Gunmage-Chapter 296: Inheritance of control

"Under normal circumstances, that is."

Lugh noticed the obvious shift in tone, and he frowned, prodding her to continue. She didn’t disappoint.

"You see, the thing is—for some reason, the leader of the Jade Tower in recent centuries has always been the king."

Mirelle and Cassius both gave her a sharp look.

"For some reason?"

They repeated in unison, clearly skeptical.

Sela coughed.

"Yes, I know it’s quite obvious, but this explanation is for Lugh, not for you two."

Lugh looked at her, somewhat confused.

"Was the leader of the Jade Tower not always the king?"

She nodded in affirmation.

"Our leaders were initially selected through elections—or at least that’s what I read in the history books. Each house or organization is entitled to one vote. And until then, it had never been the king."

"Why?"

Lugh asked, still puzzled.

"Wouldn’t it make sense for the highest power in the country to be the leader?"

She spoke.

"That’s exactly the problem—he’s the highest power."

Lugh became even more perplexed.

Mirelle grumbled from the side.

"You’re confusing him. Can’t you keep things more simple?"

"Shut up. I’m getting there."

"Oh? You dare tell me to shut up?"

"I’m your elder, so yeah. Shut up."

"Hmm."

Mirelle scoffed and turned away.

Sela continued.

"You mustn’t forget that our practice of magic is basically illegal. If the rest of the continent finds out—mainly the magical civilizations—we would be in some serious trouble." frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

Lugh nodded.

She continued.

"It’s impossible that they haven’t found out yet. What I suspect is that they just don’t know the true extent of our development.

Since we would fiercely deny it, and since a military intervention is seriously not worth the costs, they choose to turn a blind eye to our activities."

Lugh nodded again—a habit he’d picked up to make speakers feel reassured that he was listening.

Sela seemed to appreciate it, and continued her explanation with even more zeal.

"However, they still send spies, envoys, and others to check up on us from time to time. Turning a blind eye doesn’t mean being totally oblivious, after all."

Then she clapped her hands together—an imitation of their grandmother Selaphiel—and questioned:

"Now, if they are trying to gather comprehensive information on the state of a kingdom, who do you think their target would be?"

Lugh replied without hesitation.

"The king."

"Ah yes. Smart answer. Correct, too. At least you’re not like someone I know."

Mirelle turned to glare at her.

"Are you talking about me?"

"Of course not."

Sela responded with a smile.

Cassius merely watched, amused.

He too was listening intently to Sela. Although he knew much more than Lugh, there were still things he was hearing for the first time.

He’d never really delved much into magic history.

Sela continued.

"Exactly. The king. He is the one who rules the kingdom. Naturally, he should be the most aware of what’s happening.

This is why, in the beginning, the royal family was strictly excluded from ever knowing about the magic society at all—talk less of having a say in their affairs."

"Even till now, they don’t know magic."

Lugh paused.

"That doesn’t make sense. Wittmann clearly attacked me with magic."

It was Mirelle, eager to prove her intelligence, who spoke this time.

"That was most likely an artifact—an enchanted item, if you will. Considering our rich magical history, it only makes sense for the royal family to have a few of these, regardless of whether they can use magic or not."

Lugh nodded again.

The structure of this kingdom was complex. He knew he’d barely even scratched the surface, considering all this information was being given to him by young adults—scions of their respective houses.

Knowledgeable, yes, but not quite enough to know the truly deep secrets.

Sela continued.

"An inspection of the royal family that reveals they are unable to use magic would naturally keep the magical civilizations at peace.

Even if they knew others practiced it in secret, it must have been so well-hidden that even the rulers of the kingdom have a hard time grasping it. At that time, this was the line of thought for the Jade Tower."

"At that time."

Lugh noticed the peculiar phrasing.

"Did something happen?"

He asked.

Sela shrugged.

"This is where my knowledge goes blank. I don’t really know what happened during that time period, but all of a sudden, the king became the leader of the Jade Tower. And all the subsequent leaders of the Jade Tower were the kings. Since we still haven’t been caught, everyone accepted it. But..."

"But?"

Lugh repeated.

Sela tapped her jaw, thinking.

"Remember what I told you about the chairman of a neighborhood association?"

"Yeah,"

He responded.

"His role is to make things run smoothly."

After a pause, Lugh continued.

"He has no direct control over the ho—"

At that, Lugh fell silent.

Sela spoke.

"It’s starting to dawn on you, isn’t it?"

"The chairman isn’t supposed to have control over the neighborhood... but what happens when that chairman is king?"

"...Everyone has to listen to him."

"Exactly."

She responded.

"Though there are some limitations and exceptions, that’s the general gist of it. Considering that you’re, in theory, a member of the Jade Tower, you have to know all this."

Lugh hummed in thought.

Then he spoke.

"The leader of the Jade Tower is the king. And for several centuries, it’s been that way."

They all turned to him, waiting for his point.

Lugh continued.

"Doesn’t that mean the Jade Tower is being led in one specific direction? The resources of a kingdom—all to accomplish a singular, specific goal?"

They all glanced at each other.

Mirelle spoke.

"Lugh, did you hit your head somewhere?"

He frowned.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Sela interjected, shooting her sister a glare.

"What she means to say is—the royal family is not a hivemind. Different kings are different individuals. Even if their predecessors gave them a plan, they are under no obligation to complete it.

Chances are, they’ll want to forge their own path. Considering the bloody struggle for succession beforehand, only the truly ambitious and talented ever get the chance to wear the crown. That eliminates any possibility of what you just speculated."

Mirelle chimed in.

"Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted to say."

Lugh stroked his chin, ignoring her.

’This... looks grim.’

While his sisters thought they had denied his idea, in reality, they had only confirmed it.

This was because—

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