Chapter 29
“Excuse me?”
Belia turned her head slightly at Carlton’s words.
Leaning on the arm wrapped around her waist, she looked back and took a sharp breath.
“Ugh—”
It was a cliff.
A deep, black, and dark cliff that was so deep it was hard to believe they were underground. If anything fell down there, it would never be found.
Fear gripping her, Belia quickly pressed herself closer into Carlton’s arms.
“It’s a trap. But at least that’s a relief.”
Carlton exhaled.
Belia’s face turned pale.
Her pounding heart reminded her she was still alive.
If not for Carlton, she would have been dead.
Carlton hugged the trembling Belia tighter and slowly moved away from the cliff edge.
“But you suddenly disappeared. Where did you go? The gem disappeared at the same time…”
Belia shivered.
She felt something damp against Carlton’s body pressed against hers.
Looking closely, she saw cold sweat all over Carlton’s forehead.
Belia reached out to his side.
“You’re hurt!”
Only then did the faint smell of blood reach her.
The dampness seeping through his robe wasn’t just a minor injury.
“I’m okay.”
“How did this happen?!”
“When the illusion magic triggered, it affected anyone who touched the gem. It’s not a serious wound… cough—”
“Master of the Mage Tower!!”
Belia screamed.
Along with a strong scent of blood, an almost black, inky blood trickled from Carlton’s mouth.
Carlton’s body collapsed downward.
Belia’s eyes widened at the sight of him vomiting so much blood.
Quickly stepping back, she propped him up against the wall.
“The blood…”
“I’m fine.”
“What do you mean you’re fine?!”
His pale skin looked like that of a corpse.
Carlton gasped for air and tilted his head back.
“First, we have to get out of here, okay?”
Belia placed her hand on his cheek as he struggled to respond with heavy breaths.
“Master?”
No reaction.
“Master? You can’t lose consciousness!!”
Belia frantically looked around.
There was no way anything in this cave-like place could help treat him.
Belia pulled back Carlton’s clothes.
Peeling off the complicated uniform roughly, she flinched.
Countless scars were visible all over his body, as if he had been tortured.
The cruel marks were enough to remind her of the false accusations and torture he had endured.
“Ah…”
Remembering this was no time to hesitate, Belia took off her own dress.
Wearing only a thin slip underneath, she tore her dress into strips and wrapped them around Carlton’s wounds.
No matter how much she wrapped the bleeding wounds, the fabric quickly darkened.
“Master? Please stay with me, okay?”
Carlton’s condition was rapidly worsening.
“Master?”
Belia kept calling him with no response.
Soon, Carlton opened his eyes.
He looked at Belia with blurred vision.
His dark eyes, filled with worry, seemed oddly familiar.
“Are you okay? Hey? Please stay conscious! If you pass out here, you’ll die, okay?”
Knowing they couldn’t stay there, Belia stood up.
“Wait here. I’ll look for a way out.”
“Don’t go.”
Carlton grabbed Belia’s arm.
“We have to get out of here quickly!”
“The entrance we came through is blocked. Wait a moment. I’ll be fine soon.”
His internal injuries were severe.
Swallowing the blood that threatened to spill out, Carlton gathered his mana.
Belia gritted her teeth, powerless to help.
“Can you even use magic in this state?”
At her question, Carlton pulled the gem he had taken out earlier from his chest pocket.
He hated his cursed body, but in times like this, it was useful.
No matter how grievous the injury, as long as he had the dark mana, the pain wouldn’t kill him instantly.
The curse slowly eats away at his life but also powers his body.
Using the dark magic crystal would worsen the curse, but he couldn’t afford to be cautious now.
Carlton hesitated as he looked at the gem.
It bore traces he hadn’t noticed before—he needed to bring it to Karin for research.
“Are you okay? Hey?”
Carlton glanced at Belia.
Even if what she had seen was an illusion, small fresh wounds from struggling were unavoidable.
Seeing the pale scratches on her cheek and her messed-up foot, Carlton pressed the gem to his left arm.
“What are you—”
Belia was speechless at the strange sight.
A black substance leaked from the gem and was absorbed into Carlton’s left arm, which glowed violet.
cough—
“Master!!”
Despite vomiting black blood, Carlton continued chanting the incantation.
Belia, realizing what he was trying to do, shouted urgently.
“Are you going alone? What about me? We’ll see each other again, right?”
Because of the severity of his injuries, the magic was slow to activate.
A white light surrounded Belia.
“You must heal! Okay? If I leave, you’ll get out of here too, right? Okay?”
Frustrated at being unable to help, Belia anxiously paced and pleaded.
Carlton memorized the scene until Belia completely disappeared.
“Say something! Can’t you come with me? You can’t die! We have to meet again…”
Belia vanished entirely.
Alone in the silent space, Carlton exhaled heavily.
“This can’t be.”
Wide-eyed, he stared blankly at the spot where Belia had disappeared.
His head was dizzy as if about to faint, but a memory gradually became clear.
“We must meet again.”
Though the voice was younger, he remembered it.
Eight years ago, he had heard this voice before.
“Ugh—”
Karin carefully lifted the staff beside the cave.
She had set wards to keep monsters out, so hearing such a creepy noise inside the cave was unsettling.
“Who’s there…?”
Occasionally, someone came from the Mage Tower to deliver messages from Carlton, but no one entered the cave.
Karin approached the source of the noise, gripping the staff tightly.
Since Carlton had told her to go to the empire last time, she’d left the cave to gather herbs—and now someone had tried to invade it.
“Who are you?!”
To hide her fear, Karin shouted loudly, closed her eyes, and struck with the staff.
“Ugh”
Smelling blood, Karin opened her eyes slightly.
“Carlton?”
Recognizing him, Karin quickly dropped the staff.
“You?! What happened?”
Carlton looked terrible.
His body was covered in wounds, wrapped in thin cloth stained with blood and the gem’s residue.
“Hey! Stay with me!”
Realizing the seriousness, Karin hurriedly moved Carlton to the bed.
“This was caused by magic…? Why would the Master of the Mage Tower be like this…”
She quickly assessed the wounds and began working hurriedly.
“So, no news?”
Belia asked anxiously.
Allenzo glanced at her over his glasses, then back to his documents.
“You’re probably the only young lady who shows up at the Crown Prince’s palace almost daily.”
Allenzo shrugged, causing Belia to call out instinctively.
“Allenzo!”
“Am I more comfortable with you now?”
“I told you to call me by name and speak casually last time.”
“That’s true.”
Shrugging, Allenzo returned to his papers as Belia approached.
“Really, no news? If the palace sent a letter to the Mage Tower, there should be some reply.”
Belia’s desperate gaze made Allenzo remove his glasses.
“More importantly, what happened that day?”
“That’s…”
Belia fell silent.
Allenzo thought for a moment watching her.
He remembered how shocked he was the day of the academy event when Belia had appeared, covered in blood and in disarray.
Luckily, she had sent people away during the tea party or it could have been a huge scandal.
Breaking the palace barrier and suddenly appearing at the Crown Prince’s palace could have branded her a traitor.
Seeing her worried face, Allenzo shook his head.
“It’s hard to say, but he got hurt.”
“You did too.”
Belia closed her mouth.
Thanks to Allenzo, what happened that day stayed a secret.
She only revealed the injuries but kept quiet about the details, so Allenzo didn’t push further.
“Probably, we’ll get a reply soon. And if something happened to the Master of the Mage Tower, I’d know.”
“But still…”
“I promise, Carlton is safe.”
Allenzo nodded recalling Carlton.
No matter how badly hurt, the one who would appear again was the Carlton with that indifferent face.
