Chapter 46

I ended up patting Palos’s head after all.  

“There’s a banquet this evening, right? Let’s eat lots of delicious food then, okay?” 

Even though I’d be seeing him again soon, I still felt reluctant to part.  

Suppressing that feeling, I said goodbye and stepped outside, where the headmaster and the children who had been gathered outside gave me respectful bows before heading in.  

I started to feel a bit guilty, wondering if I’d kept Palos too long. But I couldn’t help smiling—those neatly dressed children were just too adorable.  

That’s when something—or rather, someone—who didn’t match the image of those cute kids at all suddenly popped into view.  

“Minuelle.”  

“Ah! You scared me!”  

Caught completely off guard, I nearly jumped out of my skin, clutching my chest.  

‘Damn it. I knew I shouldn’t have sent Ramande away.’  

Of all days, Ramande had a support request today.  

He had insisted on accompanying me no matter what, so I’d pushed him away with a “come later if you’re really worried.”  

“Haa…”  

I let out a shaky breath and bent forward slightly.  

“Minuelle!”  

The familiar, crisp scent of Esadien washed over me—  and in the next moment, I found myself in his arms.  

Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees and pressed his ear to my chest.  

“Good. Your heartbeat seems normal…”  

He let out a sigh of relief as he looked up—  only to stop mid-sentence, swallowing the last words like dry air.  

He couldn’t see my expression from that angle, but it must have been terrifying.  

“Get your hand off me now, you creep.”  

“W-Wait. I was genuinely worried…”  

“You just said I’m fine. Now get off.”  

Still, Esadien hesitated, not making a move to rise.  

In fact, his arms tightened ever so slightly around my waist.  

“Now!”  

“…Fine.”  

Only then did he slowly pull away.  

‘He won’t listen unless I raise my voice.’  

Still, even though his hands and face had withdrawn, he was standing so close that it felt like he was hugging me.  

With his scent in the air and that deep gaze that didn’t even blink, I felt practically trapped.  

“Back up. Three steps. Minimum.”  

His face turned slightly sulky, and he shuffled back just a bit.  

Was that even three steps? Looked more like toddler steps.  

Considering Esadien’s usual stride, it wasn’t even half a step.  

“That’s your idea of three steps?”  I growled, and he muttered back with a meek excuse.  

“…Shouldn’t it be based on your stride?”  

Was he teasing me?  

Too drained to argue, I let it go.  

‘Better to suffer in silence than die arguing.’  

“Why do you keep showing up out of nowhere, Your Highness? Don’t you have things to do?”  

If you’ve got so much free time, maybe sign the annulment paper already.  

“I’m here as a guest on behalf of the Crown Princess today.”  

That still didn’t explain why he was showing up right in front of me.  

‘Is it because that last incident made him feel closer to me?’

Just as that thought crossed my mind, I instinctively crossed my arms tightly.  

Then, Esadien finally spoke again, this time more seriously.  

“I have a question.”  

“What is it?”  

“Minuelle, what’s your type?”  

“…What?”  

Where did that come from?  

These days, Esadien is completely unpredictable.  

“Why are you asking me about my ideal type out of the blue?”  

“Because I want to become a man you could fall in love with…”  

“…”  

I was genuinely speechless.  

Stunned into silence.

Someone with pretty, seductive eyes when they smile.  

Someone who speaks formal language smoothly.  

A low, soft voice. Maybe someone who can sing, too.  

Someone who can cook well enough to make even tough cuts like chuck steak or dry chicken breast moist and tender.  

But above all, it had to be someone who matched me—  someone whose heart aligned with mine.  

But if he had to fit into all those things, could I really still call that person Esadien?  

Even after killing off so much of himself—could he even be happy like that?

“…That would just be acting.”

At this point, all I could feel was pity.  

If that was what he’d been thinking,  

Then what about the Esadien I’d seen in the temple?  

Was that all an act, too?

An unexpected sense of betrayal sprang up in me like mushrooms after the rain.  

Even if he desperately wanted to escape from the Second Prince and needed the ducal house’s protection,  

The Crown Princess will protect him now, won’t she?

“Why are you going so far?”

Esadien bit his lip, silent.  

His expression was like that of an abandoned animal, and my betrayal softened a little.

At the same time, a sigh slipped out of me.  

What if he ended up getting caught by someone far worse than me?

“Did it never occur to you that someone might pretend to accept you just to toy with you and then throw you away? You should be thankful I’m asking for a clean annulment, Your Highness.”

“I don’t want an annulment. I want you.”

“You’ll meet someone better. Lady Celeste even said she was taken with you—why don’t you try seeing her?”

“You’re the one who said it. That you don’t feel anything when you see me anymore. That’s how I feel when I look at her. Nothing at all.”

Hearing him say he didn’t feel anything made my mind flash back, strangely,  

To that day at the temple—  

To how he’d caught me just before I fell down the stairs.  

To how he’d apologized after seeing my hands. 

To how he’d tended my wounds with potion.

How we’d laughed after saying the same thing at the same time.

I almost lost focus just remembering it, but I repeated the same thing to myself like a spell: “I am firmer than a firm squash. And this man is a statue.”

Even as all that ran through my head, I kept my expression composed.  

Across from me, Esadien’s eyelids trembled like he was trying to swallow something painful.

Even his eyelashes sparkled in the light.

“But when I look at you… here—it hurts, like it’s going to burst. When I don’t see you, it hurts like I’m going to die.”

There was so much aching in his voice.  

Alas, pity is just pity.  

I couldn’t accept someone who’d change everything about themselves just to be liked.

“There’s a saying,” I said, hoping it might help him.

Esadien looked at me, still in pain.

“This too shall pass.”

“…I can’t believe that.”

“You will. I didn’t believe it either.”

“Minuelle—!”

“Please don’t say my name. This conversation is over.”

“…Don’t go.”

His hand trembled as it reached for mine, as if pleading,  

But I slapped it away so quickly, not even I knew I could move like that.

“If you show up again…”

I looked him straight in the eye.

“…I’ll ignore you, Your Highness.”

* * *

It was my first time in a wizard’s laboratory, so I looked around curiously, but it didn’t feel all that different from a regular professor’s office.  

There were just shelves with glass doors, filled with books and scrolls.  

No cauldrons bubbling over with magical potions or dried mouse tails hanging from the ceiling—  

None of that anywhere in sight.  

‘Ugh. So much for my magic school dreams…’ 

My favorite books as a child had been novels set in magic academies.  

Trying to impose those memories onto reality had clearly been a mistake—  

At least, that’s what I was thinking when—Brassidas, handing me a cup of tea, spoke in a calm voice.  

“You seem troubled.”

“Pardon? Oh—no, not at all.”  

I quickly raised my teacup to cover my mouth, but he was right.  

Even as I looked around his office, I couldn’t stop thinking about Esadien’s pitiful expression.

“What did you think of Palos?”

“He’s worried about what’s ahead, but I think he’ll do well.”  

“Indeed? He’s a sharp one.”  

Brassidas chuckled. He already looked like a proud parent doting on his new student.

“I did a bit of research, actually, on that enchantment magic we saw last time.”

Before I could react, the topic leapt—like it had taken a magic gate—onto a new track.

“You mean the spell that makes the target seek out the caster?”

“Yes, that one. Back then, I assumed it was just an outdated technique no longer in use…  But I had my doubts, so I looked into it.”

His expression shifted immediately—classic professor mode.  

I almost felt like I should pull out a pen and notebook to take notes.

“It turned out to be a spell used by a long-defunct school of magic. They focused mostly on enchantments, illusions, and curses.”

“Ah. So they were buried.”

Definitely the kind of magic rulers would hate. The very definition of misleading the masses.

“Exactly. That was fifty years ago. But it seems their legacy has quietly continued in the shadows.”

Whoa.

“Then that would mean they’re now working with the Second Prince—or Cult of Fire.”

“I can understand Cult of Fire, considering the ember you carry inside you… But what about the Second Prince?”

“He’s not on good terms with the Third Prince.”

I kept it brief, but as someone who’d lived a long life, Brassidas seemed to grasp everything behind that short sentence.

“There’ve already been two incidents. One time, I was almost—”  I stopped myself before saying “kidnapped.”

Behind the masked man—likely the Second Prince—stood two people.  

One had used a scroll, and the other had conjured fire.

“Master, you can only use magic scrolls if you’re a mage, right?”

“Yes. The formula is prewritten, but you still have to infuse it with mana to activate it.”

Then… were they both mages?

“Then do you think… is it possible for me to absorb fire created by magic?”

“You mean fire created by a spell?”

“Yes. Like… a fireball, for instance.”

“Fireball?”

The look on his face made it clear—he had no idea what that was.  

Oops. Guess they don’t have that spell here.

“It was… about this big—bigger than a head. A ball of fire from the palm.”

“A ball of fire, hmm… You’d need to cut off surrounding air to shape it, then maintain that while moving it… Hmm.”  

He kept muttering, but I couldn’t understand any of it.

Seeing my confusion, Brassidas chuckled.  

“Ha ha ha. In any case, spewing fire is easy— But shaping it like a cookie? That takes finesse.”

‘So… a powerful mage, huh?’

But it turned out he wasn’t finished.

“Unless, of course, you’re someone who can control fire.”

‘Control fire!’ 

…That could only mean using a spirit’s power.

I clenched my fists.  

A royal working with Cult of Fire was a very bad sign.

“I’ve lived a long time, but I’ve never met anyone else who harbored a spirit’s power like you.”

“Then…”

“I can’t give you the answer, but I can help you run some experiments.”

“E-Experiments?”

The ominous word turned my face pale, but Brassidas somehow just looked amused. My mother’s words about all mages being obsessed with experiments flashed through my mind.