“What would be the weakest part here?”

“The weakest part?”

“Like, visually, does any part look a bit different from the others?”

“Hmm.”

It was a circle intricately intertwined with dots and straight lines, but upon close inspection, one could see that one spot was slightly askew. Cordelia carefully pointed to that part.

“This part?”

“Where’s that? I can’t see it. Explain it in words.”

“Ah, well, where three dots converge in one place. That area looks a bit distorted.”

“You…”

“Is it not?”

Leonard laughed. A rare occurrence. He usually doesn’t laugh unless he’s mocking someone or giving a wry smile. So when Cordelia saw his smile, she suddenly felt chills down her spine.

“It’s you.”

“Wh-what is?”

“You might be able to break through Diloana’s territory.”

“Are you serious? I-I’ve only been learning magic for a month. There’s no way I could do that.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not asking you to break the barrier, just to spot the weakness and let me know. I’ll do the breaking.”

“But you said just one step into Diloana’s territory means death, right? Don’t you need to get close to break it?”

“We’ll just have to manage not to die.”

“How can you say that so casually…!”

Cordelia jumped up and expressed her strong refusal at this irresponsible statement.

“I can’t go. My dream and goal is to live a long and quiet life. If you want to go, go by yourself, Master.”

Leonard smiled gently at her firm and intense refusal.

“Cordelia.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember what you said when you first asked me to take you as a disciple?”

“Wh-what did I say?”

“You said, ‘I’ll support you in every way until the head of the family safely returns to Atilei.'”

It’s been over a month since then, yet he recited her words without missing a single syllable.

His memory was more terrifying than impressive.

Cordelia’s lips twisted.

“B-but I clearly said I wouldn’t do anything life-threatening back then!”

“Ah. Right. You can avoid dying.”

“What do you mean ‘can avoid dying’? That’s not the same as ‘won’t die’!”

“I can’t be responsible if you go near the barrier alone and die tripping over a rock.”

It was eerily realistic, which made it scarier. Just as Cordelia was about to express her strong opposition once again, Leonard drove the final nail in.

“But you know, I never actually asked for your opinion. Still, I’ve heard you out.”

“What?”

“We’ll leave in ten days. Get ready.”

“…”

* * *

“Hello, Lottie.”

For some reason, today Lottie wagged her tail and seemed quite friendly. However, that was only for a moment before she buried her nose in the meat pouch attached to Cordelia’s waist.

“Were you hungry? Here, eat.”

As soon as she took out the meat and put it on the ground, Lottie gobbled it up hurriedly.

“Who will take care of Lottie’s meals when I’m gone?”

Despite Cordelia’s lament, the gray dog just continued to tear and swallow the meat with smacking sounds, seemingly uninterested in her.

“I just planned to learn a few auxiliary spells and live as a magic appraiser. How did it come to this? I shouldn’t have volunteered to learn magic in the first place. Sigh.”

Having finished the meat, Lottie began to nose through the straw with her snout. Cordelia gave her more of the meat she had brought.

“Lottie. What should I do? What if I die there?”

“…”

“Never mind. What am I doing, talking to a dog?”

Cordelia buried her head between her knees and let out a deep sigh. After some time had passed, she felt a wet nose nudging her crown.

Cordelia lifted her head. Lottie licked her chin with her moist tongue.

“Are you comforting me?”

Cordelia gathered her courage and stroked Lottie’s rough gray back. For some reason, this time she didn’t shy away and stayed still. The warmth felt through her palm was comforting.

“Even if I go to Diloana’s territory, I’ll make sure to tell them to take care of your meals.”

Woof-

Lottie barked shortly. She usually doesn’t bark much, but it was a bit funny that she barked as soon as food was mentioned.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to tell them to take care of your meals.”

Woof woof-

“What? Do you have something to say? Are you telling me not to go?”

Woof-

“I don’t want to go either. Who would want to go to a place that might become their grave?”

Seeing this as her chance, Cordelia was about to pour out her complaints to Lottie when-

“You’re here again, I see.”

Although she should be used to the Baron’s sudden appearances by now, she still found herself startled. As Cordelia turned around, clutching her surprised heart, there stood the Baron in his water form.

“It seems you’re fond of this dog.”

“Just… I didn’t have anywhere else to get attached to in this place. Lottie was almost my only friend.”

“Hmm.”

Unable to immediately respond to such an honest answer, the Baron awkwardly changed the subject.

“Are you worried about what the master said yesterday?”

“About going to Diloana’s territory? No. Not at all. It’s just a place where one wrong step means burning to death, a place even the mighty Beluce was advised not to go, but so what? It’ll work out somehow.”

“Your words have a sharp edge to them.”

“Not an edge, but a knife, though unfortunately it seems too blunt for you to feel.”

“Shall we take a walk?”

The Baron guided her out of the stable with an indecipherable smile. Cordelia followed behind him with slumped shoulders.

“I fully understand your concerns.”

“Really?”

“You have to risk your life for someone you’ve only known for a month, with no benefit to yourself.”

“…”

Cordelia turned her head sharply to look at the Baron. It was a sentence that pierced her feelings exactly.

There was nothing for her to gain from this perilous journey that lay ahead. Only forced sacrifice existed.

The Baron noticed Cordelia’s gaze but didn’t turn his head.

“Anyway, once the master regains his body, he will never return to Abrams Castle. Naturally, Craig’s body will also meet its end.”

“Of course. What business would Master have in this countryside?”

“But if they don’t know about Craig’s death, you, Cordelia, will become the sole master of Abrams.”

Cordelia stared intently at the Baron’s lips, startled. It was a method she had never considered before.

“Is it possible to hide Craig’s death?”

“It is possible. If one knows sophisticated puppetry.”

“Puppetry? What’s that?”

“It’s magic that controls unconscious people or corpses to move them at will.”

It was a chilling statement, but to Cordelia’s ears, it sounded like an enticing proposition.

As they walked, they arrived in front of the northern tower. The soldier guarding the entrance recognized Cordelia and greeted her politely. The Baron had long since turned invisible.

“Of course, it’s difficult to hide it forever, but if you manage the corpse well, you could reign as the sole master of Abrams Castle for about five years. After that, you could choose your residence as you wish.”

When they had climbed the stairs far enough that the soldier was out of sight, the Baron reappeared.

“But didn’t you say that once you become a magician’s disciple, you can’t leave your master? Shouldn’t I stay by Master’s side wherever I go?”

“That’s true, but there are exceptions everywhere.”

“Ah, you mean establishing a star? But how could I, who’ve just started learning magic, establish a school in just a few years?”

“No. In the case of a star with only one disciple, like Leonard, it’s not uncommon for master and disciple to live separately as a precaution.”

“Ah.”

Cordelia immediately understood what that meant. She stopped walking. The Baron, in turn, hovered around Cordelia.

“That means.”

“It also means that there’s a justification for you to stay here alone after Leonard regains his body.”

“But will Master let me go so easily?”

“Haha. Don’t worry about that. The master is softer-hearted than he looks. If you plead with tears, he’ll surely allow it.”

Her stiff legs began to move again. Her drooping head perked up tensely.

After walking for a while, they reached the top of the tower. The guard at the door recognized Cordelia and immediately greeted her.

“Good day, madam. What brings you here?”

“Ah, I…”

In truth, she had come without much thought and was about to turn back when she saw the Baron, now transformed into a tiny water droplet barely visible to her eyes, pointing towards the door where Helena was.

“…I came to see the Duchess.”

“I’ll prepare it for you.”

He found the key without a word and opened the door to the room where Helena was confined. The metal sound was chilling as the door hadn’t been oiled.

The Baron whispered in Cordelia’s ear.

“Look at Helena Abrams. The one who intimidated and looked down on you so much.”