Chapter 8
“Dan Brown.”
“Y-Yes…! Yes!”
“Release her hand immediately.”
At Hayden’s low, threatening voice, Dan quickly let go.
Ivenne finally freed her hand and held her sore wrist, turning it gently.
“Are you alright?”
Hayden’s voice, which had been fierce just moments ago, became completely different when he spoke to her.
“I’m fine.”
“Your wrist is swollen. It may bruise.”
Ivenne didn’t know what to say, so she stayed quiet and kept moving her wrist.
Hayden kept looking at her.
Dan watched this in disbelief.
“Commander! This is not the time to worry about her!”
Inside, he was screaming.
His head was bleeding, swollen, and his hair had been ripped out—
yet Hayden was worried about her.
“She’s just pretending because you’re here!”
Dan felt wronged and frustrated.
From the outside, it looked like a strong knight hurting a fragile lady.
The situation was completely against him.
“This is so unfair!”
He wanted to shout the truth.
That she was crazy.
That she attacked him.
But he held it in.
Instead, he stared intensely at Hayden.
“Please ask me. Please ask me.”
“Dan Brown.”
“Yes!”
“Explain.”
Dan’s eyes lit up.
“I knew it! Justice always wins!”
“Commander! This crazy—no! This woman is definitely your stalker or a spy!”
Ivenne looked up at the sky as if she had given up.
“I told you that’s not true…”
Hayden’s eyebrow twitched.
“What nonsense are you talking about, Dan Brown?”
“It’s not nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes!”
Ivenne stared at him in disbelief.
He didn’t believe the Magic Tower seal or the ring—
yet he claimed he “saw clearly.”
“If this is what he calls seeing clearly, he needs new eyes.”
Dan continued proudly.
“She lied about having a 5 o’clock appointment with you! You weren’t even here—you were in training! She also said she’s from the Magic Tower!”
“There are no female mages in the Tower right now!”
“She even forged the Magic Tower seal! And that normal ring—she insisted it’s a Magic Tower ring!”
Dan added proudly,
“If it were someone else, they would’ve been fooled!”
But Hayden’s expression slowly turned colder.
Dan didn’t notice at all.
“The most suspicious thing is that envelope. When I tried to check it, she said it was a confidential document only you could see—what nonsense—”
“Wait. The envelope?”
“Yes! It was extremely suspicious! The moment I touched it, it disappeared!”
Dan looked at Hayden expectantly.
But Hayden felt a headache coming.
“In just 10 minutes… he caused this much trouble…”
Ivenne had shown her identity.
The Magic Tower seal.
The ring.
Everything.
Yet Dan failed to recognize any of it.
“There is no bigger embarrassment than this.”
“No one more foolish than this.”
Now Hayden understood.
“So that’s why they were fighting…”
Honestly—
Dan deserved to be beaten more.
“And why did he touch something he was told not to?”
He had even caused a security breach.
Hayden glanced at Ivenne.
She was glaring at Dan like she wanted to kill him.
Meanwhile, Dan kept talking excitedly.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Very suspicious! We should interrogate her immediately!”
“Dan Brown.”
“Yes, Commander! Should I take her to the interrogation room?”
His eyes sparkled.
Hayden gritted his teeth.
“Shut your mouth.”
Dan immediately shut up.
Hayden sighed.
“Dan. The envelope you touched had security magic. If anyone other than me or this Magic Tower member touches it, it disappears.”
“So it is correct that only I can see it.”
“…Yes, of course—wait… what?!”
Dan’s mouth dropped open.
Beside him, Ivenne clicked her tongue inside.
“He didn’t believe me… but he believes one word from his Commander.”
She hadn’t explained the magic in detail—
but she clearly said it was confidential.
Still, he ignored her.
“How did someone like him become a First Knight?”
She judged him harshly in her mind.
“Terrible eyesight. And talks too much.”
“If the Empire falls, it’ll be because of him.”
For a moment, she even thought of picking up the stone again and shoving it into his mouth.
But—
she held back.
“I didn’t do perfectly either…”
She failed to protect the document.
So she stayed quiet.
Then—
she glanced at Hayden.
His face was tense, holding back anger.
She decided to behave properly.
“Your appointment at 5 is real. She is from the Magic Tower. So the seal and ring are also real.”
“Do you understand now what kind of mistake you made?”
Dan’s face turned pale.
Sweat ran down his face.
Ivenne looked at him.
“He’s definitely going to get scolded badly later.”
Then—
she suddenly realized something.
“Wait… am I going to get scolded too?”
She had never seen Hayden this angry before.
She became nervous.
“What if he complains to the Tower Master…?”
“That would be even worse…”
“However—”
Dan tried to speak again.
Hayden glared at him.
Ivenne also turned sharply and glared at him.
Dan flinched.
“…But why were you hiding behind that big tree…”
He muttered weakly.
Hayden raised an eyebrow.
Ivenne clenched her teeth.
“Why did he bring that up…”
“A tree?”
“Yes. She was hiding there.”
“Why…?”
Hayden looked at Ivenne.
She laughed awkwardly.
“Ah… haha… well…”
“There were some unknown ladies in front of the building… so I just… hid without thinking…”
“I’m a bit shy.”
Dan stared at her in disbelief.
Hayden raised an eyebrow.
“Ladies?”
Dan immediately spoke again.
“Commander! Your stalkers came again! And this time—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
He was about to mention love potion cookies and bribed checkpoints—
but Ivenne was watching.
He cleared his throat.
“I’ll report that later.”
“Alright. Dan, first apologize to Member Haiwen. No matter the reason, you were in the wrong.”
Dan straightened and bowed to Ivenne.
“I apologize for my behavior, Miss. I didn’t know there were female mages in the Tower…”
Hayden frowned.
“Dan. What are you talking about?”
“Yes? What do you mean?”
“Member Haiwen is not a mage.”
“…Then…?”
“She is an alchemist. Apologize properly again—”
“W-What?! The… the Princess of the Magic Tower?!”
Dan froze in shock.
