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Chapter 15
Lirie carefully opened her eyes at the sensation of a full hand pressed against hers.
A moment later, a long beeeep rang out loudly from the magical device.
Feeling the flow of magical power running through her fingertips, Lirie turned her gaze toward it.
The device attached to their wrists vibrated briefly.
And there it displayed:
[Final Resonance Rate: 5%]
Lirie struggled to hide the look of relief on her face.
She had been startled when Aldehyde suddenly grabbed her hand, but she had managed to adjust the resonance rate appropriately.
It was a value that often appeared when an ordinary mid-level stabilizing mage worked to stabilize a high-level power.
In other words, it shouldn’t look suspicious.
Putting on a disappointed expression, Lirie spoke.
“That’s a relief. The resonance rate is so low that it’ll be difficult for me to properly help with stabilization.”
What Lirie said wasn’t wrong.
A rate of 5% was far below the average resonance level.
However, Aldehyde looked straight into her eyes and lifted only one corner of his mouth.
“It’s been a really long time since I last had my resonance measured.”
“Ah… yes.”
He leaned in close to her ear and whispered in a low voice.
“And… this is top-secret—only the old emperor and I know this.”
“…What? You’re telling me something that secret?”
“Yeah. I actually don’t resonate with ordinary stabilizing mages at all.”
At those words, Lirie’s brown eyes shook violently. Looking at her as though she truly had no idea, Aldehyde murmured softly.
“So… you’re the first.”
The fact that the resonance hadn’t been unpleasant, and that the resonance test had ended safely—
Yet to him, Lirie was still a question mark.
With his other hand, Aldehyde released the seal and thought about the lingering warmth of the fingertips that had touched hers.
It wasn’t like the burning heat he’d felt the first time he held his sister’s hand.
Aldehyde narrowed his eyes.
Seriously… what am I supposed to do about this?
So now, I honestly felt like I was dreaming.
Aldehyde stared at me without saying a word, then escorted me away.
He looked like someone whose body and mind were completely out of sync.
A man with the expression of someone about to kill—yet offering a perfectly gentlemanly escort.
Thinking he was truly incomprehensible, I arrived at the Ability Stabilization Room.
I should ask the others what on earth that was about.
To figure out exactly what was going on, I opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was crowded with people—knights and stabilizing mages alike.
“Lirie, did you hear?! They say Lord Aldehyde took a resonance test with you!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Up until now, Lord Aldehyde has never voluntarily taken a test!”
“His Majesty had to beg him to do it a few times, and even then it was against his will. This is practically the first time he’s agreed willingly…!”
“That’s why everyone’s in such an uproar!”
I see. That explained the atmosphere.
Still, since I had no idea why Aldehyde—who’d avoided tests all this time—had suddenly taken one, I probed cautiously.
“Really? It’s not that unusual for someone with divine authority to avoid resonance tests, but… why did he suddenly decide to take one?”
“How would we know?”
Ah. The theory that I was the suspicious one was gaining more weight by the second.
What should I do? Forget world peace—should I just run for my life?
As I awkwardly scratched the back of my head with a smile, an unfamiliar red-haired mage snapped at me.
“I really don’t get it. Even among mid-level mages, why did he have to choose you? It’s irritating.”
“Yeah. Why do you think he did?”
“Don’t get full of yourself. There’s nothing particularly special about you.”
Only then did I properly turn to look at the sharp-tongued woman. She seemed to be a stabilizing mage like me, but not remember of the knight order.
“And who are you to talk down to me?”
I’m not the type to just take abuse.
Because, after all, I don’t have a tomorrow.
The red-haired woman looked flustered and muttered,
“M-My name is Namia. I’m a public stabilizing mage of the imperial palace.”
“Oh, really? Since you seem to know all about me, I’ll skip my own introduction.”
When I fell silent, she spoke again with an irritated expression.
“A-Anyway! Lord Aldehyde only did a resonance test with you. He’s not engraving you or taking you as his exclusive mage, so don’t get cocky.”
“Yes~”
“…H-Huh. At least you know your place.”
“Yes. I’m good at math. My resonance rate was only 5%, you see.”
Engraving only occurs when mutual resonance exceeds 80%.
Three seconds after Namia smiled brightly at my answer, her face twisted sharply.
“Wait—so even if engraving is impossible, doesn’t that mean you could still become his exclusive mage?”
“How did you even arrive at that conclusion? That’s some miracle logic.”
But Namia could only glare at me, seething, unable to continue. A knight beside her poked her in the side and said,
“Calm down. This is Lord Aldehyde’s exclusive stabilizing mage we’re talking about. You know how honored and blessed that position is. Do you really think he’d choose someone with only 5%?”
“Well… I-I guess not?”
“If you became his exclusive mage, everyone would envy you. You’d automatically be promoted to his closest confidant, might even become a candidate for his engraver, hold hands, and maybe—maybe even marriage—huhu, th-that kind of thing….”
Namia pressed both hands to her face, blushing furiously.
So she likes Aldehyde. What an unusual taste…
Still, there was something I really wanted to say to her.
“Really? Well, it won’t be me anyway.”
I had no intention of becoming Aldehyde’s exclusive mage.
Why would someone hiding her identity—someone who would soon die—form deeper ties with anyone?
I just wanted to observe Aldehyde as a colorless, odorless nobody, then leave the knight order.
Meanwhile, events were unfolding in the exact opposite direction of Lirie’s expectations.
Aldehyde walked into the Sealing Chamber. He intended to undergo resonance tests with mages other than Lirie.
He needed to find out whether he felt something similar with other mages—or whether that woman was uniquely suspicious.
The deepest underground level of the knight order, where ability users on the verge of rampage were confined.
Amidst old sealing equipment, Aldehyde stood with his eyes closed.
An anonymous stabilizing mage dispatched from the Ability Stabilization Room cautiously extended a hand.
“I-I will now attempt to control Lord Aldehyde’s authority through contact.”
“…Hurry.”
“Y-Yes! Initiating the first resonance attempt!”
Pop—! Pshk!
In an instant, a loud noise rang out and the hand was knocked away.
A red glow flickered in Aldehyde’s eyes, and the air tightened painfully.
The moment the stabilizing mage’s fingertips touched his arm—
BAM!
A violent backlash erupted, sending the mage flying backward.
Black waves rose around Aldehyde like sharp thorns.
[Resonance Rate: Unmeasurable]
“C-Cough!”
The mage barely managed to stand, coughing up blood. What he’d felt during the test was nothing but confirmed rejection.
Aldehyde wasn’t unharmed either. His breathing grew ragged, and the dark crimson letters on his wrist writhed before settling.
“Hah… figures. Still impossible.”
He roughly tore away the seals and ran a hand through his hair.
Soon, he laughed like a mad dog.
The stabilizing mage flinched, but Aldehyde didn’t even spare him a glance—just jerked his chin as if to tell him to leave. Then, stepping out of the chamber himself, he murmured calmly,
“So it really doesn’t work with anyone else. Disgusting. Revolting.”
Strange, isn’t it? The sensation of touch, the estimated age, even her background—none of it matches his sister.
Everything is different. Completely different… so why?
His sister, walking through a rainy night in a gray robe.
That image slowly overlapped with the woman in the gray robe who had saved someone at the harbor.
Aldehyde lazily rubbed his wrist.
More than ten years ago, after holding his sister’s hand, a scar-like mark had been etched there.
He was certain that mark was an engraving. Yet even when he was with Lirie, it didn’t react in the slightest.
Aldehyde narrowed his eyes.
He needed to confirm it—without a doubt.
