Chapter 50
Hugo’s big eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“So you’re a great mage because you know the secret, right? Right?”
Expectation was flooding from his gaze like a river.
Riana kept smiling, hiding her momentary awkwardness.
Only then did she remember—she still wasn’t in her maid uniform. She was wearing the dress Killian had given her yesterday. The design was simple, but nothing that passed through Killian’s hands was cheap. The fine fabric gleamed faintly in the morning sunlight.
Realizing her outfit added to the image, her mouth moved without hesitation.
“Of course. I’m totally a great mage.”
She could feel Killian’s eyes on her, but she ignored him and smiled brightly.
“Want me to show you magic?”
“Yes!”
“Watch closely.”
First, she crossed her eyes. Then she started rolling one eyeball in a circle. After that, she moved the other one around independently.
Each eye spun in a different direction like juggling balls in a circus. This was one of Riana’s special tricks.
“How’s that? Cool, right?”
“W-wow! I’ve never seen magic like that!”
“Well, that’s because I’m an amazing mage…”
Her eyes started to ache, so she stopped. But the kids’ reactions were so cute, she wanted to keep going.
She held out her hand to them next.
“Look at this.”
She bent her middle finger all the way back. The farther it went, the wider the children’s eyes grew.
When her fingernail finally touched the back of her hand, the kids started clapping.
“This kind of magic isn’t even in the intermediate textbooks!”
“It must be advanced magic!”
Then Riana bent all five fingers one by one, before making a clover shape with her tongue.
“Wow! Amazing!”
“I want to be a great mage right now!”
Ginny’s idol had just changed.
Riana was out of tricks now. Her eyes, fingers, and tongue all felt a bit sore.
It was time to send the kids back.
“Alright, so you’ll listen to your teacher and study hard, right?”
The children nodded eagerly.
“What did your teacher tell you just now?”
Hugo suddenly turned to Ginny and shouted, “She told us to follow over there! Oh no, I broke the rules because of you!”
Riana gently turned both of them in the right direction.
“You can still go now. Go on, hurry along.”
With a little push on their backs, the two kids started walking… which quickly turned into running.
Ginny glanced back midway and waved at Killian. He opened his lips, but made no other response. Still, Ginny laughed happily and ran off.
“Phew—”
Hands on her hips, Riana let out a long sigh. It had been a while since she dealt with children, and it was exhausting.
She’d gone on longer than planned because the scene reminded her of her own orphanage days. It felt like meddling, but she didn’t regret it.
“Well done.”
The man who’d kept his mouth shut the entire time finally spoke. Riana turned to Killian with a tilted posture.
He added, “The lies.”
Riana smirked.
“Not bad, right? I almost sounded like a real mage?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then… are you talking about me pretending not to be someone who signed a contract saying I could die for the Duke and still collect my salary?”
Maybe she’d hit too close to home—Killian’s face cooled instantly.
In truth, the person most likely to die because of Killian’s Magical Power Disorder was Riana herself. Everything she’d told the children applied to everyone—except her.
“I didn’t mean it to sting.”
Killian looked like someone stabbed him with a knife rather than words. Riana rubbed her neck as she stepped closer.
She simply spoke her mind.
“You said you could die for me too, remember? Well… we didn’t actually sign a contract for that, but I believed it.”
“…”
“You just saw it yourself. I’m good at lying, so I’m good at spotting when someone else is lying or telling the truth.”
Looking straight into his eyes, Riana said clearly:
“When it comes to you, I don’t believe anything else.”
Like when he said he liked her. Or that it was love at first sight. That was complete nonsense.
She knew it was all an act.
“But I believe that one thing—that Clause 18 in the contract will never come true. That no one, including me, needs to be afraid of being by your side.”
Realistically, as a magic-user, she wasn’t at risk of dying from his magical outbursts.
But beyond that, she meant what she said. Just like Killian had been sincere the previous night.
His expression shifted slightly—his gaze heavy, lips curved faintly to one side.
…Was I too honest?
Riana began to regret opening up. She’d vowed not to get attached—hadn’t even half a day passed since she promised herself that?
Reaffirming her resolve, she quickly furrowed her brow into a stern look.
“Anyway, whatever! If I drop dead, it’s just my fate. I’ll take care of my own lifespan. Oh, and you watched my tricks without paying, didn’t you?”
She flipped the mood—and the topic.
“Your eye-rolling trick?” Killian replied flatly.
His lackluster tone stung her pride.
It wasn’t common to do even one of those things—let alone all three. She couldn’t do them in her past life. Being able to after transmigrating was one of the few perks she’d gotten.
“It’s a three-part act, actually. Think about how you’re going to pay for that performance.”
Conversation over. She turned to leave, planning to “follow the teacher’s orders” herself.
But Killian’s voice stopped her.
“Have dinner with me.”
Her eyes blinked at the suddenness.
“Something delicious and expensive. As payment.”
“Why do people here keep trying to lure me with food…”
First Killian with his cocktails, then Mrs. Baker with her feasts—these people had found her weakness.
While she stared off in mild despair, Killian stepped closer.
“Your answer?”
Meeting his gaze at close range, Riana answered sharply, “No. I’ve got a meeting to attend tonight.”
She’d rather join the knights’ club than have dinner with him.
Even after she left, Killian’s blue eyes lingered on the spot where she’d stood.
And from afar, another pair of eyes was watching him.
…Are they closer than I thought?
Gray knew the long-standing tradition: every maid assigned to the Isolation Tower eventually developed feelings for the Duke—only to be dismissed. He’d heard the knights gossip about it.
Well, they do spend hours alone together every night in that tower…
It would be natural to get attached.
Gray didn’t know much about romance, but he could figure that much out.
Would Riana end up loving the Duke too?
Would she give up her plan to buy the island?
Even if that meant one less competitor, the thought didn’t feel good.
If she’s gone… then what’s the point of any of it?
Even if he won the auction and lived a quiet life, it would feel empty.
Without Riana.
Thinking about what went on in the tower without him, his feet carried him there without realizing.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Willie started jumping like crazy at the sight of the grassy courtyard.
Letting the dog loose, Gray flopped onto the grass himself.
A brief conversation with one of the main mansion’s maids came back to him:
‘It must remind you of old times…’
‘You look like you’re really thinking about it.’
He didn’t know if seeing the orphanage kids had made Riana think of her past, or if that’s why she’d been so focused on the event.
They didn’t know each other well enough to say.
But he hoped she had thought about it.
I did. It made me think of when I was a kid.
He wanted them to be able to see the same things, feel the same things, and protect each other because of it.
The treetops swayed in the light breeze, autumn sunlight kissing the peaceful green lawn.
Red eyes soaked in the beauty until his eyelids grew heavy.
And then, the peaceful autumn vanished from his view—swallowed by darkness.
A memory from childhood.
“You worthless parasite!”
Thud! A man’s boot slammed into a boy’s stomach.
The man’s face was twisted in rage, but his waistcoat was perfectly pressed and his trousers creased without a wrinkle.
Of course they were—he was one of the marquis’s servants. The nobles of Welsen never kept shabby-looking people in their homes.
The only exception was this gray-haired freeloader living in the Marquis Schultz’s estate.
