Chapter 58
“Have you been waiting long?”
At that moment, Illya returned to the room.
The group sat together, sipping warm tea and chatting pleasantly. To be precise, it was mostly Elena and Illya talking, while the other four listened intently to their conversation.
“How have you been?”
At Illya’s question, Elena briefly recounted her recent experiences. Of course, she left out the incidents involving Anguis or the Little One.
She only shared lighthearted and cheerful stories.
“And how about you, Brother?”
When Elena asked, Illya’s smiling face stiffened. He didn’t say much in response, but she could guess what he had been through.
It was likely a relentless series of experiments.
So she didn’t press him further.
At that moment, Alice nudged Elena in the side.
“By the way, Elena. Didn’t you say you had something to show the mages at the Mage Tower?”
“Oh, right.”
Elena had brought along some of her inventions, just in case—specifically, a talking doll and sound-producing shoes.
She wasn’t sure if her brother, Illya, would provide an objective evaluation since they were family, but as a skilled mage, she decided to show them to him anyway.
Fortunately, Illya looked at what she brought out with great interest.
“What’s this? A doll?”
“This is a talking doll.”
Elena pressed the doll’s belly to demonstrate.
“Brother, it’s nice to see you after so long.”
After recording her voice, she lightly pressed the doll’s belly again, and a cute voice played back.
“Brother, it’s nice to see you after so long.”
“Oh.”
Illya looked at the doll with fascination. He took it from her hands and examined it closely.
“You embedded a recording magic orb inside the doll.”
“Yes.”
“The principle is simple, but the idea is clever. Did you make this alone?”
“No, I didn’t do it alone. An alchemist and a friend helped me. I joined the invention club this time.”
“You even joined a club? Oh, for your thesis?”
“Yes, but I’m not planning to use this for my thesis. I’m going to make another magical toy.”
Elena explained her grand plan to create a moving train. Fortunately, her brother was supportive.
“The principle itself isn’t too difficult. And if you have an alchemist on your team, you should be able to finish it before submitting your thesis.”
“Really?”
“Yes. If you run into any problems or get stuck, contact me. I’ll help you out.”
Elena couldn’t help but let out a childish sound of protest.
“But you’re too busy to even reply to my letters.”
“I’ll make sure to reply regularly from now on.”
“No, it’s okay. I can handle it.”
“Alright.”
Illya naturally reached out and patted her head. It felt a bit strange.
In truth, when they were younger, Elena and Illya hadn’t been particularly close. During his adolescent years, Illya found her somewhat annoying, and she, in turn, was cautious around him.
But now, perhaps because they had both grown older, it felt neither awkward nor unpleasant to see him again after so long.
“By the way, have you mentioned this to Father? I think it could sell well at our Bellote Trading Company.”
“Oh…”
Elena was momentarily at a loss for words. After a brief silence, she answered somewhat awkwardly.
“Yes, I sent the doll to Father. But I haven’t received a reply yet.”
Illya’s smile faltered for a moment, as if he was taken aback. But only for a moment. He quickly smiled brightly again.
“Father’s just very busy. He’ll get back to you soon.”
A slight awkwardness, which hadn’t been there before, settled between them. To break the unwelcome silence, Elena showed him the sound-producing shoes next.
Once again, Illya praised her invention. He said that, like the doll, its principle was simple but the idea was excellent.
“But Elena, why are you suddenly interested in children’s products? Are you planning to take over Father’s business?”
It was only natural for the eldest son, William, to inherit the business. However, as a knight, William showed little interest in it. Their father also didn’t seem to have high hopes for William. It appeared he was considering passing the business on to Illya instead.
Yet, Illya himself seemed uninterested in the business. His face looked relieved as he asked Elena if she intended to take it over.
As for Elena, she hadn’t really thought about it.
“Well…”
“Why? I thought you were developing toys to take over the business.”
“I just came up with the idea while brainstorming for my thesis. It came to me during the break when I saw Lindsey and Tony.”
In truth, the idea had come from observing the Little One, but she added a small lie.
“Oh, you mean Madam Jane’s little ones? How are they doing?”
“They’re doing well—healthy and lively.”
“Why those little ones, though?”
At that moment, the door opened, and Felix entered. He looked utterly drained, as if he had been tormented by the mages during his brief absence.
“Hyung, how could you just leave me behind?”
“Haha, I had no choice. I had to guide Elena and her friends. Did you at least learn what you wanted?”
“Yes, well…”
The two exchanged a brief conversation. Soon after, the official tour time came to an end.
When another mage mentioned it was time to send the students off, Illya seemed genuinely disappointed.
“Elena, what are you doing after this?”
“Me? I’ll probably explore the capital with my friends.”
“This trip is both a tour and a graduation trip, right?”
“Yes, for two weeks.”
“Then you don’t have to spend today with your friends, do you?”
“Huh? Well, I guess not, but…”
Before Elena could finish speaking, Illya declared to his colleague.
“I’m taking a break.”
“What?”
“Tell the Elder for me. I haven’t taken a single day off yet.”
“Well, that’s true, but this is so sudden! Hey, Illya!”
Ignoring his colleague’s startled protests, Illya grabbed Elena’s hand and led her out.
‘Is this really okay? Won’t it cause any problems?’
Elena wanted to ask but couldn’t bring herself to. Illya’s bright smile looked so relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
After all, no matter how big the Mage Tower was, being cooped up there for three years would make anyone feel stifled.
“Elena, go ahead and spend time with your brother. We’ll look around a bit more and head back to the inn.”
Alice, Penny, and Joy tactfully excused themselves. Elena, too, wanted to spend time with her brother, so she didn’t stop them.
“Then I’ll head back to the inn as well.”
Felix was about to follow the three girls back to the student group when Illya grabbed his shoulder.
“You stay.”
“Why?”
“We’re going to see William.”
“William? Is it alright to just visit?”
“Since the Royal Knights are hosting a tour for students, he’s probably at the Royal Knights’ headquarters. We won’t spend much time there—just enough to say hello.”
“Oh… okay.”
And so, Elena, along with Felix, who hadn’t managed to escape, followed Illya to the Royal Knights’ headquarters.
***
“Ah, you’re looking for Sir Bellote? He’s probably at the training grounds right now.”
A knight responded when they mentioned they were looking for William Bellote.
“But what brings you to see Sir Bellote?”
Illya and Elena bore a resemblance to their mother, while William took after their father. In other words, William didn’t look much like the two of them.
The knight seemed slightly wary, perhaps not realizing they were family. Illya smiled warmly as he replied.
“We’re family. My younger sister is visiting the capital for the first time, so we came to see my brother after a long time. Oh, and this one here is like a younger brother to me. He’s in the magic department but also learns swordsmanship, so I thought it’d be good for him to visit the Royal Knights’ headquarters.”
“Hmm. If you’re family, that’s fine, but…”
This time, Elena quickly added her own explanation.
“We’re students from Verka Academy. The academy came here for a tour today, remember?”
She showed the academy badge she had brought, just in case. Only then did the knight’s demeanor soften slightly.
“Ah, Verka Academy students? In that case, it’s fine. Please, go ahead.”
They headed straight to the training grounds the knight had directed them to. Finding William wasn’t difficult.
There was only one man with black hair in sight. However, since he was in the middle of a sparring match, they couldn’t call out to him.
‘But his sparring partner…’
Elena narrowed her eyes against the dust kicked up by the wind, focusing on the sparring partner. Among the many blond-haired individuals, there was something familiar about this silhouette.
It was Cedric Kaine.
“Cedric?”
“That’s Cedric, isn’t it?”
Elena and Felix murmured simultaneously.
It seemed Cedric had come for the tour and somehow ended up sparring with William.
“Do you know him?”
“Yes. He’s in the swordsmanship department and taught me swordsmanship.”
“What?”
Illya was startled by her response and grabbed her hand.
“Why are you learning swordsmanship? Your hands—are they okay? Oh, you’ve got calluses.”
Ah, it was the same reaction as her nanny’s. Elena didn’t mind the calluses at all, though.
“Yes, I learned a little for self-defense.”
“Why would you learn self-defense?”
“Well, just…”
“You can use magic instead.”
“You know I’m not good at using magic in real situations.”
“Still…”
Elena gently pulled her hand away from Illya’s grasp and raised her voice slightly.
“Am I a child? Can’t I learn a bit of self-defense? Why are you so concerned about it?”
“But your hands…”
“I’m proud of these hands. They’re proof of my efforts. Besides, Madam Jane said I should meet someone who would appreciate even these hands. I feel the same way. If someone thinks less of me because of this, then I don’t want to be with them.”
Faced with Elena’s firm stance, Illya didn’t scold her any further.
“Alright. If you’re okay with it, then I’m okay with it too.”
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