CHAPTER 26………………………………………..
“Stay still.”
Hans tightened his grip on my hand, threatening me in a low voice.
“Ugh.”
I let out a short groan and bent my head forward. Perhaps because I lowered my posture, the matron didn’t slap me again.
Hans released one of the hands holding my arm and extended it toward the lady.
“Give it to me.”
The matron seemed to immediately understand what he wanted. Frowning, she clicked her tongue, took a small bottle from her handbag, and handed it to the knight.
“Tch. Arrogant little thing. This is the last one.”
Hans snatched the bottle as if he were fishing it out, popped the cap with his thumb, and drank it all in one go.
The moment the bottle opened, I held my breath.
‘How could I have forgotten this horrible smell!’
The scent emanating from Hans and the medicine bottle the matron had taken out was identical.
And it was the same as the illegal magical potion rumored to come from the back alleys.
‘Why would a noblewoman have that?’
It was a potion that amplified weak magical power. So why would a lady, who didn’t seem lacking in magic at all, have an illegal potion like that?
‘Was it to give it to Hans because she cares for him?’
Judging from their recent actions, that seemed unlikely.
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Hans clutched his chest and staggered. For a brief instant, his posture faltered, and I didn’t miss the small opening.
‘Now!’
I broke free from Hans’s grip with all my strength and ran forward.
“Ah!”
Maybe because I was so tense, my heart suddenly began to race violently. Staggering from dizziness, I gritted my teeth and ran toward Dale.
“Miss!”
“Are you alright? Oh my, the blood!”
O’Brian pressed a handkerchief to my neck in a rush, and Sina nearly caught me as I was about to collapse. Even in my panicked state, I was horrified by the sight before me.
Memories of what I had heard about magical potions resurfaced.
‘Strengthens the core heart, making it easier to accumulate mana…’
‘The potion takes effect only after long-term consumption…’
‘This is the last one.’
Putting their words together with the matron’s, it seemed Hans had been taking the potion for a long time.
And now the result was showing.
“Hahaha! Yes! This is it!”
With arms raised toward the sky, Hans’s body began to emit magic power explosively. It surged so violently that my skin stung from the sheer pressure of the mana.
Dale’s shocked voice came from beside me.
“My goodness… Hans is using aura?”
I shook my head.
“No, Sir Dale. That’s… ha… that’s not aura.”
Unlike the Duke of Nostdian, who could perfectly control aura, those who couldn’t see magic seemed to only sense an oppressive force without being able to distinguish the two.
They were completely different. Aura was like a calm, internal lake, while magic flowed like a river moving both inside and out.
“That’s magic. This is magic blossoming.”
At my words, not only Dale but also O’Brian and Sina were wide-eyed.
“You mean it blossomed on its own without a proper awakening ritual? Hans is a notch. That’s impossible…”
“Yes. That seems to be the effect of the potion.”
Apparently, it didn’t just increase his small magic capacity—it forcibly connected mana to his heart. Absolutely insane.
“Wait… does that mean a normal person could awaken if they took that weird potion from the matron?”
Sina looked at me with a spark of faint hope in her eyes. I crushed it instantly—roots and all—lest she get hurt.
“Of course not. If you drink it wrong, your heart will fail. Most people die from it.”
“Gah! So it was a dangerous potion.”
“Exactly.”
Fortunately, Sina quickly accepted that her hope was an illusion.
Even now, uncontrolled magic surged wildly around Hans. The surroundings were filled with murky gray mana.
‘This is dangerous…’
Even a non-magic user could tell that this was beyond the control of a novice mage who had just blossomed.
But the matron standing nearby seemed unconcerned. She merely smiled, pleased with herself.
“Hohoho. I was right. It was worth investing in this potion. Indeed, Beatrice.”
‘Beatrice?’
I had never heard that name before.
‘Is that the name of the mage who made this potion? Or…’
The matron laughed loudly, so powerful it seemed to shake the mansion. Then, pointing at me, she shouted triumphantly.
“Now, my hound. Go bring that notch girl back. Lektarion, make that wretch regret defying me, a high mage, despite being just a notch.”
“Yes, Matron.”
Hans, who had been staring only at his own hands, looked toward me with an expression of ecstasy. His eyes, glazed with madness, were chilling. The gray mana cast a gray tint over his bright eyes.
“Come along, miss.”
“Hans, get a grip!”
“I am more lucid than ever.”
Hans paid no mind to Dale’s desperate shouts.
Even dizzy, I tried to reason with him.
“Hans, that potion is dangerous! I know how amazing it feels to have magic, but you can’t use it right now. Your heart won’t handle it!”
He snorted at my words.
“Jealous, are you?”
“What?”
I was dumbfounded at his absurd question.
If Hans could see what I was seeing, he would never want to use magic.
“I just don’t want to see someone die right in front of me.”
He looked at my face for a moment and grinned slyly.
“I feel invincible right now. Even that impenetrable Duke… I could probably defeat him now.”
Then, as if to prove it, he pointed his index finger toward the sky.
“Now, even this spell should be easy.”
He bared his teeth in a grin at us.
“[Dia Saman Borke.]”
“That…!”
It was a high-voltage spell capable of killing on direct impact. I quickly scanned the surroundings and saw Dale’s sword—perfect as a lightning rod.
“No! Dale!”
Kra-Kra-Kra!
Lightning shattered the window and struck inside the building.
“Ahhh!”
“Miss!”
Sina screamed and collapsed, while O’Brian held me protectively.
But then, a flash of light shielded us from the lightning. When my vision cleared, I saw a thin shimmering barrier surrounding us.
“This is…”
“Ah, goodness. I was only asleep for a moment, and you startled me.”
A man with blue hair tied in a single braid stood before me. Wearing a robe thrown over a gown, he muttered irritably.
“Why do uninvited guests keep coming by lately? If His Excellency finds out, my salary might be cut again.”
“Beric.”
Dale breathed a sigh of relief as he called his name.
‘Blue hair…’
He was the mage who had set up the barrier that the Duke mentioned when we first met.
I was stunned by his sudden appearance and striking hair color. Suddenly, he spun around.
He glanced at me, nodded, and then approached Dale, poking the magic-stone ornament at the center of his armor with his finger.
“The magic-stone armor I painstakingly made—is it just decoration? I spent astronomical time and mana making it for situations like this.”
“Sorry, I’m not used to it…”
It seemed we weren’t the only ones who knew him.
“Beric Holson, you traitor! Who do you think you are to barge in here!”
The matron shouted.
Beric turned back and began to taunt.
“Oh? Who do we have here? The infamous reckless old lady of the house?”
“Shut your mouth, you insolent fool.”
“You still talk big. You forget that His Excellency is a Duke, and I’m the third son of a Marquess?”
The matron gritted her teeth. Even here, status seemed to matter more than magic power.
“Well, you should take care of your teeth at your age.”
“Hans, teach that insolent fool a lesson! Gather all your magic and strike! Even 6th-tier spells should be no problem!”
It was extremely dangerous for a novice mage. But as if to follow the command, Hans’s magic surged explosively.
“No, Hans! Please stop!”
I shouted in desperation.
But he didn’t care, grinning and laughing as the amplified magic surged through him. His brain seemed fried by the sudden power.
“6th-tier spells are high-tier magic. If my father knew I became a high-tier mage, he’d surely… cough.”
Then he suddenly vomited black blood.
Hans looked at his hands in shock.
“Wh-what is this?!”
The dark, erupting magic filled the hallway instantly, and the matron was thrown back by its force.
“What have you done?!”
She shouted, but Hans could only stare at his hands helplessly.
“My… my magic is out of control. Why? I followed the instructions… why is the magic… cough!”
He vomited more black blood and collapsed. Supporting himself with his arms, he barely clung to consciousness.
‘Side effects.’
It was the infamous magic surge side effect that Risha had warned about.
‘Most victims couldn’t endure the potion and either convulsed or lost control of their magic.’
Fortunately, despite the raging magic, the blue protective barrier around us didn’t budge. Beric scratched his head in annoyance.
“The nerve of a former Duke’s underling trying to harm this fragile girl… truly insane.”
His words were rough, but his magical skill was astonishing.
‘This barrier… he’s the same one who set up the previous ward.’
The magic was controlled with remarkable precision. Its clear blue light was like flowing mountain water.
In contrast, Hans’s forcibly awakened magic was a suffocating dark gray.
The matron shouted at Hans, ignoring his suffering.
“What are you doing? Do you think I gave that precious potion to a delinquent like you? Go bring that girl back!”
I suddenly felt something strange. Even if she was part of the Enrilke family, if Nostdian blood ran in her veins, she should be a high-tier mage herself. So why wasn’t she using magic directly and instead yelling at Hans?
Beric seemed to share the same question and appeared to understand the answer shortly after.
