Chapter 11
Ariel had been watching the man suspiciously when their eyes suddenly met. She flinched, and the man spoke calmly.
“It seems we’ve arrived.”
Only then did Ariel realize the carriage had stopped. She had been so preoccupied thinking about the man that she hadn’t even noticed.
A natural smile appeared on her face.
“I suppose we have.”
Just then, the coachman opened the carriage door.
“Miss, we’ve arrived at Teiran Street.”
Teiran Street was quite far from the Blante Marquisate. Even so, they had come here because it was the destination the man had requested.
Ariel nodded lightly to the coachman and was about to step out of the carriage to see the man off. Although she still wasn’t entirely certain who he was, he had undeniably helped her, and she wanted to show proper courtesy.
However, before she could rise, the man waved a hand dismissively.
“There’s no need to see me off, my lady. Thanks to you, I had a comfortable ride.”
“But still…”
Before she could protest, the man lifted the pocket watch.
“Rather than a farewell, this is more important to me. So, my lady, would it be alright if I kept the watch for a day before returning it?”
He gently ran his fingers over the cracked portion.
“Repairing it will take a little time. In return, I’ll restore it perfectly and personally bring it back to the Blante Marquisate.”
The way he touched the watch was surprisingly affectionate, but Ariel couldn’t immediately agree.
“Ah…”
Her suspicions about him had not completely vanished. She was grateful for his help, but she still wasn’t fully convinced that he was truly a mage.
The man chuckled lightly and pulled something from the inner pocket of his jacket. As though he had seen through her doubts, he held out what appeared to be an identification badge.
“Of course, I understand that you can’t simply entrust a precious item to a stranger. So I’ll leave this as collateral.”
Ariel’s eyes widened when she saw it.
“This is…”
A gold badge from the Mage Tower.
Such badges were awarded only to high-circle mages—those of the seventh circle and above, the highest class of mages.
Furthermore, it was an item that could never be forged. The great archmages themselves had created them.
Staring at the badge, Ariel muttered softly,
“…So you really are a mage.”
“I told you. I may be mistaken about many things, but never when it comes to magic. Naturally, that includes lying.”
The man smiled playfully.
The suspicion vanished from Ariel’s eyes, but confusion remained.
No—her curiosity had only deepened.
There were only about twenty archmages known throughout the continent, including the Master of the Mage Tower. Their portraits had been distributed so widely that even children could recognize them.
So this face…
It’s definitely altered by magic.
But why would an archmage be standing before her?
Archmages were people whom only royalty could normally meet. They were certainly not individuals one would encounter in a marquis family’s carriage.
And then there was the debt he had mentioned.
Could an archmage really owe her anything?
The idea was so absurd that she almost wondered if exhaustion had driven her to hallucinations.
At that moment, however, the man pressed the gold badge into her hand.
Its cold metallic touch was unmistakably real.
Seeing her hesitation, he grinned.
“This badge should be enough to guarantee my identity. Though it won’t happen, if I were to run off with your watch, simply show this badge to the Mage Tower. They’ll treat you with the utmost hospitality.”
Before Ariel could say anything, he stepped out of the carriage.
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
Recovering herself, Ariel hurriedly leaned out of the carriage.
But the man had already disappeared without a trace.
“…He vanished right before our eyes, Miss.”
Only the coachman remained, staring wide-eyed after witnessing a teleportation spell.
“The Mage Tower will treat you with the utmost hospitality.”
His words echoed in Ariel’s ears.
Then, suddenly, one particular person flashed through her mind.
Among all the archmages, there was one who was especially famous.
“Surely not…”
A possibility crossed her mind, but she quickly shook her head.
If it were truly that person, the Empire could never remain this quiet. There was no way someone like him would be wandering around alone.
The Mage Tower would never allow it.
Suppressing her baseless speculation, Ariel climbed back into the carriage.
Yet the uneasy feeling remained.
Throughout the entire journey back to the Blante estate, she carefully held the gold badge the man had left behind.
* * *
At the same time Ariel returned to the Blante estate, another scene was unfolding at the Grand Duke Seyard’s residence.
Inside his office, Kylance stood by the window, staring at the sunset with a hardened expression.
“…I didn’t expect to run into her so soon.”
He had assumed he wouldn’t see that face again until after the Blante family had fallen.
Yet those green eyes that had looked directly at him resurfaced vividly in his mind.
Kylance exhaled roughly.
A suffocating tightness gripped his chest.
He loosened his cufflinks and opened the office window.
The cool evening breeze wrapped around him, easing some of the heat burning through his body.
Steadying his breathing, he gazed silently at the crimson sky.
But only for a moment.
Soon, nausea surged within him, forcing him to look away from the sunset.
The disgust wasn’t because of Ariel.
It was because of that Bayern noblewoman.
Sier Bayern.
The first time he had met her was during the Imperial Founding Festival.
That day, Ariel had introduced Sier as one of her close friends.
Kylance had greeted her politely, but he had disliked her from the very beginning.
While pretending to admire Ariel, Sier had been glaring at her with a dark, malicious gaze whenever no one was watching.
Most people would never have noticed.
But Kylance was far more sensitive to the presence and intentions of others than ordinary people.
He had seen it clearly.
And now she no longer even bothered to hide those feelings.
After Marquis Blante’s funeral—the very day Ariel had been publicly abandoned through the broken engagement—Sier had reportedly gathered Ariel’s former friends and hosted a tea party.
A cold smile appeared on Kylance’s lips.
The moment he had returned to the grand ducal residence, he had stripped off his tailcoat and washed himself thoroughly.
Yet no matter how many times he scrubbed, the lips that had touched Sier Bayern would not feel clean.
It felt as though filthy insects were crawling across them.
The sensation drove him mad.
An insect… yes.
A human being shouldn’t behave that way.
She had once called herself Ariel’s friend.
She had received so much kindness from her.
Yet she had waited eagerly for Ariel’s downfall and celebrated it with one party after another.
Wasn’t that worse than vermin?
Thinking so, Kylance switched from using the back of his hand to a handkerchief and rubbed at his lips until the skin nearly peeled away.
Eventually, his hand stopped.
A metallic taste filled his mouth.
Blood stained the white cloth.
His lips had split open.
But that wasn’t why he stopped.
A sudden question had surfaced in his mind.
And what exactly makes you any different from Sier Bayern?
Wasn’t it true?
He was the one who had created the perfect stage for Sier to trample Ariel.
He was the one who had destroyed the Blante family.
The one who had sent the engagement annulment papers during her father’s funeral.
And if anyone embodied deception and hidden malice, it was him.
He had concealed his desire for revenge while remaining by Ariel’s side.
He had watched her grow more miserable day after day with his own eyes.
Compared to that, he was no different from Sier.
“…No. I’m worse.”
At least Sier Bayern had never personally taken everything from Ariel.
Unlike him.
And today, just to see Ariel hurt, he had deliberately kissed Sier’s hand in front of her.
“…Who am I to call someone else disgusting?”
If Sier protested that she was being treated unfairly, he would have no rebuttal.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
The movement split his lips further, drawing more blood, but he paid it no mind.
Instead, he thought:
My aunt truly found me a fitting match.
A woman very much like myself.
If Sier Bayern truly became the Grand Duchess, the two of them would make a perfectly revolting pair.
As Kylance licked the blood from his lips with dark, sunken eyes, a knock sounded at the office door.
“Come in.”
The person who entered was Deril.
Kylance quickly concealed the distortion in his expression and turned toward him.
“Greetings, my lord.”
Kylance immediately asked:
“Have you confirmed where he went?”
