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Chapter 19
“Why are you….”
Riman frowned when he recognized Silia under the hood.
Before he could say more, there was a violent crash — the sound of the sorcerer convulsing and slamming into the floor. Riman’s expression hardened and he looked toward the security officer who had come with them.
“Is there a mage remaining here?”
“Why would you need a mage…?”
“There’s a mana overload. If you don’t control it, they’ll die.”
At that, Silia glanced at the back of the woman’s hand and saw the mark of a mana circuit burning as if it were about to flare. She even thought she smelled a faint scent of something being singed.
‘If I overloaded, would I end up like that?’
The constable stammered his answer. “There isn’t one right now, but….”
Riman’s face contorted. Then, looking resigned, he hurriedly dropped to his knees and gripped the woman’s hand tightly. The smell of burning grew stronger. Riman opened his own mana circuit and started reciting magic formulas in quick succession.
The overload seemed worse than expected. Blood welled at the corner of his mouth. Silia watched him for a moment and finally spoke slowly.
“You could have asked for help.”
“No need….”
“Are you sure?”
The silver eyes beneath the hood stared through Riman. He swallowed more blood a few times, made a face that said he hated the whole situation, and then nodded. It was a sign of permission.
Silia didn’t hesitate — she snatched Riman’s hand.
“Do I just open it?”
The instant Silia opened the mana circuit on the woman’s hand, Riman gasped in alarm. “You have to time this properly—!”
“Hold my hand properly.”
Silia squeezed his hand and said it with force. Riman’s mana circuit, which was starting to drain from controlling someone else’s overload, began to be replenished by Silia’s mana. The Tower Master had said she could temporarily receive another’s mana a little; this was like being a substitute for a mana potion.
‘Of all the things—acting as a potion substitute.’
Still, the sorcerer needed to be kept alive. Riman’s face relaxed a notch and he quickly chanted a spell. It seemed to be related to control and healing, if she wasn’t mistaken.
The convulsing sorcerer’s features softened. Wiping his sweat away, Riman told the constable who’d been standing behind him, “…the immediate crisis is over.”
“Thank you, Riman.”
“Officer, come with me for a moment.”
“Uh, but he needs to file a report—”
“It’ll only take a moment.”
Without further words, Riman took Silia — still wearing the constable’s cloak — and led her out of the underground prison. This time, his movements were charged with emotion, unlike when he’d calmly subdued the overload a moment earlier.
They left the prison and walked until they reached a sparsely populated area; only then did Riman release Silia’s arm. She teased him.
“You were clutching me so dearly earlier.”
“I wasn’t—!”
Riman tried to deny it but swallowed his words as his face flushed. He had been holding on — to draw mana. And he had been clutching it tightly, so Silia had no comeback.
After a beat, Riman collected himself and asked, “Why are you here?”
“That’s what I was going to ask.”
“You don’t make much sense.”
Riman began stomping off ahead, muttering. Silia answered sullenly.
“Do you at least know the way out?”
“Aren’t you the same? I thought you were off scamming somewhere this time.”
“Scamming?”
She swallowed a rising irritation and replied, “If anyone heard you, they’d think I’d cheated.”
“From where I stand, it’s the same thing.”
“Weren’t you in league with the Phillips family?”
“Watch your insults.”
“If not, then why did you just stay quiet and declare me the cheater? You would’ve understood how the game was being run.”
“If I knew the Phillips family and the other houses who tampered with the exam, do you think I wouldn’t have reported them to the Royal Academy?”
“Oh — so that’s why you came.”
If that were true, then Riman had come to interrogate the puppet sorcerer and get testimony about the Phillips family’s cheating. Silia had been about to revise her opinion of Riman Jeikal.
“Still useless, though. I wanted at least you to be cut out of it.”
Cancel that. No matter how she looked at him, he seemed like someone who wouldn’t bother making an effort to win her favor.
‘I decided not to be nice to people like that.’
Silia intentionally threw another barb to rile him. “But the Tower Master seems to quite like me, you know.”
“…….”
That seemed to be the trigger. Riman suddenly started walking very fast, as if in a fury. Being a mage didn’t change the fact he ran out of stamina quickly; he was soon gasping.
He looked like he might collapse from breathlessness. Silia added softly, “Are you all right? You should exercise sometimes. Walk around the Tower gardens more.”
“I dislike you.”
‘As if I didn’t already know — you’re that obvious.’
Silia just shrugged. “You rescued me from that mess earlier, you know? I was wondering how I’d get out of it, and thanks to you I escaped just fine.”
“This isn’t rescuing you. I pulled you out to drive you away.”
“Drive me away?”
“I don’t know what tricks you’re planning, but—”
Saying that, Riman suddenly dragged Silia toward the security gate’s back exit as if he knew the way. Once outside the gate, he flung his arm out and tried to shove her away — or rather, he wanted to toss her and release her. He lacked the strength to do it properly and nearly stumbled instead. Seeing him so weakly flail was almost pitiable. Don’t pick fights with stamina, she thought.
“…Do not ever approach the scarecrow sorcerer again.”
“Is that the problem now? That person will be in danger if left like that.”
“If the lady doesn’t approach them, they won’t be dangerous. Weren’t you the one who caused that person to be like that just now?”
“Do I look that stupid? Instead of barking at me, go think about freeing that person from prison. If you’re not going to, I will.”
“What authority do you have…!”
“I have no reason to harm them, you know? I need them for reasons similar to yours. Calm down.”
Riman bit his lip to stop himself from shouting. She heard him trying to compose himself.
Silia waited a moment for him to calm down before she spoke.
“Here’s an idea. Say that the sorcerer who caused the mana overload is too dangerous to leave with the constables. You’re the chief researcher at the Tower, right? Your opinion on magic won’t be ignored.”
“…….”
“Then tell them you’ll have the prisoner sent to the Tower’s underground cells. If the Tower Master’s permission is needed, say you’ll consider the request if it’s proposed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! How would the lady even know there are underground cells in the Tower?”
“It’s not exactly a huge secret. Mages from the Tower brag about doing courage tests and dates down there.”
“Such—!”
She hadn’t exactly lied; she’d heard it from mages they’d met on the battlefield. Riman was trembling now.
‘Push him any further and he’ll explode.’
“Anyway, think of something. If it’s difficult, I’ll ask the Diaman family to help me get them out.”
“I won’t let you spirit them away.”
His voice was surprisingly resolute. Silia felt some relief — if sent to the Tower’s underground prison, at least the sorcerer’s life wouldn’t be at immediate risk. Riman bit his lip and turned away.
“All right? Do it properly.”
“Don’t meddle!”
“Why? If I get into the Tower, I might meddle.”
“Don’t even dream of it! This is your final warning. Next time I’ll hand you over to the constables.”
Riman shouted that and strode off. He swayed again with each surge of anger as if he might collapse — another thing that made Silia click her tongue.
‘Pretty face, but petty heart.’
Having settled her assessment of Riman Jeikal, Silia turned and began walking slowly. She tossed the constable’s cloak she’d been wearing back over the wall and took out the object she’d retrieved earlier.
“This is odd.”
The small piece the mage had been carrying was black. When she held it up to the sun, the light that passed through it left a shimmering afterimage on the hand that held it.
“It looks related to the Heart of the Earth.”
When she recalled the huge heart she’d seen in front of her, her eyes dimmed. This shard resembled it quite a lot.
“And that afterimage.”
The moment she confronted the shard, memories of Ilrod flashed before her, like when she’d slashed at the fiend last time. But something about it felt off.
“That bastard didn’t die like that.”
Instead, he’d lunged at her and seemingly killed her. Which was why she was in this mess now. Or was it…
“Did I die and then was killed by the Heart of the Earth?”
Even thinking that, something was unsettled. In the vision he didn’t have a sword. She’d never seen him without Periot at his side. Moreover, the strange thing wasn’t just the vision of him.
“He might try to kill me.”
“The Phillips family?”
“…No. The royal family.”
There was something tied to the royal family. If a royal mage had fled, it was probably something related to magic. The royal family’s weakness — that was something worth knowing. Might be useful to pry something out before she disappeared.
“This shard looks like something he’d know well.”
She decided that the next time she saw the Second Prince, she’d grab him and question him. With that thought, Silia headed to the Diaman mansion.
And the reunion came sooner than she had expected.
