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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Ethan sent me chocolate? But why?”
Vivian sighed inwardly.
She had watched Sepia’s despondency grow over the past few days.
And she wanted nothing more than for Sepia to be happy.
Vivian pondered.
Should she reveal Ethan’s secret?
After much deliberation, she spoke.
“My lady, please listen carefully.”
Vivian took a deep breath.
She had to tell Sepia, even if it meant betraying Ethan’s trust.
She wanted Sepia to be happy.
“Ethan… loves you…”
“W-what? What are you talking about, Vivian? Ethan…”
Sepia’s voice trembled.
Ethan loved her? But he had been avoiding her.
He had even dismissed her request to talk, claiming it was a bother. She couldn’t understand.
“Please, just listen. And my lady, this is a secret. You must promise not to tell anyone.”
“Um… okay, I’ll listen.”
Sepia hugged the chocolate tightly and listened intently.
Vivian told her everything she knew.
As she spoke, Sepia’s expression gradually shifted.
Confusion gave way to understanding as Vivian’s words slowly pieced together the puzzle of Ethan’s recent actions.
“Wait, that’s impossible. Ethan…”
Guilt washed over her.
What had she done to him when he was suffering from amnesia?
And Ethan had loved her that much…?
“H-how much of his memory has he lost?”
“I’m not sure. Even Ethan might not know. Even with his partial amnesia, his feelings for you remain. He has been hiding his condition to avoid worrying you.”
Sepia knew that Vivian’s deductions might be based on conjecture.
However,
She wanted to believe that Ethan hadn’t left because he hated her.
She wanted to believe that he had left to return as a better man.
So, she buried her doubts deep inside and embraced Vivian’s explanation.
“Ethan… truly loves me?”
“Yes, Ethan loves you.”
Sepia blushed, as though she had just received a confession.
Her ears turned red, and the room suddenly felt warm.
She lowered her head, she was speechless.
“Did he get hit by a carriage? Or was he attacked? Why did he suddenly lose his memory…?”
“I don’t know how it happened, but I’m certain he has amnesia. He couldn’t even remember the layout of the Logness mansion.”
Sepia jumped to her feet and began pacing anxiously.
Vivian smiled at Sepia’s childish behavior.
“That arrogant… That arrogant jerk! He didn’t even tell me! He’s a servant of the Logness family! I would have helped him if he had just been honest!”
She would have brewed him a tonic to improve his memory.
She would have even taken him to the best doctor in the empire.
“How dare he think I would be happy with this?!”
Sepia was restless, like a worried child.
“I have to tell him to come back!”
“My lady, please don’t.”
“But why? I can take care of him!”
Her blue eyes were filled with desperation.
“My lady… please don’t. He will be deeply hurt if you intervene.”
“But… what should I do? He’s probably struggling financially. And he might even get expelled! If he fails two courses, he’ll be expelled.”
“Ethan took all of that into consideration.”
“What…? What do you mean?”
“He’s trying to become independent and return to you on his own terms. If you intervene now, you’ll hurt his pride. And he might decide to leave for good.”
Sepia was impressed.
Vivian’s words made sense.
“Don’t wound his pride.”
Sepia had heard that men were sensitive about their pride.
Offering financial assistance to someone who was trying to be independent would only insult him.
She didn’t want to lose him.
“I know! I’ll be his anonymous sponsor!”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“And I have to tell Professor Cassia to reject him as an assistant!”
“Um… Is that necessary?”
“Of course! As his master, I can’t allow him to struggle financially.”
Sepia was suddenly filled with energy.
“Vivian, write a sponsorship letter for me.”
Neydia Academy had a sponsorship program.
Guilds, trading companies, and knight orders often sponsored promising students.
“Here, a pen and paper.”
“What should I write?”
Vivian was bewildered as she accepted the pen and paper.
“To Ethan, I’ve been observing you for a long time…”
“He’ll know it’s you if I write that.”
“Is that so? Then… To Ethan, your talent has impressed me, and I would like to become your sponsor…”
“Let’s just keep it simple…”
“Okay.”
Vivian altered her handwriting.
“How much do you want to sponsor him with?”
“Fifty million Elleh should be enough, right?”
“……”
“…Too much?”
Sepia glanced at Vivian, gauging her reaction.
“Ten million Elleh should suffice.”
Vivian placed the letter and a check in an envelope.
“Vivian… You know…”
“Yes, my lady?”
“It’ll take Ethan three years to graduate, right?”
“That’s correct.”
He would have to attend the academy for three years to graduate.
Even if he graduated early, it would take at least two years.
“So, that means… I have to be distant with him for three years?”
“My lady… I know you care about Ethan…”
“What are you talking about? Vivian, you have a knack for embarrassing people. Haha, I was just surprised! There’s no way I would be interested in Ethan. I’m just… fulfilling my duty as his master…”
What was she saying?
Vivian wanted to scream.
What was she supposed to do with this stubborn girl?
But she didn’t want to upset Sepia.
It wouldn’t do any good to argue.
“Treat Ethan as a friend, then.”
“A friend? That’s impossible. I can’t be friends with a former servant.”
“……”
Vivian felt a headache coming on.
What did Sepia want her to do?
“And… I… I have to get married to someone else… for a political marriage…”
Sepia mumbled.
“Students at the Hero Academy are encouraged to build relationships based on equality, regardless of social status. No one will find it strange if you become friends with Ethan, even if he was your servant.”
Vivian looked into Sepia’s blue eyes.
“My lady.”
“Yes?”
“I want you to be happy.”
Be friends with Ethan or wait three years for him. Think about what will truly make you happy.
“Vivian… How… how can I become friends with Ethan?”
Sepia was clueless when it came to interpersonal relationships.
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In Cassia’s office.
Ethan observed Cassia.
She had her eyes closed.
She had been measuring his mana for 30 minutes.
‘My mana capacity… is that large?’
Mana capacity was basically the size of your mana pool.
How much mana could you hold?
The average mana capacity of a first-year student was 3 minutes.
Ethan had a pretty good idea why his mana capacity was so large.
It was most likely due to the Heart of Winter.
It was a legendary artifact, after all.
‘But… isn’t this a bit too much?’
He felt like he had won the lottery.
Or maybe he had inherited a fortune from a distant relative.
He glanced at the clock.
There wasn’t much he could do with one of his hands trapped in hers.
An hour passed.
Then 2 hours… 3 hours.
“Ah…”
Cassia opened her eyes with a sigh.
She looked exhausted, as though she had just run a marathon.
“I’ve finished measuring your mana, Ethan.”
Ethan gulped.
What if she said the measurement was incorrect?
“It’s 100 times the average. No, more than 100 times. I increased the measurement speed because it was taking so long.”
“What?”
“Ethan, your mana capacity is more than 100 times the average first-year student.”
“……”
The result was simply absurd.
Even Ethan couldn’t believe it.
“And… it seems to be increasing…”
“Really?”
“I’ve heard stories… about people with a legendary ‘mana-compatible body.’ That’s what I think you are, Ethan.”
Mana-compatible body.
That was something Cassia had originally said about Arthur.
She couldn’t comprehend the protagonist’s status window, so she had concluded that he had a mana-compatible body.
There was no need to reveal that he had consumed the Heart of Winter.
He had criticized Arthur for being a cheater, and now he was the one with a cheat code.
“Ethan, you have incredible magical potential!”
“R-really?”
“Yes, Ethan. To be honest, I’m very excited!”
Cassia’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation.
“I see.”
“Yes. And… I checked your entrance exam scores.”
“My entrance exam scores?”
He had barely passed the exam.
“Ethan, your entrance exam scores were… well, let’s just say they were at the bottom.”
“How bad were they?”
“You were ranked 99th out of 100 students.”
“I see.”
Cassia chuckled.
“Ethan, you deceived the academy by hiding your true abilities. Isn’t that… cheating?”
“Ah… I apologize.”
Ethan had no excuse.
“I understand. You must have had your reasons.”
“…So?”
“I’m willing to keep your mana capacity a secret. Would you like that?”
He didn’t want to draw attention to himself.
A large mana capacity could make him a target for demons.
Cassia probably understood that.
“And… Ethan, I want you to learn magic from me.”
“You mean… as your assistant?”
“No. Not just as my assistant… but as my disciple.”
Ah.
A disciple?
Cassia was an incredible mage. She was destined to become one of the most powerful mages in the empire.
And she wanted to accept him as her disciple.
“Did Sepia fail the interview?”
“Sepia?”
“Yes, Sepia von Logness.”
“Well, technically, she didn’t fail… She came to see me yesterday and withdrew her application.”
“What?”
Ethan was shocked.
Sepia had withdrawn her application?
He couldn’t help but laugh.
She had probably panicked after seeing his mana capacity and decided to withdraw before she could be rejected.
He wanted to dance.
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So sad that Vivian actually said her delusions. Hope this causes no problems in the future.