Chapter 8.3

Sekmera truly lived up to its name as the City of Silence. In this sacred land of priests, Marianne learned what solemnity beyond quietness meant.  

The promised temporary assignment was nearing its end. However, even if she returned to the capital, Marianne knew she would soon return to Sekmera. She tried not to feel regret. After all, she thought, this serene and orderly city suited her better than the bustling and glamorous capital.  

Standing at a crossroads leading to the inn, Marianne looked around. Gray or white-painted houses filled her view. Even the clothes of passersby were mostly in muted tones, despite them not being priests.  

Walking through this colorless, silent world, Marianne suddenly thought of Sylvester. She recalled his platinum hair shimmering in the sunlight. She remembered how his gray-blue eyes glowed with a reddish hue during sunsets. She thought of the occasional blush that graced his ears. She reminisced about the floral scent that seemed stronger when she was with him and the breeze that tickled her cheeks before moving away.  

Marianne stopped in her tracks. Her shoes came into view—low-heeled, polished flats with shiny tips. One day, Sylvester had handed them to her, saying they were a gift he had chosen while thinking of her.  

“Allen told me that giving shoes as a gift is a way of asking someone you like to walk beside you.”  

Sylvester had shyly smiled as he presented the shoes. Marianne, afraid of wearing them out, had placed them by the window and only admired them instead of wearing them.  

Memories of walking with Sylvester flashed through Marianne’s mind.  

“…I miss him.”  

Marianne murmured. She missed Sylvester.  

“I missed you too.”  

A familiar voice came from nearby. It was the tender voice Marianne had been longing to hear for days.  

So this is what it feels like to hear hallucinations.

She thought. It wasn’t as pleasant as she had imagined. Joy was fleeting, and soon, a wave of melancholy washed over her. Marianne, already lowering her head, bent it further. Standing on Sekmera’s pristine white stone path, so different from the capital’s streets, she felt foolish.  

“…If you lift your head, something good might happen.”  

That’s right, he had said that at the Knight Order Fortress. Hearing Sylvester’s voice, Marianne unknowingly nodded.  

“Something good?”  

She asked playfully, as if laughing at herself. Passersby might think she had gone mad, but she wanted to respond to Sylvester’s voice.  

“You’ll see my face.”  

Sylvester’s voice resonated on the quiet path.  

“…That’s nice.”  

Marianne lifted her head. She knew there would be nothing in front of her, but she still lifted her head. She wished, as if by magic, Sylvester would be standing there.  

‘Huh?’  

Her gaze gradually moved upward. She was looking at the face of a man standing in front of her.  

“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow, so I came like this, in a mess.”  

His disheveled platinum hair, soot-covered knight uniform, shortened cape stained with ash, and gray-blue eyes filled with indescribable emotions—Sylvester was standing before Marianne.  

Marianne’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. She couldn’t grasp what was happening.  

‘Am I really seeing things, or…?’  

But the spell was broken. Sylvester shouldn’t remember me or our time together. 

It was an unsolvable mystery. At that moment, the familiar floral scent and a teasing breeze embraced Marianne.  

She instinctively knew. The man before her wasn’t an illusion. The real Sylvester was standing there.  

“…Is it really you, Sylvester?”  

Marianne asked in a trembling voice, sounding foolish. Instead of answering, Sylvester took a step closer. He bent down to meet her gaze.  

“Yes. It’s really me.”  

“….”  

“I’m not someone who lost his memory after the spell was broken.”  

With a face seeking explanation, Marianne looked at Sylvester. However, her expression soon turned pale, as though deep in thought.

At that moment, a single story was rapidly forming in Marianne’s mind. Sylvester’s spell had been broken, yet he hadn’t lost his memory. If she were Sylvester….

Marianne, imagining herself in his position, thought he might feel resentment toward her. After all, she had hidden the truth from him, helped the mages, shamelessly spent time with him, and ultimately fallen in love with him…. She had even wished for his spell never to be broken.

‘Sylvester might have come to pour his resentment onto me. But…’

Marianne’s eyes blinked slowly.

‘Why does he still look like he loves me? Why does he gaze at me so tenderly?’

Startled by her own thoughts, Marianne took a step back. She was frightened by the absurd ideas that seemed to keep coming to her mind. One step, then another. Marianne moved further away from Sylvester. Watching her as though she might run away at any moment, Sylvester’s expression turned pale.

“I…”

Sylvester’s voice stopped Marianne in her tracks. Their gazes met in the air. Above the deep crimson sunset, navy darkness was beginning to pile up.

“I’ve never been under any spell. Long before I asked you out on a date… Marianne, you’ve been in my heart.”

Sylvester cautiously took a step toward Marianne, then another. The distance that had grown between them began to narrow once more.

“The first time I saw you was at the back gate of the knight order.”

“……”

“You were petting the stray dogs in the clearing, and your laughter, your warm voice, your gentle gaze… they held me firmly in place.”

The glow of the sunset fell upon Sylvester’s pale face, like snow that had fallen in the dawn. His trembling voice and gaze made him appear like a young man who had fallen deeply in love.

“After that, even though I knew it wasn’t proper, I often walked toward the back gate just to see you.”

Marianne blinked with a dazed expression.

“I hoped you would smile at me.”

“……”

“That thought crossed my mind every day.”

Slowly but earnestly, Sylvester continued his words.

“My feelings weren’t created by some love spell from the mages.”

The wind clung to Marianne’s sleeve, as if pleading with her not to leave.

“The real magic that shook me was none other than yourself, Marianne Lane.”

“……”

“Marianne, you taught me so many things. You showed me that my magic is beautiful, that this world shines brilliantly. You made me learn thoughts and emotions I didn’t even know existed.”

Before anyone realized it, the distance between the two had grown closer.

“And… you taught me love.”

Very carefully, Sylvester reached out and took Marianne’s hands. The warmth Marianne held and the warmth Sylvester held met and were passed on to each other.

“Then…”

Marianne slowly opened her mouth.

“Was everything—the date proposal, the flowers you made, the magic you showed, the kiss, the night we spent together, the magic stone you gifted me—all of it sincere?”

Marianne asked, trying not to stammer.

“Every moment I spent with you, Marianne, my heart was never false.”

Sylvester smiled.

“No mere spell could ever sway me.”

It was a truly confident smile. Tears welled up in Marianne’s eyes. At this moment, Marianne couldn’t fully accept the situation. After all, something she never expected had happened. But one thing was certain.

In the time Marianne had spent with Sylvester, there had been no magic involved. Sylvester Amadeus had genuinely loved Marianne Lane. That dream-like truth made Marianne’s chest tremble. The love she had tried so hard to suppress was now spilling out, overflowing.

“If Allen finds out, he’ll scold me, but…”

Without giving her time to stop him, Sylvester knelt on one knee before Marianne. Surprised, Marianne looked down at him.

“Marianne Lane.”

Marianne was reflected in Sylvester’s beautiful eyes.

“Would you grant me the honor of holding your hand every day, the honor of kissing you, the honor of stepping into your life?”

Sylvester asked Marianne. The hands that touched were filled with warmth. Marianne didn’t answer easily. Her lips moved slightly. Her expression was one that gave no hint of either acceptance or refusal.

“What about the person you promised to marry?”

Marianne asked Sylvester.

“…What?”

“Your father…”

Hearing those words, Sylvester’s face stiffened for a moment. It seemed Marianne had met his father. She had definitely heard his nonsense as well.

“The promise of marriage was between my family and theirs, not between me and that person.”

Sylvester managed to maintain his expression as he spoke.

“That person and I aren’t fiancés or anything like that… It would be better to call us rivals. We have no interest in each other—except for each other’s magic.”

“……”

“If you’re worried about obstacles that might stand in the way of our love, you can dismiss those worries right here and now.”

Sylvester continued.

“You’ve made me a courageous person, Marianne. Things I wouldn’t have dared to do before, I can do now.”

After finishing his words, a smile appeared on Sylvester’s face. It was a relaxed smile that might feel unfamiliar to the Sylvester who had asked her out on a date.

“And you know, Marianne, that I am a capable man.”

Soon, Marianne’s face mirrored Sylvester’s smile. Of course, she knew. He wasn’t someone who inherited a title passed down through generations; he held his own title. The Empire’s finest young mage, the head of the mage-knight order, an incredibly handsome and beautiful man.

“I’m timid, dull, not particularly skilled at anything, not pretty, and I don’t have much.”

“……”

“People will gossip. They’ll wonder how someone like you, Sylvester Amadeus, could fall for a woman like me. I might even be ridiculed for the rest of my life.”

Marianne’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“But if you are by my side, Sylvester, I think I won’t care what those people say.”

Marianne continued.

“If there’s someone next to me who sees me for who I am… then there’s no need to listen to people who don’t know me.”

The tremor in Marianne’s voice disappeared. The tension in Sylvester’s face also faded, replaced by a smile.

“I want to give you my answer.”

After finishing her words, Marianne gripped Sylvester’s hands tightly, trying to help him stand. Realizing her intention, Sylvester rose to his feet. A gentle silence flowed between the two, who still held hands.

“I want to step into your life too, Sylvester.”

“……”

“Let’s walk together, side by side, and explore each other.”

A smile blossomed on Marianne’s face like a flower. Sylvester’s face mirrored her expression.

“…Marianne, may I kiss you?”

With eyes moist like the dew of dawn, Sylvester asked.

“…As much as you like.”

Marianne replied.

Soon, Marianne’s eyes slowly closed. Just like their tightly held hands, Marianne and Sylvester’s lips met. In the cold late autumn, it was a kiss that carried the scent of spring.

Above them, the white moon had already risen. Under the navy and purple sky embracing each other, the twinkling stars shone as if blessing the two.

<Love Under a Spell> Fin