Home/I am switching to a ruined archmage family/ch1

Prologue

Was that woman out of her mind?

The mages shuffled back, retreating a step. And yet, they could not tear their eyes away from the strange woman who continued walking forward.

With a gait so light it seemed to defy gravity, she arrived before the dead monster. Then, craning her neck as far back as possible, she silently looked up at the beast—a creature the size of a house.

‘…?’

The marks of the final blow remained vividly upon it. A tree, hurled from behind, was lodged clean through its neck.

She lowered her head at last. And then, she took one step closer to the monster's body.

"Alexa!"

Even Adrian, who had been watching calmly, could no longer contain himself and called out to her. He steadied his uneasy, ragged breath and continued.

"Stop. No further."

A thick green ichor was oozing sluggishly from the dead monster's mouth. The blood of the beast—what they called a deadly poison. It was already beginning to dampen the tips of Alexa's shoes.

"It was running away," she said.

Her voice rang low. She did not turn around, nor did she move an inch—she simply faced the monster head-on.

"It was trying to leave."

“…I know."

"And yet you killed it."

Then—pop, pop—the stitching burst, and white smoke rose like a heat haze. The toes of Alexa's worn-out shoes were slowly eroding. She watched in silence, and at last, she reached out and placed her hand upon the creature's body.

"Alexa!"

Adrian instantly flooded his body with strength.

That tiny, fragile hand would burn away. Black blisters would rise, fester, and rot. The poison would spread through her entire body, melting even her bones.

A groan he could not suppress escaped through Adrian's teeth. Blood surged to every extremity of his body, and his heart pounded as if it would burst. Just one second. If he released all his power at once, he could reach her in a single second.

He would never let her die. Never.

Adrian kicked off the ground. His fingertips, flying like a beam of light, were just about to touch Alexa—when light began to radiate from her small frame.

“……!”

In that fleeting instant, he was hurled far away. Screams erupted all around.

"Ugh!"

"Aaaagh!"

Barely regaining his balance and planting his feet on the ground, Adrian hastily raised his forearm to shield his eyes. A blinding light and a fierce gale—so intense he could scarcely open his eyes. Everyone was being mercilessly pushed back by the heavy force emanating from Alexa.

"Magic power!"

"Get down!"

Caught off guard by the sudden burst of immense magic and the howling wind, most lost their footing and toppled backward. Even those who managed to hold their ground covered their faces and curled their bodies.

In the center of that painfully brilliant, iridescent radiance, only Alexa stood unscathed. She gently stroked the monster's body with her hand, now clotted with green blood.

"Let's go. Let's go home."

With those final words, the wild light exploded once more with greater intensity—and then gradually subsided.

“…That's impossible."

Once the magical energy had settled, someone murmured, dazed. At those words, those who had covered their eyes lowered their hands one by one, and all stood speechless, staring at her in disbelief.

"How…."

Where the colossal monster had once stood, there was now only that woman—Alexa—alone, standing in the empty space.

She had been staring fixedly at the vacant spot left by the vanished beast. Then she turned around. Her gaze, which had seemed half-lost and somewhat sorrowful, had vanished entirely along with the monster.

What remained was only fury.

Alexa looked upon the mages one by one, as if engraving each face into her eyes. The formidable magic, fully manifested, swirled around her like a maelstrom.

Slowly, as if weighed down, she closed and opened her eyelids, and spoke in a languid voice.

"Anyone care to offer an excuse?"

---

Chapter 1

"I think you're mistaken. I don't like you."

Alexa barely swallowed a sigh and lowered her gaze politely.

She had sensed it from afar—the flushed face of that man walking toward her with such eager anticipation. It had made her uneasy, and rightly so.

"You like me. And I'm not entirely indifferent, so I'll give you a chance."

His tone was so absurdly certain that she pressed her temple, feeling a headache coming on.

When had she ever exchanged even a word with this man? No matter how hard she searched her memory, there was no such occasion.

‘Whatever. What does it matter now?’

She'd already received that nonsensical confession, and she'd rejected it outright.

Alexa glanced up briefly at the man, who offered no reply.

‘Just as I thought.’

That incredulous expression—as if he couldn't believe he'd been turned down flat. No different from every other man she'd encountered. Practically cut from the same cloth.

In his coarse hands, the tender flower buds he had apparently prepared were trembling pitifully.

"May I go now?"

Seeing no reason to wait any longer, Alexa passed by the man without a backward glance. Tap, tap—as her footsteps faded, the man finally seemed to come to his senses.

"Wait. Hey, wait!"

Alexa walked a little faster, as if she hadn't heard a thing. It was plain as day that stopping would only invite more harassment—what fool would do that? Then she heard hurried footsteps following her from behind.

"Hey!"

"Ah!"

Without fail, her wrist was roughly seized. She frowned slightly and turned around, and Andy Reewood, meeting her gaze head-on, flinched.

Those olive-colored eyes, laced with irritation.

The moment he felt himself oddly drawn in, his heart softening, he pulled himself together. Feeling he'd acted too hastily, he flashed a grin, baring his yellowish teeth.

"Surely not—no way?"

"……"

"You're telling me you're rejecting me right now?"

"Yes."

"…Yes?"

There was undisguised disbelief in his voice—where did such confidence come from? Then, all of a sudden, he let out a hollow laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

"Ah, I see. Got it."

He'd heard that women sometimes pretended not to be interested just to drive men crazy. That had to be it. With his magnanimous heart, Andy decided to let it slide and tried again.

"Look, I know. It might be a little embarrassing, but we both want the same thing—let's not waste time."

"Isn't this very moment a waste of time?"

"What is?"

Only after seeing Alexa's indifferent expression did he sense something was wrong. The eyes that had smiled to appear charming were now stiff and awkward.

Alexa looked him straight in the eye, as if to make sure he understood.

"I have to hurry and go."

She twisted her body slightly, trying to pull her captured wrist free, but he only tightened his grip. Alexa bit down hard on a scream that threatened to escape and glared at him.

So just because he'd been rejected, he wouldn't let her leave peacefully?

‘Despicable bastard.’

She would never show him a pained expression, nor would she beg him to let go. She had no intention of playing along with his attempt to overpower her by force.

"Go ahead, keep squeezing. If it bruises, I'll tell the butler."

Her courteous responses were now over. Andy Reewood's face twisted into an ugly grimace, but Alexa was not intimidated by such things. What truly frightened her was losing her work.

Let that get to the butler, who despised trouble above all else.

"If word gets out that a deliveryman from a client assaulted a viscount's maid, do you think the trade will continue?"

"Wh—what? Assault?!"

"Bruises are assault, aren't they?"

Alexa lightly shook her still-captured wrist.

"The deal will be cut off, and your reputation will be ruined. You wouldn't want to get chewed out by your boss, would you? Or rather, as a mere deliveryman, you'd probably be fired on the spot…"

In the year she had worked at Viscount Montello's estate, the number of men who had made advances on her—lighter than a feather—easily exceeded ten.

The reason was obvious. The malicious, sensational, and utterly salacious rumors surrounding Alexa McDonner had spread like wildfire, no one knew from where.

"You—you dare talk about reputation?"

"Has word not reached you yet? Let go of my wrist right now. Why must I tell you twice?"

In the process, Alexa had learned a hard lesson.

That a polite refusal such as "I'm grateful for your feelings, but I'm not ready to see anyone" could easily twist and warp into rumors of having "shared both heart and body."

So there was no choice. If being cold and ruthless would make them lose interest and never bother her again, then so be it. After all, being a sharp-tongued woman was better than being a loose one.

Alexa casually pushed up her round glasses, which had slipped slightly. Her wrist was now so tightly squeezed that the blood was cut off, yet her face remained as cold as ever.

After huffing and puffing a few more times, Andy Reewood finally released her hand. His expression was one of utter bewilderment, as if he'd been drugged. He was on the verge of madness, unable to comprehend the situation.

‘Why on earth?’

Just yesterday, she had bowed her head politely every time she passed by, and she'd shyly avoided him whenever he appeared—hadn't she?

Yet now she was looking at him with eyes so different it was as if she'd swapped out her eyeballs.

Of course, if he thought about whether they'd ever actually made eye contact—well, no, they hadn't. But that kind of behavior was clearly just the coy act any woman put on in front of a man she liked!

‘I even booked an expensive hotel!’

His stomach churned at the thought of the hotel he'd splurged a week's wages on.

He'd been looking forward to pulling the ribbon from her long, tied-back brown hair and peeling off those round glasses that veiled her mysterious olive eyes.

Not that his imagination hadn't gone far filthier and more vulgar.

But given how things were going, taking Alexa there today was clearly out of the question.

‘I was going to treat her nicely.’

Unable to hold back any longer, Andy Reewood stepped in front of Alexa again, blocking her path as she tried to turn away. She let out a deep sigh and looked up at him askance.

"What do you want now?"

Her clear, glass-like eyes met his gaze directly. They were filled with unmistakable disgust, annoyance, and coldness—yet somehow, Andy found himself half-entranced, swallowing hard.

“…If I said I wanted something… would you do it?"

The one left wanting was himself, so Andy swallowed his embarrassment and asked slyly. This time, truly caught off guard, Alexa's eyes widened roundly—then curved into a delicate, amused arc.

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