Chapter 24

Now that he looked closely, Ermite was a mess. His usually neat hair was completely disheveled, and his clothes were wrinkled as if he had come straight from the match.

The Crown Prince swore he had never seen Ermite in such a disordered state before. Occasionally—no, often—Ermite appeared as though he wasn’t in his right mind, but fundamentally, he was someone who knew how to present himself in the best possible light.

Thus, the Crown Prince observed Ermite with a peculiar expression.

Ermite knelt beside Iberia. Anxiety consumed him entirely.

The fear that Iberia might not wake up. The fear that he would never again meet her blue eyes. The fear that she might appear to be asleep only to stop breathing altogether….

The kind of fear he didn’t even want to entertain burst out of him. He called out to her desperately.

“Iberia, Iberia Del.”

“She’s not dead. Probably won’t die either.”

The Crown Prince frowned and spoke dryly. In truth, even he wasn’t entirely sure why Iberia Del had collapsed.

Iberia had undoubtedly blocked or dodged all of his magic. The one spell she hadn’t blocked was the one he withdrew just before it struck her as she collapsed.

Sharp violet eyes turned toward the Crown Prince.

“What exactly did you do to make Iberia collapse?”

“Iberia Del didn’t get hit by my magic.”

Ermite didn’t seem to expect an answer, as he immediately turned his gaze back.

In fact, he knew better than anyone that Iberia hadn’t collapsed because of the Crown Prince’s magic. His hesitant hand lightly touched the back of Iberia’s hand. It was cold.

The hand that had briefly withdrawn now fully covered hers. Ermite looked as though he might cry at any moment, but he didn’t.

The Crown Prince, feeling like both the perpetrator and an unwelcome guest, silently watched the scene.

What kind of backstory could make someone care this much? He deliberately suppressed his rising curiosity.

Based on his observations, it seemed likely that Iberia Del had collapsed due to magic depletion. Recalling the moments before she collapsed, this assumption seemed the most plausible.

In any case, he had contributed, even if only slightly, to her collapse. A faint sense of guilt crept up on him.

Ermite looked at Iberia with an unreadable expression.

Iberia had been his first, and he had been hers, but their once-blind devotion to each other was now hidden away. Iberia was still his first and present, but he was no longer hers. If so….

A half-muffled voice escaped his lips.

“…I’ll take her to the Ducal House for treatment.”

“And how, exactly? Do you want to become the Young Master who’s gone mad over a commoner woman?”

“I don’t see why not.”

He was insane. Truly insane.

Most people would dismiss it as a joke, but coming from Ermite, it didn’t sound like one. More than anything, his eyes were serious.

He had worn the same expression back when he suggested pretending to be engaged to the Princess. His expression then had been slightly softer, though.

The Crown Prince spoke slowly.

“…Call the Master of the Mage Tower. You’re on good terms with them, aren’t you?”

“Do you call that good terms?”

“If that’s not good terms… never mind. Whatever it is, it’s better than the Imperial Family, isn’t it?”

The Imperial Family had the worst compatibility with the current Master of the Mage Tower.

The Imperial Family disdained the Mage Tower Master’s unorthodox behavior and free-spirited nature, while the Mage Tower Master, a Mental Mage, didn’t particularly like the Imperial Family, who had slight immunity to Mental Magic.

Moreover, the Imperial Family could freely read magic through physical contact.

The Mage Tower Master had experienced it once and described it as a repulsive sensation he never wanted to endure again. Although his magic hadn’t been read, he seemed to have felt something just from the attempt.

Their relationship was one of mutual disdain. Consequently, the Imperial Family and the Mage Tower avoided forming or flaunting any close ties.

Ermite’s gaze was obscured by the shadow of his eyelashes. He bit his lip and stood up.

He had never regretted his lack of interest in the Mage Tower Master’s whereabouts more than he did now. Quickly, he racked his brain.

“Last year, the Mage Tower Master came to Lacanel.”

“Who knows? He might have come again this year.”

The Crown Prince answered lightly.

As a rule, the identities of distinguished guests attending the academy’s festival were kept confidential. This was a veiled hint born from the Crown Prince’s lingering guilt.

Realizing this, Ermite straightened his bent knees and stood.

“While you’re at it, calm yourself. By the time you return, someone else will be here.”

Ermite didn’t reply. Instead, he carefully adjusted the blanket covering Iberia before walking away slowly.

It was almost certain that the Mage Tower Master had come to Lacanel’s festival. If the Crown Prince said so, it must be true.

If the Mage Tower Master had left in the meantime, Ermite was determined to bring him back by any means necessary.

First, he would send a letter from the Ducal House, and if that didn’t work, he would visit the Mage Tower himself.

Although visiting the Mage Tower didn’t guarantee a meeting with the Master, breaking a few of the Master’s rooms would surely draw him out. He would ensure the damage was severe enough to be taken seriously but not so extreme as to invite harsh punishment.

At that moment, another presence entered the room.

Ermite turned his sharp gaze toward the curtain where the presence was felt. Soon, a black-haired man casually drew back the curtain.

“Why the funeral atmosphere? It’s so depressing.”

A light, carefree voice filled the room. Upon confirming the identity of the newcomer, a faint glimmer of hope appeared on Ermite’s face.

***

It felt as though someone was pulling her into deep water.

Iberia furrowed her brow. She could feel her body sinking deeper into the darkness.

She knew struggling was futile. Still, Iberia moved her body, trying to escape the darkness.

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

When something black, strangely familiar, spoke to her, Iberia felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Realizing it was a dream.

“It’s not a dream.”

A laugh echoed. Iberia frowned slightly. She didn’t like it. Her chest felt tight. It felt as though she was forgetting something.

“For now, I’ll hold onto it. You rest, okay?”

She didn’t know what that black entity intended to hold onto, but she instinctively felt that her suffocating feeling was related to it. Iberia reached out her hand.

“Not yet. You need to know how to handle me.”

The tone was soothing, as if coaxing her. After those words, the voice of the unidentified entity faded. Iberia let herself drift, feeling as though she were floating in the void.

***

With the arrival of the Mage Tower Master, there was no longer a need to summon medical staff.

Ermite, dissatisfied with the infirmary’s conditions, had Iberia moved to a private room in the hospital adjacent to the academy.

After greeting the Mage Tower Master, the Crown Prince stayed behind at the academy to manage the temporarily suspended tournament.

Of the three, the Crown Prince was the most suitable for the task, so both Ermite and the Mage Tower Master readily agreed to his proposal.

The Mage Tower Master, wearing a smile that didn’t suit the atmosphere, sat beside Iberia. A faint excitement was evident on his face.

“Once she recovers, I’ll take her to the Mage Tower.”

The idea of the Mage Tower Master being a kidnapper was absurd, though it wasn’t for Ermite, who had considered taking Iberia to the Ducal House out of fear she might forget him.

Even with the Mage Tower Master’s presence, Ermite remained anxious. Unable to conceal his emotions, he asked the Mage Tower Master.

“How is Iberia’s condition?”

“Well, you know…”

“What’s the cause?”

Ruanes smirked bitterly. He couldn’t give Ermite a detailed explanation. If he explained the exact reason for Iberia’s collapse, there might be two unconscious people in the room.

So instead of providing a detailed explanation, he offered an obvious answer.

“Mana depletion, what else.”

“Ah…”

“If she’s exposed to similar mana, it should help… Hey, are you insane?”

The Mage Tower Master covered Ermite’s magic with his own. Before the Mage Tower Master could finish speaking, Ermite had tightly grasped Iberia’s hand and released his magic.

A violet light briefly filled the room. Just before it was absorbed by Iberia, it was swallowed by a magic resembling darkness.

Even the darkness was about to be absorbed into Iberia’s body.

The Mage Tower Master sighed heavily and retrieved his magic.

“You need exceptional control for this. Can’t you at least let me finish speaking?”

“I understand.”

Ermite’s reply was curt.

When someone’s internal magic is depleted, their body instinctively draws in processed magic from their surroundings. Without sufficient control, the person releasing their magic could face depletion themselves.

Ermite knew this. Objectively, his control was decent. For an ordinary case of magic depletion, his earlier method wouldn’t have been a bad choice.

The problem was that Iberia was a Mental Mage. The magic of a Mental Mage couldn’t mix with that of other mages.

Not that mixing would have been dangerous. If Ermite had left things as they were, his magic would have circulated through Iberia’s body and returned to him.

That was the issue. Ermite shouldn’t yet be certain that Iberia was a Mental Mage. Not yet.

Even if he wasn’t certain, he couldn’t allow Iberia’s status as a Mental Mage to be tied to his past.