Chapter 13

Ashton put both hands in his pockets and was silent for a moment. His head drooped just a little. Watching his straight back, Sabina felt he seemed more downcast than yesterday.

She reached out to pat his back.

“I don’t need money. I didn’t call those numbers hoping to get paid by you. Instead, please answer one question.”

“…Okay.”

Her hand dropped without touching Ashton’s back.

“Why did you want to buy that boy?”

Ashton’s voice cracked. It sounded deeply troubled. He had no connection to the boy, no reason to care.

It was a natural question, but hard to answer. To explain why Sabina wanted the boy, she’d have to go back to the first round of the original story. All she could give now was a fragmentary answer.

“It’s because he’s a magician.”

Her answer was simple, but clear despite hiding much. Ashton turned his head slightly. Sabina could see his forehead, nose, and long lashes.

“…For some reason, I already knew he was a magician. That’s why I bought him.”

“Being a magician isn’t a big deal in Brinita.”

“That boy…”

How much should she reveal? Sabina hesitated. She looked down, then up, and saw Ashton looking at her. He seemed like a completely different person from the carefree man who’d barged in yesterday wearing sunglasses and an open shirt. He was so unfamiliar she couldn’t look away.

“…Will be a very powerful magician.”

It was strange Don Slafdi hadn’t recognized the boy’s talent.

“He’s special.”

Sabina’s expression was serious. Or was she always so expressionless? Ashton rubbed his face, looking tired, and gave a messy laugh.

“So that’s it.”

He murmured to himself, then added to Sabina,

“That kid was saved by you because of his talent.”

“…You look tired. I’ll give you a guest room.”

“No.”

Ashton really did look tired, but he smiled at her. He stared at his toes for a moment, then changed his expression completely. Like an actor on stage, he became the cheerful, spontaneous man Sabina had seen yesterday.

“I can’t sleep in front of someone I want to impress.”

Sabina was briefly speechless.

“You still want to impress me?”

Ashton laughed.

“Of course.”

* * *

After Ashton’s mysterious actions, Sabina’s mind slowly calmed as she watched the boy lying like a doll on the bed.

Even after Ashton left, the boy still hadn’t fallen asleep. Sabina pulled up a chair and sat beside him. The boy managed to move his eyes to look at her.

“Hello. I’m Sabina D’Vialis.”

No need to introduce herself; everyone knew that only Sabina D’Vialis in Brinita had such pure black hair and mysterious silver eyes. Rumor had it her relationships with men were complicated. She changed men every few days, totally obsessed with them…

‘So is that why she bought me?’

Logically, it was obvious.

Suspicion and disgust welled up in the boy’s stomach. He tried to glare at Sabina with unfocused eyes.

“…You look angry. Why?”

Sabina looked puzzled.

In three lifetimes, this was the first time the boy had shown such hostility.

Of course, only in this third life did Sabina have a complicated love life. Only now did the boy have reason to be wary. But Sabina considered something else.

‘A reason to be angry…’

“Is it because of Ashton…?”

The boy’s eyes shook.

Ashton was surely the man who’d carried him here. The man who had rendered his former owner, Don Slafdi, powerless and looked at him with a chilling smile.

What had that man done to Don Slafdi? What happened to him? Could he have died? Could a guest really have hurt the owner of Carnival? How would he deal with the consequences…?

No, Don Slafdi wasn’t important. The most important question was something else.

Suddenly, a cool hand touched the boy’s forehead. Sabina swept his bangs aside and placed her small hand there.

“You can’t detoxify Gelopina with neutral magic. They don’t sell detox scrolls for it, so you just have to wait until it wears off naturally. Sleep now. You’ll be busy starting tomorrow. I have a lot for you to do.”

The boy felt a dizzying sensation at the mention of having much to do. He tried to move his fingertips or lips, struggling with all his might, but all he managed was a slight twitch. Still, Sabina caught that movement.

Suddenly, her hair fell across the boy’s vision. Sabina had leaned in, wanting to hear if the boy tried to say something. She brought her ear close to his dry lips, focusing all her senses.

It took the boy an eternity to form a simple sentence. Amid countless breaths and broken syllables, he finally pieced together a clear sound.

—What…?

It was almost laughably simple, but Sabina showed no sign of disappointment. In fact, she didn’t feel that way at all.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t tell you. You have to study.”

The boy stared blankly at Sabina. She looked down at him, her face calm as she explained further.

“The academy entrance exam is at the end of July. There’s only a month and a half left, and you have a mountain of books to read.”

What came out of Sabina’s mouth was something the boy had never expected. He was of low birth, destined for either hard labor or to be a noble’s plaything—never a path he could choose himself. That was up to those in power. The right to sell the boy had belonged to Don Slafdi, not the boy himself.

“I’m going to send you to school.”

Her cold, small hand closed the boy’s eyelids. He let himself relax under her touch, breathing heavily. The Gelopina had relaxed his body so much that his heart, which had been beating slowly, began to quicken.

“You’re special.”

Sabina whispered again, repeating what she’d told Ashton.

“You were born with a unique attribute.”

The boy had an attribute as rare as Sabina’s ‘time’. Because of his existence, many academic papers would be discarded and even textbooks would be rewritten, just as Sabina’s presence had changed academia.

The original Sabina hadn’t seen how this child grew up at school, graduated, or became a great magician. But any skilled gardener knows, from the moment a seed sprouts, how it will grow. She knew without seeing. This child would surely grow into a magnificent tree.

Sending such a child to end his life as a slave would be a terrible waste.

At the same time, his attribute was so dangerous that he must be sent to school and taught to control himself early on. If someone like Reyes Brinita got hold of him and he lost control, it could be a disaster.

Sabina slowly lifted her hand from the boy’s eyelids.

“Good night.”

The boy’s fingertips twitched. Sabina gave him a name.

“Good night, Helio. See you in the morning.”

* * *

Ashton Bryant stayed up all night.

There was so much to do. So much to think about.

‘Sabina D’Vialis is more naive and shortsighted than her image suggests.’

She was a renowned scholar and a great magician, famous even in Retona, a country with no connection to magic. But outstanding scholarship doesn’t always mean sharp realism or clever sophistication. Ashton had been reminded of that yesterday.

She’d honestly answered that she came to buy a person when asked what she was looking for. Ashton would never have been so naive.

When asked why she wanted to buy the boy, Sabina answered truthfully—partially, at least. Ashton would have smiled and lied.

‘Well, maybe it’s better that she’s a bit careless. That way, she won’t be suspected.’

Ashton decided to think positively.

‘Anyway, “Helio” ended up with Sabina, just as I wanted.’

Now that Sabina had the boy, it was just beginning.

“If she wants the slave boy, I should give him to her…”

Ashton muttered to himself as he slipped his arms into his shirt.

“If she wants the ideal man, I should gladly become one.”

He had to stay by her side like a fortress.

He couldn’t let Reyes Brinita get his hands on the time magician’s heart.