Chapter 8 (Part 3)

Leonardo, now in Grace’s body, opened his eyes and looked around with a troubled expression.  

He had been finishing up an experiment when the switch occurred.  

‘Hopefully, nothing got ruined during the collapse.’  

As he calculated the likelihood that Grace had ruined something versus him collapsing and ruining it himself, Leonardo glanced down at what was in his hand.  

Realizing it was a book, he finally understood he was in the library.  

‘The Lowell Marquisate’s library, of all places.’  

What luck.  

It was an option he had half given up on, but now, thanks to this timely body switch, he could read the books. What a stroke of fortune.  

‘I was considering asking for her help.’  

He had wanted to resolve this without asking Grace for anything, hoping to appear more reliable.  

But their tangled relationship hadn’t improved, and Grace kept running away.  

‘I don’t even have a valid reason to hold her back.’  

Smiling bitterly, Leonardo checked the title of the book in his hand.  

Seeing the title “Ancient Sorcery Theories,” he smiled broadly. He felt confident that what he was looking for would be in this book.  

But more than that, he found it endearing that Grace, who hated books, had come to the library.  

‘Just thinking of coming here was impressive enough.’  

If anyone were to list things that didn’t suit Grace Lowell, the library would be the first choice.  

Yet here she was, trying to solve this issue in her own way.  

‘And even finding a book like this for me.’  

Opening the cover, Leonardo chuckled softly.  

He could easily imagine Grace feeling proud of her discovery, only to sulk when she realized the book was in ancient script.  

Grace Lowell’s poor grades in ancient languages were infamous at the Academy.  

‘It was almost impressive how poorly she did.’  

Flipping through the pages, Leonardo began reading.  

The book contained many records of sorcery now lost to time. His heart raced with anticipation as he turned the pages quickly.  

About halfway through the book, he found what he was looking for.  

[Can sorcery control magical beasts?]  

Leonardo’s eyes gleamed.  

Taking the notebook and pen, which were likely prepared by Grace, he began transcribing the contents of the book.  

By the time he had finished copying everything, the sun was already high in the sky.  

“…Damn it. This is insane.”  

Leonardo reread what he had written multiple times.  

No matter how many times he read it, the content didn’t change.  

“How did he even gather all these materials?”  

One of the essential ingredients for completing the sorcery was the “Eye of a Basilisk.”  

But basilisks had long disappeared. Even if a surviving specimen existed, it would be hidden deep in places humans couldn’t reach—this was the consensus in academic circles.  

‘The Eye of a Basilisk… an ingredient I hadn’t even considered.’  

To break the sorcery without the help of a sorcerer, the primary material used to cast it was absolutely necessary.  

Leonardo pressed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.  

Even if he could find the main ingredient, he still needed to determine how the altered sorcery was being sustained.  

Although he had found a clue to regaining their normal state, Leonardo couldn’t feel happy.  

Flipping through the book again, he found a section at the back that compiled various sorcery circles. Among them, he found the one for controlling magical beasts.  

“—It’s different?”  

The circle depicted in the book was slightly different from the one carved into the skeleton.  

Noticing the subtle differences in the core design, Leonardo began comparing hundreds of sorcery circles one by one.  

When he finally found a similar design,  

“This bastard… is he seriously insane?”  

Leonardo couldn’t help but be horrified.  

Now he understood what the pair of Pla had been doing around the shelter.  

“Giving a magical beast a personality? This bastard…”  

Just the thought made his teeth grind.  

Jacob, who had tried to complete this sorcery, was fortunately dead. Otherwise, the empire would have faced another great disaster.  

‘Was he so blinded by selfish ambition that he forgot what a human should never do?’  

Unable to confront the deceased culprit directly, Leonardo copied the newly found sorcery circle and its details into his notes.  

But the more he transcribed, the more frustration welled up within him.  

‘…Do I have to go hunting magical beasts?’  

Given their current state, hunting a high-level magical beast was nearly impossible.  

Moreover, the materials required for the sorcery were extraordinary. On top of that, he had to analyze the combined shape of two sorcery circles.  

Even though Leonardo was a brilliant mage, sorcery wasn’t his field of expertise.  

‘…I might need the help of a sorcerer.’  

If he explained the situation, the research-obsessed sorcerers would likely rush to his aid.  

What worried Leonardo was that more people would become aware of this bizarre situation.  

That would undoubtedly be bad news for both him and Grace.

‘It seems I’ll need to consult someone.’  

Leonardo sighed and twisted his stiff body in various directions.  

Then, he felt a throbbing pain in his lower abdomen.  

‘I wasn’t even thinking about anything.’  

It was a pain very similar to the one felt when needing to relieve oneself, but the sensation was distinctly different.  

Feeling uneasy for no reason, Leonardo checked the time and packed the notebook he had been using to jot down notes before standing up.  

He hoped fervently that no more incidents would occur.  

***  

Grace, who had switched bodies with Leonardo, was in a foul mood all afternoon that day.  

First, it annoyed her to imagine Leonardo reading the book she had painstakingly found without even appreciating her effort.  

Second, when the time to switch bodies approached, he should have finished his experiment and prepared for the change, but instead, he nearly ruined everything she had worked hard on.  

‘And lastly, because of that man!’  

Grace glared sullenly at Caleb, who was sitting in front of her like some kind of watchman.  

The moment he entered the laboratory, he immediately realized she wasn’t Leonardo. Since then, he had planted himself in that spot and hadn’t moved an inch.  

Not even slightly.  

‘Is he planning to just sit there like that until it’s time to leave?’  

Already in a bad mood, the thought of being monitored infuriated her even more. But even if she wanted to leave, there was nowhere to go in this body.  

So she had no choice but to sit there under Caleb’s sharp gaze.  

“Why do you dislike me so much?”  

At her words, Caleb set down the document he had been reading and turned his head.  

Then, as if asking why she was even bothering to ask something so obvious, he replied.  

“Has anything good ever come from you being involved with my commander, Sir Lowell?”  

Grace paused to think at Caleb’s words.  

Regardless of how things had been between her and him in the past, she wondered if there was any reason they couldn’t get along moving forward.  

Noticing her thoughtful expression, Caleb added, as if exasperated.  

“Even without considering the fact that you both are a knight and a mage, you and the commander represent politically opposing factions. Surely, you’re aware of that.”  

At his words, Grace awkwardly turned her head, mumbling.  

“Well, I mean…”  

“I trust you’re not going to argue that such things are merely the stances of the Marquis, your family’s head, and the Duke, his counterpart.”  

Grace, who had no interest in politics, had always thought, “What does that have to do with me?”  

So Caleb’s pointed remarks left her unable to respond.  

Realizing he had struck a nerve, Caleb sighed again and continued.  

“Have you considered how others might perceive this, Sir Lowell? Or how your respective Masters might view it?”  

“…”  

She lowered her gaze, thinking of her stubborn Master.  

He, who despised knights, would undoubtedly devise a plan to eliminate Leonardo the moment he learned of Grace’s current situation.  

Perhaps he believed that removing the other party would also dispel the sorcery.  

“If you were planning to use this opportunity to get closer to my commander, I beg you to abandon that thought entirely.”  

Hearing Caleb’s earnest tone, Grace slowly raised her head to meet his gaze.  

His cold, piercing eyes were filled with nothing but sincerity. Seeing that, an inexplicable surge of sadness welled up within her.  

“The commander has only the Mage Tower left to inherit.”  

“…”  

“But if you become entangled with him, even that lifelong dream of his will be ruined. His Master won’t pass it down to him.”  

Grace thought of the current Tower Master.  

His hatred of knights was already a well-known story. It was practically an open secret that he hated even the sound of swords clashing so much that he had soundproofing magic cast around the Tower.  

“―What makes you think I have any sort of relationship with Sir Leonardo to warrant such comments?”  

She barely managed to move her lips to protest softly, but Caleb drove the point home.  

“I’m warning you not to leave even the smallest possibility open.”  

Seeing the thick wariness in Caleb’s eyes, Grace turned her head away.  

The conversation left a bitter taste in her mouth.  

‘I should’ve just pretended not to know.’  

She regretted asking such a pointless question, but it was too late to take it back.  

With a sigh, Grace stood and slowly walked into the inner room. Watching her retreating figure, Caleb shook his head.  

He really didn’t like this.