BHRMP CH 04

Chapter 04 

The soft flesh beneath Gerard’s eyes twitched as he looked down at his teacup.

“…I saw your name badge.”

Unlike mages and healers, low-level civil servants were required to wear name badges.

Eloise lowered her head and checked her uniform.

On a gold plate, the name “Eloise Rubelia” was clearly engraved.

“Oh… you saw my name badge.”

Eloise laughed awkwardly.

She had almost jumped to a ridiculous misunderstanding.

“I thought Sir Gerard remembered his previous life like I do.”

Of course not.

“After I died… what happened? You looked so desperate at the end… Was the Purple Hole destroyed safely?”

Only now did she realize she was worried about whether the continent survived.

It seemed she lacked patriotism or love for humanity.

“Did it make you uncomfortable that I called your name?”

“No! Not at all. Usually people ask my name even when there’s a badge.”

Like that troublesome mage who had come earlier.

Eloise smiled brightly and added,

“And most people call me by my family name instead.”

That was normal in a rigid bureaucratic organization.

Calling someone by their first name usually only happened after becoming closer.

“Yes, that’s true. You seemed startled, so I should apologize. I’m used to calling people by name.”

Eloise tilted her head slightly at Gerard’s explanation.

In her previous life, the only person Gerard ever called by first name was Eloise herself.

Even Bern, his closest mage, and Noah, his older brother and the crown prince—

No matter how close they were, he always addressed them by surname.

Even when they complained, Gerard would just smile and draw a clear line.

“At first, he only called me Rubelia too. Then one night, after I asked him, he started calling me by my name.”

Only during healing, only on nights heated with desire, did he call her “Eloise.”

Afterward, he would politely return to calling her by her surname.

That had hurt more than she wanted to admit.

“Could you… call me by my first name even normally?”

He had looked flustered, hesitated, then agreed.

After that, he never called her by her surname again.

“It made me feel special.”

In reality, he had simply honored her request.

“If it’s alright with you, may I continue calling you by your name from now on?”

In this life, he was asking her permission first.

“Yes. That’s fine.”

Eloise answered, but confusion lingered.

“So many things are already different. If this keeps up, knowing the future won’t help anymore.”

She felt uneasy, afraid that all the knowledge she had brought back would become meaningless.

Afraid she might die again in the Purple Hole.

Afraid she would once again see Gerard’s face twisted in despair.

“I don’t want that.”

“You’re shaking. Are mages making you uncomfortable?”

Gerard reached out as if to take her hand, then stopped himself.

Something similar had happened in her previous life.

Back then, Gerard constantly maintained demonic energy addiction at Level 7 out of 10—a high-risk stage.

Normally, anyone above Level 7 couldn’t function properly.

Yet Gerard endured the pain through sheer willpower.

But beneath that restraint, the instinct to crave healing constantly stirred.

That was why he avoided sudden contact with Eloise.

If he almost touched her unconsciously, he reacted sharply, like someone with severe cleanliness issues.

He feared that he might steal her healing power against her will.

Eloise stared at him.

Something about his reactions felt off, again and again.

Like the uncomfortable feeling of forgetting to wash your hands after using the bathroom.

“Is there something on my face?”

Gerard touched his cheek.

Straight eyes, firm gaze, lips curved gently.

His harmless expression made Eloise drop her suspicion.

“If Gerard were living a second life like me, there’s no way he’d leave me alone.”

She was an S-rank healer. Not yet awakened, but she would be.

And they had already been exclusive partners once.

Yet nothing had happened over the past week.

Even now, he hadn’t mentioned healing at all.

If he were in the same situation, he would have checked on her safety at least once.

In her past life, he had always been sincere about her meals and health.

“So this is Gerard’s first life.”

Realizing they were strangers again brought mixed feelings.

Relief that he didn’t remember that horrible future—

And a sharp ache in her chest.

Then—

“Eloise, have you eaten?”

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“The mages aren’t bullying you so badly that you miss lunch, are they?”

“Sometimes they do come to complain during lunch…”

She immediately regretted saying it.

“That sounds like tattling!”

For a brief moment, Gerard’s expression turned cold.

“I see. They even come during lunch… You must’ve had a hard time because of mages.”

Afraid more complaints might spill out, Eloise pressed her lips together tightly.

“Speak freely. I came here to hear about the support team’s difficulties. I’ve heard several times that mages give you a hard time.”

Was the Tower Master really idle enough to know about a minor department like the support team?

Anyone who knew their struggles would likely be fellow support staff or low-rank healers.

Those groups sympathized with each other, all suffering under mage arrogance.

But none of them should have had a connection to the Tower Master.

The more she talked with Gerard, the more questions piled up in her head.

***

A week passed after that not-quite-an-interview with Gerard.

Eloise continued going to work diligently, thinking about how to achieve her goals.

But she couldn’t calmly plan for the future.

“Good morning.”

Because of that man, greeting the support team with a bright smile every day.

“He’s here again,” Merlin whispered, tilting her chair and bumping shoulders with Eloise.

Gerard had been coming to the support team office for a full week.

“Yeah…”

“At least the mages stopped causing trouble here. But now I’m starting to feel pressured.”

Gerard stayed under the excuse of personally confirming mage misconduct.

Once word spread that he was here, mages stopped visiting the support team altogether.

“Merlin, want to go tell him not to come anymore?”

“Hey! How could you say that to the Tower Master? You know he can go anywhere on the continent. He’s a prince and the Tower Master.”

True.

Gerard wasn’t extraordinary only because he was a once-in-a-century magical genius.

He was also the emperor’s illegitimate son, who withdrew early from succession and chose the Mage Tower instead.

Giving up many princely privileges.

People adored that bold decision.

“Handsome, no greed, and a magic prodigy? How could anyone not like him?”

A walking crime.

As Eloise puffed her cheeks slightly, her eyes met Gerard’s.

She quickly hid her face behind a folder.

Feeling his gaze, Merlin also buried her head behind documents.

Even if it wasn’t gossip, talking about someone right in front of them felt rude.

“Is he still looking?”

Merlin whispered while flipping pages.

Eloise lowered the folder slightly and peeked.

“…!”

Gerard was right in front of her.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“Not really comfortable.”

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

Merlin jabbed her side hard.

“I was too honest.”

Eloise bit her lips.

“Today will be my last day here. I can’t leave the Mage Tower any longer.”