“Why are you saying such random things out of the blue?”

Yustaf had been pressing me about where I had seen the transmutation circles.

I just told the truth: that I had taken designs I saw in magic and alchemy books and combined them into something cool.

But Yustaf looked at me like I was lying, observing me as if he knew better. Given who he was, I couldn’t really argue, so I just gave up.

“Ah… I’m really dizzy.”

“Master, no matter how much you rely on divine power, if you continue to harm your body like this, it will cause significant problems later.”

Manuel, who was supposed to treat the side effects of vitality potions and caffeine, belatedly cast a healing spell and spoke to me.

‘It’s all because of that sudden visit from that monstrous old man.’

I nearly collapsed because Yustaf visited just as the side effects were kicking in.

I barely managed to entertain the guest with superhuman endurance. If it had lasted a bit longer, I might have really passed out.

“I’ll be fine for now.”

This wasn’t just an empty statement. I had endured a year of webtoon serialization with a tired, aging body in my previous life.

Comparing that to now, with Rupert’s healthy body and the aid of divine power that surpasses modern medicine, I was sure I still had some leeway.

‘By the way, that red-haired girl… Wasn’t she called Xenia?’

For some reason, she kept lingering in my mind. It felt like I was missing something important.

Wait, red hair… Come to think of it, I have a good idea.

What if the protagonist of A Dog of Flanders was a red-haired boy?

In this world, red hair was a target of persecution and contempt, making it plausible for the protagonist to endure such hardships in the story.

And Xenia, Yustaf’s disciple, seemed like the perfect model for this character.

She still looked a bit androgynous because of her young age and had a slender, somewhat pitiful physique.

Her face was beautiful enough to be a fitting protagonist for a fairy tale.

Of course, I’d have to change her into a boy since she was a girl.

“Not everything bad leads to more bad things.”

With inspiration for the protagonist character in my blocked fairy tale, I rushed to my studio.

Xenia’s heart was pounding so hard she thought she might go crazy.

‘I can’t believe I actually got to meet him!’

Grasping her master’s hand when he asked if she would come with him was indeed a miracle for her.

It felt like the fairy appearing before Cinderella or Snow White meeting the seven dwarfs.

Her life had changed 180 degrees after following her master.

No longer did she receive contemptuous or disdainful looks but rather envious or respectful ones, and she ate luxurious meals instead of leftovers.

Most importantly, she could now use magic like Elsa from The Kingdom of Ice.

The magic her master taught her seemed so easy and simple, just like a fun game.

Even doing such easy tasks amazed the people around her.

• She truly is Yustaf’s last chosen disciple!
• The other disciples were excellent, but this is on another level…
• Is she really a descendant of the legendary Eldor family?

People called her a descendant of Eldor. She didn’t know what Eldor was initially, but she learned while studying under her master.

Krasus Eldor, the first dragonoid, born from the love between a dragon and a human.

He was the most powerful wizard in history, unbeatable among humans just by inheriting half of the dragon’s blood.

It was an old story now considered a legend, but her master was sure she was a descendant of Eldor.

Her master was astonished by the small dragon heart inside her, which she didn’t even know existed.

‘I couldn’t even get his autograph….’

But what made her happiest was meeting Sir Rupert Somerset, the author of the fairy tale and manga books she loved.

The first thing she did with the allowance she received after becoming her master’s disciple was to officially purchase his books.

The genuine fairy tale books were on a completely different level from the fake ones she had seen before, with beautiful illustrations.

The pictures were so beautiful that she dreamed of the fairy tale world every night after seeing them.

And when she had her own manga instead of the communal one in the village, she cried tears of joy.

Now that she could read, his stories felt even more meaningful.

So when her master said they were visiting the Somerset estate, she begged to go along.

Seeing him in person had truly surprised her.

‘He looks just like the prince from The Little Mermaid!’

She wanted to jump and ask him to sign the books she had brought, but his expression looked so dark and tired that she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

But it was okay. Just seeing him in person was a huge fortune.

‘If I work harder at learning magic, maybe with him….’

She couldn’t even imagine it since he was a noble, but her master said she would be treated better than most nobles in the future.

If that ever happened, just maybe, she could have a fairy tale-like love with him.

“You truly are Yustaf. I never thought you could decipher this transmutation circle.”

“I was lucky. I struggled to verify if it actually worked, but it’s confirmed. It’s as described in the manga.”

• It’s a transmutation circle that exchanges life force for something else!

Yustaf’s words darkened the expression of Harun, the head of the Alchemy Guild.

Since discovering it, he had been researching it repeatedly and found it was indeed a highly dangerous technique.

Combining magic and alchemy was not unprecedented.

But every attempt had resulted in significant problems, and the connection couldn’t be found, leading to the abandonment of the approach.

Then, suddenly, this new type of transmutation circle appeared, solving the connection very simply.

“What did the author say?”

“He feigned ignorance, claiming it was a coincidence.”

That was nonsense. To draw such a sophisticated transmutation circle and claim it was a coincidence?

A dragon appearing and breathing fire in the imperial palace would be more realistic.

“I suspect he might be under some curse; his complexion was unusually poor.”

“A curse? Don’t tell me!”

“Yes, I even thought those vile dark wizards might have reappeared.”

Harun broke into a cold sweat at Yustaf’s words. Dark wizards were believed to have been eradicated as a public enemy of the continent.

If they were indeed involved, there could be significant problems.

“This seems beyond our ability to resolve.”

“I think so too. We’ll need the imperial family’s help….”

Yustaf trailed off.

He lacked solid evidence to present this to the emperor, and without sufficient justification, it would be hard to act.

Although the emperor needed sufficient reasons and proof to issue a direct order, they were lacking in that regard.

It was too troubling to just let it go, so they couldn’t ignore it.

“What if we start our research on this?”

“Research? You mean figuring out their goal?”

“Yes, since we can’t find proof, we should at least understand their purpose.”

Yustaf and Harun immediately took the manga and moved to the lab, forming an alliance between the Empire’s top wizard and alchemist.

“Edrick, I didn’t think you were the type to scheme like this.”

Iolyn Bell’s face contorted.

The person she was glaring at with fiery eyes was none other than the third prince, Edrick.

“I didn’t want to go this far either.”

“Then why…!!!”

“You should have ended it when I asked for the illustrations!”

Edrick shouted, looking like he had no choice.

But Iolyn found it absurd.

“You’re selling out your sister over some illustrations?!”

“I’ve already discussed it with Eiton. I get the limited edition illustrations.”

As soon as Edrick finished speaking, palace maids approached Iolyn cautiously and took her arms.

“No! You can’t!!! Not that….”

Iolyn tried her best to resist, but she couldn’t shake off the maids with her strength, and other servants began to confiscate the fairy tales and manga hidden in her room.

She had to watch as they took everything, from the custom editions to all sorts of fairy tales and even the princess-exclusive Snow White made by Rupert.

“How could you do something so cruel….”

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t have done something you’d get caught for anyway.”

Iolyn was already in a daze, unable to respond as she watched her treasures disappear.

Eiton’s words couldn’t elicit any reaction from her in her state.

“Hmph, where’s the promised item?”

Edrick carefully spoke to Eiton, who handed him a few sheets of paper wrapped securely.

“Oh… are these the limited edition illustrations of The Kingdom of Ice?”

Edrick quickly hugged the papers and left the princess’s palace in a hurry, and Eiton sighed as he watched him go.

• Eiton, do you know how my sister secretly buys new manga?

The third prince had proposed a secret deal.

He would tell Eiton how his sister was buying manga secretly in exchange for the limited edition illustrations.

Eiton couldn’t refuse. Seeing the princess in such a state was heartbreaking, but he couldn’t let things continue to go wrong, so he had to take all the books.

‘Hah, come to think of it, I heard the crown prince’s servant was there too.’

He didn’t serve the crown prince, so it wasn’t his concern.

But the manga plague that had struck the imperial palace seemed to be causing considerable trouble.

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The next chapter will be updated on August 8 at 11 PM.