Episode 33 – Side Effects

Seeing Werner suddenly collapsed, Glaceon’s head turned white. why? I heard that it was simply a bracelet that prohibits the use of magic, but necrosis was progressing around the arm. When I looked at my body with magic power, I found that magic power was concentrated all over the body from the heart meridian to form a lump. It’s just a bracelet that doesn’t let you use magic, so why? The doubt that it might be because of herself weighed heavily on Glaceon’s body. Knowing that the usual Werner was not ill, Glaceon desperately began to search for the reason.

The effect of the magic seal restraint orb? Or the effect of cold northern temperatures? Or extreme stress? Or did I actually have a chronic illness and didn’t take my medicine while coming here? Glaceon thought of all the possibilities, but no matter which hypothesis she chose, in the end it was her own responsibility. It was Glaceon herself who put Werner in restraints, brought him to the north, and forcibly kidnapped him and stressed him out.

Glaceon hurriedly hugged Werner. Then, release the restraints and find the guards nearby.

“Medicine! Where is the medic!”

The guards were surprised to see Werner suddenly collapsed, but what was even more surprising was Glaceon’s expression. She, who usually didn’t have a big change in expression, was holding Werner with a very flushed face, gasping for breath. Also, Glaceon’s voice was unusually agitated.

“… For speed of movement, didn’t you organize all combat troops instead of non-combat personnel like medics?”

It was only then that Glaceon remembered her mistake. I wanted to meet Werner even a little, even for a second, sooner. That’s why we didn’t include medics in the escort troops, and organized the personnel selected based only on combat skills. If a dispute arises, so that it can be subdued immediately. But that was the worst number ever. Even if we met a little late, we had to bring a medic. It was as if Glaceon’s own greed and impatience had caused the current situation.

Clear tears formed in Glaceon’s eyes. But she realized that the important thing now was not her own sadness.

“How long will it take to get back to the mansion in the manor…?”

“As a rough rule of thumb, it takes two days to run…”

“Enough.”

Glaceon started running with Werner on her back. The sight of him gathering mana on his toes and crossing the snowy field reminded me of a beast of prey. Her feet, faster than most wagons, ran to shorten the time to reach the manor even a little. For the only man I’ve loved since I was 6 years old.

While continuing to run, Glaceon remembered. The day I fell in love for the first time.

—–

‘No, a child born between a human and a vampire is ominous…’

‘The Grand Duke is special too, to say that he took a vampire as a wife and took care of their children.’

‘Isn’t that daughter a coward who can’t catch a single bug?’

‘It’s questionable whether the blood was properly inherited.’

The people on my father’s side whispered behind my back and disparaged me.

‘To think that the Queen even married an insignificant human being and took care of her children…’

‘I can’t admit that a mere half-pounder is the Queen’s child.’

‘Can I catch a witch only with that glaze?’

‘Anyway, since I’m a useless girl, the Queen will soon lose interest.’

These are the things my mother’s people say when they talk about me behind my back.

Of course, when my father or mother found out, they plucked out the tongues and cut off the throats of those who had uttered those words. But I could see, I was half a worthless penny. A mediocre half-penny who couldn’t properly inherit his father’s blood of a northern warrior or his mother’s blood of a vampire. Accepting that fact, I always tried to stay quiet.

My father and mother took me to the capital saying that they would throw me a proper party for my birthday and let me meet their colleagues. But at the time, I was very intimidated, and I just entrusted myself to the rattling wagon.

Arriving at a villa in the capital, I stayed in my room without saying anything and reading a book. Because I, a half-penny, seemed meaningless to stand in front of people who were praised as heroes. Did you pass half the book like that? Outside, there was a thunderous and roaring sound. Since they are people who like to fight, I thought it must be a fight between themselves and tried to pass it off.

But I could even hear the voices of the guards guarding my door.

“…sir, this is difficult. If you do this, we will reprimand the grand duke and the madam…”

“Can you please go somewhere other than here? The Grand Duke will be angry.”

Curious, I went near the door to hear what the voices of the guards were directed toward. And the subject had the voice of a fairly young boy.

“If you don’t want to get out of the way.”

“But Mr. Werner! If you do this, we will have no choice but to use force!”

Werner Alton, I had heard of that name. He was also a colleague of his father and mother, and a great wizard who developed many magics while still a young boy. Several tower masters kneeled before him and tried to recruit him, but he rejected all of them and became a genius among geniuses who rose to the position of a court mage.

“You guys to me? Hey, you guys are good at jokes. Instead of doing this here, go out and play a clown. That would be better for you, right?”

“Haa… Mr. Werner, we clearly warned you.”

“How good would it have been if we had gotten out of the way when I said good things?”

After spitting out those words, Werner recited a spell in a different, colder voice than before. Not a playful voice, but a voice that is cold and eerie.

“Ice, wrap it up and lock it up.”

After about 5 seconds, the doorknob turned. And Werner, who appeared in front of me, was different from what I imagined. A smile with one corner of her mouth raised slightly, a robe draped casually over a loosely-worn garment, as if it was troublesome to wear. From his long, tangled black hair to his blue eyes, he was completely different from what I had imagined. Because he was a magician, I thought he would definitely pay attention to his clothes and expression.

“Hey, are you the daughter of Brother Melchior and Sister Melissa? Her name was… Glazed Donut…”

“Yes, I am Glacia Winterheart, daughter of Grand Duke Melchior Winterheart. It is an honor to meet the best wizard, the Court Wizard of Werner.”

When we greeted him properly, Werner yawned and waved his hands as if there was no need for such courtesy.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay, what kind of troublesome etiquette. Just call me Werner.”

“but…”

“I hate that kind of thing.

Werner sat down at a nearby desk and started reading the book I was reading. The bookmark fell to the ground and I had to find it again because I didn’t know how far I had read it, but I couldn’t bear to protest about it.

“Hey, this book is really boring. What kind of kid is reading a history book.”

“But it’s fun.”

“Brother and sister are never readers. Have they ever tried reading for the rest of their lives?”

Certainly, my father and mother were far from reading. My father’s study was always dusty, and my mother was a prenatal teacher who went to war instead of books.

“Oh look at my mind. I’m late. Hey, hide me.”

“Are you being chased by someone?”

What kind of person with a liver can pursue that person?

“Uh, to the old devils and old brothers.”

“Yes?”

“Your mother and father, as well as the other brothers and sisters, are very eager to catch me.”

“Why are they…?”

I couldn’t understand. I heard that Werner is friendly with all of his colleagues, but unlike me, he is talented and has an excellent personality. But why is everyone following him? Common sense could not understand it.

“Oh, it’s not such a big deal…”

“Yeah.”

“There was a wagon accident on the way, and the aristocrat said something to the commoners, so he got angry because he did some tricks.”

Since he has a personality that can’t stand injustice, did he even scold a noble who oppressed the commoners? But there was no way my father or mother would be angry with such a matter.

“No, it was noisy, so I burned the nobleman’s clothes with magic and hung them high on the wall.”

“Yeah?”

Even so, it seemed a bit harsh.

“But it turned out that it was a relative of the empress. It’s not like they’re trying to catch me right now.”

I could intuit. The person in front of me is not the person I imagined.

Then, footsteps thumped, and Werner clicked his tongue and said,

“Tsk, did the old woman get caught?”

Eventually, the door opened and I saw Lady Mediah with an eerie smile. The kind Mediah who came to play with me in the north was holding a mace in one hand.

“What kind of accident did you have again, Werner…”

“No, that bastard is going to be disrespected!”

“Ah… Really? You piss me off quite a bit right now…”

Lady Mediah strode towards us with her mace, and Werner looked around and grabbed me and said,

“Oh… don’t come! If you come near, this child’s life will be lost!”

That day, I took on the role of a hostage for the first time.