The smile that appeared on Oliven’s face was unusual. It was the smile that came out when his mind was twisted. Feeling it, the black magician tilted his head and asked.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Bad thoughts.”

Oliven’s cheeks were flushed. His trembling fingertips stopped vibrating at some point. He opened his mouth and clenched his bloody fists, as he had been biting all of his nails from the tips to the flesh under the nails.

“It bothered me from the first time I saw him. No, his existence itself has been bothering me for a long time.”

A small body in his master’s arms came to mind. The hand that seemed to hold the hem of his master’s robe in front of him. The cheeky eyes as if showing off his master was his. A bold voice that talked back losing a single word.

“Master loves him so much, so I have to please him once in a while.”

“……Don’t even think about touching the Great Elder. Just thinking about her coming here makes me shiver.”

“That’s why I have to run away. To the place where Master isn’t.”

“No way, you?”

“That veil is useless in front of Master. It will take some time, but it will eventually be pierced. So I have to make a way to live.”

At Oliven’s words, the black magician’s face was dyed with complexity.

Claude Ambrosia.

A little boy whom Sarah, the Great Elder of the magic tower, terribly cherished. She dared to show them how she remained in the Ambrosia mansion, pretending that only her disciples had been sent here to protect him.

“Wouldn’t it be better not to provoke her for nothing?”

“Why?”

“Why…… Aren’t you afraid of your teacher?”

He trembled as if he was going to get goosebumps just thinking about it. He had had nightmares every night since he blew everything up and left the magic tower. He imagined that the Great Elder, who covered her face dozens of times a day, took his life with one light gesture.

“I’m afraid.”

“But?”

“But it’s so thrilling. How angry must she be with me now? How many thoughts about me does she have in her head?”

Oliven smiled brightly. His eyes opened hazy as if walking in ecstasy. The black magician couldn’t believe he could laugh like that just by focusing all of his master’s attention on himself.

‘He’s out of his mind. So, he must have thought of using black magic when he was still a disciple of the Great Elder.’

There were quite a few magicians who fell for Oliven’s temptation in the magic tower or fell for his clever tricks and learned black magic. Its destructive and overwhelming power was like a drug to magicians. It was unknown when Oliven started studying black magic, but he wielded a tremendous level of black magic. It was obviously a skill that showed traces of research for quite some time. He couldn’t believe Oliven had learned it behind the Great Elder’s back.

“You, you won’t be able to die gently at the hands of the Great Elder.”

“I can’t die so gently. I mean, I want to live a long life and be childish to Master.”

“Are you saying this is a childish act?”

“Eung.”

For this moment, even the black magician looked at Oliven with a tired look. But then he sighed and said.

“Don’t let us die from your childishness. I still have a lot I want to do.”

“Don’t worry. Unfortunately, there are so many things that are holding Master back.”

Saying so, Oliven smiled pleasantly. He would remove the things that hold his master back one by one. In the end, if there was only Oliven left for his master, then his master’s heart, who was secretly weak in affection, would be softened.

“She said she’d give me three chances, so I’ll use it to the fullest.”

Mana erupted from Oliven’s hand. Olive magic began to draw complex formulas in the air. And it rotated in a circle and gradually expanded its range.

“Attack Ambrosia now.”

“Now?”

“When I thought that Master had deceived me, that’s when I was the most vigilant. So bring all the kids.”

At Oliven’s resolute words, the black magician sighed and signaled to the other black magicians scattered throughout Alton Estate. And at the same time, the air in the Lord’s office began to stir little by little. Black magicians not far away were trying to move one by one taking coordinates in this direction. It would probably not be long before this place would be packed with the black magicians in Alton.

“All you have to do is bring the brat. Whatever gets in the process is fine.”

“Your friends must be in the mansion. Do you think they’ll leave it alone?”

“We have more numbers. They have a lot to protect.”

There would be some remaining knights in the Ambrosia mansion, but there were more servants than that. It was more difficult to fight while protecting something in the first place. Not only that many people but if even a small amount of gold went to the mansion, how angry would his master be angry? Both Benjamin and Belluna would have no choice but to desperately protect it because they know that their master cared about the place. And Oliven was cunning enough to play with that gap.

“If this ends well, I’ll teach you another black magic.”

“……!”

“This will be very attractive.”

Oliven giggled a little while looking at the black magician whose eyes changed. It would be a very attractive black magic indeed. It might be common for Ambrosia though. It was going to be very similar to the power that the master possessed. One might mistake the Duke of Ambrosia for using black magic, but he believed that the ignorant ones were all the same as long as they were similar.

“Noww, shall we go? To pick up the little brat who will be our lifeline.”

* * *

“……By the way Mr. Benjamin.”

“What.”

“We also have to do laundry soon.”

“But.”

“I also have to take care of the garden.”

“But.”

“I need to clean up, too.”

“But.”

“……”

The Ambrosia servants only exchanged glances with each other without hiding their troubled looks. They couldn’t feel anything in Benjamin’s expressionless face, whether he knew what they were saying or not. Looking at Benjamin, who couldn’t be communicated at all, Belluna quietly swallowed her sigh and opened her mouth.

“……We understand the inconvenience, but we can’t help it either. Please understand.”

“Did Countess Millen really tell you to do this?”

“Yes. Master asked and asked again.”

“But how many days has this been? At this rate, it’s like the mansion…….”

The servants looked out the window anxiously. Managing a huge mansion was not easy. They wondered if it would be maintained even if many servants divided the area every day and managed it with all their might. However, they have not been able to fulfill their duty for several days already.

“But isn’t this place clean?”

“It’s a rule that requires more diligent management of the original invisible place. This is Ambrosia after all.”

“We’ll help you with magic later.”

“What? But how can we do that to the precious magicians……”

“It’s not that difficult, so it’s okay. I’m sure Master will tell you the same.”

At Belluna’s persuasion, the servants exchanged glances with each other and soon returned to their places.

“……Ha.”

Belluna, who succeeded in persuading them, sighed and looked around. The walls were drilled in a large space of about five rooms in the mansion, and the beds of the servants were lined up. Each of the servants lay on their beds or sat together and talked, looking out the window with lingering faces.

“We have to hold out until Master returns.”

Ambrosia’s servants all moved here as soon as their master headed to Alton with Sarah. Except for those who served Claude, Penelois, and her son, it could be said that they were all here. It was difficult to accommodate a large number of people, and it was difficult to control all the words that came out from inside.

“Master was thinking about everything, so she took this action, but there are a lot of words.”

“Be grateful that they help us like this even though they have no reason to cooperate with us, Benjamin.”

“Hmph.”

Benjamin turned around without hiding his uneven mind.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the brat.”

“Clean up on the way.”

“I don’t want to. Master told me not to fall away from the little brat even for a moment, but I’ve never seen him come because he’s crying. There is no time to waste.”

“The loud noise didn’t help.”

At least, as the servants were having a hard time, she called Benjamin because she thought he would help, but again, to no avail. He was consistent with ‘But’ in answer to the words of all servants.

“In the first place, did you call me because you thought I was the type of person who could comfort people well?”

“It’s not that.”

“You’d rather call Veron or Ronda.”

“Mr. Butler and Mrs. Head Maid can’t stay away from Young Master Claude and Young Master Elexa.”

“Then can I be separated? Don’t you know I’d rather stick around than the two of them?”

At Benjamin’s words, Belluna recalled Claude, whose expression was gradually rotting recently. The longer they spent together, the more they quarreled day by day. Peneloí and Elexa, who were restless at first, now watched the scene and drank tea and ate calmly. So Belluna answered with sincerity.

“I don’t know.”

“……”

Benjamin opened his mouth for a moment, seemingly absurd. He was at a loss for words for a moment, then narrowed his brow as if it was a waste of time and turned his back completely.

“Don’t fight with Young Master Claude again!”

“We’re not fighting.”

“Don’t fight!”

At Belluna’s shout that echoed behind his back, Benjamin looked back with annoyance.

“You take care of this place. I’ll do my job, so stop being such a nosy.”

Benjamin shot a sharp look at Belluna and disappeared. Seeing this, Belluna murmured in a worried voice.

“He’s definitely going to go crazy when something happens. Why did Master tell Benjamin……”

She remembered her master who entrusted Benjamin to protect Claude. It was the moment when she first doubted her master’s judgment.

‘Why? It’s because they’re on good terms.’

‘Pardon? No way……’

‘Of course it’s not because I don’t trust you, Belluna. But you’re affectionate like me.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Unlike you, Benjamin doesn’t give affection easily. So that child’s priorities will be very clear.’

Belluna looked out the window, remembering her smiling master as she said that. The sun was already setting. The bright red sky was burning more unusually today.