Chapter 104
Hearing that, Noah smacked Sierra lightly on the head — her clear, sky-blue hair swayed.
“Read the room, will you?”
Sierra rubbed the sore spot on her head with a frown.
“Ah, why! You said she was the great mage we’d been looking for!”
Noah raised a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.
But Sierra opened her mouth again anyway, and Noah, sighing, stood up and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.
As Sierra flailed her arms wildly, her hair tangled all over Noah’s chest.
Noah didn’t know the details of Diashi and Ella’s relationship, but the atmosphere told him one thing clearly — now was not the time to ask questions.
Regen, sighing, stood up and gently led Ella, who was frozen stiff by the door.
“This way, Duchess.”
“…Yes.”
Ella barely managed to answer, head lowered, unable to look directly at Diashi.
Creak—
The chair Regen pulled out for her scraped against the cracked floor, making an unpleasant noise.
Before sitting, Ella bowed slightly to both the Emperor and Blake. They, too, returned a polite nod.
She gave a brief nod to the strangers — Noah and Sierra — but not to Diashi.
Or rather… she couldn’t.
Even though she refused to look at him, Diashi, sitting directly across from her, couldn’t take his eyes off her.
The Alaiser Emperor glanced at Diashi, his expression tinged with pity.
As I thought…
He pitied the couple deeply — but there was no more time to waste. Somewhere in the empire, even at this very moment, beasts might be slaughtering innocent citizens.
“…Duke Myers, please be seated.”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ella still couldn’t fully grasp what was happening.
Why is Diashi here? …Diashi’s with the Emperor’s faction?
He was standing right there — she had no choice but to believe it. No one in this room treated Diashi as an outsider; in fact, they seemed quite familiar with him.
Which meant Diashi had been with the Emperor’s side all along.
Since when? Then what about the Pope…?
Unasked questions tangled chaotically in her mind.
She knew Diashi believed she was a servant of the Pope.
So there had been no reason, no need, for him to reveal he was on the Emperor’s side.
Her mind understood that.
She, too, had hidden her identity as a magician, believing him to be a follower of the Pope. So he was only doing the same.
And yet — the ache rising from her chest wouldn’t go away.
Was I expecting him to tell me everything… while I hid everything from him?
A faint, bitter smile tugged at Ella’s lips.
Still, she had no idea what kind of expression to make when facing Diashi again.
Why was he here, siding with the Emperor?
She didn’t know.
But if he had joined the plan to overthrow the Pope, it meant one thing for certain — Diashi bore enough hatred to want the Pope dead.
Did Diashi really hate the Pope that much?
She had thought there had only been conflict between them.
Hadn’t she even stepped into that gap and proposed a marriage contract with him?
His motives were still a mystery, but a vague, uneasy feeling began to take root in her heart.
If it’s an old grudge… could it be because of that day, five years ago?
If he still resented what happened then, and this was all part of some revenge—
Ella shook her head.
No. That’s impossible. Maybe he just has his complaints. If he hadn’t let go of the past, he would’ve come to save me back then. How could a man who abandoned me and went on to love the Pope’s servant—me—possibly…
The more she thought, the more suspicious his presence became.
Could he be the Pope’s spy?
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at him.
“Some of you already know, while others may be hearing this for the first time,” the Emperor’s solemn voice echoed through the chamber.
He continued, explaining how monstrous beasts had appeared on the empire’s outskirts — as big as houses — killing civilians and obliterating guard posts.
All of it was eerily similar to the omens that had appeared 300 years ago, before the resurrection of the Ancient Beast.
Meaning — its full revival might be imminent.
Everyone in the chamber listened intently.
Everyone except Diashi and Ella.
Because they were both consumed by the same hollow feeling of betrayal.
…A magician? Not just a magician — a great magician?
Diashi mentally retraced every moment since he had first met Ella.
Never once had he sensed anything like that.
Unable to believe it, he glanced around the room — all familiar faces except for one strange revelation.
He had already heard the Emperor had found a great magician.
He even knew that such a person would drastically improve their odds of success in this reckless plan.
But he had never imagined it would be Ella.
Not once.
He thought perhaps everyone was mistaken — but no, they were clearly treating her as one of their own.
He forced himself to accept it, though his mind screamed otherwise.
But then—
Why?
He could accept that she was a magician, even a great one.
But that she’d hidden it from him? That part he couldn’t forgive.
Like Ella, Diashi also understood, logically.
She must have thought he was completely loyal to the Pope — just as he had believed she was.
And in this land, where the Pope wielded divine power opposing magic itself, how could a magician ever reveal such a truth to one of his followers?
Still… why did it hurt so much?
He didn’t have to think long. Deep down, he already knew the truth.
Even if Ella had known he was with the Emperor, she wouldn’t have told him.
Hah…
A bitter laugh echoed in his mind.
Yes. She had never once been the first to open up to him.
Even if he had confessed everything, she would’ve stayed silent.
Fragments of old memories surfaced — dragging his mood into darkness.
And finally, it all made sense.
Why the Duke and Duchess of Meyer had locked up their only daughter and tormented her so cruelly.
A magician… born into a family that’s sworn to the Pope for generations… of course there’d be chaos.
Though she was born a noble — almost royal — Ella had suffered relentless discrimination and abuse.
His mouth twisted bitterly.
In a nation that despised and persecuted magic, her life must have been unbearably harsh.
She must have grown up without a single person she could truly trust.
He understood now.
But still — it hurt that she had hidden even this from him.
I was planning to tell her everything when we returned.
Would she have done the same?
He couldn’t be sure.
He knew Ella wasn’t here as the Pope’s spy — that was impossible.
She had lived her life haunted by fear, and it was the Pope himself who had stolen everything from her.
There was no way she could ever harbor affection for him.
Still, Diashi wondered how the Emperor and Regen had found out about her identity and brought her here. That, he’d have to find out later.
“—So, Duke Myers?”
The Emperor stopped mid-sentence, noticing Diashi’s distraction.
“…Yes?”
Lost in thought, Diashi finally tore his gaze from Ella and looked up.
“Were you listening?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty. I was.”
But the blankness in his eyes betrayed him.
Even so, the Emperor didn’t scold him — how could he? He could only imagine the turmoil Diashi was in.
Stroking his chin thoughtfully, the Emperor turned his gaze toward Ella.
“…Yes.”
Ella, realizing his look demanded a reply, nodded nervously, clearly having missed the conversation as well.
He didn’t blame her either, but what he had just said was something she needed to understand.
So the Emperor repeated it firmly.
“When we fight the Ancient Beast, your role will be crucial, Duchess.”
“…My… role?”
Her voice trembled. The Emperor nodded solemnly.
“Three hundred years ago, even when the royal family had many great magicians, the Ancient Beast was a formidable foe. Now that every magician in the empire has had their power sealed, you’re the only one we can rely on.”
“But I…”
“I know,” he interrupted. “You’re going to say you’ve only recently awakened your powers — that your control over mana is still unstable, right?”
“…Yes.”
Ella spoke hesitantly, her face clouded with embarrassment. Then Blake suddenly cut in, grinning.
“Well, that’s nothing to worry about, actually.”
Every head in the room turned toward him.
Blake seemed to bask in the attention, shrugging playfully.
“Because, when she visited the royal palace before — we had a mental connection.”
“A mental connection?” the Emperor asked, brows rising.
“It’s something only high-level magicians can do. Sort of like telepathy. At first, it’s just mind-to-mind communication, but with more mastery, they can even share what they see.”
“Oh?”
The Emperor’s eyes brightened with interest.
“I tried it once with her — and she responded instantly.”
Blake pointed toward Ella with his chin.
“Our Duchess here.”
Ella’s face stiffened, but Blake kept talking, oblivious.
Regen spoke up, sounding impressed.
“Then… the Duchess succeeded in doing that after just one day?”
“Not even a day! She did it the moment I tried!”
All eyes turned to Ella once again.
