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‘Shadow of Dark Magic?’
Iana was confused by Mule’s words. Then, Mule’s red eyes stared at her fiercely. Those bizarre eyes seemed either mad or as if they were seeing through her soul.
"...!"
Iana, frightened, took a step back.
"Stand right there!"
At Mule’s command, Iana stopped in her tracks. She was now standing in the middle of a magic circle. The magic apprentices promptly exited the hall.
In the tower hall, only Iana, Charles, and Mule remained. A heavy silence filled the air, with not even the sound of breathing to be heard.
"Y-Your Grace…"
Terrified, Iana looked at Charles. He stood by the stairs, gazing at her with reassuring eyes, telling her not to worry.
Mule, with a terrifying face, approached Iana and stopped in front of her. Then he reached out his hand towards her head.
Iana flinched and closed her eyes tightly.
The moment Mule’s hand touched her head, he spoke in a warm voice, as if soothing a child.
"You must have been in a lot of pain."
"...!"
At Mule’s words, the tension seemed to melt away from her body.
As she slowly opened her eyes, she met Mule’s gaze, looking at her with sympathetic eyes.
Feeling the concern in Mule’s eyes, a rush of emotions surged through Iana.
Why was that? At that moment, the words she had said to Riel as a child came to mind.
"Riel, I envy you for being healthy."
Iana, with teary eyes and a trembling voice, responded.
"...Yes, it was very painful."
"What is your name?"
"Iana Rachel, or Dietrian."
"Iana, you will no longer be in pain."
"Really?"
"So endure it just once more!"
Mule, with his hand on her head, began chanting an incomprehensible spell.
"Ugh!"
From the moment Mule’s hand touched her head, something intense pierced through her body, causing paralysis.
It felt like someone was strangling her, suffocating her, and the pain in her head was excruciating.
"S-save me."
It was the agony of death she had felt in front of Riel in her previous life.
"Disappear!"
As Mule extended his hands and shouted, a strong blue light emanated from the magic circle.
Thud.
Unable to withstand the unbearable pain, Iana collapsed.
"Countess!"
The startled Charles ran towards her.
From that moment, everything moved in slow motion for Iana, as if in a vision.
Charles, holding her, shouted something, but Iana couldn't hear what he was saying.
At that moment,
‘What is that?’
A shadowy black bird flying around Iana took off.
With strong flaps of its wings, it flew away beyond the top window and into the sky.
Iana’s consciousness sank deep into the abyss.
She found herself on a familiar forest path surrounded by dense trees.
‘This is the forest path of our family’s villa?’
As Iana looked around, she saw a young girl busily running around, exploring the forest.
A girl with golden hair tied in pigtails, a white and chubby face, and emerald eyes. It was 7-year-old Iana.
She looked so vibrant and healthy, a sight that seemed almost unreal.
"Father, look! When I place a stone in my hand, it sparkles!"
7-year-old Iana excitedly showed off a small stone in her hand.
Marquis Rio Rachel, with a dark expression, looked at the magic stone emitting a strong blue light.
"Sweetheart, shall I carry you?"
"My legs hurt a bit, but if I act like a baby, mother will scold me…"
Though she mentioned scolding, the child’s face was full of regret.
Marquis Rio Rachel knelt to meet young Iana’s eye level and spoke kindly.
"Mother isn’t here now, is she? It’ll be our secret."
The child’s large eyes darted around before she smiled brightly and reached out with both hands.
"Then carry me, please!"
"Alright, up you go."
Marquis Rio Rachel carried the child and walked along the forest path.
The child, seemingly happy, played with the small magic stone in her hand and hummed a tune.
Then Marquis Rio Rachel spoke in a calm voice.
"From now on, Father will teach our Iana a very fun magic game. It’s a secret you mustn’t tell anyone."
"Really? What is it?"
Young Iana swung her small feet in excitement.
"The Sleeping Princess Magic. When you wake up, you’ll become a beautiful princess."
"Wow! That sounds fun!"
"I’ll sing you a lullaby, so don’t open your eyes and go to sleep."
"Yes!"
The child closed her eyes tightly and leaned against her father’s back, trying to sleep.
Marquis Rio Rachel began chanting a spell. At that moment, 7-year-old Iana, unable to contain her curiosity, opened her eyes slightly and looked around.
Ahead, a black mist was rising.
Whoosh.
In an instant, the shadowy form turned into a black bird and flew rapidly towards 7-year-old Iana.
"It’s dark magic!"
The present Iana shouted as she watched.
"No! No! Run away!"
She cried out in despair.
But her voice didn’t seem to reach them as the two figures faded away.
"Countess, are you awake?"
As Iana slowly opened her eyes, she saw Charles looking down at her.
"My Lady! You don’t know how worried I was, thinking something bad had happened to you!"
Next to her, Vera was sobbing. Mule, sitting on a sofa, drinking, replied irritatingly.
"Didn’t I say she would be fine? Your lady is sleeping more peacefully than ever."
"You said she would wake up soon, but when she didn’t after hours, I thought you had cast a botched spell because you were drunk!"
Vera, clearly shaken, angrily confronted Mule.
"What? A botched spell?"
"Vera, I’m fine."
As Iana sat up, Vera quickly moved to help her.
"Stop crying and go prepare some food. Your lady will be hungry due to the mana."
Mule, glancing at Charles, added.
"And bring another bottle of liquor."
When Charles glared at him, Mule averted his gaze and feigned indifference.
"My Lady, I’ll go prepare some food."
Vera promptly left the room.
"You should come to the training ground behind the tower after your meal."
Mule’s words made Charles express concern.
"Grand Mage Mule, the Countess is likely still weary from her travels. Wouldn’t it be better for her to rest today?"
"Controlling her powerful mana is more critical than travel fatigue. Didn’t you say a magic blast went off like a cannon?"
"And the Countess is not yet the disciple of the Grand Mage, so show some respect."
Charles spoke firmly, prompting Mule to cover his ears and grumble.
"That incessant nagging! Don’t you have a meeting tonight? Just go."
Iana watched Charles and Mule bicker.
Before her regression, her family and servants had kept bad news from her because of her illness.
The atmosphere felt the same now.
An awkward flow of conversation.
They needed to tell her why she, the daughter of a Grand Mage, had fallen victim to dark magic.
In a calm voice, Iana spoke first.
"Grand Mage, I’m not sure if it was a disjointed dream or a recovered memory…"
"..."
"But moments I couldn’t recall came to mind vividly."
Mule, staring at Iana for a moment, drank before speaking.
"Iana, those are memories that resurfaced as the dark magic fully broke."
"What do you mean?"
"You were under a high-level dark magic spell that sealed your mana."
"Dark magic that seals mana?"
"Grand Mage Mule, the Countess just regained consciousness."
Charles spoke with a serious expression, interrupting.
"Your Grace, I am alright."
Iana replied politely.
Mule, as if making a decision, continued with a solemn face.
"Someone who didn’t want your mana to manifest cast it on you."
"...!"
"Dark magic that seals mana is used either to undermine a rapidly growing mage or…"
Mule hesitated, and Iana urged him.
"Please continue."
"…Or to prevent an unwanted heir from inheriting mana."
At his words, a vision of Marcel, hiding something, flashed in Iana’s mind.
"Who said that?"
‘That was it. My father’s mana was passed to me instead of my brother.’
The legitimacy of mana.
By principle, mages ranked by their mana.
But in some old mage families, they firmly believed that the legitimacy of mana should be inherited through the paternal line.
"But for some reason, the chain of dark magic had been unlocked. Had it not been, it was such strong dark magic that my mana wouldn’t have been enough to break it."
At Mule’s words, Iana pondered for a moment and then subtly asked.
"Would my father, the head of the Grand Mage Council, not have known about this level of dark magic?"
"That is…"
Mule couldn’t answer readily.
"Then I’ll ask differently."
Iana asked the question she had been harboring in her heart.
"Was the person who cast the dark magic on me…"
"..."
"…My father?"
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