“Tell me why you want to learn magic.”
“What is your reason?”
The emperor looked at me with interest for a long moment, then pointed at my head with his finger.
“Mana fusion, of course. That.”
“What?”
“I heard that achieving mana fusion allows you to handle all attributes. Like the light they call holy power. Isn’t that white hair proof enough?”
To my recollection, the emperor had no knowledge of magic.
No, she knew the basics of magic.
But something like mana fusion? That was beyond her.
After all, the emperor had focused on mastering swordsmanship and archery, not magic.
“How did you come to know that?”
“A so-called mage named Noah or something informed me about mana fusion. Right in front of the emperor, with his eyes glaring at me. That was only the second time someone dared to look at me like that.”
“What?”
‘Was that me?’
‘This is complete historical distortion.’
“When I mocked him, saying what kind of scholar was a mage, he boasted about it like that. It must be hard living without magic.”
“Is that so?”
‘And to think you interpreted that as boasting… Truly remarkable.’
‘You’ve conveniently erased the part where I told you to stop spouting nonsense. Typical reckless emperor.’
‘Should I just approach this head-on?’
‘With this woman, that might be the best course of action.’
“Olivia Rapha Ashtar.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Being addressed with my full name made me feel uneasy.
“I appoint you as the emperor’s tutor.”
‘What an honor.’
‘I feel so touched I’d like to run away from here immediately.’
But I, Olivia, decided to stand my ground and assert my rights.
“What about my right to refuse?”
At my question, she gave a faint smile.
It was as if she had anticipated this all along.
‘Yeah. I’ve completely fallen into a trap. What a wicked woman.’
‘Isn’t this what a true tyrant looks like?’
‘Leaving politics to the council, summoning people on a whim because she’s bored, and using them as she pleases.’
“I hear you’re training private soldiers under the church?”
‘Ah, damn it.’
‘She seems to know everything already.’
“Perhaps it’s because you resemble Katarina, but you seem to enjoy raising private forces.”
‘Now I understand why my mother assigned her maids to this woman.’
‘She must’ve been blackmailed over the assassination guild incident.’
‘She’s not skilled at politics, but she knows how to justify killing people without being branded a tyrant.’
‘The moment I got involved, I was already doomed.’
“When do we start?”
“Is it possible? You don’t have to indulge the emperor’s childish request.”
‘Childish request? You’re saying this because you’d do something insane if I refused.’
“Isn’t it absurd for someone over thirty to call themselves childish?”
‘And here I am, matching your “childish” antics, because who knows what you’d plot otherwise.’
“My, my. You’ve become a servant and yet care so little for the emperor.”
“Would it please you if I did? Calling me a magic tutor… Honestly, isn’t it just that you need someone to talk to?”
Even earlier, she seemed eager to strike up a conversation.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
“The previous Olivia adored me, though. Quite the change.”
‘What? The first Olivia had conversations with this eccentric?’
‘And even liked her?’
‘What nonsense is this?’
“All right. Let’s talk.”
“Then how about after Atlerina ends?”
‘It’ll probably just be a few conversations at most.’
“Yes, that will do.”
“Good. You may leave for today.”
The emperor, dressed like a maid, gestured for me to leave.
Her dismissive attitude irked me.
‘Why call me here if you’re going to act like that?’
***
As I left the imperial palace, I reflected on the emperor’s suspicious behavior.
Her particular interest in me seemed odd.
Even knowing that I held the separate title of Saintess, apart from national power or rank, she went out of her way to speak to me.
“Wait, hold on.”
The Empress had an uncanny intuition.
‘Could it be that she saw Noah within me?’
‘Either way, the emperor did keep an eye on Noah.’
‘Could it be that she had some sort of promise with him in the past?’
While there may have been some connection, it likely stemmed from her curiosity about Noah as a member of the hero’s party.
‘Nothing more, nothing less.’
‘Or perhaps, memories of Noah and the first Olivia have mingled, leaving something lost.’
‘If so, did the emperor and I have some kind of link?’
I called out to Claire, who was following behind me.
“Claire.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Do you know if Noah had any relationship with the emperor?”
‘There might be a connection here.’
“As expected. Did the emperor say anything about Noah?”
Claire smiled unpleasantly.
‘She’s definitely suspicious again. Typical.’
“Don’t get any strange ideas.”
“Who knows.”
Noah hadn’t stayed in the Empire for long.
His main battlefield was in the Kingdom, and it didn’t seem like he spent his days building rapport with that peculiar woman.
‘Even if he did, shouldn’t she be looking for Noah instead of me?’
‘Why would she choose me as the Saintess?’
“Oh, but the emperor was closest to Noah among the hero’s party.”
“The emperor?”
“Yes. Once, she even proposed taking Noah as her son-in-law. It was after we blocked the Demon King’s forces, during a victory celebration held in the imperial palace. So, everyone who knew about it remembers.”
‘Ah, now that she mentions it, I recall it.’
‘A memory I had long buried and wished to forget.’
“How about it? Would you like to become my son-in-law? If my daughter isn’t to your liking, how about me?”
“Stop spouting nonsense.”
“You’re not into men, are you?”
“I might actually end up blowing up the imperial palace.”
‘Ah, I’m starting to remember.’
But this wasn’t a matter of being close or not.
To me, that person was just another annoying existence.
“If you’ve become the Emperor’s tutor, it must be a great honor for your family.”
‘Sure, a great honor for the family indeed.’
‘Imagine the daughter who hasn’t even graduated from Atlerina becoming the Emperor’s tutor.’
***
As Olivia left the imperial palace, the Emperor, still dressed in a maid’s attire, sat on the throne.
But as she thought about it, something felt off.
“This is strange.”
“Why is that, Your Majesty? Is the Saintess perhaps not to your liking?”
The maid who had brought Olivia cautiously probed the Emperor’s thoughts.
Although she served as the Emperor’s maid, her original affiliation was with the assassination guild, and the Saintess, Olivia, was the daughter of her true master.
Naturally, she was concerned.
Emperor Belia shook her head.
“This isn’t about whether I like her or not.”
“Then what is it?”
The Emperor frowned at the maid’s response.
“There’s something I sense when I look at people. But with her, I can’t figure her out, no matter how much I look.”
“What do you mean?”
Emperor Belia was the type to observe whatever piqued her curiosity.
Olivia was no exception.
This Olivia, now the Saintess, was a fascinating presence.
She had driven off a succubus with her divine powers and reshaped the dynamics of noble society.
She had even caused the Emperor considerable trouble.
“Hmm.”
The Emperor compared the current Olivia with the Olivia of the past.
They were undoubtedly similar.
The two were alike, but there was something slightly different about this one.
‘Yes, it’s like that insufferable mage.’
The Emperor thought of the arrogant mage who had once dared to claim his magic surpassed the Emperor’s authority.
“Are geniuses inherently insufferable?”
Even when the Emperor spoke, her reactions made it clear she found him a nuisance.
‘No ordinary citizen of the Empire would behave this way.’
‘It seems I’ll need to keep an eye on her for now.’
‘Who knows?’
‘Maybe she’ll end up replacing that self-proclaimed mage who promised to lift my curse and then disappeared on a whim.’
***
The life of Saintess Olivia was a never-ending cycle of hardship.
Her daily schedule was packed.
In the mornings, she had to wake up and deal with nobles or commoners who came to see her while pretending to pray to the gods.
Then, she had to attend Atlerina.
The problem was that Atlerina presented its own set of challenges.
“Ol-li-vi-a~!”
It was Ceria.
‘I’ve decided to call her Plené 2.0.’
“Plené 2.0, what is it this time? And what’s with that creepy doll?”
Plené had started working as a librarian instead of attending classes, passing her tasks onto me.
She had a sense of realism and was simply earning money while ensuring she met the graduation requirements.
‘I thought it was peaceful without the noisy Plené around.’
‘But now something even louder has shown up.’
“Aren’t we rivals? I’m saying we should get along.”
Ceria handed me a doll out of nowhere.
‘What is this? It looks exactly like a cursed doll.’
Looking at the white hair and its clothes, it seemed modeled after me.
“Isn’t this obviously a cursed doll?”
“Oh, come on! I genuinely want to get along.”
‘Her idea of “getting along” is likely tied to some kind of experiment involving the doll.’
The experiments themselves weren’t too problematic.
‘She’s no necromancer, so it wouldn’t be gruesome or anything.’
But back when I was Noah, I learned one thing—she was loud.
Loud, as in unbearably talkative.
“Can you swear there’s no trickery involved with this?”
“Of course! I never lie.”
‘Nope. Still too suspicious.’
Fwoosh.
I lightly burned the doll to ashes.
“Hey, that was a bit rude! I mean, I gave it to you with good intentions.”
“The eyes didn’t even match. They were different colors.”
One eye was big, the other small.
‘I am not mismatched.’
‘Olivia Rapha Ashtar’s appearance is not like this distorted doll.’
“Still, it wasn’t that bad…”
“Perfection is non-negotiable. And your so-called sincerity reeks of laziness. Judging by the tear marks, you repurposed an old doll into one modeled after me.”
“You’re so uptight!”
“Am I wrong?”
‘Anyone would say this reeks of malice.’
At my question, Ceria started laughing, her expression irritating.
“Of course not! You’re absolutely correct. Why would I go out of my way to be nice to a rival? But I swear I didn’t place any curses. For your information, I’m the chief mage of the Tower~!”
“Ugh.”
‘What kind of life is this, entangled with someone like her?’
‘If I were still Noah, I might’ve just let it slide.’
‘But as Olivia, she’s nothing but a pain.’
“Still, what’s with the white hair? Don’t you think it’s too much?”
‘I’m going to lose my mind.’
Even if I laughed it off, rumors would spread, and I’d be the one to suffer.
‘I’m sure this woman will cling to the topic endlessly.’
“I don’t like Noah!”
“Oh? Really?”
‘How many times do I have to say it?’
“There’s no connection between us. You’ve misunderstood entirely.”
‘So let’s end it here.’
“Suspicious.”
“It’s not suspicious! It’s the truth.”
‘Even if I were some lunatic in love with myself, I’d give up if faced with someone as persistent as this.’
“Hmm, now that I think about it, that might actually be true.”
‘Is she mocking me? Should I just kill her?’