I Sought Out the Tragedy’s Scheming Mastermind

Immediately, her soaked body began to dry without a trace of water.

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Using magic while making direct physical contact was acceptable.

Her body dried up quickly, and the water dispersed into the air.

Her wet hair became fluffy again, and her dress also returned to its original form.

“Natural magic is really convenient.
Besides, it’s amazing you can do this without a magic tool.”

Mary marveled at her dry body.

Kallius also looked quite surprised to see Eliana evaporate the water in an instant.

This was because it wasn’t enough to produce water without any magic tools, and she made it evaporate.

At first, he might’ve thought she just forgot to use a magic tool.

But not twice.

Kallius had a face of disbelief, not believing what he saw with his own eyes.

“Are your powers distillation?”

“They’re ice-condensing.”

Eliana clarified with a big smile.
Meaning, let’s get along since we both have natural abilities.

It seems Hera hasn’t explained her abilities yet.

Ice-condensing magic can control liquids, gasses, and solids.
It is among the top in natural magic.

In the case of distillation magic, it can only control liquids and gasses, but Kallius assumed she had distillation magic after seeing Eliana evaporate the water.

Eliana looked as apologetic as she could.

Anyway, now he should have a conscience because she turned him into a drowned rat.

Besides, if she lost to the main characters, it was Eliana, the supporting character, who would suffer a loss.

“Your power doesn’t suit you.”

‘Oh, you take that back.
Whatever, I’m just going to have to pretend.’

Eliana tried to maintain her pretentious smile and cursed him inwardly.

Not noticing this, Kallius extended his arm to Eliana with an arrogant face.

He wanted her to dry him like Mary.

She’d love to have him return home drenched, but… then she’d really seem hateful.

Eliana touched Kallius’ collar.

At the same time, smoke rose around him.

A few seconds later, Kallius was dry.
Of course, his perfectly styled hair was now covering his forehead.

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“My powers don’t extend to styling hair,” Eliana told Kallius, who was touching his hair.

Kallius shrugged as if he didn’t care.

* * *

She should’ve left when she was told to.

Eliana was eventually kicked out, and she made her way to the central palace.

Her first meeting with the male lead ended in a water fight.
It was very extreme.

Eliana pointed her finger toward the lawn and sprayed it like a water gun.

She shot water at an opponent she shouldn’t have messed with.
She was most likely on his blacklist now.

“Urgh…!” 

Eliana’s hands gripped her head.

She couldn’t believe she just rushed into a fight instead of keeping quiet.

It’s important not to get off on the wrong foot with the main characters, but she’s already messed up with Kallius.

Apart from her confused mind, her feet moved diligently, and before she knew it, she was in front of Verkley’s bedroom.

“Have a good day.”

She passed the guard and entered Verkley’s bedroom.

Verkley was exercising, doing a handstand with his shirt off.

His back was exposed to Eliana without any covering.

Sweat trickled down his back and dripped onto the floor.

Eliana purposefully talked to him with an air of excitement.

“Are you exercising?”

“Oh, you’re back?”

Verkley slowly planted his feet on the ground and stood.

Eliana took a towel from a drawer and wiped off Verkley’s sweat.

He closed his eyes and surrendered himself to Eliana.

He’d been exercising for quite a long time, so his breathing was rough.

“Aren’t you being too hard on yourself all of a sudden?”

“I have a lot of energy on my hands,” Verkley smirked, his eyes still closed.

‘No, when I first saw him, he looked weak.
So why does he have so much energy?’

He wasn’t taking any medicine, but he recovered quickly in a short period of time.

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Something must be going on…

Eliana stared at Verkley with wide eyes.

His chest suddenly came into her view.

While he was wearing clothes, she thought he would be skinny, but seeing his naked body, he definitely wasn’t.

His lightly-defined muscles kept drawing her attention.
Eliana automatically looked at his abs and then turned away in surprise.

Verkley smirked once again as she cleared her throat.

Eliana wiped off his sweat and placed a robe next to Verkley.

She calmly asked him, “Are you going to wash up?”

“I should.” Verkley smiled slowly.

“I’ll call the maid.”

Just as she was about to go, Verkley took hold of Eliana’s hand.

Eliana peered up at him in surprise.

Verkley brought her hand up to his mouth.

Verkley’s lips parted, his mouth barely touching her skin.

Every time his mouth moved, she could feel the whisper of his breath on the back of her hand.

“You smell like the wind.”

“Ah, I met Duke Harpons at the princess’ palace.”

Eliana sniffed her other hand.

However, she could not even imagine what the smell of the wind was.

“Did he threaten you? Did he directly expose you to magic?” Verkley asked in a slightly cold voice.

He looked out of sorts.

Instead, Eliana blinked at this situation.
The roles were reversed.
Kallius was receiving backlash.

She smiled with satisfaction, feeling like she had someone to complain to.

Eliana deliberately murmured with a grim face.

“Thanks to my luck, he threatened me.
I almost died.”

“The Duke must have been aggravating.
He’s a very harsh man.”

Verkley chuckled softly.
He was clearly smiling, but his expression was cold.

Verkley was still holding Eliana’s hand.
It looked like he was struggling to figure something out.

Eliana spoke belligerently though, still thinking of her exciting win in the fight.

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“It was a mistake, but I taught him a lesson.”

“How?”

In response to Verkley’s playful question, Eliana pretended to shoot at him and shouted, “bang!”

Of course, she did it knowing he could see.

“I sprayed him with water.”

“…It’s honestly a miracle you’re not dead.”

Verkley laughed aloud as if seeing her unexpected behavior was funny.

Honestly, it was true.
It was a miracle that she stepped out of that room alive.

Few people in the Owen Empire didn’t know that Duke Harpons had a bad personality.
It’s just that no one can talk because he’s so talented.

Kallius despises those who criticize him for being a workaholic and not having an interest in others.

It was great luck that she returned with her limbs intact, looking at how he thought of people.

Eliana went on excitedly.

“Princess Mary was on my side.
The Duke turns into a gummy bear when it comes to Princess Mary.”

“That’s understandable considering they’re engaged.
Are you still okay with preparing for the debut?” Verkley asked, releasing her hand.

Eliana thought deeply before replying lightly.

“With Marquis Demeter’s help, I’ve been having more fun than I thought.”

“You’ve gotten quite close with him.”

“I think that was inevitable because we meet with each other often.”

Eliana rolled her eyes, and Verkley softly spoke with a slight pause.

“…Don’t get too close.”

“Huh?” 

“I should go take a bath.”

Eliana stared at him, stunned, but Verkley muttered something else and left the bedroom.

Eliana blankly stared at his back as he headed toward the bathroom, guided by a maid.

Was it just her imagination, or did his words sound a lot like jealousy?

Eliana mumbled as she twisted her hair for no reason.

“What is this? You’re making me confused.”

6.
Mary’s Debut and Encounter with the Demon

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Mary’s debut was just around the corner.

Tomorrow was the day of the debut.

Eliana stretched.
She was at the Temple of Hosios for the last meeting.

After today, she would not have to go to the temple to meet Rube.

Whenever she went, she recommended walking instead of a carriage, using multiple excuses.
So even when she didn’t say anything, her escort would suggest walking first.

It was fortunate that the weather of the empire itself was warm and good enough to walk.

Eliana lowered her arms and spoke in a gentle voice.

“The debut is soon.”

“That’s right.
Thank you for your hard work, Eliana.”

“You’ve worked harder, Marquis,” Eliana replied with a bright smile.

Rube was neatly dressed in a papal robe.
The corners of his mouth lifted into a smile, and he asked in a slightly playful tone,

“Isn’t it about time you call me Rube?”

“How could I use the Priest’s name recklessly?”

“Please use my name when the two of us are together.”

Eliana scratched her cheek awkwardly.

He asked her to use his name before, but she said she’d use it after they got to know each other better.

It was because it was awkward to call the Priest by name.

“All right, Rube.”

But if she refused any further, he would be greatly saddened, so Eliana eventually murmured his name in a low voice.

Hearing his name, Rube’s lips naturally rose into a smile.

He lowered his head to hide his smile.

“Are you going to walk back again today?”

“Yes, it’s nice out today.” Eliana grinned and stood to her feet, grabbing her wide-brimmed hat.

Then Rube followed and suggested, “That’s great.
Let’s go together.”

“Don’t you have Mass today?”

“Yes, but since I have time to spare, I was thinking of taking a walk.”

“You don’t rest?”

“It’s nice out today,” Rube repeated Eliana’s words, the corners of his eyes gently crinkling.

Eliana shook her head, knowing she couldn’t stop him, and allowed him to accompany her.