HCV 18

Chapter 18

‘What is this… is he asking for my hand?’

Feeling like a trained puppy, I held out my hand — and he immediately grasped my wrist.

Gasp. His hand… it’s really warm.

Cayenne’s hand was much hotter than I’d expected.

With such a cold expression, I thought even his body temperature would be like ice.

I just stared blankly at the warm hand wrapping around my wrist.

His long, white fingers were neat and elegant, yet from this close, I could tell — this was unmistakably a man’s hand.

The joints were pronounced, veins slightly bulging. My thin wrist, caught in that large hand, looked like a fragile twig.

Thump.

Suddenly, my heart started to pound violently.

Thump, thump.

What the heck? Why am I like this?

Is this seriously happening just because a handsome guy grabbed my wrist?

Get a grip, you idiot! He may be gorgeous, but he’s still your boss!

And it hasn’t even been that long since I got betrayed by my fiancé!

I was spiraling into self-disgust when—

Wait. Something feels… different.

This wasn’t just a simple flutter of nerves.

It felt deeper — like a pulse resonating through my veins.

Strange, yes, but not entirely unfamiliar.

I blinked and froze in shock.

“…Huh?”

A luminous sky-blue glow — shimmering like a fairy’s wings from legend — rose over my hand.

Compared to the magic circle I’d seen from Cayenne earlier, it was tiny and faint, almost flickering out… yet undeniably there.

“See?”

Cayenne tilted his head slightly, meeting my eyes.

His low, pleasant voice brushed against my ear.

“You’re not blocked.”

Wha…

Wait, what?

I blinked dumbly, glancing between the pale blue light and Cayenne’s face.

That can’t be right.

“C-Couldn’t that just be from you, Your Grace? There’s no way this is my magic.”

“My power isn’t this feeble.”

Cayenne gave a small scoff.

It was a little annoying — but not wrong. The glow was weak and wavering, nothing like his.

Then this is really… mine?

I stared at the faint blue shimmer in a daze.

“But the doctor said… I’d never be able to use magic again.”

“These days, quacks are everywhere.”

“B-but that doctor was supposed to be famous!”

He’d been personally recommended by Felix’s mother, the Marchioness of Rheim, who’d searched high and low for the best healer for her future daughter-in-law.

She’d bragged about it so much that I still remembered, even though I was just a child.

“Really? What kind of ‘famous’ doctor?”

“Well, one of my… ex-acquaintances had no magical power at all. But after being treated by that doctor, he somehow became able to channel mana.”

“…Was that right after your mana conduit got blocked?”

“Huh? How did you know that?”

“…”

Cayenne didn’t answer — he just looked at me.

With a gaze that seemed… pitying.

“A clever fool, then.”

“Pardon?”

“Try thinking carefully about what you just said, rookie.”

“Uh…?”

I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I did as he said.

Now that I thought about it — the timing was awfully coincidental.

The period when I lost my magic due to an accident… perfectly overlapped with the time Felix suddenly awakened his mana and began to rise as a gifted magic swordsman.

Back then, I’d thought — well, at least one of us had magical talent. Better him than no one at all…

Hmm.

Wait.

A crazy possibility flashed through my mind.

No way. It couldn’t be that. That’s insane.

Still, I hesitantly asked Cayenne,

“Um, Your Grace… is it possible to transfer mana… to another person?”

Cayenne narrowed his eyes slightly, like a teacher finally watching a slow student catch on.

“It’s possible.”

“…!”

“Though it would require using forbidden black magic.”

Black magic.

That word again.

I’d just been thinking about it a few days ago — wondering if my uncle had maybe used it to brainwash me into being his obedient little pawn. I’d dismissed the thought as absurd.

But twice in one week? Coincidence?

But back then, Felix’s family was a ruined noble house. There’s no way they could’ve afforded something as expensive as black magic… right?

It didn’t make sense. Then again, nothing that’s happened to me has made sense.

An uncle who stole his dead brother’s household from his orphaned niece.

A fiancé who cheated on me with my childhood friend.

Yeah — “common sense” had long been shattered in my world.

Desperately, I asked,

“Then… is it possible to take back mana that was transferred to someone else?”

To my cautious question, Cayenne answered as if I’d just asked what one plus one was.

“As long as you don’t make contact. Then the mana can’t flow.”

“…!”

At that instant, a wave of memories crashed over me.

Felix’s face — always acting annoyed by me, yet occasionally pulling me into his arms with a lazy, half-hearted gesture.

And me… feeling relieved by that — thinking, Oh, he doesn’t completely hate me after all.

Crack.

My teeth ground together.

“Ha. Seriously…”

I want to kill him. I want to murder him.

The fury toward Felix — which I’d forgotten for a brief while because of my uncle — blazed back to life.

All this time, he’d been leeching off me, stealing my mana little by little.

And I’d mistaken it for affection.

No physical proof yet — but emotionally, I was certain.

My whole body trembled with rage.

How should I destroy that shameless thief… creatively?

Fuel poured onto the fire of my vengeance.

Still, I turned to Cayenne and said sincerely,

“Your Grace, thank you.”

I meant it.

Until today, no one had ever told me I could use magic again.

No one had ever suggested that Felix might have stolen my mana.

Even if I’d come up with the idea on my own, people would’ve just called me a jealous, hysterical woman — dumped by her successful fiancé.

But Cayenne Kreuz, the Archmage himself, the current Tower Master, had just confirmed it was possible.

That alone felt like gaining an ally I could truly rely on.

Of course, to him it was probably just an offhand comment — something obvious and trivial.

But to me, it meant the world.

“Thanks to you, I’ve realized something important. I’m really grateful!”

Yes — I was right to respect this man.

I was so glad I got the chance to work beside him!

The moment that heartfelt thought crossed my mind—

“…!”

Cayenne’s hand — still resting on my wrist — suddenly froze.

‘Huh?’

In an oddly stiff motion, he released me.

“W-what. It’s nothing worth thanking me for.”

He turned his chair abruptly, facing away from me.

“To me, this is as natural as breathing.”

What… why did he just stutter like that?

That doesn’t suit him at all!

If I had said that, I’d look like a complete idiot. But somehow, with that commanding voice of his, it still sounded kind of cool.

Still… why was he turning his back on me?

And I definitely saw it this time — the back of his neck, visible above his collar, had turned slightly red.

What’s this? His neck keeps getting flushed. Could it be…

Is the room too hot?

Cayenne loosened his cravat with a quiet sigh.

My heart dropped again.

Of course! The air must feel stuffy to him!

“I’m so sorry, Your Grace!”

I jumped to my feet and rushed to the curtains.

“What are you—”

“I’ll air the room out right away!”

How could I not have noticed my boss’s discomfort sooner?

That was a huge failure as a secretary!

Deeply reflecting on my mistake, I hurried to cool the office.

Just the thought of getting fired for carelessness made my stomach twist.

Of course — getting this job was the first stroke of luck in my entire life.

Everyone gets one chance, right?

I’ll hold on to this luck, get my family back, recover my mana…

And take back the life I wasted being everyone’s doormat.

“Wait—why all of a sudden?”

Cayenne’s slightly bewildered voice echoed behind me as I diligently threw open every window in his office.