chapter 10
“Just wash it off with a cleansing spell.”
“I don't like Light-attribute magic.”
Magic had different attributes, and cleansing magic belonged to the Light attribute, which was the exact opposite of Sara's Darkness attribute.
Most people tolerated it because cleansing magic was incredibly useful in daily life, but Sara was stubborn about things like that.
“You're so sensitive.”
Sara was a habitual latecomer anyway. I was already used to it, so I decided to let it slide and pointed at the paper on the table.
“Sara, could you take a look at this?”
The moment Sara saw the paper, she grimaced and took a step back.
“Princess, this is a high-level defensive spell. And it feels extremely unpleasant. Who on earth cast this magic?”
“Unpleasant?”
“Several spells are layered together. Darkness, wind... and fire is the strongest. I hate these mixed-attribute spells.”
Whether Sara liked it or not didn't really matter to me, but I was a kind master. I walked over, grabbed her hand firmly, and said:
“Sara, you still have a lot of debt left to repay, don't you? Should we go check your balance at Galatia Bank and reaffirm our master-servant relationship?”
“...Someday, I'm going to blow that bank up.”
“Oh dear. Galatia Bank operates across the entire continent. To do that, you'd have to destroy the Mage Tower of the Kingdom of Serbi first. They're the ones protecting the bank, remember?”
Sara frowned deeply and slipped her hand out of mine.
Then she reached into thin air, pulled out her staff, and strode toward the table.
“By the way, there's a tracking spell on this. Whoever cast it may already know that you've touched the document, Princess.”
She raised her staff, then glanced at me.
“I know.”
“It could put you in danger. Are you sure you're okay with that?”
“The entire princess's palace is protected by magical barriers. And I have plenty of defensive items you made for me. If necessary, why don't you stay nearby for a few months?”
“I dislike bright places. I'd rather research magic somewhere dark and damp.”
What an unsympathetic mage.
I already knew Sara wasn't affectionate, but the fact that she wouldn't care even if the princess died...
Well, I knew that too.
“You're too cold.”
“Isn't that entirely Your Highness's fault?”
We exchanged our usual banter while staring intently at the paper.
Sara's staff was as thin as a chopstick. There wasn't a single gem decorating it.
I'd heard it was carved from wood saturated with magical energy, but true to Sara's personality, the design was painfully plain.
She lifted the staff and poked the string binding the paper.
The moment she did, a vortex began spinning around the string.
It was small, but incredibly powerful.
The wind whipped mine and Sara's hair upward.
Bookshelves trembled, curtains flapped wildly, and every bottle of ink and pen nib on the table crashed to the floor.
Outside, the knights and maids waiting under orders not to enter shouted in alarm.
“Is everything all right?!”
“It's fine! Don't come in!”
After shouting back, I looked at Sara.
Unusually for her, cold sweat was running down her cheeks.
This must be incredibly powerful magic. I've never seen Sara struggle before.
At that moment, Sara was breaking a defensive spell through offensive means.
In other words, she was bombarding the defensive magic tied to the string with an even stronger, more advanced attack spell.
The collision of the spells was creating the vortex.
How many minutes did the wind rage?
CRASH!!
Every pane of glass in the room shattered, including the windows.
Even the glass globes surrounding the chandelier's candles exploded, nearly causing the chandelier itself to fall.
Sara immediately grabbed me and pressed us against the wall.
Startled, I blinked while trapped in her arms.
“S-Sara... thank you...”
“What happened?!”
The knights and maids rushed into the room.
They stared in horror at the devastation.
“W-What on earth...?”
Then they spotted me pressed against the wall in Sara's embrace and immediately drew their swords and spears.
“Release the Princess at once!”
“Stop! Sara didn't do anything wrong!”
At my shout, the weapons slowly lowered.
Sara relaxed her grip, and I stepped away from her.
“Thank you, Sara. Really.”
“...Yes.”
After giving her a small nod, I slowly approached the paper lying on the table.
Such powerful magic... It really must be something highly confidential.
My curiosity, once awakened, refused to stop.
Before I knew it, I had unfolded the paper.
And...
The moment I saw what was written, I froze.
“Princess, is something wrong?”
“...”
“Princess.”
Sara called out to me several times, but I couldn't answer.
It wasn't only because of the contents.
The contents were shocking enough, but the writing itself was impossible.
The characters written on the paper could never exist in this world.
[ On the final day of the Birthday Festival, kidnap Saintess Aurora and teleport her to a cave in the Resher Desert. ]
It's Hangul...!
Still in shock, I sat motionless in the study, staring at the paper.
Is there someone else besides me who can read Hangul?
My thoughts branched endlessly.
No... maybe it's supposed to be the writing system of some obscure tribe or unusual race I don't know about. This is a novel, after all. Maybe I just don't remember everything...
But after years of reading romance-fantasy novels...
The protagonists usually possess that miraculous ability where, the moment they transmigrate—
"My goodness! I don't understand how it works, but somehow I can read, write, and speak a completely unfamiliar language!"
—and immediately adapt to the world.
Because of that, things like Hangul almost never appear in romance-fantasy stories.
When I first possessed this body, I hadn't spoken Korean—I had spoken the Singcaster language.
After all, using Hangul in a medieval fantasy setting made no sense!
And there was another problem.
The contents.
Since the document had been dropped by the aide Eric, it had to be a secret mission assigned to him.
[ Kidnap Saintess Aurora... ]
Fury surged through me, and I leapt to my feet.
“Kidnap the Saintess? How outrageous! Prince Leonard must have ordered this.”
That handsome face had deceived me!
Did he think I'd forgive anything just because he was good-looking?
Well...
I almost did.
As anger boiled inside me, a sudden noise came from the window frame.
“Sir Aaron?”
Thinking my brother had come instead, I turned around eagerly.
My heart nearly stopped.
Perched on the window wasn't the white owl.
It was Prince Leonard, wearing a cold expression I had never once seen during the festival.
I didn't even have time to scream.
He moved faster than anyone I'd ever known and clamped a hand over my mouth.
The princess's palace was protected by a magical barrier.
No one except me and those I permitted could use magic inside.
There was also a holy barrier.
Breaking through it would require overwhelming force.
In other words—
The man standing before me was monstrously powerful.
What exactly is this prince...?
At the same time that shock hit me, a bitter taste spread through my mouth.
My consciousness began to blur.
My eyes slowly closed as his voice echoed in my ears.
“Princess, you'll have to come with me for a moment.”
Drip.
“Ah! Cold!”
The icy drop that struck the top of my head jolted me awake.
When I opened my eyes, I immediately knew this wasn't a place I recognized.
There wasn't a single window.
Moss covered every wall.
And what chilled me even more was the sight of iron bars in the distance.
A prison.
“You're awake?”
Startled, I spun around.
The man who had kidnapped me stood silently behind me.
His face was hidden in shadow.
He looked like the Grim Reaper.
“W-Where... is this?”
