Fortunately, Almeida saved me and took great care of me. However, due to my injuries and near-death experience, whether by luck or misfortune, my talent as a magician blossomed along with a vast amount of magic power.
For Jared, who was undeveloped both mentally and physically, this immense magic power was nothing more than a corrosive poison.
Jared couldn’t understand what Almeida was thinking when she recognized his talent, but she offered to take him as a disciple. With nowhere else to go and a desperate need for power, he accepted. The fact that he couldn’t refuse her half-forceful attempts to make him her disciple was also a reason, but he was grateful to her for making him stronger.
From then on, training began so brutal that he had no time to dwell on his hatred for his father, the events at the facility, or Luzer.
On the brink of life and death, he slowly but surely gained strength.
Almeida gently nursed him back to health when he fell ill, evoking a maternal instinct in Jared. His heart, which initially intended to use her to become strong, gradually began to accept her.
However, the stronger he became, and the closer he grew to Almeida, the more he wondered if this was how things should be.
And then, Jared took sudden action.
He abruptly stopped his training and decided to return to the Capital City. It was on that journey that he met Haru.
He was unable to return to the Capital City, but with Haru’s help, he obtained all the necessary information.
He didn’t believe he had become stronger by fighting Haru, but he did realize that he possessed the power to fight.
Though dragged back by Almeida, he left her side once more and headed for—the Containment Facility.
Learning that the facility was illegal and that Luzer, who had separated from him, was imprisoned there, Jared infiltrated it alone to rescue him.
He mercilessly killed the enemies that attacked him. The enemies who had once pushed him to the brink were tortured until they begged for their lives, then killed. The guards who had pretended to be mere spectators but tried to kill him if he attempted to escape were all killed equally.
The disturbance Jared caused triggered the children, who had accumulated their pent-up frustration, to riot, kill each other, and steal from each other. The facility was effectively destroyed.
When the Lord of the territory learned of the illegal facility within his domain, he captured and punished those operating it, so Jared’s actions did not come to light.
However, upon finding that Luzer, whom he wanted to save, was not there, Jared wept, realizing it was too late.
“I still regret not being able to save Luzer, who was like an older brother to me. Why couldn’t I have rushed to his aid sooner? Why… there isn’t a day I don’t think about it.”
Until he got information about Luzer, he had tried to convince himself that Luzer had escaped safely, just like him, so his feeling of regret was strong.
Jared decided to return to the Capital City without going back to Almeida. He intended to search for Luzer’s mother.
However, returning to the Capital City also carried risks. His father might try to confine him somewhere again. Of course, he intended to resist as much as possible, and in the worst-case scenario, he even considered killing him.
At the same time, he developed suspicions that his grandparents might also be siding with his father, so he first turned to the Magician’s Guild.
When Jared suddenly appeared and accepted a request to defeat a swarm of top-ranked dragons, none of the guild staff tried to stop him. He brushed aside their attempts to dissuade him and accepted the request. Just when everyone thought Jared was going to die—he returned without a scratch.
Jared demonstrated his strength to the Magician’s Guild, proving he was a valuable magician to them. It was a simple method, but he gained at least a weak backing, allowing him to reunite with his grandparents. Despite his prior preparations, their joy upon seeing him was unexpectedly overwhelming.
He learned that it had been his father’s reckless act, and his grandparents had been searching for Jared.
He heard that his father had also been careless with his work and didn’t even know where to confine him, which further astonished him. He was even more taken aback to hear that his father, thinking only of sending him far away, hadn’t bothered with the specifics.
The fact that the facility where Jared had been held was illegal, had recently been destroyed, and its person in charge had been punished surprised not only his grandparents but even his father, which made him laugh involuntarily.
At his grandparents’ request, he met his father, but upon seeing his father contort his face awkwardly, his long-held desire for revenge disappeared. He hadn’t forgiven his father, nor did he expect him to feel regret. Jared simply no longer thought of his father as anything more than something “insignificant.”
“After that, for about a year until today, I worked as a magician, taking requests from the Guild while also enrolling in the Royal Academy. And that’s when I met you, Olivier.”
Jared’s simple account of his experiences left Olivier speechless.
She couldn’t even imagine that he had gone through such experiences during the year or more that she couldn’t investigate.
Olivier had thought she was going through difficult and harsh times. While she didn’t intend to brag about her misfortunes, she felt a strong sense of indignation at being targeted for death with her mother, and it wasn’t just once or twice that she wondered why this was happening to them.
However, she learned that while Olivier was suffering, Jared was also enduring hardship.
She even felt regret for forcing him to recount his past. At the same time, she felt happy to have learned about him.
“I’m sorry… I’ve reminded you of painful things. I’m truly sorry for my selfishness.”
“There’s no need to worry. It’s true that I went through painful experiences. But meeting Luzer, being saved by Almeida, and being raised as a magician are precious treasures to me.”
Jared’s gentle smile pained Olivier’s heart.
Although Jared appeared composed, it had only been a year since the beginning of these events, and only about a year since he returned to the Capital City.
She could tell immediately that he was pushing himself, even if he didn’t show it.
The smile he wore was a form of self-preservation instinct. Olivier knew that smiling made him feel like he was still okay, that he was still alright.
“I don’t believe Luzer is dead, so I’m still searching for him. His body hasn’t been found either, so there’s still hope.”
“I hope you find him. If there’s anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll lend you my strength.”
“Thank you. But—Olivier, you must be disappointed, right?”
“Huh?”
Olivier couldn’t help but ask at the sudden question.
Jared offered a self-deprecating smile and said,
“I killed many people. The reason was revenge. Even though I wanted to save my friend, when I saw the person who had hurt me, I couldn’t control my emotions and killed him in anger. Someone like me, a killer, says he wants to protect you and the others. Honestly, who am I to say that?”
“Jared!”
Olivier raised her voice to her fiancé, who would have continued to deprecate himself if left alone.
Jared, who had been wearing a self-derisive smile, widened his eyes at Olivier’s loud voice.
Taking advantage of that opening, she clapped her hands together and cupped his cheeks, leaning her face in slowly—then, with a sharp recoil, headbutted him.
“—Ow!”
“…It hurts so much!”
While Jared didn’t seem to be in much pain, Olivier teared up and crouched down on the spot.
“You stubborn fellow,” she wanted to shout, but her throbbing forehead made it impossible to even utter a sound.
“O-, Olivier?”
Facing the bewildered Jared, Olivier stood up, glaring at him with tearful eyes, refusing to be defeated.
Olivier had made a promise with Almeida.
She would love Jared, whose possibilities she had possibly crushed by marrying him. Since she would eventually become his wife, she had no intention of backing down over something like this.
“Jared Murphy. You did kill people. It’s nothing to be proud of. But stop demeaning yourself.”
“However—”
“Just be quiet. I’m still speaking!”
“Yes!”
“You fought for your friend. Although the outcome was regrettable, it wasn’t Jared’s fault. You simply did what you had to do. The delay in help was because you were injured and needed strength. The ‘what ifs’ like ‘if I had been stronger from the start’ or ‘if I had realized sooner’ don’t exist.”
Then, Olivier embraced Jared tightly.
“You went through a lot. You worked so hard. I can’t possibly understand all your pain, but I wholeheartedly feel this—thank you for being alive.”
“Olivier.”
“I’m glad you didn’t die. I’m glad we met. You’ve been through so much hardship, so please be happy.”
Jared, who had only been held, felt Olivier and tightened his grip on her arms.
“Look forward. You protected me. You saved Mother and Trane. Without you, we might still be cowering from an unseen enemy. We might even be dead by now.”
So, please be very happy, Olivier said gently.
She confessed her love from the bottom of her heart and gently kissed his forehead.
“Thank you. I’m glad I learned about you.”
Receiving Olivier’s warm feelings, Jared finally shed the tears he had been holding back since he couldn’t save his friend.
