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Chapter 65
“…Who are you?”
I subtly pulled my body back, stunned that I suddenly had a new nickname. The man widened his eyes, then drooped his shoulders all the way down to the floor as if deeply hurt.
“Do you not remember me because it’s been a while? I’m seriously disappointed, honey. Is this all our relationship amounts to?”
“There is no relationship…”
“So cold. Is it because I didn’t buy you that chocolate cake?”
As if having a new pet name wasn’t enough, he’d turned into a petty brat sulking over chocolate cake.
“Anyway, you’re cute. I’ll buy you a hundred chocolate cakes. Should I get one right now?”
“You’re insane…”
What on earth was he doing? Why was this random stranger acting like he knew me?
‘How does he even know my name?’
Ever since I possessed this body, this was the first time a complete stranger recognized me. And from how familiar he acted, it seemed like we were really close.
But he was clearly an adult, and I was still a bright, hopeful teenager.
Unless…
‘Is he a total creep?’
Unable to make sense of anything, I stared blankly up at him. Just then, the man—who had worked himself up into a frenzy—stomped toward me with heavy, thunderous steps.
“Hey! You, do you know that bastard?”
“Yes…”
—was as far as I got.
Suddenly—snap!—a sharp finger-flicking sound rang out.
The café windows flew open, and a powerful gust of wind roared through.
“Kyaa!”
“W-What the hell?!”
Snap!
With another flick of his fingers, my vision flipped.
“Uwah?!”
In the blink of an eye, a soft cushion enveloped my back. A beautifully painted ceiling came into view—familiar enough that I immediately recognized it. I was lying on a bed.
“H-Huff… Huff…”
What… what just happened?
My heart pounded violently in my chest.
“H-How did—”
“Oh, don’t worry. I just moved us somewhere quieter.”
When I realized we were in a hotel room, the man stretched leisurely, turning toward me.
“It was too noisy back there. Hard to introduce myself with all those eyes on us.”
He hurried over to the head of the bed, grinning. Mischievous amusement sparkled in his eyes.
“I wanted to talk with you, my insanely talented darling.”
“…That insanely talented darling—”
“Yeah, that’s you.”
He pointed right at me with a long index finger. His eyes curved into pretty crescents as he smiled.
Under his long lashes, pale sky-blue eyes shone like a clear pond.
That excessive curiosity of his… was overwhelmingly suffocating.
“You’re Amelia Franc, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
“You’re good at magic. Oh, and they say you whip up high-grade potions like it’s nothing?”
“I-I can, sort of…”
“If you’re humble enough to say that yourself, then your real skill must be insane.”
“…”
“Figures. I like you.”
He smirked and snapped his fingers again.
A moment later, a folding chair from the corner flew over and stopped beside the bed.
The man sat down with all the arrogance in the world, crossing his long legs.
“Before I introduce myself, want to hear something interesting?”
“…?”
“Three.”
He held up three fingers.
“Two.”
Folded one.
“One.”
Folded another.
Right then—BANG!—the door blasted open as if struck by a battering ram. The carved walnut door slammed against the wall as a boy stormed in. He snapped his head sharply toward the man.
“Hi, little lord.”
The boy’s eyes were filled with irritation, all directed at the man. Ignoring that murderous glare completely, the man smiled shyly.
“Your personality’s gotten even worse since I last saw you.”
“So let me get this straight…”
I looked at Felix, who was propping up his chin with arrogant disdain, then sneakily glanced at the man across from him.
When our eyes met, the man beamed. Felix muttered obscenities under his breath, practically choking on them in frustration.
“That guy… is that ‘Kiar Risse’?”
“Yeah. He looks like an idiot, but.”
“Hah. As if an idiot could be this pretty.”
Kiar let out a short laugh. Felix glared viciously, his expression screaming unbelievable.
While the two were busy having a silent death match, I hugged a sofa cushion tightly to my chest and peeked sideways.
‘He’s really Kiar?’
Kiar Risse.
One of the few 6-circle mages on the continent, a genius specializing in offensive magic. Felix’s helper and the right-hand man of the villain who drove the protagonist to the brink of death.
And also an absolutely… deranged lunatic.
If Felix was a ruthless beast, Kiar was the unpredictable kind of crazy no one could control.
His speech, his actions, his thought process—none of it fell within the range of normal human behavior. In the story, he was practically a walking time bomb.
You never knew where he’d go or what he’d do.
High-ranking mages all tended to be a little eccentric, but Kiar was in a league of his own—an outlier among outliers.
‘He really is unique.’
Seeing him in person made everything clear.
‘He’s completely unhinged.’
And he’d lost every last bolt holding him together.
“Why’d you get here so fast?”
“You were the one who told me to hurry.”
Kiar pouted, sprawling lazily on the sofa as if he had no intention of being intimidated by the young heir.
“Sending me that kind of potion is basically telling me to shut up and run here, no? You can’t get me all excited and then treat me like leftovers, Felix.”
“Shut it.”
“So grouchy.”
Kiar clicked his tongue. Then he suddenly turned to me and let out a pitiful whine.
“See that? Isn’t he the coldest boss ever? This is how I’ve had to live, Amelia.”
“…Lord Risse.”
“Ah, just call me Kiar. I’m gonna call you by name anyway, so let’s keep it even.”
He waved dismissively.
True to his free-spirited nature, he didn’t care at all about formalities. He took control of the situation with impressive ease.
I swallowed dryly, tightening my grip on the cushion.
He looked like a carefree slacker on the outside, but—
“You’re the genius who makes high-grade potions like they’re nothing.”
His clear, piercing eyes seemed to look straight through me.
“Hm. You’re even younger than I expected.”
Kiar scanned me from head to toe, then smirked.
“You’re fifteen, right? Who taught you magic? Wait—how’d you learn to make potions? Who taught you? A master? Judging from your potions, your mana control is really good, and your cohesion is impressive too—”
“C-Can you ask one question at a time?”
“Nope. I’m dying to know right now. If I go one at a time, we’ll be here all night.”
Kiar propped his chin up.
“Felix hyped you up, you know.”
He said that—
“In the entire history of the Proud family, an unprecedented great mage has finally appeared.”
