༺ Ring (5) ༻
“As for Isaac, he seems handsome.”
[Hmm.]
Luce wasn’t the type of person to care about the appearance of others.
This stemmed from her aversion to people, regardless of their appearance.
Conversely, she only felt a sense of closeness with Isaac, but that didn’t mean she paid much attention to his appearance.
Therefore, when Luce made such a comment, it felt completely unfamiliar to Thunderbird Galia
“Yeah, he’s handsome.”
[Hmm…]
On a night when the sky was dark, Luce while reading a book in the top-ranked dorm, Charles Hall, muttered to herself.
As she stroked her ring, she constantly thought of Isaac and giggled to herself.
“I think Isaac is the most handsome one here.”
[Hmm…]
During the day, when the sky had scattered a clear light, Luce walked along the outdoor corridor of the academy building and looked around at the students. She made a remark, to which Galia nodded in agreement.
“I was friends with a really handsome guy…”
[Hmm…]
Even during training, she blurted it out as if she had just realized Isaac’s handsome appearance.
“Isaac was handsome today too…!”
[Hmm…]
There wasn’t a day when the words, ‘Isaac is handsome’ didn’t spring from Luce’s lips.
The most memorable day among these was when…
One day, as Luce was sitting on a bench reading a book, she looked down at her ring and muttered…
The sunset light dyed her rose-gold hair and added color to her flushed cheeks. The corners of her mouth danced freely.
Then, Luce monologued,
“Fine, Isaac…”
[…]
One woman.
It seemed as if she smelled of flowers.
Galia was involved in each of Luce’s services.
Therefore, he could understand the heart of his master, Luce, better than anyone else.
More than ever, she was intoxicated with sweet emotions. Her heart swelled, and the words that finally burst forth were…
Luce was happy.
The memories given by Isaac were perfect. The more she savored them, the sweeter Luce felt.
On the ring finger of her left hand was a magic weapon in the form of a ring.
However, it was said that only when worn on this finger would this magic weapon take effect.
This ring already had an immeasurably precious meaning to Luce.
It had become yet another treasure for Luce.
To Luce, Isaac was an existence as precious as life itself.
She had to protect him, and she had to cherish him.
The memory of weeping while holding the dying body of the Candy House Witch in her arms was also a deep-rooted and intense obsession etched into the very depths of Luce’s being.
She didn’t want to regret anything anymore. Therefore, she tried to remember everything about Isaac, understand everything about him, cherishing him above all else.
She knew what Isaac’s fingerprints looked like. She memorized their intricate patterns.
She knew what Isaac’s irises looked like. She memorized even the tiniest of wrinkles.
She gauged Isaac’s hair length, nail length, stride, footsteps, and frequently used hand gestures… all of it almost daily.
Yet, if she tried to pry into Isaac’s private life or kept him in her arms as she pleased, he would leave.
During last semester’s social gathering, after committing a misdeed to Isaac and apologizing, Luce reflected. Certainly, as a friend, she shouldn’t try to manipulate the free will of another.
“But…”
At least, she wanted to imagine what kind of daily life Isaac had led, even if only in a rough sense. It was her own compromise.
What came to mind was a scent. The smell of skin.
It enabled her to deduce what Isaac did throughout the day.
Luce practiced body buffing magic to enhance her sense of smell and memorized all of Isaac’s scents.
Last semester, sometimes she would hug him or rest her chin on his shoulder.
She closed the distance with Isaac through natural physical contact.
She remembered the scents emanating from various parts of his body, categorized by different situations.
─‘Isaac, open your mouth right now.’
─‘Don’t people usually say, ‘Say ah,’ in this situation?’
A while ago, Luce fed Isaac with a spoon.
At first, she just wanted to feed him thinking he might be hungry. Being with Isaac was enough to make her happy, so she had no other thoughts.
However, that day, as she smelled the fork that had been in Isaac’s mouth, she decided to memorize the scent of his saliva.
On the way back, she focused on the smell of the fork and carefully memorized the scent of his saliva.
She had memorized all the scents coming from his exterior…
…But she still didn’t know what scents came from inside his body.
At that time, in a corner of the Butterfly Garden.
Upon seeing Isaac, Luce immediately approached him and secretly checked his scent.
There was a slightly different smell. From around his ear, there was an unfamiliar scent.
Luce’s mind raced through numerous scenarios, quickly searching for the source of the scent.
She approached Dorothy and sniffed her, just in case.
The scent of Isaac’s saliva was on Dorothy’s right ear. It had faded over time, but the scent was still faintly there.
“What did you two… do?”
There was a hint of murderous intent in Luce’s voice.
She disliked Dorothy Heartnova because she took away most of the time she could be alone with Isaac.
However, Dorothy was an important person to Isaac and someone he liked a lot.
Therefore, Luce decided to stop at just not caring about Dorothy. Even if Dorothy and Isaac were together, she would feel uncomfortable but decided to respect it.
But, given the situation, it was clear that Isaac and Dorothy had bitten and sucked on each other’s ears.
The thought of that scene made her feel like her stomach was turning. She wanted to resolve the discomfort quickly.
So, hoping she was wrong, Luce had asked to confirm the truth.
“Luce, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
Isaac, using [Psychological Insight], understood Luce’s state of mind and, after organizing his thoughts, approached her.
At that moment, Dorothy casually laughed and knocked Luce’s hand away from her own head.
Isaac, taken aback, stopped in his tracks.
“Junior.”
Dorothy’s expression was subdued.
A faint smile was on her lips, however, it was merely a fake smile she had learned to restrain herself from getting angry impulsively.
Her mood was disturbed by Luce’s aggressive attitude.
“Who are you threatening? So presumptuous.”
“…”
Dorothy’s voice, in contrast to her smile, was extremely cynical.
To that warning-like question, Luce gave no answer.
She just emotionlessly met Dorothy’s eyes.
Like a bomb about to explode, the hostility between the two women, like boiling oil meeting water, collided, spreading an aura of danger in their vicinity.
In the midst of this,
The slightly taller Dorothy looked down at Luce more closely and murmured.
“What does it matter to you what Isaac and I do?”
“…”
“Since Isaac thinks highly of you, I’ve been trying my best to think well of you too. But… what’s the point of my effort if you act so rudely, Junior?”
Dorothy’s voice seemed to flow through memories of the past.
When she returned from her adventures in the Land of Oz, Dorothy had nothing left.
The desolate landscape of her homeland still firmly occupied her memories.
All she could see was the stigma of a curse that said if she bowed her head, she would die within a few years.
Despite this, she gritted her teeth and lived on, using her talent in magic to work as an adventurer, continuing a poor and miserable life.
Dorothy was young back then.
A young girl without connections was an object of contempt and disdain.
Her prodigious talent was an object of jealousy and persecution.
But to survive, she kept wearing a smiling mask, swallowing injustice and frustration and struggled on for the sake of survival.
No matter how much Luce disregarded her, Dorothy’s playful and smiling responses were nothing but a skilled coping mechanism born from such experiences.
Dorothy wasn’t inherently good-natured. She was just enduring.
“Know your place, Luce Eltania. Big Sis here… doesn’t have much patience.”
Luce frowned.
Just as she was about to say something, Isaac suddenly grabbed her wrist.
And Luce’s mouth stopped forming words.
Luce and Dorothy’s gaze turned to Isaac.
“Luce, that’s enough.”
Isaac looked at Luce. Unlike his usual gentle eyes, his gaze was sharp and serious.
Isaac liked both of them.
If he had lived in a monogamous society like Korea, he would have naturally loved only one woman and wouldn’t have even glanced at another.
But since he had come to a world where monogamy wasn’t the norm and met people he liked.
Whether he left this place or stayed, he was brimming with a desire to generously give his affection to those he liked.
He acknowledged that the deeper the emotional involvement, the more he felt like trash. But what could he do when he liked them so much?
If his actions caused conflict between them.
He would consider that problem entirely his own and intended to take responsibility.
Even if it led to them disliking him for it.
He couldn’t give up his affection for them, so he would humbly accept it.
“Senior Dorothy too. Don’t fight.”
Isaac’s firm voice.
The heavy air.
Luce alternated her gaze between Isaac and Dorothy.
Luce already knew that Isaac and Dorothy had special feelings for each other.
When she first saw Isaac examining the magic weapon ring, she naturally thought of Dorothy first for that reason.
Isaac most likely loved Dorothy in a romantic way.
She didn’t want to admit it, but when she saw Isaac treasuring her, she couldn’t help but notice.
But for Luce… there was only Isaac.
Luce couldn’t give up on him.
She looked down at the ring.
A magic weapon ring. It was a mysterious item that even the Eltania family couldn’t easily obtain.
“Bought it from an antique shop”? What a laughable excuse.
However.
“Grrr…”
The Nameless Hero.
If Isaac were assumed to be a mysterious archwizard transcending common sense, then it wouldn’t be strange no matter how extraordinary the magic weapon he brought might be.
That was why Luce didn’t make any remarks when she received the ring.
She just spent a long time imagining a future together with Isaac.
“But President, you saw it too. She suddenly…”
“Haa.”
Luce’s sigh cut off Dorothy’s words.
After apologizing to Isaac during the social gathering, Luce resolved not to repeat the same mistake.
When Isaac gave her the ring and painted a future together with her, Luce’s resolve became even firmer.
It was for that reason she let go of her desire to monopolize the time spent with him.
Accepting the fact that Isaac also had people he liked, she decided not to manipulate him according to her will, but to respect and cherish him, in order to stay by his side.
Of course, her heart didn’t always follow her intentions.
Luce was diligently working towards her resolution.
Luce, while calming her complex thoughts and painfully suppressing her emotions, closed her eyes tightly and took a step back from Dorothy.
“…I’m sorry.”
Soon, Luce apologized.
Hearing that, Isaac was taken aback, and Dorothy had a bewildered expression.
Luce didn’t want to be stubbornly naive and dogmatic as she was during the social gathering when she attacked Kaya.
Trying to take Isaac by force would only lead to trouble.
It would only distance her from the future she envisioned with him.
Academy life.
As semesters passed and grades progressed, students rubbed shoulders, experienced many things, grew, and underwent changes in thought.
Luce, now in her second year, had also grown.
Luce bowed her head to Dorothy.
“I’m sorry for getting angry.”
Luce stopped, her head still bowed.
When Dorothy didn’t respond, Luce continued to apologize.
“Oh, uh, uh, uh?!”
Her determination not to raise her head until the apology was accepted was evident. Cold sweat ran down Dorothy’s cheeks.
Dorothy was flustered by the unexpected apology, never having anticipated that Luce would apologize so readily.
“Ah, that, what! I’m sorry too for being so irritable…”
Dorothy’s right hand awkwardly hovered in the air, even her apology was clumsy.
Dorothy looked at Isaac with an unnatural smile.
He nodded his head.
“Oh…”
Eventually, Dorothy contemplated and collected her expression.
Her thoughts were organized. Gradually, a gentle smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
“President, Big Sis just remembered something urgent. She thought of something she needs to study!”
As a senior and an elder, Dorothy understood Luce’s sincerity and decided to leave this place.
It was to give Isaac and her time to talk.
However, Dorothy mentioned studying was quite an unbelievable excuse.
“Ah, yes…”
“I’m going to head out for today! Good luck~.”
“Take care on your way, Senior. Thank you.”
Isaac, noticing Dorothy’s intention, smiled.
Dorothy smiled broadly, waved at him, turned her back, and left.
The sun had set, and a deep blue pall of darkness hung over the sky.
Finally, as Dorothy’s figure disappeared, Luce raised her head.
Luce, standing demurely, gazed in the direction where Dorothy had left.
Her eyes were exceedingly cold.
Her face intermittently contorted as if writhing, repeatedly furrowing and smoothing out, as she tried hard to conceal her emotions.
“…?”
Suddenly, Isaac realized.
The reason Luce hadn’t raised her head until Dorothy left was because she was suppressing her emotions.
“Isaac, you.”
“Huh?”
Luce’s expressionless eyes turned towards Isaac.
“You like that senior, don’t you? In a romantic way.”
