Chapter 046
“Well, he may look strange, but he’s a magician.”
I whispered Joy’s identity in a voice low enough for only him to hear.
“A magician… you say?”
Evan raised one eyebrow and looked back at Joy.
He didn’t directly question my words, but his expression clearly showed he wanted to say something.
‘He looks completely unconvinced.’
I would have felt the same if I were him.
The image people commonly have of magicians is often more dignified and haughty than that of most nobles.
‘In contrast, Joy…’
I turned my gaze to Joy, who was pressed against a pillar in the distance.
His curly hair was so unkempt that only his mouth was visible, and he wore clothes that looked like they were thrown on without care.
On top of that, he was constantly mumbling and looking around cautiously.
“His personality is a bit odd, but I can guarantee his skills. I hired him because he can cast protective magic circles in this border area.”
I hurriedly spoke before Joy could be labeled as a strange person.
“A magician who can cast protective magic circles in a place like this? Where did you find such a dreadful fraud?”
I thought I was speaking up for Joy, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.
Evan completely turned his body toward me and began scanning me up and down, checking if I had any injuries.
I understood why Evan was reacting this way.
Even though this territory had rich resources, it was right next to the border of the Kingdom of Clayts.
Although the war had ended, the aftermath of five years of conflict still left much to be repaired, and most importantly, if another war broke out, this territory would be the first to be attacked, so very few came voluntarily.
It’s only natural to find it hard to believe that there’s a magician who can set up high-level magic circles in a place like this.
‘I guess I have no choice but to show him directly.’
Just like I did back then.
To do that, I needed to bring Joy right in front of me immediately.
“Evan. Please wait a moment.”
I quickly ran toward where Joy was.
I heard Evan calling out to me in a flustered voice from behind, but I couldn’t help it.
Staying here for one hundred days wouldn’t make Joy come to me first.
Finally reaching Joy, I swiftly grabbed his arm and spoke.
“Joy! I called you, so why do you keep running away?”
“Running away? I wasn’t running away; I just needed a moment to think.”
“Do you realize that even though you said you didn’t want to be noticed, you’re doing everything to stand out right now?”
As I finished speaking, Joy seemed to realize it too, stiffening his expression while looking off into the distance.
Was he feeling insecure now that he was actually here?
Looking at Joy’s rigid jawline, I felt that he was indeed tense at the moment.
Then Joy turned around and muttered something softly.
“Phew, right. I’ll just check and come back. If anything happens…”
“What are you saying?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
After taking several deep breaths, Joy turned back toward me.
“Phew, okay! I’m ready to go now.”
“Why does it take so long to prepare yourself mentally?”
Though I didn’t know what it was, he finally seemed ready to go, so I pushed Joy’s back and headed toward where Evan was.
‘Huh? What’s this?’
As I got closer to where Evan was, I sensed that something about the atmosphere was off.
Unlike before, the air felt heavier, and the knights exchanged glances, clearly on edge.
And right in the middle of it all, Evan was staring at Joy with a blank expression.
“Is that him?”
Finally facing Joy, Evan asked me in a low voice.
“Yes. Joy, this is my husband.”
I instinctively raised my voice, eager to let Evan know Joy’s true worth.
“Um, Joy…?”
However, now it was Joy’s turn to introduce himself, yet he stood silently in front of Evan without any reaction.
Though his eyes were hidden under his hair, I could tell they were fixed on Evan.
And they seemed to be piercing through him.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Just when I was getting frustrated with Joy’s inexplicable behavior, he suddenly extended his hand in front of Evan and said,
“Can we shake hands? Mister Husband.”
Despite the calm tone, the content made Evan’s eyes widen in shock.
Evan then stared at Joy with a fierce expression, as if he found him not even worth responding to.
“Are you really a magician…? Huh?”
“Wait a moment!”
Just before Evan could ask Joy if he was truly a magician, I quickly reached out and covered Evan’s mouth with both hands.
In an instant, his fierce expression softened, and he looked at me with wide eyes.
His gaze seemed to ask what I was doing, so I stood on my tiptoes and whispered softly in his ear.
“No one can know that Joy is a magician. Please pass this on to the knights on the wall.”
“Got it…”
Evan stopped mid-sentence, shuddering and closing his mouth.
I felt the same way.
The moment he opened his mouth to speak, I could vividly feel the warmth of his breath and the sensation of his lips on my palm.
I quickly inhaled and swiftly removed my hand from Evan’s mouth.
“Roman. Take the knights on the wall and have them all come down.”
“Yes. Understood.”
As soon as Evan gave the order, Roman and the knights quickly vacated the area.
“Ahem.”
Feeling that the atmosphere had shifted in a different way than before, I turned my gaze elsewhere.
“Hmm—.”
A few seconds of silence passed between us.
Joy, who had been watching us from the side, cleared his throat and looked back and forth between Evan and me before speaking.
“It seems you two have a very good relationship?”
Upon hearing Joy’s light tone, Evan immediately frowned and retorted.
“Stop asking unnecessary questions and just answer the questions I ask.”
In an instant, Evan returned to his usual expression and stared directly at Joy, asking,
“Are you really a magician capable of setting up protective magic circles?”
“Have you been deceived all this time? I can set them up, which is why I would call you ‘customer’—.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at Joy’s nonchalant response.
‘Is he fearless or just clueless?’
In a situation where most people would stutter in response to Evan’s fierce gaze, Joy was shaking his head dismissively, as if he couldn’t see Evan’s increasingly menacing expression.
“Is it because you’re a couple? Your husband seems to have quite a bit of doubt, huh?”
Eventually, Joy’s gaze landed on the border area beyond the castle wall.
“Well, it’s best to confirm it with your own eyes.”
As soon as Joy finished speaking, an astonishing sight unfolded in the distance on the plains.
A shallow, dome-shaped light began to spread slowly across the vast land, and the number of these lights gradually increased.
By the time a total of about fifteen circles had formed, Joy’s voice echoed again.
“Ugh, this is terrible. They really installed a lot. It’ll take at least a month to get rid of all these.”
Joy shrugged his shoulders, looking stunned as he gazed at the plains.
I, still with a shocked expression, turned to Joy and spoke.
“Joy. Could it be that all of those…?”
“Yeah. It’s a type of offensive magic. Some of them are mixed with hallucination magic too.”
While they weren’t life-threatening spells, encountering them in a wartime situation could cause tremendous damage.
After the war, there was a clause in the treaty between the two nations to eliminate all the magic circles installed by each side, but due to their sheer number, countless magic circles still remained.
A few days ago, I heard news about an unidentified magic circle, but I never expected to see it with my own eyes like this.
This was especially true since the magic Joy had just shown required several times more power than the magic used yesterday.
