The trainees surrounded Dominique in a circle, but none dared to make the first move.
Until now, Dominique had always been quiet and docile—but in an instant, he had overpowered one of them.
And not just anyone, either. The boy he took down had been the leader among the group.
They couldn’t help but feel intimidated.
“Mey, step back.”
Dominique gently moved Mabel behind him.
Then, facing the hesitant trainees, he twisted the corners of his lips into a smirk.
“Come on, you cowardly bastards.”
Fire lit up in the trainees’ eyes.
“That jerk—!”
“Get him!!”
The trainees charged at Dominique.
And so, the brawl began.
—
Meanwhile, Rebecca’s conversation had finally ended.
Adrian and Sabina stepped out of the room side by side.
As they walked down the hallway, Adrian cautiously spoke.
“I’m sorry, Sabina.”
He couldn’t hide the guilt on his face.
“I’ll apologize for the saintess’s rudeness earlier.”
Though she had spoken sweetly and smiled on the surface, that was all. Rebecca’s behavior toward Sabina had been downright disrespectful.
As Adrian’s personal physician, Sabina had every right to feel offended—especially with how the temple openly interfered with her medical work.
“To even bring up the fall of House Mercedes…”
The fall of the magical House of Mercedes.
That incident was a highly sensitive topic among magicians.
In the past, the ducal house had been a central pillar of the magical world.
Mercedes had been its greatest patron and benefactor.
Under their name, many mages had received support and flourished.
Mercedes had been essential to the advancement of the entire magical field.
But then—under suspicious accusations of “summoning demons”—the family had been annihilated in an instant.
It was like ripping the roots out of the magical world.
Even the only surviving daughter of the house, a girl once called a genius, had disappeared without a trace.
> “If only the young lady had survived, maybe the magical world wouldn’t have fallen so far.”
That’s how regretful the mages were.
Meanwhile, the Regalith Order—the group responsible for Mercedes’s destruction—continued to thrive…
“No, I also lost my temper and acted too harshly.”
Sabina shook her head with a bitter smile.
“I should’ve held back a little more, considering your position.”
“But still…”
Just as Adrian hesitated mid-sentence—
“Ah! Lord Adrian! Lady Sabina!”
A young priest came running toward them in a panic.
His face looked familiar.
‘Isn’t he the one who took Mabel outside earlier?’
Sabina narrowed her eyes with suspicion.
Then the priest, gasping for air, cried out—
“Lady Mabel…!”
Both Adrian and Sabina’s faces went pale.
—
…What on earth just happened?
I stared blankly at the chaotic scene in front of me.
Here’s a quick summary of what had happened:
“That bastard, what’s his deal?!”
“Hey, hold him down!”
“AAAGH, it hurts! I said it hurts!!”
Six boys were tangled together, throwing fists and shouting.
It turned into a huge mess, and by the time the instructors heard and rushed over, the fight was already full-blown.
Now, after being separated—
Dominique and the trainees stood panting, spaced apart from each other.
“He hit us first!”
“Just look at what he did to us!”
Correction.
The trainees were shouting with red, angry faces, while Dominique stood there, ignoring them entirely.
Can’t blame them—they had ganged up five-on-one and still couldn’t beat Dominique.
It must’ve stung.
Dominique had only a few minor scratches, while most of the trainees couldn’t even stand.
Some were limping, others were lying flat on the ground.
But still—
‘That usually gentle Dominique… got into a fistfight?’
And because of me?
I stared at him with wide eyes.
He had to feel my gaze—but Dominique stubbornly avoided eye contact.
…As if he were embarrassed to meet my eyes.
“Will you all be quiet?!”
One of the instructors finally shouted.
Then, he turned angrily to Dominique.
“Why are you always causing problems? Can’t you ever just stay out of trouble…?!”
What? Why was he yelling at Dominique only?!
Fuming, I stepped in again.
“Dominique didn’t do anything wrong!”
I pointed my finger directly at the group of trainees.
“They started it!”
The instructor who had been scolding Dominique flushed red with embarrassment.
What, why? I wasn’t wrong!
I stared him down, locking eyes without backing down.
Just then, another instructor quickly stepped in.
“Let it go. She’s the one the Hero brought here.”
“…Tch.”
The instructor sighed heavily, trying to hold back his temper.
And then—
“Mey!!”
Someone called my name urgently.
I turned to see Sabina unnie and Adrian oppa running toward me.
Sabina rushed over and scooped me into her arms.
“I told you not to cause trouble, didn’t I?”
“But…”
I glanced over at Dominique out of the corner of my eye.
He was already back to his usual blank expression.
…That dry, guarded look that held no hope or expectation.
“Hm.”
Meanwhile, Adrian’s gaze moved back and forth between the group of injured trainees and the silent, isolated Dominique.
His deep green eyes narrowed.
“First, we need to hear exactly what happened.”
—
Afterward, Mabel, Dominique, and the trainees were all separated for questioning.
Mabel’s response came first—and loud.
“They started it!!”
Mabel shouted, unable to hold back her anger.
“Dominique didn’t do anything! They came over and started yelling at him for acting like he was better than them!”
“Mey, calm down for a moment…”
“But Dominique and I were just playing hide-and-seek!”
Sabina stared at Mabel quietly.
Mabel looked up at her with pleading eyes.
“Dominique is my friend.”
“Friend? Since when—?”
Sabina trailed off mid-sentence and suddenly frowned.
“Wait. Don’t tell me you’ve been meeting that boy every time you went out for walks?”
“I—I mean…”
Mabel, caught red-handed, scrambled to explain.
“But I never told him who I really am!”
“Mey, really now…”
Sabina pressed a hand to her temple and sighed deeply.
Her head throbbed.
“I told you to be careful outside, didn’t I?”
“I’m sorry… but…”
Mabel fidgeted with her fingers, sneaking a glance at Sabina.
“I want to help Dominique. Please?”
“…”
Sabina looked down at her familiar’s desperate little face.
Her red eyes held a complicated light.
‘Now that I think about it… Has Mabel ever made a request like this before?’
No. Not once.
In fact, Mabel had been acting strangely mature lately.
She’d been quietly eating the special food Sabina made for her—food she used to despise.
She no longer knocked over things on the table just to amuse herself.
And lately, she even brought back herbs during walks.
…As if she were trying her best not to be a burden.
‘If she’s insisting this strongly, maybe there’s a real reason…’
Sabina thought to herself.
“I’ll talk to Adrian about it first and let you know.”
Sabina’s voice softened a little.
“We need to understand the situation clearly.”
“But I can explain everything!”
“No. If I let you speak, all you’ll say is ‘Dominique didn’t do anything wrong,’ right?”
“Cheh.”
Mabel puffed out her cheeks in protest—but only for a moment.
Then she looked up at Sabina with desperate eyes.
“Then, please… tell Oppa this.”
Mabel clenched her tiny fists tightly.
Dominique—who had always been ignored by everyone, who had never once had the chance to share his story.
So—
“Please… listen to Dominique. Really listen. Okay?”
