Chapter 165

"Where are you going?"

Mikhail looked at Lloyd as he posed the question.

On the surface, his demeanor could've passed for indifferent—or even disinterested.

But the truth was the opposite. Knowing Lloyd's temperament, Mikhail could tell the question itself was proof of interest.

Mikhail let a beat pass before answering.

"Nowhere special. Just figured I'd get some exercise."

"…What?"

Lloyd looked like he couldn't believe his own ears. His eyebrows twitched in alternation, and his gaze drifted toward the window.

"Where's this coming from? You can exercise here. Salvator's got more facilities than you could ever use."

"Working out here is boring. It's all the same—staring at the same walls while you run or walk."

"Well then, train with me. I'll supervise."

"That only works when the gap between partners is reasonable. You think the distance between us is anything close to manageable? I'd be better off asking Dian or Hailey to… ah, they wouldn't work either."

Mikhail folded his arms and shook his head.

Then he uncrossed them, letting his voice settle into something softer.

"Well, that's part of it. But honestly, I just want some fresh air."

"……"

"Being able to wander around freely on my own… who knows how much longer that'll be possible."

Lloyd said nothing. Then he released a breath—one that sank with genuine weight—and spoke.

"Fair point."

Lloyd tapped the books in front of him a few times, then traded his somber expression for a light smile.

"Sorry for prying. Have a good trip."

"Nothing to be sorry about."

Mikhail matched Lloyd's lifted tone, paused briefly, and continued.

"Actually, Lloyd—can I ask you a favor?"

"I had nothing to do anyway. Won't be bored now. What is it?"

Lloyd agreed without a moment's hesitation. Mikhail gave a small nod and turned his gaze toward the window.

A ridgeline stretching long across the horizon. Mikhail fixed his eyes on the thick spine of the mountain range and spoke in an even tone.

"If a letter comes for me from the Delporn Mountains, hold onto it for me. And one more thing…"

He didn't continue right away. He paused to draw a breath, then narrowed his eyes and went on.

"Keep an eye on Julien. Make sure he seems like his usual self."

---

"Ow, my shoulders."

It was late afternoon, the hour's color fully in bloom across the road.

Julien rolled his shoulders in wide circles and groaned as he walked toward his dormitory building.

Ever since returning from the Grand Guild Headquarters to the academy, he'd been buried—all day, every day, without a single moment to breathe.

[Julien Leventia. I distinctly told you to finish drawing the formulas before class ended. You couldn't even last that long before slacking off?]

He'd only managed nine hundred out of a thousand formula repetitions, and the punishment for that shortfall had been days of cleaning duty.

[Hmm, which classes should I take this time?]

[Obviously the ones where you can get good marks! I'm breaking my personal record this semester—gonna get praised for sure. Julien, wanna take the same classes as me?]

[…Sorry, Edwin. I don't think I can.]

After that, he'd agonized over which lectures to pick for the free study period.

The criteria were demanding. Something that wouldn't draw attention, but would reliably earn him the lowest possible score.

And what he'd ended up with after that painstaking deliberation was…

[Practicum: Night March and Outdoor Survival Skills]

I originally wanted to take a class on Ancient Script, but I missed the registration window…

Julien swallowed the sigh threatening to escape and continued his train of thought.

An unexpected course, but there were ways to secure rock-bottom marks. A few well-timed displays of clumsiness would do the trick.

[Sigh… How many times do I have to tell you to be careful? I don't care if they're replicas—if you drop combat magic tools while transporting them, what are we supposed to do?! Get your head on straight!]

The curious glances hadn't taken long to curdle into open irritation.

Julien walked alone at the back of the group. Though the underclassmen who kept calling him sunbae were endearing enough.

So when it came to small tasks that didn't attract much notice but required a bit of effort, he'd pitched in here and there.

[Wooow, you're the best, sunbae! Since you already carried the water buckets, could you just set up the tent too?]

[It's just staying awake. Even you can handle a night watch shift, right, sunbae? …Don't tell me you can't even keep your eyes open.]

"…Doesn't matter. That's pretty tame, all things considered."

Julien let his shoulders droop, rubbed his aching arms, and smiled a tired, lopsided smile.

He knew full well that everyone treated him like a problem child.

But it didn't matter. He'd made peace with the dismissive stares a long time ago.

Besides, these were people he'd never have to deal with again.

Still—it's all over now. I'll have some time to relax for a while. Break's coming up soon, too.

The moment he pictured the leisure ahead, it felt like a vent had cracked open in his suffocated chest.

Julien tilted his head back with a look of relief. Sunset poured across his vision, and his mind turned to what came next.

I probably… can't go home.

A brief sting flared inside his chest. But Julien shook his head and pressed the tremor down.

He steered his thoughts elsewhere instead.

Toward things like Haeron's magic tool shop, or the new friends he'd made.

Come to think of it, where is everyone going over break?

Edwin's family home was relatively close, so he might head back.

But Mikhail would almost certainly stay at the academy.

The North was impossibly far from here. No exaggeration—he might barely get a foot through his own front door before having to turn around.

So he wouldn't choose a trip with no practical value…

Maybe I'll go pick out some snacks for Han and Ul. Oh—what about fur-lined shoes or a scarf? If he ends up going back to the North during the second-semester break, he might need them.

One idle thought chased the next in an unbroken chain.

Before long, Julien arrived at his dormitory building. He walked to the end of the first-floor corridor and stopped.

"Looks like something came for me?"

Julien eyed the blunt-edged parcel box. He confirmed the formula glowing on top of the rectangular container—indicating an unclaimed delivery—then reached in and pulled out its contents.

What emerged in Julien's hands were two small boxes.

[From the Delporn Mountains. To: Julien Leventia.]

Ah, must be the medicine the doctor sent.

Julien checked the shipping label tucked inside the compartment, cracked a small smile, and gave the boxes a few experimental shakes.

Both rattled loudly. Pills, by the sound of it—just as he'd expected.

Two boxes, even. I'd better make sure to take them properly.

Julien closed the parcel compartment. He stacked the boxes in his arms and reached for his door handle.

Next, he'd deactivate the locking formula on the latch, and—

"…Huh?"

Julien froze with his arm outstretched.

A letter was wedged into the gap of the door. It bore the unmistakable mark of his own family—House Leventia.

On purple parchment, the crest of a mane-crowned lion was embossed.

[Sender: Cassien Leventia]

My brother sent this? To me? Why?

Questions hammered his mind like a downpour without warning.

Julien's outstretched fingertips trembled. But he seized hold of himself, forced a dry swallow down his throat, and set his jaw.

He pulled the letter free, shoved the door open, and rushed inside.

BANG!

The door slammed shut with a sharp crack. An irritated voice snapped from the room next door, but Julien paid it no mind and kept moving.

Riiip.

He tore away the sealing wax that secured the contents, drew the letter from its envelope, and read.

[To Julien Leventia.]

Handwriting without a single stroke out of place—immaculate and composed.

It looked exactly like a transcription of his half-brother's appearance: poised, elevated, untouchable.

[I trust you have been well in that distant place? I am truly ashamed to be reaching out so abruptly. As your elder, it was my duty to look after and care for my younger brother, yet I have been lacking and remiss in fulfilling that responsibility. I humbly ask for your generous forgiveness.]

The words on the page were unprecedentedly warm and gentle.

And yet, for some reason, the trembling in the fingers clutching the letter refused to subside.

Julien steadied his ragged breathing as best he could and read on.

[…You must be wondering why a brother who has never once shared a kind word would write to you so suddenly. I will not obscure the heart of the matter with tangled rhetoric. As a courtesy to the sibling I have long neglected, I will speak plainly. Julien.]

[As a fellow bearer of Leventia blood, I trust you are well aware of it. The bitter history between the Senits of the North and the Leventias of the South.]

Julien's eyes went wide. He felt his entire body flush and lift, as though seized by fever.

Out of nowhere… a letter out of nowhere, and what on earth was he trying to say?

His brother was supposed to be far too busy to spare a thought for anything Julien did.

[The grudge and conflict between our two houses runs deep and vivid beyond measure—so much so that it can never be mended until one side has been utterly destroyed.]

"Hhh… hah."

Julien wrestled his shaking shoulders under control. His breathing bucked and kicked like hurled stones, battering the inside of his chest.

But he didn't look away from the page. He couldn't, for a reason he didn't fully understand.

[Julien. I have heard that you have grown close to Senit. But I do not write to scold or reprimand you for it. If anything, it is worthy of commendation. Your current position is akin to a hidden blade poised before the enemy's heart.]

His brother's voice echoed with desperate urgency across the smooth surface of the page.

[As a brother who shares the Leventia name—as your only family—I implore you. Julien. Help us reclaim the honor we lost.]

[If you cooperate with everything you have, I will see to it that you are formally entered into the family register. I will speak to Father and ensure he regards you as a rightful member, and I myself will treat you no differently than a brother of my own blood. If you wish, I will put it in writing. I pledge this on everything I possess.]

[…Open the parcel that accompanied this letter. Detailed instructions are enclosed within.]

A parcel…?

Julien mouthed the word blankly, then jolted and looked at the two small boxes he'd set on the desk.

One, wrapped in green paper, had the message from the Delporn Mountains affixed to its surface.

The other had nothing on it at all.

And so, naturally, he'd assumed it had been sent from the same place as the first…

No way.

Julien moved his hands—grinding like rusted gears.

His fingers slipped off the cord binding the box once, twice, again. He finally worked the knot loose and pulled out what lay inside.

Clatter.

What appeared was a short note and a palm-sized brown medicine bottle.

The glass vial was filled to the brim with pills. A tag dangled from its neck, and faintly glowing formulas were inscribed along its surface.

[This is a compound specially prepared for this task. It destroys the body's internal mana circuits, sharpens the nerves to a razor's edge, and induces violent mania. Simply swallowing a few pills will produce no effect, but sustained administration over time is a different story. And so, Julien…]

"Ah… aah."

A groan spilled from Julien before he could stop it. The note slipped from his fingers and fluttered to the floor as both hands flew to cover his mouth.

His senses crumbled like dead branches. The knees holding his body upright buckled and gave way, dropping him to the ground.

Julien curled into himself. Beneath the twilight blazing like a bonfire, he smothered the scream tearing its way out of him.

[Feed it to Senit. Disguised as something ordinary.]