Chapter 19

From then on, Iberia secluded herself in the practice room.  

Expanding a single spell through various methods was a practice technique Iberia often used to enhance her calculation skills.  

At the moment, Iberia was sitting on the floor, scribbling something onto a piece of paper. The paper in front of her was filled with numbers.  

The first answer and the second answer came out differently. The formula used for the first calculation was Iberia’s most frequently used formula, while the formula for the second calculation was a modified one created by combining various basic formulas. Iberia bit the end of her pen, feeling anxious.  

“This should give me 2, but why is it coming out as 11 now?”  

“If the error margin is between 8 and 12, it’s usually a spatial calculation mistake.”  

Startled by the voice of Young Master Nesferos suddenly ringing in her ears, Iberia trembled and dropped her pen.  

“Did I scare you?”  

Young Master Nesferos smiled with his eyes and plopped down in front of Iberia.  

Iberia slowly nodded, picking up the paper with her trembling hands.  

She couldn’t understand why Young Master Nesferos was in the magic practice room. As far as she knew, he was in the swordsmanship department, so what business could he possibly have here?  

Young Master Nesferos snapped his fingers, aiming his mana at the target board. The loud bang naturally drew the attention of the surrounding students.  

“I came to practice magic.”  

Everything about him was puzzling, but Iberia nodded for now. Young Master Nesferos smiled again, pulling up the corners of his lips.  

Surprisingly, he didn’t try to talk to Iberia further, which was a relief for her.  

Ignoring him, Iberia immersed herself in her calculations again.  

“Hmm….”  

Taking Young Master Nesferos’s advice into account, Iberia carefully recalculated, paying attention to spatial errors. This time, the answer came out as 2. He was right.  

Why was Young Master Nesferos good at magic and calculations too? 

Iberia couldn’t help but think about how unfair the world was as she glanced in his direction.  

Reading her gaze, he smiled faintly and said,  

“I practiced too.”  

“Yes.”  

His response, as if he had read her thoughts, made Iberia press her lips together and lower her gaze again.  

Looking at the numbers written on the paper suddenly made her feel nauseous.  

Iberia abruptly stood up and released her mana. Her pitch-black mana condensed into small spheres.  

Just as Young Master Nesferos had done earlier, Iberia flicked her hand, sending the spheres toward the target board. A thud echoed as the target board was pierced.  

Once again, the students’ attention turned toward her. Iberia pretended to ignore them, not being someone who enjoyed the limelight.  

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”  

Young Master Nesferos spoke slowly, as if trying to soothe her. Iberia recalled the words the Crown Prince had said to her.  

Her lips, seemingly out of her control, blurted out something strange.  

“Young Master, I don’t want to die.”  

“Who said you’d die?”  

His eyes gleamed with an odd light. Iberia quickly shook her head.  

Did I lack learning ability? 

Being with him made her feel like her brain’s control was weakening. She kept saying and doing things impulsively.  

“No, I was just saying.”  

“Ah, I see. Don’t worry.”  

Young Master Nesferos’s eyes curved gently. Iberia had no idea what he understood from her words.  

Watching his expression carefully, Iberia sat back down. He waved his hand dismissively.  

Iberia’s eyes darted around, trying to decipher the meaning behind his gestures.  

Sensing her confusion, he added an explanation.  

“I won’t bother you. Focus on your practice.”  

Iberia nodded slightly. She hadn’t planned on practicing magic today, but his intense gaze made it difficult to concentrate. Still, she felt compelled to respond positively.  

Young Master Nesferos emphasized once more,  

“Really, I’ll just watch, so don’t mind me.”  

“Yes….”  

She couldn’t bring herself to say that his mere presence was distracting. Iberia tried to distance herself as much as possible from Young Master Nesferos.  

“Ah, what’s wrong with me?”  

Her shots kept missing the target board. Iberia furrowed her brows and tightly closed her eyes before opening them again.  

Eventually, as she continued practicing, she managed to focus. Iberia practiced for quite some time before returning to her seat to look for a towel.  

Pressing her head with her hand, Iberia let out a deep sigh. There was no towel.  

She realized she hadn’t brought a towel or water today, thinking she’d only focus on calculations.  

There were towels and water near the entrance of the practice room, but Iberia had chosen the spot farthest from the entrance.  

Leaning against the wall, Iberia tilted her head back. She planned to rest for a moment before going to retrieve them.  

At that moment, Young Master Nesferos approached her and handed her a towel.  

Iberia stared blankly at his hand and the towel.  

She couldn’t even entertain the idea that Young Master Nesferos had brought her a towel.  

“Here.”  

“…Thank you.”  

Only after he shook the towel a few times, urging her to take it, did Iberia reach out her hand.  

As she received the towel, her fingertips brushed against his. Iberia instinctively flinched, furrowing her brows slightly.  

Observing her reaction, he looked into her eyes and sat down in front of her.  

“Let me touch your hand for a moment.”  

Iberia nodded. His hand interlaced with hers, holding them together. Iberia’s shoulders trembled slightly.  

Where their hands touched, a purple light shimmered.  

Feeling a refreshing sensation coursing through her hand, Iberia’s eyes widened.  

Although her half-depleted mana didn’t recover, her physical condition improved noticeably. The fatigue that had accumulated in her body dissipated, leaving her mind clearer as well.  

After releasing her hand, Young Master Nesferos watched as Iberia alternated between looking at her hand and his, as if fascinated.  

“How is it? You feel much better, right?”  

“Yes. Thank you.”  

At Iberia’s expression of gratitude, his eyes curved into a smile.  

“I don’t know much about offensive magic, but I practiced this kind of magic a lot before. I was interested in it.”  

Even among the swordsmanship department students, there were quite a few who were interested in magic. It seemed Young Master Nesferos was one of them.  

Still, it was surprising to learn that his interest lay not in offensive magic but in healing or support magic. Iberia nodded calmly, unable to suppress her faint curiosity.  

Above all, she wanted to ask how he had done it. Iberia recalled the sensation from earlier and tried to manipulate the mana within her body. It was futile.  

Iberia’s face fell into a gloomy expression.  

Come to think of it, experiencing something once and immediately grasping the method would make her a genius. She wasn’t a genius.  

***

If there was one magic Iberia could claim as her specialty, it was illusion magic.  

As a type of mental magic, it became less effective if the opponent was already aware of it. While the probability of failure was only reduced, revealing her cards before the competition wasn’t ideal. Therefore, Iberia always practiced illusion magic late at night when no students were around.  

Encountering the Crown Prince and Young Master Nesferos—especially the Crown Prince—in the magic practice room had left her with a slight trauma. Iberia glanced at Young Master Nesferos sitting in front of her and sighed.  

She had planned to practice using her mana one last time tonight.  

Asking Cynthia to accompany her seemed unreasonable. She didn’t want Cynthia to get involved in her matters, and with the festival only days away, Cynthia appeared excessively busy. Watching Cynthia constantly moving around, Iberia vaguely understood why Cynthia had worried about her during exam periods.  

Her limited social circle was confined to the magic department, and even then, she wasn’t close enough to anyone to ask for such a favor. Iberia sighed again. She never regretted her narrow social circle, but at times like this, it felt frustrating.  

Should I just go alone tonight? Just once.  

As she stabbed at her food in frustration, a voice filled with amusement came from across the table.  

“When you’re with me, can’t you focus on me?”  

“Oh, I’m sorry.”  

Young Master Nesferos continued eating elegantly.  

Watching him reminded her of the conversation between him and the Crown Prince from before—how the Crown Prince couldn’t easily harm him. A person who provided a certain level of safety for her.  

…Should I ask Young Master Nesferos for help?  

She must’ve gone mad. She was definitely losing her mind. Shocked by her own thoughts, Iberia shook her head.  

Young Master Nesferos cleared his plate and rested his chin on his hand, tilting his head lazily.  

“If there’s something you want to say, feel free to say it.”  

“Yes.”  

“I’ll help with anything I can. I have plenty of time, money, and, hmm… a fair amount of power too.”  

Iberia swallowed dryly. What were the odds of her encountering the Crown Prince alone in the practice room versus upsetting Young Master Nesferos by asking for a favor?  

The former seemed overwhelmingly more likely. Should she ask just this once? Iberia shifted her gaze before lifting her eyes to meet Young Master Nesferos’s.  

“By any chance…”  

His eyes sparkled with interest, signaling his willingness to listen. Feeling awkward, Iberia couldn’t keep her gaze steady.  

“Do you have time tonight?”  

Her words sounded strange, but it was a necessary question. Young Master Nesferos chuckled softly. 

“Yes. I’m free.”  

“Then, could you possibly come with me to the magic practice room…?”  

“Sure. Let’s do that. I’ll go with you.”  

Iberia let out a hollow laugh. She hadn’t even finished her request, yet he interrupted to give an affirmative answer.

What kind of person was he?  

Regardless, Young Master Nesferos smiled so broadly that his eyes completely crinkled.  

Seeing that, Iberia wondered if perhaps she had already known he would willingly agree.