Leah was enveloped in heat in her dream.

‘Hot….’

A dry hot wind blew, brushing past her long hair and cheeks.

The wind carried a familiar scent.

‘…Dalgona smell?’

Leah’s eyes snapped open in her dream.

The sky was burning in the distance.

Like when she had eaten the cookie containing Dragon’s mana before.

“Huh?”

She looked down at the weapon(?) suddenly in her hand.

This time it wasn’t a tea fork but a teaspoon.

“What’s this?”

“Captain!”

Leah looked down at the voice calling from below.

Macaron soldiers with round bodies and limbs looked up and said gravely.

“At this rate, the Sugar Castle will fall! Please give us orders!”

What?

What kind of situation is this.

“Captain! Hurry with the orders!”

The macaron soldiers urged.

Why are you so serious when you’re just round little macarons?

The smile about to form on her lips froze.

She saw that the edges of the macarons’ shells were burnt.

“The walls… are melting!”

“Everyone pour more sugar!”

In the distance, cookie soldiers were struggling to defend the meringue walls.

The pure white, sticky meringue walls.

The walls that had protected the Sugar Castle while writhing like living mud were being baked white by the enemy’s flames and crumbling crispy.

“No!”

“It’s overbaking!”

As if mocking the panicking cookie soldiers, flames entered through holes appearing in the walls.

Whoosh!

Along with an even stronger dalgona smell, the cookies flew away charred black.

“N-no!”

Leah cried out in distress.

“My cookies… my soldiers!”

A chubby macaron officer approached Leah who was trembling from shock.

“Captain, he’s coming!”

He?

Leah narrowed her eyes and watched the wall area.

Behind the flames melting the white meringue walls, she caught a glimpse of a figure.

“Who are you?”

Just as Leah muttered while gripping the large teaspoon tightly, her eyes met with those of a man staring intently from beyond the flames.

[A mage…?]

It was a man with black hair.

Though he was too far to see his expression or features, she could tell he was looking this way. The man raised his hand, showing off the flames wrapped around his fingertips.

[You thought it was yours.]

He pointed behind Leah.

When Leah reflexively turned around, she saw the mana core tower shaped like an oven glowing bright red from overheating.

[Receiving fragments of others’ mana, making cores and using magic, did you think that power was yours?]

The black-haired man said arrogantly.

[Don’t be mistaken, human.]

With one gesture from him, the flames melted the walls like whipped cream.

The man said.

That magic was for those like him to use.

That a human body that struggled between life and death from a few drops of poison could not control fire attribute mana like this.

Leah gripped the teaspoon tightly.

“That’s not wrong but……”

After nearly dying from accepting that mana, and training mana so hard with Helix.

That black-haired man was making Leah’s magic worthless with just a few words.

“…You talk so easily about others’ matters?”

Just as she glared angrily at the man.

Whooosh…..

A cold wind wrapped around her.

The cutting wind drove away the heat as it swirled around the Sugar Castle. Leah unconsciously breathed in the scent from the cold wind.

The fresh smell of forest.

It was similar to Helix’s scent.

“Helix.”

As she murmured, something cold touched her cheek.

Leah looked up.

Snow fell from the sky like sparkling sugar powder, cooling the places heated by flames throughout the castle.

She blinked.

Come to think of it, the mana core didn’t just contain Dragon’s mana. During training, Helix’s mana had entered countless times too.

But Helix was different from that black-haired guy.

He didn’t mock that she had no right to handle her mana, nor did he give and take away mana from Leah who was about to lose her magic to poison.

Rather, he was still helping her even now.

‘Helix would have said.’

That regardless of what mana she received, creating the mana core and awakening as a mage was Leah’s doing.

That she accomplished it.

Leah clenched her fist with determination.

“Captain, let’s retreat!”

She calmly looked down at the macarons.

“No.”

“Captain!”

“Defend this place.”

Leah raised her head.

The snowstorm that had wrapped around the Sugar Castle was heading elsewhere. She spoke while looking where the snowstorm was heading.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Captain! What are you going to do!”

“It’s already dangerous here!”

“That’s why I’m doing this.”

Leah gripped the teaspoon tightly like a shovel.

“Think I can’t make something I’ve made once before a second time?”

***

“Karai!”

The court physician called urgently for him while rushing into the lair. Karai who had been waiting rose to his feet.

“It’s terrible. The lady is in danger!”

Karai’s eyes changed at the physician’s words.

“What about Lord Helix?”

“Lord Helix is locked in the basement right now.”

The physician explained hurriedly.

The assassination attempt on Leah, Ruyan Piert rampaging after witnessing the scene. Helix who probably saved Leah but was misunderstood and locked in the basement.

“The lady… was poisoned?”

Karai asked while swallowing dryly.

Count Trow must surely be involved.

“Yes. Fortunately it was a known paralytic poison so I neutralized it.”

Karai was a bit surprised. He had heard rumors that the physician was skilled, having been recruited by the Ducal Family for a huge sum, but to so easily neutralize poison that Count Trow would have obtained from the underworld.

Unaware of his admiration, the physician scratched his head frantically.

“That’s not the problem. This is driving me crazy. The lady’s fever won’t go down, perhaps because the poison tangled up her mana, but Lord Helix who could fix this can’t even be met.”

“You said he’s in the basement?”

“It’s called a basement but it’s treated like an underground prison. Knights are guarding it like iron walls and won’t let anyone near… These crazy bastards! At this rate the lady will burn up from the inside!”

Fire lit in Karai’s eyes. The frustrated physician asked almost pleadingly.

“You’re a magic user too, right? Isn’t there something you can do?”

***

That night.

The spies infiltrated Leah’s bedroom.

They had knocked out everyone in the villa by spiking the food and drinks with stomach medicine.

“Hurry. We don’t have much time.”

The spy who first made the plan urged his companions. They had to finish the job before the knights and Ruyan Piert arrived.

“But we should enjoy a little.”

One large spy licked his lips while looking over the lying Leah.

“She’s even more incredible up close.”

The guy fondled Leah’s cheek.

“Wow, noble ladies really are different. Her skin’s like flour dough.”

At his words, another spy boldly pulled back the blanket. Just as they were about to pull down Leah’s nightgown.

“Want to die doing that?”

Another spy growled.

“We don’t know when Ruyan Piert will come.”

“We put plenty of stomach medicine in his food too.”

“Then you can die alone.”

At the fierce aura, the guys backed away clicking their tongues regretfully.

There wasn’t time.

If any of the knights or Ruyan Piert who weren’t affected by the stomach medicine came, they would all be dead men.

The spies nodded and exchanged glances.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll do it.”

The large spy stepped forward with a knife.

“Let’s give that pretty head as a gift to the Count.”

He swung his arm with all his might to behead the lying Leah.

Clang!

The knife bounced off thin air before even reaching Leah’s bed.

“Huh?”

The large man threw himself at Leah again but was pushed back all the same.

“Move aside, let me try.”

This time a small and slight spy rushed in with twin blades, but he too was bounced back.

“Wh-what is this?”

“What the hell kind of…?”

The spies cursing gradually became enveloped in fear.

Without exception, every single one of them was bounced back without even getting near Leah.

Someone gripped their weapon tightly and said.

“Everyone charge together! Whatever ghost trick this is, it can’t block this many!”

The guys surrounded Leah’s bed.

Swoosh.

The lowered curtain fluttered at their movement.

“…You!”

The spies drew in breath as they discovered people behind the bed curtain.

Two people appeared from behind the curtain.

A tall handsome man with long silver hair, and a puppy-like young man with brown hair and large brown eyes.

Seeing the young man, the spies shouted.

“Karai!”

“You traitor bastard!”

“What have you done!”

Helix asked.

“Is that all of them?”

“Yes. They all came.”

Hearing their exchange, the guys sneered.

“That crazy bastard, all that snitching just to be the lady’s lover?”

“What can the two of you do?”

Helix spoke quietly.

“To touch Leah, you’ll have to kill me first.”

“Acting all cool!”

The spies swung their weapons at Leah again.

Clang!

They turned to look at the two.

Whatever it was, it seemed clear that Helix and Karai were behind this damned thing.

“We’ll kill you first, then finish killing this b*tch!”

The guys rushed at the two all at once.

BOOM!!!

That’s when it happened.

Golden light burst from Karai’s body.

As that light deflected the spies’ blades, Helix moved like lightning.

“Argh!”

The spies sprawled on the floor screamed without realizing.

But that was just the beginning.

As a transparent dome-shaped barrier with golden shimmer perfectly enclosed Karai and Leah, Helix drove back the spies without even a single sword.

“Aack!”

“That bastard… he had such abilities?”

The shocked spies’ eyes grew even wider. Leah had awakened inside the barrier.

The spies shouted.

“Kill her!”

Having been caught attempting assassination, there was no turning back now.

The spies gritting their teeth and rushing at Leah were once again bounced off the barrier.

“…Helix, what’s going on?”

Leah asked in a hoarse voice, having just woken up.

Hearing that voice, Helix’s eyes twisted.

“I’m glad you’re awake.”

His voice was even hoarser than hers.