Chapter 42 - Mary.

A girl with white hair and blue eyes phoned me after class. My "friend from childhood," Mary, was grinning. I greeted Mary in the classroom, but that was all we said to one another. She seemed to want to speak with me alone, in private, without anyone else around.

"You're stronger now,"

"Yes."

Compared to the last time I saw Mary, she has a lot more magic power. I demonstrated to her how to harness environmental energy and transform it into magical power using my own technique. Not to brag, but I believe that my approach to boosting magic strength is among the best there is.

She must have been practicing a lot these past few weeks based on the quantity of magic power inside her. She can quickly outperform the level she attained in my first life if she keeps acting in this manner.

"Can we discuss in private?"

"Yes."

Our chat was overheard by Angelica, who was coming towards me. With a small nod and a look that indicated "see you later," she acknowledged that Mary had something significant to discuss with me.

I didn't see Arthur when I was in the room. He seemed to have missed a week of class due to some training he needed to complete. He reportedly requested a two-week break from school to concentrate on special training. He has various advantages over others because he is a hero.

Mary and I adjourn from the room and head for the academy library. If there's a private area, it's in between the bookcases in the library. I had a conversation with Mary about how my absence had affected her during the journey. The white-haired girl began to report on her days at the gym while grinning broadly.

Nothing much happened, in the meantime at the gym, only Arthur left the gym to train. When we arrived at the library, we went up to the second floor, to the last row of bookshelves. Mary leaned against the shelf, and sighed.

"Looks like my father is supporting yours."

"Supporting?"

"Yes, recently..."

...

(Mary's point of view)

I visited my father's home the previous weekend, a week ago. My clothing were growing shabby, so I wanted to buy some new ones. In order to take advantage of my visit, my father Thomas, who appeared to have a strong bond with the Bladys, brought me along. It's difficult for me to get along with my dad.

Honestly, I don't even think of this man as a human person; I see him as a monster with ambition. I am an ice magician, and so is my father. He was strong, but not strong enough to match the strength of Luke's father, the greatest duke. Only after the imperial family, he had always aspired to be the second-strongest noble in the empire.

He put his greed on me by failing to fulfill such an aim. He put me through a grueling training regimen after noticing my talent. I can still clearly recall the days I sat in a chilly, dark room gaining magical strength. My father and I frequently engaged in fictitious fights, and in each one, he consistently overreached his physical limits.

I can still feel the icy winds of his spells on my body. His desire resulted in numerous conflicts and numerous wounds. My father was aware of the serious damage my relationship had done. The carriage was silent as it traveled to the Blady manor.

When we arrived at the mansion, I remembered Luke. Rumors circulated that Luke was working for the empress, so he was not present at the imperial academy. It looks like he went with the empress to the realm of demihumans. Thinking of Luke, I miss him.

When we entered the Blady mansion, we were guided to an underground room by a maid. When I entered, I saw many other nobles sitting around a large table. It looked like some kind of meeting. One of the people I noticed was Lily, Luke's sister. I never liked her, because my father always compared me to her.

Taking power was the meeting's topic when it got going. Everyone in this gathering appears to be in favor of Jeorge Blady's plan to trick the empress and usurp her position as monarch. I believe a promise was made for my father to support him. Not just to my father, but also to every other noble present, I made this vow. Since everyone seems to desire more power, what more could there be?

Given the amount of nobles present today, Jeorge is powerful enough to depose Empress Margaret from her position as empress and to subdue the other nobles, forcing them to recognize him as the new emperor. In essence, he is strong enough to outmatch any challengers. It would be Luke's responsibility to make such a scheme successful.

It appears like Jeorge intends to ascend to the throne during a gathering in the imperial palace. All nobles congregate at such a gathering. In such a case, the opposing nobility would struggle with Jeorge's men if he tried to depose Margaret. Empress Margaret and Elizabeth, a sword monster, would be on equal footing in a direct conflict.

Luke would be the one to lean the odds in favor of Jeorge's side. It has come to light over the past few months that Luke has turned into a monster and is now catching up to his brothers. Everyone believed it, but the truth is different, and it appears that Jeorge is aware of this. He seemed to have been watching Luke.

He placed some infiltrators in the academy to analyze the forces of future nobles and obviously, these spies analyzed Luke's advance. That was Marceline's job, but it seems that she had become a faithful servant to Luke. Although she forgot her duties, Jeorge didn't get mad.

It seems that Marceline has created some bond with Luke and mistreating her now would not please him. Jeorge wants Luke to be as happy as possible and as comfortable as possible, so that all plans go well. In addition to Luke being an ace in the hole, the rumors that he is on the side of the empress made Jeorge happy. If true, Luke can facilitate the most difficult part of the plan, which is infiltrating enemy soldiers into the imperial palace.

Luke, in short, is the backbone of Jeorge's plan. It's a good plan, but it won't work. After all, I know that Luke hates this family. After the meeting, the nobles left and only my father and Jeorge remained. The two talked privately while I waited outside.

"How long Mary." Lily approached me.

"Yes."

"You know... You may not have noticed but I've been noticing you at the gym. Do you like my brother Luke?"

"..."

"Apparently your likes it. It's a shame he has a BRIDE hahaha."

After saying that, Lily left. Obviously, it was a provocation, but when I heard that sentence from her, the only thing that went through my mind was.

'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, I must kill Sophia to have Luke for myself..... But wait.... If I kill her, Luke will be sad... .. I don't want to see him sad... I want to see him happy... How can I make Luke happy?... How? I want to see you Luke. I want... to kiss you... I want to be with you.'

I had another meeting with Luke a week after the first one. I can't take my eyes off of him in class. He is very attractive. However, I also notice that dreadful Sophia at the same time as Luke. After giving it some thought, I chose to inform Luke about the meeting because he was in the dark about what was happening.

Given that I am aware of Luke's lack of familial support, I made the decision to let others know what was happening. I called him, and we met at the library to discuss. After detailing everything, Luke considered for a moment while placing his palm on his chin. He gave me a serious look that I had never seen before after that.

"Mary, if I betrayed the Blady family, what would you do?"

"Good..."

"Before I answer, I want you to know that this could also harm your father, as he aligned himself with the Blady family."

A smile formed on my lips.

"Whatever you do, I'll be by your side."

"Mary, can I trust you?"

"Yes."

"How about we make a trust agreement?"

"If necessary, I will do whatever it takes to earn your trust."

"Okay. I believe you, no contract needed."

"What do you intend to do?"

"I don't know yet, but the Blady family won't have a good future."

"I'll do whatever it takes to help you."

"Mary."

Luke suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. A surprised voice came out of my mouth, but it was drowned out by Luke's lips. Yes, I was kissed by him. It was a light touch, lasting a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity and it was the most emotional moment of my life.

"If you help me and everything works out, I'll make you one of the happiest women in the world."

'Ah Luke.... I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, I love you I love you I love you....'

....

(Pov Luke)

We finish our chat and exit the building. Mary had an odd expression and appeared to have hearts around her eyes. She was also red in the face. Her expression suggested that she was considering something because it was so expressive. I bid Mary farewell and informed her of my critical situation. Indeed, it was crucial.

It appears that my father is moving more quickly than I anticipated. I had a problem with Mary's account when I was traveling to the imperial palace. How does he intend to utilize me if he knows Margaret and I are collaborating? He's presumably taking into account the fact that I didn't sign a contract with Margaret. Only this is possible.

I went to Margaret's office as soon as I got at the royal palace. Margaret was writing on some papers at the table as I walked in, and Elizabeth was honing her sword. They both grinned when they spotted me.

"I assumed you wouldn't show up for practice today, Luke."

"Well, let's discuss first," I said.

I approached Elizabeth and gave her a kiss as I approached. Then I repeated the action with Margaret. I settled onto the seat next to Margaret's desk.

"My father is looking to take your throne, Margaret."

"How do you know that?"

"I received information from a person who was involved in this movement from my father. Don't worry, this person is an ally of ours."

"What else do you know?"

"I don't know much. But it looks like my dad wants to have a talk with me."

"We have to prepare."

"Yes. But don't worry, everything will work out. My father doesn't even suspect that I'm his vassal and believes that I'll be his strength."

"What do you plan to do?"

"Something very bad for the Bladys."

I don't know when my father will want to take Margaret's throne, but I need to get stronger. After all, my revenge is coming.