So Cute
So cute. I muttered to myself without realizing it. His deer-like eyes, brimming with tears, and cheeks flushed red like apples from crying. He was a beautiful boy who thoroughly stirred up maternal instincts.
But looking at him, I tilted my head. Was this really the Ren Magicus I knew?
I fell deep into thought, staring at this boy whose appearance differed so much from the novel's description. The novel had clearly described his hair as beautiful silver strands like scattered starlight, but this boy's hair was brown. His green eyes seemed to match, though.
"Ren Magicus… right?"
"…Yes."
Ren sniffled in response. He seemed so terrified he couldn't even meet my eyes properly. The future Magic Tower Master who would sternly command the mages of the Magic Tower—to think he'd be like this. I felt a moment of bewilderment.
"But why did you apologize the second you saw me? Did you do something wrong to me?"
I waited a little for him to calm down before asking. When I handed him a handkerchief to wipe his tears, his hands trembled as if it were a great honor.
"N-no. Lady… you summoned me, so I thought… um, that is…"
He clutched the handkerchief I'd given him without even thinking to use it, at a complete loss.
"You didn't do anything wrong, but you thought you'd get scolded for being called one of the 'cursed clan'?"
"Y-yes…"
After hesitating, Ren nodded. I realized I needed to reevaluate the public perception of the 'cursed clan'. It seemed Ren had grown up in an even harsher environment than I'd imagined.
"Does someone at the Magic Tower scold you too?"
I asked in the gentlest, most soothing voice I could muster so he wouldn't be scared.
Ren jumped in surprise and answered, "No, the Tower Master treats me well… Um, but…"
"Still, there are some mean people sometimes, right?"
"…Yes."
Mages were highly rational people. The current Tower Master at their pinnacle had accepted Ren solely for his talent, despite others' aversion. But it seemed there were still mages who found him unsettling.
Poor Ren looked utterly dejected.
"Don't worry. I didn't call you here to scold you."
"R-really?"
"Of course. Why would I scold a good kid like you?"
Seeing him gripping the handkerchief like he wanted to tear it apart, I reached out and gently touched the edge. When I grasped the corner, the startled Ren loosened his hold. I folded it neatly and carefully dabbed at his face.
"L-Lady…"
"Hold still. Your pretty face is a mess."
I meticulously wiped around his eyes and cheeks. His skin was so pale and translucent that veins were visible; a little pressure and it would probably swell red.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Abigail Carpoem."
Once his face was clean, I greeted him.
"R-Ren Magicus, my lady."
With an awkward expression, Ren gave me a noble's greeting. He wasn't used to it, and I nearly burst out laughing. But it was terribly cute. I gazed at him with a pleased smile.
"Want to sit here? I figured you wouldn't want tea, so I prepared milk and cookies."
To win his favor, I'd brought a heap of sweet desserts. I thought something like this might tempt a child his age.
Ren hesitated to sit in front of me, but when he saw the desserts I pointed to, his face took on a mesmerized look. And the milk wasn't ordinary milk—it was strawberry milk, specially ordered from the ducal chef.
There hadn't been strawberry milk here originally. After grueling training when I craved something sweet, I'd spotted strawberries served as dessert. Blending them, soaking in honey, and mixing with milk created perfect strawberry milk. The chef made it for me every time as I'd instructed, and I passed the recipe to the maids. Now it was the national drink of the ducal household staff.
I was confident in my strawberry milk.
I seated Ren across from me and first offered him the strawberry milk. He hesitated at the unfamiliar pink liquid, but when I drank it without pause, he took a tentative sip.
"…!"
By now, fireworks were probably exploding in Ren's head. I could confidently say this strawberry milk was a new world he'd never tasted anywhere else.
I chuckled softly, observing him.
"I-it's… delicious."
"Right? Tasty, isn't it?"
As expected, Ren's wariness crumbled after one sip of strawberry milk. He was so shocked his pronunciation was all garbled.
I offered him the plate piled high with cookies too.
"Try the cookies too. They're yummy."
"Y-yes."
His hands still trembled, but Ren picked up a cookie studded with chocolate chips. With a crisp crunch, he took a bite. His pupils dilated once more.
After that, he was in a trance. Without me even offering, Ren started devouring cookies and cakes like a hamster with puffed cheeks. When it seemed like he might choke, I had him sip some strawberry milk.
I watched him contentedly. How did such an innocent child grow up to become the ruthless Magic Tower Master? I tsked inwardly.
After polishing off the last strawberry tart, Ren began sneaking glances at me again. His belly full, he seemed to remember the consequences he'd forgotten. But at least he wasn't bursting into tears like when we first met—progress.
"All done?"
"Yes, my lady."
The table was a wasteland of devastation. How much cookies and cake had that little tummy packed away? I gazed at him in pure admiration.
"Ren, how long have you been at the Magic Tower?"
"Um… about f-five years."
So it was true he'd entered at a very young age.
"Then what's your position there now…?"
"A-apprentice mage."
"Hm."
Not everyone who entered the Magic Tower became a mage. They had to serve an apprenticeship under a formal mage mentor, and only those officially recognized by the Tower became full mages.
But Ren was a special case. Because the Tower Master had brought him personally.
Usually, students came from magic schools or academies, educated to a certain level, and were then taken as disciples by Tower mages. But not Ren. One day, the Tower Master had dashed out claiming a revelation and returned dragging Ren along.
The Tower Master, known for his eccentricities, didn't care that the boy was from the Magicus clan and made him an apprentice mage. He even declared himself Ren's master.
The Tower Master rarely took disciples. They only did so to groom the next Tower Master, but he was too young for that. The Tower mages had hotly debated Ren's arrival, but in the end, the original story said they learned nothing. It was just another of the Master's whims—research on the cursed clan, or something like that. And that was how it wrapped up.
The original didn't delve deeply into Ren's backstory, just dropping brief mentions whenever it came up, so there was a lot I didn't know. For example, when he put on a pitiful, wistful expression for the heroine, there'd be a short note about how he'd suffered bullying as a child because of his cursed clan heritage. That was how he garnered her sympathy. No one else pitied him in the original, though.
"But you entered the Tower so young, so you must be as skilled as most mages by now, right?"
"Um… do you think so?"
Ren tilted his head, lacking confidence. Could it be that because he's still so young, the Tower Master hasn't taught him proper magic yet? I started feeling uneasy for no reason.
But I couldn't test his skills right here.
"Actually, I have a favor to ask you."
After some thought, I decided to trust the original's power. Even looking so young and fragile, he was a lion cub who devoured the Tower Master with raw talent. In the future, he'd become a Magic Tower Master so powerful even the crown prince protagonist couldn't handle him.
So I'd give him a shot.
"A favor… for me?"
"Yes. It might be really tough, but will you hear me out?"
If Ren couldn't do it, I'd persuade another mage. No loss if I tried, right? I tested the waters with him.
"Um… if it's something I can do…"
Twiddling his fingers, Ren hesitated but answered. Maybe because I'd stuffed him with desserts, his guard was way down.
"My father—the Duke and lord of this house—has fallen seriously ill."
"Ill…?"
"Yes. A nasty incurable disease. We even had an experienced family physician here, but even he doesn't know what it is."
"Oh…"
Ren's round eyes filled with pity for the Duke.
"I'd heard at the Tower that the Duke was very ill."
"You did?"
"Yes. But I didn't know it was incurable…"
His face fell instantly, even though the Duke had nothing to do with him. What a kind-hearted little lion cub.
To carefully act the part of a daughter with a sick father, I furrowed my brow.
"But while preparing for the Magic Festival this time, I had a thought."
"What is it?"
"That Father's illness might not be a simple disease."
"Eh…"
Ren's big eyes rolled around. Then he cautiously asked me,
"Um, Lady… do you suspect… a curse?"
"Yes."
I nodded gravely.
Curses were strictly forbidden by the Magic Tower. Both the caster and the performer suffered horrific fates. But performers could escape via one method: a sacrifice. Offering a scapegoat in their place.
To prevent magic from devolving into petty crime, Tower Masters had long rejected curse-learning mages and burned related books as forbidden tomes.
In the original, Ren was shocked to learn the Duke's illness was a curse for that very reason. The Empire's Magic Tower held absolute sway over mages; using curse magic under the Tower Master's nose was nearly impossible.
But the North was beyond the Tower Master's easy reach. Criminals aiming to use curses could be hiding there.
Ren had sought the curse-casting mage on the Duke for that reason, but by then the story was nearing its end. It was the historic moment when the imperial family and Tower united North and South.
But for me, possessed by Abigail, it was utterly tragic. I had to prevent the North from falling to the crown prince no matter what.
For that, I absolutely needed to find the bold mage who'd cursed the Duke.
"A curse… such a horrific thing…"