Chapter 112
She was doing so well for a while that she forgot for a moment that she was a sunfish in a shitty body.
She let her guard down.
But she didn’t want to pay for her laxity this way.
“Ugh.”
Along with the sharp pain in her heart, her ears buzzed as if her hearing was failing her.
The chattering of the crowd faded into the distance, and in her blurry vision she saw the hem of an old robe.
“Are you all right?”
She recognized the white robes before she recognized the archaic tone of the man’s voice. The old robes, the gold threaded stars.
A wizard. This had to be a wizard.
“Suck.”
She had just turned over a magic tower the other day, and now here she was faced with a wizard. Isn’t this what it takes to be unlucky?
She gulped in surprise, then felt a gentle hand on her back.
“Slow down.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Right. Breathe.”
Her mind was racing, compelling me to jump now, but her body wasn’t listening to her at all.
Luckily, the wizard isn’t here to recognize her or catch her, and he’s only concerned with her condition.
Meanwhile, he has a nice voice.
“Yes. One more time like that.”
She wondered what it would be like to sing in that voice?
She breathed slowly as she listened to his voice, which sounded like it could get her a solo performance at the Gocheok Dome even if she sang nursery rhymes.
As the man’s fingers stroked her back, a white glow appeared on his fingertips and her breathing became easier.
This familiar aura was…
‘Energizing magic.’
Her breathing became easier, but her mind became uncomfortable.
Her mind returned to her after a moment of disconnection, and her senses returned to their proper place. The pain in her heart disappeared as if it had never happened.
The sudden attack nearly knocked him down in the street.
“Thank you-.”
She bowed her head in gratitude as soon as she felt better.
The wizard nodded in acknowledgment, the hood of his robe flapping open to reveal a brief glimpse of his form.
‘Pointed ears, eh?’
Is he half-breed?
“Well, then, I’m off.”
In any case, it would be best to part quickly. She tried to hurry away.
“Umm.”
She was grabbed again.
“What?”
She swallowed hard.
Hadn’t he realized, she was the one on the flyer!
The wizard who had been hunched over to deal with her stood up. She could tell he was a very tall man.
Is it because he’s a half-breed?
As an added bonus, she also noticed that she was incredibly fragile looking.
She wondered if it was because of the thinness of her lines. It was strange that she could feel this way despite being so tall.
‘From below, the hood doesn’t cover his face.’
The golden eyes that stare at her so intently… somehow remind her of someone.
She felt uncomfortable with the intensity of their gaze.
‘You can’t be… the Aether, can you?’
She had turned the dragon into an ornament for her writing so that it wouldn’t fall away from her, and she carried it around with her, and yet it was discovered?
Its mindless, emotionless eyes examined her as if dissecting her. Adding to the mysterious atmosphere that seemed unreal, she felt an indescribable pressure.
After all, she should run away now…
“Why don’t you show me the back of your hand?”
“What? The back of my hand?”
Before she could react, her hand was grabbed and she involuntarily flinched. Her gaze landed on the back of her hand with a ‘falling star’ on it.
His inorganic eyes were closed in thought and he was speechless.
What is it? No way, do you see it?
“…”
“…”
She hadn’t had anyone point it out to her in so long that even she had forgotten the markings on the back of her hand.
How did this wizard recognize it?
It was a strange thing. She didn’t recognize the wizard of the Grand Duchy.
She knew she should have kept her mouth shut, but her curiosity got the better of her.
“Do you see it?”
The golden eyes met her gaze.
“Do you know what this is?”
“Oh.”
Not a locator?
“It’s a… that hides and protects your aura.”
“To…”
Her eyes widened at the unexpected answer, which she assumed was bad.
Was it true that the stalker was favoring her?
“Who left this for you?”
“Uh…”
She was at a loss for words to explain this mysterious, persistent, unidentifiable stalker who was invisible to others.
“No, you haven’t seen it.”
The wizard let out a long sigh, as if he knew what was going on.
She was faced with a choice: let it go, or say something.
As she stared at the crossroads, the wizard’s long fingers brushed the back of her hand.
“Uhhh…?”
The indelible sigil faded into nothingness.
It could just disappear like that?
“‘Forget what you have seen.'”
The muffled voice held some kind of power. She was surprised by the power that gently pushed in and then crushed her.
Why didn’t… work?
“Because a mortal who associates with an immortal is sure to be unhappy.”
His eyes were downcast and bitter. A gentle hand stroked her hair.
She stood still, unsure of how to react, until suddenly the wizard stared off into the distance.
“Arel!”
A familiar voice.
She turned reflexively to see Pession running toward her, pale with surprise, followed by the twins and Aaron.
“Ah.”
When she turned her head again, the mage’s figure that had filled her vision was gone.
“Well.”
The eerie feeling of being mesmerized by something was akin to being stalked, and she pondered it.
What was that?
“Are you okay, Arel?”
Her thoughts were drowned out by the voices of running children.
“We found you!”
“What happened?”
“Why are you sitting down?”
“Are you hurt?!”
She couldn’t help but smile as she heard their excited voices.
She was inadvertently relieved.
***
“Master.”
A red-haired mage who was stomping his feet nervously ran over to him.
It was Robert, a star wizard.
He was currently serving the rare punishment of ‘serving the heavenly archmage Marcedes’ for ‘failing to properly handle the situation in the tower when he was on duty.
“Robert.”
The problem was that the archmage was elusive.
His heart had barely regained its place in his throat from the surprise of a master who had just disappeared and reappeared without warning.
“Your sudden disappearance surprised me. Where did you go again?”
Age unknown, gender unknown, nationality unknown.
All that was known was that he had lived for a long time, and he was a giant, a man who would have made even the Emperor of Albrecht blush.
Heck, he’s even a god in the tower.
“You know you shouldn’t move around, Master is an archmage the whole world watches, yes?”
Marcedes glanced at Robert’s pleading face and squeezed his hand once, then again.
“Well, I saw something curious.”
“Eh? A curiosity for the Master?”
Robert shot him a disrespectful ‘is there such a thing’ look, but the archmage didn’t particularly point out his apprentice’s rudeness.
Rather, he remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
He had heard that a rare dragon carcass was being auctioned off and had come to see it.
When he felt a powerful pull, he moved without thinking, and what he saw was a small child.
‘It was strange.’
An aura of something mingled together caught Marcedes’ attention. It was a very well-camouflaged ‘something’.
A tiny crack that would have gone unnoticed if he hadn’t looked closely.
And even then, the precise nature of it was unreadable, even to the all-knowing eyes of the Archmage.
Above all.
“Robert.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Issue a first-level caution order to all of the magic towers.”
“What?”
Robert shook his head, unable to keep up with the conversation.
Unfortunately, Marcedes had no sympathy for his apprentice. A mysterious, transparent voice warned him.
“The sealed ‘Stellar Nightmare’ has been awakened.”
***
For the first time in a very long time, Halbern Manor was turned upside down. The reason given was the ‘ill health’ of the lady of the house, who was out of town.
“Oh, my dear lady!”
“Next time I’ll be sure to take a nurseryman with me.”
“The children wanted to play with each other, so I let my guard down. I won’t let her go alone again.”
The parenting group was in tears.
“Please stay away…”
And Mehen said…
“Doctor.”
“I’m sorry. Please spare me. It’s my fault.”
She was begging for the doctor.
Mehen’s different momentum, something she hadn’t seen since becoming a mother, swept through Halbern Manor.
