Re: The Villainess Does It With Class

"Is that white magician related to your master's order?" Merlin couldn't help but voice out his curiosity.

"A white magician?" Janus lifted one of his thick brows.

"Can't you tell? She possesses magic with blessed attributes." Merlin's eyes brightened yet again, his excitement rising.

Janus snorted.

"Of course I am aware. I just don't think you could put her on the same boat as white magicians."

His eyes of molten gold swept through the crowd, easily locating the hidden figures aka the fake magicians. He couldn't help but feel derision upon laying eyes on them, knowing that these people are of the lowest of the low. They are merely fakes, possessing such nasty things as artificial magic. As a magic king, their very existence is a blasphemy.

How dare they taint something so beautiful?

'Pests…'

If not for his mistress's orders, he would have crushed them all and sent them in the aether. They should never be allowed to walk freely.

"Oh? She's not a white magician?" Merlin squinted in question as he pondered.

Janus chuckled good-naturedly and glanced at him.

"What is so special with those magicians? They can't even compare to her," he said and brought his gaze back to Nadia.

White magicians merely hold the power of healing and divinity, Nadia is far above that. If the seal on her mana core was broken and her powers released, she could surpass any living magicians. Aside from him, of course. She's nothing but green in his eyes. Her potential is there but not enough to surpass him.

He then frowned when he remembered something. 

'... maybe not all living magicians. That kid is also here after all.'

His gaze then flickered to the east, a flicker of interest appearing for a second.

This world truly has a lot of surprises. No wonder his mistress chose to stay here for some time.

His attention was then brought back by Merlin's remarks.

"Seriously? Even more special than white magicians? What is she then?" His heart started to beat faster.

White magicians have always been a special case. Only a few of them had ever lived, probably one in a million. Sometimes, they are even scarcer than that. Not all the worlds or universes have white magicians. And the thing is after one of them appears, the next one takes hundreds and thousands of years to emerge. 

They are so rare that the equally sparse chosen heroes make them look common. So what is above that of what is deemed rare?

"If you're that thirsty to see a white witch that much, there is someone like that in this world too," Janus remarked, only to purse his lips. "But that is none of your business. Go back to your world."

Merlin turned to look at him in an instant.

"Come on! After telling all that to me, you're making me leave now?" He felt cheated. More so when Janus didn't even answer him directly as to what the identity of that woman really is.

He then cursed himself for not knowing things in regards to magic. He can't believe there are some people out there that he has no knowledge of. Maybe it's time for him to go and hit the library again and research more. It has been years since he last read a book that is not about spells.

Hmm… Come to think of it, there is a big library in his reach here.

His lips twisted into a languid smile.

"On second thought, I will delay my return in pursuit of knowledge."

"Are you sure it's fine to leave Alejandro for a long time?" Janus asked.

Merlin stretched out his arms and put them on the back of his head.

"He's going to be fine. And it's Arthur."

He waited for Janus to chase him away as usual because that was what he expected. But Janus didn't rebuke him this time and actually invited him which shocked Merlin.

"If you say so," he then began to descend, "I will take you to my mistress. Follow me."

Merlin blinked and stared at his back in a daze, seemingly confused. If not for his sharp retort, he would have taken his words as an auditory hallucination just now.

"Are you going or not?" Janus frowned.

"Wait! I'll go! I'll go!" Merlin immediately followed after him like an excited child.

His friend is taking the initiative to introduce him to his master when he's so stingy about her, he can't waste this golden opportunity at all!

On the other hand, Nadia was still walking around and had already exhausted herself. She had already bought a gift for Gwen so she doesn't have anything to do now. Her pretty face scrunched up for a bit as she wrapped the cloak around her tightly, still feeling chilly despite being covered from head to foot.

"Let's buy some pastries and then return," she told her two maids before walking towards the direction of her favorite pastry shop.

As they did, Nadia kept rubbing her arms to warm herself and got distracted while being confused by the suddenly chilly weather. There is such a big crowd in the capital today and yet it still felt cold for some reason.

She can't help but think if she's sick or something.

'It's not even winter yet…'

Because her mind was in another place, she didn't notice that there was a commotion at the side. A thief had snatched someone's purse and created a scene. The said thief then fled in their direction and was about to bump onto the distracted Nadia. Her maid behind her saw him coming and immediately let out a cry as she tried to pull her back.

"Milady!"

"Nnn--?!" 

Nadia felt a tug on her cloak before she felt herself being pulled to her surprise. Uno who has been vigilant at all times appeared and apprehended the thief. A scuffle then happened, creating more commotion.

"Milady, let's retreat," Dos said and together with other secret guards, formed a barrier around her.

She watched with wide eyes as Uno fought with the thief. The man's face was hidden with a cloth so they can't see what he looked like but he is surprisingly adept at fighting. With an irritated click on his tongue, the man couldn't get past the red-haired Uno so he immediately changed his plan and withdrew before his identity could be revealed.

As fast as the wind, the 'thief' was gone.

"What just happened?" Nadia murmured in confusion.

Uno didn't chase after the guy because his top priority right now is to get Nadia back safely. Thus, he glared in the direction where the man disappeared and went to her.

"It's not safe here anymore. I asked for the lady to go home," he said solemnly.

Nadia had no idea what had transpired but looking at the grave expression of her bodyguard, she naturally doesn't have any qualms.

"Okay," she nodded.