Chapter 65

In the arena, a man who seemed to be the leader raised his sword high into the air.

“The current royal family has already failed. The future of the Kingdom will be saved by His Highness, Prince Calypse II!”

His booming voice echoed across the arena, likely amplified by magic. It sounded oddly familiar, but Elena didn’t have time to dwell on it. Another explosion rang out.

This one was even closer than before.

“Anguis.” 

Felix said, grabbing her arm.

“We need to get out of here immediately. It seems like they’re targeting the special section where the Crown Prince is seated. Let’s leave before the chaos worsens.”

“Alright.”

Anguis. What kind of ill-fated connection do I have with them? 

But there was no time for self-pity.

Elena could escape even if the crowd surged, but Little One was the problem. If things went wrong, the tiny child could be crushed underfoot.

The special section was near the exit. She had to get Little One out before people swarmed toward the doors. With that thought, she started running toward the exit when—

BOOM!

A thunderous sound shook the special section violently. Cracks formed in the ceiling, and white dust began to fall.

As Elena ran toward the exit, holding Little One tightly, she stumbled and fell from the impact.

No! Little One might get hurt! 

Instinctively, she curled her body around him, shielding him.

At the same time—

“Adya-dya!” 

Cried Little One from her arms, and suddenly, Elena’s stomach churned.

Her vision blurred, and she felt as though her body was being sucked into something.

When she finally fell, what met her body wasn’t the cold, hard ground. Instead, it was something soft and plush, like a bed.

What? A bed?

Startled, Elena opened her eyes. It wasn’t her imagination. She wasn’t lying on the floor of the special section but on an actual bed.

“What… what’s going on?”

She blinked in confusion and looked around.

‘This is… my room?’

What lay before her eyes was the lodging she’d been staying at in the capital. It was Alice’s room, usually empty since everyone had gone out.

Was I dreaming? How could I have gone from the chaotic arena to here?

What on earth had happened?

Oh, right, Little One!

Quickly, Elena checked on Little One, who was squirming on the bed.

“Little One, are you okay?”

“Heehee.”

Little One, who had propped himself up on his hands, smiled and threw himself into her arms. Thankfully, the soft bed had cushioned his fall, and he didn’t seem hurt.

Just to be sure, she carefully examined his head and forehead, but there were no bumps or redness.

“Thank goodness.”

Elena hugged him tightly and let out a sigh of relief.

Even then, she was still in the lodging.

But how had this happened? 

The explosions in the arena had felt far too real for it to have been a dream. Her ears were still ringing.

After a moment of thought, she came to a plausible conclusion.

‘Could Felix have used teleportation magic?’

But Felix was nowhere to be seen. 

Had he sent just me and Little One away?

Felix had once teleported himself, her, and Little One together. But this time, Thomas had been with them as well. Perhaps teleporting three people was possible, but four was too much, so he’d prioritized her and Little One.

If that were the case, what had happened to Felix? Was he safe?

Elena set Little One down and rushed to the window. The lodging was far enough from the arena that it was still quiet here. However, in the distance, black smoke rose from the direction of the arena.

It wasn’t a dream after all.

Were Felix and Thomas okay? 

She wanted to go back and find them, but she couldn’t leave Little One alone.

‘They’ll come back safely soon. Yes, they will.’

Holding Little One, she moved to Felix’s room and waited. About thirty minutes later, as Little One dozed off, the door burst open.

“Elly, are you here?”

Felix rushed in, causing Little One to stir awake. Elena patted his belly reassuringly and stood to greet Felix.

His face was drenched in sweat, likely from running around. He dashed toward her and—

Hugged her tightly. His heart was pounding so hard and fast that she could feel it.

“Fel… Felix?”

“Honestly…”

He let out a sigh, whether from relief or frustration, she couldn’t tell.

“Do you have any idea…”

Muttering incomprehensibly, he grabbed her shoulders and looked her up and down, as if checking to see if she was okay.

Once he confirmed she was unharmed, he asked, 

“Elena, how are you here?”

“Huh?”

Elena blinked in confusion. She had assumed Felix was the one who had teleported her and Little One here.

But why was he asking how I got here? Wasn’t it Felix who had teleported us?

Frowning, she asked again, 

“You didn’t send me here?”

“What are you talking about? Why would I have sent you here? You suddenly disappeared!”

Felix ran a hand through his damp hair, clearly agitated.

“How did you even use teleportation magic?”

“There must be some misunderstanding, Felix. I didn’t do anything. I thought you teleported me.”

“I tried to! But you vanished before I could…”

Wait, could it be…

Elena muttered without realizing it, 

“Were you worried about me?”

“Is that even a question…?!”

Felix shouted but quickly closed his mouth. After a moment, he spoke again.

“Anyway, you’re safe here, so that’s what matters. But it wasn’t me who did it.”

“Then who was it?”

“I don’t know.”

A brief silence fell between them.

Teleportation magic couldn’t be cast from a distance. That meant whoever had teleported her had to have been nearby.

The only ones present were herself, Felix, Thomas, and Little One.

Thomas couldn’t use magic at all, and Elena, who barely scraped through her practical exams, certainly couldn’t have cast teleportation magic.

That left Felix. 

But if it wasn’t him, then…

Both Elena and Felix turned their gazes toward Little One, who was wriggling on the bed.

“Abubu?”

Sensing their stares, Little One blinked his wide eyes before breaking into a smile.

“Adya-dya!”

***

“So, it really…”

Looking at the now-sleeping Little One, Elena trailed off. After much deliberation, she and Felix had concluded that Little One had used magic.

There was no other explanation for this situation.

But questions remained.

“Is it even possible for someone so young to use magic?”

Felix hesitated before answering. 

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“What about you? Could you use magic at his age?”

“…No. I first used magic when I was five, and even then, it wasn’t advanced magic like this.”

“If you couldn’t, how could Little One? You’re a prodigy.”

Felix fell silent again, deep in thought.

“I’m a prodigy, not a genius.”

He didn’t seem to be making a self-deprecating remark, which meant…

“So, you’re saying Little One might be a genius?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“But how could he have used magic?”

“He probably felt danger and instinctively fled to a safe place. He must have thought this place was safe.”

If that were true, it was heartwarming in a way. It seemed Little One had grown fond of spending time with her and the others.

Felix’s theory was soon proven correct. The artifact on Little One’s wrist began to glow yellow, and his body quickly heated up like a furnace.

It was a classic case of rebound.

They hurriedly called for Professor Deros to explain the situation, but he wasn’t in his room. He didn’t return until an hour later.

“Professor, please check on Little One!”

After examining Little One, the professor nodded at their hypothesis.

“It seems this child did use magic. There are strong traces of it.”

Felix, listening intently, asked urgently, 

“Does that mean Little One appearing around Elena wasn’t someone sending him, but him using magic himself?”

The professor nodded again.

“That’s a likely possibility. He probably remembered an object associated with Elena and followed it.”

The idea that Little One had used magic had never crossed Elena’s mind in the past six months.

But there was no time to be shocked. What mattered now was that Little One was unwell.

Having used magic and been frightened by Anguis’s rebellion, his fever was worse than before.

If this was truly a rebound, there was nothing they could do but wait for his mana to settle.

“Felix, if Little One returns to where he came from, will he recover faster?”

“If he came here on his own, it’s possible.”

“Isn’t teleportation magic a one-time thing? How could returning help?”

“…”

For some reason, Felix didn’t answer her question. But he had said it might help, so Elena chose to trust him. She patted Little One’s chest, trying to coax him.

“Little One, you need to go back to your mom and dad. They must be worried about you. Go and get better.”

“Mama.”