What is magic?
Ignoring the basic laws of physics, it is a study that creates the ideals desired by the caster.
Mana, circuits, incantations.
Just like flames rising, magic requires certain conditions.
“You’ve crossed time and space… and your magical circuit is tangled?”
I couldn’t help but freeze upon hearing Queen Bellin Grancia’s words.
The fact that I arrived here from another time and space.
This person in front of me knew my identity.
“Son-in-law, what’s your name?”
“I’m Lee Soo-hyun.”
My mouth felt dry.
Those eyes, as if seeing through everything, carefully examined me.
“Then you must be a hero from another world. Nice to meet you.”
Like a detective finding clues at a crime scene,
Queen Bellin deduced more from her small bits of information.
“I am Bellin Grancia. As you probably know, I am the empress of this empire.”
“It’s an honor, Your Majesty. I mean, Mother-in-law…”
I almost made a mistake, but seeing the Queen’s gentle smile made me correct my title.
Mother-in-law? Is it really okay for me to get such permission so easily?
“Hehe, that’s quite a nice title. I should boast to Rock later.”
After an awkward round of introductions, she immediately cast a magic circle aimed at my heart.
“What you’ve done until now isn’t something like a normal return.”
“…Then what is it?”
Then, the three-dimensional projection of veins appeared in mid-air.
My magical circuit was all twisted like a Klein bottle, full of holes here and there.
“You must have crossed numerous world lines through countless repetitions.”
It’s surprising that I could even move until now with such a condition.
The Queen touched my glass-coated heart while speaking.
“Also, your magical circuit is connected to our precious Pina.”
On the sparkling diamond-like surface was the magic circle of Pina Grancia.
She even noticed that I had undergone a Dragon Heart transplant.
‘This person is not normal.’
A genius.
I have seen many exceptionally talented people in my life, like Giseok, but
Bellin Grancia possessed an unparalleled aspect.
Inside my heart, I could see the swirling shape of a white wolf.
“There is even a miracle of the Saintess in here.”
Watching her deduce the existence of the Nameless Saintess sent chills down my spine.
“…….”
“Is such a person really an ordinary person? Of course, he must be my future son-in-law.”
As I made a face as if hit on the head, the Queen confidently smiled.
She figured out my identity from the start.
“Son-in-law, you must have faced numerous failures to arrive here.”
“So it’s not a return… it’s a loop.”
Not just a regular return, but a loop.
I instinctively reached for my chin.
Pantoze also said I failed 24 times.
If that’s the case, then it means there were many iterations I did not succeed in.
“If so… do you suspect that I might be an enemy?”
I asked to gauge my opponent, just in case.
Does she really trust me, the mother of Pina?
What if I were to fall into a trap and become a puppet that reveals all information…?
“That spirit tried to protect our lovely Pina earlier. So there’s no way that would be the case.”
Bellin spoke with an insight that an ordinary person could never possess.
Was it true that she had borrowed wisdom from the Queen during the Demon God War?
It seems she keenly observed my spirit purring in Pina’s arms.
“Son-in-law, you’re quite oblivious. Pina must have a tough time.”
“…I’m sorry.”
The mother-in-law spoke as if she had seen the future with her own eyes.
I couldn’t argue, so I immediately apologized.
I really made it hard for Pina because of my obliviousness.
“Hehe, still our daughter chose a pretty good man.”
Perhaps she liked my naive appearance, the Queen continued with an even brighter expression.
“Right now, our son-in-law is incredibly interconnected with our daughter.”
“Incredibly interconnected?”
She said the connection between me and Pina was unlike others.
“To be precise, it’s a single thread that has gathered all those connections.”
Many strands of thread intertwine to form one large cord, she explained.
‘Grand Route…!’
It’s most likely that what Queen Bellin saw was the Grand Route.
It combines all possibilities into one, opening up a new path.
“Would you like a drink? You seem quite surprised.”
“Ah, yes… thank you.”
Using the magic circle, Bellin conjured a tea set and snacks from somewhere, floating them in the air.
The items gently landed on the table like a scene from a movie.
Mother-in-law stared at me intently as I raised my mask.
“Oh, thankfully, you’re quite handsome. I was worried what if you weren’t.”
In stark contrast to Emperor Rock, she seemed delighted that I was close to Pina, clapping her hands.
Can evaluations be this different?
“With such a close relationship… it can’t be anything less than a partner. You’ve gotten married in the future, right? By any chance, do you have grandchildren?”
“Cough.”
“Oh my, why are you so surprised, son-in-law?”
It felt like she anticipated this question.
At the moment I was sipping tea, she threw a bomb of an inquiry that made it awkward to answer.
I almost choked, coughing repeatedly.
We hadn’t crossed that line yet! Thinking of such absurd imagery made my ears burn.
“Mother-in-law… you’re being too much.”
“Why? I respect our Pina’s choices unconditionally. I don’t know about Rock, but…”
Queen Bellin chuckled at my reaction as if it were fun.
Her black tail thrashed softly side to side, revealing her relaxed demeanor.
“The Inrang Tribe doesn’t fall for looks alone either.”
“…Huh?”
“Our daughter fell for you at first sight. As a mother, I should hold you responsible.”
She recounted how little Pina fell for me at first sight when she was a child.
The Inrang Tribe might believe that those they love should never change.
A tribe that risks their lives or goes mad for love.
Pina in a different world line had already fallen to corruption as a Demon God.
“Oh, surely… that can’t be true.”
“Seeing her side with a man she’s never met before is pretty telling, isn’t it?”
Trying to deny it, I shook my head, but hearing that explanation didn’t seem unreasonable.
“First love as present love, it’s quite romantic. Hehe.”
Sweet milk tea with sugar.
In contrast to the taste spreading on my tongue, I had something to tell Queen Bellin.
“Um… Mother-in-law, I don’t know if you’ll believe this…”
“I know. You’re talking about how Pina is in danger.”
She seemed to catch on to what I was about to say and stared at the ground.
“A Magic Hat empowered by the Demon God will soon arrive here.”
Coming from the future to the past isn’t a common occurrence.
“Am I going to lose my life?”
Is this what they call maternal love?
She must have had a reason for wanting to talk alone without Pina around.
“…Well, I can’t say for sure.”
Queen Bellin seemed to transform into a card because of her power.
If she were to die, Emperor Rock would surely incinerate the world in revenge.
“But still, I came here to prevent that fate.”
“Even if the future where you and our Pina meet disappears?”
For the first time, Queen Bellin referred to Pina by a nickname.
Looking straight into my eyes, she awaited my answer.
In the future, Pina undergoes a trauma that turns her hair white.
What if I change the past and defeat the Magic Hat?
What would happen if she leads a life disconnected from the Demon God of the Hero Church?
‘Will everything that happened with Pina disappear?’
I wouldn’t be hiding my identity in the Academy anymore.
She’d live proudly as the princess of the Grancia Empire.
“Still…”
I managed to speak out.
Even if she lives a life without me,
Even if everything that connected me to her vanished,
“…It doesn’t matter.”
I will always be her Black Knight.
As I resolved my determination and finished my reply, Bellin Grancia finally smiled.
“Alright. Now you feel like my son-in-law.”
Her eyes softened into a gentle curve, exhibiting regret for doubting me.
Perhaps it was all a final test.
“Our Pina certainly knows how to choose her men.”
*
Before I knew it, time passed, the sun set low, and the full moon shone brightly in the night.
In the chambers of Pina Grancia, two women’s gentle voices could be heard.
“Miss, so what seems to be the problem?”
“Shh, Emilia. Your voice is too loud!”
A woman named Emilia, dressed in maid attire and possessing fox ears, was brushing Pina’s hair.
These two appeared to be as close as sisters.
“My heart is pounding… it just won’t stop…”
“Since when has it been like that?”
Emilia, the imperial maid, had been taking care of Pina since her infancy.
She tilted her head at Pina’s vague explanation.
“Since I saw my brother-in-law’s… face?”
“Brother-in-law? There’s no one like that in the palace.”
Brother-in-law.
No matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t know anyone by that name.
Even her younger brother Rufus wouldn’t qualify to be called an older brother.
If there was such a person, she would surely remember.
“He was incredibly… cute… and handsome…”
Even now, Pina couldn’t think of anyone who fit that description.
Watching Pina blush and grin at the thought of a man,
“Do you happen to think of him even when you close your eyes? Can’t sleep at night?”
“Oh? Exactly! How did you know…?”
The maid realized that Pina was lovesick.
The Inrang Tribe only has eyes for the one they love.
If that ‘brother-in-law’ meets another woman, the empire could be in jeopardy.
“Then, Miss, I have a good idea.”
“What idea?”
With a sly smile, Emilia leaned in to whisper something to Pina.
“Gift him a necklace.”
“Why…?”
Wagging her huge tail, she meant potential mischief.
“Why? To keep other girls away, of course.”
The implication of a married person.
If the necklace is a gift from a princess, no one would dare covet that man.
