Chapter 121 – My First and Last
2024.02.29
Leonard didn’t answer her but stared intently at her face for a moment before lightly tapping Cordelia’s nose with his finger. The sudden action caught her off guard, and she let out a short, startled scream.
“Ah!”
“Why aren’t you wearing your bracelet? You tried it once already. Have you already forgotten how to use it? Has your head turned back to stone because I’ve been pampering you lately? Let me knock on it a bit and see what kind of sound it makes.”
“Tch… when did you ever pamper me, Master…”
Pouting, Cordelia rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had her own explanation.
“It’s not that—I heard that Marquis Embry bribed my father and set up magic in that room in advance. When it activated, my strength drained and I couldn’t use any magic.”
“So they laid down a suppression magic circle. But if you hadn’t been neglecting your studies, you could have countered it easily.”
“R-Really?”
Leonard’s expression hadn’t softened; if anything, it had become stricter. Cordelia was slightly flustered—she hadn’t thought the trap she fell into could actually be countered.
“That’s why I keep telling you to study diligently. Did I say that or not?”
With every word, he pressed her head down firmly. His usual nonchalant tone only made her gratitude, stained with tears, fade quickly.
“I didn’t know at the time!”
“Are you going to keep saying that even after you die? You’re always getting into trouble or dragged into it, so I can never take my eyes off you.”
“I’m sorry.”
Cordelia lowered her head. No matter the circumstances, it was true that everything had happened because of her mistake or negligence.
The arms that had been gripping her shoulders tightly finally loosened.
“Alright. Lift your head. Let me see if that already-ugly face is beyond repair… Belluche.”
Leonard tilted his chin. His loyal attendant cast a displeased glance at Cordelia, still clinging to Leonard’s chest, and muttered as he lit the candles.
The flickering light illuminated the room, finally allowing Cordelia to see Leonard’s face clearly. Perhaps it was her imagination, but his jawline seemed sharper than before, slightly thinner.
“How’s your body? You said you ate Tarsia.”
“You heard from Marquis Embry?”
“Yes. He sent a letter first. He said, since he’s keeping you, if you want to survive, bring the Resurrection Spellbook to Hashimus.”
“Don’t worry. Even though I was kidnapped and poisoned, I think I can convince Marquis Embry to give me just the antidote, and I’ll be fine.”
As she spoke, she wondered if she sounded too unconcerned, but she meant it sincerely.
‘I’m sorry, Master.’
Seeing her, battered and lying at his feet, Leonard immediately realized something was wrong.
The first emotion he felt upon hearing the full story was a piercing self-reproach. He had underestimated Maximilian. Painful as it was, “careless” seemed an apt description.
He hadn’t just sent two knights to accompany Cordelia. Even after there had been an attempted kidnapping before, he had relied too easily on Ebrard’s treasures and handled the situation carelessly.
“If something is precious, you should know how to hide it properly.”
Gabriel, the King of Ersche, had said this, clicking his tongue, as Leonard traveled to Hashimus, and the words kept echoing in his mind.
Ultimately, the fundamental reason Cordelia was kidnapped was Leonard himself. He hadn’t imagined that his affection and concern for her could become a noose tightening around her throat.
Leonard finally let her fully go from his embrace.
“The antidote?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet? It’s been nearly ten days since you were poisoned.”
“They’ll keep me alive only as long as I can negotiate with you, so I guess they’ll let me live for now.”
Cordelia spoke somewhat coldly, almost as if someone else’s life were at stake, casually.
“And keeping Master’s visit here a secret… doesn’t that mean Marquis Embry has switched sides?”
“Hmm. We’ll have to wait and see if he truly has. On the surface, he may pretend to side with me while plotting something else with Maximilian.”
“But Marquis Embry hasn’t… right?”
The person who deserved gratitude here wasn’t Anton but the Master who had come to Hashimus without hesitation for her. Cordelia briefly recalled Anton’s dark expression and shook her head.
“There’s no such thing as resurrection magic, right?”
“Of course not. If such magic existed, the world’s order would collapse every day.”
“At first, I didn’t understand why he did such things, but seeing him freeze my body and decorate it with flowers…”
“You’re not pitying the one who kidnapped and poisoned you, are you?”
“No, it’s not that. I was envious.”
Leonard fell silent at the unexpected answer. Cordelia continued, wearing a bitter smile.
“That I had a father like that. Our father, Marquis Vasquez, said that my eyes were a symbol of injustice.”
“What?”
“Vasquez’s eyes are naturally black, so since I have green eyes, it’s because my mother cheated and bore another man’s child. That’s why he treated me that way, I suppose.”
“You don’t actually believe that, right? Your father has been drunk more days than sober. Or it was just an excuse to justify his despicable actions.”
Leonard immediately rebutted. One cannot determine a child’s origin from eye color alone. Rarely, a child may not resemble either parent’s eyes.
“To be honest, I don’t know. Until now, I believed my mother when she said I inherited my green eyes from my maternal grandmother. If that’s not even true… then I…”
Cordelia looked down, confused. The unease she thought had subsided peeked back into her mind.
“Actually, I just met Lani. The nurse from Eratrus who cared for me as a child. Later, if I have time, I want to ask if she knows anything. She was closest to my mother, so maybe she does.”
“A nurse? The nurse who raised you is in Hashimus? How?”
“Marquis Embry invited pilgrims to the castle every year, and Lani was among them. She’s even a candidate for High Priestess.”
“So that’s why she couldn’t be found before.”
Leonard muttered softly. Through Baron, he had sent someone to Eratrus, but they came up empty. Now, here she was.
“Huh? Who were you looking for?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
He lightly shook his head. Cordelia didn’t press further.
“What’s your plan now? Shouldn’t we catch him quickly before Maximilian finds out that Master came here?”
“I’ll handle that bastard myself. You just act normally. Don’t do anything reckless and get caught. I’ll also find out how to make the antidote from Marquis Embry, so just wait a little.”
“Do you think he’ll easily tell us his family’s secret recipe?”
“I’ll find out, even if I have to turn Hashimus into a sea of fire, so don’t worry about such useless things.”
“That’s very reassuring.”
Cordelia smiled. It wasn’t just talk—she truly felt that way. Even though nothing was resolved yet, the fact that Leonard was nearby eased all her anxieties.
Lani Epione had been glancing at the door continuously. Her obvious gaze was hard for anyone nearby to miss.
A young priest attending Lani asked,
“Is someone waiting for you?”
“Yes. But they seem busy right now.”
Normally, she would have gone to Cordelia first, but her ambiguous status made it difficult to meet anyone recklessly.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Lani’s face immediately brightened. The young priest smiled faintly and ran to the door.
“Quick, ah—”
As soon as the door opened, the young priest staggered and then fell to the floor. Lani gasped and rushed over.
“Rito!”
“He just fell asleep, calm down.”
“Who are you?”
Holding the fallen Rito, Lani glared at the stranger warily. The dazzling platinum-haired man glanced indifferently around the room and entered without the owner’s permission.
Now, it was just Lani and the man in the room.
“You are Lani Epione?”
“You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“Leonard Atillay. And I’m also Cordelia’s Master.”
“You’re the Master? You mean Atillay? The Atillay?”
Although Eratrus kept its distance from magic, Lani had heard of Leonard Atillay.
He was the head of the Atillay family and the most powerful iron-blooded mage in Ersche. Rumors had circulated about him, but she hadn’t expected him to be so young.
And now Cordelia was his student—one surprise after another.
“Sit. I have questions to ask.”
He casually sat in an armchair in the living room as if he owned the place. His attitude was arrogant and rude, but Lani hesitated and sat across from him.
No matter how much of a High Priestess candidate she was, she wasn’t brave enough to defy Master Atillay.
“What do you wish to ask me?”
“I heard you were close to the late Lady Vasquez.”
“Yes. If it weren’t for Lady Vasquez, I wouldn’t be here today.”
“I see. Then you must have known that she couldn’t have children.”
“How would you know that, Master?”
The unexpected question startled Lani. She had only expected to be asked about Cordelia’s safety, not about Greta’s secret, known to only a few.
