IBMV – 30

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“Kian, congratulations on your liberation!”

In front of the bar table, where fine liquor was displayed, Nicholas lifted the glass.

He heard a cheerful sound of ice hitting the glass with a clang.

Kian had a light drink with Nicholas, and then he moistened his throat. He was strangely thirsty and emptied his cup right away.

Nicholas congratulated Kian as he filled his empty glass.

“Come to think of it, there’s not one thing to celebrate. You’ve become a wizard—a wizard with the highest-ranking no less!”

Kian sipped a brightly amber-coloured liquor.

“Is it such a big deal?”

“What do you mean? Haven’t people been lining up to bring you to their side?”

Nicholas leaned toward Kian and asked,

“So, have you thought about it?”

Numerous scouting offers. It’s not that he hadn’t thought about what to choose.

The first thing he excluded from his ‘considering’ list was offers from other countries.

All places that were too far from Olivia were automatically excluded from consideration.

The only offers left after that were proposals from the Empire.

But none of them attracted him.

‘I want to be Olivia’s escort the most.’

But the offer had already been rejected.

Nicholas hinted when Kian drank without answering.

“You’re troubled, aren’t you?”

Kian looked at people who were immersed in their own stories while drinking, under a dim light, he confessed,

“To be honest, yes.”

It was also a concern if there was no place he wanted to go.

Nicholas sucked in his cigarette deeply.

He said with a puff of smoke.

“It’s good to be careful, but there’s nothing too complicated about your desires. Knowing what you really want is a simple task.”

What you really want.

Kian chewed over Nicholas’ words.

There were only two things he wanted. One is to find and take revenge on the evil that caused him to live his life as a slave. And the other was to be by Olivia’s side.

“Excuse me, can I sit here?”

Kian, lost in thought, suddenly felt a presence.

She was a young blonde woman in a velvet dress. She had an eye-catching and gorgeous appearance with a charming smile upon her mouth.

She said,

“If you have time, why don’t we have a drink together?”

Kian understood the meaning beneath her words and expressed his refusal politely.

“I’m sorry, I’m still waiting on another party that hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Really? Then you’ll be fine until the other person gets here.”

Kian glanced at the clock. Then he smiled and said,

“They’ll be here soon.”

It was a euphemism. In the end, the woman turned around with a look of regret.

Nicholas asked, watching her sadly move away.

“Who was supposed to come again?”

“No one.”

“What? Then why did you lie? Do you even know who she was?”

“Who was it?”

“It was Celine Claudel. She’s the most popular actress these days. The opportunity to drink with Celine doesn’t come so easily!”

Nicholas was genuinely indignant.

But Kian wasn’t interested in whether the woman he just saw was Celine Claudel or someone famous.

Nicholas narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Hey, you—is there someone already in your heart?”

A person in your heart.

As soon as he heard it, a person’s face came to Kian’s mind.

A person who had shed light on his life, which before had been nothing but full of resignation and despair.

A happiness he barely managed to find…

‘I don’t want anyone else by her side.’

If he had to name this greedy feeling…….

Calm music flowed through the room, and a singer’s voice cooed.

Nicholas, who interpreted Kian’s silence as an affirmation, inquired with a smile,

“So, who is the lucky person?”

Kian took in the cool temperature of the glass with his fingertips.

“I dare not cherish them in my heart.”

“Huh? That’s not a problem for you now.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you forget? You’re a wizard. The greatest wizard in the Empire. Getting a title? It’s easy feet for you.”

It was.

He hadn’t tried it, but he could easily erase a kingdom from the map. He didn’t know if the other top wizards could do that.

You are the only one who has that much power.

It was an intuitive feeling.

So if he exerted his power, there will naturally be people who follow him.

Come to think of it, an aristocrat from a certain domain, approached him while hiding his identity even made this suggestion:

—Please build a new kingdom with me, Kian!

***

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