MFBO 23

Chapter – 23

“Don’t touch it. Your hands will get dirty.”

I leaned my head back, avoiding Razet’s hand. He froze midair, as if he had been about to wipe away my sweat. His deep green eyes slowly swept over me, as though examining me.

Razet tilted his head slightly. His gaze flicked briefly to my back.

I wished he wouldn’t look there. If I had to guess, my back must have been a mess right now. I’d felt it for a while—my wounds had split open again.

I could have washed up and treated the wounds before calling Razet, but I wanted to get everything over with as quickly as possible.

“Who is he, for things to end up like this?”

Despite my effort to avoid him, Razet pressed his fingertips to my forehead and wiped it anyway. For no reason at all, it bothered me. Why was he wiping my sweat with his own hand…?

“Who were you with that you ended up in this state?”

He whispered so quietly that only I could hear.

He probably knew it was rude to ask about someone while standing right in front of them. Then again, whispering was even ruder.

“He’s just someone who helped me.”

To be precise, someone who will help me.

“What kind of person?”

“There’s a story behind it. Like I told you, my younger brother is very kind, you know?”

The first part was for Razet, the latter for the sorcerer.

I shot the sorcerer a look, signaling him to go along with it.

“Yes, haha… If only I had such a kind younger brother myself—cough—yes, indeed.”

He was terrible at lying.

With Razet standing so close—and having touched him already—the sorcerer must have examined Razet enough.

When I asked with my eyes whether that was sufficient, the sorcerer nodded slightly.

“Then, Calib, could you step out for a moment? We have something to discuss privately.”

“You call me here and now you’re telling me to leave?”

“It’s just that this gentleman was curious about you, so I wanted to introduce you.”

“Hm. In that case, I shouldn’t stay any longer.”

I effectively kicked Razet out of the sitting room. His face hardened, clearly displeased with the dismissal, but I didn’t care.

A moment later, as if I’d imagined it, a smile appeared on his face.

“It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Razet gave the sorcerer—who had offered the greeting—a brief glance before leaving the sitting room.

After confirming that Razet was far enough away, I turned to the sorcerer.

“Did you check? How?”

“Most sorcerers can tell whether a spell has been cast just by looking. Touching the body allows us to determine the exact nature of the spell. As you said, sir, he is indeed under a spell.”

“Then can you remove it?”

The sorcerer’s expression grew grave. No answer came for a while, and anxiety crept in.

“You said the spell is constricting your brother’s heart, correct?”

“Yes.”

“That is correct.”

What followed was not encouraging.

“A spell that links an object to the heart is extremely difficult, even among sorcerers. It’s an advanced spell.”

“……”

“And only a very small number of people in this empire can cast such magic. Sorcerers are generally classified as low-, mid-, and high-tier, but most are only mid-tier. High-tier sorcerers are rare.”

“And you’re mid-tier. Or lower?”

“……”

Struck right where it hurt, the sorcerer flinched.

I tried to recall who might have cast the spell, but nothing came to mind.

I couldn’t remember every detail of the novel.

“There are usually two ways to break a spell that links an object to the heart,” the sorcerer continued. “One is to find the sorcerer who cast it—or another high-tier sorcerer.”

As if it weren’t already hard enough to find people who lived in hiding. How was I supposed to tell who was high-tier, let alone track them down?

I grumbled internally and waited for him to continue.

“The other way is to break the binding spell placed on the necklace you’re wearing. The answer may lie there.”

The necklace?

I touched the ruby necklace around my neck.

The moment my fingers closed around the gem, the sorcerer shouted urgently.

“Don’t touch it!”

Startled, I quickly pulled my hand away. He scolded me with a stern expression.

“The power of the spell constricting your brother’s heart is likely coming from that.”

“What?”

“Please hand me the necklace.”

He said he needed to confirm it properly. As I reached to remove it, I narrowed my eyes.
What if he was a con artist?

I’d trusted Amy’s information and practically kidnapped him here, but there was still the possibility that he was just pretending to be a sorcerer.

“Please hold it by the chain so the gem isn’t pressed.”

Why?

His eyes were glued to the jewel as he spoke, asking me to be careful not to damage it.

At that moment—unfortunately—he really did look like a scammer.

“Here.”

Still suspicious, I handed it over.

This was the Viscount Bistor’s estate. No scammer would dare steal something with knights watching so closely.

The sorcerer examined the gem seriously—not with the eye of a jeweler appraising value.

He looked as though he were touching something forbidden, his face uneasy, before handing it back.

“There is a spell on this necklace. The necklace and your brother’s heart are linked. Under the circumstances, breaking the spell on this is the fastest solution.”

I felt awkward for having doubted him.

Too much information at once left my thoughts tangled. I carefully organized his words before asking,

“So if we break the spell on this necklace, the one connected to Calib will break too?”

“That seems to be how it was designed. Pressing the gem hard appears to affect the heart…”

The necklace I’d worn simply because it was pretty turned out to be a leash I could use on Razet.

It was unbelievable—and terrifying.

What if I’d pressed the gem hard without knowing?

“For now, that’s all I can tell you.”

I felt like someone who had just been given a terminal diagnosis. Everything ahead was pitch-black, like walking through a dark maze.

After sending the sorcerer away, I remained in the sitting room a while longer.

I never imagined such a beautiful ruby necklace could be so dangerous.

In the novel, it only mentioned that Razet was under a spell—nothing in detail.

“Sister.”

As I carefully put the necklace back on instead of into my pocket, I froze.

If I accidentally lay down on it and crushed it, it would be disastrous.

How had I even been sleeping all this time?
Since Razet hadn’t said anything, nothing must have happened…

“Why are you only coming out now?”

Razet was standing near the sitting room. Far enough away that he couldn’t have heard our conversation.

“I was just thinking. Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes. I was.”

Why would he wait for me?

Then again, if I thought of him as “Calib,” it made sense. Calib should at least pretend to worry about my back.

Or maybe it wasn’t pretending. Since I got hurt in his place, Razet had been taking extra care of me.

“Did you put medicine on your wounds?”

“Amy applies it every day. More importantly, your wounds need treatment. Not right now, but… come to my room this evening.”

Razet never allowed others to touch him. He’d rather go untreated than accept help.

Yet he allowed me, temporarily.

Was that a sister’s privilege?
Even though I wasn’t really his sister.

“Did you fall for him?”

It was just as I turned to leave, wanting nothing more than to rest, when Razet said something incomprehensible.

I turned back slightly.

“That man. He didn’t look like much.”

The sorcerer?

“Did it look like I fell for him?”

The idea was absurd.

Razet took a step closer.

“Even though your back was bleeding through, you stayed the whole time.”

My wounds hadn’t healed, and I’d walked so much—and ridden a jostling carriage on top of that. I knew perfectly well how bad my back was, yet I stayed.

“If you didn’t fall for him, then why?”

From Razet’s perspective, not knowing the truth, it probably looked that way.

“I didn’t fall for him. He just helped me, so I was being polite.”

If I’d truly been in love, I wouldn’t have been foolish enough to neglect my wounds like that.

Razet didn’t know—but I wasn’t someone who’d do that for such a shallow reason.

“Falling for him… You have no idea what I was thinking.”

Seeing Razet’s blank face, I let out a small laugh.
He looked oddly serious—it was funny, and his imagination was strangely cute.

“You probably can’t even guess.”

“……”

Perhaps Razet wanted me to fall for the sorcerer.

If my attention turned elsewhere, he could finally be free.

There was no way that thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
That stiffness—that was hope. When you desperately hope, you tense up.

Unfortunately for him, I hadn’t fallen for anyone.

My interest—my interest, not Lizanne’s—was still entirely focused on Razet.

On how to send him away.

“You’re right. I overdid it a bit. I’m going to rest, so… see you later, Calib.”

I still didn’t know how to break the spell on the necklace.

With my strength drained and my head spinning, I had no energy left to deal with Razet.

I tried to give him a gentle smile, then gave up and turned away.

The moment I took a step forward, the marble floor warped as if it were dancing.

“Ah…”

The floor rushed toward me. Everything spun—whether I was spinning or the world was, I couldn’t tell.

I felt someone grab me—

And then my consciousness went dark.