She poked at his firm arm a few times, then sighed.
“Is the reason I can’t see his karma score because of that?”
Because the fate of red mages is already fixed?
But that couldn’t be it — she could clearly see the karma score of Stefan, who was also a red mage like Caron.
“Doesn’t seem to be because of the madness, either…”
Quietly shifting closer to Caron’s pillow, Jeril stared at the hazy shape hovering over him.
There had to be a way to see it more clearly.
“Maybe I should just… wipe it clean? Like cleaning a window?”
Having made up her mind, Jeril started rubbing the system panel with her sleeve.
From a distance, it looked utterly ridiculous — but she was completely serious.
“...Huh?”
<system> [Karma: ▒9] </system>
After some vigorous scrubbing, the last digit became visible.
Just a bit more and she might see the first one, too.
“This actually works…”
She was briefly dumbfounded by the absurdly simple solution — then bit her lip with determination.
“I’m finishing this today, no matter what.”
She braced herself for a more thorough cleaning.
Placing both hands on either side of Caron’s head, she rounded her lips to blow on the panel—
That’s when she felt a sharp, piercing gaze.
“...Were you planning to devour me?”
“Ahk!”
Jeril fell backward. Her tailbone hurt, but the look in his eyes — as if he’d just caught a pervert — hurt even more.
“I feel insulted.”
“It’s not what you think!”
Clicking his tongue, Caron sat up.
While Jeril grumbled, she lamented inwardly.
“Ugh, I was so close to seeing it!”
It was too frustrating to give up now.
After a brief hesitation, she squeezed her eyes shut and blurted out:
“Should we… meet again next time?”
For a split second, his expression cracked.
Raising one brow, he asked,
“Why?”
“There are still places I want to show you. The capital’s huge! We haven’t even gone to the markets yet, and there’s a festival coming soon…”
And I still need to scrub your head a bit more.
Unfortunately, Caron hadn’t mastered telepathy. He just looked at her strangely.
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“Of what?”
“You said the Grand Duke of Repert was terrifying — because he’s violent and kills people. I’m the same. I’m a red mage, and I’ve killed, too.”
He said it almost as if he wanted her to be afraid of him.
But Jeril’s gaze on him was tinged with pity.
“So he’s afraid of being hated… Softer-hearted than I thought.”
Of course, that wasn’t the case at all.
“I’m not scared of you, Caron. You got the guardianship waiver for Stefan, saved my life, and you’re keeping my secret, right?”
“…”
“You don’t seem like a bad person to me. That’s my judgment.”
His eyes lingered on her face — with an unreadable expression.
Feeling the awkwardness rise, Jeril coughed softly.
“So… we’ll meet again, right?”
So I can wipe that head of yours properly next time.
“…Alright. Fine.”
Still clueless about her true motive, Caron nodded slowly.
“The child you brought home will be raised as a mage of the house.”
It was during one of Jeril’s occasional private breakfasts with the Marquis of Rubian.
“Do you mean Stefan?”
“Yes.”
The room fell into silence again — as it often did.
That was how the Marquis always was.
A distance too far to be family, but too close to be strangers.
That distance had never changed.
Jeril idly speared her food, thinking that the old her would have been hurt by it.
“What made you bring him here?”
So the conversation wasn’t over yet.
Jeril set down her napkin and gave a polite smile.
“He was a child abandoned by his parents. I didn’t think it right to ignore that.”
“…”
“And he was a red mage as well.”
The Marquis nodded slowly. “An abandoned child,” he murmured repeatedly, as if mulling over the phrase.
“I’m sorry if I caused you trouble.”
“No. You did well.”
“…What?”
“You too were abandoned once.”
She already knew that — she had possessed this infant body, after all.
The first thing she’d seen when she opened her eyes wasn’t a person but a snowstorm in midwinter.
The real Jeril Rubian probably hadn’t survived that cold.
And then she — the outsider — had taken over that body.
But the Marquis’ words were not what she’d expected.
“When we found you, your hair was already blue — and you were covered in blood.”
“…What?”
“Someone must have tried to kill you. The Blue Mage’s survival instinct must’ve kicked in at the last moment.”
“Someone tried to kill me?”
“I suspect it had to do with your sibling.”
“…My sibling?”
She almost spat out her juice.
Today was full of surprises.
“There were two bundles in the box you were left in.”
“You mean…”
“Someone took the other baby. Only you were left behind… Yes, you have a sibling.”
A shocking truth, twenty-four years late — but oddly, she didn’t feel much about it.
More than that, the idea that someone had tried to kill this body was far more alarming.
“You’re not upset I only tell you now?”
“No. It’s not like I suddenly feel some sibling bond or anything.”
Of course — she was a possessor, not the real Jeril.
She’d grown fond of Leon, sure, but longing for someone she’d never even met? No way.
“The energy left on that blanket was wicked. The complete opposite of yours.”
“…”
“Even if you had grown up together, you would not have coexisted.”
With that, the Marquis quietly resumed eating — looking oddly relieved, as if unburdened by an old secret.
“…Wicked energy?”
“What does that dim-witted Emperor want with me now?”
“My lord! Please, this is the imperial palace! Mind your words—”
Caron ignored his butler’s frantic whispering and continued to mutter curses.
“Maybe it’s about marriage? Rumor has it you got stood up by Lady Rubian, and word’s been spreading quietly—”
When Caron slowly turned his crimson eyes toward him, the butler quickly changed topics.
“Ahem, I mean — since His Majesty would rejoice if you lost your royal title, he’s probably calling to threaten you not to marry!”
They had arrived at the audience chamber by now.
The butler lowered his voice.
“Honestly, His Majesty is being ridiculous. You should just marry the Rubian lady and be done with it!”
Caron stopped in his tracks.
His fiery eyes grew cold and still.
“What?”
“It’s a perfect match — she’s neutral, not too powerful, but still noble. That’s why the meeting was arranged in the first place!”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
He frowned deeply — just as the doors to the chamber opened.
When the brothers faced each other after so long, there wasn’t a trace of warmth.
No greetings, no pleasantries — straight to the point.
“You’re getting married.”
“If you’re going to babble nonsense, I see you’ve lost your wits completely — though I doubt you ever had any.”
Caron looked at the Emperor.
His brother’s face was lined with years — twenty-five of them, to be exact.
The Emperor now had a crown prince nearly the same age as Caron himself.
“Let’s set aside your marriage for now. I want to discuss the crown prince.”
“…He’s a fine child,” Caron said dryly, his tone laced with sarcasm.
“What exactly have the crown prince and the saint been doing together?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“The monster incident in the Mekel region — did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
A heavy silence fell.
“All the monsters that appeared there were weak enough for trainees to subdue, yet an entire village was annihilated.”
“Just because they’re weak doesn’t mean they’re harmless.”
“And yet, there were no monster attack marks on the corpses.”
“…”
“Then who killed those villagers?”
A crack appeared in the Emperor’s composed face.
Caron’s narrowed eyes gleamed.
“I heard the corpses were covered in blue rashes. Even if I were to generously assume it was some local disease…”
“…”
“Where were the crown prince and the saint while people were dying?”
“…I think we should return to discussing your marriage, Grand Duke.”
“Don’t change the subject.”
“Lady Rubian, was it?”
Caron’s expression went blank — just for an instant, too brief to notice.
“If you’re not interested in the throne, perhaps I should find that girl a suitable husband instead.”
“So that’s why you called me here… just for that?”
Caron replied casually — though the hand that had been tapping the table slipped quietly into his pocket.
“The Duke of Perch’s son seems fitting. Ian, was it?”
