Chapter 42………………………
“Haa… I’m dying.”
The moment Rektarion returned to his room, he collapsed onto the bed. Clutching his throbbing head, he furrowed his brow.
‘Using magic repeatedly right next to me with that overwhelming amount of mana…’
It was only natural that Rektarion—who was extremely sensitive to mana—would be affected.
He opened the drawer beside the bed and took out a transparent bottle. Popping the cap, he downed the contents in one gulp and let out a deep sigh.
A red light briefly flickered from his back before fading, and the turbulent energy inside him gradually settled.
‘Nothing ever goes smoothly when I’m with the princess.’
Whether it was their personalities, their philosophies about magic, or even their mana affinity—Rektarion and Princess Cecilia were opposites in every way.
Just as he felt discomfort from the princess’s mana, she likely felt uneasy from his aura as well.
The rumors that Rektarion disliked mages were partly due to mana incompatibility. When he was near someone whose affinity clashed with his, the discomfort alone was enough to make a smile rise to his face.
Please, just disappear from in front of me.
That kind of smile.
The mana of people like Viscount Roister or Hans was far inferior to Rektarion’s, so it was at least bearable. His compatibility with Beric was somewhat decent, but not exactly comfortable.
Eloa was the first person whose mana matched his so well that he actually felt at ease just by being near her.
“How fascinating.”
Lying on the bed, he lifted his hand and stared at it.
When he drew up his aura, golden light flickered across his palm.
They say that when affinities match, even the colors are similar. Is she seeing the same color as mine?
Suddenly, he grew curious.
‘Should I go see?’
Lately, under the pretext of stabilizing her unstable mana, he had been visiting her room every night. Even though he saw her every day—had even spent the entire day with her today—he still found himself curious about every moment he couldn’t see.
‘What if I suggested we just share a room…’
Resting his chin on his hand, he seriously considered it.
Then he let out a soft, deflating laugh.
‘She’d probably run away like a startled squirrel.’
He had long since forgotten that until just a month ago, he himself had been uncomfortable even with the slightest touch.
Eloa had only recently stopped rejecting his touch. Even now, if he gazed at her too intently or stepped too close, she would flinch, avoid his eyes, or awkwardly flee.
Her reactions were cute—but also a little disappointing.
So he had tried showering her with gifts, increasing physical contact under the excuse of treating her mana. None of it had been very effective, and he had been considering trying a different approach.
‘Who would’ve thought she’d like an old activation tool more than jewels or dresses?’
He recalled Eloa beaming brightly, unable to contain her joy over the worn bracelet. A faint smile spread across Rektarion’s face.
She was lovely.
He didn’t know when he had started thinking that way, but somehow he had ended up like this.
At first, he’d thought she was simply someone fun to tease. But the more time he spent with her, the more he realized she was far more wounded than he had imagined—and he had found himself wanting to protect her from further harm.
Gradually, he had drawn closer to her. And the moment he realized she had no hidden agenda and no connection whatsoever to Beatrice, something inside him had collapsed.
By the time he came to his senses, he was like this.
He clenched and unclenched his fist in the air.
‘To think there’s someone else I can touch besides that person.’
It was something he had never even dreamed of.
From the moment his mother disappeared, life had been nothing but hell. Even after barely surviving and becoming the empire’s only Aura Master, his life had not exactly been comfortable.
But after Eloa appeared, things became… manageable. Time spent in this house was no longer so exhausting, and he found it easier than before to speak with the servants.
When she became a mage, instead of feeling displeased, he had been able to congratulate her sincerely.
Rektarion found his own change unfamiliar. That was why he had doubted and scrutinized it so carefully—but it had all been pointless. As he was now, he would believe her even if she claimed sugar was salty.
‘Meanwhile, the person in question seems to be thinking only about running away in a year.’
And now that she had finally become the mage she so longed to be, it was as if he had given wings to a bird who yearned for the sky.
If she wished, she could fly away at any time.
‘That would be troublesome.’
Even the thought made his chest tighten uncomfortably.
These days, Rektarion could think of nothing but how to keep Eloa—who believed their relationship would naturally end in a year—by his side.
That was why he had even readily proposed the “Blood Oath,” something he had never once used because he detested the feeling of binding someone through force.
When she heard the proposal, Eloa had wavered—debating whether or not to trust it—before finally nodding. The sight had been rather adorable… but even that would likely not be enough.
He sat up and perched by the window.
‘First, I need to make her feel that this house is her only sanctuary. So that she looks only at me and relies only on me.’
His lips tilted in satisfaction as he gazed down at the dark garden beyond the curtains.
Knock, knock.
“Your Grace, it’s Jace.”
“Come in.”
Jace entered, then paused when he noticed the empty bottle on the drawer beside the bed.
“Are you all right, Your Grace?”
“There’s no problem.”
Jace quickly looked away from the bottle and handed over the documents he had brought.
“Here is the regular report.”
“Ah.”
Once a month, he received a regular report on Beatrice and the state of the magical world. As he read through it, something caught his attention.
“A red stone?”
“Yes. It appears to be called a Bloodstone.”
“An unpleasant name.”
According to the report, after the raid on the factory in the territory of Daisen, mana-enhancing stimulants had disappeared from the back alleys, replaced by this new item.
Its origin was unknown. Rumor had it that those desperate to become mages were seeking it out.
And items of this sort usually came from Beatrice.
A criminal guild moving under the absurd banner of turning all humans into mages—treating human sacrifice as a given in pursuit of that goal.
It had been mankind’s ideal for thousands of years—yet also an ideal forever out of reach.
‘As if something like that were even possible.’
No matter how nobly they dressed it up as sacrifice, in the end it was nothing more than crime.
After reviewing the rest of the report, he returned the documents. He had already memorized the contents; there was no need to keep them.
“With the princess at the estate, we’ll discuss the details tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Jace bowed and left the bedroom.
Outside the uncurtained window, the night seemed brighter than usual.
‘Come to think of it, tomorrow is the full moon.’
The next morning, when I went down to the dining hall, the princess was already there.
She had tied her voluminous sky-blue hair to one side and was wearing different clothes from yesterday.
Did she bring luggage? I wondered briefly to myself, when she winked at me the moment she saw me.
“Good morning, Duchess.”
Instinctively making a Tibetan fox face, I quickly composed myself and followed the etiquette I had learned—placing one hand over my chest, holding the hem of my dress with the other, and bending my knees as gracefully as possible.
“Did Your Highness rest well?”
“Thanks to you, I slept soundly. It was even better than the imperial bedding. The maids in the ducal household must be quite skilled.”
Escorted by Shina, I took my seat opposite the princess.
“Thank you. If you wish, shall we have bedding made and sent to you?”
“No need. I spend more time at my desk than in bed anyway.”
“As rumored, you truly love magic.”
“A rumor?”
The princess blinked, then burst into laughter.
“Come to think of it, not a single rumor about the Duchess is accurate.”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you were ugly.”
“…What?”
So there had been such a rumor?
“They said the Duke held an unofficial wedding because he was ashamed to show his bride. Others claimed he treasured you so much he refused to let you be seen for fear you’d wear away. I wondered which it was—but it seems it was the latter.”
In truth, the ceremony had been kept unofficial as a precaution due to a series of attacks. I hadn’t imagined such rumors would spread.
“My brother is too much. Keeping it to himself that the Duchess is this adorable.”
“Excuse me?”
Before I could process what I had just heard, the princess suddenly approached and grabbed my hand.
“By any chance, would you be interested in a scholar’s position at the Sky Ark? One of the high-ranking mages passed away recently, so a laboratory is vacant. If you join now, I could pull some strings for you.”
A sudden recruitment pitch for the Sky Ark!
And her face was way too close!
“I—I can’t use magic.”
“That can’t be. Then why are you wearing that activation tool?”
She lifted my hand and rolled up my sleeve. My mother’s necklace was revealed.
“Th-This isn’t an activation tool—”
“Ah, the other side, then.”
She reached for my other hand—
“That’s enough.”
The Duke must have finished his dawn training early today. He entered the dining hall with his hair still wet.
‘Wow. Lethal first thing in the morning, Duke.’
For a moment, I forgot about my struggle with the princess and simply stared. The sight of water droplets trailing down his golden hair was a work of art.
“Good morning, Duke. But why that expression? You look as though I’ve stolen your wife.”
“I said yesterday as well—please stop bothering my wife.”
“Hmm.”
With a mischievous grin, the princess suddenly wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me into a tight embrace.
Being unexpectedly hugged by a tall, beautiful woman with a slender waist and generous curves, my face burned bright red.
“Y-Your Highness!”
“It was the Duke who interrupted our intimate time between ladies.”
Her hand even stroked my arm in a strangely suggestive way. What on earth is she doing?!
I squeezed my eyes shut and flailed my arms, trying to escape.
Then suddenly, my wrist was yanked. This time, I was pulled into the Duke’s arms. The familiar scent of the oil he used at night filled my nose.
“D-Duke…”
“Can’t you see you’re flustering my wife? That’s enough.”
As if determined not to lose me, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me close. My temperature was rising by the second. This was far too close.
‘Please, just put me down before you two fight!’
