[Hello. It’s been a while since I last wrote to you.

I’m doing well, how about you, Mr. E?

This time, I bring some surprising news. Dr. Andre, whom I respect —yes, the doctor who authored the book you gifted me— has accepted me as his disciple.

This alone feels like a dream, but there are even more unbelievable things.

They say I have exceptional magical talent. But I’ve never felt that way in my life. Unlike people with great magical talent, my body has always been weak.

But according to the doctor, there are cases where the body becomes weak because it can’t handle an uncontrollable amount of magical power.

Isn’t it surprising, Mr. E? Did you perhaps recognize my talent from the beginning and offered to sponsor me?

Although I say this, honestly, I still doubt if it’s really my power.

I went to measure my magical talent with Belle, and a monster appeared there, and suddenly my magic turned that monster into ashes. Can you believe it?

I don’t know why the monster appeared there though.

Anyway, because of this incident, I’ve decided to cultivate my precious life more firmly. So please, Mr. E, pray for me.

That I can cut off the unrequited love I’ve been holding onto vainly all this time.

If you’re a mage, and if you can help me…… Could you help me this time too?

Ah! I’m sorry for suddenly saying such foolish things. I’m really regretting writing that just now. I want to rewrite the letter, but this is the only letter paper I have……

About what I said earlier, I should handle it myself, shouldn’t I? I’ve unnecessarily piqued your curiosity, Mr. E. You’re always so interested in me.

It’s embarrassing, so I can’t tell you in detail, but I’ll tell you next time if I get the chance. The person I have an unrequited love for is a very, extremely, terribly bad person. Sadly, only to me.

It’s really foolish, isn’t it? I know you won’t understand why I like a person like that. That’s why I’m really trying to end it now. Only for myself.

I’ll end today’s letter here. Thank you again for everything.

May your life be full of brilliance today as well.

—From Aristena Eldeiz, who really likes you—]

Aris carefully packaged the completed letter, attached a stamp, and put it in the mailbox.

‘I wonder how many days it will take to receive a reply this time?’

Now, sending letters to him and receiving short replies has become one of Aris’s joys in life. Reading his replies made her heart feel fluffy and warm, as if someone was hugging her tightly to comfort her.

‘Will I be able to meet you someday? My dear Mr. E.’

Smiling, Aris returned to her room and spent time until Belle returned. When Belle, who had gone to class, returned, they were supposed to go meet Andre together.

Aris opened a notebook with a caramel-colored leather cover situated in one corner of the desk. Just as she was deeply absorbed, the door burst open and a welcome voice was heard.

“Aris! I’m here! Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

At Belle’s call, which she had been waiting for, Aris quickly stood up from her chair and left the room. The two linked arms amicably and headed towards Andre’s research lab. Her steps were light with excitement and aspiration for new learning.

And in the empty room they left behind. On Aris’s desk, in the open notebook, a page with long-dried ink fluttered in the wind from the window.

[Who was that voice that called me then?]

* * *

Thud. A magic circle appeared in the air above the desk of the man who was working, and a letter fell from it.

The man immediately stopped his work and put down his pen. Instead, he gladly reached out and picked up the letter.

The timing of the letters was random. But when the other person sent a letter, it would arrive in front of him within a day.

Because he had cast a spell. If she wrote the address connected to the magic formula, the letter would fall into his possession.

For the first few days, it took quite a while to reply to the letters from her. He was so nervous that he chose and rechose his words, and in the process, the number of letter papers he had torn was countless.

The man carefully opened and unfolded the letter. His eyes, carrying a gentle warmth, read the letter written in neat handwriting. His heart rippled gently, like a fish swimming in a pond.

But his peaceful expression didn’t last long. His lips, which had been unknowingly rising, suddenly froze at a certain point in the letter.

“Mishuan.”

He called the knight beside him in a low voice. A blonde man with an equally sharp impression approached him.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The man, called by a name filled with high prestige, raised his eyes with an authoritative face. It was completely different from the gentle expression he had while reading the letter earlier.

But looking at his straight nose bridge, sharp jawline, and silver hair containing a cold light, such a stern expression seemed to fit perfectly.

The man’s closed lips opened calmly.

“It says a monster appeared in the north of the Magic Department. Even if it was just one, what do you think?”

“……There have been no reports of a rift, but is that possible?”

“It seems it might be.”

The man narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the letter. Mishuan glanced at the letter following him and spoke in a somewhat displeased tone.

“Monsters have the characteristic of pouring out all at once through irregularly occurring rifts, and there has never been anything that deviated from this common sense until now. Aren’t you putting too much faith in that letter?”

“……Blind faith, you say?”

The man laughed shortly and then looked at Mishuan with cold eyes. Unlike his lips that were still smiling, his eyes, resembling amethysts, were coldly sunken.

“Do you know why I have to be like this…… and still say such things?”

The man’s words suddenly awakened their long-held memories. In that past, the calamity that unfolded after her unexpected death seemed to flash before their eyes. At that moment, the man’s face contorted.

Seeing his face filled with severe anguish, Mishuan sensed his own mistake. He quickly bowed his head.

“I spoke out of turn.”

“……The Magic Department probably hid this incident and didn’t report it to us. Request an investigation and alert the Knight Order.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The man picked up the pen he had put down and looked for a new sheet of paper. But his expression was still not good.

Monsters and such, he wouldn’t have cared as long as she wasn’t hurt. However…….

He looked again at a section of the letter. His gaze read and reread that sentence.

[ So please, Mr. E, pray for me.

That I can cut off the unrequited love I’ve been holding onto vainly all this time.]

The man finally moved his pen. His handwriting changed to be unidentifiable under the magic cast on the pen.

……Yes, if that’s what you want, anything. I’ve been shameless, so this is fitting.

The man’s eyes sank with a sad hue, but his lips were faintly smiling.

Mishuan, who was watching his lord from the side, turned his gaze away with a short sigh. After doing such a crazy thing to come here, now he’s doing such an unsightly act.

It doesn’t matter that he was his lord. Mishuan acknowledged that he had lost his mind long ago.

‘……Aristena Eldeiz, you don’t know.’

Probably for a long time to come. Even if much time passes like this, she would have no way of knowing about this matter, and about that past.

That was the method of many names this man had chosen. A way to repay kindness. A way of apology. A way of anguish. And, a way of belated love.

‘You should have treated her well when you had the chance.’

Mishuan left his office, putting aside his uncomfortable feelings.

The sun that had risen without fail today was once again sinking vigorously.

* * *

Time flowed like running water. It had already been several years since Aris enrolled, received her first exam results, and by chance became Andre’s direct disciple.

During that time, Aris had grown considerably. The sixteen-year-old girl had graduated at the top of the Magic Department and was walking a smooth path as a scholar.

What supported her so firmly were a few people.

Her brother, Aion, who occasionally sent her letters, grumbling but conveying his concerns. Aris’s precious friend, Belle. Her mentor Andre, who recognized her talent and taught her generously.

And lastly, her sponsor who had consistently supported and encouraged Aris over the past few years. They were all people that Aris was incredibly grateful for.

Of course, her parents were not among them. Only recently had they been sending letters, seemingly regretting their mistakes after hearing about Aris’s achievements as a scholar.

Aris had long lost all affection for their materialistic attitude. So much so that she felt she could regard her nameless and faceless sponsor as a mother bird and follow them instead of her parents.

“Aris!”

Aris’s reverie was broken by Belle’s cheerful call, and she turned around with a bright expression. The splendid water-colored dress she wore rippled like waves following her movement.

“Belle!”

“It’s been a while. Your complexion has improved? You looked like death not too long ago.”