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Chapter 7
“If you keep releasing that much magic, won’t it be hard for Jeina? You’re so reckless….”
“Don’t call her by her name.”
“And who are you to say that? Jeina was the one who asked to be called that first. Right?”
Hilbenzia deliberately ran her fingers through Jeina’s soft hair.
Mikael’s eyes darkened at the touch, but he didn’t release magic like before.
“Isn’t this exactly what you wanted from me? Showing off yesterday at the Mage Tower, saying I absolutely shouldn’t leave food uneaten…”
Jeina recalled Hilbenzia watching her intently yesterday.
“Yesterday, I was sure we were in a corner with no one around, using soundproof magic… but you eavesdropped on everything without the caster noticing. You’re like a creepy old lady.”
“The dining hall is my territory. How could I not hear?”
Hilbenzia’s voice was lazy, yet her presence was by no means weak. She wasn’t intimidated by Mikael at all.
I feel like I’ve intruded where I shouldn’t have.
Mikael had thought Hilbenzia would soon leave after reacting indifferently, and Hilbenzia assumed she wouldn’t run into him in the kitchen… it had become a hassle.
Well, I guess I don’t need to care about it.
Jeina recalled that in the novel The Sword of Revenge, although the two didn’t get along well, they never became deeply entangled.
It’ll just be a brief clash. They both have duties at the Mage Tower, so we probably won’t meet much from now on.
Soon, their relationship would return to normal. Right now, they were just being proud. Jeina decided not to concern herself with them and focus on her own matters.
“Excuse me, but may I step away for a moment? I want to eat a bit more lunch.”
To others, the amount might have seemed large, but for Jeina, it was far from enough.
As she rose from her seat, the stifling atmosphere lightened slightly.
“Oh, don’t worry about me. Continue your conversation.”
Jeina got up diligently and served herself more food.
The menu was the same white bread she had enjoyed yesterday.
Even if she took a lot, it disappeared quickly due to her small size. It was a bit inconvenient to go back and forth multiple times, but there was no helping it.
“I’m back. Sorry for interrupting.”
When Jeina sat down with her bread, the two spoke in a tone that sounded slightly exasperated.
“Jeina… you’re really a rare child. It’s not easy to act so casually between me and the little one.”
“Is it carelessness or just not knowing fear? Anyway, it’s different from how happy you look when eating bread.”
Jeina blinked her large eyes at their words but soon looked back at the bread on her plate. No matter what, the smell of freshly baked bread was more important.
“But why is it the same white bread as yesterday?”
The tense atmosphere between Mikael and Hilbenzia had quietly eased.
Mikael rested his chin on the table with a bored expression. Hilbenzia shrugged and chuckled softly.
“Sure, thanks for enjoying the bread, but there are other dishes too. Why not try something else?”
“The food in the dining hall changes every day. Today there’s seafood.”
“Why? Don’t you like seafood?”
“It’s not that.”
Jeina looked quietly at the dishes and said,
“I don’t know how to eat those dishes.”
Yesterday, she had been too thrilled with just the bread to think about other foods. But today, she wanted to try other dishes.
The seafood smelled rich, spicy, and delicious, prepared in various ways. She was very curious. But the seafood was covered in hard shells.
It looked similar to what she had in Korea, but in her previous life, she had never encountered expensive seafood, so she didn’t know how to eat it.
“So that’s why you only ate white bread yesterday?”
“That too… but for me, the bread was enough. It was really delicious.”
Yes, that was truly enough. She had no desire for excess. If she indulged, she would want more, and her attachment to life would grow.
She had nowhere to go. She was currently under the Mage Tower’s care, but she didn’t know when she might be cast out. And in such circumstances, indulging in ‘luxury’ was absurd.
What would happen if she grew accustomed to fine cuisine? What if Diamid noticed? Unplanned incidents could occur—like meeting Hilbenzia just now.
So, she had to maintain her simplicity.
“….”
“….”
For some reason, Mikael and Hilbenzia had gone quiet.
Hilbenzia was understandable, but Mikael had been eager to provoke her just moments ago.
As Jeina wondered if there was something odd in her response, Mikael spoke seriously.
“Hey. Things will get better once this passes. Surely the Mage Tower Master won’t leave you like this forever.”
For some reason, Mikael’s voice sounded softer than before.
“Really. It’s tough now, but it’s only temporary.”
Was it just her imagination? It sounded like comfort.
Mikael, who had constantly been picking on her since arriving at the Mage Tower, couldn’t possibly be comforting her, could he?
Hilbenzia, beside him, echoed in a low voice.
“Yeah. Surely the Mage Tower Master wouldn’t let you live like this forever…”
They didn’t explicitly say anything, but Jeina understood.
They think Diamid will change.
But from the novel, she knew.
Diamid would never fully acknowledge her as his daughter.
He would cruelly turn his back on her and let her die, even though he had the power to protect her.
Yet still, the two seemed genuinely concerned, and Jeina couldn’t speak for a moment.
Some corner of my heart feels strangely ticklish.
Since coming to the Mage Tower, she had thought that being abandoned by even her father meant she couldn’t form deep bonds with anyone.
But at the same time, it made life convenient. A quiet life where no one demanded anything of her.
I thought that way of living was most reasonable… so why all of a sudden…
She chuckled quietly to herself. She realized she was taking things too seriously.
To Mikael and Hilbenzia, she probably meant nothing.
They only see me as a toy or a tool.
She shouldn’t trust anyone. Whenever she wanted to lean on someone or act spoiled, Jeina reminded herself:
I’m the only one who can protect me.
She clenched her small hands resolutely. She was completely alone. She could never forget that.
Time passed.
Jeina had assumed her life in the Mage Tower would be quiet and calm.
The small indulgences she wished for had no assumption of “together with someone.” In her imagination, she was always alone.
But.
“Hey. You didn’t show fear or cry in front of me, so don’t do it in front of others either. I always have to come first. Got it?”
“Last time, Hilbenzia also said something, but didn’t she want to bother me?”
“Ah, shut up. My mind changed. What are you gonna do about it?”
Mikael frequently appeared in front of Jeina without reason, always looking for a quarrel.
It was really childish. Since he couldn’t tease her, he thought no one else should either.
A disciple of Diamid should be extremely busy, yet he made time just to say this.
Such an unpredictable person. Not that I want to understand him.
Hilbenzia also occasionally came to see Jeina.
She was known to scold anyone who left food uneaten, but it was really just a request for research cooperation. She wasn’t truly a bad person.
She argued that if someone left the food she prepared, it would naturally hurt, and they must pay the price.
“So, Jeina, you don’t intend to leave any food?”
“Everything Hilbenzia prepares is always delicious.”
Hilbenzia pretended to be tearful, saying “What a pity,” but Jeina didn’t think she looked that sad.
With all the attention from Mikael and Hilbenzia, Jeina became somewhat of a celebrity in the Mage Tower.
At first, it was because she was a rare child there, but now she noticed people staring wherever she went.
Among them was Moben, who had offered to help her in the library.
Since the library incident, he hadn’t spoken to her, but he would quietly watch her from afar before disappearing.
Is this the end with him?
When asked about her relationship with Mikael, she had answered “older brother,” and since then, they had inadvertently stuck together.
If Moben genuinely cared, seeing her with Mikael would have reassured him.
Jeina pushed thoughts of Moben aside and looked around.
The submission deadline for research was approaching. It was a busy time for all Mage Tower wizards.
Mikael, a disciple of the Mage Tower Master, and Hilbenzia, the Tower’s top alchemist, were both swamped.
But I have nothing to do.
Having done housework since early childhood, Jeina felt awkward with such leisure.
In her past life, wandering between relatives and under her father’s care, and even in the dragon village of her current life, she had always planned her mornings carefully.
Now, she had nothing to do. No one was assigning her tasks.
Maybe I’ll clean my room.
