Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 93

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 93
Liriope studied Belkieros’s flustered face intently.
Dark brows as if brushed with charcoal, and golden eyes with their outer corners tilted upward in an expression of stubborn pride.
His red lips and sharp, delicate jawline—features unusual in a boy—still held the softness of youth, yet altogether his face was handsome and beautiful.
Because of this, Belkieros’s appearance now bore a striking resemblance to the Magic Tower Master Seraphina she had glimpsed earlier.
Had he shown himself in this form from the beginning, she would have recognized his identity at once.
Before the Time Regression, she had never seen Seraphina in person, yet she knew enough of the woman’s appearance from gossip alone.
At first, Liriope had been confused by Seraphina’s sudden interest in her. Passing Cameron’s induction training at lightning speed seemed too superficial an explanation.
So she had combed through her memories, wondering if it might stem from something she had done while escaping the External Estate.
Perhaps because she had purified the Black Lake—the source of contamination—to prevent its further activation, before uprooting an entire tree from the center of the External Estate.
Or perhaps because she had carved a safe passage toward the exit for the children arriving at this year’s Ceremony, making it visible at a glance.
Or—had Seraphina already caught wind of how she’d tampered with the Magic Circle, expanding the exit’s capacity from five to unlimited?
Yet even so, was this not the Magic Tower Master, forever aloof in the heights?
It seemed strange for her to summon directly someone like Liriope, who stood in the farthest depths below.
But as it turned out, the reason was Belkieros all along.
This boy standing before her now—the Magic Tower Master’s only blood heir.
“You’re the Magic Tower Master’s biological son?”
Liriope asked him bluntly.
At her words, his golden irises hardened.
No words followed, yet that silence itself was answer enough.
“Why didn’t you say anything until now?”
“It wasn’t important enough to mention.”
Belkieros replied defensively, his tone sharp.
“And if I had? What would change?”
“It would change.”
“How? How would it change?”
This time, Liriope did not answer immediately.
How would it change?
For one thing, she would have kept her distance from him.
Even if Belkieros had sought her out, she would not have spoken with him as freely as she did now; she would have closed her heart to him entirely, and if dealing with him became unavoidable, she would have done so only out of duty.
Not simply because the Magic Tower Master Seraphina was the axis of evil who would one day plunge the world into hell, and because Belkieros carried her blood.
Yet still, she would have put distance between them.
Belkieros read that intent in her eyes. In that moment, he felt as though rusty nails were scraping raw against his insides.
It was contradictory—he himself had never taken pride in being the Magic Tower Master’s biological son.
In fact, he had even attempted a desperate act that seemed pitiful and shabby in his own estimation.
“Why? Everyone at the Magic Tower wants to grow closer to me, even a little, but you don’t? Besides, whether I’m the Magic Tower Master’s son or not—what difference does that make? Why would knowing my identity make you keep your distance? Why?”
Liriope regarded the boy before her with a distant gaze.
Belkieros did not know it, but Liriope had her own reasons—compelling ones.
Looking at Belkieros all this time, she felt she could finally discern the nature of the dissonance she had felt.
The reason she had long known his name, yet failed to recognize his identity until now.
In truth, it was strange. No matter how much Belkieros had hidden certain physical features, she should have recognized him immediately upon learning his name alone—for he was the adopted son of the renowned Magic Tower Master.
But until today, Liriope had assumed he was merely one of Belegot’s adopted heirs.
After all, save for Evangeline, Liriope had no dealings with those of noble birth, so she could not have known them all.
‘So he was the Magic Tower Master’s biological son all along.’
The boy who would later be erased without a trace by the Magic Tower Master Seraphina.
That person was Belkieros, standing before her eyes right now.
Liriope swallowed a sigh that tried to escape her lips.
When she said “erased without a trace,” it did not merely mean that his body could not be found.
Belkieros quite literally lost his existence after death—erased by his own mother, the Magic Tower Master.
After a terrible magic swept through the Northern Magic Tower like a raging storm, no one could remember Belkieros’s name or face.
Only the hollow fact that “the Magic Tower Master had a biological son who died” remained to fill the void of his existence.
Those close to him and those distant alike found their memories clouded with mist whenever they tried to recall him.
A great 8th Rank mage could accomplish such things.
Thus the Magic Tower Master’s succession fell vacant, and other exceptional mages—among them Caliona—competed for the position.
People whispered in secret that while they did not know why the Magic Tower Master’s son had died, it was certain he had incurred her tremendous wrath.
‘Ah… I wish I had remained ignorant.’
Liriope found it difficult to bear this truth she had just discovered.
Had it been impossible to avoid fate with Belkieros, perhaps it would have been better to remain forever unaware of his identity.
If, hypothetically—
If, in the future, she again failed to prevent such an occurrence—
Would Belkieros’s image be carved away from this very moment, fading into the corner of her memory?
Would she forget that such a boy had ever existed by her side?
It would surely carry an entirely different weight and meaning than before.
Liriope turned her gaze away from Belkieros as if indifferent.
Some inexplicable revulsion made her heart pound heavily, her stomach churning with nausea rising in her throat.
“Let’s go back to Belegot for now.”
Presently, a hollow voice escaped from Liriope’s lips.
“You and I both are not in a calm state right now. Let’s go back and regain our composure, then think about it properly.”
“Think about what?”
Belkieros asked in a strained voice, like someone awaiting an unwanted sentence.
Unlike Liriope, his heart had begun to race wildly.
Based on her expression and their conversation just now, nothing good would come from her mouth.
She seemed averse to his being the Magic Tower Master’s son—as if she might declare the severance of their relationship at any moment.
Even the events of today alone would have been enough to shock her.
Of course, Belkieros too had come out here resolved never to meet Liriope again…
Yet to imagine hearing such words directly from her lips filled him with a bitterness like poison poured down his throat.
If not that, then perhaps she had been captivated by Seraphina’s mention of his strength and vitality, and wished him to become her adopted son.
That too would be the worst outcome for Belkieros.
But what emerged from Liriope’s lips was neither of his fears.
“How to save you. I’m going to think about that.”
“What?”
“And I have no intention of obeying the Magic Tower Master’s will. Nothing in this world comes without a price. Besides, it doesn’t seem like she called me with good intentions. Something about this feels off, and I can’t trust her.”
Moreover, watching Belkieros react so violently suggested the power in question was indeed problematic.
Belkieros’s grip tightened involuntarily.
“So you’re saying… you won’t become Belegot’s heir, and you won’t keep your distance from me?”
Though he could not understand what Liriope meant by saving him, the context seemed to suggest as much.
Light gradually kindled in Belkieros’s eyes, which had been darkened all along.
Liriope felt the wrist he gripped burning hot against her skin.
“Liriope.”
Then Belkieros drew her close, stepping forward himself as well.
The distance between them narrowed until they were nearly embracing.
Liriope’s body went rigid in reflex.
The golden eyes now so near seemed to mirror the sunset at her back, shimmering with prismatic depth.
Belkieros wove his gaze with hers as though trying to peer into her very soul.
“Don’t change from who you are. Promise me.”
Then, as if to imprint his words upon her, he whispered in a low voice while holding her eyes directly.
“Stay before me as you are now, always.”
Liriope could not ignore the burning intensity of the boy’s whisper, his gaze, and the grip that felt as though it held her soul.
A wind stirred from somewhere.
It was the wind of a turbulent change that, like the onset of bitter winter, had drawn near in silence and was destined to shake her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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