The Flower on the Cliff - Arwin Cassandra
Arwin Cassandra was the only son and sole heir of the Cassandra family. At the urging of his family elders, he had joined the social club run by the Boran family—specifically Irina Boran’s circle. But Arwin had never been interested in such activities to begin with. After doing a little research on the club he was being forced to attend, he decided to participate only in the academic society, the one field that held even a sliver of appeal for him. Of course, he still had to attend the other events as well… but at least this one wasn’t completely unbearable.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Irina Boran!”
“Ah, yes. I look forward to working with you.”
When he first joined the gathering, his mind had been surprisingly at ease. The girl named Irina Boran was even more remarkable than the rumors had suggested. While it wasn’t unheard of for noblewomen to be active in high society, she was unusually energetic and took the lead in behavior that defied common sense. So many young noblemen tried to keep up with her that they ended up exhausted instead. Arwin observed all of this from a single step behind.
He wasn’t immune to her charm—her appearance, background, and personality were all attractive. But the difference in family status was clear, and he had no real interest to begin with. So he threw himself into the academic society’s discussions on ancient history, mythology, the fundamental nature of magic power, and other surprisingly serious topics. He participated actively, and it was genuinely enjoyable.
And then.
“Everyone, this is your first time meeting him, right? Allow me to introduce the second son of the Franz family—Leoric Franz!”
“It’s a pleasure. I am Leoric Franz of the Franz family.”
“……A pleasure. I am Arwin Cassandra of the Cassandra Barony.”
He had appeared.
Golden hair that seemed to reflect light and shimmer—the signature trait of the Franz family. It sparkled like polished gemstones, a level of presence that made even the Boran family’s undeniable magical quality and quantity seem one step beneath him. But what felt even more alien was something else.
Why can’t I sense any magic power…?
There was no trace of it. Nobles didn’t usually walk around consciously pressuring their surroundings with magic power, but even then, a faint presence could always be felt. Like the oppressive weight of something enormous standing right in front of you—even with your eyes closed, you would still feel it. Yet this man had none of that. Not even the slightest hint. Not a single speck of magic power leaked from him.
What exactly was he?
“That guy……”
“He doesn’t look all that impressive…?”
“Oh my. What a handsome man.”
……The people around them clearly hadn’t noticed. They whispered among themselves while staring at Leoric Franz, who sat quietly in the corner of the gathering. Their voices were loud enough to be overheard, yet he simply continued watching the academic discussion.
Irina Boran gave him one last unreadable look before turning back to the participants and raising her voice.
“The topic for today’s discussion is the magic power of our Boran family! Let’s talk about how we can utilize the power unique to our house!”
Is this really okay?
For a brief moment, the people attending the academic society exchanged uneasy glances. Researching another family’s magic power was a sensitive matter. Of course, everyone did it in secret—it was only natural. But to do it so openly like this?
“That’s……”
“Alright! Let’s begin!”
Ignoring the hesitant murmurs, Irina immediately spread her hands and summoned her magic power. A pale blue light, lighter than ordinary azure, began to spread through the room.
“So, what do you think I can do with this!”
The academic society fell silent. It was a topic no one had expected.
“If you’re asking what it can do……”
“Exactly what I said. The Boran family’s power is known as Sky Magic. So what exactly can this power accomplish?”
“……You’re not asking about ordinary applications, are you? Hmm.”
Though they had been caught off guard, the participants quickly dove into the discussion. Irina Boran’s gatherings weren’t the most popular, but those who did attend were genuinely passionate. Their debate grew hotter and more intense as time passed.
“As expected, the Boran family’s flight magic is truly special. When you compare the magic power consumption and mental fatigue required for other families to achieve the same result, the difference is astonishing.”
“There are very few families that can surpass the Boran family in long-range bombardment using flight magic.”
“And the way the Boran family manipulates wind is on another level.”
These were the well-known tactics of the Boran family—flight, wind manipulation, and long-range attacks. But Irina shook her head at the comments.
“If that were all there was to it, would it really be called Sky Magic? I’m certain this power has other uses we haven’t discovered yet.”
At those words, Arwin raised his hand.
“From what I’ve heard, it seems you deliberately chose not to study your family’s secret techniques. May I ask why you made that decision?”
“That’s obvious! Because we’re the Boran family! The magic of Boran has always pursued freedom! And what we reached at the end of that pursuit… is the sky itself!”
Irina spread her arms wide. Sky-blue magic power that evoked the heavens began to radiate from her body.
“But from what I’ve heard, both my brother and my father—and even my grandfather—only use techniques passed down from our ancestors! Of course they’ve created some of their own, but in the end, they’re all derived from the foundations handed down by the family!”
The wind fluttered around her as her blue eyes sparkled.
“It’s boring! So I decided—I would think about Sky Magic with a completely blank slate, without any preconceptions!”
She was dazzling. Completely different from people like him, who had simply been lucky enough to be born into a good family. That thought had just crossed Arwin’s mind when Leoric, who had been quietly observing until now, finally spoke up.
“Then what does Lady Irina believe the sky to be?”
“What I believe the sky to be? ……It is freedom.”
Irina tilted her head toward the ceiling. Though she couldn’t actually see it, her gaze seemed to pierce straight through to the sky beyond.
But Leoric shook his head at her answer.
“Shall we rephrase the question? Then where does the sky begin, and where does it end?”
“……That would be……”
The definition of the sky. Everyone in the academic society turned their eyes toward Leoric.
“The sky. It’s a word that carries so many meanings.”
He spoke in a low, calm voice.
“So where does that sky begin, Lady Irina?”
“Above! I believe it’s everything above us! The blue sky you see when you lift your head. No matter how high the building, no matter how hard you squeeze out your magic power to fly as high as possible—the sky you can never reach!”
Irina stretched her hand toward the empty air. The others didn’t fully understand what she was thinking, but Leoric nodded as if he alone did.
“That is indeed the sky. Then what about this?”
With a casual gesture from Leoric, a golden line was drawn in the air. Above that line appeared a person gazing up at the sky.
“This commoner is looking at the sky.”
“Indeed.”
With another gesture, a person appeared at an even higher position.
“To this commoner flying through the sky, how would Lady Irina—who continues to pursue the sky—appear?”
“……That would……”
She would look like she was floating in the sky. As Irina faltered, Leoric changed the image again with another gesture. A line representing the ground curved downward in a deep U-shape.
“Then what if—”
The shape now depicted an underground space, completely buried by earth on all sides. At the very bottom, another person was drawn, also looking upward.
“Where is the sky for this person?”
“The sky… the sky……”
“Even though they are still underground, the people standing on the surface above them—and those living freely in the open sky—would all appear to be in the heavens, wouldn’t they?”
Watching Irina’s blue eyes tremble, Leoric smiled softly.
“If it were me, I would first establish a clear definition of what the word ‘sky’ means.”
“……Wouldn’t that be the very act of confining the infinite sky?”
At Irina’s question, Leoric simply shrugged.
“It could be. Or it might not. The important thing is how you choose to think about it, isn’t it?”
“That……”
“Lady Irina. After speaking with you a few times, I’ve come to realize something. You see everything around you as chains trying to bind you.”
“Th-that’s……”
Irina looked away in embarrassment, avoiding Leoric’s gaze.
“To eyes like yours, the sky must look like an empty, infinite space where you can go anywhere.”
“Isn’t… isn’t that true?”
Leoric quietly shook his head.
“Then where do the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds, the rain, the snow, the hail, and the wind in that sky come from? To my eyes, the sky looks full of things we cannot see.”
Irina Boran’s sky-blue eyes widened. Leoric leaned in and whispered softly to her.
“Don’t be bound by common sense and prejudice. That is the true prison that confines you. What binds you isn’t your family or tradition. The prison that shackles you is the cage of common sense and prejudice. What’s wrong with the secret techniques passed down in your family? They are simply one of the many forms of freedom that the people of the Boran family have chosen.”
By now the academic society had fallen completely silent. Every eye in the room was fixed on Leoric. Feeling their gazes, he slowly rose from his seat.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave here.”
“L-Leoric, sir.”
When Irina stood up to follow, he raised a hand to stop her. He glanced once around the room and smiled.
“It’s a better gathering than I expected. If I have the chance, I’ll attend again.”
With those words, Leoric Franz disappeared from the room.
Only then did the others belatedly realize something. Even when he had used magic power to create those illustrations… not once had they felt even the slightest trace of power from the golden magic he displayed right before their eyes.
While he was lost in those old memories, the noisy commotion around him drew Arwin’s attention elsewhere. In the distance, the city of Muller had finally come into view. They had already passed the smaller towns. This was the city where Leoric Franz, now the lord of Muller, had promised to greet them personally.
While the other nobles around him grumbled and complained, the person standing at the front of the group was staring blankly up at the sky above the city.
It was an ordinary-looking city. As another noble sneered that the countryside was still just the countryside, the others began to follow his gaze upward.
“As expected…… what a frightening man.”
Arwin muttered quietly to himself.
High above the massive city, a ring of light encircled the proud sun like a halo. A colossal cross of light stretched out in all four directions with the sun at its center, radiating its brilliance in solemn silence.