“Looks like things are more serious than I thought.”
An empty village.
Only the scattered, dried bloodstains everywhere testified that people had once lived here.
As they encountered five such villages while searching for missing persons, even Crown Prince Alex, along with seasoned Yustaf and Harun, couldn’t hide their horror.
“How could this happen!!! How can there be such a thing happening in the Empire and nobody’s aware of it!”
His lips were so tightly bitten that they turned pale, and a pitiful voice spilled from his mouth.
“This is a village of swidden farmers, so naturally, information would arrive late.”
It was likely that the group presumed to be dark wizards had been obsessively attacking only the swidden farmers’ homes.
No one cared about the lives or deaths of these farmers, who had mostly fled due to the exploitation by their lord.
They didn’t pay taxes, so they weren’t considered citizens of the Empire.
In a way, their existence was the Empire’s disgrace. Thus, it was common to repress the swidden farmers as criminals who fled after committing crimes.
It was only natural that the malicious individuals would target them to avoid getting caught.
Understanding such circumstances, albeit belatedly, the Crown Prince stared at the farmer’s village in silence for a while.
As the sunset drew near, something distinctly red—certainly far redder than the sunset—seemed to be blazing in the Crown Prince’s eyes.
“Surely, if they were to cause trouble near the capital, they’d leave some traces behind.”
Harun mumbled to himself, overwhelmed with guilt and confusion as he watched.
While they confirmed that the perpetrators were using the farmer’s village as a sacrifice for something, they still couldn’t figure out where and what they were preparing.
Considering how many villages had disappeared, it was clear a large-scale operation was underway, yet there wasn’t a single clue left behind.
“Did they vanish into thin air, or did they just dig underground? How could there not be a trace?”
“Wait… underground? Right, if they’re working in the ground, then how could we not find anything?”
Hearing Harun’s grumbling, both Yustaf and Harun shook their heads.
“Your Highness, if we follow the new transmutation circle mentioned in the book, they must be connecting points throughout the capital’s borders.”
“And?”
“If they were to dig underground to prepare the transmutation circles, it wouldn’t go unnoticed. That’s the kind of large-scale construction that would be tough for the Empire to tackle.”
Digging underground is no easy task. Preparing such a large-scale transmutation circle would require direct involvement from the Empire, making it more feasible to call it impossible.
‘Unless they can freely move through the underground…’
Though Yustaf hadn’t completely ruled out the idea of underground activity without evidence being found on the surface, he dismissed it as too far-fetched.
If that were possible, they wouldn’t be dark wizards but rather giant mole monsters.
These monsters were said to roam the earth just like sea serpents swim through the ocean, but they were so rare and seldom emerged above ground that they were treated as legendary creatures.
‘But wait… I remember that one of the dark wizards’ tricks involved manipulating monsters…’
At that moment, chills ran down Yustaf’s spine.
What if the identity of this organization really was a dark wizard group, and they were controlling the giant moles through their sorcery?
That would be the ultimate crime, one impossible to detect until it was too late.
“Harun! I’ve heard the Alchemy Guild has detailed data on various monsters.”
“Yes, that’s true. But why do you ask?”
“The giant mole! I need information about the giant mole!!!”
*
“From here on, how about Sena tries drawing a line?”
“M-Me?”
I nodded my head.
However, Sena, trembling with the pen in her hands, hesitated and didn’t move.
“It’s fine; after all, this isn’t an official manuscript but just a storyboard. If you make a mistake, we can always fix it.”
With my assurance that mistakes were okay, Sena finally took a deep breath and began drawing along the sketch I’d made.
‘See? I wasn’t mistaken after all.’
Drawing is something that truly belongs in the realm of extraordinary talent.
Of course, one can reach a certain level with practice, but while some people learn through practice, others instinctively create the moment they pick up a pen.
Genius artists use perspective, color combinations, shading, wrinkles, and other elements so naturally that it’s almost effortless.
Sena was one of those geniuses.
I discovered this fact quite accidentally.
This morning, Aida had rushed down the hallway with a piece of paper, and when I checked what was going on, I found that it depicted Aida and Poppy… no, Rach.
Aida was perched like a general on a specialized cart, while a weary-looking Rach dragged it along.
‘Did I draw something like this in my half-asleep state?’
There were some awkward parts, but Aida’s lively expressions and poses had been captured beautifully, plus Rach’s expression was that of an overworked commuter stuck on a hellish train ride—the comedic timing was perfect.
‘Sena drew this?’
Sena?
Without hesitation, I called Sena over to confirm whether she really drew it herself, and while she was nervous, thinking she had done something wrong, she eventually admitted she had indeed done it.
I had quite a hard time reassuring Sena that she hadn’t made a mistake, but once I saw her skill, I was blown away by how good it was.
‘This is real talent! How can she replicate my draft while infusing it with her style?’
This was far from an easy task. An assistant for a published manga artist typically has three roles.
The first is the most basic task of sticking on screen tones or making corrections with white—the grunt work.
The next is background specialists who handle the backgrounds.
And finally, the most skilled and talented assistants get to finish the lines on the characters that the author has sketched.
It’s a crucial role requiring skills and a keen sense of art, yet Sena managed to accomplish this much on her very first attempt.
“Sena, have you ever drawn before?”
“…I’ve tried a few times while following along with the storybooks that Young Master wrote.”
Her words brought back memories of my own childhood.
If you ask most manga artists about what inspired them, they’ll often say it started with something they drew in childhood.
I too had been scolded for drawing the cool character from the first manga I ever read in my notebook during class more than once.
“Sena, I’m not trying to pressure you. Just do it the way you want, okay?”
“…Yes.”
To prevent Sena from getting anxious, I spoke slowly and gently.
Yet, brain-freeze and all, Sena still looked utterly tense.
‘At this rate, she might agree to any suggestion I make, just to please me.’
Dealing with a timid girl like Sena who’d faced too many loud troublemakers like Aida left me at a loss for what to do.
“Sena, when you’re facing a dilemma, you should do it for yourself, not others. Of course, as adults, there will be times we prioritize others over ourselves, but you can leave that for later.”
As I gently brushed Sena’s hair aside, I continued.
“For myself?”
“Exactly. To put it simply, you can think of the whole world as existing for you, just like Aida.”
That, truly, is the privilege of childhood.
My own youngest sister takes advantage of that way too well.
Upon hearing my words, Sena seemed to let go of her tense grip, her trembling hands relaxing.
“I’d love to help your drawing! I want to draw like you!”
I was ecstatic at Sena’s response. Just when I was struggling to find an assistant for my drawings, a talent like her appeared.
Though it’s only been a short time, I’ve already realized she’s kind-hearted, and both her family and Kroon are working with us, so having Sena as my assistant would bring no harm.
Of course, there’ll be plenty to teach her initially, but over time, her efficiency will skyrocket beyond our current level, making it worthwhile to invest in her.
‘Still, it might be a challenge to match my pace since she’s still a kid.’
I’m not so cruel as to overwork a 12-year-old.
For the time being, I figured I’d spend about 1-2 hours teaching her, and that should be the extent of it for now.
But still, finding someone to help was a cause for celebration in my heart.
I should be able to manage around four hours of free time a day.
*
“What? Sena can’t play with Aida anymore?”
“No, my lady. Except when the Young Master is working, we’ll still be together like this.”
Despite Sena’s reassurance, Aida’s puffed cheeks showed no signs of deflating.
After the noble families in the surrounding territories had imposed a ban on entering the Somerset family’s estate, Aida had been missing playmates, so Sena was invaluable to her as a companion.
“I want to draw with my big brother too!”
With a history of sabotaging my work whenever she offered to help, Aida had been banned from the workshop, making her proposal impossible.
Sena struggled to comfort Aida, but there was plenty of joy in her heart, making her unaware of the challenge.
-The whole world exists for you, Sena.
Rupert’s reassuring words made her picture him.
Sena was utterly speechless the first time she saw Rupert.
‘He looks just like the prince from The Little Mermaid!’
To think that the author of a fairytale book she loved would resemble its protagonist so closely.
So when Rupert looked at her drawing, not only did he not scold her, but he complimented her a ton and asked if she would help him out, she resolved to help him without a second thought.
Unlike typical nobles, Rupert treated her just like he treated his sister Aida, allowing her to assist in his work on the fairytales and comics she enjoyed— it felt like unbelievable luck.
‘This was a chance to repay his kindness!’
Sena was worried about how to repay Rupert for giving her own family a better life and allowing her friend Kroon to pursue his dreams.
Now, she had determined to help with his work and repay him in some small way.
But little did she know that the artisans and Kroon witnessing her choice in the studio were shouting “No! Run away right now!” in a panic.
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