[V11C30] How Could This Happen

“…The golden ratio… Could it be Ike? …Ike, is that you?”

Monica called out to the man, but he did not respond, simply staring at the wall-mounted mirror behind Monica, frozen in shock.

His eyes had different colors, the left being an aqua blue mixed with a drop of green, and the right being pitch black.

The moment Monica noticed his darkened eye, she felt all the blood drain from her body.

“No way, Gluttonous Zoe…!”

Monica rushed over to the man and checked the back of his neck. She found a black mark imprinted at the nape, just like the ones Louis and Rutherford had.

The mark of those who had lost something precious to Gluttonous Zoe.

“Ike, you’re Ike, right!? …Ike!”

Monica looked up at the man, and he slowly raised both hands to cover his own face.

“…Yes… Yes, that’s right.”

His murmurs sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, rather than responding to Monica.

The man used his fingertips to trace the old scar above his right eye.

“This is the face of Isaac Walker… My face.”

His entire body was soaked, and he seemed to be trembling, barely able to stand.

It was then that Monica remembered the symptoms experienced by Louis and Rutherford.

Those who had something precious taken by Gluttonous Zoe had their mana stolen as well. This meant Isaac was currently suffering from mana depletion.

“Ike, um, sit in this chair! No wait, lying down might be better than sitting… Oh, but before that, let me get something to wipe you!”

Monica darted to and fro, trying to find a towel for Isaac, only to end up tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground.

“Pyaguh!”

“…”

This indescribable atmosphere gave Monica a sense of déjà vu.

She had done the same thing once before, right after saving Isaac at the Supreme Council. Coincidentally, Nero had been watching back then as well.

“What are you even doing?” Nero muttered.

“W-Well…”

Monica could only sniffle in response to Nero’s exasperation. Meanwhile, the unfamiliar-looking man knelt in front of her.

“Monica, calm down. That’s the rag we use for cleaning. The towel for wiping is on the other shelf.”

“…Sorry.”

“I’ll go get a change of clothes, so it would be nice if you could boil some water. If possible, I’d like something warm to drink.”

“I’ll make coffee!”

Monica quickly got back up, and the man softened his sharp eyes into an awkward-looking smile.

“Thank you, Master.”

His smile and even the angle of his eyebrows was exactly the same as the Isaac in Monica’s memories.

＊　＊　＊

While waiting for Isaac to finish changing, Monica was preparing coffee, grounding the beans in the grinder.

Nero, who had been lounging on the sofa in his human form, pointed at the second floor and asked, “Hey, is that really Sparkles?”

“You can recognize his voice, right?” Monica replied.

“But his face is completely different.”

“…Yeah.”

Monica set the finely ground beans in the coffee pot and put it on the heat.

“The ancient artifact, Gluttonous Zoe… it might be capable of more than we thought.”

As proven by how Gluttonous Zoe managed to steal Rutherford’s age, it was capable of feats beyond the limits of modern magecraft.

(But what happened to Ike does not seem impossible… The artifact probably undid the body manipulation magic altering his face.)

Gluttonous Zoe was said to take away the precious things of others.

Meanwhile, Isaac had been obsessed with carving the name Felix Arc Ridill into the annals of history. Even to the point of accepting execution as a fake if it meant preserving the honor of the real Prince Felix. He had been that dedicated.

But now that he had lost Prince Felix’s face, Isaac could no longer call himself the Second Prince. He wouldn’t even be able to return to his domain.

At this rate, Second Prince Felix Arc Ridill would mysteriously vanish, never to be seen again.

(…Does this mean Ike can be free now?)

This was an idea that Monica knew she shouldn’t be considering. Even so, she couldn’t help herself.

If Isaac continued living as Felix Arc Ridill, he would never be able to have children. The existence of any descendant without royal blood would only cause trouble down the line, perhaps even exposing his identity.

He was only allowed to quietly live the rest of his life alone. This was the greatest concession the king could offer the fake prince.

(But now that Ike has lost the face of Felix Arc Ridill, he can live freely as Isaac Walker…)

As Monica poured coffee into the cups, Isaac descended the stairs in dry clothes, while still wiping his wet hair.

Though he was clearly still exhausted, his steps seemed somewhat steadier than before.

Monica had assumed Isaac would take his usual seat, but he passed by the table and retrieved something from the kitchen pantry. It was the sausages delivered by Glenn.

Isaac set them on a plate in front of his usual seat, but for some reason, he remained standing.

Meanwhile, Nero, who had been watching Isaac’s movements, licked his tongue and rose from the sofa he had been lying on.

“Oh, so that was where you hid the sausages?”

Nero promptly sat in Isaac’s seat and started feasting on the sausages.

——Toom-toom.

The trumpet hidden behind the sofa made a silly noise.

Nero quickly let out a muffled, “Oh no,” with his mouth full of sausages. He stood up and looked under the cushion to find a pedal connected to a tube. The very same one he had set up as a prank.

Isaac put on a faint smile and sat himself down in Nero’s usual seat.

“What an amusing toy.”

Apparently, he had noticed Nero’s cushion trap.

“I’m convinced now. You’re the real Sparkles,” Nero said with a frown.

After observing the usual banter between Nero and Isaac, Monica breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the change in appearance, Isaac was still Isaac.

Monica placed coffee cups at their respective seats, adding sugar and milk to Nero’s cup to make it easier to drink.

“Thank you.”

Isaac expressed his gratitude and slowly sipped his coffee.

As Monica sipped her coffee, she discretely observed Isaac’s face.

Isaac’s true face made him look two or three years older than the face of Prince Felix.

They shared a general resemblance, but the finer details were completely different. Compared to the gentle features of Prince Felix, this face seemed to give a much colder impression.

It was then that Monica noticed.

(Oh right. Duke Crockford…)

Ironically, Isaac’s original face seemed closer to Duke Crockford than Prince Felix.

Elliott had described Isaac’s face as intimidating, and he wasn’t wrong. His eyes were narrower than Prince Felix’s, making him look less hospitable.

Of course, the most eye-catching feature was the scar extending vertically above his right eye. This clearly came from the claws of a large creature rather than a sharp blade.

(…How do I talk to him? Is it okay if I ask?)

As Monica worried about such things while holding her coffee cup, Isaac was the first to speak.

“While I’m still pretty confused myself… First things first, I want to understand the current situation. Monica, has the Mage Association notified you of any emergencies or something similar?”

“N-No…”

Currently, Monica had just completed the spell for removing Gluttonous Zoe’s shadows. After reexamining the formula with Ray and Melissa, they sent the results to the capital. Then, she picked up Nero from Lana’s shop and returned home.

Once Monica finished her explanation, Isaac lowered his eyes in contemplation.

“I see… In that case, it’s about time someone from the Association arrives.”

“…Huh?”

“Just a moment ago, I encountered Theodore Maxwell in the streets of Sazandol.”

Even though Monica knew this was coming, hearing the confirmation still caused her to tense up.

Isaac succinctly explained the events that led up to this point.

How he and Anthony had fought against Theodore Maxwell, who sent a mage named Samuel Throth to attack them. Anthony sacrificed himself to shield Isaac, but Isaac was ultimately defeated and lost his face.

(Samuel Throth… from the Candy Party…!)

Theodore had been acting as Throth’s lackey during the Candy Party, so it made sense for him to know Throth’s name and face.

In which case, he could use Gluttonous Zoe to turn Throth into a servant.

And once Theodore turned Throth into a servant, that would naturally lead into a fight with Anthony, who had captured Throth.

Putting on a stern expression, Isaac turned his eyes outside the window and continued.

“By now, the Mage Association should be conducting the on-site investigation. It won’t take long for them to notice the presence of Gluttonous Zoe… and once that happens, you will be called upon as one of the Seven Sages.”

“I-I see…”

“Then should we go catch the guy right away?” Nero asked.

Monica considered Nero’s suggestion for a while, then shook her head.

“…No, let’s wait for the contact from the Mage Association.”

They were unlikely to find Theodore on their own by searching blindly.

The best way to locate him was to rely on the manpower of the Mage Association. Also, once Theodore was confirmed to be in Sazandol, additional support will be sent in from the capital.

Above all, Monica didn’t want to leave Isaac alone in his current state.

“Ike… um…”

“Yeah?”

Isaac set down his coffee cup and looked at Monica.

Monica fiddled with her fingers on her lap and carefully chose her next words. After much hesitation, she asked her question directly.

“Ike, do you… want to reclaim Prince Felix’s face?”

Isaac lowered his eyes slightly, lifting the corners of his mouth into a troubled smile.

“Of course. Otherwise, Felix Arc Ridill would cease to exist.”

In his current state, Isaac was a free man. He could live as he pleased, unbound by former titles.

However, Isaac did not want to be free. He didn’t deserve freedom.

“Duke Crockford and I started this together, and I’m not going to just pretend it never happened… Even if others will forgive me for doing so, I will never forgive myself.”

Beneath his wet bangs, Isaac narrowed his eyes of black and azure.

Caught in his piercing gaze, Monica involuntarily shuddered.

Her heartbeat accelerated to unnatural speeds, and yet, she still felt cold, as if all the blood in her body was sinking to her feet.

Next to the frozen Monica, Nero glared at Isaac while sipping his sweet coffee.

“Hey, stop freaking Monica out.”

“…Huh?”

Isaac let out a small gasp of realization.

“Monica, I want to ask you something. Please answer honestly.”

“Y-Yesh! W-What is it?”

Isaac narrowed his eyes and looked at Monica again. This caused her to shudder.

“Could it be that… I look intimidating?” Isaac asked in a completely serious tone.

“Eeek!”

Monica looked back and forth as she meaninglessly waved her hands up and down.

“Um, you look a bit sharp, but I wouldn’t call it intimidating…! Oh, and, um, the length of your eyelashes hasn’t changed! I think they can still hold a matchstick!”

As Monica was about to elaborate on the “dynamics of eyelashes” she had pondered during her time at Serendia Academy, Isaac sighed.

If performed with the face of Prince Felix, it would be a sorrowful sigh for inciting sympathy. But with his current face, it looked more like a derisive sigh for mocking the person in front of him.

“I was never trying to glare at you…” Isaac explained. “Did it seem like I was glaring?”

“N-No, um, it’s just…”

Monica stammered out a denial, but the unease was obvious in her voice.

“But you’re glaring at her right now,” Nero said in exasperation.

“How could this happen…?”

Isaac tightly gripped his bangs, his voice filled with lament.

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