Chapter 4

Although she had presented her theory with sincerity, Felix shook his head firmly before she could even finish speaking. If that had been all, it would have been fine, but he looked at her with an expression of ridicule.

“Do you even use your head for anything other than decoration?”

“What? Hey!”

“Ugh.”

At her sudden outburst, Little One flinched. Feeling guilty, she gently patted his head.

“You’re saying Little One used teleportation magic to travel from the Genoa Continent to here? Do you even hear yourself? That distance requires several stops, even with a magic portal. How could this kid possibly teleport such a distance?”

“Someone might have sent it here.”

“That’s not possible either. Unless it’s Castor Grosvenor, there’s no mage alive right now capable of covering that distance.”

Castor Grosvenor was a Grand Mage who had lived over 300 years ago, a once-in-several-centuries genius.

It was said that while Felix had first used magic at the age of three, Castor had wielded it as naturally as breathing before he even turned one.

Of course, no one alive now had actually seen him, so the truth of these stories couldn’t be verified. Still, one thing was certain: Castor had been extraordinary.

The hundreds of magical formulas he created were groundbreaking at the time, and the history of magic hiself was said to have shifted because of him.

Moreover, his theories and hypotheses remained unchallenged to this day.

Incidentally, Castor Grosvenor was Felix’s most respected mage.

“Then where on earth did this kid come from?”

“I don’t know. But considering the distance limitations of teleportation magic, it probably came from somewhere within the Earl’s territory. So, get dressed.”

“Why should I?”

“We’re going out into the territory to investigate.”

“Do you think we can handle this on our own?”

At her hesitant question, Felix let out a small sigh.

“I don’t know.”

His expression was one of genuine frustration.

“But we don’t have a choice. It’s a holiday, so there’s no one in the academy who can help us right now. And Professor Deros isn’t here either.”

Professor Deros was responsible for teaching spatial magic and transformation magic. Even if all the other professors were present, without Professor Deros, solving this problem might still have been impossible. And with all the professors away, the situation was even more difficult.

“Alright.”

She nodded, her feelings complicated. Then, laying Little One back down on the sofa, she grabbed a blanket. She tried to wrap Little One in the blanket again, holding his arms to keep it from squirming, but as soon as she met his bright, round eyes, guilt washed over her.

‘This must feel so suffocating.’

The short trip from her room to here had been manageable, even though she had wrapped Little One tightly in a blanket. She had felt guilty about it even then.

But the journey to the center of the Earl’s territory would take at least ten minutes by carriage from the main gate. Factoring in other delays, Little One would have to stay wrapped up for over thirty minutes, maybe more. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Felix, who had been watching them, left those words behind and went into his room. While waiting for him, she had to wrestle with Little One, who kept trying to roll over.

“Be good, Little One. Just lie still.”

Perhaps thinking she was playing, Little One clapped his hands while laughing as she held his legs. Finding this adorable, she tickled his smooth, soft soles with her fingernails.

“Kyah! Ah-kyah!”

Little One squinted his eyes shut and twisted his body in laughter.

His giggles sounded genuinely joyful, and she felt an odd urge to tease it even more.

Just as she reached out again to tickle his feet, a thick piece of clothing suddenly appeared beside her.

“What are you doing?”

Felix, now dressed neatly, stood next to her, holding out some clothes. She stared blankly at the clothes in his hands for a moment.

“What’s this?”

“Put these on Little One. They were meant to be Tony’s birthday gift, so they’ll be a bit big, but it’s better than that blanket. Hurry up. My arm’s getting tired.”

Felix tossed the clothes onto her lap. She carefully unfolded them, examining them closely.

The set included a fluffy-lined coat, a thick shirt and pants to wear underneath, and even socks and gloves. It was clear that the gift had been thoughtfully prepared.

Although Little One was much smaller than five-year-old Tony, it was still better than having nothing.

“This is Tony’s gift. Are you sure it’s okay to use it?”

“There’s still time before his birthday. I was originally going to give it to him during the holidays, but I couldn’t go. I’ll just buy something better when we go to the central district.”

“Then I’ll buy Lindsey’s gift.”

“Don’t bother. I’ve already got something for Lindsey.”

“Okay.”

Felix’s expression remained as indifferent as ever.

‘Is it really okay?’

After some hesitation, she began dressing Little One in the coat.

“Byaa!”

Despite her efforts to avoid undressing it entirely, Little One squirmed and resisted her touch.

Felix, who had been packing a bag nearby, approached and scolded her for struggling with such a simple task before stepping in to help.

After much effort, they finally managed to get Little One into the coat. It looked warm now, though his face showed clear discomfort with the oversized, bulky clothes.

“Shall we go, Little One?”

As she reached out to pick up Little One, Felix grabbed her arm rather firmly.

“Wait a moment.”

“What now?”

“Just wait.”

“Alright.”

Felix released her arm and quickly disappeared into his room.

In the meantime, she set the restless Little One down on the floor. It crawled around on the carpet for a bit before flopping onto his belly and lying still.

“Hau.”

‘We’ll have to buy proper clothes for it once we’re in the territory.’

Had Felix remembered to bring money? Or would we have to stop by my room first?

While she was debating, the sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts, and Felix emerged from his room.

Already dressed in his coat, he had another thick coat draped over his arm. He approached quickly and handed her the black coat.

“Wear this.”

“Me?”

“Were you planning to go out dressed like that? In this weather?”

Ah, she had forgotten again. She had heard that raising a child left no room for coherent thought, and now she was living proof of it. She gave an awkward laugh.

“I could just stop by my room and grab something.”

“There’s no time. Just wear this.”

Time? It was barely 8 a.m.

But before she could say anything, Felix draped the coat over her shoulders. It felt awkward to refuse at this point, so she slid her arms into the sleeves.

The coat, belonging to someone a full head taller than her, was far too large.

The sleeves covered her hands, and the hem reached down to her calves.

She could now sympathize with how Little One must have felt wearing Tony’s oversized clothes.

“You’ll probably have to carry Little One. I’d do it myself, but I can’t.”

“It’s fine. My arms… well, they’ll probably hurt a lot, but once we get to the village, I can buy one of those cloth carriers for babies. Alright then, Little One, shall we go?”

“Mua!”

Still lying on the carpet with his head raised, Little One let out a sound. She wrapped her arms around his belly to lift it up.

For some reason, the previously uneventful Saint Esna Festival felt like it might become a bit more special this year. The thought was almost laughable.

* * *

Her worry—“What if someone from the academy sees us on the way to the main gate?”—was resolved effortlessly by Felix, the magic prodigy.

And in a way that she could never have imagined, nor would have dared to attempt even if she had.

As soon as they left the room, Felix cast an invisibility spell. Not just on one person, but on all three of them!

‘What kind of person is this?’

More astonished than she had been upon seeing Little One that morning, she could only gape at him, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. Felix, appearing unbothered, shrugged and offered a piece of advice.

“It’s hard to maintain both an invisibility spell and a sound-dampening spell at the same time, so I didn’t bother with the latter. We’ll still make noise, so keep quiet until we reach the main gate. Especially you, Little One.”

Although they were invisible to others, they could still see each other.

This made her wonder, “Can others really not see us?” But the arrogant expression on Felix’s face convinced her that they couldn’t.

And soon enough, his magic proved to be genuine.

They passed several people heading to the cafeteria for breakfast, but none of them so much as glanced in their direction. They simply continued on their way.

She really had become invisible.

Thanks to this, they managed to leave the main gate unnoticed and board a carriage bound for the village.

* * *

The inside of the security office was already bustling with people preparing for the Saint Esna Festival.

There were drunkards shouting accusations of fraud, people who had been fighting and were now detained, and more.

The chaotic scene made her stop in her tracks as she was about to step inside.

“Uuu.”

Little One buried his head in her chest, seemingly overwhelmed by the unfamiliar commotion.

‘Right, this isn’t exactly a pleasant sight for a kid.’

But having come this far, they couldn’t just turn back.

She carefully covered Little One’s head with the blanket to muffle the noise and stepped inside.

For a brief moment, the entire security office fell silent as she entered.

Awkwardly smiling under the weight of so many stares, she approached the knight who seemed to have the kindest expression.

“What brings you here?”

“Um, has there been any report, either yesterday or today, of a baby suddenly disappearing, being kidnapped, or… flying away?”