IWRU 11

Chapter 11

While Ariel had been suspiciously watching the man, she flinched when their eyes suddenly met. The man calmly spoke.

“Looks like we’ve arrived.”

Only then did Ariel realize the carriage had stopped. She had been so focused on the man that she hadn’t even noticed.

Ariel smiled naturally.

“I guess so.”

At that moment, the coachman opened the carriage door.

“Miss, we’ve arrived at Teiran Street.”

Teiran Street was far from the Blante Marquis family estate. The reason they had come here was because it was the destination the man had requested.

Ariel nodded slightly to the coachman and was about to see the man off. Even though she wasn’t sure who he was, he had helped her, so she wanted to be polite.

But before she could even stand, the man waved his hand.

“No need to see me off, young lady. Thanks to you, I had a comfortable ride.”

“But still…”

Just as she was about to insist, the man raised a pocket watch.

“More than farewells, this is more important to me. So, young lady, may I keep this pocket watch for a day and return it later?”

He stroked the broken part gently as he continued.

“I need some time to repair it. But I will fix it perfectly and bring it back to the Blante Marquis estate myself.”

His hand on the watch looked almost affectionate, but Ariel couldn’t answer immediately.

“Ah…”

She still didn’t fully trust him. She was grateful for his help, but she wasn’t sure if he was truly a mage.

The man smiled lightly and took something from inside his jacket. As if he had already seen through her doubt, he held out what looked like an identification badge.

“Of course, you can’t just hand over such a precious item to me without assurance… so I’ll leave this as collateral.”

When Ariel saw the badge, her eyes widened.

“This is…”

A golden badge of the Magic Tower.

The gold badge was given only to high-circle mages—those of 7th circle and above, the highest class.

And it was something that could not be easily forged, since it was personally created by the Great Mages themselves.

Ariel stared at it quietly and said in a low voice,

“…So you really are a mage.”

“I told you. I never mistake anything when it comes to magic. That includes lies, of course.”

Ariel looked at him again as he smiled playfully.

Her suspicion faded, but curiosity remained. In fact, her questions only grew deeper.

The number of Great Mages known on the continent, including the Tower Lord, was only around twenty. Their faces were so well known that even children recognized them from countless portraits.

So this face… must be a disguise made with magic.

But why would a Great Mage be standing in front of her like this?

A Great Mage would normally only meet royalty. Not someone in a carriage belonging to a mere marquis family.

And this “debt” he mentioned… could someone like a Great Mage even owe something to her? It almost felt like she might be hallucinating from exhaustion.

At that moment, the man placed the gold badge into her hand. The cold metal was undeniably real.

He said casually to the still-dazed Ariel,

“This badge proves my identity. It’s unlikely, but if I ever run away with your watch, just show this to the Magic Tower. They will treat you very well.”

Before she could respond, he stepped out of the carriage.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Ariel quickly leaned out of the carriage, but he was already gone.

“…He disappeared right in front of us, miss.”

Only the stunned coachman remained, wide-eyed after witnessing teleportation magic.

“‘They will treat you very well at the Magic Tower.’”

As the man’s words echoed in her ears, something suddenly flashed through Ariel’s mind.

One of the most famous Great Mages.

“…No way.”

She quickly shook her head.

If it were really that person, the empire would not be this quiet. And he wouldn’t be wandering around alone like this.

The Magic Tower wouldn’t allow it either.

So Ariel pushed down her unreasonable suspicion and got back into the carriage.

But the uneasy feeling didn’t leave her, and she carefully held onto the gold badge all the way back to the marquis estate.

At the same time Ariel returned to the Blante Marquis estate—

In the Seaiard Grand Duke’s residence, Kylens stood in his office with a hardened expression, staring out the window at the sunset.

“…I didn’t think I would meet her this soon.”

He had thought he wouldn’t see that face until the Blante Marquis family completely collapsed.

The green eyes that had once looked directly at him resurfaced in his mind, and Kylens let out a rough breath.

A tight pressure, as if something was choking his throat. He loosened his cufflinks and opened the window.

The cold wind wrapped around him, cooling the heat rising in his body.

He steadied his breathing and looked at the red sunset.

But only for a moment—nausea rose inside him, and he looked away from the sky.

This disgust wasn’t because of Ariel.

It was because of that marquis young lady from the Bayeurn family.

Lady Bayeurn.

He had first met her during the Empire Founding Festival.

That day, Ariel had introduced her as her close friend.

Kylens had greeted her properly, but from the very first meeting, he had disliked her.

Ciel Bayeurn.

She pretended to admire Ariel, but her eyes carried something dark, watching her from behind—secretly.

But Kylens, who was sensitive to the presence of others, had seen it clearly.

And now, she no longer even bothered to hide it.

On the day of the Blante Marquis funeral—on the same day Ariel was broken off from her engagement—she hosted a tea party with the young ladies close to Ariel.

Kylens let out a cold sneer and wiped his lips harshly with the back of his hand.

As soon as he returned to the grand duke estate, he took off his formal clothes and washed his entire body.

But no matter how many times he scrubbed, the feeling on his lips from touching the Bayeurn lady did not disappear.

It felt like a filthy insect was crawling on his lips, driving him nearly mad.

An insect…

Yes. If one were human, that was exactly what it would be.

Even though she had once been Ariel’s friend… even though Ariel had helped her so much… and yet she waited for Ariel’s downfall and held repeated parties afterward.

Truly, she was worse than an insect.

Kylens wiped his lips again with a handkerchief this time, rubbing until the skin almost tore.

Then he stopped.

There was a metallic taste of blood on his lips, and red stains spread across the handkerchief. His lip had split.

But that wasn’t why he stopped.

A question suddenly rose in his mind.

“How are you any different from Ciel Bayeurn?”

Wasn’t it true?

He was the one who set the stage for Bayeurn to crush Ariel.

He destroyed the Blante Marquis family, and sent her the engagement termination agreement on the day of the funeral.

And he, too, was filled with hidden darkness—just like Ciel Bayeurn.

He had stayed by Ariel’s side while hiding his revenge.

He watched her become unhappy day by day with his own eyes.

So there was no difference between him and Ciel Bayeurn.

“…No. I’m worse.”

At least Ciel Bayeurn hadn’t directly taken anything from Ariel. Unlike him.

And today, he even kissed the back of Bayeurn’s hand, just to make Ariel feel hurt.

“…Who am I to call someone else disgusting?”

Even if Ciel Bayeurn complained of injustice, she would have nothing to say.

Kylens let out a dry laugh.

His lip split further and blood flowed, but he didn’t care.

He simply thought:

“My aunt really found me a fitting match.”

A woman very similar to him.

If Ciel Bayeurn truly became the grand duchess, the two of them would be a perfectly disgusting pair of insects.

At that moment, there was a knock on the office door.

“Come in.”

The person who entered was Deril.

Kylens turned to him, hiding his twisted expression.

“I greet my lord.”

Kylens asked immediately.

“Did you confirm where that man went?”