Episode 3
“Mm…”
I rolled over, hugging a soft blanket.
My stomach was still unsettled and my head hurt, but somehow I felt… calm.
Then a low voice spoke above me—one that felt completely unfamiliar.
“Are you awake?”
“Wah—!”
The moment I realized the voice belonged to Dante, I jolted upright.
“Ugh…”
Because I’d been lying down for so long, my body didn’t cooperate. I staggered.
Dante was standing close by—but instead of supporting me, he actually stepped back.
Thanks to that, I face-planted straight onto the floor.
If I’d fallen even a little to the side, I would’ve smashed my head on the corner of a thick book.
He dodged me. He totally dodged me! That jerk definitely dodged me!
I glared at Dante, who pretended nothing happened, then stood up and brushed off my hands.
I silently swore I would never forgive this.
“So… how long was I passed out?”
“Not long. About two hours.”
That wasn’t bad.
Sometimes when I fainted, I’d be out for a whole day.
I glanced at the sofa I’d been lying on earlier. A blanket that had been lying around was tossed over it.
Looks like he laid me down and covered me.
What, you think throwing a blanket on me makes up for not catching me? Rude.
Dante pushed up the glasses he must’ve been wearing for a while and started questioning me.
“Did you have ancient magic from birth?”
“Huh? Uh—yes. As far as I know.”
“When did you realize your magic was ancient magic?”
“Um… not that long ago. But why are you suddenly—”
He cut me off and continued.
His eyes sparkled oddly as he fired questions nonstop.
“Is your weak stamina caused by your magic? No—maybe the opposite. Were you physically weak from birth? Did you faint often when you were younger? You must’ve seen doctors. And none of them blamed magic at all—”
“Wait! Hold on!”
I hurriedly stopped him.
Seeing how excited he looked, it was obvious—he was interested.
And there was no way I was letting this chance slip.
Dante pressed his lips together, clearly disappointed, and looked down at me.
“Um… let’s calm down first. Can we go back to what we were talking about earlier?”
“…The deal?”
“Yes!”
His expression instantly cooled, completely different from a moment ago.
“You confirmed I have ancient magic, right?”
“Yes.”
“As you saw, I have a huge amount of ancient magic. But my body is too weak to handle it.”
Dante slowly nodded, agreeing.
“But… um…”
I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t come easily.
Dante tilted his head, clearly confused.
I took a deep breath and spoke.
“In a little while, my magic is going to go out of control—and I’ll die. So…”
I wanted to sound calm, but my voice trembled anyway.
No matter how many times I’d faced it, death was never easy.
“So… would you take this useless magic away from me?”
I forced a smile.
Did it look natural? Too awkward?
I glanced up at Dante—but my worry was pointless.
He looked completely blank.
Then he spoke.
“There’s a better option.”
“…What is it?”
Better than taking all my magic?
I listened carefully.
“You can learn to control your magic yourself.”
If that were easy, I wouldn’t be here.
“You know that’s not something simple. I don’t have much time.”
Controlling magic was incredibly difficult.
For some people, it took years.
Every mage registered with the Mage Tower had trained since childhood.
Dante shrugged like it was nothing and spoke flatly.
“Your proposal offers me no benefit.”
“What? Why not? You’d absorb my ancient magic into your own, right?”
“Ancient magic is fundamentally different from normal magic. It can’t be absorbed. Even if I took it, I wouldn’t be able to do anything with it. Unless it was dark magic.”
I didn’t know that.
I thought magic worked like in books—absorb it and use it.
That ruined my whole plan.
…At this point, I had to find a compromise that would make him help me.
“Then what were you planning to do with ancient magic? I heard you were desperately searching for someone who had it.”
“I wanted to study it.”
“Study?”
“Yes. There’s almost nothing written about ancient magic. That’s why I wanted to study the few people who possess it.”
So the rumors were true.
Mage Tower mages really did spend their entire lives researching magic.
Talking to Dante made it obvious.
The rumored next Tower Master wasn’t mysterious—he was just a hardcore magic researcher.
His face was usually blank, but when magic came up, his eyes lit up.
That made this easier.
“Then teach me how to use my magic. I’ll let you study it.”
“Sounds—”
I quickly cut him off and added one more condition.
“But if it gets too much for me—if my life’s in danger—then you have to extract my magic so I don’t die.”
That was the real point.
Magic kept piling up if it wasn’t released.
A normal person could endure it for a while—but Erpin couldn’t.
Her body had always been weak.
And this wasn’t ordinary magic—it was ancient magic.
Only someone like Dante could even touch it.
That’s why I needed him.
Dante replied in a low voice.
“Fine.”
The deal was made.
At the very least, my life was secured.
Just knowing I might survive this life made my chest tighten with emotion.
My eyes burned, and I felt tears about to spill, so I quickly lifted my head.
Dante looked at me and suddenly spoke.
“You said you’ll die soon. Can you explain that in detail?”
“…Next time. When I know you a little better.”
I didn’t distrust him.
I was just being careful.
Besides, Dante barely appeared in the original story.
I didn’t know enough about him yet.
“Alright.”
He didn’t seem bothered.
He simply nodded and walked to the door.
Then he opened it and looked back at me.
“Come back tomorrow at the same time.”
“Huh? You’re sending me back?”
“Yes.”
He even pointed at the door.
Wow. Business done, now get lost?
I complained internally, but my feet were already moving.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
Bang.
The door shut mercilessly.
I’d gone to the Mage Tower at dawn to meet Dante.
By the time I returned to the estate, night had fully fallen.
Between fainting and spending hours in a carriage, exhaustion hit me hard.
If I relaxed even a little, I might collapse in the hallway.
“I just want to wash up and sleep…”
Dragging my feet toward my room, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
“Erpin. Where have you been?”
Gentle, like a spring breeze.
I turned around.
It was Eden—the pride of the Haven ducal family, my only friend, and the male lead of this novel.
“Oh, uh… I just went out for a walk.”
“It looked like you left at dawn.”
Seeing that he was also dressed to go out, he must’ve noticed my carriage missing earlier.
“You look like you went out too.”
“Yeah. His Majesty summoned me with my father.”
“Oh? You’ve gotten impressive enough for the Emperor to call you?”
I teased him.
Eden laughed softly, his silver hair swaying.
“Not really. I just won the swordsmanship tournament recently. That’s probably why.”
Of course.
The male lead was perfect.
Handsome, kind, and skilled with a sword.
No wonder the female lead fell for him at first sight.
I get it. I really do.
I could even understand why Erpin felt hurt when she was pushed aside.
But I’m not repeating that life.
I smiled and spoke carefully.
I’d be going out a lot from now on, after all.
“By the way, Eden. I think I’ll be going out often to learn embroidery.”
I didn’t mention magic.
He’d worry.
“Okay. I’ll tell them to prepare the carriage on time.”
“Thanks. I’m going to sleep now. Good night.”
“Yeah. Sweet dreams.”
I turned toward my room.
Then—
“Erpin.”
“Hm?”
I turned back.
Eden was still smiling gently.
“…Be careful.”
“Careful about what?”
He smiled even more.
“Walking around late like this can be dangerous. There’ve been wild dogs lately.”
“Oh, that? Thanks for worrying. I’m really going to sleep now. Bye!”
I waved and walked away.
He really was always kind and dependable.
Still…
I hope I can handle magic practice starting tomorrow…
