Chapter 25
Rozian came to the Magic Tower on an errand from his mother: to check on Michael and deliver a letter to the tower’s master.
Because of this, Rozian visited Diamid in the late afternoon.
Rozian took out from his arms the item that Princess Elia had instructed him to deliver.
“My mother’s letter.”
Diamid took the letter from Rozian without much thought.
The contents roughly read as follows:
[Michael’s inheritance requires the approval of two guardians…]
Without a word, Diamid scrawled his signature onto the letter.
For him, blood ties were meaningless constraints.
He usually paid little attention to people’s customs, but Michael was different.
Michael was an invaluable asset to the Magic Tower.
Rozian stared at Diamid intently.
It seemed to him that while Diamid carefully looked after his talented nephew, he was neglecting his own daughter, Jaina.
“…”
To Rozian, who had lived as the son of the heroic Princess Elia, this was utterly incomprehensible.
‘So the second-in-command of the tower, my nephew, is valuable to me, but a young, incapable daughter is useless… and it doesn’t matter if she lives or dies?’
“You have a fine daughter, Master of the Tower. She has been of great help.”
Annoyed by this, Rozian deliberately mentioned Jaina in front of Diamid.
“She saved a national treasure artifact that was almost stolen. Although she refused any reward herself, would it be acceptable to give a reward on her behalf at the Magic Tower where she resides?”
Diamid’s expression darkened for a moment at Rozian’s blunt words.
“Your daughter? Who are you to talk about my daughter?”
“Of course, I know it’s not my place…”
“Even if you pretend to care, it’s only momentary. Don’t act as if someone dear to you is at stake.”
Rozian had expected Diamid to refuse under the pretense of authority, but Diamid’s unexpected words left him stammering.
“No, I—I…”
“The less entangled fleeting relationships are, the better.”
Then Diamid sneered mockingly.
“That’s something a royal raised under parents would understand better.”
At that moment, Rozian’s eyes turned crimson.
Rozian’s mother, Princess Elia, appeared far younger than her age. Her smooth, late-twenties appearance was due entirely to her mastery of magic, which slowed her aging.
But there was a reason why someone so active treated people coldly and failed to properly care for her sister’s son, Michael.
Her young husband had died far too early.
After parting with Rozian, Diamid headed to the White Garden.
It was the place where he had told Jaina never to appear again.
He started from the entrance of the White Garden, walking and walking.
After some time, as white petals became prominent against his black hood, he stopped in front of a tree.
This spot had existed since the creation of the White Garden, as a place where time seemed frozen.
Lowering his gaze to the tree roots, he saw a box lying open amidst the dug-up soil.
Diamid stood before it and stirred the air with his magic.
Flutter.
The box contained letters, ornaments, and mementos. Among them, a single letter unfolded before Diamid’s eyes.
[Diamid, I love you. Forever, until my last breath.]
Diamid recalled what Princess Elia had once said:
—Diamid Bellaphanian, you know. Bezrice truly loved you. The notion that she was toying with you because you’re human is a misunderstanding.
Princess Elia was his ally, as well as his in-law, who had gone with him to confront the Demon King.
Though she took Bezrice’s side, there was something she did not know.
—Bezrice… it was a lie, right? That you didn’t love me…
—If I had known you would cling to me so pitifully, I never would have toyed with you in the first place.
Under Diamid’s hood was a scar left from the time he parted with Bezrice.
A long diagonal gash that, had it not been treated in time, could have killed him from blood loss.
“…”
What returned to the man who tried to hold onto a departing love was a violent attack that threatened his life.
Yet more painful than that was the betrayal of trust.
He could have healed it without leaving a mark, but he chose not to.
To forever remember the lesson left by his folly.
‘Love ensnares humans.’
Perhaps the child Ashrid would also suffer the more he cared for another.
Being a dragon, with a longer lifespan than humans… life for him alone would be a string of pain.
He wanted revenge.
Even if he were already dead, he could enact it on her daughter.
The moment that face, resembling Bezrice, twisted in pain would be the day he raised a toast.
Hence, he kept that small, fragile being alive.
Diamid closed his eyes and whispered to himself.
Since meeting Rozian, Jaina had become contemplative.
‘The person I met was the protagonist.’
The original novel The Sword of Vengeance had seemed entirely unrelated to her, set in the human world.
She had thought so, yet after leaving the dragon village and coming to the Magic Tower, she gradually found herself approaching the center of the story.
Not only was she the daughter of the final boss, Diamid, but she was now entangled with the protagonist, Rozian.
—I forgot to mention last time, but isn’t there another spell on your cloak?
—Huh?
—It seems you can hide or reveal certain patterns. Let me see.
She had thought of it as a simple, convenient cloak with everyday magic like warmth or water resistance.
But through Michael’s magic, its true value exceeded Jaina’s expectations.
—…This is the royal emblem. He actually gave you this? Really?
Owning an item with the royal emblem meant being under the imperial guarantee.
—With this cloak, there’s nowhere in the Empire you can’t go, nothing you can’t do.
Hearing this, the cloak felt heavier than usual.
Though it had been enchanted to feel almost weightless, as if barely worn.
‘What on earth is Rozian thinking?’
Before knowing its value, Jaina had intended to return the cloak.
Catching the pickpocket had been accidental.
But when she insisted on returning it, Rozian’s response was:
—Then return it the next time we meet.
Would she ever meet the royal heir Rozian again?
Even if he was simply deferring her return, it was problematic; meeting Rozian again was itself a problem.
Not just any royal heir—he was the protagonist of the novel.
‘I don’t intend to struggle desperately to survive, but I can’t be too careless either.’
It wasn’t only the final boss and the protagonist.
Jaina also frequently interacted with Michael and Hilbanzia, Diamid’s left and right hands.
She didn’t blame her past self; everything had been unexpected. What mattered now was preparing for the future.
Jaina decided to systematically summarize the novel The Sword of Vengeance that she had read.
Scribble, scribble.
She wrote in Korean so no one else could recognize it.
‘Diamid freezes hearts, parts with Bezrice, Princess Elia gives birth to Rozian…’
Step by step, by time and character.
Even if it took a long time, she couldn’t rush.
After a while:
“Phew.”
The papers before her were densely filled.
She couldn’t recall exact dates, but she could arrange events roughly in chronological order.
‘How old were Rozian and his companions at the start of the novel?’
Recently, she had asked Rozian his age.
—Twelve. Two years older than you, Jaina.
Knowing his age was a crucial clue for anticipating future events.
‘A character four years older than Rozian…’
Jaina began creating a timeline for each major character in the novel.
Knowing the protagonist’s age allowed her to estimate what his companions might be doing.
And she could also recall an event with precise years and dates.
[On the day that marks the start of spring, ironically, even Izren was abandoned by the Magic Tower, his last hope.]
The start of spring corresponded roughly to the first day of spring in Korea.
Thanks to this, Jaina could remember clearly what happened in the spring when Izren turned sixteen. And that day was today.
Jaina walked slowly toward the lobby.
Being involved in the novel, she needed to confirm the character of this significant supporting role.
“So… you came to see the Master of the Tower?”
“Do you intend to become a squire here, among the mages?”
As she neared the lobby, the loud chatter of the mages became clearer.
“Filthy brat. Do you think you’re human like us?”
Jaina leaned her chin on her hand and looked down the floor.
At the end of her gaze stood a slightly out-of-place boy.
With sky-blue hair, gem-like eyes that shimmered violet depending on the angle—an overall mystical, intelligent aura, though his ears were slightly red from tension.
The sky of Itanis.
Mercenary King Izren Danarode.
He would later become a renowned companion of Rozian, but for now, he was just a young knight unable to shed his naivety.
