Traces of the Black Mage (2)
Cecilia Clarice had been Elvin's homeroom teacher back when he was enrolled at Aiter Royal School.
The subject she taught at the school was alchemy.
Now just turning thirty, Cecilia was a woman of refined, ethereal beauty whose neatly braided hair cascaded elegantly to one side.
With her round glasses framing an intellectual and delicate face, she glanced curiously at Eunhyeon as he reviewed the student records containing personal details. A puzzled expression crossed her features.
He looks incredibly young... Is this really the man who shattered the school's unbreakable barrier and found Erin when no one else could?
It wasn't doubt or disbelief, but pure curiosity about Eunhyeon's identity.
Eunhyeon, sensing her gaze while reading the documents, looked up and met her eyes.
"How was Elvin during his school days?"
"I couldn't even say in empty words that he had a good time here."
Cecilia gave a wry smile as she answered Eunhyeon's question.
"Perhaps because of the class differences, or maybe because he hadn't received proper etiquette training or education and had only his body enrolled... Elvin became the target of ridicule from many students. I knew it was happening, but I couldn't stop their increasingly reckless behavior."
Was it a sense of her own powerlessness? Cecilia's face was etched with sadness.
She recalled the pure joy she'd felt upon hearing that one of her students had grown remarkably, graduated, and joined the Magerus guild afterward—she had celebrated his success wholeheartedly.
The sorrow on her face stemmed from the shock of learning he'd degenerated into a black mage in this recent incident, a blow that still lingered.
"Was it largely my fault that he ended up like that?"
"It's not you, teacher. It's this country that's the problem."
Eunhyeon comforted her calmly.
"The entitlement toward noble privileges, the arrogance that assumes they're superior to others as a given, the selfishness that resorts to any means to claim good things and positions as their own—that's the issue."
"……."
Even Cecilia, who held noble status in this kingdom, couldn't deny the sharp criticism Eunhyeon leveled so matter-of-factly at her own nation.
It was something she herself recognized but felt powerless to change.
"You're still Erin's homeroom teacher, aren't you?"
"Yes... It's like she's fated for hardship."
Cecilia replied with self-deprecating humor.
During Erin's recent disappearance, Cecilia had searched tirelessly through every channel, but no one listened to her pleas.
Just like how Inis Malenu had been dismissed as a madwoman for claiming to witness Erin's "deity descent" at night.
Even with a student missing from the school, the key figures ignored Cecilia's requests for a search and took no action.
It was simply because Erin was the daughter of a near-commoner civil servant—equivalent to a commoner—and her vanishing wouldn't impact the kingdom in the slightest; she was less than dust.
Back then, Cecilia had even endured insults from her family, who mocked her as a low-rank baron's daughter from a rural estate with no real status—what could she possibly know?
Feeling utterly pathetic for being unable to do anything for her missing student, she couldn't help but see Eunhyeon—who had rescued Erin and become her patron—in a special light.
"Erin needs more people to be her emotional support right now."
"Pardon?"
"At the very least, she still needs you as her teacher."
"But I... I couldn't protect her."
"I'll step in to ensure that kind of situation never happens again."
Cecilia stared at him as if he'd said something utterly incomprehensible, like he'd seen every oddity in the world.
"A school is a place where teachers teach students, right?"
"Yes."
"Teaching someone is incredibly difficult. But teacher, teaching isn't just about magic, knowledge, or training."
"Pardon?"
"I believe a teacher is someone who guides their students onto the right path. That includes magic, swordsmanship, etiquette, culture, history, and more—but above all, it's about nurturing their character."
"The students' character..."
"Preventing students from straying down the wrong path, helping them see things clearly, and enabling rational, realistic judgment—isn't that what a teacher does?"
But this school made that impossible.
The class of their parents, their social status—it all embedded a sense of privilege in these children from the moment they enrolled.
Of course, not everyone was like that. There were teachers like Cecilia, unswayed by noble entitlement, and likely students too.
So Eunhyeon believed there was still hope for the school.
That was one reason he hadn't stopped Erin when she insisted on continuing to attend.
If there was even a sliver of potential in her future and she chose it, he wanted to respect her decision as much as possible.
"Erin, who's still working hard, needs someone like you. So have confidence in yourself."
"Ah... Thank you."
Cecilia blushed faintly and smiled at Eunhyeon's encouragement.
It was a bit embarrassing, but the words of support filled her with genuine joy.
Slapping her cheeks hard with both hands to steel herself, Cecilia composed her expression and returned to the main topic.
"But do you really think Lira did something like that?"
"She's the most suspicious based on the circumstances. Do you remember anything about this student Lira Baranov?"
"Hmm, her grades were average—nothing standout, as I recall. But her beauty was exceptional; she drew attention from both boys and girls. Even boys from neighboring classes would visit her classroom or lurk around just to catch a glimpse."
"Someone that striking, and no issues arose?"
"Well, among the boys, there were so many trying to talk to her or get close that fights broke out frequently. As for the girls... I'm not sure. Women tend not to make a public spectacle over these things. They usually pull them aside to empty alleys or warehouses for a 'chat.'"
That's from experience, huh.
[Sounds like personal experience.]
Eunhyeon and Verdandi shared the same bitter thought as they listened to Cecilia's explanation.
Lira, who monopolized attention—positively from men, negatively from women—naturally drew the most notice in Cecilia's class. Perhaps it even affected Elvin, who was always by her side.
"A commoner girl with outstanding beauty..."
It's such a clichéd novel trope...
"Her activities after graduation are murky."
"I remember her saying she went back to her hometown to help her father. Her grades in magic, culture, etiquette—none of them were great."
She apparently hadn't heard that Lira's family, the Baranov baronetcy, had been wiped out last year.
Eunhyeon judged there was no need to share that shocking fact with Cecilia.
"What did Lira's father do?"
"I'm not sure myself..."
For a commoner family's child to enroll at Aiter, the minimum requirement was that their parents held semi-noble civil servant status.
The kingdom's national civil servant positions—mostly specialized roles like Lenion Hersha's basic accounting—were employed by the royal castle and central administration. Rural areas couldn't have baronet-titled officials.
It didn't add up.
Once Eunhyeon latched onto one clue, suspicious elements began surfacing one by one.
It was odd that she, who had given Elvin so much magical advice, hadn't scored well herself.
Did she hide her identity to approach Elvin from the start?
But why Elvin specifically? Or was he chosen at random?
Mulling various possibilities, Eunhyeon memorized all the info on Elvin's relationships, thinking it might prove useful.
He thanked Cecilia for her cooperation with the investigation.
"Please take good care of Erin."
"If anything, I should be the one asking that of you."
Cecilia saw Eunhyeon out of the room with a wry smile in response to his request.
Finding the cave where Elvin had discovered the black magic tome wasn't particularly difficult.
Using the time it took to reach it, the paths and forest landmarks spotted en route, and the detailed description, Eunhyeon pieced together Elvin's info to locate the cave hiding a dead high-rank mage's legacy.
He was certain this was the place because of the barrier at the entrance.
"A barrier this blatant would raise suspicions for anyone."
Eunhyeon picked up a nearby rock and hurled it at the barrier ahead.
The stone was sucked into the faintly rippling membrane like water parting.
Seeing it emerge intact from the side and fall to the ground, Eunhyeon extended his hand directly into the barrier.
[Ah, my child!]
Verdandi gasped in alarm and grabbed Eunhyeon's arm to stop him, but it was too late.
His arm emerged from another point in space as if severed. Eunhyeon closely examined it.
"Hmm."
After flexing his fingers and arm, confirming his condition, he withdrew it.
[My child! So reckless! What if it was dangerous?!]
"I tested with the rock first and saw no issues, so it's fine. Don't worry too much."
[How could I not worry... Sigh...]
Smiling at Verdandi's sigh of concern, Eunhyeon exited the cave.
[Not going inside?]
"I could destroy the barrier or force entry, but the installer would notice. Once they realize we've spotted them, they'll be on guard. I've got the info I wanted anyway."
[What info?]
"Elvin entered the cave when he found the black magic tome. The fact that he could means the barrier wasn't there back then."
If it had been, Elvin wouldn't have omitted mentioning it to Eunhyeon.
"So the barrier was set up after Elvin took the tome from the cave. At earliest, within the last two years."
[And?]
"This barrier's trait is that to maintain it indefinitely, the installer can't stray too far from it. It excels at severing internal and external space but has the clear drawback of the caster being unable to leave a certain distance."
[So it's still active... I see.]
"Yes. Just as you thought, Goddess."
The cave was a night's carriage ride from the capital Fernin—close enough if one came through the nearby forest.
Choosing such a nearby spot was because Elvin could reach it alone.
In other words, the info that it hid a dead high-rank mage's legacy might also be a blatant lie to lure Elvin there.
And what confirmed it: Lira Baranov was still lurking near the cave to maintain the barrier without others discovering it.
"Lira Baranov is still hiding in the capital Fernin."