A Fairytale for Wizards

That evening, Azriel sent communication to Rhema. It had been six years since she used communication magic as well as communicating with him. She nervously arranged mana.

“Esthera, Reshith.”

Her mana fluctuated and called his mana. From afar, Rhema responded without delay.

“Azriel? What’s going on?”

[I have something to discuss, Rhema.]

“Tell me. I’m listening.”

Rhema answered to Azriel’s voice tenderly that was heard through communication magic. While doing so, he slowly waved his hand. The bodies of the guards scattered in front of him gradually turned into sand starting from the tips of their feet. A man, who was holding on the handrail of the stairs watching that scene, turned pale.

“Oh, if you’re talking about that girl… I don’t care. Do as you wish.”

The white wizard’s face was slightly frowned, but his voice did not show it at all. He gently continued.

“Yes. There are some people who might recognize familiar spirits and bother us. So, it’d be much more convenient to have a maid.”

Rhema tapped the bodies of the guards that had become sand with his foot. Then the wind blew and scattered the sand.

“You must care for that girl very much. Is she a precious friend?”

He walked up the carpeted stairs in a slow manner. The man, who crouched holding the handrail, tried to run away, trembling, as he saw Rhema.

However, his attempt did not succeed. The moment his eyes met the eyes of the white wizard, his body turned stiff and did not move. He could not voice himself either. The man could only roll his eyes overwhelmed by fear. Contrary to the grey eyes like a piece of metal toward the man, the voice came out of Rhema’s mouth was kind.

“Of course. I’m not going to make the same mistake. I don’t want to see you cry again for that kind of occasion.”

Where they were was a lobby of a luxurious mansion. The marble floor that used to be glossy without a speck of dust was now full of sand, which used to be people. All the guards who were protecting the mansion had become dust.

“If she’s a precious person to you, I’ll also treat her preciously. Don’t worry about it, Azriel.”

Rhema’s expression changed after he took his eyes off the man. It was a faint but clear smile. The man holding the handrail felt chills on his back.

The white wizard before his eyes appeared without a sound and killed the guards only with his gesture. And he turned the bodies into dust. There was no sign of hesitation or change in his expression. It was a cruel and overwhelming gesture. There was no stain or blood left on his white clothes. Such a monster was whispering gently like the fluff as he communicated.

“Yes, Azriel. I’ll come to get you when the preparation is over. Good night.”

Rhema, who finished his communication, looked back at the man. He murmured in a dry voice.

“You probably don’t belong to the category of ‘the people she knows.’”

He drew something in the air with his finger. Then the man’s mouth, which could not let out his voice as if it was fully stuffed, opened and a loud moan came out.

“Argh, hpp, ugh, arrgghh!”

“The merchant organization you’re running must’ve traded a girl with black hair and golden eyes several years ago. Do you remember?”

“Y, y, you, w, wh, who…”

Rhema moved his finger. The man’s body was dragged before him and was knelt down. Petrified, the man looked up at Rhema.

‘Is he a monster? A devil? What is he?’ He thought frantically and thought of the legend of the Wizard of the Horizon all of a sudden. A tall, white wizard with silver hair, grey eyes, and a white robe. The closest being to God. No way. The man turned pale.

“I’m talking about the ten-year-old girl with black hair and golden eyes, who is from a northern minority. Do you remember?”

The man was the head of a largesl*ve merchant organization. Numeroussl*ves came and went in a day, and he did not usually remember individualsl*ves who were traded. However, he remembered the girl whom the white wizard was talking about. Several years ago, a married couple came to sell her.

It was common for parents or relatives to sell children. However, it was uncommon for them to sell an unrelated child, saying that she was an orphan. He had a secret investigation to check if she was an illegitimate noble child or if she had a problem relating to inheritance quarrel. The result was that she was indeed a war orphan without anything special.

The girl was outstandingly pretty with unique-colored eyes and of an ethnic minority, which made her a merchandise of special quality. So, he bought her at an expensive price. As soon as he bought her, he branded her with asl*ve mark and gave hersl*ve training.

He thought she would be obedient for being young and quiet, but she gave him a hard time because she kept trying to run away. Eventually, he allowed whipping her, risking flaws on her. He could narrowly make her obedient only after whipping her several times. Afterwards, he sold her to another merchant organization.

‘Can he be possibly related to that girl? Shoot, she was an orphan who should have no further trouble for certain! It’s been years since then, too…!’

Rhema placed his hand on the forehead of the man who was stiffened like a log. His mana moved quietly, yet intensely like a strong current under the ice. The man felt inside of his head being stirred randomly. He wanted to writhe and scream but could not move at all.

“…”

Rhema’s eyes turned cold after reading the man’s memory. He was tracking down the people who traded Azriel, starting from the memory of Count Colte. All the people whom he found paid for it with their lives. There was no mercy for the wizard who cut off his emotion. Since he was out of the law of God, human laws were none of his concern.

He pulled his hand off the man’s forehead. The man’s eyes were halfway rolled away. When Rhema gestured, his body twisted and crushed. Soon, the man’s body was turned into sand and disappeared.

Now, the married couple whom he entrusted Azriel as her guardians were the only ones left.