Chapter 14: Born Without a Past.

I looked around the banquet hall with a sickened expression. It was wide enough to hold a running race, and the ceiling was high. The floor was paved with marble, and one side leading to the terrace was entirely made of glass windows. Every single pillar was filled with carvings, and there were even paintings on the ceiling.

My employer and I were sitting on the bare marble floor without anything laid down. What happens if I misadjust the strength of my magic? What if I break the nose of that sculpture?

What if I break a single glass window wrong? The spy’s words about living as a s*ave didn’t sound like someone else’s problem.

“For now, you should worry about whether you can manifest magic at all. Control is a problem for later.”

The King’s Brother spoke as if scolding a student causing trouble all over the classroom.

No, a more accurate expression would be scolding an overly ambitious student unaware of his place, attempting to solve equations while unable to recite the multiplication table.

He was right.

I returned my neck, which had been turning freely, to its place and closed my eyes.

Recalling the sensation of infusing mana into the pot as the King’s Brother said, I awakened the mana inside my body.

“They say fire was treated as a single element in the past, but no mage believes that old-fashioned theory now. There is air in your hands, and among it is oxygen that allows fire to burn. Draw your mana out. Think of exploding the air in your hand with mana. And keep feeding oxygen. With your mana.”

The King’s Brother’s words were close to scientific truth.

Mana, which I once thought was an unscientific power, was also a power that clearly existed.

Recalling the experience of absorbing mana existing outside into my body, I tried to push mana out from inside my body this time.

“Now.”

Following the King’s Brother’s guidance, I shouted the activation word for fire.

【Ignis.】

What I recalled at that moment was the welding torch I used in the workshop.

Just flipping the switch would instantly ignite an orange flame.

If you add oxygen to the burning LPG, the flame gradually turns blue…

Bang! Something actually exploded.

Startled, I opened my eyes.

At that moment, the magical power I was struggling to maintain dispersed just like that.

I let out a deep sigh.

My back had become damp with sweat in that short time, making my body feel chilly.

It also felt empty as if the inside of my body was hollow.

Still, did I do something?

Did I mimic at least the ‘m’ of magic?

“How did you do that?”

It was the King’s Brother who confirmed that I did do something.

His brow was heavily furrowed.

“So there was a reason you thought about controlling magic first.”

It was an unusual reaction.

No, that was just me worrying uselessly without knowing anything.

Without even giving me time to explain, the King’s Brother interrogated me.

“You, what are you hiding?”

I just blinked my eyes.

The King’s Brother glared at me with sharp eyes.

****

“The King who unified this land and founded Henia was said to be the illegitimate son of King Meridiem, who ruled the southern region when this country was divided into three. Taking fallen nobles, orphan mercenaries of unknown origin, and mages excommunicated by their masters as companions, he unified this land and became the founding king.”

Even I don’t know the identity of my body.

I just suddenly found myself using this body.

So I had no answer to give the King’s Brother asking about this body’s identity.

It’s very suspicious even to me.

I had no choice but to be nervous.

Though I tried hard not to show it.

But the King’s Brother, who was probing into my identity, suddenly told the legend of the founding king.

“…When is that story from?”

“Over 600 years ago.”

Actually, enough time for facts to disappear and only legends to remain.

A fairy tale would probably be a more realistic story.

“History about achieving something while hiding one’s identity ends there.”

I felt like I understood why he brought up a story more unrealistic than a fairy tale.

The King’s Brother’s words continued.

“Would there have been absolutely no talented people with unfortunate personal histories after that? Impossible. They either disappeared without leaving a trace or lived hiding their roots all their lives.”

“So, Duke, are you saying something like I am hiding the secret of my birth?”

“Keep hiding it. Desperately hide it. Don’t reveal it clumsily.”

The King’s Brother urged me very seriously.

He was genuinely worried about me.

“Are you laughing? Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Am I laughing?”

At my counter-question, the wrinkles on the King’s Brother’s brow deepened.

“I understand well that you are speaking sincerely.”

If I laughed, it must have been an expression coming from relief.

“My father was a hunter, and I don’t know who my mother was. My father might have told me, but I don’t remember. As you said, Duke, there might be some secret story to my birth, but I want to say the possibility is very low. As you know, I am a Beta.”

I thought it was a logical development the King’s Brother could accept, but he didn’t smooth his frowning face.

“You’re not an ordinary Beta.”

He let out a long sigh.

His gaze looking at me seemed to say, ‘What should I do with this immature child?’

“Neither your learning ability nor your adaptability to mana is at an ordinary level.”

“If you are saying I’m a genius, that is absolutely not true.”

“You probably wanted a level slightly better than others, but unfortunately, you failed.”

The King’s Brother’s attitude was serious throughout.

“I think you finally understand a little of what I’m saying.”

This time, even I could realize the corners of my mouth were going down.

Seeing my face devoid of laughter, the King’s Brother let out a long breath once again.

“The drawing you made earlier is the same. That was a blueprint of a magic circle. Extremely precise. Even a novice who just received a formal mage license could create the same necklace if they had that blueprint. Though they would struggle a bit. And a master-level mage would fix the old magic circle to create an even superior item.”

This time, I really felt like I took a hit.

“I just drew exactly what I saw. Of course, I drew it as meticulously as I could, but given time, anyone could…”

The reason I felt proud was because I perfectly reverse-engineered it with limited time and tools.

With sufficient time and tools, any jeweler can copy a design identically.

Otherwise, how could so many fakes circulate?

Differences in detail arise because crafting skills cannot be copied identically, but if it’s just the design, as the King’s Brother said, even a beginner who just set foot in a workshop could draw it identically.

If they can’t even do that, they should give up the dream of becoming a jeweler.

“Impossible.”

But the King’s Brother cut me off firmly.

“What was the magic cast on that necklace?”

“Distortion by pheromones, blocking of detection magic, and cognitive interference magic… Don’t tell me.”

“Yes, even that spy cannot see the exact shape of the necklace he wears.”

I thought all the magic cast on it was dispelled when the spy took off the necklace.

Because a necklace of perfect design was visible to my eyes.

“Even the King probably cannot completely break the cognitive interference magic. If he were recognized as the complete owner of the necklace, the diamond wouldn’t have been contaminated.”

It was problem upon problem.

Just like saying it tastes like ripe persimmon because it contains ripe persimmon, I just drew it as it was because I saw it.

Though I did distinguish grades a bit persistently, I could do that because I saw it too.

My head was about to ache.

It meant my eyes weren’t normal in another sense.

My hand went up automatically to rub my eyelids.

Even the King wouldn’t be able to see it properly?

Wait, then how did the King’s Brother know my drawing was a perfect blueprint?

“The important thing right now isn’t how I was able to break the cognitive interference magic, is it?”

The quick-witted employer noticed that I came up with other questions just by me stopping my hand rubbing my eyelids and glancing at him.

“Even if I couldn’t completely break the cognitive interference magic, I would have known immediately that your drawing was strange. Because things I couldn’t see would have been drawn in detail.”

He’s right.

I also understand well that my employer’s magic skill is immense.

The real genius was the King’s Brother.

I realized clearly why I failed to adjust the difficulty.

Because I took the King’s Brother, a genius, as a standard without knowing he was a genius.

Seeing him performing perfect administration as a family head already, I thought I had to do this much to catch his eye, and that only then could I raise my value.

Because there were several other children besides me receiving the King’s Brother’s favor.

I had to win in the implicit competition with them.

Though my ignorance of this world’s magic level probably played a part too.

I never dreamed that my body, not content with being completely unaffected by pheromones, would also be little affected by magic.

Okay, I know the cause of failure.

Now I have to prepare measures for the future.

“What should I do from now on?”

When I gathered my hands that were rubbing my eyelids and looked straight at my employer, he clicked his tongue.

He seemed to think my recovery was too fast.

But for me, regret was something I had already done enough of.

What I realized after long regret was that no matter how much I try belatedly, I cannot turn back what has already ended.

I just had to move on to the next with scars remaining.

Because time flows in only one direction.

I had to move on to the next for this matter too.

“I lost my memory, and the person who knows best about the peculiarity of this body is you, Duke. In the hometown I left, I was just a fool who even forgot how to speak. My ability will surely be helpful to you, Duke. I don’t know what story I have, but I don’t really want to know in the future either. As you said, Duke, even if I have a real story, it would only become dangerous. Surviving in the future is more important to me than past glory that has a high probability of not existing.”

The only method I had was to persuade my employer. I was also certain that the King’s Brother, who told me to go back with a spy in front of us, would surely take me in.