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“Wow.”  

This was something that required an incredibly skilled handling of energy.  

It was a moment that reaffirmed just how exceptional a Sword Master the Duke was.  

“If you threaten us like this… things will only turn more disadvantageous for you…!”  

The man at the front barely managed to speak, then suddenly coughed up dark red blood.  

It meant he had suffered internal injuries.  

I was immensely grateful that the Duke was protecting me.  

Even if he confronted the pursuers with force, Elpinard would not suffer any damage at all.  

But this wasn’t the ‘cunning’ solution a black mage would resort to.  

“Father!”  

I quickly grabbed the Duke’s arm to stop him.  

As soon as I did, the oppressive aura he had been emitting diminished instantly, and I could hear the sound of ragged breathing coming from all around.  

I tried my best to form a gentle smile as I looked at the people.  

Recalling Bael’s face when he dealt with believers, it wasn’t that hard to put on such a smile.  

“It’s said that embracing even those who doubt you is the virtue of a saintess. I don’t want these people to get hurt, Father.”  

The gentle tone was also an imitation of Bael’s manner of speaking.  

I noticed that a few of the pursuers seemed slightly moved.  

‘Defending those who came to capture her? What could be more saintly than that!’  

Axel, watching my saintly act, was rubbing his arms as if he had goosebumps.  

Bael was barely holding back a laugh, his shoulders trembling as I mimicked him.  

‘Good. That means I’m playing the role well.’  

Feeling more confident, I smiled at the leader of the pursuers.  

“You say you suspect me because you sensed the presence of black magic at the Kydsha shrine?”  

“That’s correct.”  

The man wiped the blood off his lips roughly and sneered.  

“Just admit it, Black Mage Greslin. We’ve been chasing you for a long time. All the evidence points to you. Did you think we wouldn’t know just because you took over the body of a saintess?”  

“Hm. I understand you’ve been after that person for a while. But if it’s just because you sensed black magic at Kydsha that you’re suspicious… there’s someone else you should suspect before me, isn’t there?”  

I quickly pointed at Axel.  

“The wizard who was at Kydsha at the time. Couldn’t you have mistaken Axel’s magic for something else?”  

“Ha.”  

The man let out a derisive laugh.  

“The Tower Master is a White Mage. Black magic and white magic have completely different structures. Do you think we wouldn’t know the difference?”  

“Are you sure you can distinguish them?”  

This time, Axel stepped forward.  

The man’s face turned red, as if deeply insulted, under Axel’s gaze, which seemed to find the situation amusing.  

“Even a novice who just learned magic can tell the difference between white and black magic. Are you saying I’m someone who doesn’t even know the basics of magic?”  

“So you’re that confident…?”  

Axel trailed off, snapping his fingers lightly.  

At the same time, an immense amount of magical power surged from within him.  

Effortlessly controlling the magic that poured out of his body, Axel began to shape it into whatever form he desired.  

Anyone who had studied magic would instantly recognize how difficult this was.  

Handling magical power with such precision was almost impossible.  

Axel was not someone who liked to flaunt his skills.  

But he wasn’t one to avoid using force when necessary.  

‘Though he always showed off in front of me.’  

The pursuers, having witnessed firsthand the level of mastery the Tower Master had achieved, shrank back in tension.  

They seemed to realize that if Axel wanted, he could send them all on a one-way trip to the afterlife with a mere gesture.  

The leader at the front bit his lip hard.  

“Tower Master. Even if you threaten us like this…”

“Threaten? What threat?”  

Axel interrupted the man, tilting his head in confusion.  

“I wasn’t trying to threaten anyone.”  

As soon as he spoke, Axel’s magical power burst out, spreading rapidly, and suddenly, snow began to fall from the sky.  

“!”  

Everyone’s mouths hung open in shock as they watched the spectacle of snow falling in the warm midday sun.  

The eyes of the leader and the pursuers also widened, but their astonishment was for a different reason.  

“How… This is…”  

“This can’t be!”  

One of the pursuers, who had been murmuring in confusion, suddenly shouted.  

“This… this is the black mage’s spell structure!”  

With that outcry, the word “black magic” started to echo from various directions.  

The leader stared at Axel with a confused expression, clearly not understanding what was happening.  

“I asked you, didn’t I? Are you sure you can tell the difference?”  

Axel smoothly retracted his magic and allowed a sly smile to play on his lips.  

I also grinned next to him.  

We were rivals.  

When it came to each other, especially regarding the magic we used, there was nothing we didn’t know.  

Imitating each other’s spell structures was something we could do with our eyes closed.  

If there was a mage you wanted to surpass, the first thing you would do was study that mage’s magic to death.  

‘Isn’t that just basic common sense?’  

As I looked at the pursuers with a smug expression, the confidence they had when they stormed into Elpinard was nowhere to be found.  

The Duke, who had been standing at the forefront, facing the pursuers, seemed to notice the change in their demeanor as well.  

He asked with a cold smile,  

“So, it turns out you accused my daughter of being a murderer based on uncertain facts.”  

“T-The situation was enough to warrant misunderstanding…”  

“Misunderstanding? After labeling someone a murderer?”  

Before the leader could offer any further excuses, the Duke’s eyes flashed dangerously.  

“To think you demanded that the Lady of Elpinard be handed over based on such flimsy convictions, convictions that collapsed in mere hours. Unbelievable.”  

The icy glare in his eyes, which seemed capable of summoning a blizzard, drained the color from the pursuers’ faces.  

Not long ago, they had all acted as though they had a sturdy shield, proclaiming, “A murderer has possessed the saintess!”  

‘But now they’re all standing empty-handed.’  

The Duke, facing his unarmed opponents, continued his relentless assault.  

“You can’t just brush this off as a simple misunderstanding. How do you plan to compensate for this?”  

“C-Compensate? What do you mean by compensation?”  

The leader, startled, jumped at the Duke’s words.  

“What harm has come to the Saintess…?”  

“Her ears.”  

“Pardon?”  

“Her ears were sullied. From hearing such nonsense.”  

“…”  

Not only the pursuers but even Axel stared at the Duke in disbelief.  

Even from our side, it seemed like a bit of a stretch.  

But the Duke remained unapologetic.  

“Compensation.”  

With that one word, the leader gulped nervously.  

* * *  

‘What just happened?’  

Back in my room, safe and sound, I blinked as I stared at the golden badge gleaming in my hand.  

It was the ‘compensation’ the leader of the pursuers had left behind, intimidated by the Duke’s… persuasion.  

‘To be precise, this isn’t exactly compensation…’  

Since they had nothing to offer as immediate compensation, the leader had left behind the identification badge of the pursuers as a pledge.  

He said that if I brought this badge to their headquarters, they would exchange it for proper compensation, making this more like a voucher than actual compensation.

As I recalled the face of the leader, trembling as he reluctantly handed over the golden badge, I couldn’t help but keep smiling.  

‘The Pursuers, huh.’  

To be honest, I had always wanted to meet them.  

I wanted to ask why they were so certain that I was a murderer in my previous life.  

If they were willing to catch the real culprit if there was one.  

Or if they had ever considered the possibility that the incident might not have happened at all.  

There were so many things I wanted to ask.  

‘And now fate has brought us together like this.’  

The leader of the Pursuers said he would contact Elpinard once the compensation was ready.  

‘Not that I plan to accept whatever they offer.’  

Instead, I had something else in mind to ask of them.  

Thinking of the day I would meet the Pursuers again, I entrusted the golden badge to Oink.  

Anything important should go to Oink!  

That had been my principle ever since Axel made Oink for me.  

‘Oink’s belly is safer than any vault!’  

After giving Oink’s backside a couple of pats for being such a good piggy, I quickly headed outside.  

Axel and Bael were waiting for me in the hallway.  

I flashed a grin at Axel.  

“So, you’re finally getting an apprentice, huh?”  

“Well…”  

Axel shrugged, clearly not thrilled by the idea, and started walking.  

We were headed to the annex, where Axel was going to share some of his magic with Eugene, who had lost physical balance due to excessive purification.  

For someone like me, who used external magic, the concept of sharing ‘my magic’ with someone else was very foreign.  

“Isn’t it dangerous to share your magic?”  

At my question, Axel scoffed and looked at me.  

“Are you worried?”  

“Yeah.”  

“What?”  

Axel abruptly stopped in his tracks, staring at me as if he had seen a ghost. I tilted my head in confusion.  

“What?”  

“Did you just say ‘yeah’? So easily?”  

“Yeah. Because I’m worried.”  

Blinking as I answered, Axel, who had been staring at me intently, asked with a face full of disbelief,  

“About me? Or that kid?”