Chapter 14
After finishing his meeting with the parents, Hanta left the Duke’s household in a good mood.
It was as if being locked up for three days in the underground prison was nothing. He laughed heartily, clearly delighted at having become Medilliane’s uncle.
Meanwhile, Winter, carried back to her room by Eustace, was fuming.
She had been separated from Medilliane because of the danger it posed.
“Anyway, you’re in the annex, so you can’t go anywhere,” Eustace said.
“Then why did you keep her so far away?!” Winter shouted.
“Honestly, it’s because you’ve always cherished that child so much. That’s why it stopped at this point. Otherwise, she would’ve been thrown out already,” Naila said calmly.
Winter recalled the murderous look on the Duke’s face when Aisel blamed Medilliane for Winter falling into her critical state.
“Don’t you know it’s impossible? This time, you’ll have to give in,” Naila said.
“Naila!”
“Getting angry might raise your fever again. So lie down quickly.”
“B-but…!”
Magical awakening begins around the same time as the onset of secondary sexual characteristics and continues until adulthood.
That meant if the two of them were separated now, they might never meet again.
Because Winter Vladimire would die the moment her magical awakening completed on the day she reached adulthood.
“How can I not meet Mei?!”
Winter shouted, but it was useless.
Over the past three days, she had narrowly escaped death dozens of times.
Even the Duke and the servants, who had watched over her, couldn’t indulge her tantrums.
Meeting Medilliane might feel good temporarily, but the magical waves of the two children would inevitably clash.
Even if they managed to get through it this time, no one could guarantee there would be a next time.
A single mistake could mean dying before reaching adulthood.
“…Damn it!”
Winter kicked the door in frustration.
But it only hurt her foot—the firmly locked door did not budge.
As Naila had said, her fever was slowly rising.
Dizziness, muffled hearing, and a heavy, throbbing heart made Winter hesitate.
Taking a deep breath, she was relieved as her ears cleared, as if submerged underwater.
Puffing out her cheeks, Winter flopped back onto her bed, still not entirely calm. She didn’t even understand why she was so angry.
Some time passed, and Eustace came to check on the perpetually gloomy Winter.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. I could go out and run around right now,” Winter said.
“You should have said that after getting up from bed,” Eustace scolded.
Winter, buried under the blankets, peered up and spoke.
“Wizard.”
“What?”
“I heard the Grand Sage and his disciple can use magic of all elements.”
In this world, humans who have awakened magic can either mold it according to their talents or borrow the power of elements to cast spells.
Depending on the region, certain types of elemental magic are common; in the Genius Empire, fire magic is the most widespread.
But the Grand Sage and his disciple were different.
They could master all elemental magic.
It was said they had grasped a fragment of the world’s ultimate understanding, regardless of innate magical capacity.
“And then?” Winter prompted.
“You want to use teleportation magic to come see me…?”
“Not allowed.”
Before she could finish, Eustace cut her off sharply.
Of course, the child would be asking to meet Medilliane. Eustace, having spent the last three days caring for Winter without proper rest, would never agree to such an unreasonable request.
Winter, pouting, buried her head fully in the blankets again.
Seeing this adorable behavior, Eustace let out a small, helpless laugh.
“This mischievous little one, really.”
If anyone with even a bit of a soft heart had been here, they would have granted every request immediately.
But Eustace was a merciless wizard.
Clicking her tongue, she pulled a small magical device from her pocket and tossed it onto Winter’s bed.
“Take this.”
“….”
Winter’s golden eyes peeked out from the blankets at the slight weight of the device.
Watching her big, rolling eyes, Eustace clicked her tongue again.
“Such an immature brat.”
“What is this…?”
“A communication stone I developed.”
Winter’s eyes widened.
“It’s still in the experimental stage, so you won’t be able to use it long, but you’ll at least be able to talk to each other.”
As Eustace explained, Winter’s expression brightened with excitement.
Eustace thought it was surprising how the clever little girl understood the concept of the communication stone despite knowing nothing of Winter’s past life.
“One is in the annex.”
“Wow, Wizard!”
Winter immediately leapt out from under the blankets and hugged Eustace tightly.
Feeling Winter’s warm weight, Eustace grimaced reflexively.
“Heavy. Move away immediately, you little brat.”
“…Why are you smiling while telling me to move?”
“W-what?”
Winter grinned wickedly at Eustace’s attempt to suppress her smile, unable to resist teasing.
“Hmm, so you actually like me too, don’t you, Wizard?”
“Sh-shut up! Stop talking nonsense and use that communication stone. That little crybaby has been waiting for you already.”
At the mention of a crybaby, Winter’s expression immediately fell.
“Mei cried?”
Ah, so that was it.
Eustace had been concerned about this because Medilliane, aware that Winter had fallen ill because of her, might blame herself.
Winter finally realized why she had been so impatient and anxious to see Medilliane all this time.
Medilliane would certainly be blaming herself for Winter’s collapse.
Winter wanted to give Medilliane everything she could.
She couldn’t let herself leave a traumatic mark on the already scarred child.
“Mei… Mei?”
“[…If I could, I would erase all the magic.]”
The dark aura from Medilliane over the communication stone made Winter flinch.
After finally brightening up thanks to Winter taking care of her—feeding her, dressing her, and spoiling her—the child had become gloomy again.
“No, no, that’s not true, Mei. None of this is your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong. So please listen to me for a moment, okay?”
Urgently, Winter began to speak carefully.
“Mei, you’re going to become a great magician in the future.”
“[A great… magician…?]”
“Yes. You’ll be stronger than you are now and a truly remarkable person.”
Imagining Medilliane’s future, Winter smiled.
“Children who become strong magicians produce powerful magical waves as they awaken. Being with you made my awakening faster, and your awakening also affected me.”
“[So I did bring you bad influence after all.]”
Winter’s fragile smile faltered.
Why did her thoughts leap to such a conclusion? If Medilliane were in front of her, she would have grabbed her by the collar to snap her out of it.
Frustrated, Winter thumped her chest and shook her head vigorously.
“That’s impossible. Magic isn’t about good or bad. And I knew all along that you would become a great magician and awaken soon.”
Surprisingly, Eustace reacted to this.
The wizard, who had been leisurely watching the little ones’ desperate “romance,” widened her eyes.
“So, in the end, all of this was my choice.”
The magic of the world trembled in response.
In the center of it all, the small girl holding the red communication stone shone with vivid golden eyes.
“Don’t worry, Mei. We’ll meet for sure. I’ll get better quickly and come to you.”
