Never Saved You

He was appalled by his inability to solve one problem plaguing someone close to him.

Ophelia could have relied on him more if he was a bit more useful.

She would have called him instead of Sante. She wouldn’t have been as troubled as she was now.

‘On that note, I have no purpose and there’s no progress with me, so it kind of hurts…”

He’s being pathetic.

Whenever he felt that his heart was being crushed by self-loathing, there was usually one corner that he could reach.

The person who shone at all times, unlike his shabby, pathetic self.

Ophelia Milescet.

Ophelia was someone who dazzled people. Whenever he saw that strange burning passion in those eyes that resembled the night sea, somehow, he felt that he was spellbound.

No. If what he was feeling was just a simple binding, then he wouldn’t feel so flustered.

It was more of an attraction.

This emotion was like the waves that would hit the coastline.

Like the sea that helplessly gravitated towards land.

But this attraction should have nothing to do with the ire that would rise within Alei.

It was like there’s a thin line between what made him fluctuate between feeling happy or sad, and he didn’t know what it was, but it was obvious that he wouldn’t have experienced this before.

Nevertheless, even though he was frustrated by this fact, the image of Ophelia smiling brightly would not leave his mind.

From the moment she burst into laughter, somehow Alei couldn’t smile.

Because he couldn’t ignore the ripples that would start echoing in his heart—along with the realization that it was his first time seeing her laughing out loud.

He kept thinking that he wanted to see it, now how many times had he tried to erase it from behind his eyes.

He should just stop being stupid and finish his magic research. With laborious effort, he tried to empty his mind.

—Alei. We need to move up the plan.

The reason for this frustration was that she suddenly came to visit him in the middle of the night. It made him feel like he got caught.

More than this, unlike how she was earlier in the day, the atmosphere now seemed more unstable amidst the sudden news.

‘There’s someone trying to hold you back, so the plan should be pushed ahead of schedule.’

This also meant that Alei needed to hurry and regain his memories.

Ophelia didn’t explain who it was trying to hold onto her and hindering her, but Alei couldn’t even think of asking her about it.

Ophelia was an Imperial Princess, and even if she said that she was going to the magic tower, it’s not as if she didn’t know what that meant.

So when he heard this from Ophelia last night…

—Alei, if I can’t go to the magic tower, I will have to choose between one lesser evil or the worst.

Alei stepped back because he also thought of the same reason.

One option was a political marriage, and one other option was death.

Alei just didn’t have the courage to ask which one of the two was the worst.

Ophelia was trying to hide her relation to him, but she was quite open about this side of her. He was sure she’d answer easily.

But he wasn’t confident about the answer itself. Regardless of whether the answer that would come back to him was light or heavy, it would inevitably weigh him down.

Was it obvious on his face that he tried not to say anything?

Seeing Alei’s dark expression, Ophelia was the first to speak.

“I understand that the situation isn’t good, but you don’t have to make that face. I’ve already escaped a very serious situation.”

“…And what is that serious situation?”

As she took hold of her empty hand on the table, Ophelia jokingly spoke.

“That person doesn’t know what I’m going to do yet. But the problem is that he knows most of what I know, so if he catches wind of anything suspicious, he could easily catch what I’m trying to do.”

Ophelia’s index finger tapped the desk at a constant speed, then she stopped.

She belatedly realized the complicated expression on the face of the person before her.

In fact, this was an issue for only Ophelia and not Alei.

Did she go too far and make him nervous?

Ophelia hurriedly added.

“Of course, even in a situation like this, there’s nothing for you to worry about that much. Because it won’t be a big problem for you.”

“Then what about you?”

“Hm?”

“I know it won’t be a problem for me, but that won’t be the case for you.”

“Right. I might really end up in a political marriage.”

She might end up having to choose between being the old king or Ian.

‘If it gets dangerously close, I can just run away.’

She knew it wouldn’t be too difficult to run away because she had the head of the sirens and the lord of the magic tower who lost his memories by her side.

But that was only temporary.

Actually, that was the problem.

Ophelia’s plan was not just a temporary escape but indeed a way to go to the tower without anyone on her tail.

“In the case of an emergency and I’ll need to escape, I’ll have to fake my own death, but then my red hair would stand out. Unless I’m going to a place where there’s no people at all, then I’ll only be able to hide for a short while.”

“Can’t your hair color be changed by magic?”

“I can’t live like that all my life. The spell won’t be maintained indefinitely, and it’s not like you’ll be by my side for the rest of our lives to change my hair color for me.”

Alei didn’t answer this time. Without noticing this, Ophelia continued speaking.

“More than anything else, I don’t want to live like a sinner.”

This was what cut through the subject.

And this was the reason why her destination was the magic tower and no place else.

It was also because she could still remember the five years she spent in Ronen.

That time when she was shunned by Ian and isolated in Ronen.

One of the reasons why those times gave her immense pain was because Ophelia felt like she was living like a sinner.

Even if it wasn’t what she intended, Ophelia indirectly caused someone’s death while inadvertently deceiving someone.

Though none of it was her fault, there was no one who told her this.

Ophelia thought about it all unconsciously while the guilt echoed within her.

Perhaps it was punishment for daring to take a position that wasn’t hers.

‘No. It’s not that.’

Whenever she encountered remnants of the past that she knew but almost forgot about, she couldn’t help but be shaken.

The nausea that barely left her was once again revived, soaking her toes once more.

After sweeping down a trembling hand over her slender face, Ophelia opened her lips to speak.

“We went a bit… off topic. Anyway. That’s why I need your help.”

“Are you proposing a deal?”

Whenever Ophelia asked for help, they agreed that she would talk about Alei’s lost memories.

Ophelia nodded lightly, then she asked him.

“I have enough information to give you, so don’t worry. Do you remember the last time when I asked you about teleportation circles?”

“I remember. Didn’t you ask me then to test me?”

“That’s right, but there’s another reason. I was wondering if someone who could help you find your memories could make the same magic circle.”

“Is there anyone else that can help me regain my memories apart from that siren?”

“It would be difficult to rely on Sante entirely.”

“Seeing that you’re asking about magic circles, that person must be a mage.”

“I’ve always thought that you’re very smart.”

“And I’ve always thought that you’re talented at making compliments that won’t make the other person happy.”

Alei sighed, but he continued speaking.

“Even if that person is a mage, it would be hard to make a teleportation circle. If you want to make a magic circle—”

“To make a magic circle like that, the coordinates should be known and the magic circle’s size should correspond to the distance to be travelled. It’s not easy to fulfill both conditions, I know.”

Teleportation spells and a teleportation circle were similar, but they had different fundamentals.

In the case of teleportation spells, the spellcaster can simply designate the place they want to go to. But when it came to teleportation circles, which would have to be drawn by a strict standard, it was only possible to use if the coordinates were clear.

And the method of engraving the coordinates was very intricate, so teleportation circles weren’t easy to use.

“That’s why I was just going to wait for that person to come. But now that the situation has changed, it can’t be helped.”

Ophelia took out a piece of paper and a quill from Alei’s desk.

“What are you going to do?”

“If the teleportation circle would need coordinates, we can just write those coordinates and send it to them. Of course, it would take a while to draw the circle, but their travel time would be less.”

Nevertheless, if it had been a different circumstance, it would also take time to deliver or to even find out those coordinates.

“Fortunately, we have speedy contacts and an excellent mage here.”