Kylance closed his eyes, pushing away the terrible thoughts that threatened to take hold. He shook his head hard, as if to dispel them completely. 

“I won’t let that happen.” 

He would not allow himself to believe that she was gone. 

Taking a deep, calm breath, Kylance focused all his energy on finding her. 

Where could she have ended up in this vast, endless sea? 

Perhaps she had washed up on a reef or a deserted island. 

But it wasn’t possible to search for such places in the open ocean with boats alone. 

His anxious gaze lingered on the turbulent waves before something caught his eye – an idea. 

A way to overcome the brutal weather conditions and extend the search far beyond their current reach. 

Magic. 

With newfound determination, Kylance gave a swift, commanding order. 

“Deryl, contact the Mage Tower immediately. Ask them to send out search mages immediately. And stress that the missing person is Ariel Blante. That way… they’ll react faster.” 

Normally, requesting assistance from the Mage Tower was a lengthy process, and same-day deployments were almost unheard of. 

But this time would be different. 

The Tower Master held Ariel in special esteem. If he knew that she was the one who was missing, there was no way he’d refuse. 

And if they did refuse, Kylance was prepared to go to the Tower Master himself, kneel down and beg if that’s what it took. 

Every second that passed only reduced their chances of finding Ariel alive. 

Then Deryl replied, his voice uneven and breathless, 

“Understood, Your Highness. I’ll contact the Mage Tower immediately… but please, at least put on some shoes first.” 

It wasn’t Deryl. Kylance lowered his eyes to find Lowell kneeling before him, a pair of leather shoes at his feet. 

Lowell’s hair was soaked with sweat, evidence of how desperately he had tried to follow him. 

“Please, Your Highness. Put them on.”

Lowell urged, his voice calm but firm. 

It was only then that Kylance realised he was barefoot. 

In his single-minded focus on finding Ariel, he hadn’t noticed anything else – not even the absence of shoes on his feet. 

Not even when he had received the news of his parents’ death had he been so lost. 

But this time was different. This time, the disaster was *his* doing. 

Swallowing hard, Kylance silently put the shoes on. Then Lowell handed him a robe. 

As Kylance pulled the robe around his shoulders, Lowell hesitated before speaking softly but carefully, 

“…Your Highness, it would be wise to return to the manor and wait for word from the Mage Tower. In your current condition, you’re…” 

Before Lowell could finish, Kylance interrupted him firmly. 

“No. I’ll wait here. Let me know the moment you have an answer.” 

Lowell hesitated, his lips parted as if in protest, but he quickly bowed his head instead. At least, he thought, Kylance wasn’t going to throw himself into the sea. That alone was a relief. 

“Understood.” 

“And inform His Majesty of Lady Blante’s disappearance. Ask for additional search forces – we don’t have nearly enough people.” 

“Yes, I’ll get right on it.” 

Just as Lowell turned to leave, Kylance’s voice stopped him mid-step. 

“Lowell.” 

“Yes, Your Highness?” 

Kylance’s voice, deep and steady, carried a weight that sent a shiver through the air.

“Inform the Marquis of Blante as well. Tell him… Ariel is lost at sea.” 

Lowell paused briefly, his expression faltering, before lowering his gaze. 

“…I will deliver the message immediately.” 

With that, Lowell quickly made his way down the cliff. 

“I will prepare the search parties, Your Highness.”

Deryl said next, before leaving as well. 

Once alone again, Kylance turned to face the endless sea. His eyes wandered upwards, searching the sky with a sense of emptiness. 

Yesterday’s storm felt like a distant lie. The sky stretched endlessly above him, clear and cloudless, a deep and unforgiving blue. 

The sunlight poured down harshly, so bright it stung his eyes – almost as if it were condemning him for his sins. 

Unable to bear the blinding glare, Kylance lowered his gaze, the weight of it all pressing down on him.  

The waves, still unsettled, crashed relentlessly against the steep, jagged cliffs below. 

It was there, in those unforgiving waters, that Ariel had thrown herself. 

Kylance squeezed his eyes shut, the haunting image replaying in his mind with painful clarity. 

His trembling hands clenched into fists and he forced his eyes open once more. 

“Please… just stay alive, Ariel.” 

His dark eyes, looking down into the abyss, were clouded with deep, unshakeable regret. 

* * * 

The first light of dawn crept across the sky, its golden rays spilling through the window and into the room. 

The large, empty room contained only a large bed and a single table, which made it all the more desolate. It was the chamber of Aster, the Master of the Mage Tower. 

Having waited in silence for Seoden’s return, Aster finally broke the silence, unable to hold back any longer. 

“Why isn’t she waking up?” 

At the Tower Master’s question, Seoden, who had been tending to Ariel, knitted his brows and let out a frustrated sigh. 

As soon as Aster had arrived at the Mage Tower, he had ordered Seoden to treat her. There was no healer in the tower more skilled than he. 

Seoden had immediately treated her hypothermia and examined her body thoroughly. He cast spells to awaken her, but hours passed and Ariel remained completely unresponsive. 

She simply would not regain consciousness. 

“Seoden.” 

At Aster’s insistence, Seoden hesitated before slowly answering. 

“Well… I don’t know for sure.” 

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“There are no internal or external injuries. Her breathing is normal. But for some reason she won’t wake up… I even used awakening magic – she *should* have regained consciousness by now…” 

Seoden’s voice trailed off, filled with confusion and uncertainty. 

Aster’s gaze shifted to Ariel. 

Though the pallor of her skin had improved, she remained eerily still, her eyes closed as if in perpetual slumber. 

Her doll-like appearance was eerily similar to Faelin’s. 

After a pause, Aster spoke slowly, his voice heavy. 

“…Could she have fallen into a deep sleep of her own accord, as Faelin did?” 

Seoden froze for a moment and turned to meet Aster’s gaze. The faint shadow across Aster’s face spoke of his growing unease. After a moment’s thought, Seoden replied calmly, 

“Her Highness Faelin suffered a serious head injury. Her condition was far more critical. Lady Blante’s injuries are minimal, and I haven’t used any hibernation spells on her. It’s unlikely her consciousness was suppressed in the same way.” 

“That’s a relief, at least.”

Aster sighed tiredly and ran a hand over his face. Seeing him more relaxed, Seoden remembered the question that had been nagging at him. 

“Let’s keep watching her for now. I’m sure she’ll wake up soon. But, Tower Master…” 

“What?” 

Seoden’s eyes drifted to Aster’s hand – to the pocket watch he was holding, to be precise. 

“That woman… she was saved by the ancient magic circle in that pocket watch, wasn’t she?” 

Seoden hadn’t had a chance to ask earlier while tending to the unconscious woman, but when they’d arrived at the Mage Tower, he’d noticed Aster holding the watch. 

It was *that* pocket watch, the one sealed with an extraordinary ancient magic circle. 

The fact that the woman had been pulled unharmed from the depths of the sea could only be explained by the watch’s magic. 

Seoden had no trouble coming to that conclusion. 

And Aster’s silent confirmation made it clear that he was right. 

“That’s right. The sealed ancient magic circle has been activated.” 

“As I thought… But didn’t you say that it couldn’t be activated without a miracle? How could it have been activated?” 

Aster didn’t react to Seoden’s shocked expression. Instead, his gaze fell on the smashed pocket watch in his hand. 

“Because… a miracle happened.”

“But miracles are not so easy… What could have caused the sealed magic circle to activate?” 

Seoden couldn’t take his eyes off the pocket watch, his curiosity burning. 

For any mage, the lure of ancient magic was undeniable. 

Ancient spells were far more powerful and wondrous than those of the present, fueling a mage’s relentless passion to study and understand them. 

For Seoden, a great mage, this fascination was natural. 

Aster looked back at Seoden and met his gaze directly. 

“Seoden, what is it that activates a magic circle?” 

“What? Well… obviously it’s magic.”

Seoden replied slowly, as if wondering why Aster was asking such a basic question. 

“Yes, at its core it is magic,” Aster admitted. “But the true source of that magic comes from the human soul. What activated the sealed magic circle was a powerful, desperate desire.” 

A desire so intense that it could conjure a miracle – that was what had broken the seal on the magic. 

“Ah, now I understand. So this woman’s desperate wish must have triggered the circle…” 

“That could be the case… but I’m not sure.” 

His eyes went to Ariel, who was still lying there with her eyes closed. 

It was clear that the magic circle had been triggered by a desperate wish. But whether it was Lady Blante’s wish, Aster wasn’t sure. 

He thought of the torches that had searched the sea and the image of Ariel rejecting everything as she threw herself into the water. 

Ariel’s face, eyes closed, showed no sign of fear. 

Despite the fear of death that must have gripped her, her expression seemed peaceful, as if she had finally found peace. 

In fact, the last time he had seen her face, it had seemed far more worn and troubled. 

Could it really have been Ariel’s own desire, her own desperate wish, that had saved her? 

Aster gripped the pocket watch tightly, his eyes reflecting a complicated mix of thoughts. 

Then he glanced out the window, where the sun had risen. 

Was the search still going on over there? 

Should he be the one to tell them he had found Lady Blante? 

And what had happened to make Lady Blante sink alone in the middle of the sea? 

From the moment he had rescued her, Aster had felt that it wasn’t a simple case of her falling into the sea. 

Aster exhaled deeply, his mind filled with questions and uncertainty. 

He wasn’t sure what the right thing to do was, or what Lady Blante would have wanted in this situation. 

Just as his brow furrowed in thought, the magic orb on the table began to vibrate. 

It was a message from the Mage Tower.