Chapter 18

I don’t remember anything at all.

According to my family,
when I was seven years old,
I suffered a severe fever that almost killed me.

My memories in this world
also began exactly from that moment—
the scene of opening my eyes
while lying weakly in bed.

I had no memories before that,
and most importantly,
the enormous mana vessel I once had—
so great that the tower masters tried desperately to win my favor—
was completely shattered.

A magician without a mana vessel
is like a swordsman without both arms.

So the tower masters and their mages,
who had tried every day to make me their disciple,
returned to their towers without even looking back.

Only one person stayed by my side—
the Frost Tower Master,
my current teacher,
who pitied me.

He also taught me the basics of magic
while I was stuck in bed
for about half a year due to aftereffects of the fever.

Rather than truly teaching magic,
it was more like reading fairy tales to a child—
simply telling stories he knew.

Still…

Was it not an exaggeration
that I had once been called a genius
worthy of tower masters begging for me?

I lost my mana vessel,
so I could not become a magician,
and even now I cannot use magic.

Instead,
I became a genius magical tool creator.

“Done! Finished!”

It took half a month.
For me, who could usually create magical tools instantly,
this was a very long time.

But it could not be helped.
This bird-shaped magical tool
had to start from carving
a large magic stone into shape.

“Uni, take a look. How is it?”

After removing my work goggles
and dusting off magic powder from my apron,
I called Eunice into the workshop.

“This is a magical tool?
…Ah! When I touch it, it really feels like a cold stone.
But it looks like a real bird with soft feathers.”

“Hehe, I engraved an illusion magic circuit
so it would look that way.
Pretty perfect, right?”

For illusion magic,
the smaller the gap between the real form and illusion,
the simpler the circuit.

So I spent three full days
carving the large magic stone into a bird.
I actually failed nearly ten times
since carving is not my talent.

“But Miss,
what function does this magical tool have?”

“Hehe, prepare to be surprised!”

I showed Eunice
the crystal sphere and controller on the table.

“Its name is—
a magic drone!”

“A drone? What is that?”

“I’ll show you. Watch carefully.”

I placed the bird-shaped drone
on Eunice’s hands
and pressed the activation button.

Light flashed in the crystal sphere,
and Eunice’s face appeared—
as if viewed from a diagonal angle below.

“Why is my face…?
Don’t tell me this is a video communication device?”

“That’s right! And watch this.”

I moved the controller stick,
and the drone began to move.

The illusion made it look
as if the bird was flapping its wings,
and the image in the crystal sphere
changed in real time.

“Ta-da!
It’s a magical tool that can move
and send video from far away in real time.
Amazing, right?”

“You can transmit video while moving?
That’s incredible!”

Existing video communication devices
could not move once activated.

In simple terms,
if the old devices were home telephones,
this was a mobile phone.

Even though I made it,
it was truly revolutionary.

“And that’s not all.
Someone might notice something strange and get suspicious.
So for that situation…”

I moved the controller.

The blue bird circled in the air
then landed on the table.

“This is walking.”

With another stick movement,
the bird hopped lightly across the table,
avoiding obstacles easily.

“This is tilting the head.
This is flapping wings.
This is fixing tail feathers.
This is pecking fruit.
This is sitting on the ground.”

Each time I pressed a button,
the bird followed the programmed action.

“And the secret weapon—
chirping!”

“Beep!”

The bird opened its beak
and made different sounds
depending on how many times I pressed the button.

“What do you think?
This should fool people’s eyes, right?”

“Yes.
Unless someone touches it directly,
no one will realize this bird is fake.”

Still confused,
Eunice poked the blue bird.

“But Miss,
what are you planning to do
that required this much effort?”

“I’m going to spy on my fiancé.”

“…What did you say?”

She looked puzzled,
as if believing she misheard.

I smiled brightly.

“Spy.
On Rio’s bedroom.”

“M-Miss!”

“Shh, I know what you want to say.
But first—did you finish the book I gave you?”

“…I’m sorry.
The male lead was such trash
I couldn’t read more than twenty pages at once.”

“Right?! Total trash!
He cheats first,
then when his fiancée asks to break off the engagement,
he goes crazy and kidnaps her!”

There were even more terrible acts—
gambling, threatening the heroine’s family—
so many that it was hard to believe
he was truly the male lead.

That was why I gave Eunice
that messy romance novel.

“But what if Rio is also trash like that?”

“…Surely not.”

“They say ‘surely not’ is what gets people killed.
What if Rio is strange like that novel’s male lead?”

After my long explanation—
that it’s better to discover a bad man’s nature early
and break the engagement
rather than cry every night after marriage—
Eunice slowly nodded.

“That is certainly important.
Things happening in a private place like a bedroom
are hard for others to notice…”

“Exactly!
And if you ask directly,
he won’t say,
‘Yes, I’m violent and will whip you after marriage,’
right?”

Eunice then spoke seriously.

“Let’s send that blue bird
into the Second Prince’s bedroom right now.”

As expected,
Eunice was on my side.

“Right!
We must confirm this important matter before marriage.”

“If necessary,
I will infiltrate the Second Prince’s palace myself.”

“No, that’s too dangerous.
This blue bird is enough.”

The magical tool was finished,
and I had Eunice’s help.
There was no reason to hesitate.

After practicing carefully
so I wouldn’t make mistakes,
I sent the blue bird
toward the imperial palace
under the dark night sky.

* * *

It was dark,
but finding the palace was easy—
just look for the largest and most splendid building in the capital.

“Good!
We finally crossed the outer wall!”

“I know the way from here.
The Second Prince’s palace is… this way.”

Most buildings were dark at this late hour,
but the imperial palace was different.

Guards carrying magic lanterns
patrolled in pairs,
and magical lights illuminated
the buildings and roads.

Thanks to that,
I quickly found the Second Prince’s palace.

“Found it—
the Second Prince’s palace.”

Now the important thing
was finding Lionel’s bedroom.

According to his schedule,
this should be the exact time he goes to bed…

Muttering stay awake, stay awake like a spell,
I climbed onto the lit third-floor window

Found treasure!

Inside the brightly lit bedroom,
Lionel sat comfortably
at the desk beside his bed,
reflected in the crystal sphere.