Story Title: The Magician Returns
Source: Suddenly Became A Princess One Day [Novel], Volume 4, Book 13: The Return
Author: Plutus
Artist: Spoon
Disclaimer: Story and art are not ours, only the translations. Translations are not 100% accurate. The story title is made up.
Please do not repost and report!
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I returned to my room after seeing Claude back to the Garnet Palace. When I opened the music box that Lily gave me as a birthday present last year, a gentle melody began to flow in the calm night air. I came out to the terrace in my pajamas and leaned against the railing.
The high moon was sprinkling a soft light in the dark.
Oh, I had a lot of fun today. I didn't do anything special, but it seems I've never been this happy before on my birthday. It was the first time Claude attended my birthday, so Lily, Felix, Hannah, Cess, and the other Emerald Palace family, all seemed excited.
Today, the desserts served at refreshment time and the food on the table during mealtime boasted a completely luxurious menu.
Claude was surprisingly good at chess, I had a crushing defeat for several games in a row. So on the last game, I pretended to sneeze and flipped the board.
I was so greedy that I thought I'd try to be a little more childish with him, but after a late dinner, I sent him back to his palace. I've already had enough fun, so for the remaining hours of this day, I decided to yield Claude to my mother, Diana. I saw Claude off with a smile, who looked at me with a subtle expression.
As I put my arm on the railing and leaned my head against it, a pleasant wind brushed my cheek. The moon shone brightly, illuminating my hair that hung down the railing swaying gently.
Claude came to my birthday for the first time but Lucas and Blackie, who had always been present before, were absent instead.
I thought and stared at the sky blankly. A faint breath dissipated into the dreary night air. When I become alone like this, I suddenly want his presence.
But don't say that. I'm already happy enough, so I'll be happy and thankful for what I have.
Still, just the same...
"I miss you."
I opened my mouth slightly and murmured to myself expecting no one would hear.
"Who? Me?"
And at that very moment, I held my breath at the sound of someone's voice that was magically flowing in the night air. I stopped solid for a short minute and soon turned my head toward the sound.
Black hair fluttered in pale blue against the backdrop of the night sky.
Then the man, who was looking down at me and giving off an overwhelming presence under the shadow of a tree, descended lightly on the terrace where I stood.
"Making that stupid face, you must be very surprised."
For some reason, with his appearance like that, I couldn't say a word and just looked at him.
Until Lucas smiled mischievously.
"I'm back."
"...Lucas."
I finally came to my senses and opened my mouth. I couldn't believe that the person in front of me was real, so I was looking at him with slight uncertainty.
"What, are you so happy to see me that you're speechless?"
But hearing him say those words playfully just now, I'm slowly beginning to accept that the person who showed up in front of me was really Lucas.
"I heard it's your birthday today."
Maybe because he appeared as soon as I missed him, or perhaps because I was just thinking of him, that it felt like a dream.
"I'm just in time, aren't I?"
All the more so that now he was not in the image of a boy I am used to, but the image of a complete adult man. Standing tall with the night sky behind him, Lucas felt like an unknown being.
"But what is this?"
He looked at me for a moment and until he spoke with curiosity, I just stared at him absent-mindedly and couldn't say anything like I ate honey. [1]
"Did you absorb Blackie?"
A lump of stone flew into my heart.
"You're suddenly overflowing with mana."
There was not a hint of reproach in his voice. Lucas was just scrutinizing me here and there as if amazed by my sudden increase in mana.
"Are you completely back now?" I managed to open my mouth to ask him, but it only resulted in some dull conversation.
"Why, do you want me to leave again?"
"Did you eat the fruit?"
"I couldn't eat the fruit because they were already trashed, but I ate something better instead."
Luckily, Lucas had achieved what he wanted and looked very refreshed.
"Okay, that's great."
It was strange. I had a lot of things I was planning to tell him for when he returns, but now, all I have are these lame words. For some reason, I felt awkward with the man in front of me. I wasn't by any means trying to be unwelcoming to Lucas, but I was really lost for words now.
"Hmm?"
Lucas, too, seemed to have noticed that awkward feeling from me. Soon his red eyes peered into my face. It was then that I couldn't stand it any longer. I shut my eyes tightly and made an "eeek!" sound, then stretched out my hands as if to block him.
"Do you have to look like that? Can't you return to your younger version?"
"What did I do?"
"It's like it isn't you!"
With my eyes closed, I couldn't tell what kind of facial expression he was wearing, but I heard a 'sighing' sound. He didn't seem to find my current reaction funny and thought it was a bit annoying.
"Is this better?"
Unexpectedly, Lucas accepted my request without protest. As soon as I heard a younger voice, I slowly lowered my hands and opened my eyes.
"Lucas!"
"Oh, my eardrums."
The real Lucas stood before my eyes!
A pretty boy, who looks about the same age as I am now, frowned at my cry and gave me a satisfied look. I gave him a new welcome, expressing my violent joy.
"Why are you so late!"
"You must have missed me a lot, huh?"
From his cheeky reply to his appearance, it was really Lucas. I hugged him impulsively.
"Oh, wait a minute...!"
"I've been waiting, you idiot!"
Lucas went stiff as a stone, but I didn't care and expressed my feelings as they were. I was starting to worry about the World Tree fruit because I haven't heard from him for months! But coming back just in time for my birthday is such a praiseworthy thing to do! Besides, I'm very happy that Lucas is back because so many things happened while he was away. I must have missed this guy a lot.
Well, of course, Lucas has been with me ever since I was a kid. He's my first friend.
"Hey, you... This is too..." Lucas was stuttering incoherently at my sudden embrace. I held him tighter and patted him on the back.
"Congratulations on fulfilling your wishes! Now you've got your mana back and all is good!"
"Oh, yeah..."
"But didn't it took longer than I thought? I was worried! You should have contacted me at least once!"
Lucas stood still for a long time as I held him, and when he finally came to his senses, he pushed me away.
"Hey, aren't you hugging me too much?"
Huh? Since when did you keep your distance from me?
I listened to Lucas' embarrassment with the back of my ears. [2]
Seeing my apathetic response, Lucas' eyes stirred. He seemed to have something to complain about me, but eventually, he just made a skeptical look as if saying, 'What am I doing now?' then spoke.
"Oh, never mind, now you tell me."
"What?"
"What's what. Things that happened while I was gone."
I hesitated because of Lucas' subsequent remarks. He looked at me with squinted eyes, like he's telling me not to hide it and blurt it out.
"You don't have to tell me that Blackie is gone, but what's all this dirty stuff you're hiding? It's annoying. I want a list of names of people you've met."
He began to examine me with his mean-looking red eyes. I don't know exactly what he's talking about but in any case, my mana's condition really wasn't normal.
For some reason, I felt guilty, so I murmured to him my excuse.
"I didn't listen to you and stuck with Blackie every day... so I think I've absorbed him."
"And?"
I told him one after another what's been happening in his absence so far. While I was talking, Lucas didn't cut me off or blame me, but just kept to himself in a peculiar, unrelenting manner. It helped quite a bit in letting out the words that had piled up inside.
"Look at you. You can't do anything without me, can you? Wow."
And when I finally finished talking, Lucas, for some reason, regarded my face then reached out his hand.
"Then come here."
No, but... it's kind of weird. I don't know if it's just me, but it's more like, 'you stupid person, I'll show you my greatness by being merciful and by fixing this!' and it's unsettling.
"What, where are we going?"
"It's your birthday today. I'll give you a present."
Huh? What birthday present all of a sudden? I thought he'd say, 'your birthday present is me!' when he came back on time.
While I was in a daze, Lucas held my hand first, not waiting any longer. The moment my hand was wrapped with his warmth, the view changed.
Oh, I'm dizzy! Can't you warn me first before we teleport? But such complaints were only for a moment as I gasped at the sight before me.
What the hell?! This is Claude's bedroom! He's not even sleeping yet!
I don't think he noticed us and what Lucas was about to do as Claude was facing the window with his back towards us. It was so nerve-wracking that I screamed internally. I looked at Lucas beside me as if he was crazy.
But he even strode toward Claude.
Oh, no! Stop it, you punk!
As the distance between the two closed, Claude, as if awakened by his animal instincts, suddenly furrowed his eyebrows and turned his head. And that was the moment. Whoo! Whoo!
"Ugh!"
Lucas' hand disappeared into thin air for a split second, seemed to pull something out, then struck it violently at Claude! It was quick like a lightning bolt!
I screamed in horror at the sight of Lucas holding something pointed and sticking it in Claude's head.
"D-daaad!"
However, Claude had already collapsed in his seat. I was so shocked that I rushed towards him.
"Oi, how did you know and even turned around in time when we're hiding our presence? I almost hit you in the face."
"Oh, Dad! Daddy!"
No matter how much I shook him, Claude didn't respond. What Lucas had mercilessly stuck in his head seemed to be some sort of a branch.
I was panicking. I didn't know what to do, whether to pull it out or leave it for now and ended up doing neither.
Y-you're not dead, are you? You're not, right? Right?!
"This is an extremely precious and rare item and is not something to be given to just anyone, but I'm giving it to you since it's your birthday, so thank me a lot."
My veins started to burst when I heard Lucas' shameless words above me.
"Hey, you crazy bastard! What did you just do? Who told you to kill my dad!"
Uuugh!
That's why it's said that you can't stop the black-haired psycho! I was even glad he came back, praised him, and gave him a big welcome, but I never thought he'd repay me like this!
But despite my fuming, Lucas just talked indifferently.
"That's a branch of the World Tree. It won't kill him. You wouldn't know, but it's best to stick it directly to the damaged area."
Claude was lying face down on the floor like a dead man, I'm crying right beside him, and Lucas was the only one who looked like he has no worry in the world. Then the moment Lucas whispered to me with an evil smile, my crying and hiccupping stopped.
"And I don't think it's time to worry about someone else. We need to stick this in you, too."
P-pardon? What do you mean? Are you going to kill me after Claude? Are you saying that's really your intention?
I looked at Lucas with nervous eyes.
My wild thoughts~ with anxious eyes~ and you watching it Ooohoohoo~ [3]
But Lucas in the past certainly wasn't given the nickname "black psycho" for nothing.
He said, grinning at me, really relentlessly.
"All we have to do is stabilize your mana, I'll give you a specially small one."
Hwiik! Puuk! Before I could react, Lucas, who was rummaging through the air again, stuck hard a slender branch with sprouts on my head.
Hey, stop that weapon! You stupid idiot...!
I felt a brief pain and slowly lost consciousness.
Now, the k-killer is... Lucas...
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Annotations:
[1] ...like I ate honey.
Similar to "cat got your tongue?" It's an expression where you're suddenly at a loss for words.
[2] ...the back of my ears.
[3] My wild thoughts~ with anxious eyes~ and you watching it Ooohoohoo~
Song: For You by Yim Jae-Bum
This is the same lyrics of the song that played during Lucas' battle with the World Tree (which you can read on chapter Magician of the Black Tower). We think this was placed here for comedic purposes.
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Translator's Notes:
Novel-Lucas is more self-assured, confident, and relentless (not to add smarter and stronger). But he just does whatever he wants, no questions, no explanations, no consent. He is OP and practically God.
Manhwa-Lucas is more grounded. He considers Athy's opinions and involves her in decision-making. He is less impulsive but also less competent, plus he stutters like a fool before Athy's tears. He is practically whipped lol.
To be honest, I'm both amused and miffed at this stark contrast, but I'm definitely quite entertained by the changes.
Manhwa screencaps are from MangaReader. I don't know who translated Ch95 because there were no marks but it's definitely better than S2manga. God, I miss BucciGang.