“…!”

Hendrick hadn’t even sensed the presence of magical energy.

In an instant, something like a shadow appeared beneath Hendrick’s feet, swiftly climbed up his legs, and wrapped around his hand, which was holding Kalia’s hand.

“Uh, ah, ah!”

With exquisite control, the current flowed only to the tip of Hendrick’s fingers and then dissipated.

Due to the tingling electric shock, Hendrick involuntarily released Kalia’s hand.

“…?”

Kalia looked at Hendrick, who had been holding on tightly but suddenly let go, with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Well, just now…”

“Just now? Did something just happen?”

Hendrick chuckled nervously without realizing it and stared blankly at his still tingling hand.

The movement of magical energy was so faint that it wouldn’t have been noticeable to Kalia, but Hendrick, who directly experienced it, couldn’t ignore it.

Exactly, the current that had climbed up to the tip of his fingers and then disappeared.

Who else could control magical energy with such precision?

“You’re going too far. Are you both just happy to leave me out?”

As if a long shadow had been cast, Simon approached without hesitation.

His selfishly beautiful silver hair and captivating golden eyes remained as stunning as before.

Was time passing by only for Simon Terroan?

The atmosphere had become more mature and serious compared to when they last met a few years ago, but strangely, he didn’t seem to have aged.

“Have you been well, Hendrick Canceller, branch manager of Lakoa?”

However, what seemed strange to Hendrick’s eyes right now wasn’t just Simon’s ageless appearance.

Completely forgetting the tingling sensation in his palm, Hendrick stared intently at Simon’s chest.

No matter how he looked at it, something that didn’t suit him was cradled on his chest.

Blinking, Hendrick unconsciously opened his eyes wide and looked again, but it was still…

“Abu…?”

It was a baby.

And not just any baby, but a baby who looked strikingly similar to him, enough to send chills down one’s spine.

Although the hair color was different, as someone who knew Simon from his academy days, Hendrick wasn’t unfamiliar with black hair either.

The baby had an expression that seemed annoyingly worldly for a baby, and his audacious golden eyes scanned the surroundings, just like Simon’s, giving the impression that they were cut from the same cloth.

Startled, Hendrick, forgetting what Simon had just done, asked in astonishment.

“Have you finally succeeded?! Oh, my goodness! It’s unbelievable…”

Excited, Hendrick alternated his gaze between Kalia and Simon, tightly clenching his fists.

One of Simon’s eyebrows rose arrogantly in response to Hendrick’s strong reaction.

He raised his chin and chuckled with a somewhat confident expression.

The meaning behind his smile was clearly affirmative.

“As expected…”

Overwhelmed with excitement, Hendrick approached Simon and looked at the tiny baby he was holding with awe-filled eyes.

The striking resemblance in their features, the audacity emanating from every inch of their bodies, and even the unsettling aura!Hendrick exclaimed in excitement.

“To successfully replicate oneself! I hate to admit it, but you truly are a genius of the century! Oh, my goodness! To be so identical…!”

At that moment, Simon’s pupils shook.

“Hold on a moment. What are you saying right now…?”

He hastily interrupted Hendrick’s words, but Hendrick’s excitement didn’t wane.

“I’m talking about self-replication! This baby here, this baby is a replica of the Master…!”

“Self-replication… no!”

“What? No, but look at how identical they are! Then, does that mean this child is the Master’s child? Ha, haha! Who would say such a preposterous thing…!”

“I’m sorry for interrupting.”

At that moment, Kalia, who had been quietly observing the two, interjected.

She let out a sigh and extended both hands toward Sasha, who was in Simon’s arms.

Without hesitation, Sasha reached out and embraced her, and Kalia gently patted the baby’s back as she looked at Hendrick.

“This child is mine.”

“…What?”

As if questioning what it meant, Hendrick’s head tilted slightly with a strange expression on his face.

His wavering pupils alternated between Kalia and the baby, who bore a striking resemblance to a certain man and was nestled in Kalia’s arms, staring at them intently.

As if denying the words she uttered, Hendrick’s irises shook uneasily.

“Kalia, you need to be precise. This idiot won’t understand otherwise.”

Simon approached Kalia, wearing a joyful expression.

He reached out and casually placed his hand on her waist, then confidently leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

“This is our child.”

“…”

“Say it clearly.”

With a determined gaze, Simon shot a piercing look at Hendrick.

For some reason, it felt like Hendrick heard Simon’s voice saying that.

* * *

Inside Hendrick’s office.

Derek glanced at his flabbergasted colleague.

Hendrick’s complexion went pale from astonishment, then flushed red, and repeated the cycle of turning blue again.

When he glanced at Kalia, who was holding Sasha, he had an indescribable look in his eyes.

Derek looked at Hendrick with a melancholic gaze and patted his shoulder.

When Hendrick met Derek’s gaze, Derek showed him a sympathetic smile.

It was as if he knew everything about Hendrick’s feelings.

He, too, was aware of the events that transpired between Kalia, Simon, and Hendrick during their academy days.

Even until just before Simon became their superior, Derek believed the rumors that Hendrick had done something terrible to Simon and was punished severely.

But as Derek worked closely with Simon and experienced his personality firsthand, he could speculate that the rumors might have been slightly distorted.

Of course, it was likely embellished or downplayed, given that Kalia was involved and it wouldn’t be completely neutral.

And the exaggeration or downplaying would have been set in a way that favored Master.

It was an assumption that was almost certain.

With cold sweat dripping down that pretty face, he might have discreetly revealed the source of the laxative to Lady Kalia.

At that time, she was practically Master’s escort, so she would have immediately rushed to reprimand him.The fact that he didn’t expel Hendrick from the academy or seek revenge using his position itself was evidence that Simon was involved in that incident.

Even if it was a weak laxative, using it against the grandson of the Duke of Terroan, who was the imperial bloodline and a grand duke, could have resulted in severe punishment.

If you think about it that way, Hendrick at the time seemed genuinely innocent or foolish.

Or perhaps he was truly desperate.

Suddenly, Derek slowly turned his gaze towards Hendrick, Simon, and himself.

His eyes sparkled and widened.

It was a combination that was absurd to the point of being amusing.

The common factor was that all three of them were mages, so to speak.

Humans are prone to desire what they don’t have.

While Derek was lost in these idle thoughts, Allen entered with Drea in his arms.

With the appearance of another baby, Hendrick’s eyes widened as if in fear.

“T-That baby too… Could it be… already the second?”

In astonishment, Kalia widened her eyes and denied it.

“That child isn’t mine. It’s Derek and Allen’s child.”

Upon her words, Hendrick stood there speechless, his mouth hanging open, as he looked at Derek.

Then he cautiously removed Derek’s hand from his shoulder and stepped back.

“…Well, well then. It seems like the world has become much freer without my knowledge.”

As Derek and Allen locked eyes, they both shook their heads simultaneously and hurriedly denied it.

“No, there are complicated circumstances here…!”

“Now, what are you thinking about!”

Hendrick covered his pale face with one hand and raised the other to stop the two men from speaking.

As he stood up unsteadily, he quickly gulped down some cold water and hurriedly began to speak.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I don’t want to receive any more shocks today. You mentioned that you wanted to hear the report about the demonic disease, right? I was actually in the middle of writing the report.”

“No, let’s clear up the misunderstanding…”

“If it’s the report, was it the report to be sent to the Mage Tower? How far did the epidemiological investigation progress?”

“Well, about that…”

Derek and Allen wanted to clarify the misunderstanding and engage in a conversation, but they couldn’t find the courage to interrupt the serious discussion.

As Derek was trembling with injustice and frustration, Drea, who was being embraced by Allen, reached out to Derek for a hug.

Forgetting the thought of clearing up the misunderstanding in such a rare situation, he hugged Drea tightly and spoke.

At that moment, Hendrick’s eyes met with Derek’s once again.

Hendrick’s pupils trembled.

Today alone, his pupils were shaking like reeds, several times over.

“Oh, no…!”

Derek hurriedly opened his mouth, but Hendrick turned his head faster.

Hendrick coughed nervously and quickly began to speak.

“Well, um! The initial outbreak of the demonic disease in this area is suspected to have originated from the uppermost leader named Cantinue. About five days ago, there was an occasion where someone with dark bruised skin came secretly to see a doctor, complaining of itching.”

“Secretly? Why?”

“Well, it seems that Cantinue’s uppermost leader mainly deals with pharmaceuticals. However, if it is known that the uppermost leader who trades pharmaceuticals has a skin disease, it could hinder the operation of the uppermost leader. So, it seems they kept it hushed up.”

“What? How foolish… If it’s the uppermost leader of pharmaceuticals, they should know how serious the demonic disease is, right?”

“That’s right. That’s how this tragedy began.”

Hendrick sighed and roughly brushed his disheveled hair.

His eyes were swollen from not sleeping for several days.

“That uppermost leader pretended that it was nothing and concealed the fact of the outbreak for two days. Within those two days, about 80% of the employees, which is 26 people, of the uppermost leader’s operation were infected with the same disease. It’s spreading too fast to say it’s non-contagious… It’s a rapid spread.”