CH 48

After the sirens left, Sante smiled lightly towards Yennit out of courtesy.

“You seem to be a considerably talented person, so thank you for not killing them. I don’t really like having sirens roll around the floor.”

“I saved them because they’re young, but if I had known that their head would come here personally, I would have treated them more softly.”

“Oh, you know me?”

Yennit nodded slowly.

“You were with Lord Alejandro from time to time. I remember.”

“It’s a pity, I don’t remember you.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m only here for Lord Alejandro.”

Turning her back indifferently on Sante, Yennit strode towards Alei.

Then, she quietly stared at him.

She looked to be a little emotional, as if her cynical attitude just earlier was all a lie.

She looked at Alei as if she was analyzing a formula, trying to see if he was real or fake. Then, after a long moment, she spoke.

“Really… It’s really Lord Alejandro.”

Hearing the awe in her tone, Alei frowned slightly without realizing it.

It was still awkward for him to be addressed by that name, with that form of respect.

No, to be exact, should he say that he felt awkward about accepting that name and that respect naturally?

He was unfamiliar with this sense of familiarity.

‘Even this woman is familiar.’

She might have been an important figure in his past.

The moment he saw her, he inevitably realized it.

Because, accompanied by this strong feeling of wanting to run away, a memory passed through his mind.

—With this dagger, Ariel can become a mermaid again, right?

—But she’s a child who can’t even think about stabbing anyone…

—Why does she have to love a male human…

The forlorn mermaids held the dagger preciously. They held regret for their younger sister’s choice, and while their eyes held their fear of losing their youngest sister, there was a certain look of resolution at the same time.

—She will surely stab him. Thank you very much for your help.

—Then just as promised, we will tell you what you want to know. Ariel is still young and had never left the waters, so she doesn’t know, but we have already gone to the surface before, and we have heard of the story of someone who was exiled from the magic tower.

—Alejandro, the lord of the magic tower.

—It’s said that he violated the taboo, and when he was exiled, a seal was placed upon him.

—The magic tower transcends time and space. The magic tower cannot be deceived…

—To undo the seal, it’s important to meet the mages of the tower.

—They will provide the solution.

The mermaids’ words were like a song, perhaps because of their voices.

Even more so due to how emotionally charged they were at the moment.

Alei didn’t know the details. Because the fragment of a memory stopped there.

Memories that poured into him like water were usually accompanied with headaches. Alei narrowed his brows and slowly relaxed his wrinkled forehead.

There was no time to dwell on his memories right now.

Before anything else, there was one emotional mage in front of him.

“I’m so, so happy to see you again. I thought we’d never meet again. Do you remember who I am?”

“…Yennit.”

When he uttered the name Ophelia gave him, the mage’s face grew brighter.

“Oh my goodness, you really do remember! But why didn’t you come back to the tower right away?”

“I found my memories, but not all of them… I thought it wouldn’t be right to go back to the tower until all of my memories are intact.”

All of what he was saying right now was prepared by Ophelia in advance.

—Now, Alei. When a person comes from the magic tower, this is what you’ll say. You found your memories, but not all of them. So you couldn’t come back to the tower right away.

—Such a blatant lie… Will that work?

—Of course. No matter how terrible you are at acting, the people who’ve been waiting anxiously for your return would be eager enough to hold a festival for you.

—I might not even be someone they missed.

—But I’ve missed you, Alei.

At those words, Alei turned suddenly without him realizing it, looking at Ophelia.

While in front of a window, she was sitting with her back turned towards him, her chin on one hand.

As if she was reminiscing, she looked over at the sea, which could be seen from any room of Ladeen Castle.

It was one of the few habits of Ophelia’s that Alei noticed.

And as she felt his gaze, her eyes that were looking at the sea headed towards Alei.

—Does it sound like a lie? That I’ve missed you.

—…I don’t think you’d lie to me.

—I know. You trust me. It’s very strange. I trusted you that much, too. There wasn’t a special reason for it.

Ophelia spoke in past tense.

—Alei, I really have been missing you for a long time. When we met again, I truly was happy.

So you told me to try and trust you—and Ophelia smiled.

She was someone who did not smile at all while she was working, but she smiled especially more often when encouraging Alei.

As if she knew just how her smile affected Alei.

‘Of course, that wouldn’t really happen.’

Thanks to her help, Alei had become a fairly skilled liar.

Yennit seemed so delighted about meeting Alei that she couldn’t even think about doubting how awkward Alei’s lines were.

“The magic tower’s more wily than we think, so it’s possible. Lord Alejandro’s decision was probably correct.”

“T-That’s right.”

“Then are you working as a mage here, Lord Alejandro?”

“To be exact, he’s a mage under the direct order of the Imperial Family.”

Ophelia intervened right then. While Yennit’s eyes were on Alei, they were as soft as a gentle sheep’s gaze, but the moment her attention was shifted towards Ophelia, her eyes turned cold again.

“…Who are you? I don’t think you’re a mage or a siren.“

“I’m a normal human.”

Of course, that didn’t mean that Ophelia would back down. She pulled Alei naturally behind her as he had become pitifully stiff since a while ago, and greeted Yennit.

“My introductions are late. I am Ophelia Milescet. I hope you can call me comfortably as Ophelia.”

“I am Yennit Luhen. You’re the one who sent the letter, right?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect that you’d arrive this soon. You must be as skilled in magic as Alei.”

“What did you say?”

She had just been listening quietly until then, but Yennit’s eyebrows shot up.

“Are you kidding me right now?”

“…Is there a problem?”

“You think I can compare to Lord Alejandro? That doesn’t make sense at all!”

“Aha, so that’s it.”

“Lord Alejandro is a genius! There’s no one who could win against the amount of mana he naturally possesses. I met Lord Alejandro for the first time when I started my magic training, and that’s when I realized—the only one I’ll ever serve will be this person.”

“Then Miss Yennit, were you close to Alei while you were in the tower?”

“Of course, I was Lord Alejandro’s assistant. That guy Nelly still hadn’t graduated from his senior class back then!”

“Is that so. You’re amazing.”

As Ophelia responded to Yennit, she smiled.

‘I can’t believe Yennit is Alei’s assistant.’

She was an unexpectedly huge catch.

* * *

Ophelia knew about Yennit’s existence, but this was practically her first time meeting the mage.

Although they stayed together under the same place at the Ronen Castle, the castle itself was wide and Ophelia’s view had been narrow.

She didn’t particularly interact with Yennit.

‘I heard a lot about how eccentric she was.’

It’s the first time she saw the mage like this.

She was worried because she heard many times that Yennit was an oddball, but their exchange wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be.

‘All that’s left is to deal with Cornelli Deurang.’

Ophelia’s gaze turned to the spot where the sirens had rolled around a while ago.

The blades of grass that were supposed to be standing up were crushed, leaving a trace behind of the sirens.

She stared at that spot for a moment, then opened her lips to speak.

“Miss Yennit, I heard that you were close to Sir Cornelli.”

“I can’t say that I have nothing to do with him. Yes.”

“Didn’t you hear that he’ll also arrive?”

“I thought he’d be close, but I guess he hasn’t arrived yet?”

“At least, no one else came until we got here.”

“I knew it! I was faster. I mean, that kid would come here by skipping, but he can’t beat me when I have the coordinates.”

“Skipping?”