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* * *

As soon as I stepped out of the office, I quickly followed Eugene. He smiled slightly the moment our eyes met, as if he had expected me to follow. 

I almost lost my words, momentarily taken aback by his annoyingly handsome face, but fortunately, I didn’t forget what I needed to say.

“Why did you turn it down?”

Eugene’s smiling expression instantly became serious at my question. He responded without hesitation, as if he had anticipated having this conversation with me.

“Did you really think I would accept?”

“It’s not a bad offer. Even if it’s temporary, you’d gain land and a title, and you’d be able to participate in society with dignity. It’s actually a great opportunity.”

I started listing the advantages on my fingers, but Eugene looked at me with a strange expression. I tilted my head, wondering why, and Eugene slumped his shoulders, letting out a deep sigh like a drenched puppy.

“Reshia, how old do I look to you?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly?

Blinking in confusion, Eugene leaned in, closing the distance between us. His face, which always carried such an overwhelming presence even from a distance, was now so close that I instinctively held my breath. 

Frozen with my shoulders tensed, Eugene’s eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

“It doesn’t seem like you completely see me as a child, given the way you act.”

Eugene lightly tapped the bridge of my nose with his finger, as if coaxing me to breathe. Only then did I let out the breath I had been holding and pushed his shoulder away, which was uncomfortably close. 

But unlike usual, when Eugene would have easily stepped back, he remained firmly in place, unmoved.

“W-What are you doing?” I stammered in confusion, and Eugene chuckled before straightening up.

“Just because you took me in doesn’t mean you need to take responsibility for my entire life, Reshia.”

“Took you in? You came to fulfill the great duty of the Ivory Tower…”

“I know what’s going on. I grew up learning to read situations well; I can sense what’s happening.”

Hearing Eugene speak so casually about his unfortunate past made my brow furrow automatically. I stretched out my arm and gently pinched his cheek, scolding him.

“I didn’t just ‘take you in.’ My reasons for bringing you here may not have been purely innocent, but my desire to protect you is entirely sincere.”

At my confident words, Eugene’s eyes widened slightly before a small laugh escaped his lips.

“Isn’t that a little too honest?”

“If I tried to cover it up with some clumsy lie, I wouldn’t earn your trust. I want you to trust me.”

“Is my trust that important to you?”

“Of course! You’re my precious friend!”

I clenched my fists, expressing my sincerity, and Eugene, who had been laughing, suddenly made a strange expression. There wasn’t anything offensive in what I said, so why was he reacting like this? 

While I silently replayed my words, wondering what had caused this reaction, Eugene gently pinched my cheek in return.

Eugene returned the gesture I had just given him moments ago.

“Reshia has a lot of friends, doesn’t she?”

“Guweh…?”

Since my cheek was being pinched, my words came out awkwardly. Eugene, still pinching my cheek lightly, lowered himself to meet my gaze.

“Like Leonid, and you’re close with the maids too, almost like friends. Sometimes, the way you act with His Eminence the Cardinal or Sir Axel, it seems like you’re friends with them too.”

“Guweh…?”

At the mention of Bael and Axel, I couldn’t help but flinch. Seeing my reaction, Eugene let out a peculiar sound, “Hmm,” and released my cheek. Instead, his warm green eyes drew near, staring intently at me. 

His eyes, far more mature than his years, felt deep, as if they could see right through me and read all my thoughts. Thinking of all the things Eugene had gone through from a young age that had shaped those eyes, I felt a heaviness settle in my heart. 

Without thinking, I reached out toward his eyes. Instead of pulling away, Eugene closed his eyes and allowed my hand to touch them. He let out a deep sigh, as if my touch had stirred some sympathy in him.

“Am I the only one you pity, Reshia?”

“I don’t pity you. It’s just… I feel a little… sorry for you.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter what you call it.”

Eugene caught my hand, the one brushing against his eyelids, and gently lowered it as he opened his eyes.

“If that’s what it takes to be the only one important to you, then I don’t mind. But if there’s a better way, I’d like to be that instead.”

In his green eyes, which met mine again, I could sense a strange resolve. Eugene’s eyes slowly softened, forming a beautiful smile.

“Thanks to you, I always want to become a better person, Reshia. I want to stand beside you with pride. That’s why I turned down the offer.”

Eugene reached out, gently ruffling my hair before straightening his posture.

“To be honest, being the pitiful child who monopolizes your attention would probably be the easier way. But I don’t want to do that anymore.”

As he stood taller, I had to crane my neck back to look up at him. He softly caressed the cheek he had pinched earlier.

“Could it be that you’re a mage, Reshia? Making me want to take the harder path when the easy one is right there.”

“Wha—no! That’s not possible!”

I knew the “mage” Eugene was referring to wasn’t the same kind of mage I was thinking of, but in this situation, with so much weighing on my mind, I couldn’t help but stumble over my words. Who’s the child here, really?

I managed to calm my blushing face, which had heated up from embarrassment, and Eugene smoothed out my hair, which had become messy from his touch.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of things. I’ll never be a burden to you.”

* * *

“Hmmmm…”

I lay in bed, rolling around restlessly, replaying my conversation with Eugene from earlier. His face and voice kept floating through my mind, making it impossible to lie still.

I couldn’t stay still, tossing and turning, causing such a ruckus that Lily began to watch me cautiously. But I had no time to explain myself to her.

‘I have no idea why I’m acting like this either.’

It wasn’t the first time someone’s face or voice refused to leave my mind. When Axel and I had fought, I had replayed his infuriating face over and over, grinding my teeth in frustration.

‘If I go even further back…’

I could still vividly recall the face and voice of the con artist who had stolen all the money I had painstakingly saved while living in the slums. After I learned black magic, the very first thing I did with my new power was to get revenge on that swindler.

‘But this time, it’s different.’

There was no rage, no clenching of my teeth, and no sudden surge of anger. Instead, Eugene’s calm green eyes, his faint smile, and his low voice continued to echo in my mind for reasons I couldn’t understand.

It was then that I heard a familiar voice outside.

“Reshia?”

“Huh? Bael…?”

What was Bael doing here when he should have been attending the Pope’s final pilgrimage? I hurriedly climbed out of bed and looked at Lily. 

The ever-resourceful maid quickly helped straighten my disheveled appearance before letting the guest waiting at the door inside.

Bael looked somewhat worn out, likely from the continuous pilgrimage duties. The moment the door opened, he quickly stepped inside and gestured to Lily. She understood immediately, quietly exiting the room after closing the door behind her.

Once we were alone, Bael placed a book in front of me.

It was the prophecy book.

“I think I’ve found the answer.”

“The answer?”

“Yes.”

Bael quickly opened the book and pointed to a specific passage.

“I believe this part is the key. It was expressed in difficult metaphors, so I struggled with it for a long time. But then, suddenly, my mind cleared, and the answer came to me—just like when I received the revelation to declare you as the Saintess.”

“Are you saying… you received another revelation?”

His unexpected words made my eyes widen, and Bael nodded enthusiastically, his face flushed with excitement.

“The prophecy warns of the resurrection of the Mad Dragon. But it also provides the solution: ‘Find and eliminate the sacrifice that will become the vessel of the Mad Dragon.’”

“…What?”

Eliminate the sacrifice? That was the solution in the prophecy?

I was at a loss for words, my lips pressed tightly together.

Of course it was. 

‘If the sacrifice… is Eugene.’