The Sage’s Confession and the Violet Gem

Thump, thump, thump. The vines thrashed against the floor before retreating rapidly into the inner shadows. The commotion faded into the distance. Is it over? I couldn’t tell what had happened so suddenly. Then, something wrapped around my waist. Reflexively, I swung my arm with everything I had.

“Elliot! Elliot, it’s me.”

“…Cedric?”

I opened my eyes cautiously. My vision was still blurry and stinging from the pressure. As I lowered the elbow I had intended to strike him with, Cedric pulled me into a tight embrace. Once he confirmed I wasn’t going to push him away, he rested his head on my shoulder. Hearing his ragged breaths, a surge of instinctive guilt washed over me, stifling my urge to shove him off.

The trials of the basement were far more difficult and dangerous than I had anticipated. Cedric could have died. The weight of having dragged him into this so carelessly made it impossible to reject him now.

Cedric was quick to play the victim. He showed me his face, his brows drooping pathetically. A thin trail of blood trickled from a scratch on his white cheek. To be honest, it was a superficial graze barely worth calling a wound, but it was long enough that I couldn’t ignore it.

“How did you get hurt?”

“Soldiers in iron armor chased me…” Cedric replied, swallowing a short sigh. “They swung swords and spears. I think they had magic resistance on their armor and shields; my spells just bounced off.”

I clicked my tongue as I listened to his description of the path he had taken. It would have been much better if our trials had been swapped.

On my end, I had nearly lost my head during the portrait riddle. Just thinking about how close I came to being decapitated made me shudder.

I suspect that if I hadn’t cleared the statue riddle earlier, I wouldn’t have been able to pass the portraits at all.

In the second act, as soon as I became the Sage, I joined forces with the Nobleman to drive the Knight into a corner. I had been certain that being thrust onto the stage with insufficient clues meant the goal wasn’t to find the “true” culprit, but to construct a plausible narrative. Fortunately, the Nobleman seemed to despise the Knight—the Prince’s confidant—so it wasn’t hard to add fuel to that fire.

The problem came afterward. Act 2 ended with the atmosphere turning heavily against the Knight, but when the curtain rose for Act 3, my role had changed. The moment I saw the Nobleman to my left and the s*ave to my right, I wanted to pull my hair out.

As long as I didn’t know when the play would end or what role I would take next, there was no point in framing another portrait.

Even with that realization, a breakthrough didn’t immediately come to mind. I barely survived Act 3, wondering if there was even a correct answer at all. I managed to drop the curtain by stalling for time, acting like a Knight agonizing over his impending execution. After the Knight came the s*ave.

I watched the execution of the Knight with trepidation. Would the play end once the Knight died? Unlikely. Next, they would probably drive the easiest target—the s*ave—to his death.

But this time, it was impossible to even stall. Since the light didn’t shine on the s*ave’s portrait, I couldn’t speak any lines. All I could do was watch the Knight’s execution with my heart in my throat, praying the act would simply pass.

As the Knight was executed, the portrait cracked open. With a loud popping sound, the light above the Knight’s portrait went out. It wouldn’t turn on again until the play ended.

In that moment of crisis, I forced myself to stay calm and re-examine the riddles I’d faced so far. Mages love playing with language. A Sage imbues words with meaning; even if a concept doesn’t exist in the world, the trial accepts it if I believe it to be the answer.

If I believe it. If this was a world that would accept a “correct” answer even if liquid nitrogen didn’t exist or if no one knew Erkel and I were possessors…

At the end of Act 4, the moment the light hit the s*ave, I appealed to the King.

The Prince took his own life in a fit of despair, so there is no culprit here. I beg Your Majesty to judge wisely and let his sorrow rest.

Whether it was because the system required any kind of conclusion to end the play, I finally managed to escape. The curtain rose slowly, and the lights came on. If the portraits had been real people instead of a pre-set program, it would have been impossible. Their repertoire was relatively simple. As I exited the room, a helpful announcement echoed through the hall, signaling that all the trials were over.

I’d jumped down believing that, only to meet the tentacles. The sensation of them coiling around me still lingered, making my skin crawl.

“What… is that thing?”

“Well,” Cedric started, his eyes shifting as he spoke. “It hates light. If we keep the light on, it won’t come near us.”

My shoulders finally dropped. I realized I was still holding my sword, my body taut with tension. I finally relaxed the arm holding the blade.

Meanwhile, the light dimmed until it was just enough to illuminate the area. The lowest floor, now revealed, wasn’t much different from the path we had already traveled.

I felt the tension drain out of me. Finally, this hellish ordeal was coming to an end.

This was likely the final floor. The ground revealed after the tentacles fled was damp and muddy. The soil that had accumulated over the stone floor for years was soaked with moisture, making a squelching sound with every step. Cedric followed close behind me.

Thanks to the light Cedric had conjured, we found the Holy Relic in no time.

It didn’t take long for us to find the altar. An altar in a place like this? It looked suspicious at first glance.

On top of it lay a black book decorated with metal ornaments.

“Yes. It’s fine.”

A blue light swept over the altar and the book. Cedric nodded only after meticulously checking several times for illusions or hidden traps. I quickly snatched the book. It was locked tight. I could probably break the lock if I had to, but it wasn’t something I needed to do right here.

Cedric looked at the book with curiosity, but he didn’t ask what it was. Instead, he sidled up to me and reached for my waist again. Having just been wrapped in tentacles, a human arm felt like a welcome upgrade, so I let him. He gave a soft, silly grin.

“Shall we go back up?”

What happened to his fear of heights? He sounded excited, as if he were ready to fly up with magic right this second. Seeing him so easily pleased like a child made me smile in spite of myself.

Then, I saw something that made my smile vanish. Catching a glimpse of something peeking out from Cedric’s shirt, I felt like I’d been doused in ice water.

“Elliot.”

Cedric called my name, sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, but I didn’t answer. A violet, sparkling gem. The shape had changed, but I knew exactly where that gem had originally come from.

My lips curled into a smile, but my mind turned cold.

It wasn’t that I didn’t know. My rational side argued that Cedric had still risked his life to help me, but my emotional side was fuming at the blatant evidence that he’d been playing me for a fool.

Cedric’s eyes darted around.

“It wasn’t me.”

“What wasn’t you?”

“That. I didn’t make that thing.”

Of course you didn’t. As I responded with total indifference, Cedric’s brows furrowed even more.

Did he think I was angry because of the tentacles? If that were the case, I would have said something from the start.

Since Cedric was in the dark about what I’d discovered, I could understand his confusion. I really could. His voice let out a wronged mumble. His face was a picture of desperate sorrow, as if he were about to burst into tears.

“I’m serious…”

“Is that so?”

Realizing his “performance of a lifetime” wasn’t working, Cedric blinked slowly. He still looked pitiful, but something in his eyes had shifted.

“Did someone… say something to you?”

Translated, that meant: ‘Did Louis talk trash about me?’ I snorted.

“You’re quite famous, you know.”

“…….”

“For having a rotten personality and looking down on everyone.”

“I don’t…” His lip quivered. Looking at him now, he seemed truly wronged and harmless. Please. If Louis—who jumped at the mere mention of Cedric—could see this, he’d probably cover his eyes and scream.

“I’m not like that.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

As I stepped toward him, Cedric flinched for a moment. But he didn’t back away. I reached out and snatched the necklace that had slipped out of his shirt.

“You do nothing but lie to me.”

The chain snapped easily. A violet gem the size of a fingernail. Elizabeth Luxteal’s words—that gifting a gem that resembles one’s eyes is a marriage proposal—came back to me, along with the unpleasantness of that moment.

“Llewellyn.”

Cedric grabbed my hand hurriedly. But even after taking it, he just moved restlessly, as if he didn’t know what to do. I could feel his fingertips trembling. Was this an act too? If so, Cedric shouldn’t be learning magic at the Academy; he should be pursuing a career in acting immediately.

“Llewellyn…”

“…….”

When I didn’t respond, tears finally fell. I could see his trembling, lowered eyelashes with startling clarity.

“I was wrong.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry… Llewellyn.”