#59
She momentarily opened her eyes wide to look at Rico, then in the next moment returned her gaze to the red stone.
That movement was pure like a girl’s, but at the same time permeated with obsessive longing.
“U, unique magic?”
Her voice trembled softly.
Though she had learned countless magics until now, there was one wall she couldn’t reach.
That was precisely ‘innate’ characteristics, and she wanted to surpass that limitation.
“Yes.”
Rico answered briefly while nodding his head.
His confident gaze didn’t give Isabella room to waver.
Unique magic. That was an area considered the exclusive domain of half-demons and royalty, two bloodlines.
It was born from blood bonds and was an ability determined by birth.
Magic that could never be obtained from a mediocre noble family.
There were countless who dreamed of that power, but those who actually reached it could be counted on one hand.
Power that even the most noble aristocrats couldn’t dare reach.
That was why it was given the name ‘unique.’
A strange blessing, or curse, possessed only by those who transcended ordinary lives.
Isabella’s eyes sparkled.
She looked at the stone again, swept up in longing.
The blood-like liquid inside seemed to be calling to her, glowing increasingly red.
She carefully took the stone in her hands.
Her hands didn’t tremble, but the movement was reverent.
It was a movement like embracing something.
The red stone had a texture that was solid yet mysteriously soft.
When she rubbed the surface, she felt a slightly slippery sensation, and that touch seemed to hold body temperature like a living being’s skin.
The surface seemed to breathe minutely like a living creature’s skin, and from inside the stone came an illusion of some sticky liquid flowing slowly.
That flow wasn’t regular, sometimes speeding up and slowing down.
Isabella’s pupils followed that movement.
When light was shone on it, the flow looked like blood vessels.
Looking closely, there were golden glittering particles floating inside, repeatedly gathering at one point like a whirlpool then scattering.
It gave the impression of something struggling inside, looking for an exit.
The coloring wasn’t simple red.
The center was the light of dark blood close to black, and as it spread outward, purple and violet, and the brown of blood just before drying mixed in, eliminating clear boundaries.
On the surface were fine cracks that looked like either patterns or fractures at first glance, and thin smoke seemed to escape through those gaps.
Isabella looked at the stone rapturously, then carefully brought her nose close.
The subtle warm vibration transmitted from her fingertips rose along her nose bridge.
When she breathed in, the stone’s energy mixed in the air circled inside her nose.
On the surface, it had no scent. But was it truly odorless?
Isabella carefully inhaled once more.
Something very faint, indescribable like a presence, was felt.
It was closer to sensation than smell. A sensation like some scene jumping out from deep in her mind.
“It’s close to odorless, isn’t it? However, the moment you smell it even weakly, it has the strange property of bringing up memories that are most intense yet touch the essence of a person.”
Rico’s voice was laid low.
It was a tone like whispering the secrets of an ancient alchemist.
His gaze was serious but simultaneously carefully guiding.
“How romantic.”
Isabella’s words were infused with slight wariness and fascination at the same time.
She hadn’t yet given complete trust to that stone. But the feeling the stone gave was definitely special.
“Isn’t it?”
Rico smiled gently, accepting her reaction with satisfaction.
Behind that smile was hidden some satisfaction and at the same time inner uneasiness about a deal he had to reluctantly permit.
At that moment, Isabella recalled the day she first saw blood as a child.
A memory hidden beyond emotion.
The sensation of something warm falling between long strands of hair.
That scene where red liquid flowing down over skin soaked the cold floor.
Someone’s crying, sharp screams, the maid’s face pale with shock.
Isabella slightly frowned one eyebrow while recalling that scene.
It was a memory with many gaps, but the parts she remembered were strangely vivid, making it a peculiar memory.
One fragment remaining in the void.
That fragment never disappeared.
And now, she felt like this stone in her hand fit perfectly with that fragment.
That the oldest memory brought forth was that—what an impressive stone indeed.
Isabella muttered inwardly while gripping the stone more firmly.
The warmth touching her skin strangely gave her stability.
‘It feels like something testing the user too.’
What would it be like if this stone really had will?
It was hard to think of it as just an indifferent mineral.
She couldn’t shake off the illusion that something inside the stone was ‘looking’ at her.
Such things were good. Testing qualifications, such things.
Proof that not everyone is the same.
Something anyone can hold but not everyone can possess.
Something like proof that she was a ‘chosen one.’
That satisfied Isabella’s pride.
‘It feels like gazes are directed toward me.’
She whispered while lightly pushing long hair rising above her forehead behind her ear.
“I like it.”
That voice was thin and quiet, but the determination contained within was solid.
She whispered while holding her breath.
Though it was a short statement, at that moment her emotions completely soaked into the stone.
“…Really, it’s mine now, right?”
There was no hesitation in her voice.
It wasn’t greed but a declaration of ownership.
It already felt like it had become part of her.
“Aren’t you in a special relationship with us, Your Ladyship? Don’t feel burdened and take it.”
Rico’s words were ceremonial, but wariness was definitely mixed in that tone.
The meaning ‘take responsibility if you possess it’ was implicitly contained.
Rico spoke while smiling gently.
That smile revealed the half-demon characteristic duality—courtesy and surveillance—simultaneously.
Honestly, it was truly precious so his heart ached, but still.
Though thorns sprouted inside, outwardly there wasn’t an inch of disorder.
What he offered wasn’t a simple accessory or a gift for a deal.
Because it was a treasure of unknown identity that would certainly demand a price.
“You may think of this much as a souvenir.”
Rico finished that way while stepping back one pace.
It was to observe Isabella’s reaction.
Isabella looked into the stone again while smiling like when she entered the terrace.
Her gaze had definitely changed.
First wariness, then interest, and now possessiveness.
Besides the impressive power and feeling, the stone was definitely a treasure—just holding it felt like mana was doubled.
Energy seeping through her palm rose up Isabella’s arm.
That was never an illusion.
The sensation of mana flowing slightly more smoothly along her blood vessels.
Deeper and faster than before.
She momentarily felt like she had become a different being.
Not the daughter of a black mage, but the subject of destiny leading something greater.
A chosen one.
She felt like she saw the stream of fate flowing toward her.
Not a simple tool, but as if she had ‘finally’ grasped proof that would lead her to a higher place.
Really, finally.
The moment when goals she had longed for years and repeated countless times reached her fingertips.
She thought she no longer had to stand behind anyone.
Like facing what she had waited for…
There was no cloudiness in her gaze.
In the dark light of the terrace, her pupils were rather sparkling like the red stone.
Isabella carefully placed the red stone inside her bag.
Inside the bag, a dedicated pouch wrapped in silk.
She put it in with very careful hand movements so the stone wouldn’t mix with other items.
And placed her hand on top of it.
Even from inside the bag, subtle vibration was felt.
And she briefly nodded to Rico.
She was now looking at Rico with completely different eyes.
Suspicion, wariness, and slight trust.
It was a gaze where all of those were subtly mixed.
“Thank you. You can look forward to today’s negotiation with Father.”
Those words were a promise and simultaneously a warning.
Since the stone was given, payment for it would certainly be made—in Isabella’s way.
“I’m glad it pleased you.”
Rico still answered politely, but his gaze wavered briefly, very briefly.
And became quiet again.
As if all the events until just now had been a perfectly controlled procedure.
Marcus, who had been watching them while hidden, muttered with cold eyes gleaming.
His view was from within the shadows beyond the terrace window.
From that place without movement or breathing sounds, he was accurately reading Rico and Isabella’s expressions.
“A lost treasure. Hmm. Come to think of it, I think His Highness said something about a gray treasure to that idiot elder before.”
His voice was small and low, but strangely resonant.
The word ‘treasure’ began circling in his mind again.
That might not be a simple relic, but a central thread running through the story.
I’ll need to investigate more deeply.
His gaze narrowed sharply.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
