Chapter 05:
My eyes flashed.
“The moment you covered my mouth, my mind became clear.”
This was it.
The first reason I came to find this man.
Even if my wounds healing could be explained as the Saintess’s power, that strange pain disappearing at that exact moment had to be because of him. The timing didn’t match otherwise.
“Isn’t that strange? Oh, you don’t have to glare at me like that. I came to ask you to examine my body in relation to that.”
“That’s absurd.”
His lips twisted sharply.
“You accuse me of being the Black Mage out of nowhere, and now you want me to examine your body? You should be seeing a doctor, not me.”
“Choose your words carefully. I may not look like it, but I’m…”
I raised one corner of my lips.
“The Saintess.”
“Hah.”
He scoffed.
“Oh dear, you’ve completely lost your mind. The Saintess—the one surrounded by rumors. And you’re saying that’s you?”
He looked at me like I was insane.
“Someone who should be locked deep within the palace sure gets around a lot. Without even a single attendant.”
“I have my reasons. Anyway, I am the Saintess. And I could report you as the Black Mage.”
“Go ahead, Your Mad Saintess.”
“Prison, right?”
He flinched—just slightly.
I didn’t miss it.
“The underground prison of the Inquisition. There’s something important enough there that you had to infiltrate and hide your identity, isn’t there?”
“…I’ve heard enough.”
Seeing that he was about to end the conversation, I spoke faster.
“A fellow mage? A spirit? A beast? Or—!”
Before I could finish—
Something tightened around my throat.
Stronger than before.
Much more violent.
My eyes widened as if they would burst—
Then suddenly—
The pressure disappeared.
The man closed his eyes.
“…Truly.”
He steadied his breathing, as if suppressing his emotions.
“Annoying.”
Slowly, he removed his glasses.
His gaze lifted.
Gold and gray.
Like the sun and the moon.
Without the barrier of the glasses, his beauty was overwhelming.
Even his previously indistinct presence now dominated everything around him.
He spoke quietly.
“There’s a limit to how much I tolerate madness.”
His sky-colored hair lifted slightly—
Golden particles surrounded him.
“If you must resent something…”
His voice dropped.
“Blame your own recklessness.”
At that moment—
The bright sky darkened.
The horizon twisted ominously.
“…!”
Instinct screamed at me.
Run.
But the ground beneath my feet had already turned into a swamp, trapping my ankles.
Something black surged up—
and swallowed me whole.
But it wasn’t earth.
A pitch-black space.
No matter how I struggled, I couldn’t move forward or back.
There was no sense of direction.
No up, no down.
No depth.
No distance.
It was enough to drive me into panic.
—I can’t breathe.
My ears rang. My breathing grew erratic.
Again…
I clutched my throat.
I’m going to die.
A familiar fear crept in as my consciousness faded.
At that moment—
—Come to your senses… Do you intend to deny Tites’s choice?
A sharp, scraping pain tore through my mind—
like metal scratching against my brain—
and the words engraved themselves directly into my thoughts.
“—Hah!”
I gasped and opened my eyes.
I was still in the black space.
But somehow—
I knew.
This place was an illusion.
And—
I could break it.
My gaze moved on its own—
toward the center of this space.
Crack.
The space twisted—
as if resisting—
then flipped—
revealing a white core.
Rumble.
It vibrated.
I pushed harder—
Crack!
It shattered.
Cracks spread like lightning—
consuming the entire space—
until—
—CRASH!
The darkness shattered.
My vision spun.
“…Hah!”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart pounded violently.
Opening my eyes again—
I saw—
Grass up to my knees.
Warm sunlight.
A blue sky.
I was back.
“…Ah.”
My legs gave out.
I leaned against a nearby tree.
What just happened …?
I felt like I heard a voice.
“…The power of defying fate.”
I looked up.
The man was staring at me in disbelief.
“How… do you possess the same power as the Saint Emperor…?”
I forced a smile through chattering teeth.
“…You are the Black Mage, aren’t you?”
“And you… really are the Saintess.”
His lips curled coldly.
“Well then. The Saintess… has finally appeared before me.”
“W-wait, I—”
“I should have killed you back then!”
Power surged again.
I shouted through clenched teeth.
“I’m not the real Saintess! I’m someone else who possessed this body!”
“…?!”
The energy dissipated.
His eyes widened—
then sharpened again.
“What nonsense—”
“The fifth underground level!”
He froze.
I met his gaze and spoke carefully.
“The fifth floor of the underground prison—the place you couldn’t reach. A Saintess can.”
The underground prison of the Inquisition—
A massive structure with five levels.
Floors 1 to 3 held ordinary prisoners.
Accessible to any staff.
But from the fourth floor—
High-risk prisoners.
Mages. Spirits. Beasts.
Only high-ranking officials could enter.
And the fifth floor—
The most dangerous.
The most secret.
Only the Saint Emperor, the Saintess, and their highest-ranking officials could access it.
I spoke quickly, recalling everything.
“Yesterday, you tried to go below the fourth floor—but failed. But me—a ‘fake saintess’—I can…”
I took a deep breath.
“I can help you.”
“…!”
His eyes widened—
then narrowed with suspicion.
Sweat trickled down my forehead.
Finally—
He spoke.
“…How did you figure it out?”
Got him.
But I couldn’t relax yet.
“Half guess, half luck. It was a gamble.”
“You bet your life on something uncertain like luck.”
“I’d die either way. No reason not to try.”
“…?”
He looked puzzled.
I wet my dry lips and continued.
“I checked all the Inquisition staff profiles. One of them had a portrait of someone wearing strange glasses.”
I met his eyes.
“It said your magic sensitivity was extremely low.”
“…”
He gestured for me to continue.
“But that’s strange. Yesterday, I was in unbearable pain.”
The kind that felt like my heart and spine were being pierced.
But the moment he covered my mouth—
It disappeared.
That level of control required immense power.
And yet—
Someone like that was just a low-ranking employee?
Impossible.
“And if their profile says they have almost no magic sensitivity?”
I smiled.
“That’s when I realized you might be hiding it. Someone strong enough to deceive the Inquisition… and someone who needs to hide while infiltrating it…”
I looked straight at him.
“Must be the Black Mage—the one who slaughters executioners. The guards yesterday helped too.”
“And the prison?”
I shrugged.
“If you’re the Black Mage, then why infiltrate the Inquisition? To reach somewhere only insiders can access.”
“And if even you failed…”
I met his gaze.
“It must be the fifth floor.”
“…Hah.”
He let out a low breath.
“Fine. I’ll accept that much. But this nonsense about being a ‘fake Saintess’ is too much.”
“It’s true. I’m someone else who possessed this body. I actually hate the Saintess.”
“…Let me ask you seriously.”
He pressed a hand to his temple.
“Are you insane?”
“I’ll answer seriously too.”
I exhaled.
“If I were the real Saintess, I wouldn’t risk coming to you! I’m from another world! Haven’t you heard something like this before?”
I deliberately avoided saying “novel” and spoke in Korean instead.
“Have you ever heard someone say something like this? I mean, you might think I’m from another country, but—”
“‘Wow, you’re ridiculously suspicious.’”
“…?!”
My mouth fell open.
H-how—
“You understand Korean?!”
