The Runaway Maid is Loved by the Archmage - Chapter 55
Lutan guided Roina to the magic materials storage next to the laboratory. The storage room was filled with old and dark-colored items, all of which looked quite ancient. However, curiously, there was no dust or musty odor, and the air remained fresh and crisp, as if it were well-ventilated.
“Magical materials tend to be sensitive, so the storage room is maintained with preservation magic.”
As Roina looked around in fascination, Lutan gently took her hand to keep her from tripping. Roina shyly held onto his hand for a brief moment before letting go as soon as she stepped through the doorway. Lutan clenched the hand that had briefly felt her warmth before walking behind her.
With a wave of his hand, the cabinet doors slid open, and an item floated out from within.
It was a basket filled with black eggs. Roina took hold of the basket.
“These are doppelgänger eggs. They contain a great amount of magical energy and have the property of mimicking forms. Despite being called eggs, they are neither living beings nor actual doppelgängers, merely clusters of mana. But the reason they are called that is…”
As he spoke, Lutan leaned in slightly, lowering his head toward her. Roina caught a faint, fresh scent and, as if enchanted, gazed at him. His slightly tilted face traced elegant curves, and his long black hair smoothly cascaded down. At some point, the small glasses he wore had slid precariously to the bridge of his nose.
A sudden, idle thought flitted through her mind—she wanted to place a kiss on that bridge of his nose.
“…Activating each egg by infusing mana into it is the task I mentioned. It will also aid in your mana training.”
Roina had momentarily been too absorbed in watching him and had missed part of what he said. Quickly pulling herself together, she lifted her head. It seemed that all she needed to do was infuse mana into the eggs.
“Yes! I’ll give it a try!”
Her face brightened in an instant. Lutan was relieved to see her regaining her energy.
At that moment, a spirit flew in.
— “Visitor. Request.”
“Oh! It can talk?”
“Technically, it’s more like telepathically conveying intent.”
Roina marveled at the voice resonating in her mind. Lutan glanced at her amusement and smiled faintly.
“I will step out for a moment. Please wait in the laboratory.”
“Alright!”
With that, Lutan and the spirit departed.
Roina was once again alone. Stepping out of the magic materials storage, she took a slow look around the laboratory. Various parchments and pen nibs, neatly arranged vials of different-colored reagents on the shelves, and an unfinished magic circle design that seemed to have been worked on until recently. Magic tools bearing Lutan’s touch were scattered throughout the room.
Everything fascinated her. Strangely, she even felt as if she could intuitively understand it all.
As she slowly wandered the laboratory with the basket in her hands, her gaze eventually landed on the couch in the corner.
With a sudden flare, her cheeks burned as though set ablaze. The memory of the intense passion that had unfolded in this very place surfaced in her mind. She hurriedly shifted her gaze elsewhere, but there was no other suitable place to sit in the laboratory aside from that couch.
After hesitating for a moment, she awkwardly lowered herself onto the couch, placing the basket of black eggs on the low sofa table in front of her.
‘Come to think of it…’
She figured she might as well occupy herself with the small task Lutan had entrusted to her. Without much thought, Roina picked up one of the black eggs, just as she had briefly held it when Lutan demonstrated earlier.
“Hmm…”
He had told her to infuse it with mana. Roina focused her mind for a moment. Instantly, she felt the dormant mana within her body begin to stir, awakening one by one. The mana coursed through her veins, reaching her steadily beating heart, where it gradually settled. As she concentrated, she realized for the first time that with each breath, she was unconsciously drawing in ambient mana.
The mana within her was a chaotic mix, making it difficult to distinguish which part was inherently hers and which was the dark mana she needed to expel. Among them, she sensed a trace of Lutan’s crisp, blue mana. The moment she felt him, an image of his figure, pulsating intensely within her, came rushing back to her mind.
Roina’s face flushed red as she lowered her head. The thought of something of his remaining inside her sent a thrilling shiver through her. Was she truly lewd for thinking this way? The fleeting thought crossed her mind before she shook it off.
‘Focus on this right now.’
Carefully, Roina guided the mana from her heart toward her fingertips, where she held the black egg. The mana hesitated slightly, as if uncertain, before obediently gathering at her fingertips under her direction. After a brief moment of contemplation, she pushed a small amount of mana into the egg.
The egg instantly absorbed her mana and gave a soft hum as it trembled once.
Fascinated by the sight of the egg, Roina marveled for a moment before drawing in a bit more mana and infusing it.
Wooong— The egg trembled more intensely.
Feeling slightly flushed, Roina pushed mana into the egg until it reached the limit of what it could absorb. She was overjoyed by the realization that she could control the power she possessed. Until now, she had been drowning in the helplessness of being unable to do anything. But now, she had something she could do—something she could accomplish on her own. The sensation was exhilarating.
The doppelgänger egg, now brimming with mana, vibrated briefly—woong, woong—before growing slightly warm. When she placed it on the table, it stood upright without rolling away.
‘How fascinating.’
Enjoying the task, Roina eagerly picked up the remaining eggs in the basket one by one, infusing them with mana in the same manner.
As she continued concentrating, the first egg she had infused began to tremble again before dropping to the floor beneath the table.
“Oh, no.”
As she reached down to pick it up, the egg suddenly bounced and attached itself to her leg.
“Huh…?”
Whoosh—her view flipped.
The egg clinging to her leg instantly transformed into the shape of a shackle, pulling her down onto the couch.
Startled, Roina tried to sit up and remove the shackle, but before she could, something else flew at her and latched onto her body, forcing her back down.
“W-what is this…?”
They were the very eggs she had infused with mana earlier.
Each one had transformed into a restraint, wrapping around her wrists and ankles like shackles and cuffs, while one took the form of a gag, covering her mouth.
She struggled, but the bindings didn’t budge.
What flustered her even more was that, aside from the eggs that had taken the form of restraints, the remaining ones had started transforming into tools she found strangely familiar.
Panicked, Roina struggled with all her strength to free herself, but it was useless. The restraints only tightened around her further.
Just then, she heard the click of a door unlocking, followed by the sound of someone entering.
“It took longer than I expected…”
