Chapter 62 ..
The Younger Brother Who Became a Stranger Wants to Become My Husband
Frea widened her eyes in shock at Mareni’s sudden exposure. Without realizing it, she even covered Millian’s eyes with her hand.
However, unlike Frea, who was flustered, Millian looked indifferent. His attitude was utterly flat, as if he were looking at a stone.
Startled, Frea glared at Mareni.
As if unaware of Frea’s feelings, Mareni lowered her clothes just enough that her chest was barely—dangerously—about to be revealed.
Frea sprang to her feet to stop her, but she couldn’t. No, she couldn’t do anything at all.
Because of the grotesque mark engraved on her chest.
On the upper part of Mareni’s left breast, a red seal was carved into her skin. A symbol of a two-headed snake coiled tightly around a book.
It was the symbol of the Mage Tower.
“What is that?” Frea asked, frowning at the eerie mark that looked as if flesh had been burned away.
She wasn’t asking because she didn’t know what it was. Naturally, she lowered the hand that had been covering Millian’s eyes.
Mareni pulled her clothes back up and spoke calmly.
“Why do you think mages are so fiercely loyal to the Mage Tower?”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yes. That’s right. Because of this damned seal. Every mage of the Mage Tower has this engraved on their heart. It’s a ritual to swear loyalty—and essentially a shackle. The Tower Master can kill any mage of the Mage Tower at any time. Only the Tower Master can activate this magic.”
So that was why the Mage Tower was so solid and unshakable. She had never even imagined they carried out such a ritual.
Listening to Mareni, Frea pressed her with a doubtful tone.
“That’s strange. Wasn’t this ritual performed of your own will, Young Lady?”
“Do you really think I volunteered for the ritual?”
Mareni snapped back, clearly displeased.
An awkward Frea cautiously asked again, her tone more careful than before.
“Then… it wasn’t?”
“Of course not. As soon as a child is born into a mage family, the ritual is performed immediately. The child’s will doesn’t matter. Once a family becomes mages of the Mage Tower, that family must live as Mage Tower mages forever. If they refuse, the rule is to wipe out the entire family. And even if the Tower Master doesn’t step in personally, the mages who’ve already undergone the ritual won’t stay still.”
“So it’s a case of ‘if I’m going to die, you’re coming with me’?”
At Frea’s uncomfortable remark, Mareni regained her composure and replied calmly.
“You could put it that way. If you can’t escape anyway, it’s better for everyone to make the Mage Tower stronger so it doesn’t collapse. Thanks to that, we gained a safe fence—and it’s true that the Tower became powerful enough to form a treaty with the Imperial Family, isn’t it?”
“The Mage Tower really is a group you can’t bring yourself to view kindly,” Frea said frankly, without bothering to dress up her thoughts.
At her honest response, Mareni laughed out loud.
‘Most nobles whisper behind your back rather than say things outright to your face. She doesn’t seem like a typical noble.’
In any case, hearing someone openly say such things when she herself was a mage of the Mage Tower felt oddly refreshing.
Frea stared at her tea, her expression heavy with thought.
To think the reason the Mage Tower endured was nothing more than forcing people to clutch one another’s lifelines, constantly suspecting and guarding against each other.
In a way, it was the most reliable method of maintaining a group—but at the same time, it was a horrifying tradition. It meant living with a curse engraved into your body without your consent.
Watching Frea’s reaction, Mareni continued.
“For this reason, mages of the Mage Tower can’t go against the Tower Master. That’s why they can’t openly oppose the spirit experiments. The one who approved them was the Tower Master.”
“I understand now that you’re innocent regarding the spirit experiments.”
“Thank you for believing me. I was worried about what I’d do if you didn’t, even after hearing this.”
“I can feel it. The horrifying magic carved into that mark.”
Frea rubbed her throbbing head.
To think the unpleasant aura she felt whenever she saw mages was actually a curse engraved into their bodies.
Who would have thought people were walking around carrying poison inside them? She had assumed it was just because she’d suffered too much in the past.
At Frea’s response, Mareni looked surprised.
“You can feel it? No wonder the upper ranks of the Mage Tower are targeting you. Spirit Flow really must be an incredible power.”
“Attention I’d rather not receive,” Frea replied flatly.
Having a pure flow of the soul meant being especially sensitive to impure things. With such malicious magic embedded in them, it was only natural for her to feel discomfort.
A long-standing mystery finally made sense, and she nodded to herself. Her particular sensitivity to mages wasn’t just a matter of personal preference.
A moment later, Frea noticed something strange and stiffened.
Come to think of it, she had never felt anything like that from Esid—not even a hint of discomfort.
Esid’s mother had been a mage of the Mage Tower. If so, Esid should have had that mark as well.
But Esid wasn’t affiliated with the Mage Tower. He was one of the few independent mages.
It didn’t add up. According to Mareni’s explanation, Esid should have been a mage of the Mage Tower.
Confused, Frea asked,
“Wait. Do all mages of the Mage Tower have that mark?”
“Of course. Even the Tower Master has it. The only difference is that theirs is black rather than red.”
Mareni answered as if the question itself were strange. But Frea couldn’t simply accept it.
If she hadn’t felt any discomfort from Esid, that meant he didn’t have the mark… Could it be that Empress Anemone had deceived the Mage Tower?
Honestly, whether it was when they watched fireflies by the lake or when they met again later, she had never felt anything unpleasant from him.
If she hadn’t known he was a Grand Duke, she wouldn’t even have realized he was a mage.
Frea pinpointed her doubt and asked Mareni directly.
“There’s something strange. How is Grand Duke Esid not affiliated with the Mage Tower? Empress Anemone was a mage of the Tower.”
“That magic doesn’t work on the imperial family. In a way, he’s very lucky. In fact, the Mage Tower considers the Grand Duke a real thorn in their side—because he rejected the Mage Tower and chose the Imperial Family.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Frea asked for clarification at the mention of choosing the Imperial Family over the Mage Tower. Mareni took a sip of tea, then asked as if testing her.
“Why do you think Empress Anemone married the late Emperor, who was already so old?”
“Don’t tell me…”
Frea stared at Mareni in shock, desperately hoping it wasn’t what she thought.
But with a regretful expression, Mareni continued—exactly confirming Frea’s fears.
“You know the Mage Tower’s ultimate goal is to found a nation of mages, right? A powerful country that ordinary people can’t encroach upon.”
“They’re still dreaming such a delusional dream?” Frea asked in disbelief.
“Yes. It’s a wish that’s continued for a very long time. That’s why Empress Anemone married the Emperor. She was a mage more loyal to the Mage Tower than anyone else.”
“That’s insane. I never imagined they were that unhinged,” Frea muttered, shaking her head in disgust.
Mareni replied with a look of agreement.
“I don’t understand why the Mage Tower is so obsessed with founding a nation either. It’s not a side of them I like. Most young mages are satisfied with the present. They just can’t say it out loud.”
Frea nodded vigorously in strong agreement.
Seeing that, Mareni chuckled softly and continued.
“Anyway, Empress Anemone married the Emperor to have a child with both imperial blood and a mage’s blood. And she succeeded. Grand Duke Esid is an exceptionally talented mage.”
“But the fact that the magic didn’t work on him became the variable,” Frea said, striking right at the core.
Mareni gave a knowing smile, impressed.
Millian didn’t join the conversation, quietly savoring his tea. It seemed he already knew everything.
“That’s right. The mark didn’t work on those of imperial blood. If it had, the Grand Duke wouldn’t be alive right now. The moment he rejected the Mage Tower, he would have been executed on the spot.”
“In many ways, he really is a lucky man,” Frea said, nodding in agreement.
Esid truly was fortunate. If the mark had activated properly, his heart would have stopped the moment he gave up his claim to succession.
It seemed the Mage Tower had intended to swallow the entire Heros Empire through the Grand Duke. Unfortunately for them, they failed.
Or perhaps their intense focus on spirit experiments was connected to that goal.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to continue such work in secret.
While Frea fell silent, lost in thought, Mareni continued speaking.
“But the Mage Tower is strong. Just because the mark doesn’t work on Grand Duke Esid doesn’t mean it’s safe to interfere with them. Of course, once you offered to protect him, things got quite noisy on our end as well.”
“Then the Grand Duke probably came to see me knowing that. I’m a noble—and a spirit contractor, too.”
“Most likely. But the Mage Tower won’t give up. The specimen the Grand Duke took isn’t actually a failure. It’s one of the few extremely important samples. The Mage Tower will definitely try to retrieve it.”
At the words “important sample,” Frea’s expression hardened. So it wasn’t a failure after all. She had assumed it was just a corpse.
With an uneasy look, Frea asked
