Melissa sighed softly and asked.

“Matter?”

“Ah, the time when the mage and His Highness were at the library……”

……Good heavens.

Melissa was shocked as she finally recalled the past incident.

‘Right. That happened.’

She had forgotten about it since she had been spending time with Edgar and hadn’t had any occasion to come to the library. She hadn’t met Lloyd either.

‘Come to think of it, what is Lloyd doing?’

Looking at him lately, he seemed to be running around, looking extremely busy.

It was the moment Melissa was thinking of him, who was rarely at his residence. The librarian, who had been observing her expression, asked carefully.

“Are you perhaps dating the mage?”

Melissa flinched at the librarian’s question.

This was the first time she had received such a direct question like this.

Come to think of it, she had never told anyone about it.

‘That’s right. Why was that?’

She thought about it briefly, but Melissa already knew the answer.

Because she herself hadn’t acknowledged Edgar as a true lover. From the beginning, she had planned to use him and hadn’t intended to open her heart this much.

But now……

“……Yes, that’s right.”

Melissa spoke aloud for the first time what she had been denying.

The librarian’s eyes widened in great surprise. They opened so wide that she wondered if they might pop out.

“Good heavens. The rumors were true! Then at that time, were His Highness the Crown Prince and the mage having a love fight over you, Miss Lucid?”

“Well……”

“I thought it was unusual that the two of you kept going around together! When? How did you start dating?”

The librarian’s eyes sparkled as if she had never been surprised.

Melissa stiffened for a moment, then smiled awkwardly.

‘This feels somewhat awkward.’

She had never once thought that a situation would come where she would have such conversations. Because she didn’t have friends around her with whom she could share such things.

Not only did she not have female friends her age, but Edgar and Lloyd weren’t people to have such conversations with either.

Melissa looked at the librarian who was watching her with an expectant face. Her heart beat with a pleasant rhythm.

‘In the past, this would have been extremely bothersome.’

She didn’t feel that way now.

Maybe it was because she was someone she had talked with a lot in the north, excluding Edgar and Lloyd.

It seemed affection had grown between them.

“We met again in the north after a long time. After talking since then, somehow……”

“How about the confession? Who did it first?”

“I…… received it.”

“Good heavens!”

The librarian jumped up and down as if it were her own affair.

Fortunately, it was a time when there weren’t many people in the library. At the gazes of several people turning their way in an instant, the librarian pretended not to notice and cleared her throat, then sat down right in front of Melissa.

“Then did you get that ring fitted specially?”

What the librarian pointed to was the ring on Melissa’s right index finger.

The one Edgar had given her as a gift when they attended the coming-of-age ceremony festival held in the Kingdom of Esmira.

“Ah, no. I just received this as a gift.”

“The mage gave it to you, right?”

“Yes. He said it has magic cast on it wishing for happiness.”

“How wonderful! It’s so romantic!”

The librarian gushed with admiration, saying it was a gift that could appear in romance novels. It was a statement befitting someone whose profession involved living among books.

Meanwhile, Melissa became increasingly uncomfortable listening to the continuing words.

It wasn’t because the librarian’s behavior bothered her.

It was because of herself.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t properly given a return gift.’

Edgar had said the talisman carved on his forehead was sufficient, but Melissa wasn’t satisfied with just that.

She knew the value of what she had received.

She also knew it was a gift that absolutely couldn’t be placed on the same level as a talisman carrying weak magical power.

That’s why she said she would properly give a return gift later, but she hadn’t prepared anything yet.

Melissa, who had been thinking for a moment, asked.

“Excuse me, what might be good to give as a gift?”

“A gift? Are you thinking of giving it to the mage?”

“Yes.”

Melissa answered in a crawling voice.

Even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, her cheeks kept heating up so much that she couldn’t lift her face at all.

The librarian looked at her with a pleased expression.

“Hmm. What might the mage be lacking?”

“Lacking…… I don’t think there’s anything he lacks.”

“Well, that could be the case.”

The librarian, who had been tilting her head for a moment, nodded.

She seemed to be thinking of Edgar’s status and position.

The next Tower Master. The next duke of Shortiras.

Whichever way she thought about it, he seemed to lack nothing.

“Then how about clothes?”

“Clothes?”

“Yes. People usually keep buying clothes. Moreover, the mage simply packed light and came to support the north. Wouldn’t he need more clothes?”

“Ah……”

“Actually, I was concerned because the mage seems to only wear the formal wear given by the Magic Tower every time.”

The librarian spoke with a worried face.

Of course, Melissa didn’t think Edgar did that because he lacked clothes. There would be some other reason.

‘Did he develop some kind of obsession for cleanliness in the meantime?’

Why does he go around covering himself up so thoroughly?

She could excuse it since it was winter, but even among the northern people, there were many who dressed more lightly than Edgar. Moreover, insisting on clothes with the same design and even gloves every time was a bit unnatural unless there was a good reason for it.

But what the librarian said was also plausible.

He wouldn’t have brought all sorts of luggage to the north, so he might indeed need clothes.

“The Magic Tower formal wear covers not just arms and legs but even the neck completely. Plus gloves on top of that! Come to think of it, there’s no exposed skin.”

“……”

“Winter is almost over now, and it’ll gradually get warmer, so wouldn’t it be a bit hot to keep going around in those clothes?”

Melissa stared at the librarian.

Actually, the answer had been decided since a little while ago.

“Do you happen to know any nearby shops you’d recommend?”

* * *

The place the librarian recommended was somewhat far from the north.

It was about a thirty-minute carriage ride away, but Melissa willingly decided to bear with it. Whenever she forgot, the ring on her finger came to mind and made her feel uncomfortable.

It was better to do this and get it over with.

Thus, Melissa succeeded in choosing a gift for Edgar in a whole three hours. Since this was the first time across two lifetimes that she was buying clothes for someone else, it couldn’t be helped.

She only realized after arriving at the shop that she didn’t know Edgar’s exact measurements, so there was no point in saying more about that.

‘Still, I’m glad I bought something that should suit him.’

Melissa hugged the box inside the carriage.

She was curious what kind of face Edgar would make when he received these clothes.

Unlike the Magic Tower’s formal wear, it was a design that exposed the neck a little, so he would be able to wear it well once the weather warmed up a bit more.

“We’ve arrived, Miss Lucid.”

The carriage stopped in front of Edgar’s residence.

Melissa greeted the coachman and got off the carriage.

Then she went straight into the building. She passed the infirmary and climbed the stairs. Her pace going up the stairs gradually quickened.

Finally arriving at the third floor where Edgar’s residence was, Melissa caught her breath while panting.

She couldn’t understand why she had rushed up like this.

Knock knock.

“Edgar, are you inside?”

Melissa lightly knocked on the door.

Then she heard something moving inside.

“Ah, thank goodness. You’re there.”

“What’s the matter?”

Edgar’s voice sounded strangely flustered.

Melissa felt embarrassed, thinking she might have come too suddenly, and scratched her cheek for a moment.

“Well, I have something to give you. If it’s inconvenient, I’ll come back later.”

“No. Wait a moment.”

She heard some noise for a while, then the doorknob turned.

Edgar, who eventually appeared, was wearing somewhat comfortable clothes unlike usual and had a towel around his neck. Seeing that his hair was slightly wet, it seemed he had just finished showering.

Edgar, who opened the door, went inside first with his hands in his pockets. Melissa sighed at that sight.

Ah, she really had come too suddenly.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time coming to Edgar’s house.’

Melissa looked around.

She had been to the Shortiras ducal residence hundreds of times, but to feel this unfamiliar in what was supposedly a new place.

“I’ll change clothes and come out. Sit down for a moment.”

“Okay.”

Edgar glanced at Melissa and went into the room.

She slowly moved her steps and looked around the house.

‘There are fewer decorations than I thought.’

Maybe it was because she was only thinking of Edgar’s room at the ducal residence.

The utterly plain room was a bit surprising. There was nothing hanging on the walls, and with so little furniture, it was exactly like someone had just moved in.

Melissa looked at the white walls and then moved her steps toward the desk placed in the center of the house. It was the only place in the house that seemed to have traces of Edgar’s life.

Papers were scattered across the wide desk.

‘What is this?’

Melissa unconsciously directed her gaze there.

She didn’t know much about Edgar who had gone to the Magic Tower. It was the same in her previous life and this life.

Even in this life, when she thought they had grown fairly close, she had a strong desire to know more—every little detail.

Whether it was because she wanted to use Edgar better, or because she was truly interested in him.