“I have no power. Even if I want to escape this wretched hell, all I can do is endure and persevere. I can only pretend to be okay, to act as if nothing’s wrong, in order to survive.”

Tears flowed like an overflowing embankment. Cordelia tried to wipe her wet cheeks with both hands, but it was futile.

She cried like a child. Everything she had been suppressing until now burst out.

“I, I may look desperate and pathetic to you. But I’m doing my *sob* best…”

“…”

Leonard stared at Cordelia, unable to say anything.

He belatedly realized how deeply his carelessly spoken words had wounded her.

She always smiled no matter what he said, so he thought she truly didn’t mind.

“…*sniff*”

“You’re right. No one has the right to judge others so carelessly.”

“I, I have pride too, *hic*. I’m not just a fool.”

“I apologize for what I just said.”

Leonard said seriously. Hearing this, Cordelia’s surging emotions began to subside a little.

He stared intently at Cordelia, who was still sniffling, then suddenly said something unexpected.

“Instead, I’ll give you power.”

“What do you, *sniff*, mean…”

“I’ll take you as my disciple.”

A somewhat impulsive statement escaped his lips. Leonard didn’t quite understand this choice himself, but he didn’t regret it.

“What? What are you saying all of a sudden?”

Cordelia, who had been distracted by crying, didn’t understand what he was saying at first. So she just stared at Leonard with teary eyes.

“You said you were looked down upon because you had no power. If you become my disciple, at least you won’t be treated that way. So say you forgive me.”

“What?”

“Quickly.”

He was brazen, as if he had come to grant forgiveness rather than seek it. Cordelia, unable to resist his urging and pressure, said:

“*sniff* I, I forgive you.”

“Good. Now repeat after me. Ah, but first we need a witness. Baron, come out.”

“You called, Master?”

Baron, who had been waiting for an opportunity, popped out from the tears Cordelia had shed.

“What a moving moment! To think I’d live to see the day my master takes on a disciple!”

Baron exclaimed dramatically, pulling out a handkerchief from inside his coat and handing it to Cordelia. She used it to wipe away the remaining moisture around her eyes.

“*sniff* Th-thank you.”

“There, there. Stop crying. Tears on such a joyous day.”

“Repeat after me.”

Leonard swiftly snatched Cordelia’s hand like a hawk. Then he began to mutter an incomprehensible incantation.

“What are you doing? I told you to repeat after me.”

“Um… What are you, *hic*, doing?”

“Are you hiccuping now? In the middle of a solemn contract ceremony?”

“What’s a contract, *hic*, ceremony?”

“To think I’m taking on a disciple who doesn’t even know what a contract ceremony is. Haa. This isn’t how I imagined my first contract ceremony. What is this? No flowers, no ring, and my only disciple is crying and hiccuping.”

Leonard frowned in irritation as he spoke. He grumbled that this was the worst contract ceremony he had ever seen.

Afterward, a very long and complicated incantation followed.

Unfortunately, it took a long time to finish repeating the incantation because Cordelia’s hiccups wouldn’t stop.

After she stumbled through the last sentence, Leonard burst out in frustration.

“Ah, stop hiccuping already!”

“I can’t, *hic*, help it, *hic*, what should I do!”

“Both of you, please stop. We’re almost done, just the witness oath left.”

Baron finished the oath with a beaming smile.

At the same time, an intense light enveloped Cordelia’s entire body. Complex and strange patterns were inscribed all over her.

“Gasp. What, what is this?”

“It’ll be over soon.”

Leonard said indifferently. As he said, the light soon faded. Fortunately, the patterns inscribed all over her body also disappeared without a trace.

Cordelia examined her body with a dubious expression.

It had shone so brilliantly that she thought there would be some amazing change, but there was nothing different before and after the ceremony.

“Is it over now? Why is becoming a disciple so complicated? Wasn’t it just about teaching magic?”

“What? Don’t tell me you begged to become a magician’s disciple without even knowing what it means?”

“Um… Isn’t becoming a disciple just learning magic?”

Leonard was dumbfounded by this surprisingly naive statement. Baron tried to hold back his laughter by biting his lips, but failed.

“Ha. And we can’t even undo this.”

“Congratulations, Master. You’ve finally obtained the disciple you’ve been dreaming of.”

“Shut up.”

“Haha, there are as many magicians who wish to become Leonard’s disciple as there are stars in the sky, to exaggerate a bit. If the magicians of the Association learn of this, they’ll all envy Lady Cordelia.”

“Ah, yes. Well.”

Cordelia felt no particular excitement, knowing only that ‘Association’ was short for the Lofel Magicians Association on the Wilas Islands, but otherwise completely unfamiliar with this world.

She only felt joy at finally being able to learn magic.

“So, am I now officially your disciple, Lord?”

“Master.”

“What?”

“We’ve formally completed the contract ceremony, so call me Master and show proper respect. Understood?”

“I’m already treating you respectfully, what more… Ah, alright! I’ll respect you. I said I’ll respect you!”

Leonard glared at Cordelia with wide eyes.

It seemed she had become a disciple in exchange for forgiveness, but it felt like she had received an enormous favor.

When Cordelia pouted and grumbled, Leonard shouted:

“Do you know the Duke of Leviche knelt for three days to become my disciple! Hah. Forget it, forget it.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll serve you with utmost respect, Master.”

She grinned with her swollen eyes.

Though things had progressed in a somewhat bewildering manner, she had become Leonard Atilei’s disciple as planned.

* * *

“Well done.”

The day after officially becoming Leonard’s disciple, Baron suddenly appeared. Emerging from atop a water glass, he excitedly splashed water as he spoke.

“I didn’t know Lady Cordelia was such an excellent actress.”

“Acting? What acting?”

“The things you said to Leonard yesterday. Didn’t I tell you? To remove a traveler’s coat, the sun is better than the wind. He was restless because you hadn’t come for a few days.”

“Ah.”

Finally understanding Baron’s words, Cordelia shrugged.

“That wasn’t acting. I was so angry I completely forgot what you told me.”

“…Oh my. If those words were sincere, you must have been very upset.”

“It’s fine. It turned out well. Now I can finally learn magic.”

Cordelia grinned. At that time, she was truly so angry that she couldn’t see anything, Leonard or otherwise.

She thought she was fine, but maybe she wasn’t. Or perhaps Leonard’s existence was more significant to her than she had thought.

Baron came out of the water glass and approached Cordelia. He smiled kindly and said:

“Write it all down.”

“Write what?”

“The names of those who insulted Lady Cordelia. When we leave this mansion, none of them will be left unscathed.”

“Thank you.”

Cordelia smiled back gently.

“But rather than taking revenge for insults, I want to leave after receiving an appropriate price. I just want to escape this wretched hell as soon as possible.”

“I see.”

Baron looked disappointed but didn’t argue with Cordelia’s words.

* * *

This is what Cordelia had imagined magic to be:

When she moved her fingertips, sparkling stars would swirl around, and flowers would bloom in the fields with every swish of her skirt.

However, reality was not just cold, it was bone-chilling.

‘You can’t even do that?’

‘Why do you even have a head? I suppose you needed something to cover your neck?’

‘Don’t write it on paper, do mental calculations. Mental calculations. How many times do I have to tell you?’

‘Hah. What’s the use of being able to see the flow of magic if your brain is made of stone?’

These were just some of the countless remarks she had heard in just three days.

Sadly, while Leonard was gifted in learning, he was terribly unskilled at teaching.

“Damn it, just do it! Just do it!”

Thanks to this, Cordelia’s personality was becoming increasingly sharp-edged. One of Leonard’s eyebrows rose.

“Damn it? Damn, it? Are you going to start cursing at me next?”

“What? How could I possibly dare to curse at my heaven-like master?”

Cordelia quickly lowered her tail and smiled brightly at him. Then she changed the subject.

“But how did it happen to you?”

“What?”

“That… How did someone as strong as you, Master, end up…”

“That bastard isn’t even my brother.”

Leonard sharply cut off her words. Cordelia shrugged lightly.

“Right. So how did that bastard manage to…”

“He used my dead mother as bait.”

“What?”

Leonard sat on the windowsill with a sardonic smile.

“That vile bastard dug up my mother’s grave and took out her bones.”

“Wow…”

It was an unimaginably heinous act. Cordelia gaped and focused on Leonard’s words.

“And he used that to set a trap and kill me.”

The sensation of that sharp metal piercing his body was still vivid. Leonard gritted his teeth.

“If I can just get out of here, I’ll tear that bastard into six pieces and throw him to the dogs.”

“Ah, um, yes. Good luck with that.”

Cordelia responded glumly to these terrifying words.

Though it had been a short time, given his foul temper, it was certainly no empty threat.

“Whether you tear him up or feed him to dogs, do it after you’ve fully recovered. You barely ate again today, right?”

“Don’t even mention that dog food. It’s disgusting just thinking about it.”

Moreover, his palate was so picky that if the meat smelled even slightly off, he wouldn’t touch it, calling it dog food.

What a difficult master to serve.

Cordelia inwardly clicked her tongue as she sat at the desk for her lesson.

While clearing the cluttered desk, she found a thick document labeled “Abrams Internal Report.”