Chapter 63
The very person who had previously cursed Arkes and completely blocked my affinity with nature.
Dante’s here!
“All sorcerers affiliated with the family operate under the command of the Chief Sorcerer, Dante.”
As I looked around the guesthouse where the sorcerers stayed, my eyes sparkling with curiosity, Livia continued her explanation beside me.
“Currently, the sorcerers are all quite busy, so Chief Sorcerer Dante will represent them and greet you directly. Is that alright?”
“Yes, that’s fine!”
It was actually convenient—it wouldn’t waste any extra time.
Livia nodded and guided me to the reception room prepared in the guesthouse.
As we entered, a man who had arrived earlier jumped to his feet.
“I-I am Dante la Basilik, sorcerer, honored to meet the Spirit Enchanter blessed by the King of Water!”
Long gray hair, violet eyes, a fairly handsome face.
Just as Harnen had described before, he had a neat and simple appearance.
‘Someone like this actually cursed Arkes and tried to kill him twice…’
You really can’t judge a person by their looks.
“Um… Spirit Enchanter…?”
When I stared a moment too long, Dante cautiously addressed me.
Snapping out of my gaze, I smiled gently.
“It’s because the sorcerer is handsome. I guess I couldn’t help but look.”
“Thank you for saying that…!”
Dante covered his mouth as if overwhelmed with emotion and bowed to me at a perfect ninety degrees.
Startled by the sudden, formal greeting, I waved my hands.
“Oh, no, please, stand up!”
“But… this is the only way I can express my feelings right now…”
“Your feelings are already clear, so you may stand!”
“Yes, Spirit Enchanter…!”
Like a nervous job-seeker in an interview, Dante straightened his back.
I sighed inwardly.
From the Grand Duke to Lloyd to Dante… why are there only strange people in the Baharman family?
I thought this as I sat down in the chair Livia had pulled out for me.
Even after I sat, Dante continued to stand until I insisted a few more times before he finally seated himself politely.
Watching him sneak glances at me, I narrowed my eyes and studied the man across from me.
‘He seems oddly respectful toward me…’
Excited yet cautiously reading me—this reaction isn’t something you usually see from someone meeting for the first time.
‘Could it be because he blocked all my affinity with nature back in the Haila domain?’
After all, because of him, both As and I had nearly died, so it made sense that he’d be cautious.
If someone you almost killed becomes your superior, it’s natural to be careful.
‘But Dante probably thinks I don’t know the details of the past incidents.’
Could it be that his conscience is bothering him?
I decided to test him.
“By the way, Sorcerer… do you know a little boy named As?”
“Huh, yes?”
“He’s a cute boy with curly black hair and red eyes.”
As I roughly described As, Dante’s violet eyes flickered.
“Why… are you asking me about that…?”
“I’m just asking everyone I meet recently. He lived with me before I came to the capital, but as soon as he arrived, he suddenly disappeared.”
Now, the child he had tried to kill twice—no, three times—was brought up in conversation.
How would he react?
“Oh, I see… you must have grown quite attached if you lived together, so it must be upsetting that he suddenly disappeared.”
Dante seemed slightly flustered but quickly composed a worried expression.
“If you want, I could use a spell to find out where the boy is.”
A ridiculous suggestion, on top of everything.
‘Conscience my foot…’
He was just being cautious around me.
Suppressing a sigh, I smiled gently and shook my head.
“No, that’s fine. Harnen already told me not to worry, that As is doing well. I’m just asking around out of curiosity.”
I used Harnen as a shield to end the topic.
Still, Dante’s expression seemed uneasy.
Before I could wonder why, he finally spoke softly after a moment of silence.
“…Spirit Enchanter, are you very close with Sorcerer Harnen?”
“Hmm, yes, I guess so.”
It was common knowledge in the social circles that the Spirit Enchanter had graduated at the top of the academy alongside Harnen.
Tilting my head in curiosity, Dante continued.
“Then… what are your thoughts on the late Bellarisian Emperor?”
The moment I heard that, all my movements froze.
“…What?”
A chill slowly spread through my mind.
My expression disappeared rapidly from my face.
“What did you just say?”
My silver-white eyes, now icy, bore into Dante fiercely.
Yet somehow, he seemed relieved by my expression.
“I apologize if I offended you, Spirit Enchanter. I will never speak of him again.”
He even smiled.
Relieved that he promised never to mention the subject again, I still scrutinized him cautiously.
‘Come to think of it, his surname has “la” in front of it.’
Meaning, he was a noble from the Belzesti Empire.
However, I had never heard of the Basilik family.
‘Perhaps a fallen house, or a minor noble?’
While pondering, the door to the reception room suddenly burst open, and someone I didn’t particularly want to see entered.
“Einra, there you are.”
Lloyd strode in, clearly having been searching.
His gaze fell on Dante, who was seated across from me.
The corner of Lloyd’s mouth twitched.
“I’ve been looking for you, but here you are, meeting with some strange man.”
Dante, suddenly receiving the Grand Duke’s cold gaze, jumped up and waved his hands.
“Ah, no, Your Grace! I was simply greeting the future young lady on behalf of the family as the chief sorcerer—”
“I wanted to introduce my servants myself.”
“Your Grace…”
“I didn’t want you to meet alone with a strange man like this.”
“That’s not what I—”
Dante’s face began to tremble as if he might cry.
Really… this clumsy man had tried to kill As, even blocking my affinity, yet now he’s here.
The sense of dissonance was overwhelming.
While I squinted at the two of them, Lloyd, having made Dante nervous, smiled again and looked back at me.
“Then, Einra, shall we leave once you’re done here?”
He extended his hand toward me.
Glancing at Dante, still sulking, I nodded and took Lloyd’s hand.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
There wasn’t much more to learn by talking to Dante, so it was better to leave here.
‘A family that didn’t trust me enough to allow Spirit Magic before marriage.’
And yet, asking Dante if he had allied with Belzesti? He wouldn’t answer.
I followed Lloyd out of the reception room.
“I heard your father called for you,” Lloyd said as soon as we exited.
“I know you couldn’t refuse, but you could have at least had a servant inform me.”
“Oh… right…”
“I went to see you late yesterday because you were tired. When I arrived, you weren’t in your room—do you know how worried I was?”
“Oh, I’m sorry…”
I subtly freed my hand and gave a casual answer to Lloyd’s whining.
Then a thought occurred to me, and I spoke up.
“Your Grace, may I ask you something?”
“Yes, of course.”
Lloyd nodded, looking somewhat expectant.
Seizing the moment, I asked quickly.
“Do you happen to know when the Chief Sorcerer started working for this family?”
“…….”
