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chapter 47
The exam lasted for a week.
Ritema, who had maintained her confident attitude until the end, succeeded in becoming the youngest knight ever—with an impressively easy score.
She came in second place.
The one who ranked first was a man with dark reddish-brown hair.
His name sounded strangely familiar, but I couldn’t recall why and gave up trying.
“Did you see?”
When Ritema spotted me, she ran up and hugged me tight.
Her excited, unsteady breathing tickled my neck.
Though it was a cool May day, the warmth between us felt almost stifling.
“How was it?”
“…You were amazing.”
Even though she’d been at a clear disadvantage in both build and experience, Ritema had crushed her opponent as if to ask who cared about such things.
I might train just enough to protect myself, but for people who’d chosen this path… it must be despairing to face someone like her.
Each time she won, her eyes sought me out—and somehow, it felt as though I was right there beside her, electricity running through my whole body.
“My honor—it’s all yours.”
Her voice burned, hot and alive.
“I’ll give it all to you.”
Still holding my shoulders, Ritema grinned.
As if this—her victory, her glory—was nothing.
“So let’s make up, okay? Forgive me.”
Apparently, Ritema had thought my discomfort was because I was angry at her.
Honestly, I could see how she’d think that.
I wondered how to explain myself properly—without letting her misunderstand.
“Ritema, I’m not mad.”
“Really?”
She looked doubtful.
“Yeah. I was just… flustered, that’s all.”
“Then tell me why you were flustered. That way, I won’t make the same mistake again.”
It wasn’t a hard question—just a deeply embarrassing one.
We couldn’t stay standing in the hallway forever, so we moved elsewhere.
Ritema naturally took my hand and followed close behind.
When we found some shade, I smoothed my hair and met her gaze directly.
“My secret got exposed. Who could stay calm after that? I mean, I couldn’t.”
“So the fact that you like me—that’s the secret?”
“Damn it.”
The curse slipped out before I could stop it.
I rubbed my face roughly.
“Yeah. So please—please, don’t bring it up again. Not until I’m the one to say it.”
Ritema didn’t seem to quite understand, but instead of pressing further, she simply nodded.
They said the knighting ceremony would take nearly two months to prepare.
It would be troublesome to leave and come back, so I decided to stay in the Imperial City until then.
The problem was that time at the townhouse passed unbearably slowly.
The capital was always crowded, and being constantly on guard made me too anxious to go out much.
“I’ve already read every book I brought two or three times…”
The library here held the same titles as the ones in our main estate—no novelty to enjoy.
And I didn’t want to practice magic while I was here, either.
I’d already finished replying to Maili’s letter, too.
“There’s really nothing to do.”
Just when boredom was about to shrivel me up, an invitation arrived—for both Ritema and me.
“It’s from a well-known noble family in the capital. Though, technically, they’re still new.”
A “new” family meant they’d held a title for fewer than five generations—
In other words, they had little history.
Rozalyn seemed displeased, but Lady Carlin didn’t see any issue.
“It’s fine. If you’re interested, you can attend.”
It was a birthday banquet for the family’s second daughter.
Honestly, I didn’t even know the girl’s name, so I wasn’t sure why we were invited.
“The elders probably just considered our family background.”
Truthfully, I wasn’t all that interested. It wouldn’t matter whether I went or not.
After thinking a bit, I decided to let Ritema choose.
“What do you want to do?”
“If you’re going, I’ll go too.”
“I was only going to go if you did.”
We went back and forth with pointless words for a while—
and in the end, we decided to attend.
We were both bored, after all.
Might as well use it as a change of pace.
They called her Nieville—a name earned for never once failing a job.
Swift, precise, and clean in her work, she was a well-known mage in the underworld.
Originally born in the slums, she’d grown up in a house with too many siblings and too little food.
Fortunately, she’d discovered her magical talent early and escaped the cycle of poverty.
But handling all sorts of illegal work meant she could never live openly among normal people.
Even so, she’d never really minded—until now.
“Damn it. I never thought I’d end up a fugitive like this…”
It had all started with one dangerous, yet irresistibly tempting job.
She’d planned to take it easy after that, maybe rest her body for a while.
But when she stopped by the guild branch for the first time in ages,
a strange, shady man approached her immediately.
“They say you’re the most capable person in this line of work.”
The target, unbelievably, was the Grand Duchy of Edendale.
She didn’t know much or care about the upper-class world,
but even she knew that name.
They didn’t flaunt power publicly, yet everyone feared them.
“I’ve gone after a count or two before, but this? This is suicide.”
She had recoiled instantly,
but the payment he offered made it impossible to refuse outright.
Seeing her hesitation, the man smiled slyly and leaned closer.
“What if I told you… the Edendale family has no mage?”
“…No mage? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re lying to draw me in.”
Her suspicion was reasonable.
Every noble family, at minimum, hired at least one personal mage.
The higher their rank, the more mages they kept—if only for prestige.
She despised them, comparing them to pampered pets,
but she never underestimated their power.
“The family’s second son is a mage,” the man explained.
That said it all. She smirked.
Some families thought having a child with magical talent meant they could dismiss their hired mages.
“They say he’s a genius, but he’s thirteen. Compared to you, he’s nothing.”
The odds seemed better now.
After confirming that the man’s information was true, she accepted the job.
She didn’t even have to touch anyone from the family—
just quietly snatch a girl who was staying there as a guest.
It sounded easy enough.
“Damn it, I should’ve refused anyway!”
The kidnapping itself went smoothly. The problem came after.
Cleaning up was part of her job,
but the client never got back to her.
Apparently, the idiot leading the group had mishandled a rare magical device and broke it.
So she went to check personally—and that’s when her nightmare began.
“This is exactly why I never took jobs involving high nobles! What good is all this money if I die for it?!”
The tracking magic chasing her was relentless—viciously so.
Even when she poured all her remaining energy into casting confusion spells,
they pierced through as if it were nothing.
No ordinary thirteen-year-old could do that.
“He really was a prodigy.”
She’d survived in this business so long thanks to her skill in escape.
But now… she had the sinking feeling she’d finally reached her limit.
Of course, she’d fight to the end—
but it felt inevitable that she’d be caught.
She kept moving between cities,
since crowds interfered with tracking magic.
Eventually, she made it all the way to the Imperial Capital.
“What a nightmare this is…”
Catching her breath in a quiet corner of a park,
she downed a stamina potion.
Running on barely one or two hours of sleep a night,
she felt like she might die from exhaustion before being captured.
Her head pounded. She groaned softly.
Then—
“I honestly didn’t expect things to turn out like that.”
“Yeah, it was pretty intense.”
Children’s voices approached.
By habit, she started to hide—but then narrowed her eyes at the girl among them.
“She looks familiar…”
Then it hit her.
It was the same girl she had kidnapped.
Her mind whirred, and her decision came quickly.
“I can use her to buy time—enough to secure a proper escape route.”
If she was lucky, she might even make it across the border.
Freedom, at last.
Dragging her weary body forward, she stepped into their path.
“Hi there, kids. Sorry to interrupt for a moment.”
The boy didn’t matter. She only needed the girl.
Because of that cursed child, her mana reserves were nearly empty—
but she still had enough to take her again.
“Come with me for a bit, sweetie.”
