Dont make fun of me.

I smiled. He squished my cheeks together, making me look ridiculous. Tch. Cheeky.

Kaichen then put his face near me and mumbled something. Face flushed and ears red, he let go of me and walked away with long strides. My heart pounded erratically as heat rushed to my face. What he had murmured in a low voice continued to ring in my ears.

Im going crazy how do you manage to charm me like this every time?

Even though the snowstorm had stopped, the air was still cold, yet my face was so hot that I thought steam would rise from my body. Jealous Kaichen was cute, but when he looked at me with barely repressed irritation, he looked unberably sexy.

Hes crazy! Julius suddenly said from the side. He was laughing until he was wheezing. By the rotten look on Kaichens face, he mustve heard Julius. Can you believe how crazy he is these days?

I looked at him, frowning. Huh? Isnt it cute?

This is why people say love drives you crazy. Turns out there were two crazy people, not one. Julius shook his head quietly and walked forwards.

Well, he wasnt wrong. Love was bound to make me crazy since I couldnt think of anyone but him. I couldnt live for anyone but him.

*

I thought I could use magic if I came closer, but it still wont budge.

Julius touched the tightly closed gate. His hand couldnt even reach it, as if it was blocked with an invisible barrier. I smiled bitterly at Julius. It was a familiar sight. Id been experiencing this for hundreds of years. Ive always felt hopeless being blocked like that.

I stretched out my hand.

Clang.

Huh?

Naturally, I thought my hand would be blocked like Julius, but it went in smoothly as if I was dipping my hand in water. I pulled my hand out and took a step back, surprised. My eyes widened and my mouth hung slightly ajar. I caught Julius gaze as he looked back and forth and the gate and me with an expression similar to mine.

When I first stepped foot into this place, the air felt familiar around me. It made me realise that Hoiore was trapped in time magic.

Swallowing, I clutched the metal once more. My hand reached it.

Your Highness I think I can enter through here.

Kaichen had said before that I had a talent for time magic. Since Id been a medium before, Id surely be more familiar with time magic than anyone else. And perhaps, that was why the time magic that enveloped Hoiore didnt reject me.

As if it thought that I was a part of the time magic.

*

Ill go in, I thought as I looked around the fields of snow basked in sun. The quiet Hoiore where the snowstorm stopped. Perhaps I could use my magic skilfully here.

The thoughts grew stronger as we approached the Hoiore castle. The familiar yet heavy air, which I did not want to think about, was not much different from Acrab back when the days repeated, whether they were a hundred or just one.

We laid thick blankets on the ground and sat on them. The silence was heavy with our grim expressions.

You know theres no other way.

Like Chushinik, Julius and Kaichen couldnt cross through walls or open gates. But I was able to get into Hoiore. It was like a bridge on a cut-off road. Kaichen wont allow this, and Julius couldnt bring himself to accept it, so we couldnt come to an agreement.

I could destroy the magic from the inside, I offered.

Its too uncertain.

My magic comes from time magic. It doesnt work here, but it will. Inside.

Dalia.

Its true. Im sure of it. I used magic inside Acrab too.

Although I couldnt use communication magic or telekinesis since I didnt know much about them, I was able to use the basic magic that Id learned casually.

The mana accumulated in twisted time was different. Kaichen had said that my mana was very dense, unlike normal mana. Since I had accumulated it for a hundred years, I told Kaichen that my mana would exceed his. Although it seems far-fetched, since I cant use magic as skilfully as Kaichen.

Regardless, I had an advantage of using strong magic with a high concentration of mana.

It could be dangerous. More importantly, youve never even destroyed magic before he said.

I exhaled a shaky breath. I could try now.

Haa

Kaichen turned to look at me. Worry and helplessness was etched in his face, as if he knew that I wouldnt listen to him if he tried to stop me. He knew me better than anyone else: in my stubbornness, I wouldnt give in.

Do you even know how to destroy magic? asked Julius in a heavy, defeated voice.

I understood Kaichen stopping me because he cared about me, but I didnt understand why Julius was against it.

Ive learnt it from Master before, I answered.

We dont know what type of time magic is being activated here, he replied.

Yes.

If anything happens on the inside, we cant help you.

That seems to be the case.

And yet you still want to go in?

I nodded in response to his serious question. Of course.