Hello, Readers! I am celebrating my birthday with extra chapter updates, so please enjoy this special chapter release of 4 bonus chapters! 🥳

(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 1/4 🎉)

♡ To all readers who purchased these chapters before my Birthday: I can’t express this enough – Thank you for your support. (*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*

“Let me walk on my own! Or call someone for help…!”
Astrid’s body, almost tumbling down the stairs, looked dangerously unstable.
However, Astrid scoffed at Leticia’s frantic cries.

“Call who? Everyone here is trash.”

She descended the stairs faster and faster.
Leticia clung tightly to Astrid’s neck, wishing someone would stop her.

But as they reached the first-floor lobby, they only passed servants with shocked expressions. No one seemed capable of stopping Astrid.

Finally, Astrid carried Leticia outside the main castle of the Grand Duchy of Basilinte.

“Astrid!”

It was Ferik’s voice.
Leticia heard the Grand Duke raise his voice for the first time.

But Astrid didn’t look back. Instead, she began to run even faster.

“Huff, huff, gasp…”

Leticia could feel Astrid’s labored breathing as she continued to sprint.
While being held tightly in Astrid’s arms, Leticia glanced at the people chasing after them.

“Why are you running away?”

The words slipped out of her mouth before she realized it, and then it hit her.
Astrid, who had once been the beloved mistress of this castle, was now running away.

But from what?
Why?

“You’re going to get caught soon anyway…!”

“Shh.”

Astrid placed her hand over Leticia’s mouth.
Glancing briefly at the people chasing them, Astrid bit her own forefinger while still running.

Using the blood from her finger, she drew something on Leticia’s cheek and then painted the same pattern on her own cheek.

“Eek!”

By then, the people chasing them had almost caught up.
It was only because they had been momentarily stunned by Astrid’s actions that they hadn’t reacted sooner. But there was no way sturdy knights couldn’t catch up to a woman running while carrying a child.

The Grand Duke himself was close enough that a few large strides would close the distance.

At that moment, Astrid suddenly dropped to the ground, tightly hugging Leticia.
Leticia could feel Astrid’s cold, corpse-like body pressed against her. The ragged breathing and the cold sweat dripping from her body were palpable.

“Why…”

Leticia tried to ask why Astrid was doing this, but her words were cut off.

At that exact moment, raindrops began to fall from the sky.

It wasn’t a gentle rain that soaked the ground but a torrential downpour, as if the heavens themselves had burst open.

And then, as if they couldn’t see Astrid and Leticia anymore, the people chasing them came to a halt.

From Astrid’s arms, Leticia looked up at the Grand Duke.
Standing in the rain, the Grand Duke’s golden eyes seemed unfocused.

“Let’s go.”

Astrid staggered to her feet and began walking west—toward the tower where she had been sleeping, toward the forest.

No one followed them.

Leticia glanced briefly at the group near the Grand Duke before looking up at Astrid.

“I can walk on my own. I’m heavy.”

Astrid gave a small laugh at her words. It was a weak, breathless laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

“How do you know where we’re going?”

“Well, if I just follow Your Grace…”

“It’s fine. Stay still. You probably don’t have any strength left.”

Surely, Leticia thought, she must have more strength than someone who had been lying down for five years and just woke up. But hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around Astrid’s neck.

“I’m serious. This rain—you’re the one making it fall right now.”

“How?”

“I used your magic to cast a spell. I don’t have much magic left myself.”

The pouring rain soaked them to the bone.
Astrid pushed back Leticia’s wet bangs, which were blocking her vision. Her sharp blue eyes, filled with neither kindness nor affection, met Leticia’s gaze.

They were similar to the looks she received from Hilda or Tan, yet deeper somehow.

“Why did you make it rain?”

“To avoid being caught. You’ll find out soon, but when it rains, it becomes easier for us to use magic. Even a simple confusion spell becomes incredibly powerful.”

“Powerful enough to work on His Grace?”

“Yes. Even on that man who’s barely human. Basilinte is born with an unbelievably resilient body.”

Astrid muttered, grumbling, “I gave birth to two of them, but I still don’t understand those bodies.”

Meanwhile, the rain continued to pour harder and harder.

Leticia asked, “Why are you running away?”

“I’m not running away. I’m going back. To my home.”

“The Magic Tower?”

“Yes, there. You’ll probably be able to command the mages there like an emperor. Even my master would gladly become your footstool.”

When they reached the forest, Astrid took a deep breath and smiled, seemingly at ease.

It was only then that Leticia realized, despite both of them being completely drenched, that she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
The falling raindrops actually felt pleasant.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Noticing, Astrid asked.

“You probably like being in the water more than I do. You’re stronger than me… hmm, how should I put it? You’re more like water? Like water itself?”

Astrid squinted, searching for the right words, but eventually gave up on explaining and settled for a metaphor.

“Mages aren’t entirely human, you know. When they awaken their magic, they shed a bit of their humanity and become like their surroundings—water, fire, or even trees. It doesn’t have to be a natural element; I’ve even met a mage who resembled flour.”

“…What about Hilda?”

“She’s not a mage. She’s just a human who can use a bit of magic. Since she doesn’t resemble anything, she probably doesn’t call herself a mage either.”

Her words were surprisingly cold.

Leticia mumbled, almost as if to defend Hilda.
“Hilda said that if she learned more from Your Grace, she might become a mage too.”

“Maybe if she trains for fifty years. I like Hilda, but in this field, it’s all about what you’re born with.”

Walking through the forest, now refreshed by the pouring rain, Astrid continuously praised Leticia’s talent.

“In that sense, you’re practically an emperor by birth. Honestly, it’s not even accurate to say you’re like water. It’s more like you’re closer to water than to being human.”

“Really?”

“In the past hundred years, no mage has had talent like yours. Do you know how incredible it is to summon rain in this wasteland?”

Astrid smiled brightly, enjoying the rain.

Leticia stared at her for a moment before asking,
“So, are you running away with me because you’re afraid I’ll die? Because I’m so talented?”

“….”

Astrid, silent and seemingly shaken by Leticia’s words, let out a light sigh before answering.

“That’s part of it, but it’s not the only reason.”

“His Grace wanted to save you, which is why he tried to kill me. You shouldn’t be disappointed in him for that. It just means he loves you that much.”

“I know that.”

“Then let’s go back.”

“No. And like I said earlier, this isn’t just about you.”

Astrid firmly denied it and carried Leticia into the lake in the forest.
She walked until the water reached her waist and then let go of Leticia.

At the same time, Astrid muttered under her breath.
“You can’t die now. You have to become something much greater.”

Leticia, suddenly plunged into the lake, flailed for a moment before her movements slowed.

Despite being submerged in cold water, she didn’t feel cold. Instead, she felt as though she was wrapped in a warm blanket.

Looking up at the surface, she saw Astrid’s hand reach through the rippling water.

The long, pale hand touched Leticia’s chest, near her heart.

Even though Leticia was underwater and Astrid was outside, Leticia could hear Astrid’s voice clearly.

“I’ll make it so no one in this world, including me, can resist falling in love with you.”

That will be my repayment for saving me.