Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 47

***

Chesire looked at Belinda, who was leaning comfortably in the armchair with her eyes closed.

Judging by the faint wrinkles on her forehead, she didn’t seem to be deeply asleep.

Chesire gathered his magic in his hand and whispered quietly.

“You look very tired.”

It was a statement born out of concern.

Without warning, Belinda’s eyes shot open and she glared at him with a condescending glare.

“That’s because you…… No, it’s nothing, you look like you could die right now.”

“I’ve been suffering from a severe cold.”

Using the excuse of a cold, which he had never caught before, Chesire got up.

As she had mentioned, his current physical condition was beyond words.

It felt like there wasn’t much time left.

Fortunately, he was able to complete the soul magic circle before the last traces of her dark magic disappeared completely.

It was time to start preparing to leave.

“Cheshire, can anyone learn dark magic… if they set their mind to it?”

A sudden topic burst out from her lips.

“Why? Surely the master doesn’t want to learn it?”

He said it in a joking tone, but Belinda’s face was serious.

Only then did Cheshire realize that this was not mere curiosity.

He chose his words carefully.

Desire, a circle of dark magic, and a price.

He had said that with these three things, anyone could handle dark magic, but in reality, not everyone could wield dark magic.

One could only grasp dark magic if they had desires so intense, close to hatred or love, that they verged on madness.

For example, parents who lost their children.

Only when their desires reached the point where sacrificing dozens of other children was acceptable to save their own child, could they awaken to dark magic.

So, even if Belinda desired to learn dark magic, she would never be able to obtain it.

“Give it up. Master, even if you were to die and wake up like a sprout, you would never be able to handle black magic.”

Cheshire still trusted no one, but he was not a hypocrite who denied what he saw with his own eyes.

She is probably the only one who doesn’t know how much she cares for the boy, whom she coldly calls her servant.

After firmly stating that she couldn’t learn dark magic, Cheshire smoothly changed the subject.

“And Master, I know it’s sudden, but today is my last lesson.”

“……Last?”

“Because I’m leaving the Magic Tower. To go traveling.”

Despite being an unexpected announcement, Belinda stared at Cheshire as if she had anticipated it, then spoke.

“Have you tracked down the one who cast dark magic on me?”

“Of course.”

It was easy to tell who had cast the black magic on Belinda by the traces of black magic left on her.

The magic circle reflected not only the habits of the caster but also the structure of the magic circle modified according to the era.

Although some parts were erased, making it impossible to know exactly how the dark magic affected Belinda’s soul, traces of the caster were still present in the remnants of the dark magic on Belinda.

Even Cheshire, who had crammed vast knowledge into his mind, had only seen such an ancient form of magic circle in ancient manuscripts.

“As a guess, it seems that you touched a pre-existing dark magic created by someone. Have you ever touched anything old or suspicious-looking?”

Belinda’s expression became peculiar.

She clenched her fist, tapping her index finger while contemplating for a while before lifting her head.

“I can’t remember. Anyway, it wasn’t aimed at me, so it’s just…”

“Just very bad luck.”

Cheshire filled in the unspoken words for Belinda.

The deep sigh that followed was one that Cheshire could understand.

“Since you say it’s the last time, I’ll ask you one more question. Are you sure you won’t regret this?”

Even without asking what he regretted, it seemed clear.

Belinda vaguely seemed to have sensed that he would use dark magic tonight.

Well, she was unusually quick-witted.

‘Even though I tempted her, she quickly realized I didn’t mean it.’

Normally, he would have avoided telling the truth by talking back or giving vague answers.

But perhaps it was because she knew that today was their last meeting, or because of her unusually different attitude.

Cheshire, observing Belinda’s expression filled with a subtle concern as if watching the young Seedo, ultimately found himself unable to do anything but answer honestly.

“I will never regret it. So, don’t make such a worried expression.”

All of this is a gift for my brother who died because of me.

After swallowing his last words, Cheshire’s fingertips touched Belinda’s magic stone.

On the first day, he recognized as soon as he held her hand that it was a magic stone that bound the magic circuit to prevent magic power from being contained in Belinda’s vessel.

And although it is not hers, some magic latent within her will soon shatter this magic stone.

“This is a parting gift, master.”

In a very brief moment, a few intricate layers of circles appeared and disappeared on the magic stone, too short for Belinda to notice.

“Do not be alone tonight, and be sure to have someone with you. Someone as trustworthy as your butler and your knight.”

“I feel really bad when you say it so meaningfully.”

Cheshire laughed and turned away from Belinda, who whispered grumpily.

***

In the face of the grand essence of magic, everything is equal.

The magical republic of Babel was founded on that ideology, but ironically, its magic created all the inequality.

The twin brothers Keith and Cheshire were born with pure magic and enormous vessels of magic, but that didn’t change the fact that they were born slaves.

For mages who suffered from an inherent lack of magic, the twins were like precious gems that could be replenished at any time.

Together, they were meaningful.

‘Wouldn’t it be more convenient to transplant the magical circuits of the older brother, who produces pure magic, into the younger brother, who has a giant bowl of magic?’

At least until some deranged magician came up with a horrifying idea.

And ultimately, he executed that dreadful plan, and Cheshire gained the qualities of an archmage.

The mad sorcerer seized the top of the Gray Tower with the magical power supplied by Cheshire.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Or rather, it was made to seem so.

As he climbed the tower’s stairs, Cheshire carefully reviewed his plan.

‘First, I’ll kill the Master of the Tower.’

Only then could he break free from the slave mark binding his body.

‘Next, I’ll activate dark magic to kill the soul.’

It took ten souls to destroy one, or the soul of someone dear enough to be worth ten lives.

However, Cheshire had no one precious enough to substitute for ten lives.

Except for what was his.

After everything was done, his brother, Keith, would finally be able to fully possess this body and enjoy freedom under the bright sun.

‘To exchange my soul for my own body. Sounds pretty inefficient.’

With a smirk, Cheshire, now filled with mocking laughter, surveyed his quarters for the last time.

It had been his home for over a decade, but Cheshire’s eyes as he examined his room were cold.

Soon, his eyes glowed an ominous violet as the world faded to black and white.

His gaze focused on the letters sent to his brother, carefully preserved and stored.

For years, he wrote letters daily that could never reach his brother, kept and preserved against the odds in the hope that perhaps his brother might miraculously read them.

But was it a mistake? The letters seemed to be disheveled, unlike before.

As if someone had read them, unlike before.

His heart pounded ominously.

If someone had discovered those letters and conveyed his plans to the Tower Master…

Cheshire quickly retrieved the letters.

And he found it.

A response from Keith, the response that should never, no, could never exist.