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Chapter 24
“Are you all right?”
“…I’m fine. I’m sorry for dragging you here so suddenly.”
Inside the carriage speeding toward the Mage Tower.
Elysia apologized to Jerome. He must have been confused, being suddenly caught up and running with her. Thankfully, by the time they reached the main gate, he had followed without a word, allowing her to ride the carriage in peace.
“I’m fine. I cast a protective spell the moment you started running.”
“Whew, that’s a relief.”
“…”
Perhaps because of the argument with the Duke earlier, Jerome kept glancing at Elysia, looking uneasy the entire way to the Mage Tower. He hesitated, lips twitching as if he had something to say, then cautiously added,
“…My lady, I’m worried this might upset you, but the Duke wasn’t entirely wrong. I made a mistake.”
“What kind of mistake?”
“The fact that you were coming to take a test at the Mage Tower has already spread quite a bit. We tried to keep it quiet, but there was the incident at the imperial palace, and with all the preparations, there are just too many eyes and ears in the tower… And since we officially brought gifts to the Duke’s estate, rumors are inevitable.”
The nobility would definitely gossip.
“The villainess of Sempherion went to the Mage Tower for an ability test!”
“And the results—people will be curious about those too.”
No matter what she did, it was bound to become a hot topic among high society. The Duke must have been worried about that—afraid she’d become a laughingstock.
But still, I didn’t think he’d try to stop the test entirely.
His personality was definitely twisted. Elysia had no idea how to improve their relationship moving forward.
Still, the fact that his disappointment level dropped… Let’s just be glad about that!
Yes, unexpectedly, rather than raising his disappointment level, it had gone down! Even Elysia wasn’t sure how she managed that, or why it hadn’t gone up.
Maybe the standards are lower because I’m a villainess?
It was a relief.
∥“This is why you should live like a scoundrel. When someone who messes up all the time does even a little good, it looks impressive.”∥
You’re not the one to say that, lol.
Officially encouraging scoundrel behavior, lol.
Elysia passed the time during the boring ride by reading the chat.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Jerome’s voice.
“We’ve arrived!”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and my lady. If you experience anything unpleasant in the Mage Tower—just in case—please be sure to tell me. If you’d like… there is a way to enter quickly through the back gate, without anyone seeing…”
Back gate?
Elysia hesitated. From the sound of it, the back gate allowed for discreet, private entry.
No, show us the Mage Tower properly ㅠㅜㅠ
Go through the main gate!! Save the back gate for later!!
Right. I’m curious about what it looks like too.
“It’s okay. I’ll go in through the front.”
Jerome nodded at her response and escorted her out. As Elysia stepped off the carriage, she looked up.
I heard the Mage Tower was gray.
But what she saw was surprisingly bright. A calm and elegant gray tower, adorned with colorful glowing magic circles that made it appear more violet or rainbow-colored than gray. It was a beautiful structure.
The chat was full of admiration.
Wow, the graphics are insane.
The Mage Tower is this pretty???? It’s better than any previous game!
∥“Exactly. I’m excited too.”∥
It looked even better than expected, and Elysia’s eyes sparkled with awe.
Though she hadn’t wanted to be reincarnated into this world, she realized she must’ve harbored some fantasies about romance fantasy worlds deep down.
A place where all the magic she’d only seen in games gathered. A place where mages studied magic. Just being here gave her a thrill.
What will the inside look like?
As the large doors opened—
“Deputy Tower Master! You’ve finally returned!”
Greetings rang out from all directions. Several mages rushed to greet Jerome like they’d been waiting for him. Some floated over despite there being stairs, others came running with floating books trailing behind them. One even had potions in hand.
The scenery between them was breathtaking. The floor of the central hall was adorned with a massive magic circle made from various stones, glistening under sunlight from above.
There were marble stairs leading to the uppermost floor of the tower, teleportation circles, book carts, and unique bookshelves embedded in the walls.
Among the flying, running mages were ones with glasses, and others holding drinks while deep in debate.
And then—
“…Look over there. Isn’t that the Sempherion young lady?”
“Elysia Sempherion?”
“The villainess Elysia?”
Amid the greetings came faint whispers. Elysia caught them all. Most mages ignored her, immersed in their books, and some waved casually without much thought. But not all were so indifferent.
“Huh? Why is Elysia here?”
“How’d she get in?”
Elysia observed the whispering nobles. Controlled gaits, refined postures, luxurious clothes.
They were unmistakably aristocrats.
Apparently, they’d seen her before at a banquet. Even after making eye contact with Elysia, they continued chatting without care.
“I heard the Tower Master personally summoned her?”
“Does that mean she has talent?”
“Can you even discover talent at her age?”
“She’s too old to start learning magic now.”
“She probably doesn’t have talent.”
“Maybe she forced her way in?”
“The Sempherion Duke must be desperate, sending a half-wit like that…”
“…My lady? Is something wrong?”
She must’ve been too focused on the noise to hear Jerome. Seeing his concerned face, Elysia forced a smile and answered,
“Oh, I was just spacing out for a moment.”
“The test room is this way.”
She followed Jerome into a room where a few mages began drawing magic circles in preparation. Jerome pointed to a clear crystal orb between them.
“Placing your hand here is the first step. It only checks if you have mana. Measuring the exact amount of mana in the body can be risky, so we don’t usually do it.”
Jerome continued seriously,
“So we use this to filter out those without any mana at all, then step two is measuring how well they can use their mana.”
Well, that’s a relief.
Elysia nodded. If the test measured her exact mana level…
It might be a problem if it turns out I’m stronger than Jerome!
Though she had no skills, her mana and stamina stats were absurdly high—practically broken.
If it got out that she had tens of thousands of mana points, it wouldn’t just be “Oh, a powerful mage has arrived!”—they might start talking about replacing the Tower Master, or even spark international tension.
…I’m not aiming for that level of trouble.
She had no intention of taking on the annoying job of Tower Master. Nor did she want every nation labeling her as a threat. It was best to keep her abilities somewhat hidden.
Strong but mysterious. Special, but unknown.
That ambiguity was what she needed to maintain.
The question is how to control that ambiguity.
Still, she couldn’t look incompetent. Just walking into the test room had reminded her of the scorn directed at an “incompetent villainess.”
…No way I’m letting that slide.
She wasn’t going to let their assumptions become truth.
“Then, I just place my hand here, right?”
Elysia turned to Jerome. This was the first test—the one to check if she had any mana.
“Yes. If you pass this, we move on to the second step. Just having mana doesn’t make someone a mage. Mana can cling to someone who’s touched a magical item or artifact. What matters is the ability to use it.”
Jerome gestured toward a nearby staff.
“In step two, we use this staff, which has a pre-inscribed spell circle, to test if someone can cast a simple spell. Even someone who knows nothing about magic can cast it if they have talent…”
He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“I’ve gone on too long. Let’s start with the first step and explain the rest after. Please stand comfortably here.”
Following his lead, Elysia stood before the transparent orb used to test for mana.
Jerome swallowed nervously.
To be honest, Lady Sempherion didn’t seem to have any mana at all…
He couldn’t understand it, but it was true. He had checked the moment they met. As Deputy Tower Master, Jerome—and most skilled mages—could sense whether someone had mana without needing a device.
And Elysia had never shown even a sliver of mana.
That left two possibilities:
She was hiding her mana extremely well—or it was buried so deep even she didn’t know it was there.
The report said that as a child, she tested completely mana-less, right?
And even during her duel with the Crown Prince, she never used magic once. All signs pointed to her having no magical ability.
But—
…She precisely grasped my mana flow.
When they first met, she had questioned his use of magic. She had acted as if she could see his mana’s flow, and even detected the Crown Prince’s aura.
Could someone with no mana be that sensitive to it?
It made no sense.
It made more sense that her mana was hidden so deep even Jerome couldn’t detect it.
…He didn’t know why, but—
I’m curious to see what the result will be.
Using a tester is more accurate than a mage’s instincts. Maybe it would reveal something he missed. With a hint of anticipation, Jerome said,
“Just place your hand on it and wait…”
“Like this?”
The moment Elysia gently placed her hand on the orb—
Fwoosh!
Something happened.
“…!”
The instant her hand touched it, the crystal ball emitted an eye-searing light, flooding the room.
Before anyone could even register what was happening—
CRACK! KABOOM!
The orb exploded.
