Chapter 122

When I first came to Blancia, feeling obviously nervous, the Master I encountered was like an empty inorganic doll. There was an eerie emptiness in his glassy eyes. But now he was holding back something that was about to overflow, and showing emotions that he couldn’t undo.

So, I slowly swept his cold eyes without realizing it. My fingertips got very wet. As the palm of my hand touched his pale cheeks, they were exceptionally hot.

“… I’m just saying that I think I can understand you.”

I didn’t say anything so great for his eyes to get teary. Perhaps, unlike the female protagonist in the play, I felt less betrayed because I didn’t fully trust him.

“It’s enough.”

His voice trembled.

“…”
“It’s overwhelming. Enough to make it difficult to handle. To the point of being undeserved.”

He spoke in a sunken, teary voice. With my hand on his cheek, the Master looked at me with wet eyes. His tense breath spread gently through the palm of my hand.

“…”

Seeing the man trying to cling to my body heat, I felt like I was appeasing and soothing a large beast. Although I knew it in my mind, I was not adapted to the fact that they were the same person, so the Master’s emotional appearance felt strange.

“Being like this certainly makes you feel a little like Isidor…”
“…”
“And when you were Isidor, you felt like the Master very briefly.”

I muttered in a low voice. He then blurted out,

“The Princess breaks down the clear boundaries I set up with extreme ease.”

According to his words, it sounded like he was used to the strict separation between the two characters, Master and Isidor, except when it came to me.

“… Besides, all my shallow expectations are gone.”
“…”
“Even today…”

His masculine Adam’s apple went up and down a few times.

“It was always like that since we first met. It was the biggest change in my life.”

So, he couldn’t take his eyes off me, he added in a low voice, and kept hovering around me.

“Princess Deborah is constantly making me make exceptions.”
“…”
“Maybe that’s why I thought I couldn’t hide it in the first place.”
“…”
“I was going to kneel down if you told me to, and beg if you told me to… I had come up with a bunch of lame excuses, but it was driving me even crazier.”
“…”
“The Princess is already holding my leash.”

He slid down the palm of my hand that was on his cheek and took it to his long, firm neckline. As my palm touched his delicate neck, he slowly let go of my hand, as if he were returning the loosened leash.

“Master. I don’t want a one-sided relationship where one side is dragged by the other…”

I clasped and opened my hand, which had been heated by his warmth, several times.

“The Princess asked for us to get to know each other, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I also want to know more about you, Princess. I want to know what the bond you’re talking about is…”
“Won’t that bond build up gradually when we have delicious meals together, when we communicate, and when we share experiences?”

It is not easy for people with secrets to make a bond. It’s hard to even express your feelings honestly. Maybe he and I can understand each other better.

I and Isidor looked into each other’s eyes for a long time.

“Princess Deborah.”
“Yeah.”
“When you say that you don’t want a one-sided relationship… Can I interpret that as I please?”

He asked in a somewhat cautious voice.

“How did you interpret it?”
“You’re giving me a chance to make amends.”
“…”
“Can you also give me some time to build trust from now on, as you have done in the past few days?”

He asked cautiously, as if he was asking to be my escort for the spring flower festival. While focusing on my expression.

“…”

I deliberately put off answering, then squinted my eyes and held out my hand. His big hand flinched, seemingly surprised.

“Let’s decide with this.”

Because what I handed him was the faulty coin that the Master always confidently flipped in front of me.

“If we get heads, I’ll think seriously about going to the opera de Master told me about.”

***

Unsurprisingly, as soon as heads appeared, the Master offered me that faulty coin.

“Whatever you do, you will succeed. Princess Deborah also has better business skills.”

He gave me a rare item, so I had no reason to decline.
In fact, I liked this faulty coin that only had heads. It had a lucky meaning. Even though I was fooled, every time the Master showed me the heads of the coin, money and success constantly rolled in front of me.

‘But does Isidor live as two people simply because he runs a secret organization?’

And why did the only Prince of Visconti have to run such an organization? His identity was revealed, but strangely enough, my curiosity about the character named Isidor grew even more.

“Ah!”

I threw the coin high without controlling my strength and scrambled to catch it with both hands. Then, I turned my head at the tapping on the window. The letter Isidor sent through Muffin was accompanied by a bouquet of white bouvardias.

‘This is a species I don’t see often, so I’ll have to dry it out well.’

While I was undoing the gold thread holding the letter on its ankle, Enrique came to see me.

“Sister!”

The child, who was rushing towards me, found Muffin pecking at a piece of snack on my desk.

“Where did this white bird come from?”

Enrique’s large eyes sparkled.

“A guy I’m seeing… I mean, a close person sent it. Its name is Muffin. Isn’t it cute, Enrique?”
“A close person?”
“He’s the Prince of the Visconti family. Do you know him, Enrique? He’s famous.”
“… The Prince?”

Enrique’s expression suddenly grew serious. The child narrowed his brow slightly and opened his mouth.

“Sister. Is the Prince of the Visconti family taller than me?”
“Extremely taller.”
“Taller than Father?”
“Hm? He does seem to be taller.”

Duke Seymour was about 180 centimeters tall, so Isidor was only a little taller. Genetically, Seymour’s men were very fit.

“Ugh…”

Enrique, who had a sulky face, suddenly got up from his seat, saying he wanted to drink milk and go to bed early. The child’s eyes were sharp.

“Enrique, are you going to bed already? You already came here so let’s play for a bit.”

As if he couldn’t hear me at all, Enrique glared at Muffin like a cat after its prey, and murmured in a low voice.

“If I use the fire arrow magic…”
“Huh? You shouldn’t harm the bird, Enrique.”
“I was only trying to burn the letter tied to its feet. I don’t hurt birds. I’m not a bad person, Sister.”
“Enrique, you have great magic skills, don’t you? As expected, my little brother is a genius.”

Ah, no, this isn’t it.

“You can’t… burn the letter.”
“I see.”

Seeing how Enrique’s ears seemed to be drooping, I grabbed my chest.

“Enrique, shall we read a book? How about a card game? I’ll teach you how to play poker today.”

I gently appeased Enrique, who had a taciturn expression, sat him on my lap, and opened a fairy tale book. Enrique looked up at me, waving his legs back and forth with a slightly softened face.

‘He’s so cute I’m going crazy.’

Enrique, who had been listening to my voice, suddenly murmured when the final scene appeared, where the princess and the prince got married.

“The Prince. I hate him.”
“Yeah. I know.”

Because Enrique was cuter, I quickly betrayed my shallow loyalty to Isidor.

***

The next day, as I went to the academy, I narrowed my eyes.

“Hello. Deborah.”
“… Brother Rosad?”

I didn’t know that Rosad Seymour would show up at the academy to listen to my lecture.

“Oh my, it’s Sir Rosad!”
“He’s much more good-looking than the rumors say. No wonder the young ladies snoop around the Wizardry Association to see him.”
“Sir Rosad truly is a role model for combat wizards.”

When Rosad, who was a graduate, suddenly showed up, there was literally a huge ruckus in the Department of Magic.

Even so, Rosad was the hottest person in the capital these days. The influence of the Crown Prince and the combat wizards from the Wizardry Association was raising his public opinion by making him look like a hero. I even heard that Rosad’s performance would be adapted and presented on stage as a play.

Seymour’s characteristic impressive appearance, his robust physique, and even his outstanding eloquence. He was a star-studded person.

‘By the way, isn’t this the role Mia Vinoche originally played…’

I remember the heroine in the original work being very active before and after the Goddess’ Birthday Festival.

‘What on earth is Mia Vinoche doing these days?’

I can’t believe she just let the wicked Rosad become a righteous hero. I wondered as I looked at him, who suddenly appeared.

“Brother. You’re very popular.”

Even students who did not appear to be students of the Department of Magic gathered nearby.

“Thanks to you.”
“But are you really here to listen to my lecture? If you have any other purpose, tell me now.”
“In combat, there is no time to study the theory in detail. Honestly, I’m interested in the formula that you added, and I also wanted to have lunch together.”
“Hmm.”
“I also came to raise your force. You like to be noticed.”

Rosad curled up his thin lips.

——