Chapter 17
The next morning.
After a quick breakfast, Lucillea headed to the third floor of the west annex for her magic lesson.
The third floor was set up as a place to train special abilities like aura or magic.
Despite the sign that read “Training Hall,” the inside looked more like a classroom suited for theoretical lessons.
And then—
“Foot.”
Thump! Cookie placed his left foot onto Noah’s palm.
“Wing.”
Flap! This time he lifted a sleek feathered wing.
Noah exclaimed in awe, his voice filled with excitement.
“Wow! Amazing! A parrot that understands human speech!”
“Piiit—!”
Puffed up from the praise, Cookie began to shake his body like he was dancing, showing off his adorable charm.
Ahhh! My heart!
Noah played along with exaggerated reactions to match Cookie’s mood.
Watching quietly, the corners of Lucillea’s lips curved upward.
But when she realized she was smiling, she quickly forced her mouth back down.
No, I mustn’t. I can’t be fooled by that clumsy-looking exterior.
Lucillea recalled the story Mei had told her last night.
—“Noah Ladebian is mischievous and sometimes acts silly, but I think that’s just his way of being considerate. He disarms people with that goofy attitude so they can approach him easily. But don’t worry. His actual skills are never clumsy.”
Mei had also said that if Noah Ladebian were truly stupid, His Grace the Grand Duke would never have kept him close.
Still, it’s surprising. That Mei is friends with someone like him.
Apparently, Mei had known Noah since childhood. They’d coincidentally met again at the ducal estate, this time as “coworkers.”
Lucillea glanced at the clock on the wall while recalling that conversation. She had already been in the training hall for over thirty minutes.
So… just how long is he planning to keep this up?
Unable to hold back anymore, Lucillea tugged insistently at the hem of Noah’s robe.
“Um, professor.”
Without even glancing back at her, still absorbed in Cookie, Noah replied,
“Call me ‘Master.’”
Lucillea pouted and muttered under her breath,
“What’s the difference?”
“There is. It feels completely different.”
Professor? Ugh, too stiff.
Lucillea reluctantly tried again.
“…Ma—Master.”
“Good. Speak.”
Noah still didn’t look at her, his fingers idly stroking Cookie’s crown of feathers.
Lucillea glared at Cookie, who was melting under his touch, and asked,
“So when does class actually start?”
“It’s the first day. There’s no real lesson today.”
“…Then?”
“The first day is usually just for introductions and getting familiar with each other.”
“…”
Wow… he really is trying to slack off.
Lucillea clicked her tongue inwardly.
At that moment, Noah turned to look at her with half-lidded eyes.
“You. Just now you thought I was slacking off, didn’t you?”
“…Huh?”
Lucillea flinched.
What the—? Do wizards know how to read minds, too?
Hiding her panic, she feigned innocence.
“Nope, not at all. Absolutely not.”
“A strong denial is the same as a strong affirmation.”
“…”
Hmph. Noah turned back to Cookie with a melting smile.
“By the way, since it’s a parrot, can it talk too? Or has it just not been trained yet?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lucillea honestly didn’t know. She had always communicated with Cookie telepathically, never bothering to train him to speak aloud for others.
“Well, that’s fine. We can start training him now.”
He ruffled Cookie’s little nut-like head.
But then, with a triumphant look, Cookie opened his beak.
“Idiot!”
“…Huh?”
Wait—?! Lucillea panicked and called to him inwardly.
Cookie! Stop!
But whether he didn’t hear or simply wanted to boast about his new skill, Cookie kept going.
“Idiot! Beep beep! Idiot! Noah, idiot!”
“…”
I-di-ot! I—di—ot! Idiot!
Noah is an idiot!
Cookie shouted the word proudly in all sorts of tones, pointing his wingtip straight at Noah.
Noah’s eyelid twitched violently.
Slowly, he stood up, his shoulders drooping.
“…Let’s start the lesson.”
The lesson began with about as much enthusiasm as a speck of dust.
Cookie was quickly caught by Mei, who had rushed in, and dragged outside.
“Idiot!” His voice echoed through the hall until the door finally closed.
Maybe it was the insult, but Noah looked visibly deflated, yawning and stretching like he was already tired.
Lucillea glanced around the training hall.
“Aren’t there any other students?”
There were so many desks, she had assumed the class would be bigger.
But Noah replied,
“You’re the only one taking beginner magic. There aren’t many kids with mana. The few who had it advanced to intermediate last month.”
“Oh…”
Noah lazily wandered to a table under the big sunlit window and perched on it.
His slouched posture looked improper, yet with his graceful face bathed in golden light, he resembled a painting—too picturesque to criticize.
After basking like a plant for a while, Noah picked up a book from the stack, flipped through a few pages, and tossed it aside.
“Stuff like theory—you can just go to the library and read it yourself.”
“…Excuse me?”
Did I hear that right?
That was like a teacher saying, Just go learn at cram school.
Lucillea blinked in disbelief. Noah got up from the desk.
“For today, I’ll teach you about mana control.”
He raised his index finger.
“Watch carefully. Mana has a unique color and flow for each person.”
A small blue flame flared at his fingertip.
“You draw it out of your body like this.”
The flame swirled and condensed into a neat sphere, glowing like a polished blue gem.
“Then you gather it.”
Shhh—
The orb dispersed into nothing.
“Finally, you release it. That’s the foundation of magic control. Simple, right?”
“…”
How easy, right?
It reminded Lucillea of those painting shows she remembered from her past life.
“Just remember three things: Perceive, Focus, Adapt.”
Perceive the mana in your body. Focus to control it. Adapt by understanding and accepting its nature.
Lucillea quietly nodded.
Perceive, Focus, Adapt. Perceive, Focus, Adapt…
Though unimpressed at first, she gradually perked up, listening intently.
Noah studied her face, then continued.
“You’ve already passed perception and entered the focus stage, haven’t you?”
“The focus stage?”
“Yeah. You can manifest mana into form, right?”
Manifest? Oh, that!
The thing I showed the Grand Duke!
Lucillea nodded.
“But I’ve only succeeded twice. No matter how much I try, it doesn’t come easily.”
“That’s because you skipped perception too quickly.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Well, the thing is…”
Noah’s eyes changed.
Gone was the lazy look. In its place, a serious gaze as he answered her with sincerity.
Not just answering—he seemed determined to share everything he knew, sparing nothing.
His words quickened, his gestures grew animated.
Caught up in his passion, Lucillea chased after every word, not wasting even a blink.
Perceive, Focus, Adapt!
She repeated it like a mantra.
Time slipped away unnoticed.
“All right, kid. That’s enough for today.”
Noah brushed off his hands and walked to the window.
“Huh?”
Already?
Lucillea glanced at the clock—lunchtime already.
“I have homework for you.”
He lit a blue flame on his fingertip again.
“Practice until you can hold this for ten minutes.”
“Ten minutes?!”
Me? The one who struggles just to summon it?!
Lucillea gawked, but Noah only grinned.
“If you attend my lesson and still can’t do it, that’s not just incompetence—it’s a sin. Now, off you go.”
“…”
If it were that easy, everyone would be a wizard by now!
Lucillea grumbled inwardly as she left the training hall.
Just then—
“Lady Lucillea!”
[Lucy!]
Mei and Cookie, waiting at the end of the hall, rushed up to her.
“You worked hard! Was the lesson difficult?”
[Lucy! Can we play now? Let’s go to the garden! The garden!]
Their chatter came all at once.
The garden can wait.
Lucillea perched Cookie on her shoulder and answered Mei.
“It wasn’t hard. He taught me better than I expected.”
“That’s Noah for you. He spends 20 out of 24 hours goofing off, but those 4 hours of teaching? He’s serious.”
“…Twenty hours?”
“Yes!” Mei beamed.
What kind of person even is he…?
As Lucillea was doubting Noah’s qualifications, Mei pulled something from her arms, wrapped in pink paper, and handed it over.
“Huh?!”
“A gift, to celebrate your first successful lesson.”
Mei’s nimble fingers undid the wrapping, revealing what lay inside.
Lucillea’s eyes went round.
A lollipop.
Nearly the size of her face, its white, sky-blue, and pink swirls spiraled together. Sugar crystals embedded in the stripes sparkled like starlight.
Just looking at it made her mouth water with imagined sweetness.
“W-wow! That’s for me?!”
“Of course~.”
“I’ve never gotten candy like this before!”
Lucillea carefully accepted it with both hands.
It was heavy—almost hefty enough to be used as a weapon. Though of course, she wouldn’t.
She gazed at it in wonder, then carefully rewrapped it in the pink paper.
“You’re not eating it now?”
“No. I’ll eat later, after lunch.”
And besides… it was too pretty to just bite into right away.
I’ll admire it a little longer and save it.
Hehe. She held the lollipop tight, waving it lightly in the air.
Wow! Wow!
It’s like a magic wand from a movie or anime!
It made her feel like she was already a real magician.
“Thank you so much, Mei…! This is the best moment of my life!”
“…Think nothing of it.”
Mei, smiling warmly at her joy, leaned closer.
“So, then. What will you do after lunch? How about a walk in the garden?”
Lucillea shook her head, gripping the lollipop.
“No, more than that… Mei.”
“Yes?”
“Can I use the ducal library?”
Mei raised her brows.
“The library?”
“Yes. There’s something I want to look into.”
