly after they officially became mentor and mentee.

Despite all of the great expectations Leonard received when he first entered the tower, his performance was sub-par as he struggled to produce results. In stark contrast, Hikeem’s mediocre, second-rate research met a sudden turn in fortune.

Soon, Leonard was no longer praised as a diamond in the rough but was dismissed like a pebble on the side of the road. Meanwhile, Hikeem began to pump out results like never before, almost as if he were a different person compared to his past incompetent self.

His most remarkable growth was in regenerative potions. Developing a regeneration potion so strong that it even enables the user to regrow limbs was the ultimate goal of alchemists. Once this became possible, alchemy would no longer be looked down upon as an inferior discipline when compared to divine power.

Creating a product as such was the long-cherished ambition of alchemists all across the continent. Thus, when Hikeem made significant strides in this field, he garnered the admiration and support of many tower alchemists, paving his way to becoming an elder.

“But... you’re telling me all of these incredible findings and progress came from stealing his student’s research?” Karlon asked.

“Yes. There was actually an incident where someone attempted to expose these awful crimes.”

“When?! How did I not know about this?”

“Of all things, you just happened to be bedridden with pneumonia, and Hikeem was holding the reins to the tower at the time. It was before I joined the tower as well.”

“Ugh. Then it was about six years ago.”

“Yes. That incident is what triggered the eviction of the grand duke’s son-in-law. It’s noted in detail on the next page.”

The courageous alchemist who spoke up against Hikeem was an elder named Orka Geiter. Geiter called out Hikeem on his deceitful practice and how he took advantage of the apprenticeship system to steal Leonard’s research. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to have come of it.

“Hikeem is a master at manipulating the political landscape to his advantage.”

“That’s true. The one thing he’s genuinely skilled at is taking advantage of the system.”

At some point, strangely enough, evidence contradicting the initial accusations against Hikeem began to surface. Witnesses came forward to support Hikeem and testify that it was actually Hikeem’s pupil who had been stealing the research.

The public sentiment leaned toward Hikeem and everyone was in an uproar at how he’d been slandered and targeted by Orka who envied his success. All of the newspapers in the duchy defended Hikeem and condemned Orka.

Justice did not prevail, and Orka was met with all kinds of backlash, eventually being dismissed from his position as an elder. He was subsequently overcome with social phobia and ended up shutting himself away in his lab.

After that, Leonard vanished from the tower without a trace.

“For your information sir, Leonard Rodeline had a six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter at the time. It’s said that they both had pink hair.”

Princess Elthea was famous for her pink hair. The fact that Rodeline had a daughter and a son coincided with what the grand duke had told him.

After Karlon confirmed the validity of all the reports and pieced together the evidence, he made his final verdict. “Hikeem Sarmatan! I haven’t the slightest doubt that he’s the bastard we’re looking for! Let’s get his ass!”

“Yes, master! What are your orders?!”

All five students eagerly awaited their next orders. The tower master possessed unparalleled authority within the Golden Ivory Tower, second only to that of a deity, allowing him to exert absolute control. And Karlon was about to put all of that authority to good use.

They looked at him with anticipation.

Karlon shouted, “Summon all twelve elders below me, including Hikeem! Right this instant!”

✠

“An emergency meeting?”

The elders were taken aback by the abrupt call to assembly, but it didn’t take long for them to grasp the purpose behind their summons. The Golden Ivory Tower’s finances were in a precarious position in recent days. Their treasury was strained under the weight of sanctions imposed by the grand duke.

Which poor fool had the audacity to rub the grand duke the wrong way? Tsk, tsk. A balding middle-aged alchemist with nothing but sideburns let out a diabolical cackle.

Hikeem Sarmatan was no fool. Or so he thought. If nothing else, he was a natural-born sycophant with an innate knack for brown-nosing. Years of lapping up research funds and donations served as undeniable proof of this.

He’d always thought the current tower master was an obstinate old man who didn’t know how to adopt a more flexible approach. Even this meeting today was hardly necessary. A few carefully selected words of flattery from Hikeem to the grand duke could rectify this whole situation.

This is why I need to become the tower master. Like they say, “Cometh the hour, cometh the man.” He needed to take this opportunity to grace the council with his wisdom and insight by resolving the situation. It was the least he could do as the future tower master.

Hikeem arrogantly marched over to the elder conference room, exuding an air of self-importance. All of the other elders, including the tower master himself, were already seated inside. Hikeem’s inflated ego swelled up even more when he noticed that he was the last to arrive to the meeting—he considered it rightly so since he was the star of the show.

“Aha, please forgive my tardiness,” Hikeem said. “I was so engrossed in my research that I didn’t even notice the time.”

“Take a seat.” Karlon’s steely eyes were particularly intense today. “Let us commence the emergency meeting. As I’m certain you’re all aware, the focus of today’s discussion revolves around the prevailing financial crisis the tower is facing.”

“Tower master.” Hikeem immediately bounced out of his chair and interjected. “The key to resolving the issue at hand lies with understanding the grand duke’s sentiments. Fortunately, discerning the thoughts of our dignitaries is my specialty. If you will allow me to speak on behalf of the tower, I shall request an audience and find out how we can reconcile our relationship with the grand duke.”

Karlon’s cold stare intensified as Hikeem spouted off. Meanwhile, some of the other elders added their two cents on the matter.

“Oh yes! We can surely count on Professor Hikeem to resolve the issue!”

“We wouldn’t expect anything less from the future tower master!”

They prattled on, intent on showing their support to Hikeem. The fact that Hikeem was the front-running candidate as the next tower master was already a well-established fact within the tower. The other elders thought they might as well take this opportunity to score some points with him.

Karlon snorted in derision before responding to Hikeem’s proposal. “Hikeem, I wholeheartedly concur with you. Sending you to the grand duke will resolve most, if not, everything we’re dealing with right now.”

“Everything, you say! You continue to surprise us with your unparalleled judgment of character.”

“However, there are just a few questions I’m hoping you’ll answer for me.”

“Yes, of course. What are they?” Hikeem reveled in delight at being recognized for his brilliance in front of his peers. He gave a slimy, self-satisfied smile as he invited Karlon to ask away.

“Do you, by any chance, remember the name Leonard Rodeline?”

The question caught Hikeem mid-grin, so he couldn’t maintain a straight face. W-why is he bringing up that chump’s name right now, of all times?!

The bootlickers trying to get on Hikeem’s good side bought him some time as they protested against Karlon’s question.

“Tower master, that’s a rather unpleasant name to hear for Professor Hikeem.”

“It’s been over six years since that incident. Why do you bring it up now all of a sudden?”

“Do you not remember how much heartache Professor Hikeem had to go through because of those outrageous claims?”

The entire world was on Hikeem’s side, thanks to the generous bribes he distributed. Hikeem breathed an internal sigh of relief as he quickly put on an air of innocence.

“Leonard Rodeline... I know not why you’ve brought up that name, but indeed, how could I forget? He stands as the lone black sheep among all the students I’ve mentored.”

“Black sheep?”

“He had no talent for alchemy but was decent enough as a paper pusher, so I took him in and looked after him. As everyone knows, he insulted my kindness and repaid me with contempt.”

Sympathetic murmurs of distress echoed across the hall at his woeful recollection.

Hikeem began to gain confidence from the elders’ vocal agreement and his deceitful theatrics became even more animated. “I knew his research was at a dead end, but even so, how could he think to steal his very own master’s work? He was quite foolish indeed. Of all my research, he had decided to plagiarize my research on regeneration. The whole world knows regenerative potions are the work of Hikeem Sarmatan! No one would’ve believed him, even if he had managed to successfully steal it and present it as his own. Such a pity!”

Taking this as their cue, the other elders chimed in to agree with Hikeem.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Whatever could he have been thinking? Spinning lies, such transparent lies.”

“It was a serious offense that could not be taken lightly, even as a mentor!”

“Eviction was the only fair course of action. A fitting punishment for his crime.”

Karlon let the elders continue to mindlessly concur with Hikeem for a moment before raising a hand, commanding silence throughout the room.

The questions continued. They were still about Leonard Rodeline.

“From what I hear, Leonard was the father of two children. Yet he did not find a house nearby within the capital but continued his exhausting commute from a small hut on the outskirts of the city. Leonard not only served as the direct apprentice to an elder but also shouldered the responsibility of supporting his family. Do these circumstances not merit a considerable amount of support funds from the tower? Care to explain what happened?”

“Wha...? Ah, y-yes, you see, what had happened was...”

What could he say?! Hikeem himself had embezzled all of the support funding meant to go to Leonard! It was but a trivial, insignificant matter that had gone unnoticed until today. But why, after all these years, of all the people, was the tower’s top leader asking about it?

“H-his wife! Leonard’s wife was financially imprudent. T-that Leonard! He was head over heels for this gold digger of a woman! That boy had a lot of issues... B-but what does this ancient history have to do with our current situation?” Hikeem’s barefaced impudence had suddenly returned in full force. He roared at Karlon as if he were scolding him, “Are we not here to discuss the financial crisis the tower is going through?! Your questions have nothing to do with the issue at hand!”

Hikeem’s excuses for that last question seemed amiss, but the elders remained silent, especially since what he said about the focus of their meeting was true.

Karlon replied with cold indifference, “I ask these things because they are directly related to our crisis.”

“Wha—”

“Hikeem.”

“Y-yes, tower master.”

“Professor Hikeem.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Look here, Hikeem, you little sh*t stain.”