Episode 55
Long, flowing deep blue hair, eyes shimmering like emeralds.
An incredibly beautiful appearance.
Her expression was intellectual, yet the slight upward tilt of her eyes gave off an air of strong pride. She exuded a haughty charm.
“Who is she? Definitely not one of the Dark Maga’s people.”
Christian looked on with curiosity.
She didn’t seem like an ordinary girl.
“She’s at the level of a third star.”
She appeared to be in her late teens, but her cultivation was remarkably deep. Not just any third star—she was well into the upper ranks of the third star.
Considering her age, that was an astonishingly high level.
Her status didn’t seem trivial either.
Behind the girl stood several maids, all radiating formidable energy. Their presence rivaled even the elite maids of the Dark Maga.
Yet strangely, the girl seemed to recognize Christian.
“You know me?”
“…You know me?” Christian echoed, surprised.
The girl’s eyes suddenly narrowed in anger.
Not just her—her maids behind her also emitted hostile energy toward Christian.
“How dare you insult me like that…”
“…??”
It seemed she had known Christian back when he was still ‘Christian’—before whatever had changed him.
But Christian was utterly confused.
“Wait a moment.”
He tried to speak, but one of the maids cut him off, casting a disdainful glance his way.
“Princess, let’s just go. There’s no need to waste time on such trash.”
“…Very well.”
The girl took a deep breath, composed herself, then sneered at the bottles of alcohol in Christian’s hand as if looking at a disgusting insect.
“Drinking in broad daylight. You really haven’t changed.”
“…No, I mean, this is—wait.”
Christian tried to explain, but she ignored him, her cold expression signaling she didn’t want to exchange another word. Then she vanished.
“…What just happened?”
Christian’s face twisted in disbelief.
What kind of trouble was this all of a sudden?
He had even planned to drink to sober up, yet here he was, feeling utterly wronged.
‘…Who is this girl?’
But after hearing her identity, Christian understood why she had reacted that way.
There was a perfectly good reason for her anger.
“She is Princess Marisa of the Extreme Poison Maga.”
The halfling butler who had witnessed the commotion explained her identity.
Marisa.
A name both unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar.
Christian repeated the name a few times until his eyes widened in realization.
“…My fiancée?”
“More precisely, your former fiancée.”
The halfling butler corrected him bluntly.
“Princess Marisa waited patiently, postponing the annulment despite your disappointing behavior. But in the end, you insulted her so severely that the engagement was broken off, wasn’t it?”
Princess Marisa of the Extreme Poison Maga ground her teeth.
“Damn him.”
The image of Christian from earlier refused to leave her mind.
“Are you alright, Princess?”
“…I’m fine.”
No, she wasn’t fine at all.
Back when Christian was still a decent boy—before he became a reckless rogue—Marisa was just a little girl too.
Christian was her first, immature love.
She had fallen for him at first sight during a family exchange event.
When their families arranged a political engagement to strengthen ties, she was overjoyed, clutching a mandragora doll in her room.
But then Christian changed.
Rumors of his misdeeds never ceased, and the elders of their families pushed for annulment, but Marisa refused.
She believed it was just youthful rebellion and chose to wait.
Yet when they met again, he dealt her an unbearable insult.
Her long wait ended in bitter heartbreak.
And now, after all that—
[You know me?]
A voice that didn’t even remember her.
How could a person be so cruel?
“Princess.”
“Really, I’m fine.”
Marisa took a long breath.
She wasn’t here on a personal visit to the Dark Maga.
She was a delegate representing the Extreme Poison Maga’s interests.
“Please come this way, Princess.”
A high-ranking maid of the Dark Maga led her forward, and soon she faced a man.
The acting lord of the territory, Marquis Langham.
“We have come to discuss the ownership of the relic recently discovered in the neutral zone.”
“I see. What is the Extreme Poison Maga’s stance? The last relic found was taken by your side, so will you concede this one?”
“That’s out of the question.”
The Mage Empire was divided into five regions: the central territory ruled directly by the Mage Emperor, and four mage kingdoms to the east, west, south, and north.
The Dark Maga and Extreme Poison Maga belonged to the southern mage kingdom under the Blue Stream Mage King.
Are they close since they’re in the same kingdom?
Half true, half false.
They cooperate when fighting external enemies.
Otherwise?
They fight each other.
They were the most frequent rivals in local skirmishes.
For many reasons:
Territorial interests. Pride. Simply because they wanted to fight.
The two families clashed constantly.
But recently, a troublesome incident occurred.
A relic appeared in the neutral zone between their territories.
The Extreme Poison Maga found it first and took it.
The Dark Maga protested, but the Extreme Poison Maga refused to listen.
It was a bitter pill for the Dark Maga.
It should have ended there, but then another problem arose.
Another relic was discovered in the neutral zone.
“I believe this relic rightfully belongs to us, the Dark Maga.”
“Talk of fairness between our two families? That’s laughable. Even if the Dark Maga opposes, would you really concede?”
Marquis Langham chuckled.
No way.
Neither side would give in.
They both wanted exclusive control over the relics.
“So, you propose that whoever finds the relic first claims ownership?”
The exact location of the relic was still unknown.
“Yes, but with conditions. The exploration team must be fewer than twenty members, and all maids must be third star or below.”
“To avoid clashes between our families?”
If the main forces of either family suffered casualties, a large-scale conflict would be inevitable.
Hence the proposal.
“Yes. If we shed too much blood, it only benefits our enemies. The situation at the ‘Evil King’s Castle’ is also unstable.”
The two families had many enemies.
Close by was the Destruction Maga within the southern mage kingdom.
Outside, the Crusade Alliance’s Gold Cross.
To the east, the ‘Evil King’s Castle’ coalition of the Death Spirit, Blood Sword, and Curse Maga.
This was why the two families bickered but avoided crossing certain lines.
For reference, the Mage Emperor never intervened in conflicts between the mage kingdoms under his rule. In fact, he rarely involved himself in anything.
Almost as if he were a bystander—or perhaps even encouraging their disputes.
“Very well, I accept the terms.”
“Are you sure?”
Marisa’s eyes widened.
Since the last relic was taken by the Extreme Poison Maga, she had expected the Dark Maga to push hard for an advantage this time.
“However, there is one additional condition. If the Extreme Poison Maga breaks the agreement, we will claim ownership not only of this relic but also the one found previously.”
“What do you mean by breaking the agreement?”
“Interfering with our exploration team through underhanded means. Traps and ambushes are specialties of the Extreme Poison Maga.”
Marisa’s expression hardened.
“That will not happen.”
“Then it’s settled. If you refuse the additional condition, there will be no negotiation.”
Marisa frowned.
Something felt off.
But she had to concede to some extent.
Above all, what Marquis Langham said was unlikely to happen.
“Understood. I accept the additional condition.”
“Will you personally lead the Extreme Poison Maga’s exploration team?”
“Yes, I intend to.”
Marisa answered firmly.
Since she would lead the team herself, what Langham warned about was unlikely to occur.
“I see. Then I look forward to witnessing the might of the renowned So Mandok.”
“Then, I will take my leave.”
After exchanging greetings, Marisa disappeared.
Marquis Langham adjusted his cold, metal-rimmed glasses and stared at the chessboard before him.
He knocked over a white pawn.
“Marisa.”
Then a black pawn.
“Jupien.”
The second princess of the Dark Maga.
Finally, he toppled another black pawn.
“Christian.”
These three were the pieces in his plan, the ones destined to be sacrificed.
“Here is the Black Sword.”
Marquis Langham said nothing upon seeing Christian’s black sword.
Christian grinned.
“So, I passed the first test?”
“Indeed. Now, I will tell you about the second test.”
Langham spoke of the relic in the neutral zone.
“You want me to find the relic in the neutral zone?”
“Yes. If you make enough contribution in finding the relic, you will be granted the title of Gongja.”
Christian looked puzzled.
An unexpectedly straightforward mission.
He had expected a life-threatening task.
Of course, the neutral zone was dangerous.
Monsters of all kinds appeared there.
With Christian’s current abilities, he could easily lose his life.
Still, it was a far milder mission than he had anticipated.
“No. This is definitely a dangerous mission.”
An instinctive sense of danger sounded an alarm.
There was something hidden beneath the surface of this mission.
But Christian bowed his head without showing it.
“Yes, understood. Am I to go alone?”
“No, that’s impossible. You will be part of the team led by the second princess, Jupien.”
He was to follow the orders of the second princess.
Not a welcome fact, but there was no choice.
You can only have a subordinate mage under your command after becoming a duke.
“This mission was originally meant for Roin. But since I’m assigning it to you instead, you must do your absolute best to achieve results.”
“I will follow your orders.”
“We need to depart soon, so get ready.”
Chris frowned as he stepped outside.
“An artifact in the neutral zone, huh? What kind of incident is this?”
Thanks to the Dark Gossip, Chris was roughly aware of most major events that had occurred in the Mage Empire.
But this particular case didn’t ring any bells.
“Maybe it wasn’t something the Dark Gossip would bother mentioning?”
Then, a sudden question popped into his mind.
— This mission was originally meant for Roin.
“Come to think of it, what happened to Roin in the original timeline?”
The one who was supposed to become duke this time wasn’t Chris, but Roin.
If it hadn’t been for Chris, Roin would have smoothly inherited the title.
“But I’ve never heard anything about Roin. Why is that?”
Despite being from a noble family, Chris had never heard a single thing about Roin.
There was only one reason.
He was dead.
And quickly, without ever gaining any fame or recognition.
Why did he die?
Chris’s mind raced as he pieced together the truth.
“…Could it be that he died because of this very mission?”