I’m really getting magic lessons.

Even though she had received direct permission from Kalos, Irene couldn’t believe it, so she lightly pinched her cheek.

“It hurts.”

Meaning it wasn’t a dream, a faint smile spread across Irene’s lips.

Since the magic lesson was scheduled to take place in the library after lunch, Irene headed to the library right after eating, carrying her notebook and pen.

‘He’s not here yet.’

Well, I did arrive too early. Irene sat on the sofa, reading a book while waiting for Jerdin to arrive.

How much time had passed? When she heard the sound of the door opening, Irene looked up.

“Ah…”

She naturally thought Jerdin had come, but unexpectedly, the person who opened the door and entered was Kalos.

Surprised by the appearance of an unexpected figure, Irene froze in the middle of standing up.

Kalos leaned against the doorpost with his arms crossed.

“Seems you’re not happy to see me?”

“What? No, that’s not it.”

Finally coming to her senses, Irene hastily replied, worried Kalos might misunderstand.

“I thought it would naturally be His Highness the Crown Prince, so when Your Grace the Grand Duke entered… I apologize.”

“There’s no need to apologize.”

Kalos replied indifferently as he straightened up from leaning against the doorpost.

“The Crown Prince will be here soon.”

The Crown Prince, not His Highness the Crown Prince?

Although the Grand Duke was of high status, he was still a noble. He should use honorifics for the royal family, but it was strange how he called the Crown Prince as if he were his subordinate.

Come to think of it, Kalos even spoke informally to the Crown Prince.

Was he treating him casually because the Crown Prince was his disciple?

“There are a few things you need to know before receiving magic lessons from the Crown Prince.”

The warning-like tone brought Irene back to reality from her wandering thoughts.

Though startled to see Kalos standing right in front of her when she came to her senses, she composed herself, respectfully clasped her hands, and prepared to listen attentively to his words.

“Please speak.”

“First, report everything you learn in the lessons to me.”

Although she didn’t understand why she had to report it, she agreed to do so for now.

“Second, report everything Jerdin says outside of lessons as well. Even the most trivial things.”

“Pardon?”

However, she couldn’t help but question the second order.

After all, asking to report everything, even the most trivial things, meant that he didn’t trust Jerdin.

In the past, her father, who didn’t trust her mother, had also told Irene to report everything her mother said, no matter how trivial, without missing anything.

So when Kalos gave the same order as her father, she was perplexed.

The two of them, I thought they were quite close… Were they not?

Kalos asked, crossing his arms.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No. There isn’t.”

Irene was curious but didn’t ask.

She felt that even if she asked, Kalos wouldn’t tell her, and whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t her business, so she didn’t want to invite unnecessary danger.

“…”

Kalos stared at Irene with an unreadable gaze for a moment before speaking.

“Lastly, what you need to keep in mind is…”

Knock knock−.

Before Kalos could finish his sentence, there was a knock, and the door swung open.

“Sorry for the wai…”

Jerdin, who was entering with a bright smile, spotted Kalos and started to slowly back away.

“Stop.”

However, he had to stop at Kalos’s command.

Kalos glanced at the awkwardly standing Jerdin, then said to Irene.

“You can’t use magic in Esper Castle, so even if you learn magic, it’s better not to think about using it.”

With those final words, Kalos left the library.

*

Jerdin, who had been standing frozen in place, asked Irene once Kalos’s footsteps could no longer be heard.

“What did the master say?”

Irene glanced at the firmly closed door before answering.

“He told me various things about the magic lessons.”

“Did he mention anything about me?”

What should I do? Should I tell the truth?

“…No.”

Irene hesitated for a moment but chose not to tell the truth.

There was nothing to gain by telling the truth anyway.

Rather, if this fact became known to Kalos, she might fall out of his favor and have a hard time living here in the future.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“…”

As Jerdin stared at her as if seeing through the hidden truth, Irene slightly turned her head away.

It pricked her conscience to lie to someone who had shown kindness by offering to teach her magic, but she had no choice.

It was only natural to prioritize the person she might continue to be with over someone who would leave.

“Then let’s start the lesson right away. We only got permission for two hours a day, so we shouldn’t waste time like this.”

Fortunately, Jerdin moved on without further comment.

Irene sat across from Jerdin, feeling deeply relieved.

Jerdin flipped through the basic magic book Irene had been reading and asked.

“How far have you read?”

Irene answered, feeling a bit shy.

“I’ve read up to chapter 2, but the content was so difficult that I barely understood any of it.”

“That’s understandable. Even though it says ‘basic’, it’s full of content that’s hard to understand for people who haven’t studied magic before.”

Irene had been worried that she might lack comprehension skills, but she felt relieved when Jerdin said that.

“As expected, the book uses unnecessarily difficult language. There’s no need to explain so elaborately, I don’t know why they made such a book.”

Jerdin flipped through a few more pages, then clicked his tongue and closed the book.

“It’ll be much more helpful to learn directly through experience rather than reading this rubbish.”

Suddenly Jerdin stood up, and Irene stood up along with him.

“Ah, you can stay seated.”

Jerdin made Irene sit down again and placed his hand on her shoulder.

It was already uncomfortable with just her sitting while the Crown Prince was standing, but with his hand on her shoulder, it became even more awkward.

Her hands, which had been neatly placed on her knees, tensed up.

“Normally, we’d start by opening the mana core, but you… so there’s no need for that.”

It seemed like there was a break in the middle of the sentence, or was it just my imagination? Irene looked up at Jerdin.

As their eyes met, Jerdin smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“I know I’m handsome and you want to keep looking, but we need to focus on the lesson now.”

I had felt it since I first saw him, but he was truly a strange person.

The moment Irene lowered her head, she felt a sharp pain near her heart.

“Ah.”

Irene groaned and hunched her shoulders.

Jerdin returned to his seat and asked.

“Did you feel any pain or something?”

“Yes.”

“As expected, even without opening the mana core, mana is circulating in your body.”

Jerdin opened the notebook Irene had brought and began writing in it as he explained.

“As you probably know from reading the book, the nature of mana that each person possesses is slightly different. When mana with different natures collide, they repel each other and cause abnormal reactions.”

“Ah, so that’s why I felt pain.”

Irene understood immediately, having seen similar content in the book before.

“Fortunately, the nature of your mana and mine aren’t completely opposite, so it stopped at this level, but if they were incompatible, you would have fainted from shock. In the worst case, you could even die.”

Die. Just hearing the word made Irene’s body shiver slightly.

At the same time, a question arose, and she carefully asked.

“May I ask something I’m curious about?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know that Your Highness’s mana and my mana weren’t incompatible?”

If Jerdin hadn’t known, he wouldn’t have done something so dangerous that could potentially lead to death in the worst case.

That meant he knew everything before doing it, but she was curious about how he knew. It was even more puzzling because the book stated that the nature of mana couldn’t be known until directly clashing.

“…”

Jerdin’s lips momentarily stiffened.

He seemed to ponder for a moment, as if considering how to answer, then smiled and said.

“I happened to find out somehow.”

I see, it means it’s difficult to answer.

“Then I’ll teach you how to manipulate mana.”

As he changed the subject as if to say not to ask any more questions, Irene couldn’t inquire further.

*

After finishing the magic lesson and leaving the library, Jerdin stood against the corridor wall and sighed in relief.

“That was close.”

It was fortunate that Irene didn’t probe deeper and let it go; otherwise, it would have been very troublesome.

“What are you doing here?”

“…!”

Startled by a sudden unfamiliar voice from behind, Jerdin turned around.

“Ah, it’s Dewey.”

Jerdin sighed in relief, having thought it might be Irene, Jessie, or Kalos, but it wasn’t.

Dewey narrowed his eyes and pushed up his monocle.

“Are you plotting something strange again?”

“Again? Someone might think I’m always plotting strange things.”

Dewey smirked.

“Well, you are plotting something strange.”

“Of course. Why else would I be here like this?”

When Jerdin answered brazenly as if it were obvious, Dewey clicked his tongue.

“Then instead of doing this here, why don’t you go and execute your strange plot?”

“Oh? You’re not going to stop me? What if I do something to the master?”

“Pfft.”

Dewey laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

“Go ahead and try if you can. I guarantee Your Highness won’t be able to touch even a single hair on the master’s head.”

Dewey left abruptly, leaving behind words encouraging Jerdin to give it his best effort.

“That’s true.”

Left alone, Jerdin muttered to himself as he looked out the window.

“I wish I could too.”

As winter approached, the days had grown shorter, and a red sunset was already spreading outside the window.

*

During dinner time with Kalos.

“…I learned.”

Irene reported everything that happened during the lesson without omitting a single detail, as he had ordered.

“But how did His Highness know that my mana wasn’t incompatible with his?”

“Who knows.”

She casually brought up the unresolved question, but the answer was unsatisfactory.

Did he know the reason, or not?

Irene wanted to ask in more detail, but unlike with Jerdin, she didn’t have the courage to do so with Kalos, so she quietly continued her meal.

She wasn’t particularly dejected, but that’s how it appeared to Kalos.

‘Maybe I should have answered.’

No. If I did that, I’d end up having to reveal everything.

Someday I’ll have to tell her everything, but not now.

That’s right. It wasn’t time yet.