I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind - Chapter 19
There seemed to be no such thing as: “privilege” for those who reincarnate into this world.
“What’s the point of having these powers? I can’t even use them properly…”
She sought out the scheming mastermind to survive, but there was still little Eliana could do.
As she was struggling with her frustration, there was a sudden bang! A thunderbolt with a crackling sound.
Eliana sprang up in surprise.
For a moment, she thought the timing was amazing, but then the sound of thunder struck again, rattling the window.
Eliana wandered from her bed in curiosity, pulled back the curtains, and checked outside.
Eliana’s eyes filled with joy at the sight.
“No way, it’s snowing in this weather?!”
The weather in the empire was mild.
Of course, mana stones, which maintained the spring, summer, fall, and winter elements, were installed in the east, west, north, and south, the surrounding points of palace.
But this was the heart of the palace.
Simply put, it doesn’t snow here.
The sight of this unreasonable weather was a shock itself.
And the snow was falling hard, heavily, not even sleet.
“Eliana?” Verkley knocked on the door.
Eliana hurriedly arranged her clothes and opened the door.
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, it just started snowing all of a sudden…”
“It’s snowing?” Verkley tilted his head.
Even though there was thunder, they could not confirm by going outside.
Verkley walked to the window, opened it, and reached out.
He was trying to check whether it was rain or snow using his sense of touch.
Thick snow started to fall through the crack of the window.
Verkley had been standing there for a long time before he shortly said, “Is the dragon playing some kind of joke?”
“Huh?”
“This is not natural snow. It’s magic.”
“…What?!”
Eliana was astonished and rushed to Verkley’s side.
She didn’t care how she startled him. She glared at the pouring snow.
And then she suddenly remembered muttering, “I just wish this world was ruined.”
No way.
She didn’t… think so.
Eliana rolled her eyes, believing this couldn’t have been her fault.
It shouldn’t have been possible.
She couldn’t even freeze the water in a teacup, let alone cause it to snow.
Besides, the snow had already fallen, and Eliana didn’t know how to stop or get rid of it.
If she knew, Fin wouldn’t have had to painstakingly make that trip back to the Mussieux Estate.
But her escape from reality was shattered by Verkley’s next words.
“It’s strange. Why do I sense your energy in the snow?”
“Oh, God.”
Embarrassment prickled at Eliana.
It seems the magic was used at her own will.
As it turns out, it was snowing heavily only in the center of the palace.
There were no changes in the Seasonal Palace and the Main Palace.
Eliana felt tears welling and turned to Verkley. “Your Majesty, I think I did this.”
“…What?”
“What do I do? I don’t know how to stop magic. At this rate, the palace could be covered in snow.”
“You… you’re a natural mage?” Verkley asked, trembling with agitation.
In hindsight, Hera was told that Eliana’s abilities showed up late, but she did not know they were natural.
But Eliana couldn’t respond to his embarrassment.
She was too busy stomping her feet and reciting strange spells such as ‘Stop, ap!’
But if the spell were to stop the snow, it would have worked immediately.
“…Eliana.”
‘What do I do… What do I do?’
It was when Eliana was restless that she felt movement behind her.
Verkley reached out with his arm and held her hand.
For some reason, Eliana’s body became stiff in his arms.
Soon, she could hear a soft voice.
“Magic doesn’t just stop that way. You’re more naïve than I thought.”
“H-How do I stop it, then?” Eliana murmured, her burning face cast down.
Verkley tightened his hold on Eliana’s hand and explained. “Relax your body and focus on your mana core.”
“M-Mana Core? Where is it?”
“Did you use your magic without knowing where your mana core is?”
“…It hasn’t been long since I discovered my powers,” Eliana replied in a sullen tone.
First of all, she was not from this world so she couldn’t have known yet.
She was an ordinary woman from South Korea. Just because she became a mage overnight did not mean she’d develop knowledge quickly.
Verkley held both her hands together and whispered. “Close your eyes.”
“Okay.”
“You’ll put a lot of pressure on your mana core if you don’t close your eyes. Now, I’m going to release some mana, and you’ll have to find where it’s getting sucked into. Then you can tell me where it is.”
“I-I will.”
Eliana squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to put any pressure on her mana core.
No wonder she kept feeling weak and sick. It was because she used her magic excessively.
A second later, she felt something flowing between Verkley’s hands and her’s.
It was a strange feeling.
Like she was less fatigued as if she received a nutritional injection.
She felt the energy rushing into her shoulder.
Eliana’s eyes snapped open, and she looked at him over her shoulder, exclaiming, “It’s in my shoulder…!”
However, the words died in her throat.
But she wasn’t surprised because of how close their faces were together.
No, she was surprised, but that’s not why her words got stuck in her throat.
Verkley also showed his surprise at the closeness of their faces, but his eyes were red.
There was a clear mark of the contract on his right eye.
Words slipped out of Eliana’s mouth.
“Your Majesty… your eyes.”
“This…”
Verkley released her hands, the corners of his mouth sweeping up.
He looked as if he didn’t know how to explain it.
‘Please, no… This isn’t how you’re going to kill me, is it?’
Verkley had eliminated people who had noticed his power before he revealed it.
Suddenly, she felt a shiver roll up her spine.
Eliana felt uneasy and peered up at him.
His eyes had returned to their natural blue before she knew it.
It was only then that Eliana smiled and pretended she witnessed nothing wrong.
“I thought we made eye contact! Sometimes, it feels like I’m always drawn to Your Majesty’s eyes. Haha.”
“…”
Verkley remained silent.
Eliana, disturbed by the silence, turned back around.
She felt like she was going to get caught lying while looking into his eyes.
The heavy snow was still falling.
Eliana urged in a serious voice. “I found my mana core. What should I do now?”
“You said you felt it here, right?” Verkley uttered in a calm voice, touching Eliana’s shoulder blade.
A cool aura crept over her back. It felt nice because of her thin pajamas.
Somehow, her back felt ramrod straight.
“Yeah, there.”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Verkley brought both his hands up near the root of her mana core.
It was a mysterious sensation as if wings had sprouted out.
Every time he touched the side of her shoulder, her entire body would clench, and her throat felt dry.
She didn’t want to reveal how nervous she was so she straightened her back even more.
He muttered to himself, but she didn’t understand him.
A few moments later, her back became hot, and she felt a tremendous amount of pain.
“Ugh!”
“Shh. It’s okay.”
Verkley stroked Eliana’s shoulder.
A feeling of nausea. Heart pounding, her breath began to shorten.
When she thought she couldn’t stand it any longer as her sight flickered in and out, the pain stopped completely.
Watching the snow that had fallen onto the floor melt away was astonishing.
“H-How did you do that?”
“I reversed the magic you cast.”
“Ah.” Eliana let out a small sound of acknowledgment.
She realized that he too was of Owen descent.
On the day of his debut at 18, Verkley gained abilities both magical and divine.
Rather than attacking his opponents, his auxiliary abilities help him to amplify magic from behind or reduce his enemy’s magical power.
‘If he hadn’t been blind on the day of his debut, he would have been more powerful.’
It was an insignificant ability for an emperor but also an excellent ability for dealing with the power of a demon.
And because of it, he was able to separate his power from the demon.
Perhaps Eliana’s magic had also diminished in that way.
Eliana spoke to Verkley with curiosity.
“I’ve never seen auxiliary magic before.”
“It caused you a lot of pain. Are you okay?” Verkley asked, affectionately sweeping her hair.
It hurt a lot, but she was glad that he could reverse her magic.
If Verkley hadn’t helped, she might have kept releasing her power until she fainted.
Eliana replied, her face looking like she lost ten years of her lifespan. “No, I haven’t been able to control my strength yet, but I’ve survived thanks to you, Your Majesty.”
“I had no idea you had those powers… Don’t you want to use your magic properly?”
Eliana nodded at his insinuating question.
“I don’t know how, but the Empress Dowager said she’d introduce me to Duke Harpons—”
“Can I help you?” Verkley suggested before Eliana could even finish.
Eliana looked up at him.
His eyes were still off, but she didn’t feel any hostility emitting from him.
As she stared at him without a word, Verkley spoke again, as if it had already been decided.
“I’ll help you.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Eliana reluctantly agreed to his persistence.
Verkley’s smile was beautiful when she accepted.
And for some reason, her shoulder burned.
