No One Lives Alone
“What?”
Astain, the prince?
He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
“I’ve gotten used to wearing those heavy, ornate clothes, so I thought it would be nice if I could shoot fire and ice from my hands. It would look impressive.”
“Ahaha…”
Pay gave a small laugh.
When she had not even known she possessed magical talent because of the ruby pendant, she had once entertained the same kind of daydream.
What if one day I suddenly gained a great awakening, draped myself in a robe, and cast magic? Wouldn’t everyone at the monastery be shocked? What kind of spell would I use?
It would be perfect if I could climb onto the monastery roof and conjure delicious roasted chickens to send down to the ground. If no such magic existed, I would have to invent it—so no one would ever go hungry again!
It had happened before she turned ten, yet remembering it now made her cheeks burn. She knew better now; creating living creatures with magic was impossible.
Unless one counted golems animated by binding a spirit’s soul, or the terrifying necromancy that used the dead. Summoning magic did not count either.
Besides, mages wore robes mainly to hide how messy they became during research. It had nothing to do with looking impressive.
Raphael, who had never once suspected the prince’s small, boyish wish, spoke up.
“Even if you cannot use magic, that much is easily done, Your Highness. You could simply throw ice with your hands, and for fire, you could swing a can full of it.”
“…Sir Raphael, what dangerous nonsense is that!”
Unable to listen any longer, Cassel stepped in and covered Raphael’s mouth.
How could a knight even think of encouraging such reckless behavior toward the perfectly healthy Prince Astain? Throwing ice was bad enough, but filling the boy’s head with fire games was asking for disaster.
“It was only a passing remark.”
“Cassel, please do not blame Sir Raphael. He has been kind enough to play with me whenever he had time, and I am truly grateful that he helps me forget my boredom.”
Raphael, you have nothing to do with the suspicious affairs of the House of Orleans. You must not.
Cassel narrowed his eyes, forcing down his lingering unease.
“From now on, do not mention anything strange to His Highness.”
“Ha, throwing ice can be done by breaking it off the frozen lake in winter, and burning the fields with fire is an important annual event for spring farming. As a member of the imperial family, should the prince not know these things?”
Raphael feigned disappointment while teasing Cassel.
“……”
Of course, Cassel had no reply.
To Pay, the two of them simply looked ridiculous.
‘Pfft. Cassel… oraboni? Well, I suppose I can think of him that way. Our blood is connected, after all. Still, I never expected my oraboni to be so weak against someone like Sir Raphael.’
Pay struggled not to laugh as she glanced between Cassel and the knight who was teasing him.
Cassel had not returned to the capital for four years, yet because they were both heirs of ducal houses, they seemed quite close. Close enough to joke like this.
They were probably holding back because the prince was present. If it were just the two of them, things would surely get even funnier.
Watching from a distance would be entertaining, really.
Thanks to Astain opening the conversation so easily, the atmosphere had lightened nicely.
Whenever her eyes met one of the three strikingly handsome faces before her, she had to remind herself to stay composed, but her overall impression of the meeting was simple.
She liked all three of them.
They were enjoying a pleasant time when a servant entered and offered Pay a bouquet.
It was filled with fresh, vibrant tulips wrapped in thin paper.
“Ah…”
“Please accept it, Lady Pay. I prepared it to celebrate today’s reunion.”
Cassel spoke with a faint smile.
“Tulips in the middle of winter?”
As she accepted the colorful bouquet, Pay recalled something from a few days earlier.
Lucius had suddenly thrust a bouquet at her without warning.
It had been a rare arrangement of crimson and soft violet roses that seemed capable of gently melting the white winter itself.
Pay’s eyes widened.
“What is this? Don’t tell me these are flowers that bloom only once every hundred years?”
“No, they’re… just ordinary flowers.”
“Then why are you giving them to me?!”
She could not help herself.
After all, there was that fatigue-recovery potion he had given her the day he accompanied her to the imperial palace.
Except it had not been a fatigue-recovery potion at all—it had been an elixir!
The most frustrating part was that she had absentmindedly drunk the entire thing on the carriage ride back to the Magic Tower.
Who drinks an entire elixir when they are not even injured? It had been unbearably wasteful!
Afterward she had felt her mana strangely strengthened, but she had dismissed it as nothing unusual.
Only when she went to throw away the empty bottle did she see the word “Elixir” written on it.
Suspecting he might have given it by mistake, she asked, and Lucius had simply smiled and said, “I wanted to give it to you,” with that bright, carefree grin.
“Since you’re a mage who drank a whole elixir, you’ll do even better from now on.”
Even if it had been an accident, wasting an elixir like that still made her want to jump out of bed in regret.
Lucius had then mumbled something even more absurd.
“…It’s a special day.”
“Pardon?”
“Today is the Magic Tower’s founding anniversary. It’s… just a flower, so don’t feel pressured.”
“If it turns out to be some priceless bloom instead of a rose—!”
“This time it really isn’t!”
She still did not understand why the two of them had to celebrate the Magic Tower’s founding anniversary alone—especially on a day no one else in the tower cared about—but the bouquet now sat in a vase on her desk.
Pay accepted the new bouquet and wondered whether she had another spare vase before offering her thanks.
“Thank you. Flowers in winter are so cheerful.”
“Make sure you take it with you when you leave.”
“I will.”
Out of courtesy, Pay brought the bouquet to her nose. She tried to push away the memory that inevitably surfaced.
Looking at these tulips reminded her of Lucius turning his face away in embarrassment.
He really did look like a shy boy at times like that.
And that elixir… Why on earth had he done that?!
The other two offered a few awkward compliments about how pretty the flowers were and how well they suited her before steering the conversation elsewhere.
Pay wished this moment could last a little longer.
‘If only the matter with the House of Orleans did not exist.’
Knock, knock.
Just as the tea party was ending and the conversation had paused, urgent knocking sounded at the door.
“Who is it?”
“Excuse me, Your Grace. It is I.”
The visitor opened the door without waiting and called for Cassel at once, clearly in a hurry.
“Paul, what is it?”
“Well…”
‘Ah!’
Paul, the attendant of the Klein ducal house.
Pay’s eyes darted away in panic at the sight of yet another familiar face.
After listening to Paul’s whispered report, Cassel rose with an apologetic expression.
“Lady Pay, I must also apologize to Your Highness and Sir Raphael. An urgent matter has arisen that I cannot ignore. Since Your Highness must return to the palace in a couple of hours, I suggest we end our gathering here, however reluctant we may be. Paul will escort Lady Pay home.”
Raphael showed no sign of disappointment at Cassel’s departure. Instead, he smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“Not at all. It would be ungentlemanly to bring Lady Pay all the way here only to abandon her. I will escort her safely, so do not worry and go, Grand Master.”
He looked as though he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“What about His Highness?”
Raphael’s face went blank for a second.
“Ah.”
“…Ha, I truly have no time for jokes. I must leave at once. Paul? Escort Lady Pay with proper courtesy and do not rush her. Your Highness Astain, I will see you again soon.”
“Yes, Sir Cassel. I enjoyed today.”
“As did I.”
Before leaving, Cassel gave Pay a regretful glance.
He had wanted to send the prince and Raphael away so he could talk with her a little longer.
He was about to leave Paul behind when he suddenly remembered something. He felt he had to say it, both for today and for any future incidents.
Cassel approached Pay at once and whispered into her ear.
“If Sir Raphael tries anything strange, do not hold back. I heard that your specialty is a spell called Frozen Step.”
“Pardon…?”
“If he acts suspiciously, you may step on his foot as hard as you like while using the spell. I will handle the aftermath, so please do not hesitate.”
“Er… ahaha…”
Good heavens, someone else was saying the exact same thing Holtdein had once said!
Pay could only laugh awkwardly. Raphael, whose excellent hearing had caught every word, grumbled.
“That is truly too much. Is our friendship worth so little? To think my friend would be fine with me getting frostbite on my foot… All those years of closeness feel meaningless now.”
“I really must go. I will see you later.”
Once Cassel left, the remaining three rose not long after. As he had said, the sunset was already painting the sky. It was time to part, however reluctant they felt.
There had been no rain, and the weather had been neither too hot nor too cold. Though only she knew this was a long-awaited reunion, meeting these good people again made everything better.
After returning to the Magic Tower, Pay lay face-down on her bed and thought.
‘I wish every day could be like this. It really was an ideal day. Except for the piano part.’
Of course, that was impossible.
Even if she regained her position as the Klein daughter, it would be the same. Being a duke’s daughter did not mean she could do only what she wanted.
It was merely the idle wish of someone ending an ordinary day.
Raphael of Orleans was an excellent knight and beloved by many noblewomen and young ladies. At the very least, no one could call him lazy.
Prince Astain Delphier Akan…
He had always appeared dignified beside Empress Ranya, yet in truth he was full of curiosity and quite talkative.
Pay could understand why Astain hid his true personality.
With Crown Prince Silas still in seclusion, it would be troublesome for his half-brother to move about too freely. In many ways.
The prince Morgana had known never acted without Empress Ranya at his side.
That was why today’s unexpected meeting had been so surprising.
The courage it must have taken for the prince to leave the palace of his own accord and ask to meet her, Silas’s right hand.
Did it mean he finally trusted Silas’s ability and decisiveness enough to speak for himself?
‘In his previous life the prince was quiet, but now he has a chance to live differently. I hope he gets the opportunity to express his lively personality to the fullest.’
She hoped that he, Raphael, and Cassel—oraboni—would all find happiness.
Along with Pay’s gentle heart, the long winter days slowly passed.
Spring would come soon.
No matter what anyone planned to do when it arrived.
* * *
One day in January.
Even watching the mountain of New Year’s gifts pile up inside the ducal residence had become tedious.
The young lady who had been complaining about hiring new servants and wanting a quiet outing finally faced her parents in private.
After asking everyone else to leave, only the three of them remained.
The Klein daughter’s expression gave little away.
Only a trace of hesitation showed at the corners of her stubbornly closed, pretty lips, while her neatly shaped light-brown eyebrows and clear eyes looked as calm as ever.