Chapter 79
At that moment, my eyes met Marceline’s.
“Lady Veloa, surprised?”
“Uh? Uh… um…”
“So, success then.”
“…Huh?”
Marceline smiled playfully.
“Actually, I wanted to surprise you.”
…He wanted to surprise me?
“Th-Then… was it a lie that you had to go to the Denbourn Kingdom?”
“No. That was true. Until just a moment ago, I was held up by the king of Denbourn.”
“Until just now…?”
The Denbourn Kingdom and the Pertian Empire were separated by a distance that would take at least a week by airship.
Moreover, there were no magical portals connecting the two countries. It was impossible to travel back and forth in a single day.
Reading the confusion on my face, Marceline explained kindly.
“I came using teleportation. Originally, I had schedules until tomorrow, but I finished everything in three hours and came here immediately.”
“…Teleportation?”
I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Teleportation is a high-level magic that consumes enormous amounts of mana. An ordinary mage would have collapsed from mana depletion long before leaving Denbourn.
And yet he traveled such a long distance using only teleportation.
No matter that Marceline was the Tower Master, it must have been extremely taxing on his body.
“…Why? Why?”
Why go to such lengths?
It’s just my debutante ball… nothing that special…
“Well…”
Marceline extended his words playfully, wearing a sly smile.
His eyes curved like crescent moons.
‘Ugh… he’s really a fox…’
To whisper something so suggestive with a shining face like that…
Marceline knew exactly how to use his expressions.
If I were an innocent girl who knew nothing, I would have been completely flustered.
But now was not the time for idle thoughts.
“Guild Master, follow me for now.”
I led Marceline to a secluded place.
It was a maze-like garden densely planted with emerald trees taller than a person. There could be no better place for a private conversation.
After casting soundproofing magic around us, Marceline turned to me.
“Lady Veloa. You want to talk about your friends from the sea, right?”
‘So Marceline knew all along.’
I replied eagerly.
“That’s right. Today, the sunfish and the octopus tried to ask Julietta to dance. If the soul imprint had been erased, they shouldn’t have taken an interest in her.”
Yet, as if by coincidence, they both simultaneously showed interest.
Frowning, I asked Marceline,
“Guild Master, do you know why they’re acting like this?”
“Hmm…”
After a moment of thought, Marceline nodded.
“Roughly. The soul imprints engraved in your friends from the sea have revived.”
“What? The soul imprints revived?”
It was shocking.
I had worked so hard to erase them, and they had returned in an instant?
“Then… did the squid appear?”
Perhaps the Nyx magician orchestrating all of this had arrived.
I looked up at Marceline tensely.
“No. I couldn’t sense Estelle’s aura, so the squid didn’t appear.”
“Th-Then?”
“The soul imprints revived on their own.”
“…What? That’s even possible?”
I didn’t know much about magic or Nyx magic.
But I did know that once erased, a magic mark rarely comes back—it’s basic knowledge from our magic theory lessons.
Finally, Marceline spoke again.
“There’s a type of special magic called regeneration magic. Using it, even if a spell is erased, it continues to revive, as many times as the caster initially set.”
“…What? Then…”
“It seems the squid also placed regeneration magic on the soul imprint. Since we don’t know how many times it will regenerate, it’ll be difficult to erase the imprint blindly.”
“Th-This… this is terrible…”
Could there be a worse disaster? I couldn’t speak, my lips trembling.
All my hard work had been in vain.
My mind went blank from the shock.
‘S-So… there’s no way to stop Julietta from going berserk in the first place…?’
The soul imprints engraved on the male leads wouldn’t disappear. Even if erased, they would continue to revive.
Then the male leads would obsess over Julietta again, and her mental state would gradually crumble.
And eventually… Julietta would…
“Lady Veloa, are you alright?”
Marceline held my shoulder.
I had been lost in thought and hadn’t realized he was right in front of me.
He looked down at me with a worried expression.
Ah, I need to pull myself together. I forced a smile.
“I’m fine. I was just… thinking for a moment…”
“Lady Veloa, there’s no need to be too disheartened. The current imprint isn’t complete.”
“…Huh?”
Marceline spoke in a gentle voice to reassure me.
“If the previous imprint was 100% effective, this one is only about 70%. It seems the squid didn’t place proper regeneration magic after all.”
“…Really?”
Hope flickered.
I perked up my ears and listened intently to Marceline.
“And this method… I had kept as a last resort…”
Then Marceline pulled a sheet of paper from his coat.
It looked like an ancient document, old and faded, even torn in places.
I examined the letters closely.
‘This… it’s in the ancient language?’
It really seemed to be an authentic ancient document.
I tilted my head automatically.
“Guild Master, what is this?”
“The method for making Melixer. It’s now a forbidden text, so no one can view it freely.”
“Melixer?”
The name sounded similar to Elixir, the well-known panacea.
‘But I’ve never heard of Melixer.’
I looked at Marceline, silently asking for an explanation.
“In ancient times, when Nyx magic was freely used, Elixir and Melixer were called twin potions. Elixir healed the body, while Melixer healed the soul.”
“Heals… the soul…?”
Could it even erase the soul imprints on the obsessive male leads?
My heart raced.
I asked Marceline, hope rising.
“Then, maybe… the soul imprints…”
“Will disappear. I can’t guarantee it, but the probability is high.”
“R-Really?”
Yes! I couldn’t help but smile.
Suddenly, the gloomy world seemed to brighten. Marceline’s words gave me great strength.
‘Alright. If we can erase the soul imprints, I’ll do whatever it takes.’
Whether it was Melixer or anything else, I’d use every method at my disposal.
As long as I could save Julietta, nothing was impossible. I had endured all the obsession so far.
I clenched my fists and asked Marceline.
“Guild Master, can you make Melixer? I’ll pay whatever you want.”
“That’s what I planned. However…”
…However?
“It will take some time. To make Melixer, we need Kines’s heart.”
“Kines’s heart?”
I shuddered.
Kines was a legendary, fearsome beast, notorious for being both powerful and brutal. I had heard it was the only creature capable of using both poison and curses simultaneously.
Defeating Kines required the combined effort of the imperial army, allied forces, archmages, sword masters, and high-ranking priests.
It was a monster that needed an entire coalition to subdue.
‘No matter that Marceline is Tower Master, he can’t possibly defeat such a beast alone.’
I shook my head.
“Kines… too dangerous. It’s better to find another way.”
“Lady Veloa, are you worried about me?”
“What?”
His reaction was unexpected.
I looked at him in surprise.
“Of course I’m worried. I don’t know much about monsters, but I know how dangerous Kines is.”
“Really? That makes me happy.”
“…Huh?”
Marceline smiled warmly.
“I’m glad you care about me, Lady Veloa.”
“Wh-Why are you… acting like this? Since earlier…”
His eyes sparkled like stars scattered across the night sky. I stared at them, entranced, then quickly looked away.
Ugh. Handsome men are dangerous for the heart.
“Anyway… then let’s keep Melixer as the last resort…”
“No. We’re going to get it right now. I came here today to talk about that.”
“What? Right now? Are you going alone?”
“Yes.”
Marceline nodded as if it were obvious.
Oh no, this madman!
I shouted in shock.
“Are you crazy? Then take me too!”
“You, Lady Veloa? You’ll probably just get in the way.”
“B-But I can help…”
I trailed off, muttering ‘I can…’ to myself.
Compared to Marceline, my abilities were truly insignificant.
‘Even though I can wield the powers of the earth fairly well, compared to Marceline…’
He was the only 9th-class archmage on the continent. From his perspective, I would likely be a hindrance.
“Ahem…”
I cleared my throat, trying to gauge his reaction. Marceline chuckled softly, clearly entertained.
