Little Pink Starfish

“When did I ever seduce you? Besides, Glen will be here soon.”

“Then I’ll touch you after the audience.”

“No.”

Ishar shot him a glare, laced with a clear message to stop spouting nonsense and go back to his seat.

Thankfully, though Veloan stared longingly at Ishar with dewy eyes full of regret, he stood up with a sigh.

“…Understood.”

His voice was downcast and his gaze dropped forlornly to the floor—so much so that Ishar felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if he’d been too harsh. But just as Veloan was slowly making his way back to his seat, he suddenly turned around.

‘This little chickpea!’

Before Ishar could react, Veloan, eyes sparkling mischievously, darted toward him and went straight for his lips.

Smooch. Smooch.

He managed to steal a kiss, but as soon as he tried to slip in his tongue, Ishar clamped his mouth shut, forcing Veloan to pull away, disappointed.

“Ishar… We can finish before Glen gets here.”

Even though he had grown stronger and taller than Ishar, Veloan was still, at the end of the day, Ishar’s student.

At that cheeky, arrogant remark about “finishing” his master, Ishar frowned and cut him off sternly.

“I said, sit.”

Maybe realizing that if he went any further, Ishar would never let him touch him again, Veloan immediately sat down like nothing had happened.

“…Understood.”

And yet, unable to hide his disappointment, he let out a sigh while gazing wistfully at Ishar.

Anyone watching would’ve mistaken them for lovers tragically separated for ten years.

‘He is cute though…’

The thought crossed Ishar’s mind unbidden as he lowered his gaze to his lap, falling into thought.

Information flooded to Ishar every day—naturally including matters related to the Duke of Superzen.

In fact, he had been closely monitoring the duke for the past three years, trying to uncover his ties to Karsha.

Which made it all the more puzzling—why would Glen, the duke’s virtually confirmed successor, request an audience “in secret,” away from the duke’s eyes?

“No matter how I think about it, nothing specific comes to mind.”

“You don’t have any guesses at all?”

“Hm, I have a few. But I’m not sure how much the Duke of Superzen has permitted his young successor to know.”

Tap, tap. Ishar’s fingers drummed faster against the armrest.

The House of Superzen, founded alongside the Lucheist Empire itself, wielded immense influence across the entire empire—proof of its long-lasting power.

Much of it came from legitimate businesses. But others, like supporting Karsha’s experiments, veered into the illegal and the unethical.

The latter especially was difficult to prosecute—either due to lack of solid proof or because they operated in the gray areas of law, leaving Ishar unable to directly intervene.

‘Could this be about the gambling den I cracked down on recently? But that was managed by the duke’s son, so it wouldn’t matter… The “in secret” part keeps bothering me.’

If it were a business issue, Glen wouldn’t have tried sneaking in on a carriage potentially full of assassins. That suggested a more personal matter.

“You used to visit the House of Superzen often, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Mostly to help Glen with magic or to access the secret archive they own, though I can’t think of anything suspicious offhand.”

“Wait, did you say ‘secret archive’?”

“Yes, there were an incredible number of books on ancient magic. I wondered how they even got them.”

“Why are you only telling me this now?”

“Well, ‘Master’—you never asked.”

“Every time you came back from the duke’s estate, didn’t I ask, ‘What did you do today’… Oh, never mind. That’s not the point right now.”

“Exactly.”

Such an impudent yet innocent reply—his smug grin made Ishar briefly consider pinching his cheek, but the urge vanished just as quickly.

“You must’ve memorized all the books you read there.”

“Yes, I still remember them.”

“Then let’s talk about that later.”

Seeing Ishar’s eyes sparkle with curiosity and anticipation, Veloan burst out laughing.

Realizing he had been far too transparent in revealing his personal desires, Ishar’s cheeks tinted faintly as he steered the conversation back.

“I’m thinking Glen’s purpose may be connected to the duke’s chronic illness.”

That possibility aligned most closely with the questions running through his mind.

Glen dearly loved and respected the Duke of Superzen, who also cherished him deeply. Perhaps he had come to ask for herbs or medicine that only royalty could access.

“You think Glen might request some medicinal herb reserved for the royal family?”

“You really are my student. Yes, something like that—something you couldn’t buy even with a fortune.”

“If that’s the case, would you give it to him?”

“That would depend on the terms of the trade.”

“As your soon-to-be Empress, I’ll assist you in securing favorable terms.”

“…Thank you.”

He hesitated at her mention of the Empress title but nodded, thinking he might be able to make Glen—the next Duke—indebted to him.

Led by Elam, Glen entered the private chamber—and brought up something Ishar hadn’t expected at all.

“Your Majesty, I beg of you. Please, stop my grandfather and Aled. They’re killing innocent people… My friends were taken too. Please help.”

The usually bright-eyed Glen, who always greeted Ishar with cheerful smiles, entered pale and twisted with anguish. He immediately dropped to his knees.

His hands trembling, he unfolded a crumpled paper from his robes and offered it with both hands.

The handwriting was jagged and uneven—like that of a child—making it hard to read.

“….”

Before even reading the content, Ishar’s eyes locked onto dark, blotchy stains.

Blood, clearly.

“Veloan.”

“Yes.”

Veloan immediately retrieved the paper and began examining it with a spell.

Ishar, who had been watching Glen with concern, was inwardly surprised.

He’d only asked Veloan to get the paper as a formality—but for some reason, Veloan cast detection spells as if suspecting poison or curses, hinting at distrust toward Glen.

“Here.”

Veloan handed Ishar a thin glove instead of the paper, smiling slightly—as if to say, Don’t touch it barehanded, it’s dirty. Once Ishar donned the glove, only then did he hand him the paper.

“Please save me. It was a dark mage. Natania! Heading to Ramsen, the one I mentioned before.”

Ishar immediately recognized that the message was written in desperation, using ink smeared on a trembling finger rather than a pen.

“Tell me everything.”

Apparently terrified that Ishar might ignore him, Glen began speaking the moment he heard those words—his eyes welling up with tears.

He spoke of the clue Ishar had spent three years desperately seeking.

---

Glen was the most beloved young master of House Superzen.

He was the only child his parents had after many difficulties, and the first in the family to show such exceptional talent in magic. The Duke cherished him deeply.

So deeply, in fact, that he interfered with everything—from Glen’s studies to his food to his friendships.

But Glen never thought it was strange. It had always been that way.

“It was thanks to Veloan that I realized how abnormal my situation was… how overly controlling my grandfather really is.”

Ishar almost looked at Veloan but caught himself just in time. Glen, sipping the hot chocolate Ishar had prepared, bit his lip, then relaxed.

“After that day, I started secretly meeting people my grandfather didn’t arrange. Thanks to the magic Veloan taught me, I could sneak out and meet other young mages, study with them… It was so much fun. I loved it. So I used the name ‘Natania’ to socialize more freely.”

“The name on that letter was your alias.”

“Yes… As a Superzen, I’m not allowed to make such friends. If I ever met anyone without permission, my grandfather would… never forgive me.”

The boy’s tone was strange as he trailed off.

Suddenly, Ishar recalled a report from four years ago—an attendant from the Superzen household had “died of illness” and left the estate.

That boy was Glen’s personal attendant.

They had been of similar age—so it was easy to link the shadow hanging over Glen’s face to that event.

“It was two months ago. I went to a bookstore to meet some friends. They were really excited—they said they’d received a great offer.”

Though technically mages, Glen’s friends were of modest magical ability and from lowborn backgrounds. They had accepted the offer on the spot.