If you really want to blame someone, blame the people who sent assassins after me. But my life right now is too shiny to live in anger.
“Think of it as new problems to solve, Lacius.”
First, what to do with the fake Kun Geisha.
Second, where is paradise?
Third, who is Fata-Morgana, and why did she run away from there?
Fourth, how much time do I have left?
I held out my fingers, explaining to Lacius.
“Look, you can tie 1 and 2 together, and 3 and 4 together.”
I patted Lacius’ bicep.
“For the former, we have to capture the fake Kun Geisha, whose whereabouts are unknown, and make him answer our questions to resolve the situation. As for the latter, let’s find another painting wizard to solve it. The wizards in the palace probably won’t tell us more.”
“You’re looking for someone you can talk to.”
“Yeah. Remember Sir Aragon from before? He once told me about this unlikely endeavor.”
Kidnapping a painting wizard in Edmund kingdom. What if we change that to not kidnapping, but rescuing wandering picture wizards and allowing them to live in Terran? Demanding information in return? Lacius and I had enough money and power to do so.
“Don’t think too hard about it.”
I looked into his blue-gray eyes and slowly moved closer to him.
“Because you and I are together.”
His lips, stolen once more, were still wickedly sweet.
* * *
Dark night sky.
A man dressed in a jet-black suit, as if exuding darkness, raised his pale hand to his cheek as he tilted his head.
“Well, well, well, you look so happy.”
The man’s gaze was fixed on the floor below, on the inside of the exotic-patterned window. The window was open, so he could hear everything, even the conversation inside, for his hearing and vision were not human.
“You know you won’t die anytime soon. You’re pretty sharp, I must say.”
The man floating in the air, exquisitely draped like he was sitting on a crescent moon, rubbed his chin.
“You’re making me want to shatter that happiness.”
Balance. That was what mattered most to him. He couldn’t tolerate a situation where one side was happy while the other wasn’t.
“How should I torment you… Your lifespan is still quite substantial. I won’t be able to appear in my true form if this continues.”
The man smiled as he looked at the hourglasses placed in front of him. Made of clear, sparkling glass, they were lined up in rows and columns like a collection. The man extended his finger toward the most brilliant of the hourglasses among them. As he did, the hourglass glided toward him.
It was three times larger and more beautiful than the others. Instead of common sand, it was filled with bright red ruby dust, making it exceptionally valuable. The sand, which still flows very finely, has accumulated a bit in the lower compartment. Of course, the upper compartment still had more sand. When the ruby dust piled up to about a third of the upper compartment, it would be the moment when he could appear in his true form in front of his contractee.
“Shall we speed up the flow a bit?”
You shouldn’t die, but get as close to death as possible. When the things she holds dear pile up and pile up that she can’t bear to lose them. And when they couldn’t lose her either.
He was waiting for that exact moment.
‘This is a special lifespan, the first in hundreds of years, do you think I’d miss it?’
Be desperate, sad, depressed. Struggle in pain and yearn earnestly for a glimmer of hope.
She needed to be weakened so he could manipulate her as he wished.
“Well then, shall I leak a little information? There’s a ‘special one’ that everyone’s so eagerly looking for here.”
Becoming a painting wizard was a matter of innate bloodline power. However, developing that talent depended on each individual’s skill in painting. Even if they are a painting wizard born with a lifespan much longer than the average, if they couldn’t wield a brush properly…
they were practically useless, serving as mere reservoirs, providing support to amplify others’ abilities.
In that sense, that woman, Shay, was extraordinary. Skill, creativity, and patience are essential to painting. She had all three. She could perfectly replicate objects as instructed, but at times, she would paint things no one had ever thought of.
At only twelve years old, it was only natural that she would rise to a special place within the organization of painting wizards within the shadowy kingdom of Edmund. Accordingly, he also paid attention to her. No, he had been watching her since birth.
Painting Wizards had their lifespans enclosed in hourglasses as soon as they were born since their lifespan and their ability to summon were intrinsically linked.
Still, if they do not grow up to adulthood, he will not be able to reveal his identity and manifest himself.
The initial contract he had with the infuriatingly loveable “her” involved these terms:
- You cannot incarnate and seduce a painting wizard who has not reached adulthood.
- You can manifest only when you have only one-third of the hourglass remaining.
These constraints were established for a fair contract. What ‘she’ offered to give was ‘her’ soul. Her soul was excessively tempting and radiant. So, he didn’t mind giving up anything and felt that whatever he gave was inadequate.
That is the value of ‘her’ determined by God. He didn’t blindly fall for it. In addition to that, many demons coveted “her” soul. So, he should have thought a little about why “she” chose him.
‘But how many demons can hold back their appetites and maintain their sanity when a soul so sweetly crafted that even the gods would praise it is in front of them, asking to be eaten?’
Tsk. he clicked his tongue.
At the time, he was too young, too ignorant, too naive, too good-hearted, and too easily fooled. so gullible. But ‘she’ was skilled, already very mature in the way she played tricks, and had the tongue of a serpent. On top of that, she had the acting skills that could easily deceive even a pure demon like him.
‘So, I had no choice but to be deceived. I was the victim.’
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