Chapter 2

I stayed frozen with my arm still stretched out. With a troubled sigh, Kay took the bouquet from my hand.

“I’m sorry, Vivi.”

Without even giving a proper excuse, he delivered words that felt like a final blow, sealing our breakup.

Did I really just get dumped…?

Yes. I did.

We didn’t even fight, and it wasn’t like we grew tired of each other…

He broke up with me out of nowhere.

He had been busy lately, so we barely met, and today was our first date in a long time.

The last time I saw him, he looked tired, so I even prepared his favorite flowers to cheer him up…

I slowly lowered the arm I had been holding out toward him and asked,

“Why all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong?”

“No way. It was always my fault.”

Kay gave a bitter smile. My confusion quickly turned into anxiety. I had never seen that expression on him before.

Feeling scared, I forced myself to sound cheerful, as if joking.

“What are you talking about? Did you get tired of me or something?”

“……!”

Kay looked startled, like he was about to say something—but then he shut his mouth.

That reaction made my heart drop. I grabbed his arm without thinking.

“N-no, right? Kay, why aren’t you saying no?”

“……”

Without a word, he lowered his gaze and gently removed my hand.

“Thank you for everything. Take care.”

With those words, he turned his back on me.

Our two-year relationship, which had once felt so serious, ended just like that.

…This is it? He really got tired of me?

I stared blankly at his back as he walked away. I couldn’t even reach out to stop him.

For a moment, his back overlapped with someone else’s in my mind, making my stomach churn.

I couldn’t stay there any longer, so I started walking too.

As I wandered aimlessly, countless questions filled my head.

Did he really get sick of me?
Or did he meet another woman and just needed an excuse?
…And why did he take the bouquet? Was he planning to keep the gift even while breaking up?

Looking for somewhere to be alone, I kept walking until I reached a cliff far from the docks.

The cold wind cut against my cheeks, but it all felt unreal, like I hadn’t woken up from a dream. It had happened too suddenly.

Maybe the reason we met less and less while he said he was busy… was because he had already grown tired of me.

I trusted him completely when he said he still loved me. How could he do this?

Embarrassed that I had been so excited on my own, not realizing his feelings had changed, I buried my face in my hands and leaned against the railing.

At that moment—

Crack!

Something behind me gave way.

“Huh…?”

Before I could even understand what was happening, my body tilted over the edge of the cliff. Below me, the dark sea spread out under the dim sky.

“Ah—!”

I reached out desperately to grab something, but all I caught was the fluttering hem of my skirt.

Splash!

A massive impact hit my entire body.

“Gasp! H-help…!”

Saltwater rushed into my mouth, and heavy waves pressed down on me.

I struggled to reach the surface, but the cold, dark sea swallowed me whole.

Even as the air escaped from my body, I thought of Kay. It felt unfair, but he was the only person I could cling to.

Please save me, Kay… If you appear like a miracle and save me, I’ll forgive everything that happened today…!

I fumbled for the ring he had given me, trying to make a desperate wish that wouldn’t reach him—but then I felt something strange and opened my eyes.

Huh?

It wasn’t my imagination. Something really was missing.

The ring he had put on my finger himself—the one I had never taken off—was gone.

I remembered how he held my hand when he said goodbye, and my head spun.

Don’t tell me… he took the ring because we broke up? …To sell it?

Suddenly, anger flared up inside me. My freezing body moved, fueled by rage.

What kind of jerk does that? I can’t die like this—it’s too unfair! What if people think I killed myself because I got dumped by that bastard?!

At that moment, I made a vow.

Never again would I fall for a handsome face.

I would forget him completely, without regret—and never meet a guy like him again.

*

But now, in the present… unfortunately, life didn’t go the way I wanted.

I had miraculously survived the sea and became a palace official—only to unexpectedly run into Kay at the Mage Tower.

Why the hell is this guy… here…?

And didn’t the other mages just call him “Tower Master”?

The Kay I knew was just an ordinary librarian. Not a mage, and definitely not the master of a magic tower.

Because he suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist, his face was right in front of mine—but I didn’t even have time to process it.

I stared at him in disbelief, and he looked at me the same way. The mages around us gasped and began whispering.

“What’s going on? Why is the Tower Master acting like that?”
“Did he almost kill her by accident?”
“Do they know each other?”

As the murmuring continued, Kay seemed to snap back to his senses and lifted his head.

He glanced around at the mages, frowned, and spoke in an annoyed tone.

“I’m tired of you all scaring government officials. Get back to work.”

The moment he finished speaking, my surroundings suddenly changed.

“Ugh…”

The unfamiliar sensation made me squeeze my eyes shut and grab onto whatever I could.

It felt like falling from a high place or missing a step on the stairs—dizzy and disorienting.

A large hand awkwardly patted my shoulder, so I slowly opened my eyes.

The place had completely changed. I realized I had just been teleported.

Looking up, I saw that I was clutching his clothes like a lifeline, and Kay was holding me as if protecting me, staring down with a serious expression.

He was too close.

“……!”

Startled, I pushed against his chest and pulled away.

Even though my strength wasn’t much, he stepped back without resistance.

Even from a distance, it was definitely Kay. There was no way I could mistake that face.

“You—mmph!”

The moment I opened my mouth to speak, he covered it with his hand.

I glared at him and tried to push his hand away, but he didn’t budge. Instead, he lightly moved his other hand.

A flash of white light flickered, and some invisible force swept over me before disappearing.

At the same time, he removed his hand from my mouth.

“You can talk now.”

“W-what was that?”

I stepped back, wiping my lips with my sleeve. I didn’t know what it was, but he had definitely used magic on me.

“I was checking if you brought anything suspicious with you. You’ve always been a bit naïve.”

“…What?”

“Do you even know where you are?”

His scolding tone made me clench my fists.

What did I do wrong?

Anyone listening would think I had followed him here.

“Like I came here because I wanted to? I was officially assigned here through proper procedures. I’m here to work!”

“Then why are you—!”

Kay raised his voice, then gritted his teeth, snatched my bag, and pulled out my documents without permission.

“Hey!”

“Doesn’t look forged. And that uniform is real… Who sent you?”

“What are you even talking about—”

“Vivi. Who sent you here, of all places?”

“….”

Shock, disbelief, and frustration all mixed together, and my voice rose sharply.

“Don’t call me that!”

I snapped at him coldly.

“My name is Vivian Soling. We’re nothing to each other, so don’t use nicknames like that.”

Kay muttered, as if realizing something obvious.

“Nothing to each other… Right.”

Still unable to understand the situation, I glared at him.

I knew the Mage Tower and the Imperial Palace didn’t get along, but is this really something to interrogate me over?

It wasn’t just because he was wearing a mage’s robe—he felt like a completely different person.

In just one year, he had changed so much.

Even though he looked troubled, his expression and tone were cold, almost angry.

His gaze was dark and sharp—so much so that it felt unsettling.

An unstable, dangerous aura, as if it were impossible for him to care about anyone.

Is this really Kay?

It didn’t feel like I had reunited with an ex-lover.

It felt like I had come face-to-face with a monster I couldn’t even communicate with.

The Kay I knew was a bit sensitive and unusual, sure—but he was kind…

I glanced around the messy room.

It was unclear whether it was a study or a storage room, but somehow it suited him now—this version of Kay in a mage’s robe.

As if this place had always been where he belonged.