ITIMLT 14

Chapter 14.

The Duke of Kania cleared his throat and spoke.

“Magic must be studied from early childhood. Even forming a mana ring is a painful process.”

Then he began to passionately explain magic to Irina. His intense focus made him seem like a true magician.

“In the Kania family, children are made to stay near fire from a young age. Do you know why?”

“To get used to fire mana. That way, their affinity with it increases,” Irina answered.

At her reply, a satisfied smile appeared on the Duke’s face.

“Kahahaha!”

His loud laughter startled Arthe so much that he took a step back in shock.

‘The Duke is laughing again!’

Arthe stared at Irina with awe. That loud and slightly ridiculous laugh—it sounded just like how the Duke used to laugh when Lady Cecilia was still alive.

‘Ever since Cecilia disappeared, no one’s heard that laugh again!’

The Duke nodded.

“You’ve never properly studied magic, yet you know a lot. That’s right—while mana is a talent you’re born with, developing it takes great effort.”

He continued, “In fact, maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t grow up in an environment where you could amplify your mana.”

The Duke of Kania stepped closer to Irina.

“The less magical talent you have, the easier it is to control tainted energy.”

He reached out his hand.

“May I check your pulse?”

“Yes.”

At that moment, the Duke still had hope. He believed it might be possible to drive mana out of her body so that divine power could flow through her.

He truly liked Irina.

‘She’s clever.’

Magicians love those with magical talent. But even without talent, they admire smart people.

‘Maybe that’s why I like her.’

Maybe it was because her head wasn’t filled with swords and battles.

A magician in the Ledas family—a house known for swordsmanship—was something amazing.

‘I like the sharp look in her eyes too.’

The way she responded quickly and clearly when spoken to—it made her seem dependable.

‘She’s far too exceptional to be Kallios’s granddaughter.’

In fact, she reminded him more of himself than of Kallios. And that bothered him in an odd way.

Her intelligent gaze kept bringing back memories of Cecilia. As he examined Irina’s mana, he continued speaking to her.

“I also came to check if you really haven’t turned to the Evil God.”

He closed his eyes and focused on the potential sleeping inside her. Eight rings of mana radiated out.

‘How strange.’

The Duke recalled what he’d heard about her.

They said she had a weak body.

She clearly had a rare condition.

‘Her body is filled with tainted energy. The rumors were true. If it’s not purified with divine power, she won’t even live to adulthood.’

She was still just a child. At her age, most kids have many more years ahead of them. But Irina had little time left. He didn’t know why, but it made him feel angry.

The Duke concentrated harder.

‘The rumors about her worshiping the Evil God are nonsense. There’s none of that disgusting mana around her.’

But then—he froze.

He felt a clear mana ring inside Irina’s body.

‘She made a mana ring without ever learning magic? Instinctively? They said she was being chased by followers of the Evil God… maybe it happened then.’

Creating a mana ring with no knowledge or training… could even he have done that?

‘She’s almost as talented as I am.’

And she was from a sword-fighting family.

There was no way she had learned magic from a young age.

Yet Irina had clearly formed two mana rings. Even for children from magic families, forming two rings by age thirteen was incredibly rare.

‘How is this possible?’

Her talent gave him chills. But… it was a talent that never should have bloomed.

Irina gave a small, sad smile and asked him,

“Will I be okay, Your Grace?”

He couldn’t say she would be. Because the child before him reminded him so much of his lost daughter.

How could he tell her, “Your talent is like mine, but you won’t survive”?

The Duke was a magician—cold and rational. And a magician never lies. He should have told her the truth. That the more she used magic without meaning to, the stronger the tainted energy would grow. That it would slowly eat away at her body until she collapsed. That her only future was to be consumed by that darkness.

There’s a reason people say magicians have no blood or tears. Because a magician is expected to speak only truth.

‘A magician must not lie.’

His heart sank.

He knew about tainted energy.

The children of the Kania family had all struggled with it in their youth.

His daughter Cecilia often came to him crying.

“Father, it hurts. Why do I always have to be in pain?”

“Cecilia, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Back then, he hadn’t known how to help her. That was part of why he worked so hard to become an archmage.

He wanted to ease Cecilia’s pain.

But Irina’s tainted energy was far stronger than hers.

Even he, a grand archmage, could only suppress it. He couldn’t remove it completely. He looked over at Adel, standing in the corner. His face, as always, showed no emotion.

But the Duke could tell. He was extremely tense—because he was her father.

The Duke’s expression hardened, and he finally said one thing:

“Your talent… is remarkable.”

So remarkable that it may one day destroy you.

Irina already knew the truth, so she answered calmly,

“I see.”

He chose silence over honesty. From the corner, Adel’s energy suddenly flared. The Duke didn’t yell. Instead, he simply waved his hand. He understood Adel’s feelings better than anyone. Adel didn’t mean to react so strongly. It was just shock. He quickly returned to his usual blank expression.

‘When Cecilia was sick, I couldn’t do anything either.’

That same deep feeling of helplessness washed over the Duke.

“You’ll be fine,” he muttered.

He remembered how he used to hold Cecilia when she was crying in pain. And how he made a promise to her.

“I’ll protect you, Cecilia. I promise you won’t hurt anymore…”

He became an archmage who could have healed her—but in the end, he couldn’t protect her.

His face hardened.

‘What a joke.’

The little girl in front of him wasn’t Cecilia.

And yet, the words left his mouth without him realizing it:

“I’ll find it. A way to make you better.”

Adel then asked the Duke of Kania,

“Is there a way to suppress Irina’s tainted energy?”

“A grand mage can suppress it. But she’ll need to come with me to the Kania estate. I’ll have to test some magic circles and elixirs.”

Every person’s mana behaves differently. Even as an archmage, he couldn’t treat Irina’s condition recklessly.

Tainted energy and mana are similar, but also different.

To control the energy in Irina’s body, he needed to check if her mana was compatible with his.

If her condition were lighter, or if she had less talent, he might’ve treated her here. But considering how powerful both her mana and tainted energy were, the best option was to take her to the Duke of Kania’s estate.