Chapter 60: The Wrong Heartbreak (Magic Castle Bonus)

Chapter 60. The Wrong Heartbreak (Magic Castle Bonus)

I changed quickly.

Shirt.

Trousers.

Jacket.

Everything.

Clean clothes at last.

There was something deeply satisfying about getting blood-soaked fabric off my body after nearly being murdered. Maybe it was psychological. Maybe my standards for happiness had simply collapsed.

Either way, I felt considerably more civilized.

I stopped in front of the tall mirror near the changing room wall.

Then stared.

There were still flower petals in my hair.

I plucked out one.

Then another.

Then discovered a tiny yellow one hiding near my ear.

I looked like a flower prince who’d gotten lost on his way to a spring festival.

I ran my fingers through my hair, tidying the worst of the mess, then brushed several stubborn petals from my shoulders.

Finally, I lifted my collar and smelled myself.

...

Flowers.

I smelled aggressively like flowers.

Admittedly, it wasn’t bad.

Actually...

I sniffed again.

It smelled quite good.

Fresh. Sweet. Expensive, somehow.

Still, the application process had nearly killed me.

Lily apparently believed perfume should be administered with the approximate force of a hurricane.

Then I looked at my reflection properly.

My hands stopped.

Now that was interesting.

I leaned slightly closer.

My expression looked...

Terrible.

Not physically.

My injuries weren’t that noticeable anymore. The cut on my cheek had mostly closed, and I’d cleaned away the blood.

It was my face.

Usually, my resting expression said "I’m disappointed in you, your ancestors, and your nonexistent grandchildren."

Right now?

I looked like I’d just watched the love of my life marry another man while standing alone in the rain.

There was genuine melancholy in my eyes.

The corners of my mouth were slightly lowered.

My entire face screamed tragic heartbreak.

"Oh... that explains everything," I muttered.

No wonder Ariel had looked ready to cry with me.

I splashed water from the basin onto my face.

Cold.

I rubbed both hands over my cheeks, wiped myself dry, and forced my facial muscles to relax.

Better.

Now, more importantly...

"Forbidden Mana Elixir."

My dimensional ring responded immediately.

A small dark flask appeared in my palm.

I pulled out the stopper and drank everything in several quick gulps.

Warmth spread through my chest.

Then deeper.

Forbidden Energy flowed through my damaged mana pathways, filling the emptiness Garr and the others had so generously helped create.

[Forbidden Energy: 60%]

I exhaled.

Much better.

Six percent had been unacceptable.

Especially here.

I was inside a royal palace surrounded by nobles, guards, political rivals, and four former comrades who had demonstrated approximately a half of an hour ago that murder remained very much on their schedule.

Walking around nearly empty would have been idiotic.

The empty flask disappeared.

I adjusted my jacket one final time and left the changing room.

Now I could hopefully find food.

Real food.

A lot of it.

Fighting made me hungry.

Manipulating three SSS-rank idiots into attacking one another apparently made me extremely hungry.

And I still needed to meet King Aldric about my reward.

Rare ores.

Not an A-tier evolved monster core.

My heart twitched.

No.

We weren’t thinking about that again.

I opened the door.

Five pairs of eyes immediately locked onto me.

I stopped.

Ariel.

Liora.

Nia.

Lily.

Even Seris had returned inside.

All of them stared at me with expressions so serious that I instinctively checked my clothes.

Buttoned correctly.

Trousers definitely on.

No flowers that I could see.

"What?"

Liora moved first.

She approached slowly and took my hand between hers.

Her touch was warm.

"Don’t worry, Rey. No matter what you are..." Her fingers tightened around mine. "We’ll accept you as you are."

Huh?

Nia approached next.

Her usual mischievous smile was gone.

Instead, she gave me a reassuring one and touched my arm.

"We’ll always be your beloved wives. And we’ll always trust you."

I stared at her.

What was happening?

Ariel joined them. "We’ll never leave you."

Silence.

My brain stopped.

Wait.

Could they hear my thoughts?

No.

Impossible.

Probably.

Had they somehow figured out my dilemma with the monster core?

Had my face been that obvious?

Maybe they’d realized why I’d been staring through the window like a widower in a tragic romance.

Did they know?

Did they understand the pain?

The sacrifice?

The agony of abandoning potentially groundbreaking research because taking the evidence would’ve made me look suspicious?

Lily came closer and gently brushed my hair. "They might betray you," she whispered, "but we won’t."

Seris nodded repeatedly, like she was trying to reassure me.

Wait.

’They?’

Ariel squeezed my arm. "I know it hurts. They were your former comrades, Rey. You trusted them once."

Oh. Ohhhhh!

Liora nodded. "I know it’s painful, but you’ll get through it."

I remained completely speechless.

They thought I was heartbroken because of Darius, Raven, Garr, and Elia.

My shoulders twitched.

No. Don’t.

This was supposed to be touching.

My wives were sincerely trying to comfort me.

They loved me.

They thought I’d been hiding emotional pain after being attacked by people who once fought beside me.

This was sweet.

Extremely sweet.

So I absolutely should not...

A laugh escaped.

I immediately covered my mouth.

Five expressions changed simultaneously.

Nia’s ears twitched.

Lily blinked.

Ariel frowned.

Seris narrowed her eyes.

My shoulders shook harder.

No. I couldn’t.

This was too funny.

I laughed.

A real one.

A genuine, helpless laughter.

Because betrayal?

What betrayal was I supposed to be shocked about?

Raven had already sent six assassins after me.

Darius and Garr had planted spies around my estate.

Elia had sent a servant to tamper with my food and drinks and had even helped lure a monster toward my home.

What exactly happened today that was supposed to surprise me?

’Oh no! The people who’ve repeatedly tried to kill me, tried to kill me!’

Devastating.

Truly unforeseen.

I laughed harder.

My wives stared.

Ariel’s expression slowly shifted from concern toward suspicion. "Rey?"

I finally managed to breathe."I’m fine."

They continued staring.

"Seriously."

Nia tilted her head. "You weren’t thinking about them?"

"No." That answer came instantly.

Lily blinked. "Then why did you look so sad?"

...

Dangerous question.

I cleared my throat. "Something else."

"What something else?" Nia asked immediately.

Of course she’d ask.

"Nothing important."

An A-tier monster core screamed somewhere inside my soul.

Ariel narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"Really."

"I’ll be mad if you’re lying."

I leaned toward her and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Her expression immediately softened despite her best efforts.

"I don’t lie." I straightened and glanced toward the door. "I need to meet the king first."

Liora released my hand. "About the ores?"

"Yes."

The word hurt.

Not as badly as before.

But still.

Ores.

Perfectly acceptable.

I absolutely wasn’t mourning a dead wolf’s core. I could make it more later.

"We’ll meet in the hall afterward, okay?" I wore my now clean shoes.

They nodded.

I took two steps toward the door before remembering the most important matter.

I turned around. "Grab me some delicious food."

Nia smiled.

Finally.

There was my fox.

"How much?"

"A lot."

Lily immediately perked up. "I’ll pick something for you!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Actual food first. Not a mountain of pastries."

She froze.

Her expression became suspiciously innocent. She had absolutely been planning a mountain of pastries.

"Fine," she muttered, puffing her cheeks. "Actual food and pastries."

"Acceptable."

I opened the door and stepped into the corridor.