Surprisingly, it was the red-haired man who broke the silence.

“…to think that you can determine the concentration of mana in a stone just by smelling it.” 

He turned to the Tower Master and spoke in amazement. 

“Master, if we could incorporate Lady Lariette’s ability into a replicating magic circle, it would bring significant profits to the Mage Tower in the future.” 

As Lariette tilted her head, unable to follow the conversation, the Tower Master replied. 

“Exactly. So far, we haven’t been able to determine the concentration of mana in the stones by simply examining them, so they’ve been traded cheaply regardless of quality. But if we can determine the quality of mana stones just by looking at them, we could sell the rarer ones for higher prices and the common ones for less proper transactions.”

Lariette let out a small ‘ah’ of realisation.

She didn’t quite understand, but thanks to the Tower Master’s explanation, she had a rough idea.

“So… in simpler terms, my ability could help fix the unprofitable trade of mana stones and make it more efficient and fair?” 

The Tower Master grinned and nodded. 

“Exactly. Congratulations – it seems we’ve already found what you can do in the Mage Tower.” 

“I’ll do my best!” 

Lariette’s eyes sparkled with determination, but the Tower Master didn’t respond with words. Instead, he waved his fingers and the silver tray floated back into the cupboard of its own accord. 

Magic. 

And not just any magic – this was incantation magic, performed without a magic circle or spell activation. 

A feat only a great mage could accomplish. 

The mystical sight left Lariette in awe, her mouth open in astonishment. 

The Tower Master approached her, lifting her chin with his fingers and gently closing her open mouth. 

“Your best can come after your recovery. You’re not fully healed yet. Let’s take it slowly. There’s plenty of time.” 

“Oh… yes.” 

At last his fingers left her chin and a soft smile appeared on Aster’s face. 

It was a smile beautiful enough to steal the hearts of countless women.

And yet Lariette’s heart didn’t race. It was undeniably a captivating smile, but she felt completely indifferent.

‘How could my heart not react to someone like him?’

But really, she felt nothing – if anything, it was replaced by a strange sensation.

It was as if she somehow knew another man as handsome as the Tower Master. 

But it didn’t make sense. She had never met anyone like him before. 

She hadn’t even had a romantic experience. 

‘Why do I feel this way?’

Then the Tower Master spoke.

“As soon as your room is ready, I’ll send someone to show you around. For now, take your time and rest.” 

“Yes, thank you.”

“Seoden. Let’s go.”

The tower master gestured to the red-haired man.

Only then did Lariette learn the man’s name – Seoden.

Click. 

The door to the bedroom closed, leaving Lariette alone.

Her mind began to piece together who Seoden was.

A renowned great mage of the healing arts and the Tower Master’s closest confidant.

‘So he’s the one who healed me.’

But why was he looking at me like that? 

When she’d woken up, Seoden’s face hadn’t shown a trace of relief, let alone joy.

If anything, his eyes had been filled with guilt, like someone weighed down by a heavy conscience.

‘Like a man who has committed a sin.’

Lariette shook her head quickly.

“No… I’m just too sensitive.”

He was the one who had healed her; it wasn’t right to have strange thoughts about him.

Determined to push aside the lingering unease, Lariette turned her gaze to the window.

Bright sunlight and a clear sky greeted her.

It was the first time she had seen the sky in three months.

“It’s beautiful.”

She knew she could never return to the Baron that had once been her home. 

Still, perhaps because she felt she could make a place for herself here, the thought of never returning to her former home didn’t feel overwhelmingly sad.

“A new beginning.”

And it wasn’t a bad beginning.

Like the bright sunlight in the clear sky, Lariette smiled softly.

She was looking forward to her new life.

—

“Do you think her ability could be… a side effect of magic?”

Seoden asked Aster cautiously outside the bedroom.

Aster, his previously smiling expression replaced by a sombre one, replied.

“No, it’s unlikely to be a side effect of the memory-altering magic. It’s more likely that the ancient magic… the immense mana from it, has seeped into Lady Blante’s body. In any case, it’s a relief that the reaction hasn’t manifested itself negatively.”

“Yes… because it benefits us too…”

“Benefit…” 

Aster muttered the word bitterly. 

‘I have completely changed her life as I see fit… and yet she thanks me and even offers to help. Do I deserve that?’ 

Seoden, sensing Aster’s guilt, let out a heavy sigh. He too felt uneasy. 

Even though he had justified his actions as following Aster’s orders and doing what was best for him, deep down he couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t really the right thing to do. 

But Lady Blante was Lariette now, and it was all over. 

So… 

Seoden spoke in a weighted tone. 

“You said you wouldn’t regret it. So forget Lady Blante. I’ll try to do the same.” 

“…”

Aster turned her gaze to the closed door of the bedroom. 

He thought of the girl inside – Lady Blante, no, Lariette.

Apart from a brief moment of initial confusion, she had assumed her new identity as Lariette seamlessly.

It was as if Lady Blante had never existed.

Just as Seoden had said, she was now completely Lady Lariette.

Aster took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Seoden was right. 

He had said it himself – he wouldn’t regret it. And now he had to take responsibility for those words.

Aster turned to Seoden and said.

“Register Lady Lariette officially with the Mage Tower. Assign her to the department that deals with mana stones.”

“Yes, Master.” 

“And inform the Mage Tower that Lariette is my sworn sister, so no one dares to mistreat her.”

“What?” 

‘Sworn sister?’ 

Seoden froze, caught off guard by the unexpected term, but Aster, his decision clearly unshakable, continued firmly. 

“I will make Lariette my sister. So that she can live comfortably here.”

‘So that she can live a happy new life.’

Aster added the words softly, almost like a mantra. 

Seoden’s gaze turned slightly uncomfortably to Aster. 

‘Lariette is an impostor. Isn’t it dangerous to involve her so deeply?’

The words rose to the tip of Seoden’s tongue, but remained unspoken. 

He hesitated, knowing that even if he voiced his concerns, Aster wouldn’t listen. 

And by then it was too late to stop him.

Hiding his true feelings, Seoden replied slowly.

“…Understood.”

Aster exhaled, calming his troubled heart, and walked ahead, leaving the corridor first.

Left alone in the corridor, Seoden stared uneasily into the room where Aster had disappeared. Finally, he whispered softly.

‘May Aster not fall too deeply in love with Lariette. May our Lord be steadfast.’

Seoden sent a prayer to the god he had long buried in his heart, hoping fervently for guidance.

Then, with a heavy resolve, he turned and headed for the personnel office of the Mage Tower.

To prepare the badge for their newest member: Lady Lariette, assigned to the Mana Stone Management Department. 

A new badge was issued and time began to flow again.

Lariette quickly adapted to life in the Mage Tower. She made new friends, learned new tasks and settled into her new reality.

Four months passed in a blur, and Lariette had regained her dazzling smile.

Unlike Kylance, who was completely broken.

It had been four months since the search for Ariel had been called off and he had returned to the north. Day by day, Kylance descended into madness, consumed by his longing for her.

—

The Grand Duke’s castle in the north.

Although it was early in the day, the Grand Duke’s bedroom was shrouded in complete darkness, the heavy blackout curtains drawn tightly.

In the pitch-black darkness, where not a single ray of light could enter, it was impossible to tell night from day. 

The Grand Duke’s bedroom, lit by a single, faintly glowing magic lamp, seemed to stand still.

Then a knock echoed through the room.

A deep, muffled voice, not from the bed but from the sofa, answered, “Come in.

The one who entered was none other than Lowell. Without hesitation he went to the sofa instead of the bed.

He knew Kylance was there.

It had been months now.

Months of this – thick curtains drawn tightly to shut out the world, as if to sever any connection to the outside. Day or night, it made no difference to the Duke who shut himself away.

Lowell looked down at Kylance sprawled on the sofa.

Empty bottles of alcohol littered the floor beneath him.

This was the same lord who had once carried himself with unwavering dignity, even on the battlefield.

The man lying on the sofa was no different from a tramp.

With a long, unkempt beard, dishevelled hair and hollow cheeks from barely eating, the Grand Duke… had given up on life.

When the search was called off and they returned north, Lowell had expected the Grand Duke to struggle for a while.

He hadn’t ruled out the possibility of such a worst-case scenario, but still… he had believed that Kylance would eventually rise again.

The Kylance Seyerd he knew was a man of unparalleled strength.

But as a month passed, then another, and time dragged on, Lowell’s faith began to waver.

‘Will my master really be able to rise again?’

‘Will he ever be the strong and determined man he once was?’

In the place of his fading faith, unease had taken root, and now, after four months, Lowell felt certain that the Grand Duke would never… return to the man he once was.

As he looked at the Duke, sprawled on the sofa with his eyes closed, Lowell bit his lip.

Surely the Duke knew he was there, but he didn’t spare him a glance.

It had been that way for four months.

‘What will it take for you to pull yourself together?’ 

‘Do you really want to give it all up like this?’

‘The living must go on!’

Lowell wanted to shout those words, to beg him to stop disintegrating like this.

He wanted to say that even Lady Blante wouldn’t have wanted him to fall like this.

But, as always, the words that came out of his mouth today were the same ones he’d spoken every day before. 

“There is still no news of Lady Blante today.”

Although the official search was over, Lady Vlande’s portrait had been distributed throughout the Empire. There was still a faint hope that her remains might turn up somewhere.

The Emperor had offered a large reward and made sure that her portrait reached even the smallest rural village in the Empire.

But four months had passed… At first, the reward attracted considerable attention. People were eager to report any woman who bore the slightest resemblance to Lady Blante. Reports poured in, driven by the lure of the reward.

But none of them turned out to be Lady Blante. As the false reports piled up, the Emperor decreed harsh punishments for anyone making unfounded claims. Interest quickly waned.

Lady Blante’s portrait fluttered in the wind, gradually fading from people’s memories.

Until no new reports came in. 

And yet… the Grand Duke was still waiting.

Even if the portraits, so often handled, were now faded and worn.

Only the Grand Duke could not be forgotten.

His dry, hoarse voice slowly echoed through the room.