Instead of answering, Leonard stared intently at her face before lightly flicking Cordelia’s nose with his finger. Caught off guard, Cordelia let out a short yelp with a stunned expression.

“Ouch!”

“Why aren’t you wearing the bracelet? You’ve worn it before. Did you already forget how to use it? Has your head turned back to stone because I’ve been too lenient with you lately? I should knock on it to see what sound it makes.”

“Tch, when have you ever been lenient, Master…”

Cordelia pouted as she rubbed her nose. She had her own excuses.

“That’s not it. Margrave Embly bribed my father and set up magic in that room in advance. When it activated, my strength drained and I couldn’t use any magic.”

“Seems they laid down a suppression magic circle. But if you hadn’t been neglecting your studies, you could have easily broken through it.”

“R-Really?”

Leonard’s expression hadn’t changed from before. If anything, it had become even sterner. Cordelia was a bit taken aback, as she hadn’t thought the trap she fell into was breakable.

“That’s. Why. I. Told. You. To. Study. Hard. Didn’t. I?”

He pressed down on Cordelia’s head with each word. His usual indifferent tone made Cordelia feel the tearful emotion from earlier rapidly fading away.

“I didn’t know then.”

“Are you going to say that even after you’re dead? I can’t take my eyes off you for a second because you’re always causing or getting involved in trouble.”

“I’m sorry.”

Cordelia hung her head. Regardless of how it happened, it was true that all this occurred due to her mistake or carelessness.

The arm that had been tightly gripping her shoulder loosened.

“Enough. Lift your head. Let me see if that already ugly face of yours has become unsalvageable. …Beluce.”

Leonard jerked his chin. His faithful servant gave a disapproving glance at Cordelia, still tightly embraced in Leo’s arms, then grumbled as he lit a candle.

The flickering light illuminated the room. Only then could Cordelia properly see Leonard’s face. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but his jawline seemed sharper than before, as if he had lost some weight.

“How are you feeling? I heard you ingested Tharsia.”

“Did you hear from Margrave Embly?”

“Yes. They sent a letter first. Saying they have you and if I want to save you, I should come to Hasimus with the resurrection grimoire.”

“Don’t worry. Although I was kidnapped and poisoned, I managed to persuade Margrave Embly that I’ll be fine once I take the antidote.”

Even as she said it, Cordelia wondered if this was really something not to worry about, but she was sincere.

‘I apologize, Master.’

The moment he saw Gasil prostrated at his feet in tatters, Leonard realized something had gone terribly wrong.

When he heard the whole story, the first emotion he felt was piercing self-reproach. He had underestimated Maximilian too much. It pains him to admit, but the term “careless” would be appropriate.

He shouldn’t have sent only two knights with Cordelia. Even though there had already been signs of a kidnapping attempt, he had been complacent, trusting in Evrad’s treasure.

‘If you have something precious, you should know how to conceal it properly.’

The words of Gabriel, King of Ersche, who had clicked his tongue all the way to Hasimus, kept echoing in his mind.

Looking at it closely, the fundamental reason for Cordelia’s kidnapping was Leonard. He hadn’t imagined that his affection and attention towards her could become a noose tightening around Cordelia’s neck.

Leonard completely removed her from his embrace.

“The antidote?”

“Not yet.”

“Not yet? It’s been almost ten days since you were poisoned.”

“They need me alive to negotiate with you, Master, so they’ll keep me alive.”

Cordelia spoke rather coldly, as if it were someone else’s life, dismissing it as unimportant.

“Besides, the fact that you’ve come here in secret means the Margrave has switched to our side, doesn’t it?”

“Well. Whether he’s switched sides or not remains to be seen. Who knows if he’s just pretending to join hands with me while plotting something else with Maximilian.”

“But Margrave Embly is not…”

The one whose side she should be taking here is not Anton, but her master who rushed to Hasimus without hesitation for her sake. Cordelia recalled Anton’s dark expression and quickly shook her head.

“There’s no such thing as resurrection magic, is there?”

“Of course not. If such magic existed, the world’s order would crumble every day.”

“At first, I couldn’t understand why he did such a thing, but when I saw his daughter’s frozen corpse decorated with flowers…”

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for the one who kidnapped you and even poisoned you?”

“No. That’s not it. I was envious.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Leonard fell silent for a moment. Cordelia continued with a bitter smile.

“To have such a father. My father, Margrave Vasquez, said that my eyes are a symbol of infidelity.”

“What?”

“He said that since Vasquez originally has black eyes, the fact that I have green eyes means I’m a child born from my mother’s affair. That’s why he treated me that way, I guess.”

“You don’t believe that, do you? Your father is a man who has more drunken days than sober ones. Or it’s just an excuse he made up to justify his own despicable actions.”

Leonard immediately refuted. It’s impossible to determine one’s parentage based solely on eye color. Though rare, there are cases where a child doesn’t resemble either parent’s eyes.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Until now, I believed what my mother told me – that my green eyes were inherited from my maternal grandmother. But if even that isn’t true, then I…”

Cordelia lowered her eyes, seeming confused. The uneasiness she thought had subsided began to rear its head again.

“Actually, I just met Lani. She’s the nanny from Yeratcus who took care of me when I was young. Later, when I have time, I plan to ask her if she knows anything. Since Lani was closest to my mother, I thought she might know something.”

“Nanny? The nanny who raised you is in Hasimus? How?”

“Margrave Embly invites pilgrims to the castle every year, and Lani was among them. She’s even a candidate for high priestess.”

“So that’s why we couldn’t find her.”

Leonard muttered in a low voice. He had sent people to Yeratcus through Baron, but they came up empty-handed. Who would have thought they’d meet her here.

“Pardon? Who were you looking for?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

He shook his head lightly. Cordelia didn’t press further and moved on.

“What are your plans now? Shouldn’t we quickly capture Maximilian before he finds out you’re here?”

“I’ll take care of that bastard myself. You just act normal. Don’t do anything suspicious and get caught. And I’ll find out how to make the antidote from Margrave Embly, so just wait a little longer.”

“But it’s said to be a secret method of the Embly family. Will they easily share it?”

“Even if I have to turn this Hasimus into a sea of flames, I’ll find out. So don’t worry about such unnecessary things.”

“That’s incredibly reassuring.”

Cordelia grinned. It wasn’t just words; she truly felt that way. Although no problems had been solved yet, the mere fact that Leonard was by her side calmed all her anxieties.

* * *

Lani Epio had been glancing towards the door continuously. Her gaze was so obvious that the person beside her couldn’t help but notice.

The young priest attending to Lani spoke up.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Yes. But it seems they’re busy now.”

Normally, she would have gone to find Cordelia first, but as her position had become ambiguous, it became difficult to meet someone hastily.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Lani’s face immediately brightened. The young priest smiled faintly at her expression and rushed to the door.

“Come in, ah-”

As soon as he opened the door, the young priest staggered and collapsed to the floor. Lani, startled by the sight, ran over.

“Lito!”

“He’s merely fallen asleep, so calm down.”

“Who are you?”

Lani hugged the fallen Lito, looking at the unfamiliar man with wary eyes. The handsome man with dazzling platinum blonde hair casually scanned the room with indifferent eyes, then entered without the owner’s permission.

Now only Lani and this man were in the room.

“Are you Lani Epio?”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Leonard Atilei. And also Cordelia’s master.”

“You’re the young lady’s master, no, Margrave Atilei? That Atilei?”

Although Yeratcus distanced itself from magic and news about magic wasn’t well-known, she had heard of Leonard Atilei.

The head of the White Snake Atilei and the most powerful iron-blooded mage in Ersche. She had heard many rumors about him, but she didn’t expect him to be such a young man.

Moreover, to think that Cordelia was his disciple – it was surprise after surprise.

“Sit down. I have some questions for you.”

He sat down on the chaise lounge in one corner of the living room as if he owned the place. Although his attitude was extremely arrogant and impolite, Lani hesitated before sitting across from him.

No matter how much of a high priestess candidate she was, she wasn’t brave enough to confront the Margrave Atilei.

“What do you wish to ask me?”

“I heard you were close to the previous Lady Vasquez.”

“That’s correct. If it weren’t for Lady Vasquez, I wouldn’t be here today.”

“Is that so? Then you must also know that she was unable to bear children.”

“How do you know that, Margrave?”

Lani was quite taken aback by the completely unexpected question. She had thought he would ask about Cordelia’s circumstances at most, but this was entirely unforeseen. Moreover, he even knew Grita’s secret, which only a select few were aware of.