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Chapter – 08
The story of how Ian became part of the “Fernandez” ducal family went like this.
The current Duke Fernandez had one son: Karl Fernandez.
Eight years ago, at the age of thirteen, Karl won the hunting tournament and immediately afterward distinguished himself in subjugating magical beasts along the eastern border.
In any ordinary family, that would have been cause for celebration.
However, things changed when Karl Fernandez deeply hated his father, and there had already been several suspicious assassination attempts against Duke Fernandez.
In the end, rather than naming his son as heir, the duke brought in a commoner mage and publicly declared him to be his hidden illegitimate child.
He even announced that, at an appropriate time, he would host a succession competition and officially choose one of the two as his heir.
Which, in other words, meant that the succession battle would never actually happen until right before the duke’s death.
The “commoner mage” thrown into this situation was none other than Ian Fernandez.
As a result, he became the unwanted burden of a family where nobody welcomed him.
A canary in the mine bearing the Fernandez surname, though no one truly treated him as a Fernandez.
A sacrificial lamb destined for the altar the moment Karl inherited the title.
In the original story, after years of preparation, Karl Fernandez disguised Ian’s death as an accident, then disposed of the duke as well before ascending to the ducal seat himself.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Eek!”
She had almost blurted out that she was thinking about his death.
Arhen looked at Ian, who sat across from her.
Thanks to the road being cleared, they had reorganized and resumed their carriage journey.
When the boy tried to simply mount his horse and leave again, Arhen stubbornly stopped him and seated him in the same carriage instead.
After receiving such help, she couldn’t just let him go with a simple “thank you.”
She expected him to refuse several times, but Ian quietly accepted the kindness.
Oddly enough, the one who reacted with discomfort was Oliver.
Was he embarrassed that the boy had instantly noticed a weakness in the magic that he himself hadn’t recognized?
Ever since Ian appeared, Oliver had become strangely stiff.
In any case, under Arhen’s lead, Oliver’s objections were quickly overruled, and their awkward companionship began.
Seeing him up close, Ian was even more beautiful.
Perhaps because he had gone through many hardships at a young age, his strangely detached expression only seemed natural when paired with that beautiful forehead and refined nose.
But more than his appearance, the purple mana she had seen flickering around his shoulder earlier kept bothering her.
She wanted to investigate further, but at the same time worried it might be like poking a hornet’s nest for no reason.
Nothing good ever came from sticking her nose too deeply into other people’s affairs.
‘Yeah, let’s stay quiet.’
Fortunately, even without Arhen saying much, Ian continued leading the conversation himself.
That was unexpected.
He looked like a quiet and reserved boy, so she had assumed she would have to carry the conversation.
“To be honest, when I first saw the road blocked, I thought about simply using it as an excuse not to go.”
“But earlier you said the Duke Fernandez ordered you to achieve results.”
“He’d probably be angry, but what can I do about the circumstances? Sometimes I feel like being difficult too.”
That boy and the word difficult.
Those were probably the least compatible words in existence.
“Then why step in and help us?”
“Because you looked desperate.”
“Me?”
Arhen pointed at herself.
“Yes.”
Ian nodded.
“I was curious why you were that desperate. I wondered if maybe you knew something…”
“……”
“So I decided I should help you.”
Ian looked directly at her and smiled very faintly.
Arhen returned the smile while thinking,
‘Do mages have some talent for making even ordinary words sound suspicious?’
Well, technically she was a mage too, but still…
There was something subtly twisted about the way he spoke that made even kind words sound layered with hidden meaning.
It felt like getting tangled up with him too deeply could become dangerous.
Arhen had excellent danger instincts.
She couldn’t clearly explain what exactly felt off, but she was certain nothing good would come from becoming too involved.
‘But still…’
She was also genuinely grateful.
How could she dislike someone who could have simply walked past, yet instead stepped in without asking for anything and pulled her out of a crisis?
‘Suspicious, but kind.’
That was enough of a conclusion for now.
“You said earlier that someone intentionally damaged the forest, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you record the traces?”
“More or less?”
The shape of carriage wheels, weapon marks left on trees.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough to completely identify the culprit, but it was enough to narrow the possibilities considerably.
And once you considered who absolutely had to pass through this road…
there was only one person left.
“You did well. If this becomes a bigger issue later, you can use it as evidence.”
“……”
“Well, around here, even without looking closely, it’s probably Boris. Among the people using this route, he’s the only one passionate enough to pull something like this.”
Ian crossed his arms and leaned his head against the carriage wall as he spoke cynically.
“You know Boris?”
“He’s quite famous. In good ways and bad ways.”
For some reason, Ian looked particularly annoyed whenever Boris came up.
She wanted to ask more, but at that moment the carriage came to a stop.
They had finally reached their destination.
‘We made it on time.’
Only then did true relief finally wash over her.
Apparently she had been tense the entire time without realizing it.
Ian naturally stepped down from the carriage first before extending his hand toward Arhen.
Taking his hand, she climbed down and saw the knight orders from the families that had arrived earlier already setting up camps and preparing for the night.
The hunting tournament would begin tomorrow and continue for three days.
Since noble heirs from across the Empire had all brought their own knight orders, the scale resembled an actual battlefield.
A staff member who had finished registration tied a red string bracelet with a small mana stone onto Arhen’s wrist.
The gem on the bracelet automatically detected prey caught by participants and updated rankings in real time.
“I also brought one for Sir Ian.”
Though he spoke up, the staff member awkwardly hesitated while holding the bracelet, seemingly uncomfortable around the unfamiliar mage.
“Ah, I’ll tie it for him.”
Arhen naturally took the bracelet from the staff member and fastened it around Ian’s wrist herself.
Ian silently stared down at the bracelet she tied onto him.
“What? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
At that moment, Oliver arrived carrying Ian’s luggage and horse reins.
The instant he saw Ian, he bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle in gratitude.
“Thank you very much.”
It was the formal posture of a knight expressing sincere thanks.
For some reason, it almost felt like he was treating Ian with more formality than Arhen, despite spending the last month training alongside her.
“You helped us safely escort my lady here.”
A sharp ache tugged unexpectedly at the corner of Arhen’s heart.
Because the emotions reflected in Oliver’s eyes were utterly genuine.
“It was nothing. Lady Arhen is… a very good master.”
Ian’s gaze briefly lingered on the side of her face before falling away.
Then he continued softly,
“Well then, I should get going.”
“Yeah. Thank you, really.”
He seemed ready to leave immediately, but hesitated for a moment.
“Next time…”
“Hm?”
“It’s nothing. Since you worked so hard to participate, I hope you achieve great results.”
After giving a small nod goodbye, he disappeared into the crowd with his horse.
Oliver stared at his retreating figure until it vanished, then turned to Arhen.
“A lot happened, but I’m truly relieved we arrived safely.”
“……”
“This time, just like Sir Ian said, you’ll definitely achieve good results. You worked very hard for this.”
Once again, there wasn’t even the slightest trace of dishonesty in his words.
This was the first genuine warmth Arhen had felt between people since arriving here.
Feeling newly grateful that she hadn’t lashed out in anger before, she smiled brightly at him.
“Yeah. I’m going to win this tournament.”
Oliver’s eyes widened briefly before he awkwardly smiled back at her.
After hesitating for a moment, as though gathering courage, he finally began speaking with difficulty.
“Lady Arhen, please be careful around Sir Ian—”
But the timing was terrible.
Because right behind Arhen—
“My, my. The great House Mercedes is saying they’ll win the championship again this year?”
A blatantly mocking voice rang out.
Followed by laughter from those agreeing with it.
