I Ended My Engagement With The Woman Who Despised Me

༺ 𓆩  Chapter 19 — This is Ridiculous  𓆪 ༻

「Translator — Creator」

᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃

"Burp."

I couldn't hide my bewilderment as I watched the sun spirit letting out tiny burps while nestled in my arms.

If it had swallowed an ordinary orb, I wouldn’t have thought much of it.

But this wasn’t just any orb—it was a concentrated mass of pure, negative emotions, compressed to the extreme. And it had gulped it down without a second thought.

Of course, I was worried.

Just in case, I grabbed the sun spirit, turned it upside down, and gave it a few shakes.

"Myuuung."

It only made strange noises without spitting out the orb.

I briefly pondered while looking at the spirit, but quickly shook off my concerns.

'It's not showing any signs of pain or negative changes, so it should be fine.'

Besides, the sun spirit was surprisingly sharp in ways most wouldn’t expect; there was no reason for it to consume something that would negatively affect it.

'Moreover, even in the original story, it had absorbed power by consuming things related to black magic.'

There was a high possibility it was converting this into its own power.

I studied its now rounder, puffier face, stroking its head as a thought crossed my mind.

—At this rate, it might evolve into a higher-tier spirit soon.

"Myuuung."

It let out a small whine, clearly sulking.

Probably because I had shaken it so much earlier.

Still, it clung to me regardless, as if saying it was upset but still liked me anyway.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the adorable contradiction.

That was when a voice erupted from beside me—shaken, horrified, and utterly unable to comprehend the situation.

"H-how...? How? How? This doesn't make sense! How did you break it? How did it eat it? Why? How?"

I turned my head.

There she was — a woman clawing at her own face so violently that blood dripped down her cheeks.

Her nails dug deeper, her expression twisted with denial.

Then, she lifted her bloodstained gaze and locked eyes with me.

Her trembling hands reached into her robes, pulling out a staff.

"W-we have to kill it. We have to cut it out—now. If we don’t, something terrible will happen. No, no, no. We must take it out. Right. Now."

Though her actions resembled those of a murderous ghost, her true nature was that of a dark mage.

As she rushed toward me, she created numerous black tentacles and shot them in my direction.

These weren't ordinary tentacles, it seemed.

Ssss…

Everywhere they struck, the ground hissed, melting away on contact. Just as I was about to raise my mace to block them—

Fwhoosh—!

An even more intense flame than before burst forth from the spirit in my arms, swallowing the tendrils whole.

"H-how is this possible!"

She let out an agonized scream, clearly not expecting her tentacles to be destroyed so easily and meaninglessly.

As she reached out toward the flames in denial, her eyes suddenly grew dark, and she began making sounds that resembled both wailing and laughter.

At that moment, darkness surged, thick and oppressive, suffocating the air around me. A shiver crawled down my spine as if my very skin recoiled from the presence of the corrupted mana flooding the space.

Then, like something out of a horror movie, she crawled on all fours in an inverted position, rapidly approaching me while dispersing massive amounts of mana.

As I watched dark mana erupting from all directions and dozens of dark tentacles appearing unrestricted by space, I raised my mace, thinking this would be interesting.

"Die!"

Facing this grotesquely charging... thing — which could hardly be called human anymore — I quickly circulated mana and the spirit's power.

Watching the mace begin to burn intensely, I steadied my gaze before strongly striking it against the ground.

Crack—!

The ground cracked, sending powerful vibrations in all directions that twisted all the tentacles.

Originally, creating such an intense impact would have been impossible.

But perhaps because the spirit's power had grown incomparably stronger, it made the impossible possible, spreading intense power in all directions.

'Not bad.'

If I could unleash this level of power, I could push even further.

I brushed back my hair and moved forward, watching the dark mage who had quickly dodged my attack by moving sideways.

"N-No, I can still fight! More—More, MORE!!!"

Though countless black magic spells rained down with each step I took forward,

All of them were blocked by the spirit's wall of fire, disappearing futilely.

With each step forward, the lingering traces of the viscous black magic scattered in all directions, turning everything to ash.

She shrieked, flailing, swinging her staff wildly.

Still resisting.

Still denying her inevitable defeat.

I met her eyes, empty of hesitation.

And then—

I swung my mace.

And brought the battle to an end.

𓇘

As I silently looked down at the charred remains of the dark mage,

Loraine expressed her admiration with words of praise.

"Young Master, your skills are improving remarkably. At this rate, you’ll reach the level of a low-rank Expert in no time."

I gave an awkward smile.

Truthfully, I hadn’t done much — this victory belonged entirely to the sun spirit, whose flames had consumed everything in its path.

If it hadn’t been for that overwhelming power, the fight wouldn’t have ended nearly as easily. Still, rather than brush it off, I simply nodded and took the compliment in stride.

This only reinforced my resolve— I needed to grow stronger on my own, without relying entirely on the sun spirit.

As I was lost in thought, she gestured toward the back of the room.

"Shall we check inside?"

I nodded in agreement and moved to open the door.

Considering that the previous space had been a vast, aquarium-like laboratory, I expected the inner room to be just as grand.

But instead—

It was cramped, like a storage closet or a hidden study.

The walls were covered in scrolls and parchments, inscribed with various formulas and theories.

I scanned the room quickly, searching for anything useful.

That was when something caught my eye.

A sealed object, wrapped in pitch-black cloth.

Curious, I reached out to undo the bindings — only to feel an invisible force shove my hands away the moment I touched it.

A locking spell.

When I tried to tear it off with greater force, Loraine quickly stopped me by grabbing my hand.

"If you force it open, the contents might be damaged. Please, be patient."

"That so?"

"Yes. It would be best to take this to Lord Lirelshue tomorrow and let her handle it."

Friltanin Lirelshue, the former Court Mage.

Siren's temporary mentor and an authority in magical studies.

Thinking that person would certainly be able to break this lock, I nodded and spoke.

"Alright. Let’s head back."

"Yes."

With the mission complete, Loraine beamed, her expression bright and cheerful.

𓇘

By the time we returned to the mansion, night had already fallen, and the soft chorus of insects filled the tranquil air.

Loraine left to report about the dark mage first, and as I was heading to the Court Mage's room to request his help—

That was when—

"Damian."

A familiar voice called my name.

Siren approached swiftly, her face expressionless as always—yet her eyes gleamed with unmistakable delight.

"You’re finally back?"

Perhaps because I hadn’t returned last night, she greeted me with open enthusiasm, clinging to my side without hesitation.

I had brought her here, yet my busy schedule had kept me from paying much attention to her.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, I nodded, deciding to take a moment to talk.

"I made magical progress. Master Lirelshue literally jumped around in excitement and cried."

Her choice of words was light, almost playful, making it sound like a joke.

But her serious expression suggested otherwise.

Unsure what to make of it, I decided to suggest walking down the corridor and spoke to Siren.

"Let's walk—"

"I have something to show you."

Before I could finish suggesting a walk, she grabbed my hand and strode forward, saying she had something to show me.

As I watched this, I smiled wistfully, remembering how I used to pull Elysia's hand to show her the flower garden, when,

Siren pointed outside the window and spoke to me.

"Isn’t it beautiful?"

I followed her gaze—

And what I saw made me pause.

In the heart of the garden stood a tree, its branches enveloped in a soft, ethereal glow of blue mana.

It shimmered, casting an otherworldly light, evoking a sense of wonder and mystery.

Like a painting—

No, like something out of a dream.

I stared, momentarily entranced, and Siren, sensing my reaction, spoke with a hint of pride.

"I wanted to show you this."

"Really...?"

"Yes."

Just moments ago, she had been so smug and confident.

But as I continued to silently admire the tree without offering further words, she started fidgeting.

Her posture shrank slightly, and after a brief hesitation, she tugged at my sleeve, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Do you… not like it?"

I hadn’t realized I’d gone quiet, lost in thought.

Quickly gathering my thoughts, I shook my head and directly expressed what I was feeling.

"No, I was just mesmerized. It’s beautiful."

"Really?"

Siren’s fingers twitched as she looked up at me.

Then, as if embarrassed, she quickly averted her gaze, turning her attention back to the glowing tree.

I chuckled softly at her reaction and followed her lead, once again gazing at the mesmerizing sight.

Then—

"What’s that inside your coat?"

She gestured toward my chest.

Her extraordinary magical intuition must have sensed the sealed object I had taken from the laboratory.

As I took it out to show her in response to her question—

Siren observed it intently before speaking to me matter-of-factly.

"I think I can unlock this. Want me to try?"

Her tone suggested this was a trivial matter, like looking at an easy problem.

Though I felt some hesitation about trusting someone who had only recently begun learning magic,

Something about her confident tone and knowing her talent made me nod as if enchanted.

When I handed over the item wrapped in black cloth,

Siren simply tapped it and told me,

"Done."

That was it.

A single touch.

And the locking spell unraveled instantly.

As I watched the black cloth smoothly fall away, experiencing a glimpse of her talent,

Siren, brightly illuminated by moonlight, spoke to me somewhat proudly.

"Now, do what you promised."

Promise?

Oh, right. She wanted praise.

I had been meaning to thank her anyway, so I opened my mouth to speak—

But before I could say anything, she tilted her head forward, expectantly.

It was a silent demand—

A request for a head pat.

Not a difficult favor.

Just as I was about to pat Siren's head,

"Myung!"

The sun spirit suddenly burst out from my arms and smacked Siren's forehead.

"........."

Whether frustrated at not receiving praise or angry at being hit,

She glared at the sun spirit with cold eyes, expressing her anger.

Seeing this, I quickly patted her head with a small smile before things could escalate.

𓇘

Inside the black cloth was exactly what I had suspected —

A document detailing an assassination plot.

This was serious.

Without hesitation, I decided to bring it straight to the Head of the House.

On the way, I ran through the possible explanations in my mind — what to say, how to explain the discovery.

But just as I approached the study, a voice called from within.

"Enter."

I stepped inside.

There he was — the Lord of the House Carsaril, seated at his desk, meticulously working through a stack of documents.

What he was working on, I couldn’t tell.

But just the sight of him made me feel the weight of his position.

The Carsaril House was one of power, and to lead it must have been a heavy burden.

I pulled out the document, ready to explain —

But before I could speak, he glanced at me and said in a flat tone,

"I assume the butler already told you."

Told me what?

I blinked, caught off guard.

I hadn’t seen the butler since returning.

The Lord frowned slightly at my reaction, then continued.

"You didn’t hear? The North has sent word—they wish to annul the engagement’s annulment."

A brief silence stretched between us.

Then, I let out a quiet, incredulous laugh.

How ridiculous.

END of CHAPTER

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