Episode 44

“How much do you know about the Magic Tower?”

“It disappeared before I was born, so I don’t know much. I only know it was a gathering of wizards…”

“You’re right, but the Seville family managed the Magic Tower until it disappeared 30 years ago.”

I already knew this. Frederick Seville, the Marquis of the Seville family, was the last master of the Magic Tower.

He believed the Magic Tower would be revived. He firmly believed the family could enjoy the glory they once had.

The way he mistreated Isis, who couldn’t manifest magic, was still vivid in my mind. And Frederick took a keen interest in Abel’s talents.

“People don’t believe in magic. Even I don’t want to experience that eerie magic again. I think of magic as a delusion.”

Countess Howarth took her last drag of the cigarette. The cigarette was shorter than her fingers now.

She gave a short, mocking laugh and looked at me. Then she quietly began to speak.

“And there was one more person who wanted the revival of the Magic Tower.”

“……”

“An extinguished flame now. You must know him. The one called the hero of the kingdom.”

Diev Akaruth, the previous Grand Duke.

“He wanted the revival of the Magic Tower?”

There was nothing to gain for Diev.

“Didn’t I tell you? Magic is something believed by those with delusions. That man had delusions too.”

It was the first time I had heard of this. Was there even such an exchange between the Seville family and the Akaruth family?

“He was a hero who feared death. They say there’s magic to bring back the dead. He wanted that.”

I knew a similar story. Later, Isis would bring back the dead Abel. Magic to bring back the dead wasn’t just a myth.

“I only know there was some sort of deal between the two. The will of the previous Grand Duke is the proof.”

“……A will?”

“Yes. Raiden Akaruth burned the will.”

Countess Howarth tossed the cigarette into the ashtray. The unextinguished cigarette continued to burn, sending smoke into the air.

“Isis Seville, that child seemed to know the contents of the will.”

I flinched as if burned by fire at the sudden mention of Isis’s name.

“Raiden Akaruth. He is the culprit.”

I froze at the Countess’s words. I thought I had misheard.

“Y-Your Grace is the culprit?”

“He’s a cruel man, just like his father. I’ve never acknowledged that man as a hero.”

It felt like someone had hit the back of my head hard. I clenched and unclenched my fists repeatedly, unable to speak.

“……Are you sure?”

“I believe so.”

……Which means it’s not certain. It means there’s a chance someone else is the culprit.

The Countess clicked her tongue and faintly furrowed her brows.

“I thought they sent you to learn the contents of the will… but seeing your situation, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

At those words, I suddenly looked up.

“Or maybe they entrusted that task to someone smarter than you.”

Countess Howarth inspected her nails, painted black.

“But how do you know all this, Madam?”

At my question, the Countess paused. But only for a moment, she then smiled and replied.

“I too was once captivated by illusions. I wanted to taste the food of the gods.”

“……”

“Perhaps I’m still immersed in that illusion.”

Her smile lingered for a long time. She looked incredibly happy, lost in her fantasy.

* * *

Abel must know about this. Is that why he insisted on dealing with the Akaruth family? Or could it be that he made a deal with Frederick?

Since Frederick knew Abel loved Isis, he might have used him.

…Before that, if Abel knew all of this, there was something I needed to confirm with him.

My steps towards Abel quickened.

I needed to know if it was really Raiden who caused Isis to lose her memory, if Raiden really… hurt her.

If Isis forgot about Abel and me because of Raiden…

Then what should I…

My steps towards Abel slowed down.

Then what should I do now? At least I believed in Raiden. I believed he was a good person. I finally acknowledged that he wasn’t someone who would hurt the person I love.

My mind was in turmoil.

‘Isn’t it just that you want to believe that?’

I tightly closed my eyes.

The truth was, I wanted the Countess to be wrong. I wanted to believe in Raiden.

Two conflicting thoughts coexisted. The Raiden I had seen and the Raiden I didn’t know overlapped.

At that moment, a pair of brown shoes suddenly appeared in my view. Large feet, familiar because I always looked down when facing him.

“…Did you hear that from Countess Howarth?”

The voice I didn’t want to hear cruelly pierced my ears. I clasped my pale hands together.

As if it wasn’t enough to have a complicated mind, now I had to face this man too.

“Boy, do you have nothing to say to me?”

Once again, his large shadow loomed over me. The memory of what happened at the hunting ground came back, and cold sweat trickled down my spine. I tightly closed my eyes. My clasped hands hurt.

“…Does my word not sound like words anymore?”

“Thank you.”

He might place a dagger at my throat again. I raised my head and thanked him.

…Because I learned a lot of truths thanks to him.

It wasn’t like I was bowing down to him. I bowed politely so he wouldn’t find fault with me.

When I glanced at his face, he was biting his lips until they turned blue. It seemed he was thinking of other ways to torment me.

Does he have something to say? What could it be? I decided to wait quietly.

And the words that came out of his mouth were somewhat absurd.

“…Raiden Akaruth is a much more evil person than you think.”

I didn’t know what he wanted. My head was already about to burst with thoughts of Raiden Akaruth, and now Theodore was saying such things without any context.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“If it’s revealed that you’re a girl, you’ll die immediately.”

I furrowed my brows. Was he threatening me? Because he knew my secret, was he telling me to behave?

“…For the record, I’m not a girl. So I won’t die at the hands of the Grand Duke.”

The man’s brows twitched.

“I know you wish for my death more than anyone else, but I won’t…”

I stopped speaking. My head hurt. How nice would it be if someone told me the definitive truth? If only I remembered the original story clearly…

“…die.”

“Do you really trust that man?”

“More than you, at least.”

I hated Theodore, who constantly tormented me, calling me a girl and demanding I admit it. I hated this man who kept raising his voice and pressuring me to admit I was a girl.

Theodore’s face twisted into a fierce expression at my words.

I was tired. I avoided his gaze and spoke.

“I will make sure we don’t meet while you stay at the Grand Duke’s residence. I hope you find peace while you’re here.”

I bowed to him. Theodore’s face turned red and then blue with anger.

Even though I said I would stay out of sight, he was still furious. What was I supposed to do?

“You…!”

Theodore acted as if he would punch me any moment. But he just gritted his teeth and didn’t lay a hand on me.

* * *

“Come in.”

I took a deep breath. One, two, three…

As I carefully opened the door, I saw Raiden lying casually on the sofa. Facing him made my heart unsettled again.

I felt an urge to leave the room immediately. I hypnotized myself.

‘I can’t see anything right now.’

“I brought the clothes for you to change into…”

I cautiously approached Raiden and handed him the clothes I had brought. Only then did Raiden lift his head from where it had been leaning back on the sofa.

He roughly pushed back his disheveled hair and took the clothes. Then he started unbuttoning his shirt.

I never got used to watching him undress. I just lowered my eyes. Soon, I heard the sound of the shirt falling to the floor, indicating he had fully undressed.

When I cautiously raised my head, my eyes met his as he was putting on the new clothes. Embarrassed, I looked away quickly. Raiden let out a small laugh at my reaction.

I carefully picked up his clothes from the floor, but I was startled to see bloodstains on his white shirt.

“Your Grace, are you hurt?”

“It’s not my blood.”

…Then whose blood is it?

But I soon realized that the bloodstains likely belonged to those imprisoned in the basement—the ones who tried to kill him during the hunting event.

I draped his clothes over my arm and spoke.

“I’ll see you again in the evening.”

I hurriedly tried to leave Raiden’s room. As I was doing so, Raiden, who had been watching me quietly, spoke.

“You… Is something wrong?”