“When did you learn to make them.”

“I don’t remember exactly, but…… it’s been a while. Around the time I was sixteen.”

“Then you must have made quite a number of them over the years. Where are the rest?”

“I threw most of them away, or gave them to the people I worked with. Once I realized they had no value, I almost stopped making them entirely.”

“Is there anyone else who knows you can make them?”

“No. I mentioned it to Miss Melissa a few times, but she didn’t believe me. So I kept it to myself after that.”

Ribeta answered every question honestly, not wanting to give Diego any reason for suspicion. Diego was quiet for a while, his head tilted slightly.

His silence made her uneasy, and she spoke carefully.

“Is there something wrong with the beads? Are they dangerous? If they’re harmful to you in any way, I won’t make them anymore.”

“That would be a problem.”

Diego answered plainly and stopped walking. Ribeta stopped beside him. His lips moved slowly.

“Meeting you may have been fate.”

The emotion in Diego’s eyes, usually as desolate as ash-covered desert, was a startlingly vivid joy and longing.

The moment Ribeta saw the light in his eyes, she couldn’t think at all. Had she ever seen him want something this intensely? Not once, as far as she could remember.

He was a man who had everything. He had rebuilt his crumbling family name with his own hands, accumulated wealth so vast that even the imperial family couldn’t dismiss him, and possessed looks that were nothing short of perfect, with loyal people always at his side.

If the new world he had spoken of were to begin, it would begin at Diego Ruperto’s fingertips.

And yet here he was, with that desperate look in his eyes, speaking of fate.

Ribeta didn’t know exactly what he wanted. But she knew with certainty that she had it. The fervent gaze fixed on her was proof enough.

She wanted to fulfill his longing. It had nothing to do with repaying him for saving her. Ribeta simply wanted, with a pure heart, to give him what he was reaching for.

Only because she loved him. Because she wanted to see the person she loved happy.

“Diego.”

She called his name with that feeling behind it. It was the first time. The first time she had called Diego by his name out of her own will alone, not because he had pushed her to or because she had read the situation.

“Diego……”

“You brought this on yourself. Do you understand? Ribeta.”

In that instant, something surfaced, a blurry scene she had buried somewhere, and vanished just as quickly. Ribeta’s expression clouded, and Diego stepped closer.

“You call a person’s name and then just stand there.”

“…… Oh, no. It’s nothing.”

What was that scene? She had a feeling it was something she shouldn’t remember. And her face was oddly warm.

Ribeta shook her head lightly. This conversation mattered deeply to both of them. It was not a moment to lose herself in other thoughts.

“If there’s anything I can do, I want to do it.”

Whatever it is, if it can fill the longing I saw in you for the first time.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Diego was quiet for a time. His expression had returned to its usual flatness, but the eyes looking down at her were different. A flame burned there, impossible to hide no matter how he tried.

Ribeta waited calmly. Waiting was one of the things she did best and most confidently. She would wait until he showed her what was inside again. Until he let her see the light buried beneath the ashes.

It didn’t take long. A proud and beautiful smile settled at the corner of Diego’s mouth. Beautiful as it was, it carried a dangerous edge. It made her feel like a hunter who had walked into another hunter’s trap.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that.”

By the time she realized that the person standing before her was more skilled than anyone at the very thing she did best and most confidently, it was already too late.

Diego took her to the building he had told her was the educational facility.

The interior was clean and uncluttered, with no unnecessary decoration, but it had many rooms. Each door had a nameplate, so you could tell what was inside without entering.

“Most of the rooms on the first floor are used as lecture halls.”

“Lecture halls……”

“Come here.”

Following Diego, she found a large notice board on the wall. At the top it read ‘Lecture Schedule,’ and the chart below was filled with various course names arranged by time and day.

Scanning the timetable, Ribeta noticed something unusual without much difficulty.

“Is this a place where people can learn magic?”

“Yes. It’s a clumsy system where students become teachers and teachers become students, all teaching each other. The lineage has been broken for so long that there’s no proper instructor, so for now this is the best we can do.”

“I thought everyone who could use magic had disappeared……”

“Do you think you could completely eliminate everyone who can sing well?”

It was an unexpected question. But Ribeta shook her head rather than asking what he meant.

There were so many people in the world who could sing well. You couldn’t eliminate them all, and if word spread that people with singing ability were being targeted, they would hide it. Wiping them out entirely seemed impossible.

“Magic is the same. It’s an inborn talent, but it can be hidden as easily as anyone chooses.”

But.

“Someone with the eyes to recognize that talent can’t be avoided.”

“So you recognized it, Count.”

“That’s a trade secret.”

Diego gave a light reply, but a trace of excitement leaked through. Ribeta could tell clearly. Because she had always been watching him.

Not on purpose. Her gaze simply kept finding him without her realizing it. She couldn’t look him in the eye directly, and yet she was always looking at him.

For no other reason than that she liked him.

What he did during his free time, how he held his brush when he painted, how he moved one eyebrow when something displeased him, how many sugar cubes he put in his tea.

She remembered all those small, unnoticeable things without exception, and the reason for that was also that she liked him.

I made the Count happy. I hope that’s true.

Ribeta clasped her hands together out of habit. She was doing her best to appear calm, but she was just as excited as Diego, perhaps more so. It wasn’t only because she had seen a side of him he rarely showed.

Magic was a dangerous and forbidden power. An unknown force of immeasurable strength had frightened people, and after causing several catastrophes, it had been made taboo. Anyone discovered to be capable of using magic was immediately reduced to a slave.

And yet Diego was not only using that long-forgotten power, he was secretly cultivating it. He had revealed to Ribeta a secret that must never come to light, without any hesitation.

That fact weighed on her heart and, at the same time, filled it with joy.

The distance between herself and Diego, which hadn’t closed at all despite their marriage, felt like it had closed in a single moment. Not just in words, but truly, as though they were now companions sharing the same fate.

We’re not even real husband and wife. Maybe that’s exactly why this feels more joyful.

The ring caught on the tip of her finger. The ring that had allowed her, someone who looked nothing like Ilesia Barea, to play the role. Diego’s casual reaction to it, and the fact that she wore it every day until it felt like part of her, made her realize anew that it held remarkable power.

But if my guess is right…… what I can do isn’t anything that remarkable.

“Count, I……”

“Wait.”

Diego raised one finger and pressed it to Ribeta’s lips. Then he wrapped his arms around her and stepped into the nearest room.

The room was empty, fortunately, but Ribeta felt her heart might burst. Diego was holding her close with his ear pressed against the door, watching for movement outside.

Not wanting to disturb him, Ribeta stayed still in his arms. The chest against her shoulder was firm. The rich scent surrounding her made her head swim.

The conflicting desires, wanting him to let go soon and wanting this moment never to end, rose and fell in turns and tormented her.

“Hah……”

Her heart was pounding so hard her chest ached and she could barely breathe. Without thinking, Ribeta let out a long, slow breath against his chest.