Chapter 84 – What Do You Think of Me?
2024.01.23
The most shocked by those words, of course, were Cordelia and Leonard.
For a noblewoman to disappear without reason was a major stain on her reputation, so apart from a few close acquaintances, almost no one knew that Lydia had vanished. Because of that, Hayden’s expression didn’t change much from earlier.
“Lydia Elfenbaum is here? As far as I know, that Rosenbloor fellow isn’t at the Mage Association right now.”
“Where is she?”
Leonard asked the mage who had brought the news. The man took a deep breath before speaking.
“She’s at the entrance. She was looking for you, Sir Leonard, so I came to let you know.”
“How would she know I’m here… No, never mind. I’ll find out when I talk to her.”
“You should go quickly, Master,” Cordelia urged, stamping her foot impatiently at the news.
The two of them headed toward the entrance of the Mage Association in perfect unison. Even from a distance, it was obvious where Lydia was—she was surrounded by a ring of young male mages.
“Lydia!”
Cordelia pushed her way through the group. Lydia greeted her with the same gentle, warm smile as always.
“Cordelia, how have you been?”
“How have I been? That’s what I should be asking you. All this time—”
“There’s a place nearby where we can talk. Let’s go there,” Leonard interjected.
Cordelia shut her mouth with a start. There was no need to announce to the crowd that Lydia had been missing.
“Can’t we just talk inside?”
“You know only mages can enter the Association.”
“Well, I’m a mage now.”
With a flick of her fingers, Lydia conjured a flame in midair.
Cordelia’s eyes widened. She’d learned enough about magic to know that creating even a small flame wasn’t easy—it required simultaneous control over mana distribution, calculation, and manifestation. Yet Lydia had done it as naturally as breathing.
“…How? Didn’t you quit magic when you were very young?”
“I did. But… I realized later that it was a shame to stop like that.”
Leonard simply stared at her, still unable to make sense of the situation, while Cordelia’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“That’s great! Now we can study magic together!”
“…Let’s talk inside first.”
There were still many people passing by at the entrance. Leonard held back his questions and led the way in. Cordelia, having visited once before, started pointing things out to Lydia.
“That’s the Hall of Stars. There used to be sixteen, but eight years ago Master added a new star to it.”
“I heard about that from Blay.”
“Ah… I see.”
Come to think of it, Lydia had known Leonard for over ten years—it was strange that she wouldn’t know such a famous story. Feeling awkward, Cordelia fell silent. Lydia passed her by and caught up to Leonard.
“Leo, are we going to your research lab?”
“No. You can’t go there. I have somewhere else in mind.”
“That’s too bad. I wanted to see it.”
“Unless you’re Acheron, no one can enter. Better give up on that dream.”
Leonard’s tone was so coldly firm that even Cordelia felt a twinge of offense.
“Come on, there’s not much to see anyway. Why not let Lydia have a look?”
“Why would I? You alone are trouble enough. The one disciple I have went in once and—”
“M-Master! I thought we agreed to forget about that!” Cordelia cut him off, flustered. Leonard chuckled lightly at her reaction.
After climbing an endless staircase, they stopped before a door.
“This is for high-ranking mages, so no one will overhear us.”
Inside, the room was neither luxurious nor shabby—just comfortably furnished. With a wave of Leonard’s hand, a teapot and cups floated over and landed neatly on the table. Cordelia stared in fascination as the teapot poured tea on its own.
“Now talk. Where have you been, and what happened?”
“I met someone…” Lydia began slowly, as if recalling something from long ago.
“That person awakened the magic inside me—the talent that had been buried deep within.”
“Awakened your magic? Who was it?”
“I don’t know. They just appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared.”
“What nonsense is that? So the reason you vanished for so long was to be with this person?”
“Yes. I was learning how to use magic from them. It’s harder than I expected, but I got used to it.”
It didn’t add up. It was far too flimsy an explanation for being missing for nearly a month.
“Lydia, be honest. Did that person force you? If you tell me, I can help you.”
“No. Everything was my choice.”
“You followed a stranger, learned magic, and found some hidden talent? Do you really think that makes sense?”
“There’s a lot in this world you don’t know. Here, look.”
To prove her point, Lydia conjured multiple flames this time. They spun and danced in the air before vanishing.
“Still don’t believe me?”
“It’s not your magical talent I doubt—it’s how you came by it. There’s a natural order to things, and you’ve ignored it entirely.”
“So what? The important thing is the result.”
“Ha… Lydia, what really happened this past month? Why suddenly learn magic? What could you possibly be lacking?”
Lydia closed her mouth, staring at him for a long moment before replying quietly:
“I just wanted to learn. Is that so wrong?”
“It’s not wrong. But if you wanted to, you could’ve come to the Association and learned properly. Why vanish for a month without a word? Do you know how damaging it would be to your reputation if news of your disappearance spread?”
“I didn’t know you cared about my reputation. You didn’t even flinch when rumors of our engagement went around.”
Her retort was sharp, and a strange tension filled the air. Cordelia glanced between them and quietly sipped her tea.
Leonard opened his mouth as if to say something, then sighed shortly.
“…Have you contacted Blay?”
“Not yet. I will now.”
“What? Do you know how desperately he’s been searching for you? If you left of your own will, you could’ve at least told him. Why act so irresponsibly?”
“Since when have you cared so much? I’ve always been outside your circle—wasn’t I someone you didn’t care about?”
It was unlike Lydia. Even in the short time Cordelia had known her, she’d never used such cynical, negative language.
Leonard’s face hardened.
“Lydia… Don’t tell me—”
“Enough. This is boring. I’ll contact Blay myself, so don’t worry.”
That was all the explanation they got for her month-long disappearance. Every attempt to dig deeper was deflected.
Leonard decided to end the conversation.
“Don’t wander off and make Blay worry again. Stay here until he comes.”
“Alright.”
Lydia smiled brightly and nodded. They left the room and escorted her to a guest room. Before parting, Cordelia spoke first.
“Lydia, I’m glad you came back safely.”
“I’m glad to see you again too, Cordelia. I’ve missed you a lot.”
“Me?”
Her reaction earlier had been rather cool for someone claiming that, but Cordelia didn’t question it.
“Yes. Oh, by the way, was the funeral carried out properly? I should’ve asked sooner, but my mind’s been elsewhere.”
“We just returned from the Abrams estate after the funeral. For Craig.”
Cordelia lowered her head slightly, feigning a sad expression.
“He was a good man, so I’m sure he’s gone to a good place.”
“A good place… Sure. And you returned from Abrams to Vasquez?”
“Ah… yes, that’s right.”
“Hmm.”
Lydia seemed lost in thought, then went into her room without even offering the customary words of condolence. Cordelia was too stunned by the lack of sentiment to speak for a while.
“Lydia’s changed a little…”
“A little? More like she’s a completely different person.”
“So you think so too, Master? I mean, I haven’t known her long, but she definitely wasn’t like this before.”
Anyone who had known Lydia before would have been shocked—her personality seemed to have turned 180 degrees.
The two of them headed for Leonard’s research lab. Before long, the magically sealed door came into view, surrounded by the power of the Twelve. Without inserting any key, Candias appeared in a flash at the center of the door.
Even though she already knew, Cordelia still jumped at the sight of the overwhelming, disembodied eye.
The moment Candias saw Leonard, it let out a screech.
“I knew you were still alive, you damned pest!”
“Just open the door, one-eye.”
“You unlucky wretch! How could the gods be so careless as to release something like you into the human world?!”
“Funny to hear an archdemon talk about gods. Stop babbling and open up.”
Cursing nonstop, Candias opened the door. Nothing had changed—not even the blanket Cordelia had sat on before.
