Chapter 38

They had assumed she had long forgotten her dead mother. They thought she was the type of person who couldn’t even be bothered to offer a proper greeting.

Suddenly, a deafening shout rang out, striking like a bolt of lightning.

“This spirit stone isn’t our mother—!”

It was Zerno.

The man, who never showed emotion, scowled fiercely, his fury evident on his face.

“You ended up like this because of that thing! How many more foolish things are you going to do…!”

“Then… it’s okay.”

“…What?”

“With the spirit stone… we can remember Mother. And if things ever get too hard… we’ll have a place to return to.”

“….”

“I’ve always been the fool… always the one who makes my family suffer… but not this time… just this once…”

Akain couldn’t breathe.

“How much more shame are you going to bring on this family? Please, just live like you don’t exist! That’s the only thing you can do for us!”

“….”

He assumed she wasn’t answering because she was ignoring him, protesting silently, as if dismissing his words and showing that she didn’t care…

But it wasn’t just Akain.

No one could even open their mouth to speak.

Because the heart this foolish lady had hidden for so long was suddenly laid bare.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

The lights in the Grand Duke’s residence remained on throughout the night, right up until dawn.

“Towels, get more towels!”

“Get some ice! We need to cool her down fast!”

Servants rushed around, frantic, tending to Nikaearsha.

The spirit stone’s rampage had left her body in a terrible state.

The priest and wizard, who usually treated each other as mortal enemies, were stuck side by side, working together to save her. Even the retainers who had witnessed what happened in the sanctuary hovered anxiously outside, unable to leave the estate. It was nearly two in the morning when the commotion began to quiet.

“Ah, you must have had a hard time.”

The retainers greeted the weary, sweat-drenched wizard as he stepped out.

“How is the lady’s condition?”

“The severed blood vessels were reconnected by the priest, and I’ve stabilized the power rampaging inside her. Now it’s up to the doctors.”

“Is… is she in danger?”

“It’s up to the doctor when she’ll wake up.”

“Oh, thank goodness, she survived! She’s alive!”

The retainers laughed nervously, their forced chuckles betraying the relief they felt.

“Thanks to Lady Mikarin, you’ve brought a wizard from the Central Circle here even at this hour.”

Viscount Sandif spoke to Mikarin, who was looking into the room with a satisfied expression.

Mikarin flinched, turning to face him.

“What, what do you mean…?”

“Your connection must be quite close for a wizard of that rank to come running at dawn, and wearing such an impressive magic stone accessory. Remarkable, Lady Mikarin.”

When the young wizard stifled a derisive snort, Mikarin’s expression tightened even further.

“I’ll see the wizard off, since he’s worked so hard.”

“Ah, yes, of course.”

As the retainers continued laughing behind them, Mikarin and the wizard walked down the corridor together. Once they reached a quiet, deserted corner—

“Lord Cleas had a message for you. He said he was very disappointed.”

That was right.

The wizard was discreetly patronized by Cleas’s influential family.

Even the magic stones were something she had wheedled out of Cleas through relentless begging. So, of course, they were not on the kind of terms where she could summon him to treat Nikaearsha. It never would’ve happened if the retainers hadn’t crowded around, wide-eyed, saying, “I thought you two were close?”

‘Because of him, Cleas found out about my entire plan!’

“How much… did you tell him?”

“Tell him what?”

“You know exactly what!”

“The fact that it was Lady Mikarin who caused the former Grand Duchess’s spirit stone’s rampage?”

“….”

“Or that the whole thing about regaining Lord Zerno’s trust and helping with Lord Cleas’s business plans was a lie just to get the magic stones?”

“….”

“Or that you took those stones just to play the hero by stopping the spirit stone’s rampage? If not, then…”

“Enough.”

“Did you know that the fingernail-sized magic stone that saved Lady Nikaearsha was the ‘Master of the Magic Tower’s’ magic stone?”

“I said stop—!”

Yes, she was the one who had caused the spirit stone to go berserk. And yes, she had deceived Cleas to get everything she needed.

Still, it had all been for her and Cleas.

‘It wasn’t supposed to end up like this!’

She was supposed to be the one to calm the spirit stone with the magic stones. That way, she would’ve regained her brothers’ trust and received permission to enter the mansion again.

‘Why, why, why, why?!’

Mikarin gnawed furiously at her nails.

“Are you certain the magic stone Nikaearsha had was the Tower Master’s?”

“Nearly one hundred percent purity. Aether strong enough to stabilize the former Grand Duchess’s spirit stone in an instant, even in such a small amount.”

The wizard sneered, a derisive chuckle escaping him.

“Only the Tower Master could make something like that.”

“You told her about my plan, didn’t you?!”

“Me?”

“Then how else could Nikaearsha have gotten a magic stone from the Tower Master?! Just arranging a meeting with a merchant who deals in something that rare would take a long time!”

“I never said a word about Lady Mikarin’s plan. If anything had slipped, I’d be the one accused of the serious crime of damaging the former Grand Duchess’s spirit stone.”

“But…!”

“Why don’t you consider that the Master of the Magic Tower might have given it to Lady Nikaearsha himself?”

How could Nikaearsha have met the Tower Master?!

Only those with the wisdom of a sage were granted an audience with him. Even Mikarin had tried everything just to catch a glimpse of his shadow, but failed.

“Is there truly no way to meet the Tower Master?”

“There’s no point chasing something that’s not going to happen. How about focusing on a different problem?”

“What do you mean, a different problem?”

“Lord Cleas will be here at the Grand Duke’s residence as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

Well, he was Nikaearsha’s fiancé in name, so of course, he would show up. But why would that be something she needed to worry about?

The wizard’s lips curled into a taunting grin.

“The part that Lord Cleas was most furious about…”

“It was the part where Lady Nikaearsha almost died.”

“….!!”

Seeing Mikarin’s face drain of color, the wizard smiled, clearly amused. This woman, , who would order him around just because she was Cleas’s lover, had always feigned respect with her saccharine ‘wizard,’ yet her eyes betrayed her disdain. To her, wizards were beneath power wielders.

‘Compared to her, Nikaearsha is far better.’

There was a reason even wizards under the direct command of the Master of the Magic Tower praised her endlessly. Nikaearsha respected the wizards enough to visit the Magic Tower herself without worrying about the opinions of power wielders.

Unlike Mikarin, who wore hollow pretenses like a mask.

“Well then, I hope we don’t have to see each other too often.”

With that, the wizard smirked and vanished.

Left alone, Mikarin slammed her fists against the windowsill in frustration.

“Nikaearsha, Nikaearsha, Nikaearsha!”

The expressions of her two older brothers in Nikaearsha’s bedroom were different from usual.

And Cleas…

The moment she thought of Cleas, her head snapped up.

‘First, I need to clear up this misunderstanding with Cleas.’

Without a second thought, Mikarin left the estate and headed straight to the place where she and Cleas always met in secret. It was one of Cleas’s private residences, situated near the Grand Duke’s mansion.

‘He has to be here.’

If the wizard had secretly reported to Cleas, he would have used the communication devices in this house.

Mikarin flung the door open and, just as she expected, saw a familiar back turned toward her. She slipped her arms around him from behind, as he stood gazing out the window with a glass in hand.

“Cleas…”

“….”

“I missed you so much. I really needed you today…”

“What have you done, Mikarin?”

Mikarin flinched and stiffened.

It was the first time she had ever heard that tone in his voice.