Chapter 24: The Miracle of Love (2)

Tehis remained silent for a moment. The trust and support Chloe gave him weighed heavily on him.

Not in a bad way, but in a way that filled his heart completely.

However, that also increased the burden of his choice. Whichever faction he chose would not only affect him but also her.

‘She said she supports me, huh….’

Tehis suddenly became curious. He wanted to know what Chloe would allow him to do and to what extent.

If he were to confront Lucas and kill him with his own hands. Or if he were to sever the heads of the imperial family she had recently formed ties with.

‘Would she still treat me the same as she does now?’

Tehis did not overlook an important fact. No matter how soft he appeared to Chloe, he was, at his core, a born killer.

He might have been an ordinary baby when he was born, but that was how he grew up. It wasn’t for no reason that the flames of malicious rumors about him grew stronger and stronger.

He didn’t kill without reason. But if necessary, he could kill civilians without hesitation.

Regardless of age or gender, if someone was deemed an enemy, he cut them down. He had no qualms about desecrating the corpses of important figures to provoke the enemy.

Tehis Escalante was such a person. He was utterly desensitized to the tears and pain of others. This had happened even before he experienced the long wars.

…Except when it came to Chloe.

‘This is troublesome.’

The war hadn’t even started yet, but worries were already piling up.

It wasn’t simply a matter of killing or not killing. He was concerned that Chloe might witness the inevitable cruelty of the battlefield and be disappointed in him.

After all, she was a mage of the Mage Tower who valued life above all else.

—Tess? Is something wrong?

“Hmm. It’s nothing.”

Tehis didn’t want to betray Chloe’s trust. Though he never said it out loud, he knew she thought of him as a good person. He also couldn’t ignore the premise that his choices would be the best ones.

So he willingly decided to become the person she believed him to be.

He resolved to set aside personal feelings and make decisions for the North rather than himself. Even if he led a war, he resolved not to abandon his humanity.

First…

“Let’s start by talking to Duke Fernand.”

Standing at such a critical crossroads, he chose to proceed with caution. With the situation still unclear as to who the real instigator was, he couldn’t make any hasty decisions.

In the end, it all came back to the same conclusion.

Meeting Duke Fernand.

However, learning in advance that one of the rebel forces’ key allies was the barbarians was a gain in itself. At the very least, he could prepare for the possibility of betrayal.

—If you need anything, let me know. Although there are limitations, I might be able to help a little.

“Thank you, Chloe. But you’ve already been a great help. I’ll handle the rest.”

—Are you sure? I’d like to make you at least one more defensive artifact…

“That would be nice, but what I need right now is something else.”

—What is it?”

Tehis glanced out the window. Despite the biting cold, the sky was clear and free of clouds. Thanks to this, he could easily see the sun still high in the sky.

It meant he had a little time left.

“Chloe.”

—Yes?

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him. The situation reminded him of last month in the carriage, when she had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. It was the same sense of understanding conveyed by simply calling her name.

The only difference this time was…

“Chloe, I need you.”

There was an unprecedented certainty in Tehis’s voice. It was the belief that she would undoubtedly grant his request.

And Chloe responded to that belief.

***

‘This wasn’t part of the plan.’

Chloe hurriedly washed up and prepared to leave. In truth, she didn’t need to bathe, but…

“It’s just because.”

The conscious muttering cut off her thoughts. She pushed any further considerations aside, telling herself she was simply going to see him.

「Friend, going out! Going out again!」

*Chirp, chirp!*

The legendary creatures, who had been neglected for the past few days, flapped around noisily in protest. It was the typical sulking of children demanding attention.

「Sorry, I’ll be back soon.」

「Want to see Mom!」

「Let’s go see Riel together when I get back.」

「Okay! Okay!」

*Chirp!*

Excited, Elle grabbed Ray and headed to the playroom on their own. Watching this, Chloe thought they had grown up a bit, though their appearance hadn’t changed much.

‘I wonder when they’ll become adults.’

She made a mental note to ask Riel about it later as she left her private room.

*Pop!*

Using the warp gate, Chloe arrived at the Grand Duchy and made eye contact with a familiar coachman. She waved him off as he stepped down from the carriage, seemingly just having arrived.

“I’ll manage on my own; there’s no time.”

“Yes, Miss Chloe.”

Flying through the sky was, of course, faster than traveling by road. For this reason, Chloe took to the air.

The journey to the Grand Ducal Mansion was smooth. She seemed to arrive in no time, cutting through the biting winter wind. However…

She paused.

‘What is this?’

She had just faintly sensed a flow of mana. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, barely within her range of detection. She wondered if her tired body had imagined it.

“…”

It was probably nothing. She turned to continue on her way, but her body refused to move forward.

It was an inconvenient time for the Empire to be at war. It was an inconvenient time for this to be Tehis’s territory, given his enmity with the dark mages. And it was an inconvenient time for him to be preparing to leave for a long period.

There couldn’t have been a more opportune moment for someone to plot something sinister.

“Sigh.”

Chloe ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She had intended to simply see Tehis’s face and send him off, but now something was bothering her. If she ignored it and something went wrong, she knew she would regret it.

‘There’s no choice.’

Her delicate hand reached for her pendant. Rather than meeting him with a nagging sense of unease, she thought it better to take some action.

“Tess.”

—Chloe? Has something happened?

“I felt an artificial flow of mana on the way to the Grand Ducal Mansion. It disappeared so quickly that it might have been my imagination, but it’s bothering me, so I’m going to look around.”

—I’ll be there shortly. Where exactly are you?

“I’ll keep moving, so use the bracelet to find me. Do you remember how to use it?”

—Yes, Chloe. See you soon.

The bracelet, which seemed to primarily serve as a defensive artifact, also had a tracking function. Its original purpose as a pair artifact was to allow them to locate each other.

‘Alright, let’s take a look around.’

Sharpening her senses, Chloe flew at a low altitude. She intended to quickly scan the area, knowing Tehis didn’t have much time left.

***

“It was a waste.”

“It was.”

As Chloe’s shoulders sagged, Tehis patted her reassuringly. Just as they said, they had found nothing. It had been a complete waste of time.

“I definitely felt something…”

“I believe you, Chloe. This place is relatively easy to infiltrate, so it wouldn’t be surprising if dark mages were hiding here. We simply didn’t have enough time to find them.”

“For someone who says he believes me, you’re awfully calm.”

At her suspicious gaze, Tehis replied nonchalantly.

“This place has always been teeming with people who want to kill me, so it’s nothing new. I’m just worried that this time, the harm might extend to the residents of the territory. Many of my forces and I will be away for a while.”

“……”

Chloe remained silent for a moment. She felt both pity for Tehis’s indifferent attitude toward the intent to kill him and concern for the domain that would soon be left empty. 

‘It’s hard for me to do anything about it.’

A mage from the Mage Tower directly managing the security of a continental domain? It was an absurd combination of words.

Moreover, she had already spent a lot of time on matters outside the Mage Tower because of Tehis. With the Elder Council meeting approaching, taking on more responsibilities was not a good idea.

‘Should I really just stand by and do nothing?’

As Chloe pondered what she could do in her current position, she suddenly lifted her head. In the distance, a sharp magic structure caught her eye.

“The boundary magic circle installed on the warp gate doesn’t seem to have been very effective.”

“That’s not true. Thanks to it, we were able to filter out some suspicious groups a few times. Thank you, Chloe.”

“If it was helpful, then I’m glad, but…”

But if it couldn’t fulfill its role when it was most needed…

At her clicking tongue, Tehis shook his head.

“You’ve already helped plenty. More than you think.”

It wasn’t just that she had shown him love. Chloe had unknowingly helped him in countless ways, too many to count on two hands.

Her contributions during the Winter Forest expedition could be chalked up to their contract, but what about the Growth Potion? It had brought value to a barren and vast land.

From installing alarm magic circles on the warp gate, to assisting during ambushes, to gifting him defensive artifacts, to smoothing relations with the imperial family…

Tehis had received an immeasurable amount from Chloe. Even if she claimed she was merely repaying his kindness, the value of her contributions didn’t diminish.

Mages were often called performers of miracles.

Miracle. That word suited her perfectly.

To Tehis, Chloe was a miracle.