***

“Did you make it rain?”

As soon as Leticia emerged to the water’s surface, exhausted, Chamuka asked as if he had been waiting.

Not a single drop of rain was falling at the lakeside, but it was raining in the forest.

The pleasant sound of raindrops hitting leaves could be heard quite nearby.

“Yes. We haven’t had rain lately.”

It was true that Leticia hadn’t been able to make rain for several months while suppressing Kalia’s ‘fire’.

She shook her wet hair and gazed at the rain-soaked forest.

More precisely, not at the forest but beyond it.

Rain was falling not just on the forest but also on Basilinte Castle. Leticia closed her eyes, feeling the raindrops pouring down as she had requested.

She could feel people enjoying the rain. And her master moving inside Basilinte Castle.

Even though it was rain she had summoned, she couldn’t clearly identify who was moving in it. But at the very least, she could distinguish her master the magician and the Basilinte people.

The Basilinte people felt like pitch-black holes, perhaps because they carried the source of the curse.

This was essentially unsanctioned surveillance, so Leticia never explored the rain like this when she made it fall.

But now was an exception.

Leticia scanned through the rain.

On the outskirts of Basilinte Castle, at the edge where her rain reached, she felt an unfamiliar magical power. As if a magician other than herself and Astrid existed there.

“Chamuka.”

Leticia opened her closed eyes and turned to Chamuka.

The young man who had been staring blankly at her didn’t seem to hear her call and remained motionless.

Leticia leaned her head against the small boat Chamuka was in and reached out to tap his knee.

“Chamuka?”

“…Yes.”

“Has there been a guest at the castle?”

Chamuka took Leticia’s hand that was tapping his knee.

Though Leticia was the one in the water, Chamuka’s hand was colder.

After a delayed moment, he shook his head.

“No. Why do you ask?”

Leticia, who had been gazing intently at Chamuka, withdrew her hand from his and answered.

“Nothing. I was just wondering if I made it rain too suddenly. If there were guests, they might have been startled.”

“No one who comes to this castle would be startled by rain. There would be countless people who would be happy about it, though.”

“That’s good then.”

Leticia muttered while gazing beyond the forest rather than at Chamuka, who was staring at her intently.

***

“Master, has there been a guest at the castle?”

Leticia, who had been reading a thesis in the study, suddenly asked as if she had just thought of it.

Astrid, who was sitting next to her disciple, reading a book, tilted her head and answered.

“No? Well, I think some merchants delivering food supplies came a few days ago… Why?”

“Nothing. The castle just seems a bit busier lately.”

“That’s because Ferik has been away. Even though Chamuka says he’s working in his place, he’s not the master of this castle yet.”

“Chamuka would probably dislike hearing that.”

“He doesn’t like anything to begin with. Except you.”

Leticia was at a loss for words at Astrid’s resolute statement.

But Astrid continued turning the pages of her book as if she had said something perfectly normal.

“Are you really okay with it, Master? With Chamuka having such a misunderstanding about me?”

“It’s his life, not mine. The only life I care about besides my own is my lovely disciple’s.”

“No, but still, he’s the heir to the Grand Duchy… Is it okay for him to like men? No, it’s not even real affection to begin with.”

Leticia could speak quite boldly about Chamuka’s confession in front of Astrid.

If Chamuka had seemed even slightly sincere, she would have agonized over what to do, but honestly, it didn’t feel that way at all.

“Lord Chamuka wants to raise me like a child even though I’m grown.”

“I know. He said he wants to adopt you. He certainly thinks highly of his good looks.”

Leticia felt frustrated by Astrid’s complete lack of concern about Chamuka.

“Master…”

When she called out with a groan, Astrid finally took her eyes off the book and grabbed both of Leticia’s cheeks. Her affectionate voice, as if she found her adorably cute, was an added bonus.

“What is it, my baby?”

Wouldn’t it be better if you showed this kind of interest in your son’s future?

“Chamuka is confusing his desire to raise me with his desire for romance. Shouldn’t we correct that?”

“Why?”

“So that he can get married later, have children…”

“Why are you worrying about such things? Oh my, how can you be this kind?”

“Isn’t it strange that no one besides me is concerned about Chamuka’s misunderstanding…?”

She thought she had abandoned a lot of common sense living here, but apparently there was still more to go.

“Just leave him be. This is comfortable now. If anything, I’d prefer if Chamuka stayed in this state forever.”

“Master… Don’t joke around.”

“I’m serious, my beautiful disciple. Enjoy this time when he’s just being overprotective. If he moves to the next stage, well…”

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Astrid frowned deeply, grabbed Leticia’s shoulders firmly, and asked seriously.

“Leti, are you okay with men?”

“Pardon?”

Why so suddenly?

Leticia unconsciously shook her head at Astrid’s forceful approach.

Though it happened in a flurry, Astrid nodded largely as if she understood.

“I see. That’s fine then. Just ignore Chamuka. Fortunately, since our disciple is a man, it will take Chamuka a long time to move to the next stage. Maybe even a lifetime.”

Astrid even muttered, ‘Please let it be a lifetime’ as if in prayer.

Leticia was curious about what this ‘next stage’ was that Astrid had been mentioning.

“…What is the next stage?”

“It’s better for you to never know, for all eternity.”

It took Ferik three years of following Astrid around before he attempted a hug.

Not even succeeded. Just ‘attempted’.

Even though by then they had been in a relationship for quite some time… Only then…

Astrid initially thought Ferik was impotent.

But since she only cared about his face and body, she was willing to accept such a flaw. In fact, she planned to discard him when his beauty faded, so she didn’t think too deeply about it.

Astrid realized much too late that she should have thought very deeply about it.

She considered the time when she believed Ferik was impotent to be the most peaceful and enjoyable period of her life.

Back then, Ferik was pretty to look at, did whatever she said, and never laid a hand on her.

Though he did irritate her with incomprehensible words that grated on her nerves, focusing on his face made it easier to ignore.

Those were good times…

Astrid stroked Leticia’s hair with a distant look, reminiscing about the past.

“Don’t even be curious. If Chamuka’s condition becomes strange, your master will handle it.”

“…?”

The disciple, not understanding what her master was thinking, just tilted her head with a face full of questions.

In any case, on the surface, it was a peaceful moment between master and disciple.

“You cute thing.”

Only after stroking Leticia’s hair for quite some time did Astrid turn her eyes back to her book.

And Leticia, setting aside the thesis she had been reading, gazed out the study window.

If there were no guests, whose magical powers were those being felt near the castle walls?

Leticia pressed down on her ominously beating heart.