“What does a trolley, loaded with the lady’s favorite desserts waiting in a line like a train, have to do with stability and protection?”

“If she feels better, it will help with her recovery.”

“And holding her hand all night without leaving her side?”

“If my spirit mana can help stabilize the lady’s mana.”

“And ordering a new custom saddle for the lady’s horse?”

“Taking a walk for a change of scenery helps with recovery.”

“And calling Ellaroin Boutique, which you have to book at least a year in advance, to make new clothes?”

“All of the lady’s clothes are black, so blood doesn’t show. It makes it hard to notice if she’s hurt.”

Cedric answered as if there was no problem at all.

“This, this, waah.”

Watching Cedric, who had completely missed the point, Rein grabbed his own head.

‘This guy who had spent his whole life fighting monsters on the battlefield is no different from a chaste knight. I have to endure, I must endure, waah!’

Rein eventually couldn’t hold back his temper and glared at Cedric as he spoke.

“We can all agree to call it affection, Lord Cedric.”

“Shut it.”

“Yes.”

“If you make any more unnecessary remarks, I really will cut you down.”

Rein pouted and grumbled.

“Oh my fate, my fate. We can’t even call affection, affection.”

Cedric raised an eyebrow and adjusted the grip on his sword.

The sword pointing at Rein’s neck happened in an instant.

“Hiic. There, there! The lady is there! Lord Cedric!”

“Do you think I’d be fooled twice? Your tricks to escaping are getting better by the day.”

“Really! Truly! I swear on my precious hair!”

“So that’s why you’re balding.”

Cedric swung his sword without hesitation.

Rein also immediately used a defensive spell, but the blue aura on Cedric’s blade chased Rein as it split the ground.

‘I don’t have any more uses left for teleportation magic!’

As though he had anticipated that, Cedric lazily swung his sword once more.

This time, he sent aura through trees to knock them down and block Rein’s escape route.

“Hic.”

After running with all his might, Rein stumbled back due to the tree falling in front of him.

Cedric leisurely lifted the corners of his mouth like a beast driving its prey.

It was time to end Rein’s escape.

If it hadn’t been for the following thin scream of a woman.

“Aaah!”

“Lady!”

“My lady?”

When he turned around, he found Arne. She shouldn’t be here!

The Knight Commander ran towards Arne, but it was not enough. At this rate, not only Rein but also Arne would be crushed.

“Lady!”

In front of the Knight Commander, Arne pretended to be fine, but her weary body didn’t move as intended.

Arne staggered to avoid a falling giant wooden pillar, so when she stepped on the broken ground, her body tilted.

She instinctively clenched her eyes shut while protecting her head.

But instead of feeling the pain, what touched her body was a firm and warm hand.

Gently opening her eyes, Arne met Cedric’s gaze, who was holding up the wooden pillar with one hand.

Cedric’s face contorted. His gaze shifted towards Arne’s ankle.

Her ankle and wrist were bandaged due to injuries caused by the maids before coming to the Wayne family’s banquet.

“My lady, are you alright?”

Arne grimaced due to the pain in her sprained ankle.

As Cedric bit his lip, the wooden pillar he was holding broke.

His gaze menacingly shifted to mage Rein, who was crawling away.

“Why, why? I clearly told you the lady was there!”

After finishing his words as though it were unfair, Rein crawled out from under the fallen tree and thought of the timing to escape again.

Cedric’s lips twisted, and at the same time, the wooden pillar he held was directed at Rein.

“Eek.”

Rein, stumbling backward and falling on his b*ttocks, clenched his eyes shut.

Somehow anticipating it, Cedric precisely stuck the wooden pillar between the fallen Rein’s legs.

Clutching his fluttering heart, Rein looked down at his lower body.

Fortunately, he was safe. The clothes got stuck on the wooden pillar but did not come off.

Regardless, Cedric brushed off the leaves that had fallen on Arne’s head.

“I didn’t know the lady was there. Were you very scared?”

Arne blinked her eyes.

‘I think you should be asking me if I was scared.’

Rein, terrified, gave up on escaping.

“Be more careful in the future.”

Rein was shocked by Cedric’s voice, dripping with regret.

‘That guy charged at me as if he was going to kill me, and now he makes that face?’

Rein decided to change his strategy. He would appeal to Arne about his situation instead of Cedric.

“My crotch, my crotch! You almost murdered Rein Junior! This is clearly attempted murder, Lady Arne!”

“Lady, your ears will rot.”

Cedric kindly covered Arne’s ears. Then Rein raised his voice even louder.

“My precious crotch!”

At Rein’s loud and sorrowful voice that drilled into her ears, Cedric frowned slightly, and his gaze inadvertently shifted towards Rein.

“My crotch! My crotch!”

‘How could she not look at that?’

Eventually, Cedric picked up Arne.

“Let’s treat your ankle again first. Don’t worry too much about Rein. It’s a cunning trick he used to win the lady’s sympathy. Despite appearances, he’s very tough and resilient.”

Hearing Cedric’s words, Rein shouted out loud in frustration.

“Just so you know, that lady is a more powerful grand mage than me! The title of a mighty grand mage is granted only to the last person standing in the Colosseum of warriors held in the empire!”

“But now she’s a patient who crosses between life and death every hour because her mana core is shattered. She needs absolute rest.”

Cedric emphasized every syllable of ‘absolute rest.’

At Cedric’s murderous intent, Rein flinched. Even when he discovered Rein’s absurd research or the sponsorship money he secretly spent more than usual, he had not been this angry.

“Immediately issue an instruction to mana perfume sellers to ban its use for those experiencing a mana surge and stop selling mana perfume for a while.”

“But that’s my main source of income! How long is ‘for a while’?”

“Until the lady’s mana core recovers.”

“What?”

Rein swallowed hard with a gloomy face.

“I didn’t want to say this, but! The lady’s severe pain isn’t just because of the mana perfume and mana surge!”

“Another trick.”

“It’s true. It’s a magic contract! The lady is in pain because of the price! This time I’m betting my hair and Rein Junior’s hair.”

“What sin has the unborn Rein Junior committed.”

At that moment, Arne’s gaze shifted towards Rein.

‘The price?’

Thinking about it, Arne hadn’t heard what the price was because she hastily made a wish to a demon.

“Rein, can you tell what that price is?”

“I couldn’t see properly because the lady was in pain, but maybe if we look closely.”

Before Rein knew it, he had torn his clothes from a wooden pillar and crawled towards Arne.

“I may lack combat ability, but I have quite a knack for developing magical tools and deciphering magical contracts. Let me see your hand for a moment.”

Cedric looked down at Rein suspiciously, but it was true that Rein was not lacking in skill.

Moreover, if the reason for her pain lies elsewhere, they couldn’t afford to miss even the slightest thing.

With a gravely serious face, Rein examined Arne’s hand.

“No, how can this be!”

Rein slowly stared at Arne’s face.

“…Have you already deciphered the entire magical contract?”

Arne asked with a trembling voice.

Should she reveal that she made a contract with a demon, that she had traveled back in time, that she had spent the night with Cedric, and that they have a child?

“No, just the first line of the compensation.”

Rein answered while scratching his head.

“It’s hard to read the magical contracts of contractors that are higher than me.”

Arne felt a strange sense of relief. Maybe it was for the best.

She didn’t know what would happen if she was interrogated about how she contracted with a demon.

She could have been branded as a heretic for making a contract with a demon and being burned at the stake.

Even the guardian, the Grand Duke of Renigrad, had suffered such a fate. Arne, an orphan known only as a lady, could not be sure.

“…What is the compensation?”

“Mana, all the mana you possess in exchange for governing time, evil… evil… I can’t see the rest clearly.”

“Ah.”

Arne blinked her eyes.

“Since mana is needed to use magic, if I use magic, then my mana disappears…”

Breaking the deal results in death. Does this mean she can never use magic again for the rest of her life?

The grand mage, Raniarne? Magic?

“My lady.”

Cedric supported Arne as she staggered.

The most precious thing, Arne finally understood.

‘I thought I had nothing left to lose. I thought I had lost everything.’

Her foster father, who had devoted everything to her, abandoned her.

The Grand Duke’s house, branded as heretics for summoning demons, burned down. Vivian, Millie, Cedric, and everyone else died there. Magic was what was going to be taken from Arne, who had lost everything.

Magic. The warm power that protected her when everyone ignored and hurt her because she was an orphan.

It healed her torn body, created warm fire, and protected her from monsters. Even if it was just pretend family play, it was her magical talent that made Duke Ronia choose her.

“Ah…”

Arne bit her trembling lips.

“My lady, are you okay?”

Cedric asked worriedly because Arne began to smile faintly and chuckle through tears.

“…It’s fortunate.”

Arne seemed engulfed in shock, as she now began to chuckle through tears.

‘Really, it’s fortunate. That I still have something precious left to save Vivian. It’s really fortunate.’

Arne shook her shoulders, uncertain if she was crying or laughing.

Magic always prevented her from being hurt and fulfilled her wishes.

Until the end.

“Even if I can never use magic again.”

Arne breathed out weakly, her throat seemingly tight.

‘If I can bring you back to life, it’s a cheap trade. I would do it over and over again if it meant I can save you, Vivian.’

Her fingertips trembled. Cedric grasped those hands.