Chapter 43
“I don’t know the name of this yellow flower. Do you?”
“I don’t, either. Maybe it only grows on this island.”
“Hmm, then it was worth luring you all the way out here.”
Mikael muttered under his breath, then began weaving flowers alongside Jayna.
“These yellow ones are too small—it’s going to be hard to make a bouquet out of them.”
“I know, but I still want to try. They’re so pretty.”
“Really? Then go ahead and make a beautiful one again. This genius mage will craft an even finer bouquet to match.”
“Alright!”
Jayna thought carefully, plucked one of the yellow blossoms, and turned it this way and that, arranging them as best she could.
Beside her, Mikael fiddled with the flowers, his lips slightly parted in concentration—but he soon realized that shaping them the way he wanted wasn’t easy.
Flower arranging isn’t as simple as it looks.
He had thought it was just a matter of gathering some flowers and tying them together, but apparently, you had to arrange them according to color, size, and shape.
Before long, Mikael, who had followed Jayna’s lead and picked his tenth flower, realized this was not his calling and decided to give up.
Do I have no sense for this at all?
He frowned deeply. His original plan had been to craft a bouquet Jayna would like and present it to her—to tease Rosian in the process.
But apparently, being a genius magician didn’t mean having good dexterity or artistic taste.
Now that I think about it… the tailors used to giggle when they saw the clothes I picked out, too. Ugh, how embarrassing.
Sighing, Mikael decided to at least mess with Rosian a bit. He turned around.
“Hey. Didn’t you say you were curious what kind of bouquet Jayna would make—”
But Rosian, who had been standing dazed behind him just moments ago, was gone.
Before Mikael knew it, Rosian was right beside Jayna, helping her weave flowers.
“Since it’s made by your little hands, Lady Jayna, the bouquet is adorably dainty.”
“Thank you. Your Highness, you’re quite skilled yourself!”
W–what the… I went through all this trouble to bring her here!
Watching Rosian and Jayna chat so happily made Mikael’s stomach twist.
He tilted his chin upward in irritation, pulled out the Leshane bouquet Jayna had given him from his subspace pouch, and approached the two.
“Hey, kid, remember this?”
“Oh… that’s the bouquet I gave you a long time ago! It’s still in such good condition?”
“Of course—it’s all thanks to my preservation magic.”
Grinning triumphantly, Mikael reached out toward the yellow bouquet Jayna had just made.
“Alright, give me that one too. If you hand it to the prince, it’ll wilt in no time anyway.”
Since it wasn’t exactly a lie, Rosian tilted his head with a crooked smile but couldn’t argue back.
In the end, Mikael took the yellow bouquet from Jayna and flashed a victor’s grin.
“Jealous, huh? If you are, go learn magic. Oh wait, you can’t—you’re a swordsman. Well, work hard at that, maybe your aunt will give you a magic-preserved artifact someday.”
As Mikael teased him, Rosian clamped his mouth shut and turned away.
Heh, maybe I was too harsh on the kid.
But Mikael didn’t get to bask in his victory for long.
“Then, instead of taking something… I’ll give something.”
“Huh?”
Before Mikael could react, Rosian—who had turned his back—slipped a small ring made of yellow flowers onto Jayna’s finger, smiling like sunshine.
“It looks perfect on you, Lady Jayna!”
Jayna stared at the cute flower ring around her finger, her eyes wide.
“You even made me a flower crown once! Your Highness, you’re so good with your hands!”
“If you ever want something else, just tell me. Or we can make it together.”
“Then… could you help me with what I’m working on now?”
“Of course!”
Mikael’s expression contorted in an instant—it was hard to believe he had been smiling just a moment ago.
Why a ring, of all things? That’s… unsettling.
He really didn’t like how Rosian kept hovering around Jayna.
And to make things worse, the boy had just done something Mikael himself had never managed to do.
That weakling dares to make a move on her? I’ll make sure he’s begging for mercy before we leave this island.
And so, the moment they returned to the beach, Mikael set his second plan into motion.
“Alright, kids. You can’t come to the ocean and not go in the water at least once, right?”
He snapped his fingers, and the waves began to swell higher and higher.
In seconds, a wave taller than a man crashed over the two.
“Lady Jayna!”
Instinctively, Rosian pulled her close, shielding her from the wave.
But once it passed, he realized his reaction had been unnecessary.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
Jayna had already cast a barrier, protecting them both.
“Mikael.”
She turned toward him with a reproachful glare, and he clapped slowly, deliberately.
“Excellent. Your reaction speed and timing—both perfect. That’s what I expect from a genius magician’s pupil.”
“Uh… huh?”
As the two stared at him in confusion, Mikael stepped in and pulled Jayna slightly away from Rosian.
“Hey, weakling. Who do you think you’re protecting? While you’ve been wasting time making flower crowns, she’s been learning wind magic from me. She doesn’t need your help.”
“Mikael, His Highness has been learning—”
Jayna started to explain that Rosian had been training in swordsmanship under Elia lately, but Rosian quickly stopped her.
“It’s fine, Lady Jayna. He’s not wrong.”
He turned to Mikael, meeting his gaze directly.
“You’ve always disliked me, haven’t you? You think I lack talent.”
“Let’s get the facts straight. It’s not just talent—you’ve got no grit, either.”
“Then show me. Teach me how to control mana—the way you do. I’ll prove I can do it.”
Magicians and swordsmen handled mana differently.
Magicians drew mana from the outside world, while swordsmen cultivated it within their bodies.
That meant swordsmen generally sensed and manipulated mana more slowly.
Even with his mother’s gifted bloodline, it was nearly impossible for a swordsman—especially one who had only dabbled in swordsmanship—to wield mana so quickly.
“Hah. You think moving mana is that easy?”
“Just don’t take back your words later.”
“Fine. If you can ride a wooden plank over the waves using mana, I’ll admit it.”
Surprisingly, Mikael agreed to teach him the basics of mana control.
Normally, he would’ve refused outright—but this was all part of his plan.
Jayna tilted her head, noticing the slight smirk on Mikael’s lips.
Something about this feels ominous…
And indeed, her intuition was right.
“Alright, then. Let’s see what you can do.”
No sooner had he spoken than Mikael snapped his fingers again.
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and thunderclouds gathered overhead, rolling in fast. It felt like they had been transported to another place entirely.
“This is…”
“I’m a sky-attribute mage, you see. Changing the weather is nothing for me.”
Sky mages could all control wind, and high-ranking ones could even alter weather or summon lightning from clear skies.
KWA-THOOM!
Thunder boomed, waves surged, and bolts of lightning flashed across the sky.
Mikael looked at Rosian with a mocking smile, his eyes saying, Still want to keep going?
Jayna glanced back and forth between them and shouted,
“Mikael! You’re asking him to balance on the waves in a storm like this?!”
“Sure. For someone who can control mana, that’s child’s play.”
“That might be easy for you, but—”
Before she could finish, Rosian interrupted.
“Alright. I’ll try.”
“Your Highness?”
His expression was tense, but his eyes were determined. He clenched his fists and nodded firmly.
Jayna gasped softly.
Even Mikael looked taken aback.
He’s actually going through with it? I thought he’d back down by now…
Jayna turned toward Rosian, her voice filled with worry.
“Your Highness, Mikael’s just playing a prank. You don’t have to—”
But Rosian shook his head.
“No, I’ll be fine, Lady Jayna. I’ll definitely pull it off, so don’t worry.”
“Oh? Still pretending to be a prince, are you? Fine, let’s see what happens. I’ll give you a day.”
With that, Mikael turned away.
“Come on, kid. Let’s go inside.”
“But…”
Jayna hesitated, glancing back toward Rosian. But he just smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“Don’t worry about me, Lady Jayna! Go on ahead!”
