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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Would You Like to Come In?
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There’s an age-old saying: “Want to come in for some ramen?” It’s what you say when you’re interested in someone and want to invite them to your place.
‘He’s just asking me to come to the palace.’
Though I doubted he meant it in such a romantic way…
It wasn’t like Darcy lived in a one-room studio, but my heart was pounding anyway.
I’d heard about the abandoned palace where he lived, but this was the first time I’d ever been invited.
I firmly refused Darcy’s offer to carry me again, and we walked together.
As we neared the palace, Darcy warned me.
“Forgive the mess. I’m not the neatest person, and I don’t use servants.”
It seemed he’d cast a spell on his room to keep others out. There wasn’t a single person in the hallway.
The rest of the space still felt like an abandoned palace. We walked down a corridor devoid of human warmth and stopped before a door.
The magic stones embedded around the door made it clear this was Darcy’s space.
“The ones you gave me. I’m putting them to good use.”
“Today’s gift is also magic stones.”
“Anything from you is a good thing.”
Darcy smiled at my words and turned the doorknob.
‘The place where Darcy has lived his whole life.’
With a fluttering heart, I stepped into the room.
It was a space that perfectly matched his image.
Magic stones were scattered here and there in the messy room, yet there was a strange sense of order to it all.
The sharp scent of incense candles made me wrinkle my nose. On the table next to the sofa, there was a literal mountain of them.
‘So that’s what Robarta was talking about earlier.’
Darcy, who had been watching my expression, swept the incense candles from the table into the fireplace. The flames roared to life.
“Is the smell that strong?”
Darcy asked with concern.
I was about to say no, seeing the look on his face, but I answered honestly instead. This, I had to admit.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll have to quit, then.”
I sat on the sofa Darcy gestured to. It was plush, as if it had been recently replaced.
“Airing it out should help.”
He opened a window. Night was slowly falling.
Perhaps because it was an abandoned palace in a secluded spot, with nothing around, the sky seemed clearer.
“I should burn this, too.”
Darcy placed the censer Robarta had given him earlier on the table.
“Do you have to? You could just keep it.”
“I have to.”
Replying to my words, Darcy dumped the remaining incense candles into the fireplace.
Crack, crackle. The sound of firewood burning filled the air. The warmth from the fire, mixed with the cool breeze from outside, felt pleasant.
It was like being under a blanket in an air-conditioned room in summer.
“Oh, right. Look at this.”
He opened a drawer and tossed something toward me. I caught it reflexively, then gasped when I saw what it was. I almost dropped it.
“Th-this is…”
“The weapon I used to threaten Kies. I thought you could give it a name.”
To my astonishment, he had perfectly recreated a gun. Though I’d only ever seen them in movies or book illustrations.
I turned the gun over in my hands. It looked similar to a pistol but more ornate. Was it because it was a magic tool made with magic stones?
“What are you going to name it?”
There was really only one answer to Darcy’s question.
“Gun.”
What else would you call a gun but a gun?
“‘Gun’? Simpler than I expected… but not bad. Alright, let’s call it a gun. Want me to make one for you?”
Me? A gun? Though I was shocked at first, I was a little tempted.
…It might be good for self-defense.
I was in a position where I openly supported Darcy, the new prince. And that wasn’t all.
I planned to work with the mages ostracized by the imperial family, create magic tools, commercialize them, and guarantee them a livelihood.
Darcy came over to my side, casually took the gun, and spun it in his hand.
“I think the possibilities for what we can create are endless. For example, we could make the part where the bullet comes out much longer to aim from a distance.”
‘Is he talking about something like a sniper rifle?’ They say a genius understands ten things when you tell them one, and that was Darcy to a T.
“Is it hard to fire?”
“I made it so it wouldn’t be. It was created according to my magic and incantations.”
It seemed there was no recoil. Then again, it was a magic tool, so it was bound to be different from a real pistol, even if it looked similar.
It was a relief that the gun had saved Darcy’s life, but I was also worried about developing it further.
Darcy didn’t seem to be the type who enjoyed fighting, so there had to be a reason he was so focused on this.
After thinking it over, I finally asked.
“You’re trying to develop more weapons because of the Emperor and Prince Ryan, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. I need a ‘method’ to crush them.”
“A method?”
“Yeah. A method beyond magic.”
Darcy could end everything with his brainwashing ability, yet he didn’t.
Was it just for revenge?
I didn’t think so.
“So there’s a reason you have to do it this way.”
“You’re too sharp for your own good.”
Darcy conceded, setting the gun down and undoing the top button of his shirt, which had been fastened to his neck.
He had never properly explained his brainwashing ability. Perhaps because no one else had this power, there was almost no information on it.
It seemed the same was true for Emperor Kies. If even he didn’t know, there was no way I could.
I would never know unless Darcy told me himself.
With the window left open, I started to feel a little cold. I shivered slightly, and Darcy stood up to close it as he continued speaking.
“Actually, that’s not the only reason.”
“There’s more?”
“Now that Kies has seen this weapon, he’ll try to make one too. I want to create something that surpasses it, to show him how futile his struggles are.”
“…”
“Before the magic stones run out.”
This was the first I was hearing of this.
“The magic stones are running out?”
“Yeah, magic stones don’t just spring up endlessly like a fountain. The supply was always finite, and now it’s on the decline.”
In the novel, the imperial family did business with magic stones, didn’t they? I’d never considered this scenario, and I was flustered.
“…And just like the magic stones, aren’t the mages disappearing too?”
The mages had gone into hiding, and it was true that their numbers had dwindled.
“That’s right. The number of ordinary people who have magical power but live hiding it has increased.”
Darcy said nonchalantly.
A mage’s power needs to be honed, but in an era where mages are ostracized, who would want to do that? Even I would have hidden it.
“Perhaps this is the easier path for everyone.”
As mages disappear, everyone will become more or less the same.
Darcy added self-deprecatingly.
“…But is it really right for things to change this way?”
I gently questioned his words.
Mages are special beings. It pained me that most of them withered away without ever having the chance to properly blossom their abilities.
I hate judging things by their cover. I know all too well how much pain that can cause a person.
“Darcy, come sit here.”
I called over to Darcy, who was talking while perched on the bed, keeping his distance.
He silently sat down in the spot next to me that I had indicated. The way he looked at me with his arms crossed reminded me of a baby leopard.
After taking a deep breath, I spoke clearly.
“I want to meet the mages.”
“…The mages? You have me, so why? If you want magic tools, I’ll make them for you. I have nothing but time now.”
‘A prince can’t possibly have nothing but time!’
“I’m not meeting them for my own selfish reasons. I told you before.”
“…A contract.”
“Yes. I want to make a contract with them. My magic stones and their magic would make for a great partnership.”
He raised an eyebrow. With his eyes half-lidded, he leaned his face in close to mine.
‘Using your face like that is cheating!’ I could feel my own face instantly flush hot.
“I’m a little hurt. To think you’d commercialize the magic tools we started together through others, and not me.”
“But thanks to that time, we were able to… become what we are now.”
I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to define our relationship. But the rest was sincere.
“So I’m going to look for a way to meet them.”
I calmly told Darcy what I had wanted to say when I saw him.
“You said you wanted me to be happy.”
“…”
“And thanks to you, I’m already changing. I can feel it even now.”
If it hadn’t been for him, would I have been able to even think about coming out again after I’d shut myself in my house, disillusioned with everything?
No. I could answer that with certainty.
If I hadn’t even had Darcy, I would have truly found everything tiresome and turned away from it all.
I was able to stand up again because there was someone who listened to my story, stood by my side, and saw me for who I truly was.
Because there was someone who crushed Ryan for my sake and demanded an apology from Kaysen.
Now that I had a chance to help a person like that, how could I just let it pass by!
Now, I wanted to do the same for him.
“I’ll tell you as many times as it takes. I want you to be happy. And I believe improving the treatment of mages is the starting point for your happiness.”
Did my sincerity get through? I held his gaze, my heart pounding anxiously, until he suddenly raised a hand, covered his face, and bowed his head.
“…What is it?”
“Don’t look. I probably look pathetic right now.”
