Chapter 117

The next morning. In front of the portal at the Kreutz ducal castle.

“This is cheating! Why does only Kyle get to come with you?! I want to watch Dandelion’s lesson too!”

Lucas’s furious shout rang through the sky.

Ignoring him, Father calmly tied the ribbon on my clothes and stood up.

“Keep a close eye on Kyle. He’s been a person of interest lately.”

“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was the same ordinary trip to class as always.

The only thing different today was that Kyle and Knox were coming with me.

Father. I think I need to take Kyle to the monster enthusiasts’ gathering. There’s something going on between Kyle and me.

Last night.

I had run to Father, who was working late, and told him everything that had happened.

How I had nearly passed out while holding Kyle’s hand.

How I could talk to Grandma Bibi, who was a monster.

And even how she had told me I smelled like monsters.

That’s concerning.

Interesting—no, concerning.

Father had looked at me with a thoughtful expression, while Knox nodded for some reason with an oddly excited look on his face.

That was right.

Kyle was not going to the royal castle to have fun with me.

Strictly speaking, he was going there to be “experimented on” by the members of the monster enthusiasts’ gathering, who were completely obsessed with monsters.

But this innocent little lamb, who knew nothing at all, planted his hands proudly on his hips and declared,

“Aisha is my guardian! I’m supposed to get special protection, so that’s why I get to go!”

And Lucas, the only one who did not know the truth, waved his clenched fists around.

“Come on! I’ll be Aisha’s guardian! So take me too. Take me too!”

“What do you mean, you’re going to the royal castle? Who knows what they’d do to you there.”

Calypse frowned as though exhausted.

Lucas immediately stared at him in confusion.

“Huh? She’s going there for magic lessons! I’m going to take lessons with Dandelion too!”

“Ahem. Poor big brother Lucas. I’m the only one who gets to take lessons with Aisha.”

Kyle proudly lifted one corner of his mouth as he provoked him.

Lucas began trembling with rage and lunged at him.

“Y-You—!”

Or rather, he tried to.

“Send them through quickly.”

Because before it could turn into a fight, Calypse ordered the portal activated.

Whiiir—

And amid the blue light and the whitened field of vision, Lucas’s scream of “You’re dead when you get back!” gradually faded into the distance.

“Kyle.”

“What?”

“...Never mind.”

I sighed and shook my head.

For now, while he still knew nothing, I wanted to let Kyle be happy.

***

A short while later.

After arriving at the royal castle through the portal, we headed straight into the classroom where the magic lessons were held.

“I’ll come for you when the lesson is over. I’ll be waiting in the room next door, so call me immediately if anything happens.”

“Okaaay.”

After Knox disappeared, Kyle and I took seats on one side of the classroom.

The other children in the room all turned to look at us.

“P-Princess Aisha is here. She’s wearing another pretty dress today.”

“Who’s that boy who came with her? He’s really pretty.”

It had already been a month since the lessons began.

Once magic education, which had previously been restricted to nobles, was opened to everyone, the small number of commoner children who possessed the aptitude had flocked here.

And naturally, those children had become my classmates...

but they still could not bring themselves to approach me.

“Wow. Princess Aisha sat down.”

“She’s sitting like a hero again today.”

Especially because the commoners were full of fantasies about House Kreutz.

“S-She picked up her pen!”

“She must be studying ahead before class again!”

“As expected of House Kreutz...!”

Even the smallest thing I did made them stare at me with admiration.

And I was too afraid of shattering these good citizens’ fantasies to make friends with them.

What if I go mingle with them and destroy House Kreutz’s dignity...

That was when—

“Aisha, you don’t have any friends?”

Kyle suddenly struck me with a brutally direct question.

Stab.

His innocent, completely malicious-free question pierced me like an arrow, leaving behind a dull ache. I pouted for no reason as I answered.

“I have friends. Friends Kyle doesn’t know.”

“...Friends I don’t know?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t, but I could just pretend I did.

Imaginary friends.

Then his round eyes narrowed—

“Who?”

Kyle abruptly stood up and thrust his face toward mine.

His pale face filled my entire vision.

Startled by the sudden movement, I jerked my head far back.

W-What...

The distance between us was so close that it caught me off guard.

And maybe I had simply gotten too used to it to notice before—

“Who is it? Who’s this friend I don’t know? You’re the only friend I have.”

Beneath the white hair falling across his forehead, his catlike eyes gleamed suspiciously.

Even though he was still young, his features were already quite defined, and his skin was unrealistically pale.

Seeing Kyle sitting among the other children in the classroom made me realize it all over again.

He was pretty handsome for a kid.

Tch.

“Ah, I don’t know!”

I snapped out of my wandering thoughts and shoved him in the chest.

I expected him to brace himself, but Kyle allowed himself to be pushed back surprisingly easily and sat down beside me with a pout.

That was when—

“Not a single student is late again today. Shall we begin the lesson?”

The teacher conducting the magic class entered, and the children shouted, “Yes!” as they took their seats.

King Grace had already given permission for Kyle to attend, so when the teacher noticed him, she merely smiled and said nothing.

“I’m going to find that friend you haven’t told me about.”

Kyle, still refusing to let it go, whispered beside me.

Good grief. He has no idea what he came here to have done to him today, and he’s still worrying about tracking down my imaginary friend?

Stupid Kyle.

Annoyed for no good reason, I glared back at him with triangular eyes.

And amid that silent battle of nerves, the magic lesson began.

“Now, since it’s been a month since we started, today we’ll review the things we learned at the beginning. First, what did we say magical energy was?”

At the teacher’s question, someone raised a hand and answered.

“Magical energy is the primordial energy that all living things possess!”

“That’s right. We said magical energy is a force possessed by every living creature, correct?”

“Yes!”

“Then animals have magical energy, and people have magical energy too, right?”

As the teacher repeated the idea in terms suited to the children’s level, their bright eyes focused on her and they nodded.

“Then what do we call an animal that is born with magical energy above a certain level and becomes very strong?”

“A monster!”

“A huge monster!”

“Then what about a person who is born with magical energy above a certain level?”

“They have the potential to become a mage!”

“People like us!”

An animal born with a large amount of magical energy became a monster, while a person born with a large amount of magical energy had the potential to become a mage.

I already knew this, but I diligently copied down everything the teacher said.

Review was the shortcut to becoming the king of studying!

“Oh.”

Then I suddenly froze and opened my mouth into a little triangle.

“I was supposed to write ‘magic,’ but I wrote ‘majic’... and I don’t have any other paper....”

I froze for a moment, not knowing what to do.

“Princess, if you made a mistake, would you like a fresh sheet?”

The boy sitting beside me smiled cautiously and held out a sheet of paper.

Yes!

“Thanks. I’ll use it well, and I’ll lend you some next time too.”

When I accepted the paper and smiled at him—

“Y-Yes!”

The boy stared at me silently for a moment, then smiled as the tips of his ears turned red.

Why were his ears turning red?

Could this be...

an abuse of noble authority?

To think I could make someone’s ears turn red with just a few words.

Ahem. Such is the loneliness of nobility.

I swallowed my awkwardness and began taking notes again.

“Is he that friend?”

Kyle suddenly leaned his face in beside me and whispered.

“Ah! You scared me... Kyle, what are you doing?”

“Is that guy the friend I don’t know?”

As he asked, Kyle was staring at the boy.

With a positively blazing gaze.

Perhaps because he was a demon despite his young age, there was a natural murderous edge in Kyle’s eyes.

“E-Eek.”

The terrified boy turned his head away and began trembling.

Will you go away?

No. I’m staying right next to Aisha. Aisha is mine. I’m not letting someone else take you.

What are you talking about? He just lent me a piece of paper.

Why did Aisha take it? You’re betraying me over one sheet of paper?

How is that betrayal?!

“Teacher. What happens if there’s too much magical energy inside a person’s body?”

“Oh my. That’s a good question.”

Just then, one of the students asked a question, and the teacher smiled as she turned toward them.

Avoiding the teacher’s gaze, Kyle and I continued our silent bickering in hushed voices.

“It’s very rare, but if a person’s body becomes completely filled with magical energy, it can be very dangerous. Especially if magical energy suddenly flows into the body...”

Go away!

No. I’m staying right beside Aisha. Aisha is mine.

“Their head may start spinning with dizziness, and they may feel nauseous...”

Kyle, if you keep this up, I’m making you stand for punishment again after class!

What did I do wrong?!

“And in an instant—bang—they may collapse. Just drop unconscious on the spot.”

At the exact moment the teacher answered, I grabbed Kyle’s wrist in irritation.

“......!”

Thud—

My head lurched once again.

And I collapsed straight to the floor.

“Aisha...?”

I heard Kyle calling my name.

“Aisha!”

But by then, I had already lost consciousness.