Chapter 1
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ㅤ”My name is Chelsea…….I’ll be in your care, starting today.”
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ㅤHer small voice trembled. Was it because of nervousness? Or was it because she was frightened after seeing my face? Well, I didn’t care either way, so I pretended not to notice.
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ㅤ”Ah, nice to meet you. As you can see, I’m in this state right now. I can’t even move properly, so I think I’ll be the one in your care. Well, but don’t think of it as an obligation. I’ll do what I can on my own, and I won’t d*e if you leave me alone for a bit, so feel free to live as you please. I’ll try not to be a bother.”
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ㅤIt must have taken her some time to swallow my blunt words and attitude. Chelsea, my so-called fiancée, replied,”Understood,”after a good ten seconds.
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ㅤLet me tell you about myself. My name is Oswald, and I’m twenty-four years old. I held the position of Court Magician in this country. To be precise, I’m still technically employed, but I’m on leave for physical reasons.
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ㅤIn this country, which has developed through magic, the position of Court Magician isn’t something just anyone can attain. It’s a national qualification, and there’s a rigorous examination. Only those who possess a particularly large amount of magical power and can use outstanding techniques among magic users can qualify for the job. If you pass the exam, you’re basically assigned to the country’s Magic Division. The work varies, but one thing is certain: in the Magic Division, the most outstanding magician among those enrolled is chosen as the Captain. And I am currently the Captain. Although, on leave.
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ㅤAnyway, so, in short, I’m the best magician in this country.
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ㅤFurthermore, since I’m fully aware of it, let me say that I was not only excellent in magic but also in appearance. My platinum blonde hair was silky smooth even without any special care, my features were well-defined, I was tall, and my body was fairly toned. I’ve been told more than once or twice, with dreamy expressions,”Your eyes shine like emeralds.”
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ㅤWell, I was popular. It was natural for me to be admired by men for my abilities and by women for my looks. Moreover, being the cunning person I am, I never became arrogant and always wore a mask, so even more so. I knew that people were saying things like,”He’s a wonderful magician and very humble,”or,”Despite his beauty, he has no scandalous rumors and is equally kind to all women,”and I aimed for that to be said. Since my reputation would rise on its own just by smiling with this face, it was all the better, I thought. Thanks to that, when I became the Captain of the Magic Division at the youngest age in history, there wasn’t a single noticeable objection.
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ㅤNow, the best magician in the country, that’s me, is currently almost bedridden. The reason is a major battle the other day. There, in exchange for victory, I lost almost all of my magical power. And I lost my good looks as well.
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ㅤMagical beasts exist in this country. They are animals that have been transformed by exposure to naturally occurring miasma. Smaller ones can be defeated by physical means. Therefore, they are usually subjugated by the Knights Order, and those that the Knights Order can’t handle are dealt with by magicians who can use more advanced magic. However, approximately once every hundred years, the miasma becomes abnormally dense. During that period, which is called the Year of Calamity, the magical beasts that are born are numerous and possess strength that is beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans. Furthermore, since they also form packs, there are areas that quickly overflow with magical beasts again unless the land is purified.
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ㅤThose who can not only subjugate magical beasts but also purify the land are limited. They are individuals who can use the extremely rare holy attribute magic, and among them, the powerful women who are born in response to the cycle of thickening miasma are called”Saints.”
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ㅤWhy the miasma thickens at regular intervals, why women with enough magical power to purify the entire country are born in response to it, the reasons remain unknown. Only the long and continuous history tells us that this is how it is.
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ㅤNow. Actually, this year was the Year of Calamity. Magical beasts appeared all over the country, ravaging fields and harming people. As the Captain of the Magic Division, I dispatched magicians and also participated in the subjugation of magical beasts myself. Alongside the Saint of this generation.
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ㅤThe Saint’s name is Lily, and she is twenty-one years old. She is the eldest daughter of the Count’s family, which has produced many holy attribute magic users, and she has the same platinum blonde hair as me. This hair color is a characteristic that appears in people with strong magical power, and there is no one in the current Count’s family with hair as radiant as hers. Many people can use weak holy attribute magic, but even so, all of her family members have light brown hair.
ㅤLily was extremely competent and amiable, and she was beloved by many people, truly a”Saint.”The marriage proposal between her and me came up about a year ago when the number of magical beasts started to increase. How wonderful it would be if the Saint and the best magician in the country joined forces to fight in the coming Year of Calamity, purified the miasma, and then happily got married, I was just put on a pedestal. However, for me, who came from an orphanage and rose to my current position, a connection with the Count’s family was a dream come true, and the same must have been true for the Count’s family who wanted to introduce strong magician blood into their lineage. Things progressed smoothly, and we agreed to get married after successfully overcoming the Year of Calamity.
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ㅤMy relationship with Lily wasn’t bad. I kept up my pretense with her as well, always being considerate and respectful towards her. She didn’t seem to have any ill feelings towards me, even though we weren’t overly affectionate, and I thought we would naturally get married. However.
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ㅤThe other day, a large number of magical beasts appeared in a certain village. Not only were there many, but there were also large magical beasts, like bears affected by miasma, and even after dispatching magicians, they couldn’t be defeated easily. Since the number of magical beasts had decreased in other areas, I thought that if we purified this land, the Year of Calamity would be over. Heading towards the village with the Saint, I received a large wound on my face while protecting her. The situation in the village was worse than anywhere else we had been, with dense miasma and overflowing with large magical beasts. A magical beast’s claw ran from my left cheek to my upper right, and while enduring the intense pain, I mustered my remaining magical power and activated a special-grade magic, annihilating the magical beasts in the area. Taking advantage of the opening, Lily purified the land, and the battle ended.
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ㅤHealing magic was immediately cast on me by the accompanying magicians, but the wound on my face didn’t heal completely. Although the wound itself closed, a large scar remained. Apparently, the magical beast that attacked the Saint had accumulated a considerable amount of miasma, and the remnants of that miasma seemed to be hindering the healing. Lily tried to purify the miasma with holy magic, but this time the closed wound wouldn’t let the miasma escape. It was thought that if healing magic equivalent to Lily’s holy magic was cast simultaneously, it might work, but the only one who possessed the same level of magical power as her was me, and that magical power was almost completely depleted by activating the special-grade magic.
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ㅤIf I took several years, my magical power would probably fully recover. The Year of Calamity would be over, and I could enjoy a secluded life for a while, and eventually heal my face. Unable to even stand on my own due to the depletion of magical power, I was taking it easy, but what I received a few days after returning to the royal capital was a unilateral notice of broken engagement.
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ㅤSo, a bedridden fiancé who has lost both magical power and beauty is unnecessary, huh, that woman. She had quite the personality hidden beneath the mask of the beloved Saint. As I continued reading the notice, thinking that, it was written that she would send her own younger sister as a fiancée instead. Even though I didn’t have a guardian, it was too much to be unilateral. And that’s how Chelsea, who just greeted me with a trembling voice, arrived.
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ㅤ”Your room is the corner room on the opposite side of this one. Well, feel free to use any other room as well, and if you don’t like the decorations of the mansion, you can change them. Even though I’m on leave, thanks to my past achievements, I still receive a salary. I don’t like having a lot of people around, so I only have the minimum number of servants, but I have enough money to feed you without any inconvenience.”
ㅤ”Y-Yes.”
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ㅤChelsea is constantly timid in response to my indifferent tone. I’ve met her two or three times in the past as Lily’s fiancé. She’s probably confused because my demeanor is different from back then.
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ㅤ”……Sorry, but this is my true self. I was putting on a front before. Are you surprised?”
ㅤ”N-No.”
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ㅤChelsea shook her head, but she must think I’m quite cold compared to when I was acting as the perfect fiancé. Unfortunately, since I’ve learned that even if I was putting on a front, nothing would remain if my magical power and appearance were damaged, I have no intention of pretending unnecessarily anymore. Not only the Saint, but everyone who had been praising me, none of them came to visit me after hearing the rumor that I had received a large scar on my face and a curse.
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ㅤ”I’ll probably be like this for the next few years, and I won’t bother you more than necessary, but I don’t intend to mistreat you either. You can live freely here, as yourself.”
ㅤ”……Yes.”
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ㅤPerhaps understanding the meaning of my words, my new fiancée nodded slightly and quietly left the room.