First Encounter with the Empire's Greatest Mage
We're total strangers, right? Sibylius. The woman who'd reigned as the empire's top mage for centuries. She was also one of the empire's ultimate weapons in terms of raw power. Some people abandoned any thoughts of antagonizing the empire simply because she existed. Despite her immense strength and centuries of contributions to magical research for the empire, she held no noble title. It was all because she was half-demon, a half-breed with demon blood.
She lived with subtle discrimination, her home not even in the capital but in some forest outside it. She wasn't even allowed to enter the capital without permission, yet surprisingly, Sibylius herself seemed content with the treatment. She hated dealing with people anyway. As long as the imperial family funded her research on time, she ignored everything else and immersed herself in her studies. In fact, she disliked even being allowed into the capital. So, successive emperors, who found her unsettling, had good reason not to summon her unless absolutely necessary.
That was why, when hundreds of people showed up at her door in the dead of night, Sibylius was more shocked than she'd ever been in her life. What the hell?! She'd been deep in her research at her forest workshop-home, as usual, when soldiers suddenly arrived. It was such an obvious emergency that even she, with her centuries of life, couldn't stay calm.
No way... Viol, you're not thinking of purging me, are you?! For a split second, she thought the palace had finally come to dispose of her. But... No, that's not it. The forces are too weak.
The arrivals were hundreds of fully armed soldiers and dozens of mana-wielding knights. An impressive force, but woefully inadequate to kill a great mage with demon blood. If they really wanted me dead, Emperor Viol herself or a high-end asset like Hero Arios would be here.
Once she assessed the situation, she had a pretty good idea who they were. This was a warning made of living soldiers. A message that said she had something so serious she was willing to dispatch even this level of force to demand it.
"Get on with it, then."
She snapped at the knight who'd stepped forward as representative—but who couldn't even meet her eyes—and the woman stammered.
"H-Her Imperial Majesty, the E-Emperor, summons Lady Sibylius."
"I'm not nobility, so drop the 'lady.' More importantly, what's this about exactly?"
"I don't know the details, b-but if you refuse to come..."
"And if I do?"
"...she'll declare you a criminal and orders us to drag you back by force."
Sibylius's expression twisted immediately. These fools couldn't drag her anywhere. She knew it was just bluster, but it still pissed her off. Past emperors had respected her as much as they'd feared her. No one had ever dared treat her like this.
"That brat Viol thinks she can crawl all over me just because she's emperor...!"
She was about to explode in rage when—
"But if you come, she'll increase your research funding tenfold!"
"Really?"
The knight blurted out the unbelievable condition so quickly that her anger evaporated, leaving her stunned.
"What the hell is going on that she'd raise it ten times over?"
"I don't know. But refusing makes you a criminal, while coming gets you ten times the funding. Coming's the better deal!"
"...Fair point."
Reluctant as she was, she had to admit it. Curiosity gnawed at her too—what could possibly warrant this? Sibylius nodded.
"Fine, let's go."
"We're saved!"
The knight let out a whoop of relief before she could stop herself. It was a suicide mission either way—offending one side or the other meant death—and she'd pulled it off. She led the way with glee.
Guided into the capital and all the way to the imperial family's private quarters in the palace, Sibylius was stunned. Letting me in this far? She wasn't even allowed in the capital without permission, let alone the palace or the imperial zones. They were practically forbidden territory, yet here she was, entering without a hitch. Amazed, she followed.
Inside one of the rooms, she spotted two familiar faces.
"Emperor Viol."
"How about a 'your majesty'?"
Viol's cheeky retort was expected—she was the one who'd summoned her, after all—but
"High Priestess Hames, why are you here?"
"...Ignore me."
The presence of the high priestess, whose origins made for an awkward relationship, made her frown. They exchanged a brief glance before averting their eyes to avoid pointless bickering.
"Summoning even the high priestess... Do you have someone who needs healing?"
"Yes. Fix that boy."
Sibylius followed Viol's gaze and finally noticed the third person in the room. Shining silver hair. Skin white as snow. Beauty like a god's handiwork.
"Seres Huferion?"
She recognized him immediately. The empire's greatest beauty. Lately, they've been calling him an angel for healing people with holy power or whatever. It's all true. Rumors don't do him justice. Even someone sequestered in the woods like her had heard the buzz about his looks. Seeing him in person, she was awestruck—and puzzled.
"Why is Seres Huferion here? I heard he's so frail he can't even walk."
No answer came. Instead, Viol clamped her mouth shut, and Hames shot her a blaming look. Sibylius got the picture.
She caused another mess.
Grumbling inwardly as she pieced it together, she said,
"Fine, whatever. The reason doesn't matter. But know this—even I can't fix a naturally frail constitution."
"You can. He could move on his own just a bit ago. Then mana rampage hit out of nowhere and he collapsed!"
Mana rampage? Sibylius eyed Seres skeptically at Viol's words.
This doesn't look like a normal mana rampage. What is this?
Sensing the mana flowing inside him, she detected something odd.
"The mana is compressed and circulating—that I've seen a few times. But there's another force interfering while healing his body, making the symptoms subtly different."
She explained, troubled.
"Looks like it'll take quite a while to fix."
"Fix him now!"
"Don't push it! Do you want something to go wrong with him because you're rushing?"
"Urk!"
Viol couldn't argue with the logic.
"Th-then, can you at least ease his pain? Normal painkillers and anesthetics don't work."
"Got it."
Sibylius reached into empty air, pulling a syringe from her personal subspace. As she approached to inject the special drug into Seres,
"Doesn't this guy smell like something? It's a fresh, flowery scent... but also weirdly delicious."
Viol answered her question about the odd aroma.
"Like dignified flowers? That's probably the perfume Seres uses every day. Whenever I get close, that scent's always there. He must love it. But delicious?"
"Makes sense for a young master from a high house to wear perfume. I like it a lot—I'll ask where he gets it when he wakes up."
As the two dismissed it as perfume,
"Seres doesn't wear perfume."
Hames, who'd been silently listening, cut in.
"I've never seen him use any. It comes from him even on bare skin, like his back. Seems like it's just his natural scent."
"How would you know it lingers on bare skin?"
"There was an occasion."
Hames replied calmly to Viol's glare. No perfume, yet a flowery scent from a man's body? What nonsense.
Sibylius scoffed inwardly. Always holed up praying in the temple, avoiding men—must've given her some weird delusions. She'd lived centuries alone in the woods as a hermit without such fantasies. Dismissing it entirely, she injected Seres.
And moments later...
"...!"
Seres's eyes snapped open, those piercing blue irises fixing on her.
---------------------------------------------------
Who the hell is this woman?
Thanks to the pain fading, I could finally think straight. But instead of Viol—the last person I'd seen—it was a complete stranger right in front of me, leaving me flustered.
Long black hair, black dress-like outfit. Taller than me, with a mature, slender figure. She exuded an aloof, lonely aura. A beautiful witch-like beauty... but for some reason, I felt instant revulsion the moment I saw her.
There was a black-haired, black-clad male lead. No way...?
"Sibylius?"
"You know me, the one who lives in the woods? Impressive."
Damn it, the real Sibylius!
The empire's archmage and the craziest psycho among the male leads!
'Ahh, my lovely Seres. It's your fault for awakening my demon nature. Now I can't live without you. Not even a single drop of your blood... It's a taste I can never forget.'
Why is the guy who spouts insane lines like that standing in front of me?!
"Seres, you're awake!"
"Seres, look at me!"
Viol and the inexplicably present Hames grabbed at the newly awakened me, but I had no attention for them. The psycho Sibylius tossed the empty syringe and pulled out a new one, aiming it at me.
No, what the hell are you doing to me!
"St-stop."
"No can do. This is about my research funding—I have to inject you."
Research? What the—? Planning to experiment on me, you crazy mage bitch!
A surge of uncontrollable rage boiled up.
Your very existence disgusts me! You're so filthy and repulsive I want to cut off every part you've touched—now eat that and get lost!
"Fuck, your existence itself is revolting! You're so filthy and repulsive I want to cut off every part you've touched—now eat that and get lost!"
I spat the line original Seres had thrown at the obsessive Sibylius.
"That's a bit harsh..."
"Why say something like that?"
Viol and Hames looked flustered, and
"... ."
I saw Sibylius's face harden.