He muttered.

“Isn’t this Azura’s wind?”

“Azura?”

Helix grabbed Leah and asked urgently.

“Leah, do you happen to have the bookmark with you right now?”

Bookmark?

She was flustered by the sudden question but soon remembered.

“Are you talking about Azura’s mana shard?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

Leah reached for the pouch attached to her dress and gripped it tightly. She could feel a breeze brushing over her hand.

“…Are you sure it’s okay to use this?”

He couldn’t answer right away.

Dragonlord Azura. Once a close friend and ally, who betrayed him on the Day of Destruction and was sealed away for the sake of the barrier.

If Azura had tricked Leah into awakening him, then he must still be alive somewhere. But no matter how much he searched, scoured the lair, or followed the traces of mana, he couldn’t find him.

The mana shard was a clue to Azura’s whereabouts.

But Helix swallowed those words.

“With your current abilities, you’ll be able to use it well.”

He gave a brief explanation.

He told her that Dragonlord Azura was a mage who wielded the power of wind. The force of the wind they had felt in the lair’s library was contained within that bookmark.

“You’re a dual-core mage now, aren’t you? Having two cores means you can hold two attributes as well.”

Wind, huh.

Leah gripped the pouch in her hand tighter.

She needed it. She needed it, but…

‘To think I have to use the power of a despicable traitor who betrayed Helix and imprisoned him.’

She bit her lip as she glared at the flames.

Fwoosh…  

A gust of hot wind blew from the north side of the campsite, and the fire demon had already crept close, its flames licking at the air.

‘Whoever started this fire, it’s already grown too big.’

The fire wouldn’t die out naturally or be extinguished with a small amount of water. There was no other way.

‘This is the only way to protect everyone.’

She reached into the pouch, grabbed the blue bookmark tightly, and pulled it out.

Flutter.

The bookmark in her hand quivered, as if delighted, and sparkled as though urging her to accept it.

“…”

But Leah hesitated.

Helix’s enemy, Azura.

What would happen if she accepted Azura’s mana? Would she end up becoming Helix’s enemy as well?

“Leah.”

Helix wrapped his hand around Leah’s trembling one.

“Just because you accept a dragon’s mana doesn’t mean you have to follow that dragon’s will.”

Leah looked up at him. He nodded slightly, gesturing toward the mana shard that fluttered over her hand like it was dancing.

“Look. It has already accepted you.”

Helix spoke with conviction.

“This power is already yours, Leah.”

“…And what if this Azura or whoever comes after me later?”

He smiled.

“My contractor has a favorite saying, doesn’t she?”

“What saying?”

“Things will work out somehow. After all, I’m here with you.”

Leah took a deep breath.

When she had said those words herself, it was to bolster her courage. But hearing them from Helix made her feel like things truly would work out.

“…You can’t take that back later, okay?”

She gripped the bookmark tightly.

The blue mana shard disintegrated like butterfly dust and was absorbed into her palm. Leah shuddered as the energy coursed through her.

‘This feels completely different from when I absorbed the flame mana.’

While the flame mana had rampaged through her body like poison, the wind mana eagerly blended into her veins and mana cores.

Helix had been right.

‘This power is mine.’

With newfound confidence, Leah raised her hand and swung it wide.

“Fire Wall!”

Fwoosh!

Flames rose along the perimeter of the campsite.

She extended her hand toward the flames.

“Wind!!”

Swoosh…  

A gust of wind burst forth from her fingertips, as if rejoicing.

The strong wind whipped up the wall of fire, causing it to surge like a tidal wave toward the advancing flames.

“It’s a counterfire!”

Helix’s eyes trembled as he watched her magic unfold.

‘This girl…!’

Using a counterfire in a situation like this?

‘How can she be so bold!’

She was so fearless that it made him dizzy just watching her.

It sounded simple enough, but to deliberately set fire to counter an approaching blaze required a level of audacity few possessed.

Unaware of Helix’s astonished gaze, Leah stood amidst the chaos, her long hair billowing in the wind, watching the two fires collide.

Fwoosh!

The flames from afar.

The wall of fire she had raised.

Both blazed fiercely, scorching the forest and the sky, heating the night air.

Fwoosh…

“Huh?”

Her fire was losing ground.

Helix moved to stand beside Leah.

“Leah, you’re quite the high-maintenance contractor, aren’t you?”

“Helix, let’s be honest.”

She replied.

“I’m not just high-maintenance; I’m outright demanding!”

“…I won’t even argue.”

Helix grabbed one of Leah’s hands. His mana, now familiar to her, flowed into her.

Fwoosh!

Her fire surged higher.

Seeing the immediate effect, Leah’s face lit up as she looked up at Helix.

“I think it’s working!”

“You always manage to pull it off, don’t you?”

Helix’s words made Leah’s eyes widen.

In the middle of nowhere.

In the oppressive heat of the blazing air, in this desperate situation where something had to be done, she acted not out of confidence but because there was no other choice.

“You always manage to pull it off.”

Her core, her heart, and her stomach, which had been tense with anxiety, softened at the trust in his words.

Hope surged within her. The fiery sky and the battling flames no longer seemed daunting.

“Right?”

Leah squeezed his hand tightly.

“With such a reliable contractor, magic works like a charm.”

Helix’s heart pounded loudly.

In the silent, slumbering mountain night.

Amidst the glow of the flames, Leah was the only thing illuminated.

Her platinum hair, tousled by the wind, framed her flushed cheeks, warmed by the heat. She pressed his hand against her cheek.

Helix flinched, his hand frozen, but Leah held it firmly in place, letting out a soft sigh against it.

“Phew, I feel like I can breathe again.”

“…What are you doing?”

“Recharging.”

Leah, eyes closed, pressed his hand to her cheek.

“Recharging?”

“Yeah. I’m drawing energy from you right now.”

Helix’s gaze softened with pity.

“Should I give you more mana?”

“No, save that for later. For now, just keep doing this. It’s enough to keep me alive.”

I’m dying here.

Helix frowned, thinking about his wildly beating heart.

It was strange. Before meeting Leah, he had never experienced this kind of chest pain, but now it grew stronger by the day.

‘What’s even stranger… is that I don’t want to escape this pain anymore.’

Becoming addicted to pain—wasn’t that truly a dangerous condition?

Though his face twisted with discomfort, Helix didn’t pull his hand away from her cheek. He waited, his heart pounding painfully, wishing this moment would stretch on and on.

Forever.

***

“…”

Prince Archaik stood silently, staring at the remnants of the campsite.

All that was left was charred ground. There were no corpses to be found.

‘I thought they’d be dead.’

Last night, following the prince’s orders, his men had surrounded the mage’s campsite and set it ablaze. The fire was so intense it could have easily turned into a forest fire.

Thanks to the prince’s sleep magic, no one woke up to flee from the flames, so they waited confidently for the fire to die down, ready to clean up any remains.

But then, something unexpected happened.

‘The flames are growing bigger!’

‘Damn it! It’s coming this way! Retreat! Fall back!’

The fire grew so large that they couldn’t maintain their position.

By the time they retreated to escape the flames, the mage and her group had vanished without a trace.

‘How did they escape?’

The prince said nothing as he surveyed the scene, prompting Viscount Paipers to cautiously speak up.

“Even a fledgling mage is still a mage. It’s no surprise they have tricks up their sleeve. Please, don’t let this anger you.”

“Anger…”

The prince murmured.

He wasn’t sure. Was this emotion truly anger?

Driven by a determination to confirm the mage’s corpse, he had rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the fire was out.

‘There’s no body!’

But when he heard those words, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Realizing this, he bit his lip hard.

‘To give an order to kill, yet hope they survive?’

What a foolish contradiction. Being swayed by such emotions was something only humans did.

He had never felt attachment to humans, nor regret for killing them… yet now, his behavior was no different from those foolish creatures.

“…”

“Your Highness?”

Viscount Paipers called out cautiously.

“Do you know how the mage escaped?”

“…She broke the sleep magic and set a counterfire.”

Viscount Paipers’ eyes widened.

“A bold mage, indeed.”

“She has great potential. And yet, she dares to run from me.”

Golden flames flickered in Prince Archaik’s black eyes.

In the end, there was only one conclusion.

“I must have her.”

“Do you have a plan prepared?”

The prince smiled leisurely.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

***

Inside the carriage heading back to the capital, Leah was fidgeting uncomfortably.

Who was that handsome man with black hair and black eyes she had met at the inn?

Was the person who cast the sleep magic on her group really a dragon? If so, does that mean a living dragon still exists?

That alone was troubling enough, but now the knights and servants were giving her strange looks.

“Could it be that our lady isn’t human, just like the commander…?”

“Is that why she’s so beautiful?”

No.

No, you idiots!

After nearly dying while countering the fire, carrying her sleep-stricken companions like luggage to escape, it seemed everyone had gotten the wrong idea.

“I never showed them I could use magic, so they wouldn’t know it was me who set the counterfire. That part makes sense.”

Leah turned to Helix.

“But why does everyone think you were the one who set the fire? And why do they think I carried everyone out?”