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Chapter 50
When Silia first looked out of Riman’s window, she thought she must’ve been mistaken.
The person was wearing a hooded robe like a mage—but that build was far too familiar.
‘I followed just in case…’
But it really was the prince.
There weren’t many people who would try to secretly approach Riman in his current state.
Anyone willing to take such a risk had to have a desperate reason.
‘Like… wanting to silence him before he talks.’
Silia forced that thought away and asked,
“Why are you here?”
“Hm… one of my men told me that Riman Jaykal had regained consciousness. I wanted to meet him and see what happened.”
It sounded… evasive.
“The mansion is protected with magic. How did you even get in?”
“The royal family has nullification devices that disable magical barriers.”
Silia had the sudden thought that he’d probably stolen that too.
“You could’ve just waited for the official royal investigation and come with them.”
“You know how it is. I’m not exactly included in those things.”
Silia didn’t want to doubt him.
She remembered his smiling face—at the greenhouse, the treasure vault, the magic tower.
But she couldn’t afford to ignore any possibility.
This involved monsters, after all—and considering the library’s restricted archives, she had to be cautious.
That’s when Crondel spoke.
“But… are we allowed to just stay here like this? If someone sees us…”
“Let’s move.”
Silia grabbed Crondel’s arm, opened the terrace door again, and stepped into the corridor—
“……”
“This looks like a different hallway.”
Apparently, security magic surrounded Riman’s quarters. Silia nudged him.
“Get the nullification device out.”
“About that… It worked fine when I came in, but… I think the effect’s worn off.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m serious. That’s why I got lost wandering around the garden.”
He held something out—a small detection stone used to reveal or dispel magic.
It should’ve been clear and transparent, but now it was cloudy and dull.
“If you’re going to steal something, at least take a good one.”
“I was in a hurry.”
He didn’t even bother denying that he’d stolen it.
If he weren’t a prince, he’d probably have been the ace of a thieves’ guild.
Then Crondel asked, as if remembering something.
“Wait, don’t you have something that can nullify magic too? Oh—maybe you didn’t bring the real sword since this is another noble’s estate.”
He was talking about Periot.
“That’s one reason. And… it’s not responding.”
“Not responding?”
His voice sounded genuinely surprised.
It was a little bitter, telling him this—since the sword had originally been his gift to her.
But it was true. Ever since Periot had encountered the real Illode in the tower, it had fallen completely silent.
Like a dead sword.
Rather than panic, Silia chose to watch and wait.
“It’ll come back eventually.”
Maybe when it met its true master, something had been transferred back.
From Periot’s perspective, Silia had only ever been a temporary wielder.
As she gave a faint, wry smile, Crondel spoke softly, trying to comfort her.
“It’s fine. If it comes to that…”
His blue eyes curved faintly.
“I’ll steal you a new sword. I’m sure I can find a good one somewhere.”
“Oh, sure you will.”
“The treasure vault’s gone anyway—nothing left to be afraid of. Remember that time? It was fun.”
“Pretty sure I did most of the work.”
“You know, this feels kinda like that time too. Just the two of us, trying to find our way.”
“Completely different.”
Silia gave a curt reply, then looked down the hallway again.
If she focused, she could see and feel faint traces of magical flow.
The problem was…
“There’s so much magic in this mansion, I can’t tell which lines I’m supposed to follow.”
“So you can read ambient mana flows, though?”
“Yeah. To an extent.”
As she answered, she caught the flicker of darkness in his eyes—
something like envy, or maybe greed.
She frowned slightly. Then—
“Huh.”
When she opened her mana circuits to search for a usable spell formula, multiple doors appeared in the corridor.
She glanced at Crondel—no reaction. He couldn’t see them.
At the same time, warmth spread from the pendant in her pocket.
‘This was the one the Tower Master enchanted for me.’
She pulled it out quickly. The ruby drank in her mana and flared a deep, glowing red.
“…Did a spell just activate?”
“You sure have a lot of enchanted jewelry. The tourmaline necklace last time, now this one.”
“You must have plenty too. You’re royalty.”
“Nope. Everything I have is what you gave me.”
“Yeah, right.”
“It’s true. I treasure them. Still carry them now.”
He smiled again—shamelessly charming as ever.
Silia turned away from his face and looked down at the ruby pendant.
For it to activate now of all times—
‘Did the Tower Master make this a magic-dispelling charm?’
If so, it shouldn’t have absorbed her mana—it should’ve blocked it.
Then Crondel whispered,
“It looks like it’s glowing stronger in a certain direction.”
“A direction?”
A sudden realization struck her.
She moved toward each door one by one, holding up the pendant.
It grew warmer and brighter before only one of the doors.
Silia grabbed Crondel’s hand and pushed it open—
and the scenery shifted in an instant.
“Ah, this is the hallway we passed earlier. How did you—?”
Crondel sounded honestly impressed.
Silia studied the pendant, then seized his hand again and ran through another door—
choosing only the ones that made the pendant react.
After several tries, they finally emerged on a small path near the mansion’s entrance.
Crondel still looked awestruck.
Silia shoved him lightly.
“You’re leaving here. Like I said—if a prince is caught sneaking into a noble’s home, it’ll only hurt your standing. I’ve already spoken to Riman. We’ll talk later.”
“You’ll share what he said with me?”
He looked hopeful. Silia nodded vaguely—meaning maybe.
But first—
“You.”
She stopped him just as he was about to leave the Jaykal estate.
“You’re sure you have nothing to do with the Tower’s incident?”
“…Yeah.”
The answer came—slower than usual.
‘I’ll check Periot’s records myself.’
With that thought, the prince vanished beyond the great trees,
slipping past the barrier magic like it was nothing.
Silia watched his retreating figure quietly.
Then she unclasped her hand from behind her back and opened her palm.
The pendant, now dull and lifeless, rested there.
“…No reaction to his words.”
She couldn’t be certain, but…
The Tower Master’s enchantment seemed to reveal what was real.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have guided her to the correct door out of so many.
And yet—when he spoke…
‘No. It’s not proof it works on people.’
Still, he’d kept dodging her questions,
trying to distract her by reminiscing about their shared memories—
as if to say, After all we’ve been through, you don’t trust me?
“Maybe I’m overthinking it.”
But her instincts wouldn’t quiet down.
Something about him felt wrong. Hidden.
With a heavy heart, Silia turned away.
“That was close.”
Outside, Crondel leaned against a nearby tree, catching his breath.
He’d held it together up to now, but he was at his limit.
After being sick for so long, pretending to be fine was exhausting.
Leaving a place so saturated with mana had made him dizzy.
Ever since that day—the day of the Tower’s monster attack.
He’d entered the Tower a bit earlier than planned out of worry.
When he followed the sounds of battle, Silia was already fighting.
He’d wanted to help—at least with a healing spell she’d once taught him.
He didn’t even know how to open a mana circuit properly, but then—
“……!”
Something flared across the back of his hand.
A wave of instinctive revulsion rose within him—
but before he could resist, his circuits burst open on their own.
That was the moment—
“…I had to do it anyway.”
The dizziness returned, bringing with it a buried memory—
as if someone had deliberately sealed it away.
The memory of when he’d nearly blown up the Tower.
“Crondel. Listen carefully. This is only temporary.”
The surroundings were in ruins.
Strange. He’d always believed he’d caused that explosion by spilling a reagent.
But this devastation… wasn’t something a mere reagent could cause.
“You have to learn magic. Even if they forbid you. You must learn. Remember that—it’s magic.”
A whisper.
Like a command drilling into his mind.
His mother’s voice.
“Mother… what is this…?”
The area had been completely wrecked by someone’s mana.
And Crondel somehow knew—that mana was his own.
“You must learn, or you can’t control it. Understand?”
“……”
“Survive. I’ll always be watching.”
When the memory faded, mana began leaking from his body again.
The dizziness persisted, but he endured it and channeled what he could remember—
pouring that magic into Silia’s hands that day.
That had been the end of it… or so he’d thought.
“…It’s getting worse.”
Even after returning to the palace, his condition kept deteriorating.
Especially in places thick with mana.
He had no idea why—though he felt that if he could remember just a bit more, he’d know.
“I thought maybe she’d know something.”
Truthfully, he hadn’t come today to see Riman at all—it was Silia he’d wanted to meet.
When he heard she’d gone to the Jaykal mansion, he’d impulsively followed.
But the moment he saw her eyes, he couldn’t say a word.
‘She doesn’t trust me.’
All his efforts to earn her trust now seemed meaningless.
“Where did it start going wrong…”
“You really should’ve been more careful.”
The quiet reply came from behind him.
Crondel turned toward the approaching figure.
“Especially when dealing with that lady.”
The man—a sharp-eyed royal guard—spoke slowly,
his gaze fixed on the prince.
