The Young Master I Carefully Raised Became Obsessive

The magician seemed to sense something strange and hurriedly looked around cautiously.

Then he focused intently on my hiding spot. Fortunately, the surrounding darkness concealed me from view.

His footsteps were slow but purposeful, moving towards my direction. If he got any closer, I would be in serious danger of being discovered.

I could hear the magician’s footsteps drawing nearer. If he took just one more step, it would only be a matter of time before I was caught.

I tried to back away, but I found myself pressed against a wall. My hands grew damp with sweat, not to mention my beating heart. I instinctively raised my hand, ready to cast a water spell if necessary.

Suddenly, a noise interrupted the tension as Derol lunged out and bit the magician's ankle.

The magician jumped in surprise and stumbled back, raising his hand in reaction. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly conjured water beneath his feet. Flustered, the magician slipped and fell.

“Ahh!”

The female voice sounding in my ears was unexpected. Before I could react, the door suddenly opened.

The magician scrambled to her feet and rushed up the stairs, limping as she went, clearly in pain but moving quickly despite it.

I slowly stood up and gazed at the opened door. Standing there was none other than Ardion.

He stared at me, and just a snap of his finger was all it took to brighten the area instantly.

“Laila?”

“Your Highness, what brings you here…?”

“I heard some mana in the vault disappeared.”

“Did you see that magician earlier?”

“No.”

Ardion stared intently at me.

“Surely, you don’t think I’m the culprit?”

“Of course not.”

“I saw a magician in a cloak earlier. I believe she was the same black-cloaked magician we encountered at Duke Orchid's mansion.”

“There are many magicians in black cloaks. How can you be so sure?”

“The cloak stood out to me. It’s made from a fabric that shines like silk. It must be quite rare.”

Ardion continued to gaze at me, his height giving him a commanding view. Flames flickered around his irises, casting shadows across his face.

The intensity of his stare felt awkward, prompting me to speak quickly.

“Should I follow the magician?”

“No. It’s too dangerous,” he said decisively with a serious expression. Then he asked, “More importantly, why are you here?”

“Oh, I just came out of curiosity. I am fascinated about the fact that it’s a mana vault.”

Even I found that a ridiculous reason, yet he simply chuckled.

“Isn’t my kiss already enough?”

“No, it’s not because I’m low on mana…”

Suddenly, Ardion took my hand. Back then, our hand sizes used to be similar, but now, his hands were bigger and could easily capture mine.

His hand felt unusually warm.

I attempted to pull away, but he spoke up.

“I thought your hands were shaking.”

“Now that I have mana, they’re not trembling anymore. You must have seen wrongly.”

Ardion gradually released my hand. I awkwardly clenched my fist. Every time he drew near like this, it felt strange. It reminded me of when he was a child, and I struggled to adjust.

“By the way, your hands felt cold earlier. Was it because you were low on mana?” Ardion looked at my hands.

“I guess I was nervous coming here,” I mumbled vaguely in response.

Just then, Derol squeaked. I quickly reached for him and pocketed him.

Ardion observed for a moment before speaking. “But there will be times when you’ll need more mana.”

He raised his gaze to examine me, and when our eyes met, he smirked slightly. “Laila, if you ever need me, just say so. I’ll always be ready for you.”

At that moment, Derol looked up and squeaked again.

Ardion looked at him nonchalantly before breaking into a smile and addressing me. “Tell Derol I’m the only one who can protect you.”

“But right now, I’m protecting her! And you once threatened me…”

Ardion covered Derol’s mouth. I stared at him in surprise as he stepped back.

“Laila, don’t mind what Derol says. He’s just acting that way because he’s liked you since we were children.”

“…”

“Most importantly, I came here for you.”

I struggled to find words in response.

Ardion studied me for a moment before declaring, “No matter what you say, I’ll be by your side.”

“But…”

I tried to say more, but Ardion smiled and interrupted. “Then I’ll be on my way.”

He turned to leave. I glanced at his back for a moment before shifting my attention to Derol. “Derol, what did Ardion threaten you with when he was young?”

“When you were sleeping, Ardion used to stare at you. I tried to wake you, but he threatened me not to and used bad words.”

“Bad words?”

“Yes, he said if I woke you, he would drain all my mana. And if I spoke up, my friends wouldn’t be safe either.”

“Did Ardion really say that?”

Derol firmly nodded. I found it hard to believe that the Ardion of the past would say such things. While I was sure Derol wouldn’t lie, it still felt unbelievable.

Have I misjudged Ardion all this time?

With a heavy heart, I climbed the stairs slowly.

Come to think of it, Ardion had been sensitive towards others in the past. He hadn’t shown that side to me since our first meeting. Instead, he had always been kind.

Suddenly, Derol said, “But how did Ardion get into the mana vault?”

I had heard the emperor's consent was required for entry. Did Ardion receive it?

Even if the magician in the black cloak was an aide to Rowell, I doubted Ardion would easily gain his approval.

I turned back to check the door. “Derol, should we try opening it again?”

At my question, Derol nodded. We quickly rushed down the stairs and attempted to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

The magician in the black cloak had drawn a magic circle earlier. Such magic was advanced, and performing it in my current state was impossible. While it seemed Ardion had casually broken it earlier, the door remained locked now.

After staring at the closed door for a moment, I turned away.

It seemed I needed to find another way.

As I ascended the basement stairs, I spotted a faint light. I followed it, wanting to find Serina.

But the bed was empty.

She was definitely lying here earlier.

Her name still hung on the bedpost. Suddenly, the door creaked open, and a healer entered.

“Where has Miss Serina gone?”

“She has recovered and left.”

“Pardon?”

“They said mana has been generated. It’s a miracle.”

A miracle? Impossible.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the original story, Serina could only obtain the mana she needed from Ardion.

Moreover, her generating mana naturally didn’t add up. Besides, only Ardion's mana could help her.

Unless she obtained mana from the vault…

Suddenly, the image of the black-cloaked magician flashed through my mind. Could it be…?

At that moment, the healer cleared his throat softly. I lifted my gaze, and he pointed to the entrance, where the time was displayed. It was closing time soon.

After briefly glancing at the empty bed, I exited the infirmary.

❋ ❋ ❋

Since the incident in the mana vault, Ardion had been unusually quiet. He didn’t display any behavior that stood out to me. I simply followed his instructions and avoided personal conversations.

However, there were moments when he reacted sharply or appeared irritable.

“What’s the status of the Arkent territory issue?”

“That would be up to His Highness the Crown Prince…”

“Didn’t they ask you to prepare the documents through me?” Ardion shot a cold glance at his advisor, who often handled administrative tasks alongside him.

The man, who had three children, was visibly intimidated by Ardion. To be fair, I had observed that Ardion was not the most forgiving boss.

He despised procrastination and tolerated no mistakes.

The advisor's hands trembled slightly as he attempted to maintain his composure. “But His Highness the Crown Prince requested it be passed on, so…”

Ardion swept the documents aside and crossed his legs leisurely. “Gartin, there’s no way my seal is on Rowell’s documents. Do you have any papers he processed?”

At that, Gartin hurriedly retrieved a document. Ardion scanned it briefly, then pressed his finger against the bottom, causing it to slowly catch fire.

“Y-Your Highness!”

Ardion dropped the partially burned document and watched it smolder helplessly on the floor.

“What would happen if forged documents were presented officially? It’s fortunate I handled this myself.”

He quickly wrote up another document and handed it to Gartin. “Use this instead for the Arkent territory issue.”

Gartin cautiously accepted it, glancing nervously. He wiped the sweat from his brow and said, “But His Highness the Crown Prince won’t remain passive.”

“We’ll see what happens.” Ardion smirked.

Every time he smiled like that, his handsome features became more pronounced, yet there was a strange cruelty in his expression.

It seemed that my efforts to raise Ardion well during his childhood had been in vain. No, at least I survived… That makes it not really in vain.

While I was rationalizing my thoughts, I suddenly became curious about Serina’s condition.