“The Legend of Ancient Magic?”

Cassel and legend. It was a completely mismatched combination. Cassel seemed like the type to say, “Legends are nothing more than unreliable illusions”…

Riena looked around at the empty surroundings for no reason and opened the book. Somehow, thinking that “the” Cassel had read it made her curious.

While examining the book, there was a particularly tattered page.

‘Is this the page Cassel often looked at?’

When she carefully opened it, a chapter titled “The Goddess’s Dagger” unfolded.

Riena began reading from there first.

It is said that in the ancient kingdom, now known only as a legend, there were all kinds of magical tools. From tools that heated food to tools that instantly healed a dying person. The variety was wide.

Intrigued, Riena leaned back comfortably in the chair and focused on the book.

Among them, the story of a magical tool that defies the authority of the gods still catches the attention of many. It is the “Goddess’s Dagger”.

Below that, a long explanation followed along with an illustration of an ornate dagger.

There was only one reason the dagger was named after the “goddess”. It was because it contained a power that only gods could manipulate, a power that humans could never touch.

It was time.

The Goddess’s Dagger is known to have the ability to turn back time. Countless people have claimed to have used this dagger to turn back time, and the person who made the most credible claim was Claudine, a renowned magician in the ancient kingdom.

The son of a farmer living in the southern region of the ancient kingdom, Claudine one day began to claim that he had gone back in time. It was when he was 23 years old.

He said that the legendary dagger passed down through word of mouth actually existed, and that it was truly imbued with the power of the goddess.

To those who did not believe his words, he made several prophecies.

Among his prophecies, the most notable were that a great drought would come to the southern region and that the heir to the royal family at the time would die of a sudden illness.

As he claimed, a great drought occurred, and the heir fell ill with an unknown disease. What was even more surprising was that when the heir was given a medicine made by combining the herbs Claudine had instructed in advance, the heir’s illness was completely cured.

Because of this, Claudine was once suspected of staging the heir’s illness and went through hardships.

Riena became more and more immersed in the story. At the same time, various questions came to her mind.

Is it really possible to turn back time?

Why did Cassel focus on reading this part? Did he have something he wanted to turn back time for?

Could it be that he succeeded in turning back time like Claudine?

Riena quickly read the text again.

However, after a long investigation, Claudine’s innocence was proven, and only then did people begin to believe that he had really gone back in time.

There was a decisive moment that supported his claim: Claudine used magic freely.

He was from the countryside and said he had never learned magic or seen a magician before coming to the capital. Moreover, he could not even afford expensive books like grimoires, so self-study was also impossible.

Nevertheless, he handled a vast amount of mana very naturally, like someone who had learned magic for a long time, and he was thoroughly knowledgeable about magical theory.

As more people began to follow him, Claudine warned:

“Ten years from now, on the day countless stars fall behind the palace, our kingdom will perish for unknown reasons. Magicians will also gradually disappear, and in the next generation, children with magical abilities will no longer be born.”

It was a chilling prophecy and warning. Claudine argued that everyone should work together to prevent the destruction, but he could not provide a specific solution.

Without any progress, the kingdom disappeared after 10 years. Coincidentally or not, on that day, many stars fell over the palace as foretold.

Those who barely escaped the kingdom pleaded with Claudine.

“If you can truly turn back time, please turn back time just once more. If we go back to the past and devise countermeasures, can’t we save everyone?”

However, Claudine said firmly:

“You foolish ones. The goddess does not bestow mercy twice.”

“Then at least tell us where the Goddess’s Dagger is. This time, I will try!”

Claudine snorted and unbuttoned his shirt.

“Do you think you can turn back time just by finding the dagger? The goddess is not so merciful. Do you see this red wound on my heart? This is…”

When she read that far, Riena was so startled that she dropped the book. With a thud, the thick book fell to the floor in a pitiful state.

Her heart was beating rapidly. Her head was dizzy as if someone was twisting and stirring her brain.

‘A red wound on the heart…’

Doesn’t that sound like a description of Cassel’s scar?

Riena took deep breaths to calm her still unsettled heart and picked up the book again.

“…?”

But the book was different from before. The back of the cover, which she had simply thought was thick, was slightly split.

It seemed that the place where the leather was attached had been hit by an impact and slightly torn off. No matter how she looked at it, it didn’t seem like it was done when the book was first made, but rather added later.

Just in case, she felt the back cover, and unlike the front cover, something caught on her fingertips.

Riena carefully examined the gap. Then she saw the paper inside.

After some deliberation, she carefully took out the paper. Surprisingly, it was an old letter.

‘What letter?’

Judging by the age of the letter, it didn’t seem to be Cassel’s…

Riena unfolded the letter without thinking and was startled as soon as she saw the paper, dropping the letter. The ivory-colored letter that fell limply onto the carpet was stained with dark red ink.

No, at first she thought it was just smudged ink.

But it wasn’t.

This was a dried bloodstain. It wasn’t a mistake. The faint scent of blood remained on the letter.

Her heart, which had barely calmed down, began to beat rapidly again.

Why on earth was this letter hidden in this book?

Did Cassel hide it?

What on earth happened…

Her mind screamed that she should forget everything she had just seen and pretend she hadn’t seen it. Nevertheless, Riena couldn’t hide her curiosity and began to read the letter.

To Duke Winkler.

The handwriting was a complete mess, as if written in a hurry. Some strokes were oddly smudged, as if written in a moving carriage rather than at a desk. On top of that, dried blood was scattered in places, making it difficult to read the letter properly.

After reading the letter several times and shining sunlight on the letter from various angles, Riena was finally able to decipher it.

I do not love you, Duke. The last time I called you Cassel, it was just a mistake. I don’t know how you took it, but I have no feelings for you.

Please consider that I did not hear your suggestion to leave together. So please do not contact me or come to see me anymore. Please don’t make things difficult for me.

R.

At first, when she saw the phrase “To Duke Winkler,” she thought it was a letter received by one of Cassel’s ancestors.

However, the moment she discovered the name “Cassel,” her heart sank.

‘Cassel? Does it mean Cassel?’

If not, could there have been another Duke Winkler named Cassel among his predecessors?

She couldn’t tell. It seemed that she could check the Winkler family tree later.

But one thing was clear.

‘It must have been an affair.’

It seemed that the person named Cassel loved a woman with the initial R, and she rejected him with this letter.

‘If this is a letter Cassel received…’

Her hands trembled. A letter stained with blood and involved in an affair. She had a bad feeling.

Although it was a short letter, Riena felt like she roughly knew what had happened between the two.

‘Why on earth did he suggest leaving together? What happened? And if this is really a letter Cassel received, what will happen to me?’

On the first night they spent together here, when she asked if he had a lover, Cassel paused for a moment and then answered that he didn’t. He also added that he had only loved Riena for a long time.

His expression and voice were serious, and Riena believed his words firmly without any doubt.

At the time she asked that question, even if Cassel had a lover, she intended to just ask and move on.

However, seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t remain calm.

Such a passionate love. She never expected this at all.

She wanted to confront Cassel right away. She wanted to ask him if he was really the one who received this letter, what kind of woman R was, and what kind of relationship the two had, and get answers.

At the same time, however, the thought that she shouldn’t do that caught her ankle.

If Cassel admitted everything and said that he still couldn’t forget the woman who heartlessly left him, she felt like she wouldn’t be able to bear it in her right mind.