Chapter 26

Ermite really came back quickly. As if he were about to leave Iberia behind and disappear. The Mage Tower Master gave a short laugh. It seemed to carry a hint of unease.

Ermite’s gaze was deeply sunken. Droplets of water still dripped from his damp silver hair. Even as the droplets wet his neck and shoulders, Ermite’s eyes remained fixed on Iberia, refusing to look away.

Strangely enough, Ermite didn’t look directly at Iberia’s face. He only glanced over the blanket-covered parts of her body and her hair. If his gaze did happen to brush her face, he quickly turned his eyes away.

Upon closer inspection, it was quite a pitiful sight.

The Mage Tower Master, wearing an expression of concern, gently brushed Iberia’s forehead. Her body temperature was still low.

Usually, a lack of mana resulted in low body temperature, but in Iberia’s case, it was likely that mental magic had also played a significant role. Actually, the two weren’t entirely unrelated.

The Mage Tower Master opened his mouth slightly as if to say something. But the only thing that came out was that same, obvious phrase.

“She’ll wake up soon, really.”

“You said the same thing three days ago.”

“Iberia is alive because of me. You know that, right?”

“Ha…”

It was true. That’s why, even though Ermite’s expression seemed to hold many things he wanted to say, he didn’t bother voicing them.

The Mage Tower Master carefully observed the changes in Ermite’s expression before leaning back against the chair. 

With his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his knees, he propped his chin in a crooked manner that made him look quite unruly. His voice, which resonated through the room, was no less insolent.

“Let me ask you something. Why do you like her so much?”

“I don’t like her.”

He knew it wasn’t just ‘liking.’ The look in Ermite’s eyes when he gazed at Iberia revealed everything.

Sometimes, Ermite’s eyes were filled with a blind affection for Iberia—so much so that one might suspect it was more akin to religious devotion than love.

At this point, it seemed more accurate to say that it wasn’t a madman who was in love, but rather a man madly in love who was living his life.

The Mage Tower Master burst into laughter and rephrased his question.

“Alright, I asked the wrong question. Why are you so blind about her?”

“…It’s just that, no matter what Iberia does, I can’t bring myself to hate her.”

Hearing this calm confession—that even after falling in love, he couldn’t bring himself to hate her and instead grew to love her more—the Mage Tower Master instinctively scanned Ermite’s body for traces of magic.

If, by any chance, these emotions and influences were the result of Iberia Del’s magic, the outcome would inevitably be disastrous.

Fortunately, only the traces of magic that the Mage Tower Master himself had placed on Ermite’s body remained. He silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Ermite closed his eyes. His silver eyelashes trembled faintly.

Even the sharpness of his upturned eyes was endearing, as was his relentless determination to challenge something. However, his tendency to push himself too hard was concerning.

At the same time, even his dejected appearance when he hit a wall was somewhat delightful. No, perhaps it was because the wall Iberia hit was him.

If it hadn’t been Ermite who pushed Iberia aside to take the top position at the academy, he might have erased that person’s existence from the academy altogether.

One thing was certain.

At the academy, all of Ermite’s seemingly insane actions were somehow connected to Iberia. Ermite let out a small laugh.

“That’s why I hope Iberia wakes up soon.”

Ermite’s eyes briefly flickered with a dangerous light. His overwhelming love was beginning to take on a different nature.

***

Two days passed after that.

Ermite began to feel that the world was becoming slightly strange. Right now, the only thing that still felt normal to him was Iberia.

The Crown Prince was at the academy for his academic duties, and the Mage Tower Master had gone out, saying he needed to step outside for a while.

Here, it was just Ermite and Iberia. He liked that, but he also hated it.

He liked it because it reminded him of the innocent past when their worlds were filled with only each other. He hated it because of the damned present, where Iberia remained unconscious.

Ermite sat by Iberia’s bedside and quietly watched her.

Her face, already pale by nature, had turned even whiter. Her dark hair only made her pallor stand out more.

How long had it taken for him to finally look at this face properly again? Every time his gaze fell on her bloodless face, he worried whether she was still breathing, his heart tightening as he anxiously checked.

His belief in Iberia’s survival grew stronger, but his trust in the Mage Tower Master did not.

Beneath those closed eyelids lay beautiful blue eyes. No matter what emotions they held or what light they emitted, they were always lovable. But he couldn’t see them, and so he couldn’t feel them. Even reminiscing had its limits. Ermite quietly stood up and slightly drew back the curtains.

Unfortunately, the sky was filled with clouds. It looked more like the Crown Prince’s sky than Iberia’s. He couldn’t tear the sky apart either. Clicking his tongue in mild irritation, he closed the curtains again.

“…I miss you.”

The absence of the person he longed for filled him with both fear and yearning. It was a horrifying mix. To carry two emotions, each overwhelming on its own, at the same time…

Sometimes, Ermite wished Iberia would never wake up if it meant he could forget her. Other times, he desperately prayed to see that bright blue hue just one more time, even if it meant forgetting her.

He acknowledged his fear. Even if Iberia lost her memory, he would find her again. If that wasn’t possible, he would fill her life with better memories. But he didn’t want to see those blue eyes looking at him without recognition, not even for a moment.

Was that why he was now afraid of Iberia waking up?

Ermite forced himself to stop.

If Iberia knew what he was thinking right now, what kind of expression would she make? She would probably feign calmness, but her trembling lips and unsteady gaze would betray her.

Ermite closed his eyes and tried to picture Iberia’s expression.

“Really, I miss you…”

But what if Iberia looked at him with the expression of someone meeting a total stranger?

It felt like his head would shatter. His emotions swung back and forth. Even he couldn’t understand his own feelings.

Once, for a fleeting moment, he had wondered if k＊lling the Crown Prince would wake Iberia. It was utterly insane. But now, though the nature of his thoughts had changed, he felt even crazier.

This really isn’t right.

He could feel his once pure affection twisting. It was terrifying. When love, pure to the point of blindness, lost its purity, all that remained was blindness.

The remnants of childhood memories. Nostalgia for those purely happy times. First love and innocence. The children who were happy just to look at each other. And Iberia Del, who had poured her affection into him.

These were what kept Ermite going. In truth, he had grown up in an environment filled with countless other things that could fuel his life, but this was the result of his own choices.

Being madly in love and simply being mad were two different things. Until now, his love-driven madness had influenced his life. But at this rate, he feared it would devolve into the madness of a lunatic’s love. The order of cause and effect was extremely important.

He wished for Iberia Del to wake up safely.

If you don’t remember me, this time I’ll try to be kinder. I’ll think that the efforts I made to keep you from forgetting me only ended up as wounds you wanted to forget. Maybe this is a chance given by the gods. A chance to start anew, clean and close.

But if you do remember me…

“…Huh?”

Ermite let out a short exclamation and stopped his thoughts. For some reason, he hadn’t really considered the possibility that Iberia would remember him when she woke up. Was it because the mere thought of it was so blissful? He wondered if his shocked brain instinctively rejected such extreme happiness.

He blinked a few times and then smiled faintly. Just imagining it made him feel happy. Maybe that’s why. Just thinking about Iberia waking up and remembering him made it almost impossible to function in daily life. Although, to be fair, he was already unable to function because he spent all day by Iberia’s side.

Ermite lightly bit his lip.

I hope Iberia wakes up soon.

He wanted her to wake up and answer his questions. He wanted to face her and meet her gaze.

With a mix of desperation and a hint of happiness, Ermite tightly grasped the sleeve of Iberia’s clothes. Still, there was no movement. His mood soured in an instant.

This is ridiculous—like bipolar disorder. Ermite laughed bitterly at himself.

The melancholy came swiftly.

There was nothing more exhausting than waiting without an end in sight. It would’ve been better to be told to wait for an extremely long but definite period. The hope of an eventual end was powerful. On the other hand, the pain of enduring something with no end in sight was beyond imagination.

Ermite placed his fingers on the back of Iberia’s hand. He could feel her slightly cooler-than-his body temperature. Still, it seemed her temperature had risen a lot compared to when she first collapsed. He felt reassured.

He repeatedly clenched and unclenched the hand that had touched the back of Iberia’s hand.

“Uh…”

At that moment, a faint groan interrupted his thoughts.