‘Titi, really.’

Titi entered the room almost like a ghost, and the sound of her slapping her cheeks and bouncing around made Yuri smile involuntarily.

The sensation of his lips touching and then leaving Titiana’s forehead still lingered.

‘Still, it’s a relief. It seems like she’s feeling better.’

He was glad that he was the one who could lift her spirits.

‘Whenever I think of Titi, my heart always feels as light and fluffy as cotton candy.’

Why didn’t others feel the same way?

Thinking of Sabina and Yujin, Yuri smirked. Even though it had happened long ago, the betrayal he felt was still vivid.

‘The fact that I didn’t take revenge on Sabina and Yujin was the limit of my patience.’

Mages used magic entirely according to their own ‘will.’ Giving a mage a mind-control drug that prevented them from acting on their own will was akin to pouring poison down their throat.

‘Thankfully, the effects of the drug were very weak.’

What tormented Yuri at the time wasn’t the damaged magic circuits caused by the drug but Yujin, who turned his back and left despite Yuri’s desperate pleas.

‘I really wanted to kill him.’

He had woken up several times with the intention to do so. He barely managed to control his impulses, thinking that things would become incredibly troublesome if Yujin died.

But as he grew older, he saw the situation differently.

‘Yujin was just a kid back then. It’s quite common for kids to be frightened and run away from situations they can’t handle.’

Meeting Titiana had changed his perspective.

‘They say people become gentler when they fall in love. Is that what’s happening to me?’

If Titiana heard this, she would surely shake her head and say no, but she couldn’t read Yuri’s thoughts anyway. Delighted by his own transformation, Yuri flew out of the room.

Outside, Yuri gently landed on the windowsill of Yujin’s room. Then he opened the window. Since he had left it open beforehand, he acted without hesitation.

Once inside the room, a pair of eyes, glowing faintly even in the darkness, watched him. It was Yujin.

Yuri tousled his hair roughly and strode toward the bed. In a blunt voice, he asked,

“You said you were sick, so why aren’t you sleeping?”

In response to Yuri’s question, Yujin answered indifferently, “Isn’t that something you should be asking yourself?”

“I’m healthy, so it doesn’t matter.”

Even in the darkness, Yuri could sense a slight smile.

‘Awake and yet not even turning on the light to confuse me.’

If the light had been on, he wouldn’t have come in.

Yuri snapped his fingers. The lamp on the nightstand flickered to life.

In the soft glow of the candlelight, Yujin’s face appeared even paler than usual.

“…Hey, are you really sick?”

“You don’t even call me brother anymore.”

“It’s not like you want to be treated like one.”

After hesitating, Yuri asked in a small voice, “What did the doctor say? That person’s skills are the best, right?”

“They said there’s nothing wrong.”

Yujin sighed and added, “I even met with a priest just in case, but they found nothing wrong either.”

“Hmm, mind if I take a look?”

The fact that the priest didn’t react meant it wasn’t a curse.

Yuri took Yujin’s hand and gently infused his mana into Yujin’s body.

It wasn’t long before Yuri’s eyes widened.

“What?”

A very familiar mana clashed with Yuri’s. He opened Yujin’s shirt.

Below the collarbone, where the heart should be, a magic circle was engraved. The golden magic circle reflected in Yuri’s blue eyes, mingling with starlike lights.

In disbelief, Yuri muttered in a trembling voice, “…Magic?”

“What?”

“What kind of magic did you use?”

“There’s no way.”

“Then what is this?”

It was a massive magic circle. Recently, Yuri had seen a similar pattern.

On the nape of Titiana’s neck.

“You…”

Yuri’s face turned pale. Yujin, knowing nothing about magic, just blinked.

Facing his brother’s seemingly calm face, an unprecedented sense of foreboding crawled over Yuri’s entire body.

There’s a saying, isn’t there?

A story where a man and a woman push each other away, run, and hurt each other, yet continue to face each other repeatedly as if drawn by an inescapable fate, eventually falling in love.

The magic circle shared by Yujin and Titiana felt to Yuri like that very ‘fate that must be met.’

In reality, they were gradually getting closer. From their first meeting, where they disliked each other and exchanged harsh words, they had reached this point.

‘That can’t be.’

Yuri shook his head vigorously.

Yet, as if mocking him, the magic circle on Yujin shone with a bright light.

As if to say the true destiny lay here.

***

Despite the chaos of the previous day, I slept like the dead that night. I rubbed my slightly stiff eyes with the back of my hand and walked outside.

‘Yeah. After sleeping, everything’s fine. Any sadness or pain.’

After sleeping, it was strange how the painful memories seemed to be pushed to the back of my mind, and somehow, my body felt energized.

On my way to breakfast in the dining hall, I ran into Yuri. He greeted me with a bashful smile.

“Did you sleep well, Titi?”

“And you?”

“Is there anything that would keep me up at night?”

He said that, but unlike usual, his smiling face lacked energy. I frowned.

“You have dark circles under your eyes. Did you have a bad dream?”

Yuri’s skin was so fair and transparent that his dark circles stood out more. At my concern, Yuri chuckled softly and shook his head.

“Because a mage’s dreams are prophetic, if it’s bad, it could be serious. Generally, the worse they are, the more accurate they tend to be.”

For some reason, Yuri seemed upset by his own words. I tilted my head.

‘Which part made him upset? The part about a mage’s dreams being prophetic?’

Did he have a bad dream, or did he have some bad premonition?

Even though I tilted my head in curiosity, Yuri didn’t seem inclined to explain. Since he kept his mouth shut, I couldn’t get an answer.

I took Yuri’s silent sleeve and led him to the dining hall.

Breakfast was a simple omelet with vegetable soup. As I cut the omelet in half, I pouted lightly.

‘Yuri’s omelets are much softer and rounder.’

I was being picky about the side dishes.

‘Yuri’s cooking skills are so excellent that it’s causing this side effect.’

In the past, I would have eaten without any complaints.

While I was picking at my food, Yuri, who had been silent, cautiously opened his lips.

“Um, Titi…”

Yuri’s face was unusually full of worry. I silently watched him, wondering what he was going to say.

But Yuri just made me curious and then shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“What, leaving me hanging like that.”

Yuri had been acting strangely since earlier. I poked at the side of the omelet while glancing at Yuri.

His complicated emotions were evident as his food remained mostly untouched.

‘Is he upset after seeing Yujin sick?’

It was the first time Yuri had seen Yujin sick, so he might have been shocked. Even though they were distant, they were still the only twins.

Thinking of Yujin reminded me that I had said harsh things to him just before he collapsed. I propped my chin on my hand and sighed.

‘I was too harsh. Yujin was just trying to help me. I reacted too sensitively because it was a family issue.’

I could have spoken more kindly, but I felt sorry for being so harsh. Thinking of him as a sick person made the guilt even stronger.

‘Next time we meet, I should be the one to apologize first.’

But how? For what? For speaking harshly?

‘Ugh. I don’t even know my own heart.’

In the end, we both barely touched our breakfast for our own reasons.

We left our half-eaten plates behind, nudged by the servant’s growing impatience, when Yuri asked,

“What are you doing today?”

“I’m going to rest. Robi’s trial isn’t scheduled yet, right?”

Robi had to arrive here before the trial could be scheduled. Yuri nodded quietly.

“I see. Then, can I step out for a moment?”

I didn’t mind if Yuri stepped out.

But here, not in the capital?

“Do you have something to do in my hometown?”

At my question, Yuri shrugged.

“I think Yujin’s not well, so I want to check on him.”

As expected. He had been worried about Yujin throughout breakfast. I nodded.

“Sure. Make sure he gets treated; he’s really sick. He ignored my advice.”

“He ignored your advice? I should give him a good smack.”

“You can’t do that.”

I laughed and stopped Yuri. A smile crept onto Yuri’s face as well.

It was right after that when a question, sounding somehow chilly, emerged.

“But Titi, did you tell Yujin to get checked?”

“Yeah.”

“How did you know he was sick?”

“What?”