When Rensley opened his eyes, the scenery that met his gaze remained unchanged. The walls and ceiling were pale, and despite no lamps being lit, the room was oddly bright. Outside the window, a gray sky tainted with mist extended as far as the eye could see. He blinked his eyes, dry and gritty, multiple times, but nothing changed.
Weariness had set in, making it easy to accept that everything might be a nightmare. Counting the instances of losing consciousness and waking up became a futile effort. His body and mind were in disarray, tossed about like a ragdoll in turbulent waves. Since being captured by the sorcerer, he couldn’t fathom how much time had passed. It felt like just yesterday and yet seemed like years ago.
Outside the window, there stood a large clock tower resembling the one at Molbessa Square. Although Rensley could now read the hour and minute hands, it had been a while since he could no longer follow the flow of time, as they pointed to different hours every time he opened his eyes. Rensley had ingested water and porridge absentmindedly, and he had also slept for a few hours, unable to determine exactly how many days had passed.
How many days had slipped away? Apart from hearing strange sounds, all senses were dull, and the fear that he had already broken down haunted him. However, since he hadn’t met Felix even once since being captured, he speculated that it hadn’t been as long as he feared.
Initially, the space that Rensley found himself in, disguised as the Imperial Palace training grounds, had transformed into a landscape resembling the Cornia Palace in Celestine while he was unconscious. Whether it was an actual change of location or just an alteration of the space’s appearance, Rensley couldn’t discern.
Regardless, the current place where Rensley was trapped was the top floor of a tall tower. Except for a window in the wall, there was no entrance or exit to the tower made by magic. When the sorcerer claimed escape was impossible, he took Rensley to the window, showing him the view below. Even for Rensley, who used to leap out of the Grand Duke’s bedroom window and climb down the walls effortlessly, the dizzying height made any thoughts of attempting such an escape unthinkable.
“Awake?”
The voice of the sorcerer, realizing that Rensley had regained consciousness, reached him. Reflexively, Rensley hesitated to answer, lowering his gaze. The sorcerer continued the conversation.
“Do you want to talk about what you hear now?”
Since being confined in the tower, Rensley’s experiences had been a repetitive cycle of torture. Bound to the wall to prevent reckless movements, his limbs were restrained, and a gag prevented him from biting his tongue in pain.
The sorcerer strictly controlled Rensley’s actions and senses. When the seal was lifted, various sounds assaulted his mind, and peace returned when the seal was applied again. While Rensley could hear the voices of spirits, he could only listen; even if he shouted in his mind in agony, it seemed the communication was one-sided.
During the periods of permitted silence, Rensley could maintain his sanity to some extent. When the sounds started again, he did his best to endure, but ultimately, his only recourse was to scream like a beast.
Intense pain was the major disruptor of Rensley’s sense of time. The duration of enduring the sounds felt endlessly long, making it impossible to gauge how much actual time had passed.
The sorcerer persisted in demanding Rensley to speak about what he heard, but Rensley remained silent. They sought to awaken Rensley and exploit him as a Elementalist, and he had no intention of offering any cooperation that could serve their purpose.
Had there ever been such a powerless foe?
Even when abandoned in Cornia, Rensley had not felt this desperate. He had tried to escape, pondered on how to change the situation, but in front of the perfect prison where a sorcerer held him immobile with a mere touch, Rensley could do nothing. He couldn’t even afford the luxury of contemplating, let alone taking action.
The pain, as if his body were shattering into pieces and his head about to split, led to a pessimistic thought that death might be preferable. However, with Felix having a clear purpose for Rensley now, they wouldn’t leave him insane or dead. Thanks to that certainty, Rensley had prepared himself to endure until the very end.
‘It’s okay. No matter how agonizing, it will end someday. Just wait. Endure.’
If he waited, if he endured, Gezell would surely come for him.
Rensley’s Duke never gave up on his companion. A firm conviction made him fiercely recall only one face as the pain intensified. Even if he went insane, as long as he didn’t forget Gezell, it was okay. Gezell would be actively working to find Rensley by now. Rensley didn’t doubt that at all.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The sorcerer raised his staff and pressed it firmly against Rensley’s back. Even with his limbs bound, startled, his body twitching. Though his faith was strong, the immediate fear, sensitive to the sorcerer’s every move, made him react involuntarily.
The sorcerer smirked and removed the gag from Rensley’s mouth. While Rensley, with his breath freed, gasped and moaned, the sorcerer didn’t stop trying to persuade him.
“Why endure all this? I understand you, Rensley Maelrosen. We have something in common. Since surviving alone, I’ve lived to make sure I don’t just die. No matter how extraordinary my talents may be, what use are they if I don’t have a master who recognizes and uses them? The world of people isn’t designed for living alone. Felix will surely give you a purpose. Why resist so much?”
Having regained consciousness and woken up multiple times, Rensley asked him. If he had such great power, he could probably defeat them all. Why torment him like this?
The response was only laughter. No matter how powerful the abilities of an Elementalist might be, they were only a source of limitless magical power. To manifest that power into a form, magic was ultimately required. Whether Rensley could break through the magic and use his abilities properly was now the issue. The sorcerer seemed genuinely perplexed.
The sorcerer constantly tormented and occasionally frightened Rensley. During this time, as the sorcerer knew Rensley’s story, Rensley also learned the sorcerer’s story. While Rensley repeated the cycle of losing consciousness and waking up, the sorcerer, without much hesitation, revealed his tale.
Amin, Felix’s sorcerer, was the descendant of the first queen’s family killed by the deceased King of Cornia. It was not easy to suppress a renowned magical family on the entire continent, let alone Cornia. The fight had been prolonged, with a tremendous backlash against the king, and considerable chaos had followed.
During the chaos, a survivor who had silently lived through the massacre fell in love clandestinely, formed a family, and even had a child. That child was the sorcerer standing before Rensley now. The fortunate survivors, eventually succumbing to illness, left the spell as their legacy, a secret within the family, something they could not implement themselves.
“I know about your master’s reputation but wake up. The space between worlds, the magic we build and utilize, is a vision passed down only to the legitimate successor of our family. Gezell Jivendad, no matter how great a sorcerer he is, can’t enter here. He can’t even find it, let alone come in.”
“…”
“Moreover, you’re just the Duchess’s brother, not even his confidant. Would the Duke move just because one subordinate is missing? The Duke might pretend to search since the Duchess will ask, but that’s about it. It might take a while for them to take action. Besides, since a substitute has been arranged, it will be difficult for anyone to notice your absence.”
Felix, who had long aimed for the throne, had established an information network inside and outside the royal palace. Rensley had known this for a long time. After receiving intelligence that a descendant of the first queen’s family, executed by his father, was still alive, Felix had secretly investigated and successfully met the sorcerer.
The sole descendant of the sorcerer family was fortunate or unfortunate enough to be born with extraordinary talent. However, having learned nothing and being young, the child wandered around the slums like a sewer rat, unaware of how to refine or utilize his talent. A prince with ambitions found an item that could bring him joy.
Avoiding the king’s disdain for magic, Felix managed to acquire young Amin, who was born with magical talent. Thus, Rensley could understand the sorcerer. Just as Rensley admired Gezell, the sorcerer would undoubtedly regard Felix as his one and only lord.
To Rensley, Felix Elbanes might be a despicable villain, but villains could become benefactors to someone.
“Will you cooperate with us?”
It was a question Rensley had heard countless times. Waiting for a response that never came, the sorcerer sighed and picked up the gag from the table.
“I’m going to unseal you now. I don’t really know how a Elementalist actually hears the voices of spirits. So, you have to tell me your story for me to help you. It’s frustrating. Isn’t your rare ability a waste? The value of power is ultimately determined by how it’s used. With a magician like me and an Elementalist like you together, there’s nothing to fear from the Hwangdo, or even the entire continent’s military. I told you that you were chosen. You can even conquer the continent. You can leave your mark on history with Felix.”
Click. The sound of the gag being locked behind his head was heard. Rensley couldn’t help but imagine the impending pain. Without even memorizing the spell, the sorcerer, looking at Rensley with an expression of incomprehension, raised his staff and began to recite the incantation.
The moaning sound that had been continuously scratching and shaking the air in the white room suddenly ceased weakly at some point. Amin, who had been observing his loot and experiment, got up from his seat and felt Rensley’s face, which had collapsed below. Confirming that he was breathing properly, Amin muttered weakly.
“He fainted again.”
The body, covered in cold sweat, trembled even after fainting. Despite the gag being tightly fastened, blood seeped faintly from the corners of Rensley’s mouth.
One mustn’t truly damage the precious Elementalist. The sorcerer wiped Rensley’s face and body with a towel soaked in water, regulating his body temperature.
Fortunately, there was no fever or hypothermia Considering the nature of humans, even without physical trauma, excessive shock could lead to death. While it was uncertain whether Rensley Maelrosen would receive this shock, the sorcerer meticulously monitored his condition.
He had been tirelessly attempting to ‘persuade’ Rensley in this tower for several days. If Rensley agreed to cooperate, the sorcerer could understand the sounds heard by the Elementalist and adjust the intensity of training to alleviate the pain. It was frustrating for him as Rensley remained silent. It was becoming increasingly tedious.
He had heard stories about the strained relationship between Felix and Rensley. He knew that Felix had tormented his stepbrother Rensley when they were young. However, Felix regretted past actions and wanted to get along with his brother.
Amin’s master was a kind king, but he showed no mercy to those who needlessly rebelled or ran amok, and he had no tolerance for Felix’s enemies. According to Amin, it was not a flaw but a talent and virtue befitting a king who sought to acquire the continent.
If Rensley promised to cooperate, Felix would likely show a kinder side to his people. Amin found it lamentable that the young boy who had pushed people away with just childhood resentment was now missing out on the kind Felix.
“Is everything going well?”
“Felix, sir.”
Amin, who had been checking Rensley’s condition, turned around with a broad smile. Just as the time spent alone with the captive was becoming stifling, his king returned at the opportune moment.
“Is everything calm outside?”
“It’s still quiet. Rather, there’s good news. The Duke temporarily left due to urgent news from the north. The Duchess stayed, and the knights are almost all left. It seems to be true. The person we need to be most wary of is gone, so we just need to stay a bit longer and return to Cornia to do our work.”
“The Duke left?”
“At first, I suspected that it might not be unrelated to some intrigue, but the Duchess stayed, and the knights were almost all gone. It seems genuine”
“Even if there are hidden motives, it doesn’t matter. No one can breach the walls of my space anyway.”
Felix smiled and patted Amin on the head. Amin blushed and shyly smiled back.
“As expected, you’re reliable. I am indeed a fortunate king. I trust only you.”
Only then did Felix turn to look at Rensley bound to the wall. Before Felix could ask anything, Amin began to explain.
“It’s difficult for him to awaken, and he keeps losing consciousness. Even if he promises to cooperate, he still…”
“Aren’t you pushing too hard? If you continue like this, it will be useless if he becomes unusable.”
“It’s still okay. I’m managing it in my own way.”
Felix approached the unconscious Rensley near the wall. Looking at each other with similar yet different faces, Amin felt strangely uncomfortable and blinked.
“Maybe it’s better to use medicine? I heard there are potions made by magic that can tame people. But if it goes wrong, it could damage the abilities of an Elementalist. After all, an Elementalist’s abilities are related to the mental realm. I can’t guarantee what will happen if that part changes due to the potion.”
“I see… Is there no other way?”
Felix muttered to himself and placed his hand on Rensley’s wrist, who was bound.
“Let’s give him a break for now. Even if you say you’re healing him with recovery magic, it will be tough for him to endure while being bound like this.”
“Yes. I’ve loosened the restraints at times.”
Releasing the bonds that tied Rensley’s limbs, the sorcerer laid him down on a small bed. Rensley, appearing quite exhausted, didn’t open his eyes even when his body was moved. Felix, looking down at the sleeping Rensley, turned to the sorcerer with a pleased expression.
“When you’re managing people with a whip, it’s essential to provide rewards to make it endurable. What about some incentives?”
“Do you have any suggestions?”
“It’s a simple task for you. It’s just a playful idea, but it might be comforting for this guy.”
Felix smiled. Amin thought the smile looked genuinely nice and chuckled along.
Volume 5’s cover~
this is the last volume :))
What! It’s the last on?! So fast 🥲 I feel it’s going to be action after action and someone is going to have their aS kicked 😁
Thank you!
Felix is so kind that he kidnapped his OWN brother and torments him while keeping captive…. Such a kind man☺️✨