Episode 3
An Ominous Sign
At that same time, near the Florence Imperial Palace, inside the Spirit Master Association.
Rowen, who had recently become the association’s chairman, was alone in his office, working diligently late into the night.
Moonlight slipped in through the window and softly lit his face as he sat at his desk, fully revealing his mysterious and beautiful appearance beneath its glow.
Platinum-blond hair that looked as though it had absorbed the moonlight itself.
Blue eyes shining like flawless sapphires.
He truly deserved the title of the most beautiful boy in the Florence Empire—his face looked almost angelic.
The Spirit Master Association had been established as a separate imperial department right after the spirit corruption crisis, created to protect the nation’s safety. The Crown Prince, Rowen, had taken the position of chairman.
As Crown Prince, he felt a strong responsibility to restore the devastated lands of the empire, and so he accepted the role without hesitation.
Of course, it wasn’t just a sense of duty that placed him in such a position at the young age of sixteen.
From a young age, he had already formed a contract with the high-ranking ice spirit Glacier, and a year ago, he had successfully contracted with Lioner, the Lightning Spirit King.
He earned the title of one of the empire’s few top-tier spirit masters purely through skill—and that was why he held this position.
Seeing his overwhelming talent in spirit arts, people said it felt as if Julia Glen, who had gone missing fifteen years ago, had returned.
And as if to live up to those expectations, Rowen worked tirelessly day and night, never neglecting his duties.
[Rowen, aren’t you pushing yourself too hard lately?]
[That’s right. I’m worried you might collapse at this rate.]
Lioner, the Lightning Spirit King—glowing a vivid yellow as electricity coursed through him—and Glacier, the ice spirit shining with a cold blue light like sculpted ice, fluttered around Rowen as they spoke.
Spirits had no gender, but in appearance, Lioner looked like a male figure with spiky yellow hair and a golden toga, while Glacier resembled a female figure with white hair tied into twin braids and a snow-white dress.
“I appreciate the concern, but you’re getting in the way of my work. Both of you, go back into the spirit stone for now.”
At Rowen’s cool, almost cold words, Lioner glared at him with sharp eyes and snapped back.
[After Julia died, you’re the only multi-element spirit master left in the empire. If you keep working like this, you’ll collapse too. And people will say you were a workaholic even after death.]
Despite the harsh tone, his face was filled with concern for his contractor.
“This is nothing. And don’t call it workaholic—call it diligent.”
Rowen smiled slyly at Lioner while holding his quill, as if he truly meant it.
[That’s not the point—!]
[Hehe, don’t worry about Lioner. Just focus on your work, Rowen. You can do it!]
As Lioner tried to snap again, Glacier quickly slipped in front of him to stop him.
[Glacier, move aside!]
In the end, Lioner lost all dignity as a Spirit King and was forced back into the spirit stone along with Glacier.
Flash. With a burst of light, both spirits disappeared.
‘Come to think of it… There was a report earlier about an increase in spirits around the Mares family estate.’
While reviewing documents, Rowen recalled what his aide had urgently told him earlier.
For some reason, the number of spirits near that area had suddenly increased. There was no sign of corruption, but it still warranted caution.
It could just be a passing phenomenon… but for this many spirits to gather in one place is unnatural. Could there be a spirit master near the Mares estate?’
Uncontracted spirits naturally gathered around humans with strong spirit affinity.
When spirits suddenly concentrated in a specific area like this, it usually meant that someone with talent in spirit arts was nearby.
That was exactly why the empire had established the Spirit Master Association—to discover and systematically train such individuals.
The association taught spirit masters how to manage spirit stones to prevent corruption, and how to deal with corrupted energy.
As a result, spirit masters trained here could safely protect or purify their contracted spirits.
Those who reached a certain level were even dispatched to affected areas to cleanse corrupted spirits directly.
But the Mares family is a knightly house with no connection to spirit arts… so the odds of someone with high spirit affinity appearing there should be low. Still, it’s best to keep an eye on it for now.’
Julia had searched the room for quite some time, but surprisingly, there wasn’t much that could serve as useful information.
All she found were expensive dresses filling the wardrobe and a few swordsmanship manuals placed on the desk.
However, next to the manuals was a tightly packed training schedule, hinting that the girl’s family was related to martial arts.
‘Looks like she trains in swordsmanship pretty harshly.’
Sword theory, sword training, horseback riding, even noble etiquette…
Her schedule was packed from early morning until late evening.
In a way, it reminded Julia of her own childhood—forced to work nonstop in the fields by her parents to help make ends meet.
‘Well… maybe this will work out in my favor.’
Julia decided to see this as an opportunity.
To summon high-ranking spirits—and eventually reclaim the Spirit Kings—she would need the same level of physical strength she once had as a top-tier spirit master.
Every contract comes with a price.
Spirits lent their power, and in return, contractors paid with their stamina and mana. That was the basic rule of spirit contracts.
The higher the spirit, the greater the consumption.
That was why beginner spirit masters sometimes died without realizing it—exhausting their mana and stamina by recklessly using spirit power.
Right now, Julia had more than enough mana and spirit affinity—far more than enough.
What she lacked was a body capable of enduring it.
This body can’t even properly handle the mana needed for spirit arts. In that case… building stamina through sword training might be a good idea.’
With that, she had her short-term goal.
Not long after, she started gathering information in the room.
[Julia! I found something important!]
Sylph, who had gone out to gather information at Julia’s request, had just returned and began speaking excitedly.
“Slow down. Tell me properly.”
[The body you’re in belongs to a fifteen-year-old girl named Angela del Mares. Her family includes her father, a Marquis, her mother, the Marchioness, and a younger brother, Theodore del Mares, who’s one year younger than her. The family calls him “Theo.”]
“…I see.”
Julia carefully stored the information Sylph brought her.
[The Mares Marquis family is famous as a knightly house. And from what I saw, everyone froze at a single word from the Marquis—Angela’s father seems very strict.]
“Calling someone who’s probably not much older than me ‘father’… this situation really is strange.”
Having to call someone her own age—or close to it—father felt absurd no matter how she thought about it.
And that wasn’t even the strangest part. She’d woken up in a completely different place, fifteen years had passed, and nothing felt familiar anymore.
[Hehe, true. But right now, you’re fifteen—and that man is your father.]
“You’re right. Even so, my memories of being Julia won’t disappear overnight. It’ll take time to get used to this body.”
[Good thing you have me—Julia… no, Angela! Right?]
Sylph floated lower until she was eye-level with Julia—now Angela—and smiled brightly.
If she were alone, this would’ve been far more overwhelming.
But now, she had a reliable ally by her side.
Instead of answering, Angela gently stroked the cheek of the palm-sized spirit with her finger, filled with affection.
That day, Angela spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Sylph explain various things about the household.
They were basic things she needed to know just to live here.
It was a lot to memorize at once, but for someone who had contracted four elemental spirits in her early twenties, it wasn’t too difficult.
Once she felt she had a decent grasp of her new body and family, Angela finally left the room.
In the hallway nearby, several servants and maids were busily cleaning.
“Ah—Miss Angela!”
One of the maids standing among them spotted Angela and hurried over.
She was the same maid Angela had seen first that morning.
“Are you feeling better? You really shouldn’t be moving around yet—you could’ve called for me…”
“I’m fine now. I can walk on my own. Thank you for worrying.”
“Oh, thank goodness… I was so relieved to hear that. You stayed in your room all day, so I was wondering if I should check on you.”
The maid let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.
“Where is everyone else right now?”
“It’s almost dinner time, so they should all be in the dining hall.”
“I see. Then I should go there too.”
As Angela started walking, the maid followed closely behind her like a shadow.
‘I don’t really need an escort…’
She preferred walking alone, and she wasn’t used to having people follow her—aside from spirits and disciples—so it felt a little uncomfortable.
Still, she figured it was better to act naturally and not stand out.
It was her own way of respecting the girl whose body she now inhabited.
[Angela, this way!]
So she followed after Sylph, who fluttered ahead eagerly, making sure she didn’t look like someone who didn’t even know the way to the dining hall.
