Chapter 6 (Part 1)

Grace almost screamed at the man’s words.  

Moreover, while the man was certain she was Grace, she had no idea who he was. Her mouth went dry as she didn’t know what to do.  

At that moment, when she thought she had to say something, anything.  

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”  

With Caleb’s words, ‘Grace Lowell’ appeared, who was actually Leonardo.  

The violet eyes, which had been fierce with vigilance, softened instantly with a warm glow. Then, as if confirming that he was Leonardo, he greeted,  

“Commander, welcome back.”  

At his words, Leonardo nodded absentmindedly.  

He immediately approached Grace and frowned upon seeing her lips stained with blood.  

“What did the Deputy Commander say?”  

At Leonardo’s words, Grace nodded. For some reason, just that short question brought a rush of sorrow.  

Behind him, Caleb wore an aggrieved expression, but Grace just kept nodding.  

“He said, I wasn’t the commander, sniff! He yelled at me…”  

The tears, suppressed by the embarrassing situation, finally welled up and fell below her chin.  

When Leonardo slowly turned around, Caleb, his face turning pale, waved his hands vigorously in denial.  

“No, no. I was just pointing out evidence that Sir Lowell wasn’t the Commander.”  

Meanwhile, it was bizarre for Caleb to watch someone he knew wasn’t Leonardo shedding tears in front of him.  

Caleb rubbed his goosebump-covered arms and observed the two.  

‘Something feels off.’  

Just a few days ago, when the two Knight Orders went on a subjugation mission together, Grace and Leonardo were busy growling at each other every time their eyes met.  

Mocking and slandering each other was standard, and they were fiercely competitive over trivial matters.  

But now, there was a subtle atmosphere between them.  

‘It’s like… they’re experiencing their first romance… Huh, what am I thinking?’  

Caleb, who inadvertently thought they looked like awkward lovers experiencing their first romance, smacked his head with his fist.  

The likelihood of the two being like that was less than the chance of a person getting struck by lightning three times in a row while walking on a rainy day.  

Caleb was certain of that.  

‘They’re just like this because of the current situation. Once it’s resolved, they’ll surely return to square one.’  

The thought of the two being close was not only unimaginable but also undesirable.  

Though Leonardo could guess what Caleb was thinking, he pretended not to notice and spoke slowly,  

“I did tell you to take good care of Sir Grace Lowell.”  

His words contained a rebuke, implying that Caleb should have known this was Grace Lowell.  

Caleb involuntarily swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth and replied defensively,  

“But without hearing it directly from you, Commander, I judged that what I knew might differ.”  

At his words, Leonardo was silent for a moment.  

Patting Grace’s sobbing shoulders, he replied to Caleb,  

“There won’t be such a thing, so be careful from now on.”  

“Yes, Commander.”  

Only after hearing the affirmation did Leonardo seem relieved, seating Grace in a chair and saying,  

“Don’t worry. From now on, my deputy will assist you with anything.”  

At his words, Caleb’s face turned pale.  

Regarding Grace Lowell, the Commander of the 2nd Knight Order, Caleb Martin probably knew more than Leonardo Fernandez.  

Recalling the countless rumors he had heard about Grace, Caleb wanted to tear his hair out.  

“What Sir Martin needs to do is ensure that no one discovers that Sir Lowell is in my body, and that’s it.”  

At Leonardo’s words, Caleb, feeling incredulous, raised both hands in protest.  

“No, how is that even possible!”  

“There’s nothing impossible for a mage.”  

“There is! Making Sir Lowell suddenly smarter! Making her able to use magic! Making her mimic you a bit more convincingly! Those are impossible! Even if I were as capable as you, Commander!”  

Watching Caleb fire off words as if he wasn’t even breathing, Leonardo was about to say something when Grace smiled at him.  

“If you can’t, the Commander’s honor will be tarnished.”  

Her words were almost a threat, so Leonardo thought Caleb wouldn’t listen to Grace.  

After all, he rarely listened to anyone’s commands or suggestions, let alone stories.  

Just as he was about to find the right words to persuade him,  

“That would be troubling. I will assist to the best of my ability. So that no one will suspect a thing.”  

Seeing determination even in Caleb’s eyes, Leonardo shook his head with a tired expression.  

Both Grace, who made absurd words sound like a threat, and Caleb Martin, who changed his attitude immediately because the threat worked too well,  

‘They’re both the same kind of people.’  

Sighing, Leonardo examined the documents Caleb had brought and asked,  

“So, did anything come out from the remains?”  

At his words, Caleb shook his head and replied with a furrowed brow,  

“Only that the contamination level of black magic was 85%.”  

“What about the investigation into black magic?”  

Listening to Leonardo and Caleb’s conversation, Grace slowly closed her eyes and leaned her back against the bookshelf.  

Hearing them converse quietly somehow made her feel sleepy. Grace knew that if she fell asleep here, she’d make a fool of herself, but,  

‘I’m strangely sleepy…’  

It was because Leonardo had pushed his mana to the limit ‘in the current situation’ to capture the Pla in the morning, but Grace, of course, didn’t know that.  

Blinking her sleepy eyes, she gradually fell asleep as if collapsing.  

As Grace finally closed her eyes and fell asleep, Leonardo chuckled softly and instructed Caleb,  

“Please move Sir Lowell to the side room.”  

At his command, Caleb alternated his gaze between the sleeping ‘Leonardo’ body and the body containing his superior, ‘Grace Lowell.’  

Then he spoke with a suspicious face,  

“Commander. Please tell me it’s not true.”  

“What do you mean?”  

Even though Leonardo clearly understood what Caleb wanted to say, he feigned ignorance.  

Caleb knew that too.  

“I will move her as instructed for now.”  

Saying so, Caleb used mana to lift Grace into the air. Then he moved her to the bed in the side room and returned to the lab.  

Watching Leonardo sitting at the desk and flipping through documents, he said,  

“You have no reason to get involved with that woman, Commander.”  

“I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”  

Feigning ignorance, Caleb replied in a slightly higher voice,  

“The son of the leader of the Royalist faction gazing at the daughter of the leader of the Noble faction will only lead to tragedy.”  

When Caleb spoke more directly, Leonardo placed the quill he was holding into the inkwell.  

Then he looked at Caleb with a solemn face.  

“Will you destroy everything you’ve built so far for that one woman?”  

At the sharp words, Leonardo turned his head.  

Realizing that the silence was close to affirmation, Caleb pounded his chest with his fist and said,  

“Haven’t you been living like strangers until now! What on earth happened during the week you were there―!”  

At his outcry, Leonardo looked at Caleb again.  

Seeing the coldly settled eyes, Caleb felt his heart sink. He knew those eyes of the Commander.  

“…Please choose someone else.”  

Caleb spoke in a tone close to pleading.  

But Leonardo, as if listening to a completely unrelated person’s story, turned his head and continued flipping through the documents as he replied,  

“It would be best not to speak further, Deputy Commander.”  

Caleb, realizing that Leonardo was not refusing to discuss the topic but was rather telling him not to meddle in his decision, stepped closer.  

Then he spoke again.  

“Choose someone else.”  

“―Sir Caleb Martin.”  

Leonardo called his name as a warning. But Caleb was desperate.  

He knew better than anyone that choosing Grace Lowell would mean losing everything Leonardo had achieved and everything he aimed for.  

“What about the Mage Tower? Do you think your Master will let this slide?”  

“I said, stop.”  

“No, I cannot stop.”  

Even knowing he could hear the sound of his teeth grinding, Caleb couldn’t stop speaking.  

“If this happened because of a problem, I will definitely solve it. I will not let you lose everything you aimed for―.”  

“Caleb Martin.”  

“―because of that one woman. Absolutely not.”  

Saying so, Caleb took a step back and bowed his head.  

Then, as if he hadn’t been excited moments ago, he spoke in a calm voice,  

“Then, please excuse me to attend to the task you assigned.”  

Hearing the door close with a click, Leonardo ran his hand over his face.  

A sigh escaped him.  

Grace chuckled while looking at the now-familiar Golden Day Primrose field.  

It was the space in her dream.  

In reality, her relationship with Leonardo had become one where they could never do such things again, but in her dreams, she could do it as much as she wanted with dream Leonardo.  

Lying on the ground with a complicated expression, she inhaled the strong floral scent.  

“Hey, you guys don’t usually have a scent. Why do you smell so strong?”  

Grace talked to the flowers, knowing they wouldn’t answer.  

Anyway, the Leonardo in this dream just kept his mouth shut like someone who couldn’t speak, only acting with the sole goal of rolling around with her.  

So Grace thought that the characters in this dream, except for herself, couldn’t speak.  

“What’s the reason for making me dream like this?”  

Grace plucked a flower and stared at its vibrant yellow petals.  

She tore off a petal and ate it.  

Placing it on her tongue and pressing it against her palate as if savoring the taste, she felt the familiar flavor.  

Grace chewed it thoroughly with her molars and swallowed it, muttering,  

“What on earth is in you, Golden Day Primrose?”  

There must be something else besides just being good for stamina. Otherwise, there was no reason for her to keep having such dreams.