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“It was trying to hurt Bryce.”
Ramos spat violently at the remains of the magic doll lying at his feet.
“It was a doll, damn it. No wonder it was too persistent.”
“It was trying to hurt him—wait, at the academy?”
“Why not? It’s not like it never happened before.”
I let out a nervous laugh as Ramos lightly supported my chin, which I dropped in shock, with his index and middle finger. His brows were crumpled and his sharp fangs were exposed.
“Two of my brothers died here. It was my oldest sister’s work. As soon as she returned home after graduation, she had tea with our third sister and our third sister was crippled.”
Ramos raised his hand and put it on his shoulder blade, pretending to pull it down.
“Both arms have rotted to this point. I’m still curious what the heck she was on about.”
“But you’re a family…”
“You mean, who else but family would do that? They will have nothing to steal.”
This time, he raised both hands above his head to make the shape of a crown.
“You mean, a succession fight? Of Nadons?”
“Keran is very lucky.”
Ramos said sarcastically as he crushed pieces of the magic circuit with his toes. As Ramos said, Keran Illestia, who was protected by Kaitlyn the Great and had no one to challenge his authority or had a justification for doing so, did not have to fear being decapitated by the blade of the same bloodline.
Nevertheless, Marquis Bolton stood by Illestia’s bedside every day. Bolton certainly had an overprotective side to his master, but that probably wasn’t the only reason.
In first grade, Illestia did not pick up a spoon until someone tasted the food. It was a story often considered a laughing stock, but that is what it is like to rise to the highest position.
Fitzsimmons at dawn was quite peaceful, except for the horrendous strewn magic dolls and Ramos, who squatted and rummaged through them. The distant sound of grasshoppers chirping and the sound of bushes shaking in the cold air, and the rustle of leaves rubbing against each other were quieter than silence.
Watching the mana in the air as if riding a torrent, guided by the movements of Ramos, it suddenly came to mind that he was really a naturally gifted wizard.
“Perhaps, you didn’t receive magic control training…”
“Correct. You did well guessing.”
Ramos turned his body toward me and clapped his hands, not taking his eyes off to something like a burned eyeball.
“Adjusting magical power means using a control tool. I am Bryce’s sword. The knife needs to be sharpened. You don’t dull it.”
“But it’s too dangerous… .”
“Well, at least Bryce won’t be in danger.”
“Is that why you have separate rooms?”
“Yeah, but it’s also because Bryce wanted it. Something like yearning for a free life?”
“Is that why he had his eyes on her?” Ramos muttered. He was probably referring to Blossom. Indeed, if Bryce Nadon, as Edgar Ramos said, was more interested in the wild roses in the streets than in the well-maintained rose gardens of the palace, then Rosemary Blossom was certainly the ideal type he would be passionate about. The problem was that he wasn’t the only one who was crazy about her.
Come to think of it, the way Ramos put Blossom into his mouth was not gentle. It was unexpected. Blossom eventually became the secretary of the student council, and although she was involved with Bryce Nadon, Ramos was often seen happily hanging out with her so I thought he also had affections for her.
“Can you look at this?”
Suddenly, something was pushed in front of my eyes. It was the broken forearm of a magic doll. As if expecting a confrontation with Ramos, it was wearing gloves made of thick heat-resistant fabric, but it seemed the thing had not expected how strong his flame was.
“Could this be a clue as to who sent it? I’ve never taken a class on magic science or magic tools, so I have no idea.”
As for the magic doll, there wasn’t much I could say other than that it was not professionally made. It was true that ordinary magic dolls were made of wood, but recently, among Milua’s finest artisans, the method of breathing life into other materials has been spreading.
It was certainly not Milua’s way not to use fire-resistant ceramic or stone, even though it was coated with expensive heat-resistant fabric. It really must have been a gift from their sibling.
However, even Ramos, who was unfamiliar with magic science, was able to guess enough, so I quickly began to scan the floor with my eyes. It wasn’t the time to look at something like the forearm to find out more information.
Fortunately, what I was looking for was quickly found. I caught Ramos’ attention with a small whistle.
“The magic circuit is based on the form of a closed circuit, with the beginning and end connected to the mana core that serves as the power source. The more complex the design, the less power the core has and the harder it is to locate it, so the signature of the designer who used mana must be left nearby.”
“Uhm… Can’t you just tell me the main point?”
At the lengthy explanation, Ramos scratched the back of his neck as if embarrassed. It seemed to be true that he had never taken any relevant classes. Well, with overflowing magical power, he can earn enough credits so why study unfamiliar fields? The world was truly unfair.
“Your attack must have exploded the mana core; but if you find the beginning of the circuit, you can also find the designer’s signature.”
I pointed at a piece of magic circuit caught in a weed sticking out between the closely mowed lawns. It looked a bit more bluish than the others as if the mana that was supplied before the core exploded was still left. A strange pattern was drawn in its middle.
“Do you recognize it?”
“Well, nothing surprising. Donny is the weirdest of our eight siblings. To say that Nadon’s assassin is a magic doll is certainly new.”
I consciously averted my eyes from Ramos’s seemingly unimpressed expression to avoid inferring that he usually burns assassins, not dolls.
“Can’t you fake it? The signature thing.”
“It’s impossible. Just because you have a signature you want doesn’t mean you can leave it there.”
The signatures left on the magic circuits were always something related to the designer’s precious things, and their form is unchangeable even with effort. Ramos’ brother ‘Donny’ expressed it in a certain pattern, but in fact, the types of signatures were very diverse.
In my case, the words ‘Alyssa’ and ‘Rohan’ remained. It was my parents’ name. In Kyle’s case, it was a drawing of an old pocket watch, a keepsake left to him by his middle name and his favorite grandfather, Damien, the late Count of Villard.
Having said that, Ramos seemed a little bitter. It felt like ‘Donny’ was at the end of the list of people he wanted dead because of his mild temperament, lack of power, and good relationship with Bryce.
“Oh, leave it alone. Maeve will take care of it.”
Ramos said to me, who began to remove the miserable magic doll out of sight under the judgment that the situation had been sorted out.
“Maeve? Miss Proctor?”
“She’s our shadow. A master at cleaning things like this.”
“Miss Proctor is Nadon’s shadow? A fortune-telling instructor?”
“How many times do I have to tell you?”
Ramos frowned. Either way, I was popping my eyes out.
“Is it fine for you to just tell me something like that? I mean, she’s like a spy.”
“It’s not like Maeve is the only spy. And it’s not like Maeve is the real Maeve Proctor. Nadon wasn’t the only one who dispatched spies. Illestia probably has more.”
“The fortune-telling class was rated very well!”
“That’s the funny thing. Maeve doesn’t know anything about fortune-telling.”
My God, I never thought I would learn why Kirkpatrick’s genealogy was so messed up! Ramos giggled as he saw me at a loss for words. He teased me by calling me ‘innocent Ari’, and when I questioned him about calling me by my nickname, he shamelessly replied, “Isn’t it time for us to be in this relationship?”
“According to the Fitzsimmons Times, I’m wooing you.” Ramos added.
”According to the Fitzsimmons Times, I’m putting an iron wall against you.”
When I replied, he grumbled, “How can you not even give me a chance.”
Despite my extreme refusal, Edgar Ramos, who had risen to the top of the academy by being a womanizer, seemed that he would be satisfied with himself only after he took me to the dormitory.
On the way, I saw blood on the back of his hand, so I wrapped it in a handkerchief (I used to carry one in my nightgown pocket after what happened with Kyle). He said he would repay all my help by telling me a very deadly secret about him and Nadon.
“Aside from the newspaper, who would want to know your deadly secret?”
“Don’t be like that. Just listen, it will be fun.”
Ramos said in a servile manner. I cocked my chin arrogantly. It meant that he could give it a try.
And what he brought out was a secret more deadly than anything I had expected.
“Bryce has never attended an official event as the heir to the throne. I have.”
“But, you…”
“I gave up my right of succession. I know. That’s why it’s ‘Ramos’. I mean, I’m attending in Bryce’s stead. What if someone tries to kill him?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. I thought that Ramos would, at best, confess his hidden feelings for Rosemary Blossom.
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