✪ Chapter 3 ✪
The noble lady had changed careers.
From a noblewoman…
To a slave of the Magic Tower.
On the first day I became a mage, I proudly declared,
“From now on, I’ll only walk the path of flowers!”
But reality was different.
That “path of flowers” turned out to be a rough, unpaved road full of bumps.
“I should’ve wished for a smooth asphalt road instead.”
I laughed helplessly as I watched the magic circuit break apart in front of me.
The 564th experiment had failed.
Which meant…
Another night of overtime.
Now all I had left to do was sit in a corner and cry.
‘Yeah… I’d rather just die.’
The report I had spent several days preparing under the Master of the Magic Tower’s orders crumbled into dust before my eyes.
It was enough to drive anyone crazy.
Water, fire, wind, and earth mages had all worked together for an entire week to design and create the barrier magic.
Yet every single attempt ended in failure.
Of course it did.
Because the real problem lay somewhere else.
“At this rate, everyone living near the border will be eaten alive by monsters. Understand?”
“…I’m sorry, Team Leader.”
“You people are giving me a headache. At this rate, I’m afraid I’ll be reincarnated as a monster myself!”
Don’t worry.
I’ll shoot you myself if that happens.
I quietly cleaned up the failed experiment records scattered across the table.
Our useless team leader only showed his face at the beginning and the end of a project.
He disappeared while we did all the work, then returned only to see the results.
Trying to make all four elements work together?
What a joke.
‘The wind magic is so unstable that all it does is create useless garbage full of hot air!’
This experiment was actually completed using only three elements—
My water magic…
Elline’s earth magic…
And Sir Carlo’s fire magic.
In combined magic, the balance between elements determined the spell’s durability.
Meanwhile…
Our so-called team leader spent his time doing nothing.
“Maybe it’s because he’s a wind mage. He’s always teleporting around like the useless wind itself…”
I sincerely hoped he’d be reborn as a moth.
I crushed yet another can of the Magic Tower’s employee-only ‘Power Energy Drink.’
Today, I had once again missed getting off work on time.
All I could do was sit beside the vending machine and glare murderously at the clock.
It was already six o’clock.
I came to the break room hoping to get a little sleep.
But I could hear a man and a woman arguing loudly outside the door.
So I gave up.
The voices probably belonged to Elline…
And the male lead, Crown Prince Lucas.
‘After all, our blind date is the day after tomorrow.’
The wedding date had already been decided.
I hadn’t even properly seen the male lead’s face yet…
But our families were arranging everything on their own.
This morning, I had already received another letter from the royal palace.
‘Like last time, I hid it in a corner without opening it.’
Judging by the famous salon’s seal on the envelope…
It was probably about my wedding dress or jewelry.
Lucas seemed just as uninterested in this marriage as I was.
Instead of meeting me himself, he simply had servants deliver whatever was needed.
Right now…
The Crown Prince was too busy arguing with the Cinderella he truly loved.
Whether they should break up…
Or not.
That cold war would probably continue until the wedding day.
By now, everyone already knew about my engagement to Lucas.
Meanwhile…
Elline spent every day feeling anxious and miserable.
‘No matter what world you’re in… women always seem to like bad men.’
I preferred kind men.
Gentle men.
Thoughtful men.
Anyway…
The Crown Prince wasn’t my type.
I leaned against the hallway wall and was about to finish the last sip of my energy drink.
Suddenly…
A large hand took the can from me.
A moment later…
A bottle of freshly bought strawberry juice was placed into my hand instead.
I blinked and looked at the man who sat down beside me.
“…What’s this?”
“It looked like you’ve been working especially hard.”
“We all worked together.”
“It’s not like I was the only one suffering.”
His kindness still felt awkward.
But somehow…
I’d gotten used to it.
As I absentmindedly turned the juice bottle in my hands, I shrugged.
‘Well… I have been suffering.’
My schedule was already exhausting.
And thanks to someone constantly demanding revisions…
Every experiment took twice…
Or even three times longer.
Sir Carlo was kind.
But he was also incredibly strict.
I had heard plenty of rumors before joining the department.
So when he suddenly transferred into the Security Department on my first day…
I had prepared myself mentally.
Even though we were coworkers…
He had far more experience than I did.
If anything…
He was practically my direct superior.
“Even so…”
“You should finish quickly and get some sleep.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a bribe.”
“Think of it as encouragement.”
After saying that…
He adjusted his thick black-framed glasses with a satisfied smile.
Was that encouragement…
Or pressure?
I slowly shook my head.
‘He’s hard to figure out.’
If I worked any harder…
I’d go straight to the grave.
He had clearly seen the dark circles reaching my chin after an entire week without proper rest.
Yet somehow…
It still sounded like he was telling me to work even more.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
“Thank you… really.”
What a terrible workaholic.
Still…
I didn’t have much time left before I quit.
So until then…
I’d work as much as I could.
Determined, I drank the strawberry juice in one gulp.
Perhaps I looked especially pitiful.
Because the smile on Carlo’s face slowly faded.
“Ah.”
As I stood up with the empty bottle…
It seemed Carlo wanted to say something.
But before he could—
“Rosé! Emergency! It’s an emergency!”
Elline came running from the other end of the hallway, shouting my name.
“Wait.”
“I’m coming.”
She calls everything an emergency.
I frowned for a moment.
Then I turned back toward Carlo and gave him a small nod.
“Um…”
“I’ll see you later.”
“Yes.”
“Please be careful.”
For some reason…
He looked like he was forcing a bitter smile.
Leaving him behind, I slowly walked away.
Something felt strange.
‘Why did he look so disappointed?’
Coworkers who weren’t especially close…
Were always the hardest to understand.
“So…”
“We have to go on a field assignment?”
“One of the security barriers near the border got badly twisted. If we don’t fix it quickly, the spell could break completely… and the nearby residents might be in danger.”
Unfortunately…
The damaged spell belonged to the water element.
As the water mage, I designed the magic.
Elline, the earth mage, controlled the flow of magical power and stabilized it.
If water magic was the foundation…
Then earth magic was the framework holding everything together.
It seemed Elline had missed a major fluctuation in the magical flow today.
‘This really is serious.’
I quietly muttered to myself.
Fortunately…
The emergency barrier had activated in time.
But once its stored magical power ran out…
The defensive wall would collapse.
The moment Elline heard the emergency report sent to the Security Department…
Cold sweat began running down her face.
“I’m sorry, Rosé.”
“It’s all my fault.”
“I should’ve paid closer attention.”
More importantly…
Water magic designs were extremely valuable.
It had been over a hundred years since the last Great Water Mage had appeared.
That made people like me…
A priceless treasure on the continent.
It sounded like I was praising myself.
But honestly…
I had been so overwhelmed with work that maybe I hadn’t put enough power into the original design either.
So…
This wasn’t entirely Elline’s fault.
‘She’s been under too much stress lately.’
And in a way…
That was my fault too.
If it weren’t for my wedding with Lucas…
Elline’s face would still be filled with sunshine instead of worry.
As I gently patted her trembling shoulder…
I smiled bitterly.
Elline insisted that this was her mistake and volunteered to go herself.
But the border region was filled with dangerous monsters.
It was practically a ticking time bomb.
There was no way the higher-ups…
Especially Crown Prince Lucas, who oversaw the operation…
Would allow her to go.
They would reject her request…
Then waste even more time choosing someone else.
It was pointless.
If it were me…
I’d already be on my way to save the residents instead of wasting even a single minute.
I slowly lifted my hand from Elline’s shoulder.
“I’ll go.”
