Lance nodded.

This was also the main reason he had reminded Mira.

Mira stared at him, opened her mouth, but couldn’t form a complete sentence.

She suddenly realized that evil, brutality, and a thirst for blood weren’t just words—they were the lives of real people.

Mira was shaken.

She couldn’t sleep the entire night. She even considered leaving the tower.

But that wasn’t realistic. She had to survive in this tower by leveraging the terrifying reputation of the Dragon of Magic. Those jars—because of them, the Dragon of Magic had earned such a terrible reputation. Yet, she had to use that very same reputation to seek protection.

The magic-powered soldiers chasing her were still hunting her down. Leaving the tower with just the three remaining crystals in her hand, she wouldn’t last long. She didn’t have a suitable medium to face other mages and was naturally at a disadvantage in a confrontation.

Becoming an experimental subject for the magic nexus, her fate wouldn’t be any better than a specimen floating in a solution.

"Why do you feel guilty?" Lance looked at Mira.

Just last night, she was an optimistic girl. But after seeing those jars, she had changed.

Lance didn’t understand why this girl with a secret had become the Dragon of Magic's bride. But even if she were the sacrifice for the Dragon, those jars had nothing to do with her.

He stared up at the pitch-black sky and spoke, "You don’t need to feel sorry for what he has done."

Mira turned her head to look at him. He was trying to console her.

"I don’t..." Mira muttered.

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If it were just guilt, that would be fine. If it were mere fear, that would also be acceptable.

The Dragon of Magic had killed so many people, yet she sought shelter through it.

The jars had burst the bubble. The Dragon’s bride was nothing but a lie. She never intended to become anyone’s bride. She simply wanted protection.

But it shouldn’t be those jars that were protecting her.

Lance remained calm, as he had always been—just like the mages in the magic nexus. When they conducted their magical experiments, they were the same: cold, objective, and composed.

"Are you a powerful mage?"

"Sort of," Lance said.

"Are those in the jars heroes?"

"Some of them are, but the vast majority are just nearby civilians," Lance wasn’t sure.

After taking over the tower, many heroes had come here, but he only collected their swords. Before that, when the Black Dragon had owned the tower, he couldn’t be sure of the fates of those heroes.

"Do good mages have to abandon their emotions?" She didn’t hear a hint of sadness or sympathy in Lance’s tone. It was as if the things in the jars were merely ordinary collectibles, not human lives.

His attitude reminded Mira of the mages at the magic nexus.

She had always thought that learning magic should be something that benefits humanity. But if mages themselves were cold-blooded and emotionless, how could they use magic to help those in need?

Mira turned her back to Lance.

Her mentor had told her that Mira was highly gifted, but to become a good mage, she needed to be more rational and learn to discard her emotions.

Magic was the product of absolute reason. Generally speaking, powerful mages always maintained their rationality.

They wouldn’t be affected by external circumstances, which was why they remained strong.

Her mentor had said that because most men couldn’t empathize to the same degree as women, they had an advantage in learning magic.

Because they were heartless, they were strong.

Mira had never agreed with this. But she couldn’t find a counterexample to disprove her mentor.

She would feel sad for the strangers inside the jars. She would feel guilty for relying on their sacrifices to stay alive.

She wasn’t a completely rational person, and maybe that was why she couldn’t find a suitable medium.

Mira curled up into herself. She knew that some emotions were unnecessary and were nothing but internal conflict. She used to think they didn’t matter, but now, she wasn’t so sure...

"I’m tired," Mira said to Lance, but more to herself. "I want to sleep and think it over when I wake up..."

"No." The short, firm words interrupted Mira’s attempt to escape. Lance braced his body with both arms.

"The reason you need protection, the reason you’re feeling all these emotions, is because you’re not strong enough."