# Side Story 8
He returned to a land where countless secrets, restraints, and screams had been buried. A slave who broke the chain of curses with his own hands and escaped. A savior who provided a new alternative to apprentices who had only followed given orders without a single choice of their own. It was not surprising that scattered magicians had returned to that hellish land. Because Devan had suddenly begun painting colors on the castle that had been dreary like a black and white film.
“This time, they’re from the north. They seem to have wandered for a long time; they look terrible. Should we let them in too?”
“All of them.”
“Pardon?”
“Let them all in.”
He gave a captivating smile. Black hair with eyes like deep darkness. It was a smile like a ray of light breaking into a pitch-black darkroom.
“If they are brothers, we should gladly open the door.”
From some point on, a rumor spread widely that in that castle which had regained its color, lived a magician who was dangerously merciful.
* * *
Reyna was a witch with beautiful, abundant golden hair. The loveliness emanating from her pure, girlish eyes and adorably curved crescent-like lips sometimes made one forget that she was a mischievous young witch. She possessed the confidence unique to someone who had completely believed in her own specialness, and that haughty attitude was the only weapon that had allowed Reyna to survive amidst the cruel witch hunts.
And the one who first crushed that arrogance was none other than the complete master of this castle, Devan.
“What are you doing not eating?”
“…”
“Al was saying that there are more guests.”
“Get out.”
An annoyed tone. She bit her lip once and opened her mouth again.
“The guests brought something interesting. You’d like it too, so let’s go see…”
Her cheerful voice was cut off as if with a knife, along with Devan’s slight hand gesture. Reyna glared at the door that closed with a thud in front of her and ground her teeth. That irritating jerk. Idiot. Bad guy, one who deserves divine punishment…
But no matter what he did, she was forever destined to be the subordinate to him. Perhaps she had foreseen that this curse would last a lifetime from the very moment that he appeared like a shining darkness before her as she was helplessly tied to the stake with a self-deprecating smile. And Reyna painfully yet comfortably accepted that she could live with this curse called him.
“Do whatever you want!! Whether you starve or not, whether you see something fun or not, I won’t care either!!”
“…”
After shouting a few more times at the door that gave no answer, she stomped down the corridor. Every time Reyna’s golden hair swayed, the gazes of apprentices moving to the training ground turned toward her. Receiving such greedy glances was nothing to her. Rather, not having such desires toward her would be abnormal. So, it was Devan, who was like a stone, who was strange, that’s what she meant.
‘There was a time when he had such eyes…’
As she moved with heavy breaths, a moment that had always felt unsettling flashed through her mind. By ‘such eyes,’ she meant when the gaze contained something akin to love. But in Devan’s case, that gaze had been directed neither at Reyna nor at anyone else. Devan had shown such eyes exactly once, when ordering the closure of the dark room that restricted magicians’ abilities. It was an excessively affectionate gaze that strangely longed for something, as he looked at a place that was like a torture chamber to them. With an expression she never thought Devan could make.
‘Anyway, what a strange guy…’
Reyna thought that this might be Devan’s only weakness. It’s surprising that someone who handles everything refreshingly and skillfully as if looking down on the world could have a weakness.
The Devan she knew was a person who simultaneously possessed light and darkness of unfathomable depth. If one only looked at how he generously supported magicians who had been drifting here and there, he might seem like a generous, service-minded saint, but Reyna also clearly knew his cruel aspects. The faint pleasure glimpsed when punishing wrongdoers, the cool smile revealed when disposing of the castle’s remains that were beyond terrible to the point of being grotesque. It wasn’t simply the exhilaration felt when achieving justice. He had a distinct pleasure that came from controlling situations. Although Reyna empathized with him more than anyone else, occasionally, when she saw Devan manipulating the air without even blinking, she also felt a chilling sensation.
However, that stark contrast of light and shadow was one of the magics that made him more beautiful.
Her emotionally driven footsteps gradually slowed. Before she knew it, Reyna was carefully retracing all the moments she had shared with Devan. More precisely, the moments when she had ‘alone’ circled around him rather than being ‘together.’ Men with reddened faces passed by around her as she was absorbed in thought.
“Reyna.”
Then a low voice called her name. Reyna clearly remembered that voice. A voice that was flowing like a song but settled calmly at the end. It belonged to Devan. Her head turned hurriedly.
“Was the guest you mentioned Ludin?”
“…Huh? Who’s that?”
His cold face subtly expressed emotion. Was he talking about the guests who had just arrived? That was just an excuse to lure Devan out… Reyna didn’t know the identity of those guests, nor did she know who Ludin was. But since Devan’s expression seemed vaguely different from usual, she could only stare at him blankly.
“I’m going ahead.”
The retreating figure of Devan, who tapped her shoulder and disappeared, also emanated an atmosphere quite different from what she had seen to the point of boredom.
* * *
“When did you arrive?”
“Just now. This place is impressive.”
“There’s much more impressive stuff. How long are you staying?”
“Well… I don’t think I can stay long… about 3 days?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Stay longer.”
What was ridiculous was the tone Devan was using, the expression he was making, the look in his eyes right now!
Reyna fiercely stared at Ludin, who seemed to have dropped from the sky. A mysterious guest who appeared suddenly. He was said to have been a prince of this country in the past, but that was of no use since she hadn’t known anyway. Right now, to her, Ludin was a very unlucky guy who had solved a puzzle she had been struggling with for a long time in just one second.
It was perhaps natural that she rubbed her eyes several times and pinched her cheeks to check if this was a dream or not when she entered the reception room. Reyna had never imagined that someone could make Devan nervous, excited, and pleading. The solid castle walls that seemed impenetrable were instantly crumbled before this suddenly appearing person called Ludin. But that’s not to say that Devan’s sharpness had dulled. With her keen observation, Reyna could sense both Devan’s sharp desire and the difficult control power with which he restrained himself. It was similar to the feelings she had when she first started to like Devan.
‘He likes that guy…?’
She looked Ludin up and down. Yes, his appearance was acceptable. But it was just that—acceptable—certainly not a perfect and dazzling appearance like her own. Reyna, acting petulantly, tried her best to find flaws as she examined Ludin. But what instantly shattered her fighting spirit was Ludin’s kind and pure white smile.
“Hello, Reyna. Devan seems busy, so if it’s okay, could you show me around the castle?”
“I’m not busy.”
Reyna looked alternately at Devan, who was responding like he was sulking, and Ludin, who was smiling gently.
“Really. I have a lot of time.”
“Don’t lie. You don’t seem to have slept much…”
“I’ve slept more than enough. And I’m the master of this castle.”
With a slightly incredulous feeling, she pushed away the whining Devan. And she responded to Ludin’s smile with her own smile, which she often used as a finishing move when she was in crisis or had something she wanted.
“Come with me, Ludin.”
“What?”
“Let’s leave Devan behind.”
“Okay.”
Leading Ludin, who happily followed her out of the reception room, Reyna stuck out her tongue at Devan, who had an astonished expression. Behind Ludin and Reyna, who had disappeared like the wind, only Devan’s heavy sigh remained, unable to control his regret and heart-pounding excitement.
* * *
“What’s your relationship with Devan?”
As soon as it was certain they were away from him, Reyna went straight to the point. First, gathering information was the priority. Who on earth was this man who had appeared like a bomb? Why does Devan willingly lower his posture to this person called Ludin? There were too many problems to solve. Though she tried not to rush noticeably, as Ludin’s hesitation grew longer, Reyna’s eyes became increasingly wide and bright. But Ludin’s answer was insufficient to fill Reyna’s urgent questions.
“Hmm… this is difficult.”
“Difficult? Why?”
Reyna asked in vain.
“If I say we’re friends, would that sound strange?”
Ludin, who was tilting his head, seemed to think that Reyna’s sparkling gaze was goodwill toward him, and he gently smiled.
“He’s a truly grateful person to me.”
Because that smile was cleaner than expected, her vigilance slightly relaxed. Reyna was weak to such things, although she wasn’t aware of it herself. Ludin added a kind explanation.
“So if I simply say ‘friend,’ it doesn’t seem to express all that meaning.”
“…What happened?”
Even knowing it was rude, Reyna couldn’t contain her growing curiosity. Ludin looked at Reyna, who was now asking like a child after lowering her hostility, and smiled awkwardly. After sufficient time had passed to choose appropriate words, a story began that made Reyna’s mouth drop open, despite being much condensed and refined.
