SPMG 11

Chapter 11.

‘Maybe I overdid it since it’s been so long since I used my power.’

The black sand scattered on the floor felt surreal. Having been asleep for so long, he thought it might take time to regain his usual senses.

‘At least I haven’t lost my strength during that time. That’s a relief.’

The corners of Licht’s mouth lifted in satisfaction. After all the frustration, it was a satisfying moment. The sensation of summoning his power and igniting the flames again—something he’d only imagined—had now truly unfolded in his hands. With this clarity, he was sure it wasn’t a dream. Licht opened and closed his palm again.

Then his gaze drifted downward.

‘Should I say something?’

Silver hair, disheveled by the shockwave of his attack, caught his eye. It was the mage—that mage—who had always chattered by his side. The one he had imagined meeting hundreds of times was now in his arms.

‘Silver hair…’

It wasn’t a common color in the Ludensa Empire. Not unheard of, but rare. He thought it suited her mysterious voice well.

Licht’s lips parted slightly.

‘……’

But no words came out. Maybe it was because it was the first time he was actually facing the mage—facing her. A strange tension gripped Licht, making him hesitate. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, the mage in his arms moved first.

“Cough, cough!”

To be exact, she kept coughing repeatedly. Maybe she was hurt, or maybe there’d been too much smoke. Licht quickly checked the mage’s complexion.

“Are you alright, mage?”

And then—

“Ah…”

Lavender-colored eyes, soft and glowing like flower petals, turned toward him. The mage, visibly flustered, looked up at Licht.

At that moment, Licht was speechless. He simply closed his mouth and met her eyes.

What just happened?

I blinked again. It all happened in the blink of an eye. The apostle appeared, I grabbed the prince’s glass coffin and cast a barrier spell, trying to protect him…

‘And then the prince…?’

Suddenly, the sleeping prince woke up and took down the apostle in one strike.

I mean, seriously—someone turning into sand before my eyes? Never thought I’d see that in real life!

‘The prince… is insanely strong?!’

“Cough, cough!”

Well, the apostle was gone. Dead, really. But the prince still hadn’t let go of me. Sure, he probably stayed like this to protect me, but I had never been in this kind of physical contact with a man before. This position was… embarrassing, to say the least.

“Mage, were you startled?”

“Ah…”

Oh no. He’s going to think I’m a total fool. I’ve only been able to say “ah” and “uh” so far! But as I glanced up at the man who was looking at me from uncomfortably close range, I felt a wave of dizziness.

‘Oh wow, he’s ridiculously handsome.’

Even when he was lying down, I had thought he looked more like a statue than a person—so good-looking it was unreal. But now I realized that was nothing.

The moving version of Prince Licht, the male lead, had eyes just like the novel described—blue, like the depths of the sea, as if you could see straight through them. If I looked down just a bit, I could see a perfectly defined nose and jawline forming elegant lines.

‘You should’ve described him more clearly, author…’

He was dangerously attractive—almost fatally so.

‘So this is why reaction gifs exist. You have to see him move to get the full impact!’

And he was way too close. With him hugging me from behind, I could feel the solid muscles of his body pressing against me. I stayed silent, unable to form words, as Licht turned his gaze toward me.

In a panic, I quickly looked down so he wouldn’t see my dazed expression.

“You must’ve never seen an apostle vanish right before your eyes. You seem quite shaken.”

‘Oh god. Even his voice is unreal.’

That wasn’t what shocked me, but I was grateful for the misunderstanding. True, watching a person crumble into dust was shocking. Just… not as shocking as his face.

“Yes…”

I sneaked a glance at Licht’s face. As if he had been waiting, his eyes locked onto mine again.

‘What the heck.’

My face started burning.

In the novel, he was described as cold and distant, but the eyes now meeting mine were filled with warmth.

‘Calm down, heart! Calm down!’

I couldn’t even tell if my heart was racing from fear or fluster anymore.

If only he would back off a little—but he showed no sign of letting go, or even looking away. It was like he was trying to memorize every inch of my face.

‘……Should I just faint?’

When there’s no way out, escape is the only option. Since I couldn’t actually run, maybe I could just close my eyes and pretend to faint! Just as I considered this silly plan—

Crack—!

A loud lightning-like sound echoed in the distance, and a portal formed from magic energy appeared out of nowhere. Within moments, two figures leapt out of it.

“Edel!!!!!!”

The voice that screamed my name—it was Lady Meliz.

I instinctively pushed Licht away and ran to her. It was a reflexive move, like my body knew I couldn’t be seen in that position.

Maybe it was the rushed teleportation, but Lady Meliz’s once-neat hair was completely disheveled.

“Lady Meliz!!!”

She rushed over and wrapped me tightly in her arms. Up close, she was taller than I’d expected, and I was once again enveloped in her cloak.

Why does everyone keep hugging me like this? It’s making my heart flutter…

But there was no time to feel awkward. Her gentle hands and soft voice wrapped around me.

“Ah, you’re safe…”

“……”

“Thank goodness. Dear God.”

Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop them. Maybe it was because I had just brushed so close to death. I mean, I really almost died.

‘I think this is the first time someone has worried about me like this…’

Not once in my previous life, or this one.

Her sincere concern stirred guilt deep in my heart, but at the same time, it made me fully realize that I was Edel now. Overcome with complex emotion, I stayed quietly in her warm embrace, biting my lip.

Finally in safe arms, my mind began to clear.

‘An attack before the saintess has even appeared?’

In the novel, this incident didn’t occur until after Sefina awakened as the saintess. In fact, it was during her visit to the magic tower.

‘Why does this feel so ominous?’

The story’s flow had changed. The fact that such an important event had happened so suddenly filled me with anxiety.

“I can’t believe they targeted that small window… Cowards.”

Still holding me tightly, Lady Meliz glared at the ruined floor with frustration.

“…Almost like they knew that opening would appear.”

Wherever Lady Meliz was in the empire, she maintained powerful barriers that could withstand nearly any attack. But this time, it had been broken far too easily.

She raised a hand and sent her mana into the surrounding space—a spell to check for residual traces.

“Of course. Someone tampered with it.”

Her brows furrowed. She looked like she’d just seen something disgusting.

“If we filter the mana, we’ll find out who it was soon.”

With a short nod, she turned to one of her close aides, Reden, who had been standing nearby.

He was a high-ranking mage who supported her closely during public and private matters. Though he hadn’t interacted with Edel much, he’d been at Lady Meliz’s side even before she came to the magic tower.

“Reden.”

“Yes, Lady Meliz.”

“Find the rat. Today.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Reden nodded and swiftly left the top floor.

As the room briefly fell into silence, I remembered something important I had to tell Lady Meliz—about the man radiating divine aura beside me.

“It’s been a while, Duke.”

“Your Highness.”

But Licht spoke first. It was a simple greeting—barely a formality.

Oddly, Licht’s expression seemed slightly sulky. He didn’t look like someone overjoyed to be free from a long curse.

‘Male leads are always unshakably calm, huh…’

He looked at me for a moment, then turned back to Lady Meliz.

‘What’s that look?’

He seemed like he wanted to say something.

With only a brief exchange, the two quickly moved on to their next task: checking Licht’s condition.

Two years. The novel brushed over it briefly, but it was a long time. Even with his superior physique and magic, there was no guarantee he was fine.

Soon, Lady Meliz raised her glowing hand toward him.

“Pardon me. I’ll need to check your condition.”