Chapter 590: You Didn't Tell His Majesty That August Is His Son, Did You?
"But don't worry, I will put everything I have into helping you recover," Noah continued, his tone reassuring. "And if this primary method doesn't work, I actually have a second, much more extreme method that can restore your human body. However, we will only use that as an absolute last resort if the first method fails."
"That is perfectly fine! I can easily wait a few years. I would gladly wait decades!" Irene waved her hand dismissively, her voice brimming with unadulterated joy.
Learning that Noah possessed more than one viable method to cure her brought Irene a level of profound happiness she couldn't even begin to describe. This was undoubtedly the happiest day she had experienced in centuries—rivaling the moment Zeref had first restored her outward appearance.
"What exactly is your method? Tell us so we can analyze it and see if there are any areas we can optimize," Mavis asked, looking at Noah.
"I will definitely share it with you all. In fact, I'm going to need your collective expertise to pull this off," Noah replied. "However, I need to conduct a comprehensive, full-body examination of Irene first to determine her exact biological parameters before finalizing the treatment plan.
"Since Irene is giving me all of this equipment, I want to transport it back to Ishgar, integrate it with my own laboratory, and fully calibrate everything before conducting the examination. The combined equipment will yield far more precise data. It's best if we finalize the theoretical framework after we have those exact metrics."
"Then what are we waiting for? When are we returning to the Eastern Continent?!" Irene asked urgently.
Despite constantly claiming she didn't care how long it took, the frantic impatience in her eyes completely betrayed her true feelings.
"Give it a few days," Noah chuckled, holding up a hand to calm her down. "I need time to properly pack and store all this delicate equipment. August needs time to copy Zeref's research, and you undoubtedly need time to settle your affairs here, right?
"Let's set our departure for seven days from now."
Noah looked at August, who nodded in agreement. Seven days was more than enough time for him to prepare everything.
"I suppose you're right..." Irene sighed, acknowledging the logic in his words.
As much as she wanted to teleport to Ishgar immediately and jump onto an examination table, she couldn't just vanish. At the very least, she needed to pack her personal belongings since she would be living in Ishgar for the foreseeable future.
Furthermore, she needed time to procure appropriate gifts for the members of Fairy Tail to thank them for taking care of Erza all these years.
She also had to master the improved Thought Projection magic Noah was going to teach her. As a member of the Spriggan 12, she had a duty to the Empire, especially to Zeref, who had at least tried to help her. Leaving a fully functional clone behind to govern her territory was the responsible thing to do.
Since no one had any objections, the timeline was set: they would depart for Ishgar in exactly seven days.
"By the way..." Irene suddenly looked between Mavis and August, a thought crossing her mind. "You didn't tell His Majesty that August is his son, did you?"
If the Emperor had been informed that he had a biological son, such a monumental revelation would have undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the Empire. Irene would have heard about it.
"No, we haven't told Zeref," Mavis shook her head, her expression turning somber.
"You've interacted with Zeref. You know that the Ankhseram Curse has severely degraded his mental state over the centuries. His thoughts are incredibly contradictory, and no one truly knows how unstable his mind is right now.
"If we suddenly revealed that he has a son—a son who has been standing right beside him, helping him build his Empire all these decades—I have absolutely no idea how his fractured mind would react. I cannot guarantee he wouldn't lash out and hurt August.
"Therefore, I told August to keep it a secret."
Mavis had briefly considered telling Zeref the truth. But after learning from August just how severely Zeref's mental condition had deteriorated in recent years—to the point where Zeref constantly wandered the wilderness alone just to prevent his curse from indiscriminately slaughtering his own citizens—she completely discarded the idea.
She couldn't risk it. She didn't know if Zeref was still truly sane, or if he had quietly descended into madness.
Having just miraculously reunited with her child, her maternal instincts were operating at maximum capacity. She absolutely refused to allow anything to threaten her son's safety—even if that threat was his own father.
August nodded in complete agreement with his mother's reasoning.
However, his primary concern wasn't his own safety; it was Mavis's.
August didn't know how Zeref would react to the sudden reappearance of the woman he loved—a woman who, in Zeref's mind, had died by his own hands a century ago. Given Zeref's mental instability, August was terrified that his father's curse or fractured psyche might inadvertently harm Mavis.
In the past, August hadn't cared about Zeref's mental state. He had simply followed his Emperor's orders like a loyal soldier. But now, everything was different. His mother's safety was his absolute highest priority.
Therefore, he fully supported the decision to keep Zeref entirely in the dark.
"I understand," Irene nodded slowly, a profound look of empathy crossing her face.
Considering Zeref's mental state, Mavis's caution was entirely justified. Irene had experienced a similar psychological break herself.
When Zeref had restored her human appearance, only for her to realize she was still biologically a dragon, the agonizing despair had shattered her mind. It was that exact mental instability that had driven her to the horrific, insane conclusion of trying to enchant herself onto her own newborn baby.
If Irene had been driven to such madness after a few centuries of physical dysphoria, she couldn't even begin to imagine how severely four hundred years of the Ankhseram Curse—a curse that actively tortured the mind and slaughtered loved ones—had warped Zeref's psyche.
As a mother who had ultimately abandoned her child out of fear of hurting her, Irene completely understood Mavis's desire to protect August from an unstable father.
"Let's eat first," Noah interjected, noticing the heavy atmosphere settling over the room.
It was already late into the evening. Packing the laboratory and organizing the data would take time, so it was best to rest and begin fresh in the morning.
"Agreed. Let's eat and get some rest," Irene nodded, her frantic impatience finally soothing into a manageable excitement.
The group shared another meal, washed up, and slept soundly in the laboratory.
Early the next morning, August and Mavis departed for the Imperial Capital. Zeref's private laboratory, which housed all of his most profound research, was located on the outskirts of the capital. August planned to copy the entirety of the archives and deliver them to Mavis.
Mavis tagged along, eager to dive into Zeref's research firsthand, but mostly just wanting to spend the trip by her son's side.
Meanwhile, Irene immediately dispatched her subordinates to purchase a massive haul of local Alvarez specialties, magical tools, and rare regional ingredients. Having learned what the Fairy Tail members liked from Noah, she meticulously prepared a personalized gift for everyone in the guild.
But when it came to Erza, Irene went completely overboard.
Having learned that her daughter loved strawberry cake, soufflés, and magical armors, Irene ordered her forces to aggressively buy out every single bakery and armory in the city. When that wasn't enough, she dispatched rapid-response couriers to neighboring cities, demanding they purchase and deliver all available stock within seven days. If the shipments arrived after she left, she intended to simply make Noah teleport back to retrieve them. She knew he wouldn't dare refuse.
For the rest of the week, Irene dedicated her time to mastering the improved Thought Projection magic Noah taught her. While she lacked general versatility in Caster Magic, her sheer genius in Enchantment Theory allowed her to rapidly deconstruct and master the spell within the seven-day deadline.
Before the week was out, August and Mavis returned from the capital.
Seeing the radiant, euphoric smile on Mavis's face, Noah knew she had received an incredible haul.
Upon quietly asking August, Noah learned the sheer, staggering extent of the Magic King's gift.
When they arrived at the capital, August had seamlessly copied Zeref's entire research archive and handed it to Mavis. But he didn't stop there. Knowing his mother loved to read, August had leveraged his near-infinite wealth to purchase a physical copy of every single book currently being sold in the Alvarez Empire.
Furthermore, he had utilized his ultimate authority to access the Imperial Royal Archives, magically duplicating every single rare manuscript, historical text, and isolated tome in the Empire's possession, gifting the entire monumental collection to his mother.
Mavis was so ecstatic she was practically glowing. She had immediately dove into one of the ancient tomes, reading with unadulterated joy.
Seeing his mother so incredibly happy, August couldn't stop smiling. He knew he had chosen the perfect gift.
However, August and Irene's massive, completely uncharacteristic shopping sprees did not go unnoticed.
The two strongest shields in the Empire rarely made public moves. Irene spent all her time locked in her city, and August quietly managed the state's affairs. For both of them to suddenly initiate massive, aggressive procurement operations simultaneously sparked intense curiosity throughout the Empire, even prompting inquiries from the other Spriggan 12 shields.
August simply claimed that he had developed an interest in literature and wished to curate a comprehensive collection of the Empire's written history.
Irene's excuse was even more blatant. She publicly announced that she had suddenly developed an insatiable craving for strawberry cakes, soufflés, and high-quality magical armors. She declared that anyone who could provide her with the most delicious desserts or the finest enchanted armors would be heavily rewarded by the Scarlet Despair herself.
The announcement sent shockwaves through the Empire.
A reward from the second highest authority in the Alvarez Empire was a prize beyond imagination. While crafting top-tier magical armor was impossible for commoners, baking a strawberry cake was something anyone could attempt.
Driven by the prospect of Irene's reward, every baker, pastry chef, and ambitious citizen in the Empire went into an absolute frenzy, desperately trying to bake the perfect strawberry cake.
The entire Alvarez Empire was suddenly swept up in a chaotic, nationwide baking competition, all because of Irene's "sudden craving."
The other members of the Spriggan 12, after hearing their excuses, simply shrugged it off.
Aside from Zeref, August and Irene held absolute power. They were spending their own vast personal fortunes, so no laws were being broken. The other shields simply assumed that the two strongest mages had finally developed some eccentric hobbies to pass the time. It was common knowledge that supremely powerful individuals often harbored strange quirks, and Irene had always been notoriously reclusive.
No one suspected a thing as the deadline for their departure arrived.
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