Chapter : 67
At the sound of someone calling my name, I snapped back to my senses.
When I turned my head, my eyes met Hutton’s, who was looking at me with concern.
“Hutton?”
How are you here?
I stared at him blankly, unable to believe he was really in front of me. Then Hutton broke into a wide grin and pulled me tightly into his arms.
“I came secretly to surprise you. Looks like it was a great success.”
The happiness in his voice melted away the slight tension I’d been holding onto. I blinked quietly, then smiled faintly, naturally wrapping my arms around his neck.
“You didn’t say a word about this in your letters.”
“If I told you beforehand, it wouldn’t be a surprise event.”
“When did my fiancé become so playful~?”
“Who knows? Perhaps I learned from my cute fiancée.”
Hutton whispered that into my ear and placed a soft kiss there.
“I missed you, Eani.”
“…Me too.”
Seeing how glad I was to see him, I suppose I must have missed him a little after all.
As we embraced and caught up for a moment, I felt his arms tighten ever so slightly around me.
“So.”
His voice lowered.
When I looked up at him, his gaze shifted toward the window in the distance.
“I wonder what kind of guy that brat you’ve been paying such close attention to is.”
‘Oh dear.’
Hutton’s gray eyes flashed as he scanned beyond the window. I shook my head slightly, grabbed both his cheeks, and turned his face firmly back toward me.
“!”
“Hutton, I told you in my letter, didn’t I?”
“…I know. You said you needed a personal mage and, with Marquis Quind’s help, you barely managed to recruit one.”
Ah, and just so you know—I kept it from Hutton that As is actually a Grand Mage.
Given As’s special status and circumstances, it’s better that only I know for now. In the first place, even if As were merely an ordinary personal mage, his identity still couldn’t be exposed.
I emphasized that point to Hutton.
“And I told you that a personal mage must absolutely keep their identity hidden, so I have to keep a close eye on them, right?”
“You did. I knew that, but…”
Hutton’s shoulders drooped like a scolded dog as he muttered in protest.
“You didn’t say he was a man.”
“Originally, there are more male mages than female ones.”
“Tch. Why are there so few female mages?”
That’s inevitable given the atmosphere of this world.
The gender ratio among mages is typically 7 to 3.
And the reason men account for the ‘7’ is closely related to how magic manifests.
‘Magic favors pure human desire.’
The more readily someone acknowledges and immerses themselves in their own desires, the easier it is for their latent mana to awaken.
Conversely, if someone fails to recognize their desires, suppresses them, or hesitates in front of them, awakening becomes much more difficult.
‘Women in this world, who generally live with more restraints, tend to put many brakes on themselves.’
There were countless women who, despite having talent for magic, failed to awaken their mana.
The real Eani Nasell had been one of them.
‘Well, that doesn’t apply to someone like me, who had no choice but to live true to her desires in order to survive~.’
As I thought that far, I tilted my head slightly.
‘…But a few parts of that theory bother me.’
Because I know a woman who became the greatest mage not by being devoted solely to her own desires, but by giving to others and standing in solidarity with them.
‘The Sun Mage.’
From the records she left behind, she seemed very different from me or the other scoundrels in the Mage Tower.
‘How did she become the first in history to break through the limits and become a Grand Mage?’
Moreover, I could no longer blindly trust the materials and papers about the “correlation between mana and pure desire.”
They were all written by mages affiliated with the Mage Tower.
Just like in the case of Marquis Quind. Just like with As.
Those Mage Tower bastards have black hearts just like I do.
‘…Well, that’s not what’s important right now.’
For now, I need to soothe this jealous fiancé in front of me~.
“Hutton, you said you support my resort business. You won’t sulk over something like this, right~?”
“Of course not. I’m the person you can trust the most.”
“And the shadow that supports me so I can shine even brighter~.”
When I quoted the metaphor he’d once used, Hutton’s mood improved instantly.
“Of course! My sunshine.”
I can only exist because you do.
At his sweet whisper, I couldn’t help but smile helplessly.
After flirting with Eani, Hutton was abruptly left alone when her maid—now her secretary—Elin informed her that she needed to head to the meeting room.
Wandering aimlessly around the ownerless office, Hutton felt a strange sensation.
‘To think I’d be the one waiting for Eani in her office.’
He had always been the busy one with work.
The completely reversed situation felt oddly fascinating.
‘From now on, I should be the one waiting for Eani more often.’
He was confident.
Now Hutton had clearly grasped the concept of work and rest.
‘Before I met Eani, I was obsessed with showing a perfect image of Sainted.’
Because of that, he couldn’t trust even minor tasks to his subordinates and had to inspect everything himself.
As a result, he was always short on time and leisure.
But once Eani became his top priority, that obsession faded astonishingly.
‘And I was able to fill that empty space with proper rest.’
He had learned it all from Eani.
His woman threw herself into work more passionately than anyone, and yet rested more comfortably than anyone.
Swoooosh—
Beyond the wide-open office window, palm trees swayed in the breeze over an emerald sea.
Even noticing that peaceful scenery was something Eani had taught him.
‘…And love, too.’
Yes. He had learned many important and precious things from her.
So Hutton wanted to always support and encourage Eani’s dreams.
‘No more petty behavior. Purely, sincerely…!’
With that resolve, Hutton quietly clenched his fist.
Unfortunately, that firm determination wavered in less than five minutes.
Because two voices drifted in from beyond the office door.
“Lately, I hear nothing but talk about As everywhere.”
One was Eani’s lovely voice.
“Is it negative?”
The other was… a voice he’d never heard before.
Eani was talking with an unfamiliar man?!
“Hehe, it means As is adapting well to our resort.”
“That’s a relief. I rather like this resort.”
“Oh my, what an honor~! If there’s anything difficult, tell me right away. I want to accommodate As as much as possible~.”
“Wouldn’t giving me too much special treatment be dangerous?”
“I’m simply investing more to retain someone with skill and uniqueness. What’s the problem?”
And they were chatting so closely, so intimately!
Hutton couldn’t endure it. He sprang up from the sofa like a coiled spring.
He wanted to fling the door open at once, but—
‘No!’
Hadn’t he resolved to stop behaving so disgracefully?
‘I—I will support Eani with a pure heart! I’ll support her dream!’
Hutton had enough sense.
From what he’d heard, that man must be the personal mage Eani had mentioned…!
Since she had gone to such lengths to recruit him, it was only natural she’d take special care of him.
‘It’s just Eani’s work! So…! So…!’
Creak—
“Oh my, Hutton.”
Standing rigid by the door, fiercely battling between instinct and reason, Hutton finally snapped back to his senses.
Eani had opened the door at some point and was looking up at him with sparkling eyes.
“You should’ve sat and waited. Why are you standing there and tiring your legs~?”
“Eani……”
She was worried about his legs first—Eani Nasell truly was too kind.
Just as Hutton’s eyes began to grow moist with emotion—
Peek—
“Ah, so this is Eani’s fiancé. Pleased to meet you.”
The man revealed himself through the half-open door.
Slender build, tall height, dazzling silver hair, and blue eyes.
Unlike Hutton’s rugged frame, the man had an androgynous beauty that suited Eani remarkably well.
Most of all—
“Just as Eani described, you’re very tall. It’s my first time meeting someone about my height.”
‘Eani…?’
He dared to call my Eani by her name?
At that moment, something in Hutton’s head snapped with a pop.
