Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Mage, Noa Radebian
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Ouch.
‘I did. I did lie.’
Right, I lied about my age.
Lucillea asked, her voice much softer.
“My age… why do you ask?”
“There's no way to prove you're seven. All the villagers gave different answers.”
Elbadin added that some said she was seven, others eight, and still others said she was six.
Lucillea swallowed dryly without realizing it before answering.
“That’s probably why. They never paid any attention to me.”
So it was only natural they'd get her age wrong.
Hmm. Elbadin paused in thought for a moment before speaking again.
“More importantly.”
“Yes?”
“There's a spell cast on you. Do you know anything about it?”
“…Pardon?”
Lucillea's eyes widened.
‘How did he know?’
Can people of his caliber sense things like that?
Elbadin was right.
The truth was, Lucillea's body was currently under a spell.
She didn't know its exact name, but it was definitely a spell that changed her appearance.
‘Grandma used to say my brown hair and brown eyes looked like cocoa mixed with milk.’
But the reflection Lucillea saw in the mirror was different.
Hair the softest shade of pink, reminiscent of a peach, and unusually vibrant blue eyes, like sapphires that held the entire sky.
The cocoa-like brown Briola had mentioned was nowhere to be found.
For a while, she had been confused by the fact that she appeared different to others.
‘But I couldn't ask the villagers about it.’
They might have accused her of witchcraft, asking what trick she was trying to pull.
‘No, they probably wouldn't have listened to me in the first place.’
Time passed, and her memories returned.
Only after her memories came back did everything naturally make sense.
The original Lucillea had gone missing as a child, so she must have been put under some kind of spell.
Naturally, the original novel never revealed who had cast the spell on Lucillea.
It was a tired point by now, but the novel hadn't been very kind to the villain's narrative.
However, Lucillea could make a rough guess.
‘For whatever reason, the person who cast this spell on me must have intended to hide the fact that I'm of the Grand Duke's bloodline.’
For instance, the mother who gave birth to me…
But that, too, was just a guess.
‘I'll figure that part out later.’
For now, the priority was to get through this moment as naturally as possible.
Lucillea blinked at Elbadin, her face a mask of complete ignorance.
“There's... a spell on me?”
“You didn't know?”
Lucillea nodded.
“No, not at all.”
Elbadin watched Lucillea for a moment before gesturing with his head to Riat, who was standing by the door.
The office door then opened, and someone entered.
The man appeared to be around Elbadin's age. He wore a neat mage's robe, but his facial features were nothing short of dazzling.
His silvery-blue hair was slightly tousled, and his golden eyes sparkled with a child-like innocence.
“You've arrived, Lord Noa.”
“Yeah. Long time no see, Riat.”
He greeted Riat as he unfastened his robe, as if feeling stifled, and handed it to him.
‘Noa…?’
Suddenly, she recalled what Mei had said.
-“The Grand Ducal Family's finest mage, Lord Noa Radebian, will personally cast a protection spell on the necklace you choose today.”
-“The Grand Ducal Family's finest mage, Lord Noa Radebian, will personally cast a protection spell on the necklace you choose today.”
-“The Grand Ducal Family's finest mage, Lord Noa Radebian, will personally cast a protection spell on the necklace you choose today.”
Right. The mage who was supposed to cast a protection spell on the necklace I chose… his name was Noa.
So, is that him? Lucillea watched him with eyes full of curiosity.
Noa grumbled as he walked toward the sofa.
“Ah, I'm exhausted. What was so urgent that you had to summon me before I could even unpack?”
Lucillea's eyebrow rose at the grumbling tone directed at the Grand Duke.
‘But… is he allowed to talk like that?’
He looked to be about the same age as Elbadin, but Elbadin was still the head of the Grand Ducal Family.
A mage employed by the family speaking to the head in such a way was something Lucillea couldn't quite comprehend.
Noa strolled over at a leisurely pace and, of all the empty seats, plopped down right next to Lucillea.
“We could have done this tomorrow morning. Still as impatient as ever, I see.”
Elbadin looked at Noa and replied nonchalantly.
“The sooner we confirm it, the better.”
“Well, you're not wrong there.”
Nodding, Noa turned to look at Lucillea, who was sitting right next to him.
“So you're the one. The little kid from the letter.”
“Pardon?”
When Lucillea looked at Elbadin with a confused expression, Elbadin introduced him.
“This is the Grand Ducal Family's mage, Noa Radebian. He will also be your teacher, instructing you in the use of magic.”
“Ah…”
Lucillea looked at the mage again. The mage grinned.
“Let's get along, kiddo.”
“I'm Lucillea. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“Right, right.”
Noa replied cheerfully, looking Lucillea up and down before asking Elbadin.
“Should I dispel it now?”
“Identifying the spell is the priority.”
“That's simple enough.”
Huh? What is this conversation?
A somewhat ominous exchange was taking place between Elbadin and Noa.
Sure enough, Noa held out his hand to Lucillea.
“Give me your hand, kiddo.”
Lucillea grew wary and quickly hid both hands behind her back.
“M-my hand? Why?”
“Why else? To figure out what kind of spell is on you and then remove it.”
“…Wh-what?!”
Utterly shocked, Lucillea quickly looked at Elbadin.
“Y-Your Highness!”
But it seemed he had already finished discussing it with Noa, as Elbadin simply watched them in silence.
‘What do I do?!’
Lucillea didn't know much about magic in a fantasy world.
This was because even when reading romance fantasy novels, she would skim over the fantasy elements like magic with glazed eyes and focus solely on the romance.
So, naturally, she didn't know much about the spell cast on her own body either.
However, she knew instinctively that if this spell were removed, the chances of her true identity being discovered were high.
‘I have to stop this, no matter what.’
But how?
‘I don't have the power to escape this situation…’
But she couldn't keep resisting like this, either.
‘I'll arouse suspicion.’
Right, knowing that mean Grand Duke's personality, he might just kick me out on the spot.
‘So… is it better to have my identity revealed than to be thrown out…?’
*Sigh…* I really don't want that…
Lucillea's reluctance to reveal her identity wasn't just because she disliked the man who was her father.
‘If my identity is revealed now, the probability of Serdian being kicked out of the family increases.’
In the original novel, Serdian is cast out of the Grand Ducal Family.
On the surface, Lucillea was the one who led the charge, but the real power was elsewhere.
‘It was the collateral branches of the family and their vassals.’
Once it was revealed that Lucillea was Elbadin's biological child, they decided to use her to oust Serdian.
They ended up tormenting Serdian for a full seven years, until finally, an incident occurred.
Elbadin was poisoned and fell into a coma.
And Serdian was named as the culprit behind it.
‘It was an obvious frame-up… but no one stood by Serdian's side.’
And so, Serdian was cast out under a false accusation.
Not just any false charge, but the accusation of trying to kill the adoptive father he had so respected and loved.
Fortunately, Elbadin regained consciousness.
However, he did not stop Serdian from being driven out of the family.
Seeing Elbadin's decision, Serdian must have thought that even Elbadin had abandoned him.
‘That must have been when it started. When assassins began to pursue Serdian in earnest.’
Constantly attacked by assassins, Serdian eventually suffered a life-threatening injury.
‘…Cynthia. The only person who saved the male lead from that crisis.’
The female lead, Cynthia, appeared and saved Serdian's life.
When Serdian finally woke up after barely surviving, what must he have been thinking?
‘He decided to make me his first target for revenge, so he must have been nurturing his thirst for vengeance against me.’
That vengeance, after dealing with Lucillea, was directed at everyone associated with the Grand Ducal Descartes family.
For a moment, a chill ran down the back of her neck. As if Serdian's blade was touching her skin.
Lucillea took a deep breath, clutching the hands she'd hidden behind her back, and said.
“I-I was told not to give my hand to strangers!”
“Huh? Isn't it 'don't follow them'?”
“Same difference.”
“Ha? Look at this little kid. Didn't you hear the Grand Duke's explanation? I'm going to be your teacher. That means I'm not a stranger, right?”
“…Ngh.”
She was speechless. In truth, she'd only said that about not giving her hand to strangers to buy some time.
It seemed that had failed, too.
What do I do? While Lucillea was worrying.
“Fine. You don't have to give me your hand.”
“What? Really?!”
Lucillea asked back, her voice brightening, and she lifted her head sharply.
And then, *poke!* Noa's finger tapped Lucillea's forehead.
“Huh?”
“This is enough.”
“Huh?!”
Startled, Lucillea tried to pull her head back, but for some reason, her body wouldn't move.
“Ah, ah, you'll get hurt if you move. Stay still. It'll be over in a second.”
“N-no…”
“What do you mean, no? You can't live in the Grand Duke's residence with a weird spell like this on you~ I'm saving you, so you should thank me later… Huh?”
Just then, Noa's face, which had been grinning as he teased her, suddenly froze.