Chapter 63: Taking Away Yeuju's First Love
As soon as Andrew returned to the Duke of Gloucester's quarters, he grabbed Wilhelm by the collar.
"Surely you don't think what you just did is any different from treason?"
Faced with Andrew's accusation, Wilhelm fell silent.
"I don't care if you and Tatiana are together. But if you want to recklessly smear the Gloucester family with charges of treason, get out now."
Wilhelm bowed his head deeply. Andrew released his collar and slumped into a wooden chair.
"Where did you find such a foolish boy?"
Andrew knew he was lucky to have survived.
The Emperor, Aster, could pin the charge of treason on him at any moment if he so desired.
Yet, those foolish men were advertising that we were committing treason.
He had to make amends somehow.
After pondering, Andrew stood up.
"I don't have time to sit here and do nothing."
Andrew took Wilhelm and headed straight for the Emperor's tent.
'Even if it's Grado, he can't search a wide area without using magic.'
The fact that the one who fell with us was the powerless Raymond made him even more anxious.
Aster, turning to ask, seemed no different from usual. But Andrew, who had known Aster for a long time, could tell.
He was currently anxious and sensitive.
"The Duke of Gloucester feels a great responsibility for this. Please allow us to participate in the search."
Aster was silent for a moment. But he also knew.
How much help these two could be in the current situation.
Moreover, with the Duke himself joining, it wouldn't look bad. However, he didn't want to readily agree.
It was a strange stubbornness. He didn't want the Duke to be involved in her life.
"Your Majesty, Viscount's mistake is the responsibility of the entire Gloucester family. Besides, isn't the safety of the Lady the most important thing?"
Aster decided to think rationally. No matter how much he disliked it, their help was needed now.
"Trust the Duke and Sir Wilhelm's abilities. I hope you do your best."
After speaking, Aster stepped outside.
Although he decided to accept the Duke's help, he knew he had to find her himself.
I woke Raymond up at dawn and took a brief rest.
When he opened his eyes, the surroundings were still dim. It was still early morning.
I got up without a word. I washed my face roughly at the nearby stream and prepared to leave.
Raymond approached with his shoulders hunched and asked,
Unlike his usual self, he looked completely dejected.
Was it because he couldn't use magic and his pride was hurt, or did he feel guilty?
'Judging from what he said yesterday, it's probably the former.'
He only stopped criticizing me after he threatened to report me to the Magic Tower.
He was truly despicable. I didn't even want to talk to him, so I just walked forward.
My feet felt heavy, and it was getting hotter. I stopped to catch my breath.
'I feel like I'm running a fever.'
My back was burning and aching, probably because the wound had been exposed to water. But I didn't want to show weakness to Raymond.
I forced myself to take another step.
But after a short distance, my body swayed, and I collapsed to the ground. Raymond, who rushed over, sat beside me.
I pushed his hand away. I hated the touch of the man who had tried to kill me.
"Fine. Do as you please."
He spat out and walked ahead.
Sweat began to pour from my body. The fever distorted my vision.
My breath was short and labored.
"This is really frustrating."
Thinking Raymond had gone ahead, he suddenly returned and scooped me up.
"If you fall behind and something happens to you, I don't want you to think I deliberately left you behind."
I shut my mouth at his cold words. The man who had been looking down at me started walking without a word.
I thought he would keep provoking me, but it was unexpected.
The path along the river was smooth. It seemed we could return safely this way.
The sound of people searching for us could be heard faintly in the distance.
Raymond, sensing something, grabbed my wrist and hid behind a bush.
A few wolf-like golems were following our trail, sniffing the air.
If we stayed, they would find us soon.
Raymond, a mage, would be no help, and our only hope was the people searching for us.
I lowered my voice and asked Raymond,
"How much mana have you gathered?"
"Since you found a way to gather mana in this forest, you could cast a spell on me, right?"
"I haven't gathered that much mana."
"Probably, they're searching for us. Just enough mana to send a signal will do."
He nodded at my words. Closing his eyes for a moment, he cast a spell.
It was a special signal visible only to mages, making no sound or light.
But the wolves saw the signal. I grabbed Raymond's arm.
His words were the signal, and we started running like mad.
The plan was to meet the knights by heading in the direction of the sounds.
The problem was that the wolves were much faster than I had thought.
I felt a wolf's paw strike my back.
Seeing him hesitate, I gritted my teeth and shouted,
The intense pain that followed made me lose consciousness.
Raymond looked down at Karina, who had fallen asleep in his arms.
Her feverish body, struggling to keep up, was truly a sight he didn't want to see.
Raymond was reminded of his younger self in Karina's helpless and prideful demeanor.
Before he awakened as a mage, he was powerless.
In the great alchemist family, the Cassel family, Raymond, who struggled with mana control, was considered worthless.
The biggest difference between alchemy and magic was the use of mana.
While magic involved emitting mana outward, alchemy involved absorbing it inward.
The delicate handling of small amounts of mana didn't suit Raymond.
The foolish Cassel family thought Raymond was clumsy with mana.
Raymond had an overwhelming amount of mana that was too much to handle delicately.
Unlike mages, who thought little of alchemists, the Cassel family's alchemists had a strong inferiority complex towards mages.
They believed that elegant and refined alchemists, not crude mages, should be at the center of the world.
Thus, they despised Raymond even more, hoping his abilities would be wasted and left him alone.
His mana grew exponentially with each passing year.
If he hadn't been discovered by a mage who came to the Cassel family to look for a commission, he might have died without knowing how to emit mana.
With the mage's help, Raymond had to live as a complete underdog until he left the Cassel family.
He grew up harboring hatred amidst inexplicable bullying, abuse, and neglect.
That childhood left a deep trauma in Raymond.
He kept seeing his younger self in her.
She was trying so hard to outdo Tatiana, even though she never got any attention.
Karina's constant failures and the loss of her fiancé made him feel both amused and uncomfortable.
He remembered his own struggles to gain recognition from the Cassel family.
He couldn't leave her behind, even though she didn't scream.
Her frightened face reminded him of young Raymond.
No, Karina was different from him.