Chapter 72
Silence lingered in the air.
Even if Liriana was disappointed in her for humiliating herself by begging Angelina for forgiveness, Helene couldn’t help it.
Summoning her courage, Helene spoke first.
“…I’m sorry, but I hope Liriana can continue as the head lady-in-waiting.”
She glanced nervously at Liriana as she said it.
She was truly grateful that Liriana had defended her, but to Helene, the future of the three sisters mattered more.
If they fell out of Lady Angelina’s favor, not only would the debutante ball be ruined, but who knew what might happen to them afterward.
“…Yes, I know.”
Liriana also understood her stepmother’s feelings.
She was deeply grateful that her stepmother would even go so far as to apologize for the sake of her future.
“But… there was nothing for you to apologize for, Mother.”
She should have been the one to say thank you. Instead, she had clung to her pride, acting childish and foolish, and now she hated herself for it.
It was because her stepmother had actually knelt down and begged for her sake.
But contrary to what Liriana thought, Helene looked completely fine.
“…If I don’t have anything to apologize for now, then I’ll just make sure to create something worth an apology later…”
Helene muttered quietly, so that Liriana couldn’t hear.
She had resolved to return to Angelina everything she had suffered today, enough that she would never regret this apology.
Seeing Helene’s suddenly refreshed expression, Liriana’s heavy mood began to ease a little.
“Oh, and I have good news.”
Now that she thought about it, she really did have something bright and cheerful—enough to sweep away the gloom instantly.
Liriana pulled a letter out from her bosom.
Her radiant smile, unable to hide her excitement, immediately told Helene who the letter was from.
“…It’s from April, isn’t it!”
The previous evening, on her way back to the mansion, Liriana had tried not to cry. But in the end, a single tear had slipped down her cheek.
First Jaina had left to subdue a giant monster, then April had gone to the Tower of Magic, and now even Helene was locked away in the underground prison.
It felt so long ago when Jaina, April, Helene, and even Godfather Blaine had all sat together at the mansion table for a meal.
At that moment, an owl flew toward her.
It clutched a letter tightly in its talons.
The owl extended it forward, and before she could think, Liriana accepted it.
Looking closely, she recognized April’s handwriting immediately.
“April! You’re doing well!”
Pressing the letter against her cheek as though it were April herself, Liriana breathed in what felt like April’s faint scent from the paper.
At this lonely, desolate moment, the timing of her letter could not have been more perfect. Liriana was overflowing with gratitude.
“W-wait… but how do I send a reply?”
The joy of receiving the letter quickly turned into worry about how to answer.
“In two days’ time, I’ll come by the mansion in the evening. You can deliver your reply then.”
Liriana blinked. Had she heard correctly?
The owl before her had spoken plainly, in a matter-of-fact tone.
Overwhelmed with shock and fear, Liriana collapsed to the ground.
“T-the bird talked!!”
“…Strictly speaking, it’s a magician who has transformed into a bird that’s talking.”
The owl explained stiffly, and Liriana cautiously rose to her feet, her wariness easing.
It was true…
Everything her stepmother and April had said was real after all.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t believed them—but imagining a bird turning into a person had been impossible.
And even now, hearing a bird speak was shocking enough. If she actually saw one transform into a person, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.
“Then… I’ll be counting on you.”
“Yes. Then I’ll see you in two days.”
With those businesslike words, the owl flew off into the sky.
Would April one day be able to transform into a bird like that too?
The thought made Liriana chuckle.
Hmm…
April had been holding her pen for over ten minutes, but still hadn’t managed to write a single word.
It had already been more than a month since she arrived at the Tower of Magic.
One month here felt so long, almost like a year.
She thought it would be best to start her letter with what she had been learning since arriving.
Not long ago, April and the other children had finally learned their first basic attack spells: the four elemental magics of water, fire, earth, and wind.
They had even tried roasting marshmallows at night with their fire magic—only for the flames to spread to the curtains, nearly burning down the entire room.
If April hadn’t quickly doused it with water magic, it would’ve been a disaster.
Even so, all their bedding got soaked, and they ended up sleeping on the floor.
And when Kevin suggested, “Why don’t we just use fire magic to dry the blankets?”, the other kids had promptly beaten him up. That story was probably best left out of the letter.
For the first time, April had friends of her own.
Contrary to the magicians’ worries, not a single one of the chosen children had fallen behind—they were all steadily learning magic.
At first, the other children had resented and avoided April for being the only noble-born. But soon, impressed by her exceptional talent, they started talking to her, hoping to survive by sticking close.
As they grew closer, they bombarded her with questions like: “Is it true nobles eat meat three times a day?”, “Do you really change into fresh underclothes every day?”
In truth, none of them seemed all that bad after all.
Well, except for one very annoying boy—Kevin.
Among the kids, aside from April’s overwhelming talent, he was the only one with slightly better-than-average ability.
“April, someday I’ll beat you!”
“April, look! I finished eating faster than you!”
“April, I got here first!”
On and on, he pestered her constantly.
April didn’t feel the slightest sense of danger, but still—having a rival or two wasn’t such a bad thing. So she let him be.
Compared to April’s natural genius, Kevin was clawing his way forward through sheer effort.
And it seemed like nothing in the world would ever make him give up.
Having learned the basics, April begged Chiwa to teach her portal magic.
She wanted to see her sisters again as soon as possible.
But portals were an intermediate-level spell.
Chiwa said even ordinary magicians had to study for over a year to master them.
And if one lost focus while opening a portal, it could lead to ending up in the wrong place entirely.
Chiwa told her how, at last year’s mage banquet, he’d gotten drunk and failed over ten times to open one—only to find himself on top of an iceberg surrounded by white bears.
He had nearly frozen to death, his mouth too stiff with cold to chant a spell, before barely escaping. He laughed as he recounted it.
April liked Chiwa’s warm, talkative nature, but he often derailed lessons with his own stories.
So their classes usually ended up being half portal practice, half Chiwa’s chatter.
April’s health, too, was excellent these days.
In fact, playing actively with her friends had made her fitter than when she’d lived at the count’s estate.
But sometimes she would feel a sudden fever.
Strangely, every time she saw Lord Lucael, the master of the Tower, her face would burn and her heart would race.
She assumed it must be from his overwhelming magical power.
Although April got along well with her other friends, she once nearly fell out with her closest one, Lize.
“I wonder… has Lord Lucael ever experienced love?”
It was something April had thought long and hard about before daring to ask.
Among the four children, Lize knew the most about romance.
“With looks like that, you think women would just leave him alone? They say he’s a thousand years old—so even if he only dated once every hundred years, that’s at least ten women!”
Lize giggled endlessly at her own joke.
April, however, was in a foul mood all day.
Without meaning to, she ended up throwing a ball at Lize a little too hard, hitting her square in the face.
Though she insisted it was an accident, and Lize actually believed her, April still felt terribly guilty.
After all, Lize had only been complimenting Lord Lucael’s beauty.
And indeed, “demigod” was a fitting title for him—his looks were that otherworldly.
April had once thought Blaine was the most handsome man alive… no, she still thought that.
But the most beautiful living being in the world was undeniably Lord Lucael.
And then there was her father. It had been so long since she’d thought of him.
But because he always said such silly things, it was hard to really see him as “handsome.”
Still, no matter what, April’s favorite man in the whole world would always be her father.
