Chapter 45

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After eating, Vivian headed back to her room.  Suddenly, she heard a door open in the hallway before her.  When she looked up, she saw Daniel leaving his room for the first time that week. Vivian’s eyes widened.

The shadows under his eyes seemed to have grown thicker. It gave him a more gloomy atmosphere.

While Vivian, preoccupied with his appearance, licked her lips, Daniel scrambled to greet her. The dark shadows under his eyes became clearer.

“Do you know where the boss is?”

Daniel asked unenthusiastically. It was clear he had not slept for at least three days. Vivian, snapping out of her stupor, pointed downwards.

“He is on the first floor. Daniel… Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m just a little tired, but I’m in good spirits.”

He answered dryly as if he knew why Vivian was asking about his condition. Seeing that his attitude was the same, thankfully he was still sane.

Daniel shrugged and began to walk down stairs. It seemed like he was going to look for Roger.

“Why are you looking for Sir Orpheus?”

Vivian walked with him, and asked slyly.  The reason she walked with Daniel instead of heading straight to her room was not because she was curious about his answer, but because she was afraid that he would overwork himself. His sleep deprivation was serious.

“I have to go to the village because there are things I need to buy.”

“Are they even available in town?”

“Yes. They are common things. Nothing too crazy or rare.”

As they walked down the stairs together, they spotted Roger crossing the hall.  Roger raised his head as if he had sensed their presence.

“Are you done already?”

He asked with a surprised look. He seemed to think that Daniel leaving his room after a long absence was the result of a successful dispelling of magic.

“If it only took a week, would I have said it was a difficult task in the first place? I’m here to ask the boss for something I need.”

Daniel rubbed his tired face and shook his head.

“I was going to write a list, but I think it would be better for me to go myself. Boss, do you have a carriage I can take?”

“I was planning on going to town today as well. You can ride with me.”

“Then let’s leave at once.”

Vivian, who was still standing on the stairs, hurriedly came down.

“Sir Knight, you want to go to town today?”

Roger turned towards her.

“Yes. I was on my way to speak to you. Would you like to come with us?”

Today, he must be thinking of getting to know the people of the West and touring the village. Unlike Vivian, who only thought of the cracks and her strange dreams, he was struggling for this land, which he would be given.

Vivian nodded, wondering what to do.

“Then get ready and come down. I will wait outside.”

Roger glanced at Vivian, who was dressed lightly, and then disappeared outside with Daniel in tow.

Left alone, Vivian went up to her room.  Thinking of how the weather had gotten cold after lunch, Vivian opened her wardrobe.  As Vivian selected a warm coat for their outing, she suddenly recalled a recent memory.

The paper she found while trying to find a hanger that had fallen.

And the unknown shapes and letters written on it.

‘I think it was magic.’

Looking back now, what was written on the paper was quite similar to the magic formula that Daniel had cast.  She wanted to ask Daniel about it, but she couldn’t remember the pattern. Vivian groaned in frustration.

Meanwhile, Hamel appeared with a beautiful dress.

“Lady, is there anything you are looking for?”

She asked, watching Vivian rummaging through her closet, occasionally mumbling to herself. 

Come to think of it, she handed the paper over to Hamel. Vivian looked up.

“Hamel. Do you remember that paper I gave you the other day to throw away?”

Hamel tilted her head with a confused expression.

“Are you sure you gave it to me?”

It seemed that she didn’t remember at all.  Vivian could have asked Daniel about it if she hadn’t had Hamel throw that paper away. However, since it was none other than herself who gave the order, Vivian shook her head.

“It’s okay if you don’t remember.”

“Was it something important?”

She couldn’t remember what her Lady had entrusted to her, and she wondered if it was something serious. Hamel’s face turned white.

“It wasn’t that important.”

Vivian smiled to relieve Hamel’s tension.  But Hamel’s expression didn’t change.

“But I saw how hard you were looking for it…”

“Don’t worry too much, I was asking just in case you saved it.”

Vivian hurried out of the room, remembering how Roger was waiting for her outside the gate.

Roger, leaning on the carriage, noticed Vivian approaching from afar and straightened up. Vivian buttoned her jacket and climbed into the carriage. Then Roger climbed up, shut the door, and the carriage began its journey at once.

The village was quieter than the last time she visited.  Vivian was worried that there would be a crowd like last time, and people may get hurt. She pressed her heart with relief.

“Young Lady. I think Daniel will have to stop here to buy what he needs. Would you like to come with us?”

After talking for a while with Daniel, Roger turned his head and asked Vivian. Instead of answering, she got off the carriage and looked around the streets.  She certainly saw fewer people than last time, but that didn’t mean she was free to move around.  As she thought about following Daniel from place to place without a purpose, she felt exhausted.

Vivian shook her head.

“I’ll stay here.”

Roger nodded and followed Daniel, who was already far ahead.  Vivian watched them until they were far enough away to become tiny dots, and then she walked slowly.  Stepping through her crowd, she pulled up her coat’s hood.

Recently there had been no signs of cracks reappearing, which frustrated her.  The reason she came with Roger and Daniel today was to relieve her boredom, even for just a second.  It was by no means easy to gaze at the gray walls of the mansion every day.  It was quite enjoyable to look around the village.

Vivian pretended to be an outsider and asked villagers about the cracks.  The information she got wasn’t much different from what she knew, and what she learned was just how much the villagers were afraid of magical beasts.

Then she began to window shop, examining the items on display in stalls. Vivian walked until she reached the outskirts of town.  It was only when she reached the outskirts of the forest that Vivian stopped her feet.  After she looked around for a moment, Vivian paused after catching sight of a bookstore.

Inside the wide open doors, a brown wood-grained bookshelf and books stacked on top of it were clearly visible. Vivian entered it as if possessed.

Unlike outside, which was quite noisy, it was quiet inside the bookstore.  The peculiar smell of old paper material passed through her nose. She often visited the Royal Library in Hiddenca, and as she looked around the bookstore, she longed for home.

Vivian wasn’t the type that originally enjoyed reading.  However, she found that she had nothing to do in Hiddenca other than to train for animism, so she naturally began to read.  The books she had been collecting as a hobby filled the library of her mansion.

It had been a long time since she had seen so many books. Vivian examined the books with a new sense of longing.

“Miss… You have been cursed.”

Vivian flinched as she ran her hand over a faded book cover, startled at the sudden grotesque voice.  As she turned her head, an old woman she didn’t even know was there was sitting in a rocking chair and staring at her.

Vivian looked around, wondering if the woman was talking to someone else. But she was the only one in the old bookstore. It was just the old woman and Vivian.

“Are you sure?”

It seemed too general of a statement, so Vivian asked for clarification bewilderedly.

“Yes. I mean it, young girl.”

A sullen voice, as if scratching the inside of her throat, flowed through the old woman’s chapped lips. Although her voice was soft, it rang loudly in the quiet space.

[TN/N: Can we finally know what is happening?T_T]

“Cursed, what do you mean?”

Vivian lowered her hood and properly faced the old woman. Unlike where Vivian was standing, in sunlight, the old woman was sitting in darkness. The woman’s face was obscured in shadow. Vivian involuntarily frowned.

“Yes, literally. The young lady is full of black magic.”

The gray eyes of the old woman, deep as  mist, scanned Vivian from head to toe.  Even though she was making eye contact with her, she felt a strange chill as if she was standing in front of a snake.  Vivians eyes widened at the mention of black magic.

“Black magic…… you mean.”

Vivian was suddenly speechless.

Hundreds of years ago, there was an ex-priest turned warlock who tried to create chaos in the world by using black magic, and the world almost fell into chaos.  She didn’t know what the warlock was hoping for, but a defector revealed  their plans to the public.

In order to restrain the warlocks, a small number of wizards gathered and joined forces, and each empire generously dispatched skilled knights.

Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, the evil warlocks’ plans were thwarted.  Afterwards, a formal magic association was formed to prevent evil deeds caused by magic, and black magic was unanimously designated as a forbidden technique by all empires.

Even now, in Mosbana, if there were any signs of black magic, the person responsible would be summarily executed immediately. As such, black magic was a sensitive issue all over the world.

‘The energy of such dangerous magic flows through me.’

Vivian slouched her shoulders, feeling helpless and small at this revelation.

“It’s amazing that so much black magic is flowing through your body and you are still alive…”

The old woman looked at Vivian quietly and muttered in admiration.

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