Three months had passed since Calliphe Offensa was declared the new Archmage and Marchioness.

House Offensa was experiencing unprecedented tranquility along with the warming weather.

“Haven’t things gotten a bit easier since Lady Calliphe became Marchioness?”

“You’re telling me. Even the mages look healthier, don’t they?”

“I wish every day could be like today~”

The maids’ unguarded chatter drifted through an open window into the study, reaching someone inside.

“Like today!? Those d*mn—!”

The protagonist receiving evaluations of ‘surprisingly competent at work?’ both inside and outside House Offensa—Calliphe—roared at the curse that had randomly struck her.

“D*mn it, I’ve been going two weeks straight without a single day off, eight hours of classes and eight hours of work, and this makes sense? I’m about to get addicted to recovery potions!”

In the room with no one listening, Calliphe crumpled paper with bloodshot eyes.

She’d been writing out the questions she got wrong on the last quiz test a hundred times over.

“Why does an Archmage need to know the entire curriculum other mages learn, not just be good at magic? Am I running an academy?”

She gripped the paper hard enough to tear it, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do so, instead swatting at the pile of books beside her.

“And this too! Sure, giving me both the Archmage and Marquis positions simultaneously is fine. I get that there’s a lot to learn. But! Then can’t I just take classes? Why do I have to work at the same time? Why haven’t they assembled my advisory staff? When will they assemble it!”

Kyaaah. Calliphe let out a wild shriek, her hair disheveled.

After that, a deep sense of reality hit her and she collapsed into her chair.

“Now I can’t tell if my b*tt is the chair or the chair is my b*tt…”

The relentless classes and work were exhausting, but the real complaint was something else.

Because Calliphe was so busy, she hadn’t properly seen Lynen or Noah’s faces in ages.

“Plus Lynen’s returned to the north right now to handle territorial events…”

Once he went, he’d have to deal with backlogged work, so she wouldn’t see his face for at least a few months.

Noah was also learning swordsmanship and magic these days, making it difficult to coordinate schedules.

“Life.”

Thunk. Calliphe dropped her forehead onto the desk.

Would she have to keep living like this forever? She shuddered at that inescapable fate.

Blink blink—

The communication device lit up.

“Eek, is it class time already?!”

Vice Archmage Marcel, who’d become her dedicated instructor, was the type to increase homework for tardiness. She’d resolved countless times to replace the Vice Archmage someday.

“But it’s not class time yet. Who is it?”

Calliphe operated the communication device.

A woman’s figure appeared inside the round orb.

—It’s been a while, my lady. Or should I call you Marchioness Offensa now?

“Countess Yvonne!”

Yvonne, an important retainer of Ortega and Lynen’s aunt, was someone Lynen trusted.

“Thanks for contacting me! You’re doing well, right?”

—Yes. But Marchioness, you… look quite exhausted.

“Don’t even get me started. I’m… d*mn…”

Calliphe showed signs of being about to shout, overcome with emotion. Sensing this, Yvonne quickly got to the point.

—Ahem, Marchioness? I contacted you to check in and also share news from the north.

“News from the north? I heard there’s an event.”

—Yes. The Wish Festival, a long-standing tradition, will be held soon.

A long-standing tradition.

‘Actually, it didn’t exist in the previous timeline.’

After Calliphe changed the past with Lynen, several minor changes occurred in the current timeline.

The most prominent was the monument to the Ortega guardian spirit in the north.

‘The ancestral Ortega spirit dwelling there recognized the relationship between Lynen, Noah, and me. Thanks to that, the succession stabilized without major friction.’

As distinct a change as the monument was the northern traditional event—the Wish Festival.

Yvonne briefly explained for Calliphe, a capital noble.

—The Wish Festival is the last winter night event bidding farewell to winter. Participants carry lanterns made at home and climb a gentle hill path.

The destination was a shrine honoring magical spirits.

—Legend says if you set down your lantern there and make a wish, it will come true.

Northerners participated in this event no matter how busy they were.

Partly because of tradition, but also because people who actually had their wishes granted appeared every year.

—Someone who wished to see their deceased family said they met them in a dream that night. So everyone makes their pilgrimage with their own wishes, approaching it like prayer.

“That sounds romantic.”

—Yes. But the romance belongs to the people, and we must make practical preparations. So our lord will be busy for some time with preparations and cleanup for this event.

“Well, I know that.”

Did she contact me just to say that? It’s not like she’s teasing me.

While Calliphe grumbled internally, Yvonne lamented in a casual tone.

—It’s his duty, but it’s unfortunate. This year’s Wish Festival was delayed a bit due to unstable weather…

“Huh.”

—Because of that, it happens to coincide with our lord’s birthday.

“Huh… What?”

Wait, what did she say?

“Lynen’s birthday?”

—Yes. Naturally you knew that, Marchioness. Right?

“…O-of course!”

—As expected of you, Marchioness.

There was a strange hint of laughter in Yvonne’s voice, but Calliphe had no time to worry about it.

After quickly wrapping up the communication, Calliphe sat in shock.

‘I… didn’t know Lynen’s birthday this whole time!’

Starting with a contract engagement, rushing through months without rest, then hurriedly getting legally married to coincide with Noah’s birthday.

‘The wedding ceremony was also rushed through somehow. We obviously didn’t go on a honeymoon. Lynen helped with my work the whole time until he went back to handle his family affairs a week ago.’

No…

‘Is this… marriage?’

At this rate, a natural divorce in a few months wouldn’t even feel awkward.

Most of all, the fact that she’d been indifferent to her spouse’s birthday pricked Calliphe’s conscience.

“No. I have to make up for this.”

Snapping to attention, Calliphe immediately took action.

She went to find former Marquis Graham and declared:

“I’m requesting leave!”

“Denied.”

“Same here.”

Vice Archmage Marcel, who was enjoying tea time with Graham, preemptively denied it too.

Even when Calliphe got angry, used magic, and overturned teacups and tables, the two didn’t budge.

‘What does some small northern event matter?’ they said, telling her to endure for now and they’d help her celebrate Lynen’s birthday next year.

Graham even clicked his tongue and coldly advised:

“If your spouse gets upset over missing one birthday, it’s better to ignore them. The family is important—is a birthday that comes every year important? At least distinguish priorities.”

Thud. The door closing in front of her.

Having been shown out, Calliphe laughed hollowly.

‘Isn’t that old geezer crazy? It was just the other day he was groveling and begging my forgiveness!’

Anyway, the conclusion was clear. She couldn’t leave this mansion through legitimate means.

“In that case…”

That night.

Lina, Calliphe’s dedicated maid who’d been promoted to head maid of the main building, secretly retrieved a certain box.

Her face, shadowed by lamplight, smiled sinisterly.

“Marchioness. I’ve brought what you ordered.”

“Good. You brought a quality one, right?”

“Hehe, of course. It took some effort to secretly procure such an item.”

The two women, grinning like criminals, opened the box to check the contents.

Inside was a girl’s dress covered in ribbons and lace with such pale colors that the usual Calliphe would never wear it.

Calliphe smirked.

“Shall I become Ferica once more?”

* * *

The day after Calliphe made her secret preparations.

Noah visited the Grand Temple under the pretext of holy power lessons.

“Can you ask if Allen can come with us tonight too?”

Calliphe had given him this secret mission.

Naturally, Noah was also planning to secretly go to the north with her tonight.

‘It’s been so long since I went out with Lady Calliphe.’

His heart was already racing.

‘But now I should call her mother.’

How much had he longed to become their child?

Now that dream had come true, but everyone had been so busy since then that there’d been no time for the new form of address to stick.

‘Come to think of it, Lady Calliphe and the Duke seem exactly the same as before too.’

The fact that they’d married and he’d been adopted didn’t feel real at all.

No matter how he thought about it, everyone being too busy was the cause.

‘Alright. Then I’ll go to the Wish Festival and wish for them to be a little less busy.’

Hehe. Having decided, Noah knocked on Allen’s door with an excited heart.

“Noah. Come in.”

Allen greeted Noah with a gentle smile and skillfully offered cookies and milk.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. But what brings you here in person? If it’s for lessons, I could come to you.”

“Actually…”

Noah relayed exactly what Calliphe had said.

“So I was wondering if you could come with us. It would make it easier for Lady Calliphe to sneak out.”

“I see. I can help with that. But I don’t think I can go to this Wish Festival.”

Allen’s smile shadowed.

“Imelen is sick.”

“What? Where? Is she very sick? Can I go see her now?”

“…”

Allen sat Noah, who’d stood up from his chair, back down and smiled lightly.

“It’s a cold. She’ll recover soon, so don’t worry.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue. Imelen had been frequently getting sick and recovering lately.

But he hid the fact that such symptoms were common characteristics in those who, like Imelen, had been sacrificed to black magic and transformed into magical beasts.

And that most who showed such symptoms didn’t last long.

He wanted to go to the Wish Festival and at least pray, but he couldn’t leave his sick sister alone.

Most priests knew Imelen as an incarnation of the Light Spirit.

‘If I leave and her identity as a magical beast is exposed…’

Imelen would be deeply hurt.

So Allen could only smile like nothing was wrong.

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll excuse you from lessons under the pretext of being busy. I’ll secretly provide a carriage too, so travel safely with Lady Calliphe.”

“…Okay.”

Noah nodded with an uneasy feeling.