Chapter 10
Kendrick, who had stayed behind in the capital, trembled as he crumpled the letter he’d just received.
“Maya is getting married?”
This made no sense.
The Maya Pendragon he knew had always kept her distance from men.
And now, she was marrying that Duke of Beiadin?
“What’s going on, Kendrick Archisia?”
The senior mage standing before him frowned.
Of course, Kendrick was lost in thought.
Once you enter the Mage Tower, you can’t leave until you pass the promotion exam.
But this was a necessary step to becoming the Tower Master.
I thought Maya would be okay.
From the moment he first met Maya until now, he’d done everything he could to appeal to her—even pretending to be something he wasn’t.
“You? Proposing to someone?”
How ridiculous. Kendrick ruffled his hair in frustration.
“It’s time to enter the tower.”
He half-ignored the warning and asked,
“When’s the soonest promotion exam?”
Kendrick had a nasty temper with anyone who wasn’t Maya.
The senior mage sighed irritably, clearly used to Kendrick’s rude tone.
“Tomorrow. But the promotion exam takes months of preparation and training. You know that.”
If you failed the exam on your first try, you were kicked out of the Tower, so everyone gave it their all.
“I’ll take it tomorrow.”
But Kendrick—blinded by the news of Maya’s marriage—wasn’t like everyone else.
“…What?”
“There’s someone I have to hurry up and see after I pass.”
His ultimate goal of becoming Tower Master was all for one reason: to use his power to support Maya as best he could.
But if she was getting married, wasn’t all this preparation meaningless?
I can’t lose her like this.
Thinking of Maya, Kendrick smiled coldly.
Maya was guided to a guest room. Since they weren’t married yet, she’d be staying in a guestroom—but even that was a luxury to her.
The room was easily twice the size of her bedroom back at the Pendragon estate.
Most of all, the room was full of life.
A fireplace burned brightly, filling the space with warmth.
Decorated in Beiadin’s signature black and white, the room felt clean yet cozy. Snow was falling heavily outside the window beside the bed.
Even the darkest shadows were swallowed by the blinding whiteness.
“Wow…”
She’d seen snow on the way here, but this kind of thick snowfall was a first. The gently piling snow illuminated her surroundings like a lamp, pushing back the darkness.
She was standing on the boundary between night and day.
The contract seems to have gone well.
Clutching the signed contract from Tristan tightly in her hand, Maya sat at the desk, deep in thought.
Even the guestroom was well-maintained—clean paper, pens, and ink were all neatly stored in the drawers.
I should organize what needs to be done next.
Though the contract was complete, the idea of representing the Beiadin household to the Emperor was uncomfortable.
She’d need to be extremely cautious.
He might cut my head off the moment he sees me.
Meeting Tristan again had made her realize that her emotions from her past life were more intense than she expected.
If she lost control and did something reckless, she might end up turning the man who defeated the tyrant Emperor into a traitor.
To prevent that, it was better to break Tristan’s curse as soon as possible, so he could appear before the Emperor himself.
Maya scribbled a rough plan with her messy handwriting:
Tristan proposes → Encounter monsters in the North and awaken → Bastar– no, the Emperor’s summons.
Awakening was essential to lifting the curse.
She couldn’t remember exactly how many monsters she’d fought back then…
But repeating the same process should work.
It would be best to start the monster subjugation right away.
There was something about her talk with Tristan today that bothered her.
He was desperate to convince me.
When Maya showed reluctance, Tristan had thrown away all his pride and practically begged.
But in her past life, once Maya became commander of the knights, Tristan had vanished without a trace.
That didn’t make sense.
There are three possible reasons.
First: Tristan gave up on her after she became commander.
No way.
He wasn’t the type to give up just because he got rejected once.
Even if he had been reclusive, if Maya was the key to lifting his curse, and she rejected his proposal, he would have come to the capital in desperation.
Second: The Emperor’s interference prevented Tristan from contacting her at all.
That also seemed unlikely. Maya had loyally served the Emperor after becoming commander, but his power hadn’t always been strong.
Blocking all communication from the Beiadin house would have been impossible.
So only one option remained.
Third: At the time Maya rejected him and became commander, something major happened that kept Tristan from reaching her.
It couldn’t have been something that happened to him personally.
Even if his identity wasn’t widely known at the time, if anything had happened to him, rumors would’ve spread.
That left only someone close to him.
Someone in a position of deep trust, someone with enough importance that Tristan had to remain by their side.
Who could it be?
“I’ll need to think about that.”
For now, the awakening was the priority.
Once she was awakened, even if something major happened, she’d be able to handle it.
Guess I should start with the mountain range tomorrow.
Back in the Imperial Knights, she’d heard that part of the Northern Mountains was managed by Beiadin’s knight order.
She could ask Tristan tomorrow if she could join them for monster subjugation.
If I give it two weeks, that should do.
It had taken about three weeks last time, so with little sleep, she could shorten the time.
“Perfect.”
Thanks to her naturally exceptional physical ability, Maya had always been the type to solve problems through action rather than planning.
Having reached her conclusion, she proudly admired her own strategy.
“Thinking this much is tiring.”
She sighed deeply and shredded the paper to destroy the evidence.
If anyone else had read it, they’d think she was insane.
After firmly refusing a maid’s assistance and taking a hot bath, Maya dragged her weary body into bed.
As expected, the softness didn’t disappoint.
This is happiness.
Her first step toward a new life was a satisfying one.
Lying in bed, Maya suddenly remembered that her birthday was in a week.
“My birthday, huh.”
Not once had anyone celebrated it.
She’d likely spend it hunting monsters again this year.
She felt no emotion.
That was just how her life had always been.
Tristan’s office was noisy from the crack of dawn.
“I’m telling you, there had to be another way!”
“I’ve already signed the contract with Maya Pendragon. Don’t be rude, Alec.”
“Damn it, Tristan! Don’t you know what kind of family she comes from? Blood doesn’t change that easily!”
Alec, who had come to see Tristan first thing in the morning, eventually lost all formality and shouted.
But Tristan didn’t bat an eye.
“Questioning my decision is disrespectful of your position as commander sworn to the Beiadin house.”
“Ugh…”
Alec groaned, expressing his frustration dramatically.
Tristan sighed internally as he looked at Alec.
This argument will take longer than I expected.
Tristan, who preferred a disciplined and orderly life, found this very unpleasant.
It was even more disappointing that the friend doubting him was Alec.
Knock knock.
But the argument was interrupted before it began.
“…Robert?”
It was Robert’s voice.
“My lord. Lady Maya is here to see you.”
But that wasn’t the main point.
It was 4 in the morning.
Did she not sleep well?
They had talked until late last night, so she’d probably only slept three or four hours.
“Let her—”
Tristan hesitated mid-sentence.
He suddenly remembered his current appearance.
A youthful face still showing signs of adolescence. Compared to the man she had met just hours ago, this appearance would be quite different.
Maya Pendragon already knew about his curse.
Still, he hesitated to face her in this form.
Was it pride?
“Well, well. The unwanted guest has arrived.”
Seizing the moment, Alec opened the door with a glint in his eye.
There stood a woman with a calm face, her tree-colored brown hair tied back tightly.
“Sorry, but the duke is currently speaking with me. You’ll have to wait, Pendragon.”
His mocking tone was deliberate—he wanted to provoke her and see her true colors.
After all, she carried the blood of that Pendragon family.
But it had no effect.
“You opened the door, so I assume the duke can hear me. May I use the training grounds?”
There was no value in engaging with petty hostility. Maya had encountered far too many people like him.
She continued, expressionless.
“If you could just tell me when the duke plans to eat breakfast, I’ll return by then.”
Her reply was so very Maya that Tristan couldn’t help but laugh.
Just as he expected—Alec’s attack had no effect on her.
“Y-you…”
Alec looked genuinely annoyed by Maya’s indifference.
“…My lord. May I escort Lady Maya to the training grounds myself?”
Alec asked through gritted teeth.
“That—”
There was no way Tristan would allow such a blatantly malicious offer.
He was about to refuse.
“Please allow him to escort me, my lord.”
But Maya spoke first.
Peeking through the half-open door, she looked straight at Tristan with an unshaken gaze.
“Let me go with him, Your Grace.”
