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chapter 60
Because it wasn’t Charlotte’s own magic, the power of the lava was extracted as it was. She was merely a conduit for drawing out the magic.
Explosive magic, comparable to a disaster, erupted.
The surroundings trembled like thunder. The Eastern mages, realizing the situation, screamed.
“Th-The Grand Duke has gone mad!”
“Fall back!”
They tried to escape the eruption with telekinesis magic, but some with slower reflexes were already swallowed by the columns of volcanic ash.
The flustered professor tried desperately to block the magic by mobilizing the mages, but even the highly praised growth magic proved ineffective. Fire burns wood, after all.
Rodier and the knights shot sword energy to prevent the professor and the mages from escaping. It was pure chaos. Drops of blood quickly vaporized, releasing a nauseating metallic smell.
Charlotte, seeing the superheated water and lava pouring over the professor’s head, dispersed the smoke. Eonian embraced her first, and Ren flew up to rescue the would-be bride and groom.
Then, the knights capable of using magic levitated one by one. Among them, the most skilled, Gilroy, asked Charlotte:
“Your Highness, should we use wind magic?”
“No, save it. By autumn, the prevailing westerlies will blow anyway.”
Eonian and the knights instinctively looked west. As Eonian’s bangs flipped back, Charlotte let out a small sound and smoothed his hair.
“How can humans ever overcome nature?”
Everyone laughed heartily in response.
Smoke now rose from various spots in the valley where they had been. Professor Saja and his mages were all dead, no longer emitting any magic.
They entered a secret passage of the Grand Ducal Castle. Unlike the lava earlier, this place was a cool channel, perfect for catching one’s breath.
So, as soon as Charlotte slipped out of Eonian’s arms, she sank to the ground. Being with trustworthy people was likely the reason she felt safe enough to collapse.
“Charlotte!”
Eonian caught her before she fell and lifted her again.
Charlotte shook her head at his touch. Her head throbbed painfully. Groaning, she clutched Eonian’s shoulder tightly, drawing the concerned knights closer.
“Your Highness, are you alright? Should I prepare a magic potion or something…?”
“Would you like to take a nap here? Last time you did, it was surprisingly comfortable.”
“Lord Rodier, you… Your Highness, perhaps you shouldn’t—”
Charlotte frowned sharply at the commotion. A low, menacing growl resonated from her throat, making the large knights step back cautiously.
Scratching her head, she placed her feet firmly on the ground.
“…I’m fine. Let’s return quickly.”
Her decisiveness silenced the knights, and they walked quietly.
Some time passed. Her headache subsided slightly, and she regained the energy to speak. Charlotte whispered to Eonian:
“Next time someone attacks, should I try using external magic like this? I’ve memorized all the interference formulas.”
“…You.”
Eonian’s voice carried a hint of reproach, but Charlotte ignored it. She was genuinely excited—this was the first time in her life she had successfully used magic.
“I’ve never known that ordinary mages could actually use magic like this.”
“….”
“No matter how I tried before, it never worked. Since I had no magic at all, I couldn’t even sense how magic flowed inside me.”
Charlotte’s life had always been devoid of choices.
With both parents missing and her closest allies dead, her only place to stay was the East. When she first underwent a magic measurement test in adolescence, she was classified as magically null—a rarity even among magic holders.
As a mutant born to a continental-level magic swordsman father and an outstanding research mage mother, she was destined only to become a magical tool artisan, a path that even other noble mage families would avoid.
So how could this discovery not feel exhilarating? She had found a way to use enormous external magic—not something as trivial as magic stones—without directly experimenting on her own body.
“How about it? Won’t this be pretty useful from now on?”
As Charlotte wandered, Eonian’s eyes widened. Before she could ask why, his hand suddenly moved toward her jaw.
“You’re bleeding from your nose.”
Startled, Charlotte hurriedly wiped the blood dripping onto her uniform.
She lowered her head, holding her nose. Her voice was small and muffled, almost childlike:
“It’s okay… I’ve been hurt worse during training exercises—”
“You were hurt?”
“….”
“How badly? Why?”
Eonian’s expression softened.
“Was there no one to protect you back then?”
Charlotte swallowed hard.
Normally, she might have let it slide, but his eyes were different now—not pity or sympathy, but genuine pain and concern.
Frozen, Charlotte avoided his gaze. Eonian then took her hand.
“When you accepted my proposal, I said it, remember?”
“…What?”
“You would be the only spring for Chartreuse, the protector of the North, bringing spring to this place.”
Ah. So, because she was the North’s only spring, being reckless with her body would be irresponsible for a Grand Duke.
Glancing around, even the knights were watching her closely, pretending not to.
‘Right, I said something I shouldn’t have.’
She had overreached in excitement, nodding slowly.
“…Then who protects you?”
Her breath caught.
Eonian pursed his lips, frowned deeply, and murmured as if choked:
“Who protects you?”
“….”
Charlotte remained silent. She couldn’t answer. It was as if he himself would protect her.
‘But you made a contract with me, didn’t you?’
Wasn’t he planning to leave once the contract ended?
But Eonian didn’t add more words; he smiled faintly, brushing the ashes from her cheek and hair.
“Charlotte, you know… When you used the lava’s power, even the magic that entered your body couldn’t be held.”
“…I know. It just leaked out.”
“….”
Eonian let his eyebrows droop and lightly tapped her shoulder.
“If we ever find a solution… we can try again. But don’t attempt something dangerous like external magic.”
Then it happened.
“Cough.”
Hot liquid spilled from her mouth—thicker than saliva, smellier than sweat.
Blood.
The knights were horrified. Eonian, staring at the bloodstains on her uniform, placed a finger between her collarbones and channeled divine energy swiftly.
For a magicless human, using external magic was far more dangerous than a mage like Odeli doing the same.
Charlotte gave a tired, reflexive smile.
Eonian, as much as she hated to admit it…
‘You were right.’
She vowed never to attempt it recklessly again. Unless in an urgent, dangerous situation that could threaten her loved ones.
Her vision rapidly darkened. With her face flushed red and Eonian murmuring something softly, Charlotte lost consciousness.
