Chapter 18: Ideal Type (1)  

A heavy silence lingered. After what felt like an eternity, Lucas opened his mouth slightly.  

“…I’m no longer rational, Chloe.”  

He rubbed his face with both hands and let out a dry laugh.  

He was right. The white mage Lucas she had once known had been buried on the same day his entire family was killed.  

The only reason he had pretended to be normal was that he hadn’t completely lost the part of him that cherished her.  

The time he had spent with Chloe at the Mage Tower was longer than the time he had spent with his actual family. Even when they were both absorbed in their studies as they grew up, they met regularly.  

This was an unusual occurrence in the world of mages, where extreme individualism was the norm. To him, she was practically a second family.  

However, hatred was stronger than affection and had the power to completely change someone’s life. Even a mage’s thirst for knowledge couldn’t overcome the desire for revenge.  

Chloe will be fine even if I leave. I have to take my revenge.  

With that resolution, Lucas walked the path of blood.  

It began when he set a trap that blew up an entire district of the capital, along with several Imperial Knights. He then sought the downfall of the Emperor, forming alliances with accomplices and continuing his work behind the scenes.  

But he never imagined that Chloe would end up dating Grand Duke Escalante. Leaving her had been his choice, but if he had known this would happen, he would have attacked the North before anything else.  

It was a mistake to leave Escalante alone in an attempt to weaken the Emperor’s power, thinking it would be easier to deal with him later. Contrary to his expectations, the two didn’t drag each other down but instead grew stronger.  

‘I should’ve killed him back during the war….’  

Lucas’s eyes glinted coldly with murderous intent. Lost in his own emotions again, he was snapped out of it by Chloe’s sharp snap of her fingers.  

“Luke, what are you thinking about? I asked if you had anything to drink.”  

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t hear you. I’ll bring something right away.”  

Lucas, returning to his gentle demeanor, answered softly. Chloe gave him a strange look. His behavior was almost like he had split personalities, yet he seemed unaware of it.  

While Lucas prepared tea, Chloe scanned the surroundings. She wanted to find the culprit behind what had made Lucas this way, but nothing stood out to her.  

After all, he was an exceptional mage, so the chances of him keeping anything harmful to himself nearby were slim.  

‘Was it just my imagination?’  

Was this simply a change brought on by being blinded by revenge? 

It felt too unnatural to dismiss so easily, especially with how erratic his behavior had become.  

Perhaps it was something he was consuming. As Chloe organized various hypotheses in her mind, she watched Lucas closely.  

Before long, he returned with a warm cup in hand, smiling softly.  

“Here you go. I hope it suits your taste.”  

“Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”  

“It’s nothing. It’s been so long since we’ve had tea together.”  

“I bet we’re the only mages who sit down for tea and conversation.”  

“Haha, well, Master always did love tea.”  

Lucas, now seated, took a silent sip from his cup. Observing him, Chloe first sniffed the tea. It smelled like ordinary flowers, but just in case, she only wet her lips with it.  

“It smells nice. Can I take some with me?”  

“I’m glad you like it. I’ll pack plenty for you to take to Master. Is he doing well?”  

“Thank you, Luke. Master is as he always is. I’ll pass along your regards.”  

The conversation was so peaceful that it was hard to believe Lucas had been on the verge of an outburst just moments ago. It felt almost surreal, as though they were merely friends who had quarreled and made up.  

‘He’s not even trying to retake control of the mana.’  

Well, the outcome was obvious anyway. No mage foolish enough to pick a fight when they were outmatched in sensitivity and control would ever exist.  

‘Earlier, it seemed like he couldn’t even control himself.’  

It had been close to a rampage, but his rationality had returned so quickly. Puzzled by the phenomenon, Chloe observed Lucas carefully and cautiously brought up the topic.  

“So, what were you planning to do with the magic stones?”  

“I told you, Chloe. They’re for personal use.”  

“What about the magic circle you were drawing at the herbal shop?”  

Instead of answering, Lucas gazed at her silently. He took another sip of tea, then leaned back against the sofa with a faint smile.  

“You really don’t trust me, do you?”  

“Would you trust yourself if you were me?”  

“Haha, is that so?”  

Letting out a dry laugh, Lucas fell silent. After a moment of thought, he spoke in a tone that was both resolute and chilling.  

“Judging by your suspicions, you’re worried about the capital being thrown into chaos during the banquet, right? You don’t care whether the Emperor lives or dies. In fact, considering Escalante, it might even benefit you.”  

Chloe neither confirmed nor denied his words. She simply watched him in silence, and Lucas smiled faintly as he continued.  

“I swear on mana. I won’t use a single one of those magic stones today. Does that put you at ease enough to leave?”  

Chloe’s eyes wavered. As a mage, a vow sworn on mana could not be a lie.  

If Lucas kept quiet today, she would have no justification or reason to intervene. He wasn’t entirely wrong in what he said.  

First, because she was part of the Mage Tower, which didn’t interfere with continental affairs. Second, because the Emperor was a threat to Tehis. Third, because the Empire’s future would eventually be led by the Crown Prince anyway.  

She genuinely wasn’t stopping Lucas from killing the Emperor.  

There was only one thing that bothered her.  

“Promise me that even after today, you won’t target Tehis Escalante.”  

The fact that his target wasn’t just the Emperor.  

Chloe, who had essentially intervened solely for that reason, witnessed Lucas’s face stiffen. When he didn’t immediately answer and remained silent, she prompted him with a light “Hm?” to urge him to agree.  

“It’s pointless to aim for Tess anyway. I’ll be by his side. Wouldn’t it be better for you to use it elsewhere instead?”  

“…….”  

Lucas, his smile completely gone, still didn’t respond. With a faintly furrowed brow, he looked at her, then slowly drank the rest of his tea.  

Gulp, gulp. Without taking his lips off the cup, he drank it all the way to the bottom, then placed the teacup down with a loud clink.  

“About the question you asked earlier. Wouldn’t you answer me first?”  

“…What question?”  

When Chloe asked back, Lucas tilted his head slightly. His voice, calmer than before but without hiding his contempt, spat out the words like venom.  

“Why Escalante, of all people? Why are you so protective of the Grand Duke? Do you really not know what kind of person he is?”  

“You’re the one who doesn’t know what kind of person Tehis Escalante is, Lucas. He’s a victim.”  

“I don’t care what he went through. I can’t forgive what he did to my family.”  

“And what if even that was on the Emperor’s orders?”  

“What are you talking about?”  

Lucas narrowed his eyes as he looked at Chloe. Her calm voice continued, undeterred by his increasingly sharp tone.  

“Kiberun Harpeon hates Escalante. Most of the infamy directed at him was fabricated by the Emperor. How do you think it happened? The Emperor must have issued detailed orders, just like he did to make people like you bear grudges against him or to make him seem like a terrifying monster. Orders like how to kill those accused of treason, how to dispose of their bodies, and so on.”  

“My family didn’t commit treason!”  

“That’s not the point, is it? Don’t you realize that the actions of Tess that you’re so angry about came from the Emperor?”  

Lucas clenched his teeth at Chloe’s cold words. Before he could refute, her voice carried on.  

“You asked me why Escalante, right? The answer to that is simple.”  

Chloe paused for a beat and looked at Lucas quietly. Though she called it simple, the words didn’t come out easily.  

Because I love him.  

She could have said it casually, and it would have explained everything.  

But for some reason, the words caught in her throat and refused to come out.  

‘Because it’s a lie?’  

Or…  

Chloe cut off her thoughts. She pieced together and reassembled external reasons to create a new explanation.  

“…Because he’s my ideal type.”  

“Ideal type?”  

At Lucas’s incredulous expression, Chloe suddenly laughed. It wasn’t a situation to laugh at, but a small chuckle escaped her lips.  

It wasn’t because Lucas’s expression was funny. She wasn’t mocking him either. This entire situation was just absurdly ridiculous.  

Seriously, a mage talking about an ideal type?  

It was different from when she had made excuses to the princess. To say such a thing to her childhood friend, who knew how uninterested she was in romance, and to say it now as a senior mage—it was absurd even to herself.  

And yet, the subject in question was a noble. If she married him, she’d be expelled from the Mage Tower, so it was only natural that her actions, clinging to him just because he was her “ideal type,” didn’t make sense.  

But Chloe was unapologetic. Looking back, it wasn’t entirely wrong.  

“Yes, my ideal type. Tehis Escalante is my ideal type.”  

“And what exactly is your ideal type?”  

At Lucas’s frowning question, Chloe calmly set down her cup. As she thought about how to answer, a face naturally came to mind.  

A coldly handsome yet endearingly cute man. Awkward but subtly skilled, polite yet especially kind to her.  

Someone who gifted her his family’s treasures, prepared clothes for her every season, catered to her tastes, stayed by her side in times of danger. A man who carefully guided her with his large, rough hands and always showed her consideration.  

Someone who, even if he couldn’t smile himself, made her smile.  

“I told you, Luke.”  

Chloe didn’t list every detail about Tehis. There was no need to, nor did she want to.  

There were far too many aspects of him she wanted to keep to herself. How endearing, admirable, kind, and lovable he was.  

Chloe’s lips curved into a soft smile.  

“Tehis Escalante. That man is my ideal type.”  

It wasn’t about why she liked him. It was simply that Tehis Escalante, as a person, was her ideal type.  

That’s just how it turned out.