~Chapter 9~
“E-Emma?”
The maid standing there with her mouth wide open was Emma, who usually worked in the kitchen. She often made snacks for Aveline and was one of her closest friends.
Emma looked at the broken eggs and couldn’t move. Her lips were shaking.
“Miss, when did you…!”
“No! It’s not what you think, Emma!”
“I’ll never, ever tell anyone. I promise, I’ll keep your secret until you decide to say it yourself!”
Aveline tried to explain, waving her hands, but Emma just bowed with a serious face and hurried away.
“Emma!”
Aveline shouted, but Emma didn’t come back.
“Ha…”
It was hopeless.
Aveline glared at Theron.
“If you talk like that, people misunderstand!”
“Everything I said was true.”
“Even so, if someone hears it without knowing the story, it’s easy to get the wrong idea!”
Theron’s lips twisted just a little.
“The fault lies with those who make convenient misunderstandings without checking the facts.”
“…”
He wasn’t wrong, but Aveline still felt frustrated.
Aveline decided she would find Emma right after Theron left and clear up the misunderstanding.
“Ahem, anyway, isn’t it possible there was a mistake? Maybe it really was just a jelly, not a jewel.”
“I never leave things like jelly in my carriage.”
“Then maybe someone else dropped it in your carriage…”
“No one rides in my carriage but me.”
Aveline thought it was bold to admit having no friends, but she realized she was not much different.
“Maybe the jewel is somewhere else and you just haven’t found it… Or, if you tell me what it looks like, I’ll find one and send it to you! How about that?”
Aveline thought, If it’s important enough to chase after, and it can be absorbed by touching, it must be very expensive. Maybe Father could help me get the money to buy one.
“You can’t get it.”
Theron cut off her hope.
“Because it has my mark inside it.”
“Your mark inside it?”
Was that even possible?
Theron kept explaining.
“That’s how I can recognize it wherever it is. I didn’t expect you to absorb it, though.”
Theron looked at Aveline’s stomach with a disappointed expression. It almost looked like he wanted to cut it open to get the jewel.
Aveline quickly covered her stomach with both hands.
“You’re not really thinking that, right?”
He didn’t answer, and Aveline felt a chill down her spine.
“I-I’ll try to get the jewel out! I don’t know how long it’ll take, but… I’ll do my best!”
Aveline grabbed Theron’s hand determinedly. Losing her dignity was better than having her stomach cut open.
“If it were a normal jewel, that would be the safest and smartest way. But the jewel you absorbed is a mana stone.”
“A mana stone?”
Aveline had heard about them. Mana stones were rare and powerful objects that stored magical energy. In the empire, all mana stones were strictly controlled by the royal family.
“Aren’t mana stones forbidden now? I heard the royal family took them all.”
Theron just gave a mysterious smile.
“Is the one I absorbed from the royal family’s collection?”
If so, she was in big trouble. The royal family tracked all mana stones and there were only nine known.
If she had swallowed one of those, it was only a matter of time before she was found out.
“It’s not from the royal family. I made it myself.”
“What?”
Aveline had never heard of anyone making their own mana stone. Even the best royal wizards struggled to make one.
Theron raised his hand and pointed at the basket and eggs Emma had dropped. Light flickered at his fingertip, and the basket and eggs disappeared.
“…You did that?”
“As you saw.”
People with magic were extremely rare. Even a little magic meant you could become a royal wizard and live in luxury. That the emperor’s nephew, Theron, had magic was a huge secret.
“You’re telling me this? My family supports the emperor.”
“Of course, it’s a secret.”
“What if I don’t keep your secret?”
“It’s in your best interest. If the royal family finds out, they’ll cut you open to get the mana stone out—no questions asked. You probably won’t survive.”
“…”
He was absolutely right. If the royal family learned the truth, they’d never leave her alone.
That’s why Father sent Ares to get Theron’s documents. The emperor was always obsessed with those papers.
No one knew what was inside, but no one had ever succeeded in stealing them from Theron.
While Aveline was thinking, Theron gently took her hand.
“But I swear, your safety comes first. I’m proud to say, I’m pretty good at what I do.”
He was saying, as politely as possible, that he’d cut her open himself if needed.
“By now, the mana stone is probably in the center of your body, slowly being absorbed.”
“Isn’t there a way to get it out without cutting me open?”
Theron hesitated for the first time.
Aveline swallowed, nervous.
“There isn’t.”
“What?”
“That’s the only way for now.”
“What if I say I won’t let you cut me open?”
Aveline was really scared. She’d never heard of anyone surviving something like that.
If something went wrong, I’d be remembered as the girl who tried to eat a stranger’s jelly and got her stomach cut open!
She didn’t want that to be her legacy.
Theron stared at her, then finally spoke.
“If we wait too long, my magic might affect you in strange ways. Maybe it already has. Did you notice anything weird last night?”
Last night…
Did the dream count?
She thought of how she dreamed about becoming the main character of her favorite book, but she wasn’t ready to share that yet.
“Not that I can tell.”
“I see.”
Theron nodded and stood up, then offered his hand to help her. He looked delicate, but easily lifted her to her feet with one hand.
“I’ll go for today. It was my fault too, for losing something so important.”
Aveline immediately felt relief.
“But if there are any problems, I’ll come get it right away.”
“Okay, okay.”
She pulled her hand free, eager for Theron to leave.
“I’ll always be watching over you.”
“What?”
Theron kept talking, unfazed.
“You swallowed my jewel, so for now, you’re mine.”
Aveline panicked and reached out to cover his mouth.
“Don’t say it like that! People will get the wrong idea!”
Bang!
“What are you two doing!?”
At that moment, Ares came crashing in through the first-floor window, furious.
