Episode 61
Except for the stage where I and Eugene stood, the whole banquet hall was enveloped in subtle darkness.
In response to Eugeneâs signal, I lowered my head toward the audience and heard a gentle sound of applause that would be heard at a concert.
âOkay.â
Looking back at Eugene, he was already looking at my side and looking at my reaction.
Then I nodded slightly toward him, and at the same time, Eugene turned his head and looked ahead.
As he held out my right hand, the eyes of the audience under the darkness were on our hands.
It was time to showcase everything weâve prepared so far.
***
It was around the middle of the performance.
Eugeneâs attack magic was shaped like a sphere after exploding like a firecracker in the air.
The light, which had grown in size for quite a long time, soon began to fade away, and at that moment someone shouted.
âIsnât thatâ¦â¦a flame?â
As soon as the words were finished, the phoenix, wrapped in a red flame, tore the sphere of light and flew triumphantly across the banquet hall.
The audience cheered as the phoenix appeared, and Eugeneâs magic scattered smoothly like a galaxy.
âHmm, this isnât the end.â
At a glance, several people in the VIP seat were either making surprised faces or whispering to each other.
âIâll make sure I catch this one behind me.â
As I turned my head up, Eugene shot a blue flash at the phoenix.
And I too made the phoenix rush toward the flashlight.
âFocus on the fingertips â¦.!â
The moment the phoenix touched Eugeneâs magic, I raised the temperature on my fingertips.
Very, very hot.
The red flame, which was burning in the shape of a phoenix, turned blue.
The huge blue flame turned into a dragon, opened its mouth wide.
âOh, my God, itâs a dragon!â
âBlue flame at that age?â
âMiss Spade never used blue flames in class, did she?â
Those who saw the roaring dragon among the banquet hall clapped their hands and were excited.
Even some of those sitting in the VIP seats were standing up and applauding.
The long-stretched blue dragon flew from place to place with a beard flying around the banquet hall, and the haze shook whenever the dragon moved.
The dragon round the banquet hall rose in the shape of a whirlwind and opened its blazing mouth at right angles.
When the signal was sent, Eugene immediately invoked his attack magic.
A few seconds later, a flash of blue flashed through the open mouth of the dragon, and soon it burst like a firecracker and began to emit a white-blue light in all directions.
The audience cheered as the blue light shimmered across the banquet hall like lightning, and the light bursting more and more quickly swallowed the dragon.
Poof.
Finally, a blinding light swallowed the banquet hall.
The banquet hall, which had turned white for three seconds, was gradually buried in the dark as Eugeneâs magic disappeared.
***
Cassius Tigris fell in love with Yerine Spade.
Cassius himself knew it better than anyone.
Thatâs why Cassius wanted to see Yerine perform more enthusiastically than anyone else.
âShe must have been nervous.â
Unlike her usual smiley face, her face was slightly stiff.
There were so many people in the banquet hall, so that was understandable.
Sheâs got the guts, but itâs the first time sheâs shown her magic in front of so many people.
Soon after, the performances of the two began in earnest, starting with Eugeneâs magic.
And Cassius saw.
As soon as Yerine invokes magic, she exudes the same confident spirit as a knight convinced of victory.
Where was the nervous look before and she was free to control the Phoenix-shaped flame with a relaxed smile.
Every time she lifted her finger, the phoenix flapped its wings and split the air.
Whenever that happened, others looked at the phoenix and cheered or admired it.
But Cassiusâs eyes, at first, turned to the phoenix, but then to Yerine again.
He couldnât take his eyes off her, who twinkled red eyes and moved the phoenix.
âBlue Flame?â
âLook, Spade, the successor has lit up a blue flame!â
When the blue flame burned out of Yerineâs hand, Cassius was surprised and looked only at her hand without moving for a while.
The blue-coloured flame burned with intensity as if to devour anything nearby. It seemed to resemble the magical spirit of Yerine.
Not only that, but the flame was very beautiful. The colourful flame, which seemed to melt the cart chrysanthemum, danced with broadness and mingled well with Yerine in a violet sky-blue dress.
With the audience screaming, Yerine looked at her flame with a calm smile alone.
The figure was so relaxed and natural that it could be believed to be the guardian of blue flames, not the human wizard.
âOh, my God, itâs a dragon!â
The flame, which had been passed from Yerineâs hand, rose into the air, forming a huge pillar, and soon began to fly in the shape of a dragon in the banquet hall.
At the moment of the roaring dragon with its mouth wide open, Cassius also briefly took his gaze away from Yerine and captured the giant blue flame dragon in his eyes.
âI canât believe you can control a blue flame so finely.â¦â¦.â
Cassius mumbled inward with a rambling smile.
Yerine Spade was a transparent human being. Because of her upright disposition and honesty, predicting her behaviour was not difficult.
But only one thing, in the realm of magic, she was unpredictable.
She was constantly developing her magic, even though she seemed to have no more goals to overcome in the high ground.
âThatâs great, too.â
The moment he looked back at the stage with a smile, the shock of being hit in the back of head hit Cassius.
Yerine had another look on her face just before she took out the blue flame.
It wasnât like the relaxed smile of the winner.
She was smiling broadly, her eyes shining like stars, her white teeth showing.
Following her fingertips, a huge dragon was flying in the air.
Yerineâs face, looking at the dragon she created, sparkled with pure joy.
She was really enjoying the magic.
Cassius couldnât take his eyes off her face like that.
He stared blankly at Yerine only, even as the people cheered, and the blazing flame of the dragon passed right over his head.
âHow can you be soâ¦â
As he mumbled casually, Astra, who was right next to him, answered in surprise.
âWhat? What did you say?â
But the answer did not come back.
Because Cassius was completely distracted by Yerine.
Astra thought Cassiusâs behaviour of staring blankly at the front with his mouth open was a little strange.
But not long before she realized that Yerine was at the end of his gaze, and she quickly turned her head and pretended not to know.
For Cassius, magic was nothing special. Of course, it was something he had to use, and he couldnât not have it.
As the prince of the Tigris Empire, he was under pressure to be good at magic, but he could not get the attention that was focused on the first prince just because he did good magic.
After all, it didnât mean much at best.
That is why he has been dealing with magic with the mind ofâ just do it properlyâ.
And then Yerine came to him as a fresh shock.
Cassius admired and longed for Yerine, who loved magic.
Even at the end of the performance, Yerine kept smiling. with her eyes full of joy
It was beautiful.
All of her like that.
thump, thump-
Cassius put his right hand on his left chest.
His heart was beating faster and faster.
When he raised his head again and looked at the stage, Cassius had to admit.
âI never thought I would fall in love again in this state.â
Once again, the depth of his love has been added and deepened.
That day, Cassius fell in love with Yerine once again.
***
As I looked at the audience in the dark, I felt like I was looking at the batâs eyes in the cave.
But I could read it in the dark.
The smell and atmosphere of people heated up with heat and excitement.
Exactly.
The lights in the banquet hall were all lit up with a cheerful sound like a switch.
And beneath it, countless people were looking at us with tens of thousands of expressions.
Their faces were all different, but their eyes were all sparkling.
I couldnât take my eyes off them.
âHey, spades. What are you doing, get a hold of yourself..â
While staring down at them in a daze, Eugene tapped me and whispered, only then I came to my senses.
âBow down on three. One, two, three.â
I bowed to the audience at Eugeneâs signal, and as soon as I and Eugene bent down, I heard a tremendous cheer.
When I looked ahead, I couldnât help but smile.
Some of the wizards from the imperial palace were standing ovation with an admiring look on their faces.
âGood. Weâve done enough.â
I was about to bring that up to Eugene.
But Eugene, who looked sideways, looked blank again.
âHuh?â
When I saw the VIP seat, I couldnât find the blue eyes.
The stubborn silver-haired man rose from his seat, showing his back, and quietly disappeared into the corner of the back of his head.
While everyone applauded us, he never looked back on his son.
***
After all the performances were over, Eugene was away, and I greeted Cassius with my friends who were coming gladly.
âThat was so cool, Yerine!â
Erica cried with her sparkling eyes, holding her hands together.
âThe dragon and the phoenix, it was so amazing to use blue flames there! Did you know you were going to use it'â
âNo, I practised. I didnât know Iâd use blue flames.â
Smiling and answering Erica, Cassius came up and said,
âWell done, by the way, I was so surprised.â
His way of speaking, his voice, and his smile around his mouth were really soft.
âThank you, Cassius.â
âAnd so prettyâ¦.â
Cassius spoke with a low voice. Still, it sounded enough to me, and I talked with joy.
âCasius, thank you very much for seeing my fireworks and saying that it was pretty.â
Then Cassius put on a puzzled look and said, scratching his head awkwardly.
âHuh? Uhâ¦.â
âI thought everyone might be scared of the blue flames, but Iâm glad they were pretty. Iâve had a really hard time making that up.â
âI see.â
Rachel, who was covering her mouth with her hands, spoke in a clear voice.
âYou must have practised a lot. I was wondering what would happen if you only had a fight with Eugene during practice, but it was more than I expected.â
âNo, I didnât fight much more than I thought. Of course, it turned out to be a habit for us like a morning greeting.â
âIt must have been.â
âBut itâs not because we hate each other, itâs because weâre closer than before. He helped me create blue flames and run magic at the same time.â
Then Rayl and Astra said at the same time.
âEugene? To you? Is it a lie?â
âI canât believe Eugene helped you. I donât know if itâs the other way around, butâ¦â
At that moment a crooked voice came from behind.
âWhat do you mean by that?â
When I turned around and saw the owner of the voice, I sighed and thought to myself.
âReally, I canât avoid the cliche of the Ropan novel here either.â
Eugene Ace was looking at us arm in arm, with his arms crossed.
âââââ