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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Fallen Hero
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But, but...!

For me, who had regained the memories of my past life, it was an absurd title.

Sir Axel?

To think I had to bow my head and address this punk with the high honorific of ‘Sir’!

The very thought of it sent shivers down my spine.

‘I’d rather bow to the Mad Dragon than call this guy Sir Axel.’

While I was wrestling with the issue of his title, the conversation between Axel and Mrs. Jasper continued.

“Perhaps you were mistaken out of fatigue? You’ve been overworking yourself ever since ‘that incident.’ You haven’t even been sleeping properly.”

“...I haven’t been overworking myself.”

“Of course you have! His Excellency the Duke may not say it, but he is very worried about you, Sir Axel. It’s already been five years...”

“It has *only* been five years.”

The conversation, which I had been only half-listening to, took a strange turn.

When I looked up at Axel’s face, I saw a slight frown, a look of profound anguish.

“The Black Mage, once revered as a hero, is a cowardly murderer who killed their disciple and fled. That is the truth...”

“Muwduwer!”

The word burst out of me in my shock.

I quickly clamped my hands over my mouth, but it was impossible to take back the sound that had escaped.

Axel and Mrs. Jasper’s gazes fixed on me.

I broke out in a cold sweat and quickly bowed my head.

“I-I’m sowwy...”

My mind was a chaotic mess.

I was certain that the ‘Black Mage’ Mrs. Jasper mentioned was me.

But killed my disciple and fled?

I had no idea what she was talking about.

My disciple was perfectly fine and well when I left the northern estate.

I vividly remembered thinking how admirable he was for politely bidding me a safe journey, so much so that I had specially cut his homework in half.

Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Mrs. Jasper’s sighing voice came from above.

“Miss Lesia, you may return to your room now. Remember how hard you worked cleaning today, and don’t skip your lessons so carelessly in the future.”

“Yes!” I answered quickly, then scurried out of the storage room.

First, I needed to get a grasp of the situation.

* * *

Despite Mrs. Jasper’s instructions, I went straight to the library.

Befitting a family that had produced countless scholars, the Elpinade library was enormous.

I even wondered if it might be larger than the imperial library.

It seemed to house every rare tome and various editions of numerous books, but my interest right now was in recent records.

Anything about the Black Mage of Despair, Greslin, would do.

However, the short stature of a child not yet five years old was a great disadvantage in finding the materials I wanted.

I could only see the bottom of the bookshelves that soared to the ceiling.

In my frustration, I tried jumping up and down, but the third shelf was my absolute limit.

‘Ugh, this is so frustrating!’

I was already in a hurry, and my body refusing to cooperate was driving me mad.

To make matters worse, a child’s stamina held me back.

After all the effort of cleaning the storage room and the ceaseless jumping, my legs gave out, and I could no longer stand.

‘If I used magic, I could find the book I want in an instant, but...’

The memory of Axel rushing over after sensing the flow of mana from even a small spell made me hesitant to use my power.

It seemed wise to lay low until I had a proper grasp of the situation.

“Ugh...”

Unable to hold on any longer, I collapsed onto the floor, a groan escaping my lips.

I had no idea how long I would have to search this vast library to find the book I needed.

But as I let out a deep sigh and lifted my head, the very book I was looking for came into view.

*The Fallen Hero, the Black Mage of Despair*

‘Th-this is it!’

Just how unpopular is this book for it to be shoved away in a corner like this?

I grumbled to myself and quickly pulled the book out.

The thick book was also quite heavy.

Grunting with effort, I opened it.

First was the section on the life of the Black Mage of Despair.

‘I know this better than the author.’

Next was the section on the expedition and the Black Mage of Despair.

How could people who weren’t even there possibly describe the expedition’s adventures in detail?

It was all bound to be nonsense and delusion.

‘So, I’ll skip this too.’

And the next part was...

The section on the Black Mage of Despair becoming a murderer.

‘Here it is!’

I stopped my hand that had been rapidly flipping through the pages and began to read the contents carefully.

According to the book, on the day I left for the final battle with the Mad Dragon, my disciple, Hazen, was found dead in the Black Mage’s estate.

At first, the Black Mage of Despair wasn’t a suspect.

But the situation turned when it was revealed that a powerful curse was what led to the disciple Hazen’s death.

Curse magic was the exclusive domain of black mages.

Among them, a curse that could instantly snuff out a person’s life could only be wielded by the highest-ranking black mages.

The only person in this country capable of black magic of that level was...

‘Me.’

Due to long years of persecution, the population of black mages had dwindled to a handful.

Furthermore, since I hadn't shown myself at all after that day, the public opinion of ‘But she’s a hero, she couldn’t have done it’ had drastically shifted to ‘See, that’s just what black mages are like.’

After a few years, the story seemed to have solidified into ‘The Black Mage of Despair killed their disciple and went into hiding.’

‘If my body had been found, this false accusation would have been cleared up quickly.’

Seeing as the word ‘murderer’ was still attached to my name, it seemed no one had discovered my body.

‘Well... I was caught up in some pretty powerful forces back then.’

There was a high probability that my body had completely disintegrated, leaving no corpse behind.

It seemed people interpreted that as me going into hiding.

But for me, who knew the truth, I couldn’t help but see the death of my disciple, Hazen, from a completely different perspective.

He had always been a lacking disciple in my eyes, but Hazen was still a considerably powerful mage.

To have subdued him so cleanly, the opponent must have been an incredibly powerful mage as well...

“Reading something interesting, are we?”

As I was lost in thought, a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind me.

I flinched and stiffly raised my head.

Axel’s face came into view.

His piercing blue eyes were staring right at me.

Axel simply reached out and lifted the book.

The same book I had struggled to even open.

Seeing it lifted so effortlessly in Axel’s hand, the difference in our physical strength was starkly clear.

“This seems like a difficult book for a four-year-old, don’t you think?”

Others might think his tone and expression were ordinary, but I knew him well, and I could see the suspicion written all over his face.

When Mrs. Jasper sent me away, he had just watched silently. I thought he wasn't suspicious at all!

He must have been listening closely to Mrs. Jasper’s words about me being the only one where the flow of mana originated and followed me here.

‘I didn’t sense his presence at all.’

If I were in Greslin’s body, I would have noticed.

But now, in the body of a child, my senses weren’t that sharp yet.

Such a keenly honed sense could only be obtained after experiencing countless dangers, so it couldn’t be helped.

‘What should I do?’

I stared at the predator(?) before me and racked my brain.

Right now, Greslin was under suspicion for killing her disciple and fleeing.

Was it wise to reveal my identity to this guy?

‘He might not even believe me.’