Chapter 0: (Prologue): Coming of Age Ceremony

‘I just wanted to see a happy ending.

I never expected it to turn out like this.’

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Elin furrowed her brows, clearly perplexed as if she truly couldn’t understand.

How did it come to this?

Luke couldn’t suppress the sigh escaping his lips.

“…I’m no longer your tutor. I have no reason to stay here.”

“You mean you stayed by my side because of a contract?”

Elin’s faint smile seemed almost mocking.

“More or less… yes.”

“……What?”

Elin let out a hollow laugh, as if she had misheard. Instead, a deep smile crossed her face as she brushed back her hair.

“What do you mean by that?”

Was she still thinking it was a joke?

Her belief in him remained steadfast.

“…Teacher?”

Finally, her lips stiffened.

It didn’t take long for her firm trust to start wavering.

Elin, trembling like a small animal abandoned by its owner, barely managed to squeeze out her words.

“……That’s a lie.”

Yes, it was a lie. Of course, the reason he stayed by her side wasn’t just because of a contract.

But right now, he had to push her away, even with this excuse.

“Contracts can be renewed, can’t they?”

Elin’s voice trembled as she spoke.

“You just need to sign here.”

When had she prepared this?

She held out a contract filled with extravagant terms—treatment fit for royalty.

The only thing that stood out was one small, subtle detail.

The duration of the contract was written in tiny letters, as if she knew it wasn’t entirely upright.

“You don’t have anything left to learn from me, do you?”

“…”

Elin pressed her lips together tightly.

It was true. She had long surpassed Luke’s level.

“I have to go to the Mage Tower now. It’s an old promise.”

Elin’s gaze darkened, her expression sinking. It reminded him of when they had first met.

Her sapphire-like eyes, once radiant, were now clouded with shadows that evoked the depths of the ocean.

“……”

Only then did he realize his mistake.

Elin had always hated the person trying to take Luke to the Mage Tower.

“Don’t go.”

Elin stepped closer, reaching out her hand.

“Stay with me.”

Her once small and scarred hands were now soft and delicate.

It was Luke who had made them this way.

“…I can’t.”

For that reason, he couldn’t bring himself to hold her hand.

As if she had anticipated it, Elin exhaled lightly through her lips.

“Right. You’ve always been like this.”

Luke stepped back.

“When I take one step closer, you take three steps back.”

She moved forward again.

And again, he stepped back.

“As if this is the distance we’re allowed to have between us.”

Thud.

“You were the one who came closer first. But when I try to reach out, you just run away.”

“I’m not running away.”

“Then why have you been hiding it until now? Why are you leaving now, of all times?”

Tears welled up in the corners of Elin’s eyes.

Her gaze, a mix of resentment and lingering affection, pierced Luke’s chest.

“Your Grace, we need some time.”

Luke finally managed to part his dry lips to speak.

“Time? Why would we need that?”

Elin’s face flushed with emotion.

“You said you’d always stay with me. You said you’d always be on my side.”

In the end, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Was it all a lie?”

“……”

This was undeniably Luke’s fault.

He should never have made promises he couldn’t keep from the start.

Clank.

Chains extended from the walls, seizing Luke’s arms.

Chains rose from the ground, binding his ankles.

It was magic Luke had once taught her.

Now, it had surpassed what Luke could counter.

“Your Grace…!”

“I didn’t want to go this far either.”

Elin stepped so close that they could almost touch.

Their gazes locked in midair, emotions intertwining.

Her piercing desire made Luke avert his eyes.

He couldn’t bear to face the overwhelming emotions she exuded—feelings he could hardly imagine, let alone accept.

The suffocating silence was broken by the chatter and laughter of people downstairs.

“They’re all here to celebrate you, Your Grace. Why are you doing this on such a wonderful day?”

“If you leave, it’ll become the worst day ever.”

“This is your opportunity to be recognized as a noble and an adult.”

“…I refuse. Do you think I don’t know you’re planning to teleport and escape?”

Blocking even the slightest possibility of escape, Elin placed her hand on Luke’s cheek.

They were so close their breaths mingled.

Her hand turned his head forcibly, locking their eyes together.

“Look closely. You’re the one who made me like this.”

Her lavender hair, aglow with magic, shimmered faintly.

Once draping lightly over her shoulders, it now flowed down to her waist.

Her mature figure now bore the grace of a grown woman.

Gone was the frail, fragile frame that seemed on the verge of collapse.

There was no longer a small child suffering from abuse.

Only a twisted archmage, raised in distorted affection, remained.

“You gave me a reason to live…”

Her tightly bitten lips bled as her voice trembled.

“…and now you’re saying you’re going to abandon me?”

‘I swore I’d make her happy.’

But Elin’s face was now contorted with pain.

All Luke ever wanted was to avoid a bad ending.

How did it come to this?

Today was Elin’s coming-of-age ceremony.

It was also the day Luke’s tutoring contract ended.

“…No, absolutely not.”

For the first time in her life, she threw a childish tantrum.