As time passed, many things had changed. I was no longer the ugly duckling of the Brellof family. Many people wanted to meet me and build friendships. Ironically, I was the one insisting on keeping a distance and quietly spending time in the lab.

Although I might go to the Kalua Empire directly someday to find Askan, I had no intention of leaving now that I had finally found a clue.

“It’s nothing. It just seems like some lunatic sent it.”

“Why would someone send such a letter to the lab?”

“I don’t know. But one thing is for sure. It won’t go as they wish.”

It felt like I was being challenged by someone whose face I didn’t even know. So, if possible, go ahead and try it—such was my sentiment.
In the laboratory, where no one could forcibly take me away from, I was the only one capable of creating and using magical stones – weapons that rested within the lab. Although it was difficult for anyone to infiltrate the heavily guarded lab housing numerous weapons, forcing me out from here was an impossible task.

Rather than feeling threatened, I became intrigued by the date written in the letter.

‘I wonder how they plan to welcome me. If they have enough skill to approach the lab, I might get to see their face.’

It was interesting, but that was all. I dismissed it nonchalantly.

The day mentioned in the letter arrived. Curious if it might be a military force invading, I was disappointed to find only a few dozen people gathered in front of the lab.

Resolving conflicts between nations and wars they couldn’t settle were my specialties. In the well-prepared lab with only a few people, forcibly taking me away was an impossible task.

‘I was expecting a bit more excitement; this is quite dull.’

While organizing information about the Imperial Guard inside the room, a loud noise echoed around the silent lab.

The problem wasn’t the noise itself; it was the repetitive and continuous nature of it. Initially, I brushed it off, but soon I could sense it intuitively.

‘My devices are being destroyed.’

I approached the window again, looking outside as if possessed. A well-designed garden, curated by professionals, lay in ruins, with a large crater in the ground due to a massive explosion.

Seeing something meticulously crafted being ruined by an unknown intruder felt like something was boiling inside me.

‘Alright. Let’s give this a try, shall we?’

The magical engineering devices surrounding the lab were set to different security levels based on the activation of weapons according to my defined security steps.

Level 0 halted all weapons.

Level 1, the default setting, activated basic threatening weapons near the entrance and more dangerous ones as it got closer to the lab.

Level 2 intensified security both inside and outside to deter intruders or thieves.

Level 3, the most hazardous setting, would lethally eliminate anyone inside the lab.

The current security level was set to 1. I headed to the machine that allowed me to manipulate the security level and raised it to 2.

Even though it was just the basic level 1, the fact that someone could break my devices to this extent indicated a considerable level of skill on the intruder’s part. However, I had no intention of just watching.

‘Get caught if you can. You’ll have to compensate generously for ruining my garden.’
With the mindset of “Let’s see how long you can endure,” I approached the window again. Leisurely with crossed arms, I looked down, sensing something unusual.

I initially thought that dozens of people near the entrance of the lab had invaded simultaneously, but there was only one person approaching this place. Moreover, their face was covered with a black mask, making it impossible to identify them.

‘What? Did they really break through all the way here alone?’

I was quietly surprised, feeling that they possessed even greater abilities than I had thought.

Pavapavapak! Pavapavapak!

While my created machine gun incessantly spewed flames, the intruder moved faster, evading beyond the effective range.

However, my magical engineering weapons weren’t going to be that easily outsmarted. In an instant, another machine gun appeared from a different direction, aiming its barrel at the intruder.

Pavapavapavapavapak!

Thanks to the unexpectedly placed machine gun, the intruder couldn’t dodge the flames coming towards them in time. Pfft—

Swiftly, the intruder changed their arms into a cross shape, blocking the flames. However, the fire adhered to their clothes, and I could see their arm area burning.

Suddenly, something seemed off.

Although the black clothes the intruder was wearing were on fire, the exposed flesh inside seemed untouched and perfectly fine.

‘… What?’

For a moment, I wondered if I had seen it wrong.

Unconsciously, I approached the window to observe the opponent closely.

The intruder, finding it difficult to deal with the continuously appearing magical engineering weapons, began summoning flames around them.

‘Fire?’

As Ascan crossed my mind, I quickly shook my head. Even if it wasn’t Ascan, there were people with the ability to control fire. Since summoning flames was not exclusive to Ascan, I initially didn’t find it particularly noteworthy.

However, my magical engineering weapons attacking the intruder from all sides began catching fire, one by one.

The number of flames gradually increased.

One, two, three… seven.

It was then that I realized something was strange.

Someone could have the ability to control fire, but it was rare for someone to summon and control so many flames freely. Moreover, the flames created by the intruder did not extinguish over time, which was unusual.

The urgent message from an informant in the Kalua Empire, sent a few days ago, came to mind.

According to the information, the person infiltrating my lab was a member of Helcyon’s Imperial Guard. However, that was not important at the moment.

It was not a lie.

Thunk, unintentionally, I approached the glass window, trying to get a closer look at the intruder hidden behind the mask.

Someone I missed kept overlapping in appearance with the intruder.
All that could be seen now was pitch-black, ebony hair. The face was entirely covered by a black mask, making it impossible to see from the nose to the chin.

My heart raced.

Once the thought crossed my mind, it became uncontrollable.

I felt an urgent need to rush outside and somehow remove the mask that covered the intruder’s face.

In that moment—

Swoosh—

The mask on the intruder’s face, who was moving as if in a lie, flowed down as if scripted.

It seemed that the flames that the intruder had blocked with their face earlier affected not only their clothes but also the mask they were wearing.

When I saw his face, my heart responded first.

Thump, thump, thump.

The first thing that entered my vision was a sharp-eyed gaze crafted by a master as if carved meticulously.

It reminded me of Ascan, who initially glanced at me indifferently. Then the process of his gaze gradually changing, with affection filling his eyes each time he looked at me, flashed in my mind like a panorama.

The man with a perfect appearance, with a straight forehead, a prominent nose, flawless in every aspect, was a face I knew.

—When I weighed your life and the young lady’s, the answer had already been given.

It felt like hearing the words he spoke a long time ago echoing in my ears.

—I told you. I will protect every strand of the young lady’s hair so that no one can touch it.

Finally, his calm expression in my eyes and the overwhelming affection directed towards me in his gaze came back to life.

—Don’t worry. I won’t die, leaving you behind.

A boy buried in the memories from ten years ago.

“No way…”

It was Ascan.