Chapter 93: Jeju's First Love Was Taken Away
Andrew had heard of Karina.
She was the daughter of the distinguished Pioneers' Dukedom, yet her life seemed rather pitiful.
A noble lady who had her lovers repeatedly stolen by a woman named Tatiana.
Every time they broke up, the men would pour out their complaints about her.
Karina's reputation was so bad that even Andrew, who had no interest in such matters, had heard of her.
Rumors circulated about her jealousy of Tatiana, her clinginess to men, and her use of money and power to force men to stay with her.
"Excuse me, if you have nothing to do here, could you please move aside?"
He hastily got up from the bench and gave his seat to Karina.
Due to skipping class, he hadn't even realized it was lunchtime.
She began eating her sandwich in a secluded spot where no one would find her.
She seemed accustomed to this, paying no attention to his gaze.
In contrast, Andrew skipped lunch because he didn't want to eat alone.
That's why Karina's determined effort to finish her meal in such a place seemed strange to him.
'Doesn't her pride hurt?'
Eating alone, and even hiding from others' gazes.
He couldn't understand it.
After finishing her share of food, she turned and asked,
"Did you not eat lunch? Would you like one?"
She offered him an unopened sandwich and then left as if nothing had happened.
Although he had never felt hungry before, perhaps because of her earlier appearance, Andrew, after much deliberation, took a bite of the sandwich.
He quickly finished the sandwich.
It was a satisfying meal after a long time.
From that day on, Andrew would go to that place every lunchtime to meet Karina.
At first, she looked at him with suspicion, but gradually she began to let her guard down.
Despite her initial impression of being prickly and haughty, she turned out to be quite cheerful.
It was hard to believe the negative rumors about her.
Andrew slowly began to open his heart to Karina.
Despite her status as a noble lady, she never looked down on him.
She treated him as people used to treat him before.
Being with Karina made him feel like he had returned to his former self.
Andrew fell in love quickly.
He loved the time he spent with her, as if cherishing a past he longed for.
But it was a fleeting illusion.
"Have you heard? The noble lady's self-esteem has hit rock bottom, and she's seen with some unknown viscount's son."
"Oh, that... the man with the hazy impression, right?"
Karina was surrounded by strange rumors just for eating lunch with him.
Andrew couldn't hold his head up.
As soon as they were linked, Karina quickly became the target of ridicule.
For the first time, Andrew faced his miserable self.
How insignificant he was.
Someone who could humiliate another even without a relationship.
He stopped going to meet Karina.
This was the life of a prince who had not ascended to the throne.
But he should be grateful just to be alive.
The shadow returned to Andrew's life, which had briefly shone, and the light faded.
The viscount's name, which had been on everyone's lips, was soon forgotten.
"Why haven't you been coming for lunch lately?"
One day, after class, Karina appeared in front of him.
Her bright blue eyes burned with an unknown passion.
People around them started gossiping again.
But Karina didn't flinch, even under the sharp gazes.
She said that and turned away, disappearing.
Andrew stared at her back for a long time.
After that day, the two of them no longer cared about others' gazes or words.
Or rather, they didn't have the time to care.
Andrew couldn't control his heart, overwhelmed by a new emotion.
Karina, who whispered love to him without hesitation, despite having nothing, was the most precious thing to him.
Her eyes, which he thought were cold, were incredibly warm.
He thought they would be happy forever.
After breaking up with Ethan of the Cassel family, I felt this was beyond my control.
I hastily wrote a telegram to my mother, telling her about the winter seasonal stone mine and the Cassel family.
Contrary to my expectation that a reply would come soon, my mother appeared in person a few days later.
My mouth dropped open at the sight of my mother, who was holding trunks and smiling widely.
Behind her, the servants she brought were carrying luggage.
I stared blankly for a moment before regaining my composure and asking what was going on.
"What are you doing here suddenly? What about the Tower of Magic?"
"I came because I thought you might need help. And you don't have to worry about the Tower of Magic anymore."
Freya said this and sat on the sofa.
After taking a bite of a cookie, she continued,
"You really did something big. Raymond is now focused on his successor training after this incident."
"Yes. That's why I took a rare vacation. The Association's elders are also pleased that Raymond has straightened up."
To think he changed so much just because I made him kneel once.
If he had behaved properly, everyone would have agreed to his appointment as the head of the Tower of Magic without much fuss.
"Anyway, it's all thanks to you. I bet all the mages in the Tower would help you if you asked."
"Don't even joke about it."
It seems Raymond's misdeeds were worse than I thought.
"Those stubborn old men said his talent was too precious to let him inherit the position."
"More and more impressive."
"Isn't he? But what's this about the Cassel family you mentioned in your letter?"
I told her everything I had found out.
"The bad relationship between the Cassel family and Raymond is quite well-known."
"Yes. It's surprising how they are trying to kill each other."
"Because it's a conflict between a mage and an alchemist. Some mages oppose Raymond becoming the head of the Tower of Magic, especially from the Cassel family."
I couldn't understand what the Cassel family was thinking.
After we discovered the assassins' background and sent a protest letter to the Cassel family, they pretended to be unaware.
"Now they want to stop Raymond and offer compensation. It seems they have some ulterior motive. It doesn't seem like a one-time proposal, and they believe we should do it as a matter of course."
The proposal was strange, and Ethan's attitude was suspicious.
To think they believed I could control the unpredictable Raymond just because he swore loyalty.
It would be faster to ask Tatiana.
"Let's put that aside for now... I want to talk about the seasonal stone mine."
My mother's eyes sparkled as she said this.
"Did you come here because of the mine?"
"Well, it's a side trip."
My mother blushed and laughed it off.
Mages needed a lot of money for research, especially for various materials.
But seasonal stones couldn't be bought with money alone.
They were scarce, and most of the mines were controlled by the royal family.
The royal family regulated the supply to maintain the rarity of seasonal stones, so there was always a shortage.
Thus, items from private mines were often sold through personal connections.
Perhaps my mother was the happiest when I found the seasonal stone mine.
"I was going to ask you anyway."
"About the distorted mana I mentioned before."
"It seems to come from that mine as well."
When I explained about the knights whose minds were affected, my mother's face turned serious.
"Can I see them for a moment?"
"It won't help. The distorted mana in them has disappeared."
"Then how do you know this so well?"
"Last time, you knew more about it than I did, the head of the Tower of Magic. It was as if someone told you."
My mother's eyes narrowed.
Under her accusing gaze, I averted my eyes.
"Karina Pioneira. Why won't you look at me?"
Pio was sitting at my feet, having arrived at some point.
My mother was silent for a moment after seeing Pio.
"Y-You, you, you! Do you know what that is and brought it here?"
"Yes... In fact, the information about the distorted mana came from this demon."
As soon as she finished speaking, the space around Pio began to distort.
It was my mother's specialty, spatial distortion magic.
I quickly hugged Pio and shouted.
Pio, feeling wronged, even let out a howl, which made Freya's mouth drop open.
"Did... Did the demon just speak?"
"Pio is not just any demon. That's why he helped me."
Emboldened by my words, Pio stood confidently in front of me, tail raised high.
[Kneel, human. I am the agent of the gods...]
But his confidence didn't last long.
Under my mother's fierce gaze, his tail slowly dropped.
He took small steps to hide behind me, peeking out.