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Isabel’s unexpected confession left me unable to hide my complicated feelings.

Seron, Sharin, and now Isabel.

How did things end up like this?

Of course, I’m grateful and happy that someone likes me.

Even more so when it’s one of the heroine characters I once adored.

However, that didn’t stop my head from becoming a tangled mess.

‘Two people were one thing.’

But with three, I might as well be a full-fledged womanizer.

‘No, to be precise.’

I’m a player, stringing them along.

I’ve somehow become the very thing I never imagined.

What could be more ridiculous than this?

I had lived my whole life without any romantic entanglements,

and now, suddenly, three women claim to have feelings for me.

I’ve never felt the loss of my ability to love as bitterly as I do now.

If I still had the capacity for love, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

‘I’ve already decided—I’ll only give my answer after I’ve regained my love.’

Once I’ve made up my mind, I won’t go back on it.

But even so, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to choose as easily as I claimed.

If this were a game, three dialogue options would have appeared before me.

And depending on my choice, I would’ve gotten a corresponding ending.

But this world isn’t a game.

My decision would have far-reaching consequences.

Even now, I couldn’t determine who among the three meant more to me.

They were all equally precious.

‘Vikamon, I’m starting to envy you for your pure love for Nikita.’

Without love, I can’t even make a choice.

I was nothing more than a heartless player.

Feeling bitter at that thought, I stared out the window as the carriage came to a stop.

Incidentally, I was the only one in the carriage.

The reason was simple.

The saintess had returned to the Kingdom of Lium,

promising to resolve matters there quickly.

With Narea back, she would no longer tolerate the kingdom’s corruption or political games.

Musika and Vinesha, meanwhile, headed toward Panisys.

Apparently, they planned to visit the cabin they had lived in as children.

Xenia had returned to the Count of Niflheim’s estate,

driven by a burning determination to claim it as her own.

The next time I would likely see her would be at Zerion Academy next year.

As for Isabel, she returned directly to Zerion Academy.

Though she seemed to have more to say to me,

her academy life was important.

Unlike me, who had sent a stand-in,

Isabel had come in person.

Staying any longer would have interfered with her studies.

And with Isabel’s departure, Hannon also began his journey back.

To avoid further complications, he arranged for my presence here to be kept discreet.

‘Hannon will have handled it well enough.’

That guy could be unpredictable,

but his skills were undeniable.

And since some people knew my true identity,

I was sure Hannon had covered for me.

As I lifted my gaze, I saw the Imperial Palace come into view through the window.

The reason I hadn’t returned to the academy was simple:

I had come to discuss Vulcan’s matter with Duke of Whitewood.

Vulcan’s previous life as the fallen Rosli.

And the demonic incarnation currently active within the Empire.

Duke of Whitewood’s expression grew graver than I had ever seen upon hearing the story.

「Can you swear that what you’ve just said is the absolute truth?」

「Yes, I’ve confirmed it personally through the reincarnated heroes.」

Of course, I still only had circumstantial evidence.

However, all signs pointed to Duke Robliage.

If we investigated, we would surely find a trail.

And when that happened,

that would be the moment of greatest peril—

because Duke Robliage would personally make his move.

Thus, I had come to the palace to discuss the matter further.

The person I needed to meet had already been decided.

‘My stomach suddenly feels uneasy.’

Even though I had lost the ability to cherish myself,

and fear had become almost meaningless,

my mind still recognized the stress.

‘The First Prince.’

Lukraizen Hysirion.

Once again, I would be facing the man with the Empire’s highest authority.

* * *

Upon arriving at the palace,

Duke of Whitewood immediately went to see the Emperor to formally announce the Mysticism incident.

Although the operation had been carried out in secret,

there was no reason to keep it hidden once it was resolved.

Duke of Whitewood intended to publicly reveal everything about the Mysticism cult,

so that no similar group could rise again.

That wasn’t all.

By making the incident public,

we would have the leverage needed to bring down Duke Robliage.

Thus, Duke of Whitewood had no choice but to act swiftly.

The public announcement would include Isabel as well.

Naturally, I wouldn’t be part of it.

Hannon, after all, was still officially a student at the academy.

Instead, it would be mentioned that there was an additional participant,

and Duke of Whitewood planned to arrange a separate reward for me.

I had anticipated this from the start,

so I was fine with it.

In any case, Duke of Whitewood was incredibly busy.

Thus, the task of relaying the information to the First Prince fell to me.

‘Sending a mere student to speak with the First Prince, huh?’

Duke of Whitewood must have had considerable trust in me.

Fortunately, I wasn’t alone this time.

Walking beside me was a man with blue hair.

Every servant and noble we passed in the palace lowered their heads.

Even the aristocrats employed in the palace bowed as we walked by.

The man walking at my side was none other than:

The Blue Tower Master

Emperadion Sazaris.

The Empire’s greatest mage.

And, technically, my future father-in-law.

A heavy silence hung between us.

After all, he had personally arranged the engagement.

I had no idea what to say to him.

Still, his presence made walking through the palace easier.

I had been publicly acknowledged as the fiancé of the Blue Tower Master’s daughter.

And on top of that, I was also wielding the magic of Zerion that he had studied.

As long as the Blue Tower Master claimed that he had summoned me for a Zerion-related matter,

I wouldn’t appear out of place at the palace.

‘Even so, this silence is stifling.’

Then again,

the Blue Tower Master had heard about Duke Robliage from Duke of Whitewood.

He must have had a lot on his mind.

“How is your relationship with my daughter?”

Suddenly, he broke the silence.

When I turned to look at him,

his eyes remained fixed straight ahead.

The Blue Tower Master was Sharin’s adoptive father.

But that was only on paper.

In truth, Sharin was his illegitimate child.

To preserve his magical lineage,

he had seduced numerous women.

However, the Blue Tower Master was a noble.

Carelessly scattering his bloodline could lead to troublesome consequences in the future.

Thus, while he sowed his seed, he never claimed the title of father.

What he sought were children with magical talent, not ordinary offspring.

That was why he never registered himself as their father.

However, he had one condition for the women he laid with.

Regardless of status, they had to show signs of magical potential.

He made deals with women who agreed to bear his children in exchange for fitting terms.

To think he embraced women solely for magical talent.

Truly, mages were little different from madmen.

Among the children he fathered, Sharin was the most overwhelmingly gifted.

Her mother was a woman with azure hair who worked in a brothel.

Despite possessing innate magical talent, she was unable to enjoy any privileges due to her circumstances.

Yet, her gift was passed down to the next generation.

Thus, Sharin was born with Mirinae, an extraordinary magical talent.

But Sharin's mother hid her daughter's gift.

The reason was simple.

Born into poverty and sold to a brothel, she had spent her life being exploited and ruined.

The thought of her daughter, blessed with magical talent, being able to enjoy everything she was denied, filled her with hatred.

To her, it made her own life seem like a pathetic failure.

Thus, she hid Sharin away.

Of course, she gave the child no love.

On the contrary, she inflicted every form of abuse upon her.

She even beat Sharin awake whenever she fell asleep.

It was no surprise that Sharin grew up to be someone who needed little sleep—an aftereffect of those tormenting years.

And yet, Sharin grew stronger.

Her Mirinae allowed her to instinctively interpret and learn the magic of traveling performers.

Moreover, she possessed a remarkable intellect.

Despite her mother’s abuse, she secretly stole and read magic books and sought magical knowledge from wandering mages.

Her only misfortune was that her mind was too sharp.

Sharin had an exceptional memory.

She could recall events from years ago as vividly as if they had happened yesterday.

Thus, she remembered every instance of abuse from her childhood with perfect clarity.

For humans, forgetting is a form of mercy.

It allows wounds to scar over and, eventually, disappear.

But for Sharin, every wound remained raw and vivid.

And so, she grew up.

Her outstanding talent soon became a topic of conversation in magical circles.

Inevitably, word of her reached the Blue Tower Master.

He sought her out.

He found her sitting quietly beside her mother, who had succumbed to syphilis.

At the time, Sharin was only eight years old.

Though her mother had tormented her throughout her life, Sharin stayed by her side until her final moments.

That was Sharin’s childhood.

Afterward, she was formally adopted by the Blue Tower Master.

Everyone in the Blue Tower knew she was his biological daughter, but no one dared challenge it.

My eyes fell on the Blue Tower Master.

He was the one who had brought Sharin into this world.

And because of that, he was also one of the people who had caused her the most irreparable pain.

If he had truly cared for his children, he would have sought them out.

But he had no interest in any of his offspring who lacked magical talent.

So much so that he didn’t even verify their existence himself—he sent his subordinates to do it.

He was a man obsessed with magic.

Thus, Sharin held no fondness for him.

"My daughter resembles me greatly. Her magical talent is exceptional. She has a bright future ahead of her."

Ironically, Sharin was fated to resemble the Blue Tower Master the most.

And that was precisely what she despised.

"She will be of great help to you as well."

To be told that she resembled the very person she loathed was deeply infuriating.

My eyes remained fixed on the Blue Tower Master.

I could see traces of Sharin in him.

"Sharin is in love."

But she was not the Blue Tower Master.

The Blue Tower Master was a maniac consumed by magic.

He lived for nothing else.

However, Sharin was in love.

Even if the person she loved was me, the fact that she was capable of love made her fundamentally different from the Blue Tower Master.

"And it is dazzlingly beautiful."

To the Blue Tower Master, magic was the most beautiful thing in the world.

But in Sharin’s eyes, there was a different kind of beauty.

Her eyes no longer held only Mirinae.

"So, in many ways, she is quite unlike you. Sharin is adorable, after all."

The Blue Tower Master stared at me in silence.

He wouldn’t understand the meaning of my words.

But Sharin would.

And that was enough.

At that moment, the Blue Tower Master’s gaze shifted past me.

His face briefly stiffened.

For the Blue Tower Master to be caught off guard?

It made me wonder if the world was ending.

I turned my head in the same direction.

And then, my own face hardened.

The world wasn’t ending.

But the man who could end the world was standing there.

"Oh, what a coincidence. Emperadion."

He smiled as if genuinely delighted to see me.

A middle-aged man with jet-black hair and eyes the color of a blood moon.

And an aura thick with ominous malice.

Gerdio Robliage.

The final boss of the sixth act had appeared.