***

“Hmm.”

Astrid was intently reading Hallik’s handover journal with interest.

“Oho.”

It was a journal conspicuously left open in Hallik’s office, which she had entered while looking for him, forgetting that she had given him a vacation a few days ago because he had been pale and trembling.

‘Judging by the content, it doesn’t seem like it was written for others to see… Well, it’s his fault for not managing it properly. He should have just named it a diary to begin with. Why call it a handover journal?’

“My disciple is in that kind of relationship with a maid? That wasn’t the impression I got…”

Astrid tilted her head as she read the last page of the journal.

…The first young master must not know about this.

After that, there were only ink dots scattered about, as if he had been in shock.

Thanks to this, Astrid could understand why Hallik had been walking around pale for days.

“Isn’t he too fearful?”

“Who?”

When her unconscious muttering received a response, Astrid turned around.

Ferik was standing in the doorway, with the dark midnight corridor behind him.

Astrid had definitely seen him asleep in bed, so she found it curious that his face was shining without a trace of sleepiness.

Although she had married him partly because of that face that never lost its light regardless of the situation, it was still fascinating.

“Did I wake you? Just go back to bed. It’s nothing important.”

“I’ll decide if it’s important or not after hearing about it.”

“I just suddenly remembered some papers I had stored in the basement storage and came to find the key.”

At those words, Ferik stepped forward, opened the drawer, and took out the storage key.

A man who had been married to a mage for over 20 years was already accustomed to his wife suddenly jumping up in the middle of the night and running barefoot to her workshop or study.

He bent over with his back to Astrid and said, “Get on. I’ll carry you there. You’re barefoot right now.”

Astrid promptly climbed onto his broad back. Then, giggling, she whispered, “I still won’t withdraw my divorce declaration.”

“What would make you withdraw it?”

“If you admit that you love me.”

“Among humans, I like you the most.”

At this blunt confession, Astrid patted Ferik’s head with an endearing look.

“We’ve come quite far. Just a bit more to go.”

“….”

“By the way, did you know? Hallik said that Chamuka seems to like Leti. Like how you like me.”

“Do you have such private conversations with Hallik?”

Astrid sighed deeply at the response from the man who seemed to never mature despite his age.

This human can’t stay endearing for even a moment.

“You jealousy-crazed human. Is that what’s important right now?”

“This isn’t jealousy…”

“Shut up. Don’t contradict me.”

When Ferik fell silent, Astrid shook her head and said.

“At this moment when our son might be experiencing his first love… Oh, all of you end up marrying your first loves anyway. The issue at stake is whether our son’s marriage partner will be my disciple or not.”

“….”

They’re both men, so they can’t get married in the first place, right? And I’m hearing for the first time that Basilinte has a tradition of marrying one’s first love.

Ferik thought this but kept his mouth shut because Astrid had just scolded him.

“Are you thinking, ‘Basilinte doesn’t have a custom of marrying first loves’? Well, you’re wrong. All of you married your first loves. I checked the records.”

Political marriages, my foot. Most were abductions disguised as political marriages.

This is truly a crazy family.

Astrid grumbled with dissatisfaction.

Instead of building up resentment in opposition to her words, Ferik changed the subject by bringing up her beloved disciple.

“Whatever Chamuka is thinking, Leti’s opinion is what matters.”

“That’s the problem—I can’t figure out what my disciple is thinking. I love that child, but… he still keeps many things hidden.”

“He didn’t seem that way with you.”

“Since I once invaded his unconscious mind, I might be a bit better off than others, but still… Ferik, that was an invasion. Not an invitation.”

Astrid murmured, recalling the backstage waiting room that had been the setting of Leticia’s unconscious mind, something she had never told anyone else about.

“He still doesn’t tell us anything about herself. Even though she loves us.”

After a moment of silence, Astrid suddenly grabbed Ferik’s hair.

“Come to think of it, this might be your fault. The reason he still doesn’t fully trust us is because you all haven’t given him enough trust. Because of that damn curse, you don’t show enough affection for the child!”

Ferik accepts Astrid’s venting without a single groan.

Only when they arrived at the basement storage door did Astrid’s outburst stop.

Astrid tilted her head upon seeing the already open basement storage door.

“Huh?”

“…Someone’s coming out.”

As Ferik said, someone was walking out from the dark basement storage.

Astrid narrowed her eyes at the somehow familiar figure.

“Chamuka?”

It was their eldest son, who had just been the topic of their conversation.

His build, now similar to Ferik’s, emerged from the darkness. In his arms was someone wrapped in a blanket.

“….”

Astrid momentarily lost her words.

The blond hair sticking out from the blanket was glowing even in the darkness, making it obvious who it was without asking.

Nevertheless, she asked Chamuka, “Is that my baby sleeping there?”

Chamuka’s eyes faintly furrowed.

“Mother’s baby would be sleeping on the second floor.”

“Not Kalia. My disciple is also my baby, as you know.”

“How old is Leti that you still call him that? You know he hates that term.”

Astrid was dumbfounded by Chamuka’s words. Who was treating whom like a baby here?

“And you, how old is he that you’re carrying him wrapped in a bundle…”

“What does age have to do with it? Mother, at your age, you’re being carried by Father right now.”

“This, this is because I forgot my shoes when I came out…!”

“I had no choice because Leti fell asleep. I couldn’t leave a sleeping person in the basement storage.”

Astrid found herself nodding at Chamuka’s explanation that ‘the Prince suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, went down to the basement storage to read papers, and fell asleep.’

It was a perfectly understandable reason for why her studious and lovable disciple was here in the middle of the night.

After all, Astrid herself was doing the same thing.

However, a fleeting question made Astrid pause her nodding.

“But how did you know my disciple suddenly got up from sleep and came here…?”

“….”

“Were you two sleeping together?”

There was no longer a need to sleep together for prolonged contact to transfer magical power.

That was initially done because Tan and Chamuka were children.

Gaien and Ferik maintained contact by holding hands throughout the day.

Thanks to Leticia steadily transferring magical power over the past 9 years, the magical circuits between the Basilintes and Leticia had connected, and now just frequently holding hands during normal times was sufficient.

So it seemed extremely suspicious that the two were sleeping together in the middle of the night.

“W-why together…?”

Before Astrid’s imagination could run wild to distant places as she began to stutter, Chamuka answered.

“I was playing with Kalia until night, and we both accidentally fell asleep.”

While Astrid was somewhat relieved by that answer, Ferik stared intently at Chamuka with a look that said, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’