Chapter 169

The moment she saw Zecko’s suspicious movements, Siervian, who had just arrived at the orphanage, was startled. After a moment’s hesitation, Zecko swept his broom and took small steps toward the wall.

Then, with an exaggerated sweep of his hair, he leaned his chin against the shade of the wall.

‘Surely he’s not making another problem again?’

Siervian reflexively hid behind a nearby tree.

Roid, her escort knight who had been approaching her from afar, stopped in his tracks with a puzzled expression.

However, Zecko’s subsequent inner thoughts were far from her expectations.

[Zecko]
Thought: No one knows I’ve been slacking for 3 minutes now.

“….”

He was just stalling. Siervian looked at the meticulously tidy orphanage yard with a somewhat complicated expression. It was the kind of perfect cleaning where no one would say anything even if he sat down and took a break.

[Zecko]
Thought: Ugh, I’ll have another bowl at lunch later.

“….”

It was an orphanage where no one said anything about the children eating. She couldn’t understand Zecko’s psychological state, which seemed as if he was embezzling something big.

‘After not spying for a while, he’s back to his original self.’

Due to his parents’ incident, Zecko had been acting quite mature, unlike a child for a while. But lately, the dark(?) bravado he had when she first met him as a spy had been showing up more and more often.

‘Zecko, really….’

Siervian couldn’t help but find his behavior difficult to understand.

With the thought that she had been unnecessarily tense today, Siervian cautiously headed for the other door. To respect Zecko, who was engrossed in the shadow of the wall.

However, it was the moment she was about to turn her back.

‘But, did the corner of the wall originally look that comfortable?’

Siervian glanced at the shadow where Zecko was leaning his back in a stylish pose.

It was strange that the corner seat looked so nice today.

The moment she stared at the dark, dark spot as if she were possessed, her throat tightened strangely. As if she wanted to bury herself in that darkness.

‘Oh my.’

Unable to believe her own impulse, Siervian hurriedly left the orphanage.

* * *

A few days later.

In the ancient book library inside the Magic Tower, Siervian was lost in thought.

‘What on earth was the first emperor thinking?’

Siervian had been trying to solve this question for years.

She had diligently studied Elvish under her teacher and devoured all kinds of ancient books. She had also diligently read the special books kept in the Magic Tower that only mages could handle.

‘Why would he poison the empire he so carefully built?’

Yet, Siervian couldn’t find a logical reason.

She had even considered the possibility that Karmin might have other effects, just in case. Even though it was a material of black magic.

‘Anyway, there’s no doubt about its ingredients. Even if it has other effects, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s bad for people.’

Suppressing her frustration, Siervian flipped through the pages of the open book.

Today, she had chosen an ancient book from the time when the first emperor was active. She hadn’t originally intended to read this book, but she opened it because her hand reached for it today.

‘By the way, this book is strange for something written in Elvish.’

The book was a collection of stories circulating among the people, so its academic value was not very high.

That’s why it was strange. Usually, things written in Elvish were valuable magic books or about elves.

“Is it something an elf wrote while observing humans?”

Perhaps an idle mage had simply written this book in Elvish.

Thanks to that, the book could exist in the Magic Tower despite its meager content.

‘Come to think of it, there was a lot of Elvish in the ruins of the granary of the Mosae Kingdom.’

She naturally recalled the unknown ruins she had appeared in with her brother.

‘That was definitely a ruin related to the first emperor.’

With one hand on her chin, Siervian quickly turned the pages of the book.

She was not looking for the rumors circulating among the people.

‘Why did they build such ruins underground? Even with the mana stone of sand.’

Despite his achievements, the first emperor left few personal records. As a result, even if she found clues, it was not easy to connect them. After years of investigation, Siervian began to suspect that someone had erased the first emperor’s personal history.

“Huh?”

Just then, a warm sensation spread through Siervian’s fingertips as she flipped through the bookshelf without meaning. Reflexively, she turned her gaze to the page she was holding. It seemed as if a faint halo of light was passing by.

[The God of Mana.]

The page was describing the God of Mana.

‘Hmm, I guess it’s a myth.’

She remembered the myth that Tanka had told her before. The story of a god who struck the ground hard because the sound of the waves was too loud.

‘Right, didn’t they say that Harmin grass was created then?’

Siervian felt intrigued by the story that came to mind at such a coincidental time and read the contents of the book.

[The God of Mana, who cherishes everything on the continent, was a merciful being who granted everyone’s wishes.]

As a child, she had often seen her father secretly seeking the God of Mana. It was usually when he was expressing a feeling of despair.

‘But wasn’t the general theory that theology declined with the development of magic?’

There was a first verse that everyone who learned magic learned.

[Where the gods receded, mana remained, and people finally walked on two feet.]

It is a sentence that all mages read, but not all mages consider this verse to be that important.

No one considers the story that was ceremoniously written at the beginning of the book to be important.

‘Is that god the God of Mana? But how can mana remain where the god has receded?’

Siervian was a citizen of an empire where magic was the highest value so easily fell into confusion. She couldn’t understand how the God of Mana was such a nurturing being, as the book described.

‘God….’

On the other hand, Siervian felt a sense of dissonance that was bothering her.

Why would an omnipotent god hand over the continent to humans and disappear?

‘It’s strange that such a powerful god has receded.’

On the other hand, the god had already receded, and magic was gaining ground.

Even the emperor, who was at the pinnacle of the empire with its highly developed magic, sometimes unconsciously sought god.

‘Isn’t it strange that they’re still looking for a god who has receded?’

It was an ambiguous situation where it seemed like god was both present and absent. Siervian, who had never thought deeply about this part before, stared blankly at the page. It was written there how merciful, omnipotent, and warm the God of Mana was.

‘There are limits to magic.’

Many people tended to think that magic was omnipotent.

However, the more they understood magic, the more mages thought.

Magic can do a lot, but its limitations are also clear.

‘How did I… turn back time?’

She now knew that the ancient pendant used in her execution played a role.

Especially since, as Karmen said, the pendant contained magic related to space.

But even with ancient magic, was it really possible to live a second life like this?

‘Wouldn’t it be more plausible to see it as a miracle of god? If god is so omnipotent, as this book says.’

Even though she had studied magic so diligently, she had no idea how much mana it would take to turn back time. Until now, she had been content with simply finding clues as to what had sent her back to the past.

‘It’s bothering me.’

But now, a mage’s curiosity was starting to bother her.

She was so curious about what sent her back to the past.

Just then, a white butterfly popped from the wall and landed on Siervian’s nose.

‘Karmen must have sent this message magic again on purpose.’

Reflexively, she wrinkled her nose at the warm, ticklish sensation.

Then the butterfly turned into light and formed words.

“Oh! It’s already time!”

Lost in the pages of a book, time slipped away unnoticed. At Karmen’s urging, Siervian hurriedly rose from her seat. As the library only housed books classified as miscellaneous, Siervian was the only one present.

“I need to hurry.”

About to return the book she was holding, Siervian paused in thought.

She then swiftly channeled mana into the bracelet she always wore. It was a bracelet imbued with spatial magic, a gift from Karmen.

Woosh.

A small, black hole appeared in the air. Placing the book inside, Siervian hurried out.

The question that had briefly crossed her mind sank back into the depths.

* * *

The long-awaited day of the pre-debutante ball was drawing near.

Unlike Siervian, who was nonchalant as it was already her second time, the Imperial Palace was in a frenzy, as if preparing for war.

“You should wear this necklace here.”

“No, to emphasize Her Highness’ cuteness and loveliness, we need this necklace.”

“But wouldn’t this one look more elegant?”

Siervian sat blankly, watching Ellie and Jane engaged in a heated debate.

Along with a small question.

‘Is it possible to be cute, lovely, and elegant at the same time?’

To prepare perfectly, she had to wake up earlier than usual. Forcing her eyes open as they kept threatening to close, Siervian skillfully intervened in the quarrel.

“Let’s match the necklace to this color and wear this bracelet with it!”

“Oh, Your Highness. You truly have an excellent eye.”

“Why didn’t we think of that?”

Following their smiling hands, Siervian slowly began to dress.

Even in the warm atmosphere, so different from the pre-debutante ball of her previous life, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

‘Will I be able to handle it well?’

She had thought about it all night, but it seemed that the ‘Red Brooch Incident’ wouldn’t be easy to prevent.

The story behind the brooch was simply too extraordinary.

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