Even Gerard was restricted in what he could do unilaterally without the consent of this council.

“Don’t be nervous, it’s okay.”

Grooby looked nervously around at the people and finally turned his head toward Gerard.

Gerard slightly lifted his chin, as if to say, “Just go ahead and do it.”

“Hu.”

The boyish face with blonde hair settled down.

His face had gained vitality and luster even though he had only had a few proper meals.

Grooby then summoned the mana that had been dormant within him.

Woosh—

His body seemed to inflate, his arms lifted, and blue waves flowed out of him.

“Ah.”

“My God.”

“Is this possible?”

The aged bureaucrats poured out exclamations.
Although Gerard had a tendency to apprehend witches and wizards, making it rare to witness real magic in action, encountering someone with this vast amount of mana was even more unusual.

This was because the amount of mana a single person could hold was severely limited, as evidenced by the anecdote that seven wizards were recruited to create a portal.

“It’s beyond imagination.”

The minister mumbled, his mouth agape.

Then, as if something occurred to him, he covered his mouth and whispered to Dylan, who was standing right next to him.

“Did you say that boy was born in a prison?”

Dylan glanced at the emperor and answered in a subdued voice.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Doubtful Dylan had gone so far as to visit a retired knight years ago to hear firsthand the story of when Grooby was born.

“You don’t mean to say that just a few years in that prison would distort memories and even make you lose touch with reality, do you?”

Dylan initially had thought the same.

However, for a child born in prison, there was neither a distorted reality nor a confusing world.

After all, that prison was all the world he knew.

“The matter has been verified.”

The minister flicked his pale eyebrows.

“By the head of the guard?”

“Yes. Personally.”

As the two conversed, Grooby continued to spread his mana even further.

At this rate, one had to wonder just how far his abilities could extend.

“That’s enough. Stop there.”

After all, exposure to strong mana could drive ordinary people without magical abilities insane or even kill them.
The effect was like passing through a portal without the stamped lock on a permit.

After all, the portal itself was a cluster of mana.

“We can’t all faint like Kelita, you know.”

At Gerard’s remark, mana rushed into the boy’s body.

Grooby wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked toward a chair, only to hesitate and sit down next to it instead.

“Haah.”

A rough breath escaped his lips, followed by the inhalation of fresh air.

While high-ranking bureaucrats and the judge were talking, Grooby focused solely on breathing in and out.

Those present would probably never know until their dying day.

How precious and valuable it was to breathe such clean air.

The damp, muggy air of the underground felt as if it scraped away his lungs with each breath.

Whenever those who had survived in prison occasionally told him about the outside world, Grooby prayed to God to allow him just once to breathe the air above ground before he died.

He wanted to die breathing fresh air.

“Even so, he’s still an immature child. If he misuses his power, everyone who entered the portal could go mad or die.”

“Your Majesty, I acknowledge the boy’s abilities, but this is unrealistic.”

“We can’t let Bercheria go unchecked, can we!”

“If we leave Bercheria as is, won’t it degrade the dignity of the royal family?”
The conference room became noisy, and Gerard spoke with a voice tinged with annoyance.

“Enough, be quiet for now.”

Even so, when they didn’t close their mouths, he banged his hand on the table with a thud!

“Can’t you hear me telling you to be quiet?”

Only then did they tightly close their mouths, watching Gerard’s mood as they bowed their heads.

“There’s no time to hesitate now. Lakrahan is rushing his marriage to Bercheria.”

The faces of the officials, who had been unaware of even this news, turned to astonishment.

“Is it really true that Lakrahan and Bercheria are getting married? Really?”

The emperor opened his mouth and then closed it as if annoyed.

He then gestured to Dylan.

Stepping forward, Dylan explained to the Emperor the note that had arrived, the story told to him by an old man living in the North about Bercheria, and also the process up to now.

Meanwhile, the emperor’s gaze remained on Groovy.

“You look very much like Bercheria.”

Gerard concealed his continuous snickering and leaking smile.

‘Even though he’s a boy, he’s as beautiful as Bercheria. Really, it wouldn’t be a loss no matter who it is.’

Since this morning, Gerard’s mood had been wider than even the Pacific Ocean below.

“Then where is your assurance that the woman Lakrahan is marrying is Bercheria? It might not be, you know. Isn’t that right?”

At the minister’s words, Gerard furrowed his brows and slowly lifted his head.

As if he had just realized something he had completely forgotten, he absentmindedly opened his mouth.
“True. No one knows.”

Gerard realized he had been stuck in conventional thinking all along.

“Yeah, no one knows. Why didn’t I think of that when no one knows?”

Gerard’s lips twisted upwards as he muttered to himself.

Until now, he had been pondering how to deceive people into believing he had killed Bercheria.

What if that child could play the role of Bercheria, and he could bring the real Bercheria to display in his treasure warehouse?

If he could keep her tied up there and gaze at her beautiful hair and sparkling eyes whenever he wanted?

Gerard shivered at the thought that swept over him for a moment.