Chapter 4

3. In the End, There’s Only One Conclusion

The fruit jam we picked one by one in summer, boiled down until it gleamed like jewels, was my sweet, tart little happiness. I scraped all of it from the glass jar into a bowl with a wooden spoon for the cookies, then licked the lid.

“Rivi, are you hungry?”

“No, it’s too good to waste. Let’s hurry and bake the jam cookies.”

Hesila, who’d been watching us make snacks, took the jam-smeared jar and stuck a piece of long bread inside, neatly wiping it out; it would probably go straight into her mouth soon.

I pressed little wells into the butter cookie dough and quickly spooned in dollops of jam. Once they baked, today’s treat would be ready!

Rector checked to see none were missing, then slid the big baking tray into the oven.

“Hey, should we get another jar of jam?”

“It’s barely the start of winter. If we finish it all now, what will we do later? If it runs out, we’ll just bake them plain. This recipe tastes good even without jam.”

He wasn’t wrong; the dough had plenty of sugar anyway. Still, people would be disappointed without any jam, so I tried to spread it as sparingly as possible. Thankfully, my rough estimate worked out perfectly—the jam was used up exactly.

The cookies baked quickly. Unlike bread, you had to let them cool a little before eating to get the best flavor. I sat with my hands folded politely, waiting for them to be served on my plate.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

I opened wide and bit into the crisp cookie. Mmm. Not burned, perfectly golden-brown. I’d save the rest to take to my parents; they were both in the study today since it was snowing heavily.

“Rector, if you wanted to make money, you should’ve opened a bakery instead of joining the mercenary guild. These are just too good.”

“It crossed my mind, but it’s hard to get ingredients this good in the city. And opening a shop costs a fortune. Easiest way to earn with just my body is mercenary work.”

“True, shop rents aren’t cheap. I guess for pure efficiency, mercenary work wins. Still feels like a waste of talent.”

“It’s not like I don’t use it at all. As long as my family’s happy, that’s enough. Rivi, want some more?”

“I’ll save the rest for tomorrow.”

“Alright. I’ll pack it separately.”

Since there were a lot of guests in the house right now, if he didn’t set some aside, someone would definitely eat it without realizing.

Rector transferred my cookies into a little wooden box with my name carved on it and tucked it safely in the cupboard.

“Wow, it smells sweet all the way from the hall.”

“Ben, did you finish clearing the snow?”

He grinned, eyes folding into crescents.

“It keeps falling, so I just cleared the main paths. Oh, right—Rector, the Baron asked you to come to the study. Rivi too.”

“Me? Right now?”

“Yeah. He looked… I dunno, kind of troubled? Maybe someone proposed a marriage match because our little Lady’s so cute? And you’ve definitely gotten rounder after those cookies today.”

Not likely. In families with a title as low as ours, marriage talks usually came only once you were an adult. Early engagements were for the high nobility who weighed everything about their match. Father taught me that.

I wiped my mouth thoroughly with a napkin, helped speed through cleaning up the kitchen, and packed the cookies for my parents before heading to the study with Rector.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Come here, sweetheart. Did you have snacks with your brother?”

“Yes.”

Inside the study, where stacks of documents lay piled, my parents were sitting on the sofa instead of behind the desk. I scurried over and sat beside Mother, just as she beckoned. Thankfully, the only thing on the table in front of them was a single letter, so I was able to set down the basket of cookies I’d brought without issue.

Rector didn’t squeeze in with Father—there wasn’t enough room—so he took the empty sofa opposite us.

“Was there a reason you called for me, Mother?”

“Something’s come up that requires a family discussion. We received a letter from Pretium, and the contents are… strange.”

A letter from Pretium? That meant it was from the Grand Duchess. What on earth had happened?

Mother used to serve as a royal knight stationed at the Princess’s Palace. The current Grand Duchess of Pretium was none other than Princess Clemence, the Emperor’s sister, who married the northern duke and took on her new title. Which meant, surprisingly enough, that our family had a small connection to the Grand Ducal House.

Since the Grand Duchess had grown up in the capital, she didn’t have many acquaintances in the North; so she occasionally wrote to Mother, her former guard, to exchange greetings. Sometimes, she even sent little gifts along with the letters—fashionable lace ribbons, soft fabrics, dainty brooches. They weren’t overly expensive, but they were rare to find in this region. In return, my parents would choose the best herbs from our storeroom to send back.

But that was the extent of it—at least, as far as I remembered. Rector must’ve found it strange too, because he held out his hand.

“Can I see the letter?”

“It doesn’t look forged. Did you check the seal on the envelope?”

“Yes, it matches the previous ones exactly. Same handwriting too. It’s definitely from her.”

Rector read the short, one-page letter several times, his face growing more and more serious with each pass. Then, with a hardened expression, he said:

“At a time like this, with no real explanation, asking Rivi to come to Pretium… Even if the Grand Duchess is a royal, this seems excessive. What could she possibly want with Rivi’s ability?”

“She didn’t say anything else,” Mother replied softly.

“If she’d at least asked us to come in spring, I might understand. But as it is, the Ducal House has never even invited our family before.”

Rector was visibly upset. He started pacing, ranting about how dangerous it was to travel north in winter.

This year, the snow had been especially heavy, and the roads were in bad shape. That’s why we’d been using short-range teleportation for most of our supplies lately.

“Dear, you said Rector would agree with me, didn’t you?” Mother turned to Father. “I think the first step is to reach out to our contacts in Pretium and ask about the situation at the ducal estate.”

Father nodded in agreement, backing Rector. That made it two against one.

From the way Mother looked, I could tell she was conflicted. She must’ve received a lot of help from the Grand Duchess during her time as a knight. Still, Father and Rector’s concerns were entirely reasonable.

“Mother, what did her last letter say?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. She thanked us for the birthday gift we sent her son, and wrote about things that happened at the party.”

“I really think we should decline this time. We could go, but it would be expensive and difficult. And if it were truly urgent—”

“If it were?”

“She would’ve sent a mage capable of long-distance teleportation to our house. The Grand Duchess absolutely has the means.”

At that, everyone nodded in agreement.

“Let’s send a reply along with a bundle of freshly canned herbs. If we use the fastest method, it’ll arrive in three days.”

“If her next letter says the same thing, I’ll go to Pretium myself,” Rector added. “If I travel alone, I can get there in a week.”

With that, the family meeting came to a neat and unanimous conclusion.

◇ ◆ ◇

Two weeks passed with no reply to the letter we sent in reply.

Instead, Father’s friend sent word that there was nothing unusual happening in Pretium. The Grand Ducal estate was said to be running exactly as it always did.

I sipped steaming tea while steadily working on preparations for Susanna’s wedding this coming spring. Besides the wedding dress, there was a mountain of other things to get ready.

Susanna still lived with her parents, but once married she’d be moving out; there were so many things she’d need for her new home. In a large territory with a big market, you could just buy them, but in our domain there weren’t many shops. In the end, we had to make them ourselves.

Blankets, pillowcases, curtains, tablecloths, towels—one by one, each item was finished and neatly stacked. When the big wooden chest was full, it would be loaded onto a cart, taken around town, and delivered to the newlyweds’ house.

Because Susanna had served our family for a long time, it was only right that I, the baron’s daughter, help her prepare for marriage. That was what a noble ought to do to honor the hard work of the people in their domain.

“Whew, I’m exhausted. That’s enough for today.”

“Good work, Rivi. The chest is already more than half full.”

“Just the blankets left to do. Ugh, being a noble’s daughter isn’t easy.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Go outside and roll some snowmen. Sitting here all day is making me feel cooped up.”

“You really have been stuck inside lately. I should get in some sword practice, too.”

Lately, Rector had only been using magic and the bow for hunting, so he strapped on his sword for the first time in a while.

We bundled up warmly and headed out into the garden to do whatever we liked: I rolled snowmen; he practiced swings with his sword.

There was so much snow piled up that my finished snowman ended up taller than Rector himself.

“You made it really solid and pretty. Want me to move it over by the front gate?”

“No, I want to leave it here.”

“But it’s right next to the stone kiln. Once we light it, it’ll melt in no time.”

“It’ll just change shape, that’s all—it doesn’t disappear. When it melts, it’ll soak into the ground, and come spring, there’ll be green leaves in the garden. Nature always goes around in cycles.”

After hearing my answer, Rector didn’t say anything. He just reached out and gently patted my head.

◇ ◆ ◇

One lonely snowman looked too sad by itself, so I worked hard and rolled more. By the time I’d finished three more about the same size and even a little one, the lovely white snow was all used up.

“If it freezes solid, it’ll be a pain to clean later. Better sweep it up now, even if it’s just roughly.”

“Rivi, want me to use magic?”

“It’s too big a garden to do with a broom. And the snow’s finally stopped. Come here, Rivi—let me hold you.”

He didn’t mean come stand behind me, but actually let me pick you up. He was planning to spread the magic in a wide circle.

I walked over, crunching softly in the snow, and spread my arms. Rector lifted me easily in both arms. He murmured a short spell, then stomped the ground with a loud thump! A gust of wind blew out in all directions, pushing the snow mixed with dirt and fallen leaves neatly to the edges of the garden.

“Ah! My snowmen! Don’t let them get all dirty!”

“I put a shield around them.”

I turned my head—and sure enough, a gentle dome-shaped shield covered the spot where the snowmen sat together. That was such good thinking. Truly deserving of praise!

“Ahh, I think I stayed out too long. It’s freezing. Let’s go in.”

He was probably feeling the chill because he’d been sweating while practicing sword work.

My clothes were well-padded so I could have stayed outside longer, but I nodded for his sake. Even though he was much older than me, if I didn’t play along he’d sulk.

While I was hugging his neck, looking out at the road beyond the estate gate, a bright light suddenly flashed. Cloaked figures appeared in midair. Even I could feel the huge surge of mana that rippled through the air.

“What the—!”

“An attack? Who are they?”

“Daaaan-chaaaang! That’s a long-distance teleport!”

The whole manor went into an uproar. People who’d been relaxing in their rooms or in the parlor all came running with weapons in hand.

It was only natural—regular teleportation is much easier between fixed magic circles. Those permanent circles are painstakingly carved by mages into stone floors, treated with special reagents so the lines hold mana over time. They’re expensive to install but extremely mana-efficient. That’s why a small, sparsely populated territory like Herba only had one in the lord’s manor.

Maintaining it was no small cost; only the ruling family could afford it.

If anyone wanted to come to our domain by teleport, they’d have to coordinate with Mother. As far as I knew, there were no visitors expected today.

Which meant the people now standing in the road were highly suspicious.

Rector quickly handed me off to Hesila and drew his sword in one smooth motion. The mood turned instantly tense. Sensing the hostility on our side, one of the cloaked figures pushed back their hood. Brilliant platinum hair caught the wind and streamed out.

“P-Princess Clemence?”

Mother, who had come running before I even realized it, spoke the name in shock.

Beneath the thick traveling cloak, eyes the color of emeralds shone brighter than any jewel. For a moment, I just stared, stunned, at the vision before me.

Like a fairy straight out of a storybook, the beautiful visitor gave us a gentle, graceful smile.

◇ ◆ ◇

It wasn’t possible to leave the Grand Duchess and her party standing outside in the cold. Mother, acting as the lady of Herba Estate, quickly offered them warm blankets and tea. Since long-range teleportation consumed so much mana, they’d kept their group small.

There was Master Derion, a Sixth-Circle mage; Sir Filden, the knight escort; the Grand Duchess herself; and her son Ars, the heir to the duchy who looked exactly like her. That was all.

“It’s been a while, Lady Seri. Was it my brother’s birthday party five years ago when we last met?”

“Yes, that’s correct. But, Grand Duchess, may I ask why you arrived so suddenly, without any word in advance?”

At Mother’s question, the Grand Duchess set down her teacup gracefully, then asked that everyone except our family leave the room. She even dismissed her own attendants, save for Ars.

“You may have guessed already, but I slipped out of the ducal estate in secret with my son. We had to avoid being seen. Using a fixed teleportation circle would have left a record, so I couldn’t send word ahead.”

“Is this related to what you wrote about in your last letter?”

“Yes. What I’m about to tell you is a tightly held secret of the ducal family. I came here trusting only in the friendship you and I once shared. My husband opposed it, but a mother will do anything to save her child.”

Her expression was grim, like a knight heading off to war. For a moment, I wondered if I should even be here listening to this.

“I’ve heard rumors that Lord Ars has a frail constitution. Seeing him now… it appears they’re true. If I remember correctly, you gave birth the same year I had my daughter.”

I tried hard not to let my surprise show. Ars, sitting across from me, honestly didn’t look older than five or six! And yet we were the same age?

Sure, everyone grows at a different pace, but this was extreme. He was so small—clearly he hadn’t grown properly because of illness.

“He’s ten this year. In fact, his birthday is earlier than your daughter’s—he’s a May baby.”

At that, Mother’s face turned stiff. Silence fell over the room. While our parents sat there thinking, Rector was the first to speak up.

“Grand Duchess, if I understand correctly, you’re saying the young lord’s health is failing and you need my sister’s ability to help?”

“Yes.”

“But my sister’s ability isn’t a healing power. It’s defensive; she can only protect herself.”

“That’s exactly why it’s important. Ars possesses not one but two powerful abilities. First, wind—the same as his father. Second, destruction.”

“He’s an offensive-type ability user… Don’t tell me his body can’t handle it? I’d imagine using control restraints would help manage it. And I keep up with northern news fairly well as a mercenary. Yet this is the first I’m hearing that Lord Ars is an ability user.”

“We’ve kept it hidden. Even in the ducal estate, very few know the truth about Ars’s powers.”

The conversation was growing heavier and more complicated by the minute. Honestly, this felt like something I’d have been better off not knowing. My brother’s expression was like someone who’d just stepped in horse manure.

• ◆ ◇

The Duchess wore a bitter expression as she explained everything in detail—a story so tangled and grave it was hard for someone my age to follow.

In our era, there may be many royals alive, but the Kalan Empire has historically struggled to maintain its imperial line. Because heirs were so precious, succession rights are granted to all children, regardless of gender. Even if a princess marries, her children retain their claim to the throne. It’s a safeguard to ensure the line never dies out.

In other words, Ars has a right of succession to the imperial throne—though his place in the line is quite far down.

The real problem is that none of the Emperor’s three sons has any special ability. Meanwhile, their cousin Ars possesses terrifyingly powerful gifts.

Even a fool could guess what that means. The moment Ars’s powers become public, chaos will erupt. The people of the Empire want a strong, capable ruler.

The Duchess had come all the way to our remote estate for one purpose: to try to extend Ars’s lifespan. A child’s body simply can’t withstand such immense power. He had worn suppressors to hold it back, but those no longer worked.

As he aged, his growing abilities broke every suppressor they tried. She said over ten had already shattered this year alone.

“Ars has used suppressors since he was an infant. His slow growth is a side effect of relying on them.”

Rector spoke, voice low and grim. “Rivi’s ability is nullification. It absorbs mana and powers alike. You’re saying she could act as a living suppressor.”

The Duchess nodded solemnly. “According to old records, back in ancient times when ability users were more common, nullifiers were used to treat cases of ability overstrain like Ars’s.”

Ever since they learned that when Ars was just a baby, the ducal household had been searching in secret for a nullifier. But it wasn’t easy. Even in my own case, my family hadn’t realized for years that I had such a gift.

While the adults talked, I quietly studied Ars where he sat. His eyes were a deep, luminous violet-blue like polished jewels. That pale platinum hair fell to his waist. He was so pretty he looked like a doll.

A sudden question tugged at me. Ars hadn’t said a single word this whole time. Even as everyone in the room discussed him, he stayed utterly silent.

Was he too sick to talk? No, he must be able to speak. If he were that unwell, my parents would surely have known even out here in our remote province.

Noticing I was watching him, Ars lifted his head just slightly to meet my gaze. The moment our eyes locked, the adults sensed something had changed between us and fell quiet.

◇ ◆ ◇

We were the same age, but I was the daughter of a baron and he was the heir of a duchy. I should probably speak formally. Oh no—come to think of it, we hadn’t even exchanged names yet! Alright then, let’s start with introductions!

“I’m Riventitia Herba, daughter of the Baron of Herba. I’d like to ask you something—would you be willing to answer?”

“If it’s something I can answer.”

His voice was soft but clear enough to understand. Whew. Now comes the important part. I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been spinning through my mind all this time.

“What is it that the Young Lord of Pretium wants?”

Ars blinked, clearly caught off guard by the unexpected question.

“What I want…?”

“Yes. I want to know what you want to do. The adults are discussing everything seriously, but in the end, it’s going to be us doing whatever needs doing. We’re the ones involved. It’s about the same as reading a book you picked out yourself versus reading something difficult just because a teacher told you to.”

“I… I… I want…”

His cherry-red lips trembled, and his long lashes fluttered as he struggled to get the words out.

“I want to live.”

Simple and clear. If he wants to live, then we have to help him live.

I stood up from the sofa and strode straight toward him. Then I confidently held out my right hand—an offer of friendship.

Ars reached out with a hand as small as a maple leaf and took mine, then suddenly burst into tears and wrapped his arms around me.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

Why… why is he crying? I blinked in confusion, not sure what to do, when I heard him mumble through his tears.

“It… it doesn’t hurt. This is the first time… it hasn’t hurt.”

But I didn’t even do anything…

When I glanced around at the adults, they were all frozen in shock. Well—not all of them. The Duchess had her hands over her mouth, her eyes shining with emotion.

Looks like they didn’t know exactly how to use my ability either. They must’ve been desperate—so they ran here without a real plan.

When I was younger, my mother used to tell me stories at night about her time in the imperial palace. Grand halls, splendid parties, and the dainty conversations of noble ladies. She always said the princess who stood at the pinnacle of it all was elegant and breathtaking.

But meeting her in person… didn’t quite match the tales. The Duchess, once the empire’s only princess before marriage, turned out to be impulsive and full of mistakes. Her son, Ars, was a weepy little crybaby. The only part that matched was how pretty he looked—like a fairy out of a picture book.

As I gently patted the small, sobbing boy clinging to me, I quietly bid farewell to the glamorous fantasy I had cherished.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Tasty!”

“There’s plenty more, so eat as much as you want.”

Ah—slip-up there. We’re friends now, so I should use his name. Ars finally stopped crying once he had a snack in his mouth.

He mumbled the words through bites, the pronunciation a bit mushy, but he clearly liked it if he was saying it was good. At least calming him down was easy.

It turned out helping Ars recover wasn’t complicated either. As long as our bare skin touched, my ability would work on its own. His powers were so aggressive that simply holding his hand let mine activate, absorbing his energy naturally.

Once they realized that, the people from Pretium all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Earlier this year, Ars’s personal physician had said he probably wouldn’t survive past twelve at this rate. No wonder he’d said he wanted to live.

But my parents and my brother were both looking deeply troubled. Unlike magic, special abilities couldn’t be stored in artifacts. Which meant Ars would need to stay by my side constantly to keep getting better.

“I think I can guess what you’re about to suggest. Duchess, I’m sorry, but that’s absolutely out of the question.”

“I can promise you the best treatment and care possible.”

“I know exactly what it means to leave home and struggle; I learned that firsthand as a mercenary. For my sister to stay by the Young Lord’s side all the time, she’d have to be his playmate or serve as an attendant. But tell me—how do you think it would look, having an unmarried noble girl her age constantly at his side?”

“I understand perfectly what you mean, Sir Herba. But Ars is the only heir of the ducal family. On what grounds would he be allowed to stay in Herba for a long time?”

“We’d need a reason—like convalescence or some other pretext. And frankly, our territory is much safer if you’re trying to hide his power. Offensive abilities have to be vented regularly, right? I doubt Pretium even offers a safe way to practice.”

“That’s…”

It was obvious—lying convincingly was hard.

As my brother and the Duchess locked horns, I glanced at Ars, who had stopped eating now that he was full. I gently tapped the back of his hand.

“Mm?”

“I have another question. Can you sleep on your own without your mom and dad?”

“Of course. I always do. Even at home, my building’s completely separate. My parents stay in the main keep while I live in the heir’s residence.”

Figures—it really was a top-tier noble family, even by imperial standards. Our places were nothing alike. They didn’t just have separate rooms but separate buildings entirely. Now I got why my brother didn’t want to send me off.

Ars might be treated like an honored guest here, but if I went to Pretium, I’d just be seen as an outsider, no matter how kindly the Duchess behaved.

Animals and monsters in the Chepan Mountains were fierce and strong, but even predator cubs couldn’t survive alone without their mothers.

Hmm. I couldn’t just walk into that kind of situation willingly. But creating a reason wasn’t so hard. What did our territory have that Pretium didn’t? Something special and unique here… Oh!

Got it.

To stop the two grown-ups from growling at each other like beasts, I clapped my hands twice—like a teacher getting noisy students to pay attention.

“Ahem! I think both of you should calm down. Fighting isn’t going to solve anything.”

At my words, the Duchess composed her face while my brother took a few deep breaths to steady himself.

“I thought of a way Ars could stay in our territory for a long time. We can say he’s here for hot spring therapy.”

“Hot springs?”

“Lady Riventitia, does Herba really have hot springs?”

Master Derion and Sir Filden looked startled, practically blurting the question. But before I could answer, my mother spoke for me, explaining calmly that Herba was the only place in the north with natural hot springs.

◇ ◆ ◇

“The hot spring water is just as effective as the famous Shirada Springs in the south. But our territory’s location makes large-scale tourism impossible. So we just use it for greenhouse heating and bathing.”

“Wait—you mean you can just turn on a tap and get hot spring water?”

“Yes. In the lord’s manor, every bathroom has it. And there’s a public bathhouse in the village.”

“Huh, a hot spring… you were sitting on a treasure. Duchess, did you know about this?”

“No, this is the first I’ve heard of it. I studied geography quite a lot, so this is rather embarrassing.”

The Empire was vast, and most people only knew the basics about their own region. Not knowing was normal.

The Duchess had probably studied mountains of material back when she was a princess, but let’s be honest—our hot spring is only written about in specialist geography books. Boring ones at that. She probably never bothered reading them.

Still, my idea had at least stopped the argument.

We couldn’t decide anything final here and now, since the Duke himself wasn’t present. But after roughly settling the matter, the Duchess said she would bring Ars back to our territory next time—through the official teleportation circle.

When he heard he’d be separated from me, Ars started bawling again so Hesila had no choice but to cast a sleep spell on him.

If he cried too much, his power would go wild and hurt his body. Watching him asleep in the knight’s arms, he looked even smaller than when he was next to me.

We saw the ducal party off, and by the time it was over, the sun had already set.

“Blink and it’s dinner time.”

“Ugh, today was completely exhausting. I feel drained.”

“That’s because you got all cocky and picked a fight with the Duchess. Weren’t you scared at all?”

“I only talked big because it was our home turf. She brought the bare minimum of people, so I figured I could hold my ground. Anyway—seriously. That hot spring idea was clever. Smart girl, my sister.”

“I heard it at that gathering, remember? When that Viscountess Condal visited from the central province. She said her elderly father went to Shirada Island for treatment.”

“Wait, hang on. Isn’t Viscountess Condal over seventy herself?”

“Yeah. The one who went for therapy is turning ninety soon.”

Honestly, as she told me that story, all I could think was it would be stranger if someone pushing ninety didn’t have health problems.

My brother said this hot spring angle made it much more likely Ars would stay with us. The Duchess herself had apparently spent years at a hot spring retreat as a child because of her health.

She was the late Empress’s only daughter, born when the Empress was already past forty, and she’d been sickly as a baby. Afraid they’d lose such a precious princess, the Imperial Family even built her a private palace on warm Shirada Island and kept her there until she was well.

“Our Herba is much closer to Pretium than Shirada Island is. And now that I’m back home, even those fussy Pretium retainers should accept it.”

“Honestly, I’m more worried that Ars is such a crybaby.”

“Worried he’ll start bawling again like today?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t forget he’s the heir of one of the most powerful families in the Empire. If he officially stays here, he’ll probably come with a small army of attendants and guards. Plus they’ll use crystal orbs to check in with his parents every day.”

Oh. So he won’t be crying because he misses his parents.

Good. That just means I need to do my part well.

◇ ◆ ◇

No one really knew exactly what had happened in Pretium, but the Duke’s decision came incredibly quickly. Just three days after they teleported back, Ars returned to Herba—this time with an absurd amount of luggage.

Of course, he didn’t come alone. He was carried in his father the Duke’s arms.

At least this time, they hadn’t just dropped in unannounced. My parents had had some time to mentally prepare.

I’d always thought Ars looked a lot like the Duchess, but standing next to the Duke, it was obvious he resembled his father, too.

He was even more handsome than the portrait in the newspaper suggested: tall, slender, striking. Both father and son shared the same lovely violet eyes.

Now that I thought about it, the Duchess’s eyes were that deep forest green.

After returning to the ducal seat, they’d had Ars examined thoroughly. The conclusion was that he’d need my help for at least a year. Beyond that, the parents would discuss what to do next depending on his condition.

My brother had predicted the ducal family would send a whole retinue, but surprisingly, the only people who came with Ars were Sir Euden, his knight, and a maid named Elodie.

Sending too many people to another noble’s house wasn’t exactly polite, and Ars could handle most small tasks on his own. They couldn’t risk his power being discovered, so he’d learned how to do a lot himself.

When it came out that he could dress and bathe himself with magic, Mother was astonished. She said that in the Imperial Guard she’d seen plenty of nobles—even adults—who were completely hopeless at those things.

The Duke himself was one of the North’s most powerful ability users. He insisted on testing my power personally and then warned us not to tell anyone except trusted family.

Every ability was a double-edged sword. My nullification could help Ars, but it could also be misused in terrible ways.

It was lucky our family wasn’t that socially connected. If I’d been the daughter of some central-region noble family, people would have demanded I be shipped off to a military academy in no time.

The Duke stayed just long enough to finish moving Ars in and watch us get along. He left the next morning.

Since he was all the way out here in Herba, he said he’d tour the local territories while he was at it—and then he took off using his ability. He flew faster than a wyvern.

“Amazing. It takes an enormous amount of mana to fly like that with magic. It looked like Hesila’s flight spell, but…”

“His Grace is one of the top five wind ability users in the entire Empire. I take it this is your first time seeing a high-level ability user, Lady Rivi?”

“Most people in our territory find magic more practical than abilities.”

“Honestly, unless you’re in the military or a knight order, you rarely see them. The ducal family is rather… unusual in that regard. I myself am better with a sword than with my own ability.”

Sir Euden had great skill, but his ability was apparently pretty useless for fighting. He could move earth, but only enough to raise a little bump or make a hole big enough to catch a foot.

Holding my hand, Ars didn’t cry at all while he watched his father leave.

Maybe because he’d been special from birth, only his heart had grown up too fast while his body lagged behind.

We watched the cloudy gray sky for a moment before heading back into the manor.

◇ ◆ ◇

“Ars, what did you usually do back at the ducal estate?”

“Um… when I was sick, I just stayed in bed. When I felt okay, I read books or studied in my room.”

“When you’re holding my hand, it really doesn’t hurt at all?”

“Yeah. It’s kind of like… you know how it’s hard to breathe if your nose is stuffed up?”

“Right.”

“Wearing the suppressor feels like that—like having a bad cold all the time. It’s really hard. But if I take it off and hold your hand like this, my body feels clear, like I can finally breathe.”

“How long does that last if I’m not around?”

“I’m not really sure. The day I went back, I started hurting again that night. I don’t remember exactly.”

“So you really can’t be apart from me for long. You said if you lose control, things break, right?”

“If there’s no protection magic on something, it just turns to dust. Crushing is harder to control than wind. If I forget my suppressor, you have to help me put it on, okay?”

“Okay. I will.”

Ars’s power was so destructive that it wasn’t only dangerous to himself; it put everyone nearby at risk. The entire household agreed to keep an emergency suppressor on hand at all times so that if he forgot to wear his, someone could quickly help him put it on.

Back at the ducal estate, he’d worn suppressors everywhere he could: earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, anklets—anywhere they would fit. Here in Herba, he didn’t need all that. He just had to stay close to me.

Now he was down to a single earring. Once he got used to being here, we planned to try letting him go without even that; he needed to, if he was going to grow properly.

If his body didn’t grow, his life would be in danger. He had to get bigger and stronger so he could live as long as other people. He was still so thin and frail that Mother said she was going to start giving him herbal rabbit stew tomorrow.

That stew, slow-cooked with herbs from the Chepan Mountains, was the reason my brother Rector grew so big and healthy. Before I was born, he’d been a sickly little thing, but after two years of eating it, he ended up with the build he has now.

“I read in a book that people around the Chepan Mountains are really good at hunting.”

“Not everyone’s good at it. Depends on the person. But I’m pretty decent.”

“How do you even catch things?”

“You use whatever weapon or magic you’re best at. You’ve got your ability too, Ars. With a little practice, you could be really good.”

I showed Ars a few things I’d made from animals I’d hunted myself. When he saw the thick bear-hide coat, he clapped his hands in delight, eyes shining with genuine admiration.

◇ ◆ ◇

Ars had read a great number of books, so he knew quite a lot—but unfortunately, he lacked even basic knowledge about the Chepan Mountains. Still, if he wanted to practice his abilities properly, he’d need to go at least as far as the mountain’s outer edge. So my parents and Rector brought him a few books that local children in our territory study.

Naturally, the one doing the teaching was me.

“Most of the animals in the Chepan Mountains are big,” I explained, sitting in front of the group. “And they’re aggressive. Just because something’s a herbivore doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Outsiders often underestimate them and get into trouble. Even hunting rabbits is tough if you don’t know the area.”

Elodie and Sir Euden were attending the lessons too; they’d be staying here until Ars left, after all.

Sir Euden was a tall, broad-shouldered knight, just about Rector’s height, and handsome to boot—but without basic knowledge of the region, he might get himself killed even faster than the slender maid Elodie.

“If you run into a monster alone, the best thing to do is escape,” I continued. “Even if you manage to take it down, the blood might attract more enemies. Up to the outer ridges, you can avoid most of the dangerous ones just by using flight magic. But deeper into the mountains? You have to be careful. You could get snatched by a wyvern.”

“That all sounds… extremely dangerous,” Sir Euden muttered.

“Wyverns are animals, so at least they’re predictable,” I said. “Fire-type magic usually works well on them.”

That made everyone pause and exchange puzzled glances, even Elodie, who had been diligently taking notes up until now.

“Wait… Rivi, aren’t wyverns monsters?” Ars asked cautiously.

“Oh! I forgot to explain that,” I said with a nod. “In the Chepan Mountains, wyverns count as animals. The whole classification system is different there. If you can eat the meat, it’s labeled an animal; if you can’t, it’s a monster.”

Animals were comparatively easier to deal with, but monsters? Those were on an entirely different level. Researchers who once came to write a book about the region had shaken their heads in disbelief. They’d traveled across the entire continent, but according to them, the monsters in the Chepan Mountains were the strongest they’d ever encountered.

After a few days of lessons, the three of them took a practice exam based on the local curriculum. The results? Only Ars got a perfect score. Sir Euden and Elodie both missed several questions, saying their prior knowledge kept getting mixed up with the new information.

“Lady Rivi, I think I’ll just stick to running errands between the manor and the market,” Elodie groaned. “My brain feels like it’s about to explode.”

“That’s understandable,” I said with a sympathetic smile. “But Sir Euden, you’ll need to retake the test until you get every question right. You’re the one protecting Ars, remember.”

“Ugh… I’d rather swing my sword a hundred times than go through this again,” he grumbled, raking a hand through his short, navy-blue hair and sighing deeply.

But there was no helping it. The only way to survive in the Chepan Mountains was to memorize everything until it came out reflexively. Eventually, even Rector couldn’t stand it anymore and took Sir Euden into the field for real-life practice. Only after that did he finally manage a perfect score.

Thankfully, no one had told him the test was originally made for nine-year-olds. We’d better keep that fact hidden until the day he returns to Pretium.