It was only this week that I felt the overwhelming urge before bursting.
For some reason, the first day of the elemental magic class packed tightly into this week.
Hong Yeon-hwa sat down carelessly, dully fiddling with her crystal ball.
She had already confirmed that her affinity for spirits was terribly low.
The only semblance of affinity she had was a tiny flame spirit. Even that was hardly significant.
Moreover, the last detailed aptitude test hadn’t even been two months ago. There was virtually no chance that any special talents had emerged during that time, resulting in her just being indifferent.
So, without any hopes of a miracle, she was chatting casually with friends, including Baek Ahrin, while practicing her magical power.
Suddenly, a corner of her vision sparkled.
“What’s that?”
Blue light flickered, then yellow and green colors were painted over it. It didn’t stop there; red and brown were added too.
The sudden shift in her field of vision felt like a different vibe of magical energy and elemental force, similar yet different.
It was the presence of a spirit. While her affinity was nonexistent, she wasn’t blind to the fact that a spirit had revealed itself to the world.
Wondering what it was, she turned her head, thinking perhaps the professor had summoned a spirit.
Then.
“…Uh…”
At that moment, it felt like a bolt of realization hit her—a jolt of disbelief.
The scene before her eyes felt utterly surreal.
A pristine blue lake, free of impurities, surrounded by fields lightly cloaked in white mist.
The sky stretched beyond the horizon, with a parade of clouds draped beneath it.
The vivid blue hues of land and the sky.
In the center of this colorful scene was Lee Ha-yul, dyed in five colors.
Sitting with his back to the lake and sky, spirits fluttered down on his shoulders, arms, and head repeatedly.
Each time, one color intensified and faded, only for another color to take its turn.
Perhaps it was the gentle, playful light that wrapped around him like a coloring game, accentuating his already striking features.
He had an adorable physique that was perfect for hugging.
His finely black hair exuded a uniquely sweet scent.
He had well-groomed eyelashes and soft eyes reminiscent of a gentle puppy.
The dark circles beneath his eyes hinted at weakness, and one sleeve flopped limply, amplifying his delicate image.
Additionally, a blue cloth fluttered behind him, reminiscent of a celestial maiden’s wings from a fairytale, creating an ethereal atmosphere.
In this picturesque background.
All the gazes of over a hundred individuals concentrated solely on him. A gravity of attention surrounded him that one simply couldn’t look away from.
It didn’t matter who was male or female. There was no room to question personal aesthetic preferences.
Beauty.
That single word etched itself in their minds.
Unsure if he was aware of the numerous gazes fixated on him, Lee Ha-yul absentmindedly raised a hand wrapped in a black arm warmer.
The dark arm warmer gripped from his fingertips to halfway up his forearm, contrasting sharply with his pale skin.
And, a swirl of red light descended upon his fingertips.
The flame spirit.
Fire is an essential element for human survival, yet it’s also a dangerously easy element that can take lives.
The flame spirit, which made fire its origin and essence, seemed nothing but playful as it crawled against his propped-up arm.
Its demeanor appeared almost affectionate. Did it realize? A moment of hesitation from the previously dazed Lee Ha-yul turned into a gentle smile as he cautiously stroked the spirit.
“……”
The corners of Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes fluttered as she stared blankly at him. Her mouth dropped open, almost drooling.
– Whoosh…
Gop-hwa stirred inside her. This wasn’t anything new. It would continue to burn as long as her life didn’t end.
– Whoosh…
This was different from the previous flickers.
Normally, Gop-hwa was intensely threatening just to look at. When fed intense emotions, it could catastrophically incinerate everything around.
The last time she visited him, Gop-hwa had… unexpectedly, remained still and cold.
But now?
It wasn’t intense.
It wasn’t cruel or threatening either.
It was neither still nor cold.
Right now… it flickered adhesive, almost sticky enough to stick to the ground. It gave off a bizarre flame that felt like it would swallow everything around before consuming itself.
A sticky impulse. Or perhaps a craving.
Gop-hwa… Hong Yeon-hwa wanted to engulf it.
That beautiful thing shrouded in a dreamlike atmosphere, she wanted to devour it, to embrace it, to crush it.
Warm, smelling good, soft, squishy, making only cute sounds, offering crumpled-up candies with its tiny hands, always swaying its tail enticingly, acting innocent as if it didn’t know… all the while bumbling back and forth with handmade gifts even amidst busy schedules, and returning wounded after getting beat up somewhere…
“…It’s because of this. It’s not my fault. It’s all Ha-yul’s fault. I’ve endured so much! Without realizing it, he keeps getting closer, apologizing, making that face, whining, clinging… Doesn’t he know how dangerous it is? Continues to… continues…”
“Y-yeah! I get it, you can stop now! I’ve got it!”
Her muttering filled the spacious office with a small voice, yet the sticky, damp desires within overfilled it.
Unable to bear it anymore, Choi Ji-yeon gasped, interrupting the mumbling.
Initially, it was filled with embarrassment from being giddy, but things began to feel off at some point…
She felt like she’d genuinely hear something she wasn’t supposed to. Yet, it seemed too late now.
Catching her breath, Choi Ji-yeon composed herself, her fingertips cold against her face.
She glanced up and met Ariel’s gaze, who had been waiting behind the sofa.
“……”
Ariel, normally so stiff and silent, now looked pale and almost ghostly…
Below that.
Hong Yeon-hwa, murmuring with glazed eyes, suddenly lit up.
“…Huh? Oh, what’s wrong? Why’s your face like that? Are you hurt?”
Then, as if coming to her senses, she tilted her head curiously.
From the looks of it, she wasn’t even aware of what she had been mumbling. That was even scarier…
‘…What should I say…’
It was hard to summarize the outburst of confusing emotions. If I had to put it, it was just that I liked that kid… Um… damn it.
Choi Ji-yeon shook her head. She resolved to think positively.
However, she didn’t act on it. With patience… she didn’t force herself on him.
This was despite Hong Yeon-hwa’s severely overwhelming emotions associated with Gop-hwa.
Choi Ji-yeon wanted to acknowledge that she had overcome such sticky feelings.
Is it wrong for a person to have some damp thoughts? Unless they revealed it, mental fantasies were a hard thing to scold.
‘…Right? Is it wrong to think about forcing myself? Plus… didn’t she just express it?’
The more she thought about it, the more her head ached…
“Phew…”
Choi Ji-yeon let out a deep sigh, bringing the tea to her lips. The cup was enchanted to keep the tea warm, so it didn’t cool down.
If only it had cooled off, at least her stomach would be settled. She wished for that.
Muttering to herself, she set the cup down and gulped down the cold water next to it.
As cold water slid down her throat, the fiery heat inside began to cool.
Similarly, her dizzy head began to settle down.
‘…Hmm.’
In her newly calm state, a thought struck her.
“….Want me to set up an engagement for you?”
“…W-what kind?”
“Engagement, an engagement.”
The feelings Hong Yeon-hwa expressed weren’t something that should ever spill over to others—they were dark and twisted thoughts.
But between spouses, isn’t that not a problem? It seems like she’s thrumming with puppy love, and from what I’ve heard, that kid definitely seems to reciprocate feelings…
Either way, Choi Ji-yeon didn’t want to see her daughter become a criminal…
*
Late at night, after finishing personal training and studies.
Baek Ahrin, unable to sleep, lent a hand to the mountains of clan work.
Baek Ahrin, unlike others, diligently pursued her training as a successor.
She had been responsible for substantial portions of the clan’s affairs until now.
Since entering Shio-ram, time was scarce, so she let go of some things, but she managed to handle them little by little as time allowed.
Of course, that was only helping with appropriate tasks. She never touched on the strictly confidential matters outside the Main House.
While rifling through the piled-up emails, her hand suddenly paused.
Among the stacked work emails, there was one from her parents.
“……”
Baek Ahrin stared at it expressionlessly, then reluctantly opened the mail.
It was nothing much.
How have you been living at Shio-ram? How’s your studies going? Are you controlling your abilities well? Are you taking care of your health, and so on…?
It was the usual care one would expect from a parent to child.
Excluding the rigidness of the font, the bluntness of the writing was still apparent.
Finding them worried while writing in such a tone was somewhat absurd.
Of course, she didn’t think negatively about it.
Baek Ahrin knew well that her parents struggled to express emotions, and she understood that their concern was genuine.
As she read down the mail blankly, she caught a faint smile in the hastily penned engagement-related closing remarks.
It wasn’t a direct proposal for engagement, just a cautious inquiry about meeting someone.
“Engagement…”
The proposal for engagement. She had been inundated with them since childhood because of her looks.
She had refused them all. The Changhae clan wasn’t a limp force to be pressured by outside forces. This meant Baek Ahrin could simply reject any engagement proposals according to her preferences.
There was no particular reason. It was simply that she didn’t have anyone she liked at the time.
That sentiment still stood true.
Baek Ahrin adjusted her chest. The heaviness had slightly dissipated, but the curse embedded in her heart faintly lingered.
Cold. So cold.
Because of the Changhae clan, her body specialized in the powers of cold and ice.
Thus, she was accustomed to coldness, but that wretched chill of a curse never seemed to let her adapt.
“……”
Muttering the word “engagement,” she delved into her memories.
For Baek Ahrin, engagement was a form of transaction.
The sender provides their offspring as a sign of trust, while the recipient accepts the other’s offspring to stabilize relations.
There are few safe transactions than trading your offspring as both a price and a hostage.
Engagements are transactions. The engagement subjects are transaction goods.
In that sense, Baek Ahrin herself was quite the expensive item.
Exceptionally talented student.
A previously unseen potential that the chancellor had taken notice of. A lottery ticket with virtually guaranteed wins.
Tower of Growth.
Gop-hwa, which exhibited potential rivaling that of Hong Yeon-hwa.
The Shifnaha incident.
The traces of the Changhae powers exhibited in Lee Ha-yul, who was hospitalized in the healing room.
“…Hmm.”
She roughly calculated.
The possibilities of Hong Yeon-hwa having the potential to dissolve the curse.
Lee Ha-yul, recognized for his latent potential by the chancellor.
The Gop-hwa, which displayed power comparable to Hong Yeon-hwa.
The lingering cold traces of the Changhae displayed by Lee Ha-yul…
“Hmm…”
The scales tipped to one side.
But it was still difficult to ignore the bonds and pressures built over time on the other side.
Moreover, she had no assurance that she would be accepted at her full value by Lee Ha-yul.
Looking roughly, it seemed the likelihood of his affections lay heavily in his court, and to begin with, Lee Ha-yul seemed to harbor a strange aversion to her, didn’t he?
“……”
Then.
If she were to properly engage, she’d have to raise her worth.
In the late hours of the night.
Baek Ahrin’s torment extended far into the night.
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