Chapter 91
News of Daiven Ainruke’s recovery spread through the capital like wildfire.
At the same time, his story became a hot topic at the Magia Club’s hideout.
“Can you believe it? He actually did it. That’s… amazing,” Sierra said, lowering her newspaper with genuine admiration.
Glaster quickly chimed in, his tone full of awe.
“I knew Lord Tower Master would succeed!”
He sounded like a devout believer praising his god.
Curious, I took the newspaper from them and checked it myself.
There was no mention of me anywhere.
‘It’s better to keep your identity as a beast tamer secret,’ Alperen had warned. ‘If people find out the duke was attacked by a sorcerer, they might target you next.’
He was right.
There was no need to reveal my identity as a beast tamer yet, so I decided to follow his advice.
Still, something bothered me.
‘If a sorcerer was involved… then they must be connected to the Queen.’
In the original story, there was someone who always appeared whenever Queen Rosaria was scheming—
a man disguised as a peddler who secretly helped her expand her influence.
That sorcerer—it had to be the same person.
‘So he’s the one who tried to kill Lord Daiven?’
Once I made that connection, the vague fragments of the original story started to come back to me.
The reason Princess Nanael had tried to poison Alperen in the original timeline—
it was because he discovered that the Queen was behind his father’s death.
‘After Daiven died, they found a curse mark in the Ice Dragon’s corpse. That’s how he figured it out.’
This time, though, Daiven hadn’t died—
and thanks to Ordell, we already had the clue.
‘Let’s see how Queen Rosaria reacts now.’
Since the news of Daiven’s recovery had already made front-page headlines,
the Queen would surely do anything to cover up her involvement.
‘She won’t be able to use Nanael to poison Alperen again. Then who…’
My gaze naturally drifted to Edwin.
He was the one who’d made the poison that killed Alperen in the original story.
And I was the only one who knew that the Queen had been behind him.
‘But how did Edwin even meet the Queen?’
It wasn’t easy for someone of illegitimate birth to meet a royal.
I’d been keeping an eye on him, but I’d never seen him make contact with anyone suspicious.
‘Was I mistaken?’
In the novel, it wasn’t revealed until much later that Edwin had been working as the Queen’s secret assassin.
If he wasn’t connected to her yet…
‘Then the Queen might approach Edwin soon.’
The more I thought about it, the more suspicious Edwin seemed today.
He kept straightening his clothes in front of the mirror, which was unusual for him.
I asked casually, “Got a date today or something?”
It was just a joke—he was dressed way too nicely for an ordinary day.
Edwin looked away from the mirror and replied flatly,
“Yeah. I have a very important meeting.”
“With who?”
“The person I love.”
He said it so seriously that I froze.
‘Wait—don’t tell me… Summer?!’
Panic hit me like a wave.
I’d been so busy worrying about Alperen that I hadn’t paid any attention to Edwin lately—
but now it looked like he was up to something.
Before I could say anything, Sierra folded her newspaper and spoke.
“Oh, he must mean Sir Pierre.”
“Yeah. He’s staying in the capital for a while, so I’m going to greet him.
I even invited him to stay at our place while he’s here.”
Edwin smiled proudly as he adjusted his cravat again.
I felt relieved that it wasn’t Summer he was meeting—
but my relief didn’t last long.
‘Pierre? Wait. That name sounds way too familiar…’
A chill ran down my spine.
Wasn’t that the name of the Queen’s right-hand sorcerer in the original story?
Trying to sound casual, I asked,
“Who exactly is this Pierre?”
“Someone who’s looked after Edwin since he was a child,” Sierra explained.
Edwin nodded and added,
“He’s like a father to me. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably be dead by now.”
What?
Did Edwin just say someone’s name properly?
In the original story, the only person he ever called by name was Summer.
‘Oh no… this must mean Pierre is really important to him!’
My heart started pounding nervously.
I tried to convince myself that it was just a coincidence—
that there must be plenty of people named Pierre in the world.
But then Sierra delivered the final blow.
“He’s a traveling peddler—goes all around the continent.
He’s helped our Magia Club several times with information about magical creatures and herbs.”
“Ha… ha ha ha ha…”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Oh no. This was bad—really bad.
It was definitely the same Pierre.
Edwin gave me a strange look.
“You’re acting weird today, Selly. Are you hungry or something?”
“Her name’s Delly, not Selly,” Sierra corrected him right away and handed me some bread.
“Here, want this?”
I sighed, taking it absentmindedly.
‘How on earth am I supposed to handle this?’
To Edwin, Pierre was a beloved mentor.
But to me—he was a sworn enemy.
The situation was clear now.
Pierre was the one who had introduced Edwin to Queen Rosaria.
He must have been the connection between them.
Of course Edwin would have obeyed whatever his mentor asked of him—
never realizing it would lead to tragedy and Summer’s heartbreak later on.
‘If only Summer had known sooner, maybe she could’ve stopped him.’
But in the original story, she hadn’t found out the truth until after Alperen’s death.
By then, it was too late—and she ended up distancing herself from Edwin completely.
Even though things had already changed in this world,
the key turning points still seemed to be unfolding just like before.
‘That means Edwin and Summer will meet soon.’
If she didn’t remember him like in the original timeline,
he’d fall into despair—and the “dark route” would become inevitable.
‘I can’t let that happen. I have to make Summer remember Edwin!’
Alperen was already in danger,
and as his girlfriend, there was no way I could just sit back and do nothing.
I immediately headed for the Tower to find Summer.
***
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Magic Tower,
where only the Tower Master was allowed to enter—
Alperen and Daiven stood together.
“So you kept this all this time,” Daiven murmured, staring coldly at the Ice Dragon’s corpse.
Most magical beasts were once ordinary creatures—plants or animals twisted by dark mana.
But dragons were on another level entirely—disasters in living form.
Back when beast tamers still existed,
they could be “reverse-summoned” before they turned corrupted,
so the damage was usually contained.
But now that the tamers were gone,
every time a magical beast appeared, the Four Great Ducal Houses had to hunt it down themselves.
Six years ago, an Ice Dragon that had supposedly been dead for centuries had suddenly awakened
in the northern region governed by the Ravernin Duchy.
Unfortunately, the Ravernin Duke had a natural disadvantage against ice-type creatures,
so Daiven had joined the subjugation team to help.
When he struck the dragon’s heart that day—
a trap spell had activated.
That incident had caused a huge scandal.
Everyone had wondered how such an experienced mage—
the head of the Ainruke family and one of the greatest wizards alive—
could fall for such an amateur-level trick.
Some pitied him,
but many others secretly mocked the Ainruke name.
Daiven clenched his fists tightly.
“That wasn’t the Ice Dragon’s power,” he said bitterly.
“There was no mana flow at all. Not even a trace.”
