Chapter 24

For Kanna, it was nothing significant.

If they wanted to do that “enchant” or whatever it was, they could go ahead and try.

It would be challenging to succeed, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.

After all, Kanis had done something similar in the past.

The spear Kanis had used to kill the Demon King in her youth had long been stuck in the middle of the border wasteland, unable to be pulled out by anyone.

But such things only held meaning in the hands of a mage.

Even if it was handed to an ordinary person who couldn’t handle mana, they wouldn’t become a mage.

Perhaps the Princess would come to realize this as well.

Moreover, commercialization would be impossible.

The reason such research hadn’t progressed until now was obvious.

It was a technology unnecessary for those with wealth.

They could simply use their money to employ mages.

Until now, the only person who had ever desired the right to protect their body at the cost of their own safety was…

…this peculiar Princess standing before her.

“Your Highness, may I ask Miss Kanna a question?”

At that moment, the young mage, who still looked pale as always, cautiously spoke up.

“Do you mean what you mentioned earlier?”

“About using mana stones? It shouldn’t be hard for a Princess to obtain them.”

“No, not that… I mean, when you said to use mana stones as a medium, what exactly do you mean? Are you saying to inject mana into the mana stone, or—?”

The Princess, seemingly amused, chuckled slyly from the side before locking eyes with Kanna.

“You said you were just being kind, but it feels like you’re trying to keep me stuck here.”

“If a child is too perceptive, it makes things difficult for an adult like me, doesn’t it? Besides, this isn’t my question, so it doesn’t count as part of the deal.”

Kanna sighed and gestured toward the young mage.

“So, the mana stone.”

“Yes, the mana stone.”

“You use it as a medium. You adjust it so that the mana stone and the object resonate with each other.”

“And how exactly do you… adjust it?”

“Just do it.”

“…”

“You just, you know, do it like this.”

Kanna made some vague gestures in the air.

“Can’t you do this?”

“…”

The young mage eventually nodded in resignation.

“Well, you’ve only learned by observing the Master of the Mage Tower, so it’s understandable that you wouldn’t know the technical details. I apologize for asking too much.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Kanna, who had been opening and closing her mouth in frustration, eventually gave up trying to explain.

There were too many things to clarify.

Some of them would cause unnecessary trouble if explained.

For instance, her true identity.

“Did the Master of the Mage Tower really abandon you?”

“Your Highness.”

The chief attendant softly tried to dissuade the Princess.

“Why? Doesn’t she have that kind of tendency?”

Kanna asked reluctantly.

“What kind of tendency?”

“She clings to things she should let go of and discards what she shouldn’t.”

“…”

“A self-righteous egotist, you could say. Her personality isn’t great.”

Listening to someone gossip behind someone else’s back could only be tolerated for so long.

Kanna retorted sullenly.

“Isn’t it a bit hypocritical for the Princess to say that?”

The Princess smiled, her lips curving thinly and sharply.

“Still, she’s your teacher, isn’t she? That’s a good attitude. One should always know how to protect what’s theirs, no matter where they are.”

“…”

“Whatever the truth may be, if you didn’t abandon it, then it isn’t abandoned. Do you understand?”

“Are we done here now?”

Nadia set the pipe down on the side table and smiled faintly.

“Why are you in such a hurry? It’s not like someone’s chasing you. I’ll have a tea table set up, so why don’t we chat a little longer? My only greatniece might lose her father, after all. I should at least offer some comfort.”

Kanna, who had been about to stand, sat back down indifferently as the tea table was brought in, almost as if it had been waiting.

The Princess crossed her legs and looked at Kanna with satisfaction.

“The attendants of the Crown Prince’s Palace seem rather heartless for how attentive they are.”

“They don’t know that I know.”

“Oh, how unfortunate.”

The Princess chuckled softly.

At that moment, Kanna’s eyes were drawn to a piece of white candy on the tea table.

Noticing Kanna’s interest, the Princess smiled slyly and spoke.

“There are more eyes watching in the Imperial Palace than you’d think.”

Hearing this, Kanna’s impression was that the Emperor and the Princess, despite not even looking at each other, seemed excessively interested in one another.

Moreover, the two were eerily similar, as if they had been cut from the same mold.

“So, are you going to ask when I got so close to the Emperor now?”

The Princess’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Ask?”

“Never mind.”

Kanna stuffed a handful of white candies into her pocket and rose from the sofa.

“Then, I’m leaving.”

“One last question before you go.”

The Princess asked as she packed her pipe.

“You had no intention of cooperating until yesterday, yet here you are today. There must be a reason for the change.”

“…”

“What could have changed your mind overnight? That’s what I’m most curious about.”

“I wish everything you said were true.”

Fixing her gaze on the door, Kanna fiddled with the candy in her pocket.

“There’s always a limit to the lives protected by mages.”

“…”

“That’s all.”

Kanna left the room.

Only then did the Princess light the end of her pipe and take a deep drag.

Blowing smoke toward the empty seat across from her, the Princess wore a cryptic expression.

“Shall I clear the tea table?”

“Bring that book closer to me.”

Ewyn handed over the book from the opposite seat.

“What exactly did she find in this book?”

“Did you say she found something?”

“Yes. She didn’t even try to look at any other books, even when given the chance.”

As the smoke rose thickly, Ewyn stepped back.

The Princess flipped through the pages she had marked earlier.

Nothing particularly caught her eye.

“Perhaps, as the Master of the Mage Tower’s child, she was simply curious about such things.”

“Still, it felt like she wouldn’t need to see me again.”

“Wouldn’t that be expected, Your Highness? She’s not someone one would want to meet again without a reason.”

Ewyn gestured politely toward the Princess, who ignored him.

“What could that girl be thinking?”

“Are you not worried about His Highness Michael?”

“Not at all.”

Ewyn, who had been opening a window, paused and turned around.

The Princess seemed sincere.

“Do you think the Master of the Mage Tower would let that child die?”

The Princess, biting the end of her pipe, was unconcerned.

“People really don’t know anything.”

***

Kanna stopped her steps as she was heading toward the Crown Prince’s Palace.

In the distance, a group of people was running toward her.

“Miss Kanna!”

Startled, Kanna instinctively took half a step back.

“Where have you been all by yourself?”

The attendants quickly surrounded Kanna in a circle.

Some knelt down to meet her gaze.

“Aren’t you cold? Where did you leave your cloak?”

“Look at how red your ears and nose are!”

“Let’s hurry back!”

“In weather like this…”

“It’s a relief nothing happened, but next time, please take at least one of us with you!”

“We’re begging you!”

With each of them chiming in one after another, Kanna couldn’t get a single word in edgewise.

“Let’s head back to the palace now.”

“Would you like to wear my cloak for now?”

“Did you really go to the Princess’s Palace?”

“Was everything okay there?”

Looking at their worried faces, Kanna decided it was finally time to speak up.

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, she confessed.

“You know, you don’t have to hide it from me.”

The attendants’ expressions shifted in stages.

First came confusion, followed by an ominous sense of foreboding, and then a silence born of denial, as if they couldn’t bring themselves to accept reality.

“You received a request for help at dawn, didn’t you?”

“…”

“They said Michael is in danger.”

Now, the attendants’ faces looked as though they were screaming in silence.

“Um, Miss Kanna, well, that is…”

The attendants couldn’t figure out what Kanna was thinking.

But after exchanging glances, they cautiously took Kanna’s hand in theirs.

“Everything will be fine.”

“I know.”

The attendants wrapped Kanna in a tight embrace.

For once, Kanna didn’t resist and stayed still.

After a long moment, she placed her hand lightly on one of the attendants’ arms.