***

The day felt incredibly long.
After meeting the Grand Duke by the lakeside, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Leticia was transported to the main castle in no time.

Since she hadn’t walked on her own two feet even once, transported was the right word.

After washing her rain-soaked body, which had even fallen into the lake, in warm water, it was already midnight.

Feeling exhausted, she sat on the bed, dozing off, when Aina approached her with a towel.

“Weren’t you cold?”
“No.”

Leticia replied weakly, drained of energy, as Aina draped the towel over her head.

“Still, just in case, it’s better to dry your hair quickly, um…?”

Before Aina could finish her sentence, Leticia’s damp hair had already dried completely.

Seeing Aina’s surprised expression, Leticia touched the ends of her hair and realized it herself.

“Oh.”
“…Did I fall asleep for a moment?”

Aina, wide-eyed, stared blankly at the towel, now completely dry, and asked.

“No, you didn’t fall asleep. It’s just, um… I think I did that. Probably.”
“How exactly did you do that?”
“Uh, maybe… with magic?”

To ordinary people, magic was something out of a distant fairy tale. Aina looked at Leticia with a puzzled expression, seemingly trying to make sense of what she’d just heard.

“Well, I think I might be a mage, but, um… I can’t control it yet. I haven’t learned anything, so… I did it, but it wasn’t intentional.”

After experiencing and learning too much since the day began, Leticia felt as though her brain wasn’t functioning properly anymore.

As Leticia rubbed her sleep-laden eyes and rambled on, the bedroom door quietly slid open.

Astrid entered confidently and asked.

“Child, why are you down here? This isn’t your room.”
“…?”

After Astrid had awoken, Leticia had returned to the first-floor room.

But Astrid spoke as if it were only natural that the Grand Duke’s bedroom was now Leticia’s room.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs. You must be tired today. Your teacher will take you there.”
“…??”

Leticia stared at Astrid, who effortlessly picked her up, and tried to make sense of the situation with her sluggish mind.

Had they ever agreed to become teacher and student? Why was she calling herself teacher?

Meanwhile, Aina, ever loyal to the prevailing mood, ignored Leticia’s confused expression and began packing again.

Astrid noticed and asked Leticia.

“She’s quick to catch on. By the way, did you tell your maid that you’re a mage?”
“Oh.”

Unsure if she had said too much, Leticia glanced at Astrid, who smiled gently, offering a silent reassurance.

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter what you said. After all…”

Once you’ve entered here, you’ll never leave without Basilinte’s permission.

Astrid swallowed her unspoken words and gently patted Leticia’s head.

As they left the room with Leticia in her arms, they found Chamuka standing outside.

Seeing him there in the middle of the night, Leticia stared at him in confusion. Astrid, smiling warmly, said.

“Here, this is your pillow for tonight.”
“…???”

***

Astrid placed Leticia on the bed in the Grand Duke’s room.

Half of Leticia’s expression could be summed up as, “What in the world is going on?” while the other half was, “I’m so sleepy. Could this be a dream?”

Reading her expression, Astrid tucked Leticia under the blanket.

“Just sleep for now. We’ll talk tomorrow, child.”

After turning off the light, Leticia’s flickering purple eyes soon closed completely.

Astrid watched her until her breathing grew deep, then finally looked away.

“Chamuka.”

It was a soft call, quiet enough not to wake the child.

Chamuka stepped closer to the bed.

In the darkness, Astrid gazed at her son. He didn’t seem like a ten-year-old who had just seen his mother, presumed dead, for the first time in five years.

His cheeks still retained some baby fat, his voice hadn’t yet deepened, and while he was taller than his peers, his build was still small compared to an adult.

And unlike five years ago, his expression was now perpetually blank.

Astrid stared at the same emotionless face she had grown sick of seeing in Ferik and dryly asked.

“Are you glad I’m back?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”

“Because Father won’t do anything foolish anymore.”

A familiar irritation rose within Astrid.

Regardless of Leticia’s strange misconception that they were kind and honest, this was the everyday reality of the Grand Duchy of Basilinte.

Emotionless people moving mechanically out of obligation, and one madman trying to shatter it all.

The only relatively normal person in this family had been Chamuka’s grandmother, the former Grand Duchess, and even she had stormed out after throwing divorce papers in their faces.

“Don’t use me as an excuse for your father’s incompetence.”
“I wasn’t blaming you, Mother.”
“I know. But let’s stop talking about your father for now. It’ll only put me in a bad mood.”
“Are you going to divorce Father?”

Astrid pressed her fingers to her forehead as she looked at her son, who showed no signs of childishness.

She loved her son, but that didn’t mean his personality didn’t irritate her.

“I told you to stop talking about your father, Chamuka.”
“I apologize.”

His expression and tone showed no sign of genuine remorse.

Suppressing her familiar frustration, Astrid raised her hand.

“Give me your hand.”

Chamuka placed his hand on Astrid’s palm. Despite her cool body temperature, which might have made him flinch, Chamuka didn’t react.

She guided his hand to hold Leticia’s, just as she had held Leticia’s hand while transferring magic to her in her sleep.

Chamuka’s hand, which hadn’t reacted to Astrid’s, finally flinched.

“Why…?”
“Lie down. You’ll have to hold her hand all night, and you can’t stand there the whole time.”

Astrid carefully pulled back the blanket and gestured for Chamuka to lie down.

Following her instructions, Chamuka lay next to Leticia, then turned to Astrid, silently seeking an explanation.

“I’ll explain tomorrow. It’s late now. We can’t wake her by talking any more.”

As she tucked the blanket over them, Astrid whispered.

“I’ll tell you one thing for now. The child lying next to you has decided to make a tremendous sacrifice. For us.”

Finally, she closed the bedroom door behind her.

The Grand Duke’s room, like most noble bedrooms, had a drawing room outside the sleeping area.

However, it felt more like a cozy resting space than a formal reception area for guests.

It remained just as she had arranged it five years ago.

“Have you finished everything you needed to do?”

Ferik, who had been sitting motionlessly in the dark drawing room with only a small lamp on the table, stood up.

Astrid looked him up and down, noting how little her husband had changed in five years.

His silver hair and golden eyes, which glowed faintly even in the dark, were as beautiful as ever. His towering, bear-like frame was just as large as before.

And the expressionless face she had hoped might change, though she knew it wouldn’t, was exactly the same.

“Not yet.”
“Then do it tomorrow. It’s time to sleep.”
“No need. I’ve had plenty of sleep over the past five years. More importantly, where did you move my workshop? I need to check it.”

Astrid brushed past Ferik toward the door.

Ferik grabbed her arm as she passed.

Astrid didn’t shake off his hand but let out a long sigh, clearly annoyed.

“There’s something I need to start recording today. About the curse of Basilinte.”
“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

Astrid gently removed Ferik’s hand from her arm and countered.

“Do you have a logical, rational reason why it absolutely must wait until tomorrow? Or why I absolutely have to stay with you right now?”
“….”
“You don’t, do you?”

Astrid smirked at Ferik, who couldn’t answer.

“This is why I asked for a divorce. Do you know what’s funny? The conversation we just had is the first one we’ve had in five years.”