I Adopt The Male Lead - Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Karina was puzzled and asked a question.

“I thought only those who can tell the difference between rubies and garnets are accepted?”

“I’ll teach you.”

That was a very irresponsible answer.

Karina quickly nods her head.

(T/N: I’m dead lol)

There was no guarantee that she could find another job, considering the bad treatment she received from other stores today. In addition, the wages here are 700 kibrins per month.

It was about 100 kibrins higher than other stores. But surely the jeweler had a goal.

‘Maybe it’s because he wants to see myself go on a rampage again.’

The Duke and jeweler didn’t even give her a proper explanation of what had just happened to her, but Karina had something in mind she can point out.

‘I’m a rampaging wizard.’

Rampaging wizards happens in three situations.

First, when you can’t control yourself by performing magic beyond your ability.

Second, when the magic constraints aren’t properly implemented.

Third, when you couldn’t properly tame a raging magic stone.

The stone that just resonated with her and almost caused an explosion must have been magic.

The appearance of magic stones varied from stones rolling on the side of the streets to rocks rooted in cliffs and precious gems.

Unlike the common forms, they are so precious that an ordinary wizard like Lord Lenque couldn’t properly see them once in their lives.

‘But the magic stone wasn’t in a state of explosion.’

The book she saw in Lord Lenque’s study said that magic stone, which was in a state of an explosion, had black energy and couldn’t dare approach the area.

But the previous magic stone was just a normal stone form.

Besides, she’s not a wizard…

Karina facepalms herself. He was aware that she had the gift of a wizard.

After ten years of working as a maid and not being an idiot who takes on all kinds of work for a wizard, you will notice yourself.

However, many people had the talent of a wizard itself. But to develop that talent, it’ll take constant effort, devotion, and teaching.

Karina didn’t have any of that. As a result, she didn’t know how to use any simple magic. In short, she couldn’t call herself a wizard.

‘Having a power that can’t be controlled is worse than nothing.’

Karina looked directly at Wilder.

(T/N: I don’t know if the author made a mistake or did I read the raw wrongly but his name was stated before it was introduced, I’m confused haha)

Even if she accepted his proposal, she had to know what she needed to know.

“How did I go on a rampage?”

The duke and the jeweler looked at each other silently.

“The same thing could happen again, so I can’t work here.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Karina’s forehead wrinkled. It wasn’t because of what the jeweler said, but the Duke’s

“That’s… Wilder’s mistake. Wilder, apologize.”

The jeweler named Wilder painted his face but didn’t refuse the Duke’s orders.

“…I’m sorry, Mrs. Bloe.”

“I don’t want an apology.”

Karina sighed.

What good is an apology from someone who could be a potential future employer?

“I’m just worried that if I work here, the same thing will happen again. I almost died, didn’t I?”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding.”

The Duke took a step towards Karina and stopped on the spot as she backed away in surprise.

“The rampage wasn’t because of you. It’s because Wilder left dangerous objects everywhere.”

“Then… I want to work here.”

“I will make sure that never happens again. And I’ll take that one.”

“Duke!”

Wilder shouted in protest. The Duke waved his hands as if he was annoyed.

“Ten top-class magic stones are enough?”

Wilder’s face, which had been stiff until a while ago, has loosened up.

“Of course. Do you want me to wrap it up for you?”

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of it myself.”

The Duke grinned. It was a strange laugh that mixed the coldness of an aristocrat with the playfulness of a boy.

“Now, shall I tell you why I’m here?”

Karina stood there, unable to do anything. She apparently has just been hired by this jewelry store. So she’ll have to stay seated and learn the job.

But she didn’t want to stay in the same building with the Duke.

Whether she showed signs of discomfort or not, the Duke pulled out a chair that Karina didn’t even know was there and took a seat.

He looked as comfortable as if this place was his own home.

“There are 15 unbalanced magic stones.”

“15? Are you trying to kill this old man?”

“Who’s keeping the old man alive?”

“The very ruler of this Tors… the mother of Your Grace the Duke. She has already passed away now, but she was a great person.”

The Duke’s eyebrows frowned.

“Wilder, I hope you don’t make me break my mother’s will.”

“That’s something you should take good care of.”

Wilder grumbled but carefully took out the magic stones from the package thrown by the Duke and opened them on the table.

The magic stone, which looked not much different from the pebble used by children to play with stones, was spread out on the table.

Karina couldn’t decide whether she could stay here or if she should get away recognizing it as a secret, so she just looked around.

The unbalanced magic stone was the first kind of magic stone she had ever heard of.

In other words, it must be in the secret space of the study, where Lord Lenque was anxious for anyone to see information that may be even Lord Lenque didn’t know.

“Mrs. Bloe, take a closer look. It’s something we’re looking forward to.”

Fortunately, Wilder fixed his position. Karina was able to observe the unbalanced magic stone right behind Wilder.

“…!”

Karina’s eyes opened wide and she steadied herself

‘This is…’

Karina bit her lip.

She wasn’t sure if she should say this or not.

The Duke casually asked Wilder, who seemed to have noticed nothing.

“Do you see anything?”

“Not really… I don’t know until I’ve tested it. All these kinds of magic stones are like that.”

Wilder said as if he was saying, “Why the hell are you asking me that now?”

“Wilder, not you. Mrs. Bloe.”

The Duke’s words surprised Karina and Wilder to the point where they jumped from their seats.

“You mean Mrs. Bloe?”

“Yeah, I noticed she seem to have known something.”

Karina bit her lip. It’s easy to hide.

You can just say that the shock she received from the magic stone a while ago made her became afraid of this little thing.

But Karina wanted to know.

About the magic that Lord Lenque had completely blocked her from all this time…

Because the aristocrat had to be on guard at all times, Karina seemed unable to forgive herself for a while if she had run away from this opportunity.

Karina decided to be honest.

‘Yeah, I’ve always wanted to know about magic since I was young.’

So when Melissa said she wanted to beat Roland to shape a homunculus, she immediately accepted it despite the possibility of failure.

Because she saw herself in her as a child who was frustrated even though she wanted to learn magic from him.

She tried to convince Roland, who had a trauma of magic, that magic wasn’t just hard and painful.

Apart from Roland’s future of becoming an archwizard, she didn’t want Roland to be separated from the magic that Karina envy.

For Karina, magic was a fresh grape that the fox in fairy tales could never pick.

Finally, the fox had an opportunity to pick and eat the grapes, and Karina didn’t want to make a fool of herself for missing it might be new grapes.

Of course, the goal of raising children safely can be difficult because of the words they will utter.

It might have been better to focus on raising the children safely as a maid in Lord Lenque’s mansion, like a nanny who’s a mother in name only.

But Karina didn’t want to live like that. And the two adorable children she has adopted won’t want it either. Since they are good children, they will want Karina to be as happy as they are.

So Karina blurted out the words that went running in her head.

“The magic stone is only one of these.”

“…!”

If Wilder of the past was surprised enough to jump out of his seat, the current Wilder was in a state of shock enough to worry that he might collapse.

He immediately looked at Karina and asked back with a trembling mouth.

“Only one of these?”

“Yes.”

Karina nodded her head.

Out of the fifteen unbalanced magic stones that the Duke brought, only fourteen of them felt like ordinary pebbles.

But the other one is…

Karina picked up the magic stone as if she was possessed. The magic stone trembled as if it’s alive in her hand.

The Duke and Wilder held their breath and watched her movements in silence, but no one said it was dangerous or told her to back off.

“This is right.”

Karina held out the magic stone for Wilder with confidence.

Wilder remained silent, but the Duke slowly took the magic stone from her hand.

“I’ll check it out.”

* * *

(T/N: I’m sorry for the delay, I was supposed to update this yesterday but I got distracted watching NCT Dream 👀)