“On the first day on the ship, she didn’t come to the dining hall, so I went down to her cabin and found her crying.”

“Crying? Lady Cordelia? Why?”

“She said she was crying because she missed home. Does that make sense? She’s the one who tore up her father’s letter, saying it was just picking a fight.”

“That is strange. Lady Cordelia didn’t seem like someone who would cry while reminiscing about home.”

“That’s what I’m saying. It seems like something’s going on, but she won’t say anything.”

“For now, don’t push her too hard and treat her kindly. When Lady Cordelia feels better, she’ll probably tell you why she’s acting this way.”

“Do I have to cater to my disciple’s whims?”

Leonard complained irritably, but from the next day on, his attitude towards Cordelia became noticeably gentler.

That day, Cordelia again handed in what was essentially a blank sheet as homework, but Leonard let it slide without comment.

“Let’s forget about this and move on to the next lesson. We’re almost at the Diloana estate anyway.”

“We’re almost there?”

“Yes. At this rate, we’ll arrive in a day or two.”

At those words, Cordelia’s expression visibly darkened. The paper in her hand crumpled with a rustling sound.

“Already? It’s over already?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? It’s been almost a month since we left the Abrams estate.”

“It’s too short. Like this, I’m not ready yet…”

Her tear ducts seemed to malfunction, letting tears flow without warning.

Leonard was about to demand why she kept crying, but remembering what the Baron had said yesterday, he tried to imitate a kind tone.

“What do you need to prepare? I told you I’d take care of everything if you just stay put, didn’t I?”

“I’ve, I’ve only been learning magic for barely a month, no, not even two months.”

“Yes, yes. That’s why you don’t need to do anything, just stay by my side.”

“There’s still so much I want to learn, sob.”

“Someone who wants to learn so much doesn’t do her homework like that? Huh?”

As Leonard waved the blank paper in the air, Cordelia began to cry like a child, as if something had deeply upset her.

Normally, he would have left immediately, disgusted by a woman’s tears, but Cordelia was different.

He awkwardly pulled Cordelia’s shoulder close and patted her back.

“Alright, alright. I won’t give you homework for a while. Stop crying now. You’re already not pretty, and you’ll look even worse.”

“W-why, I, magic, sob.”

Her words were mixed with sobs and barely audible. Cordelia buried her face in Leonard’s chest and began to soak it with tears in earnest.

Leonard felt his chest getting wet and continuously stroked her back gently with his hand.

As time passed, Cordelia’s violently shaking shoulders gradually calmed down.

“I don’t know if I’m raising a child or training a disciple.”

“Sniff. Sniff.”

“Are you done crying?”

“Yes. Sniff.”

“Then let’s hear why you were crying. You haven’t been listening for the past few days, not doing your homework, huh? Really now.”

“I needed time to sort out my feelings.”

“What feelings did you need to sort out?”

“Just… everything…”

Cordelia broke away from his embrace and wiped her damp eyes with her sleeve.

“Master. Do you remember what I proposed at first? If you accepted me as your disciple, I’d help you return to your original body.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I’ll help you.”

Leonard wanted to say, ‘You’re just going to watch the barrier, and I’ll do everything else, so what are you helping with?’ but he held back. He had just managed to stop her crying and couldn’t risk making her cry again.

“Alright. Thank you, my disciple. I feel very reassured with you here.”

Instead of answering, Cordelia smiled like sunshine after rain. Leonard found that smile quite pleasing and didn’t add anything more.

* * *

“It seems we’ve arrived.”

Even without the Baron saying so, they could tell they had arrived. While the vegetation in warm Ansen had been as lush as midsummer throughout their journey, this place was a winter forest that had yet to welcome spring.

An eerie atmosphere permeated from afar, and not even birdsong could be heard.

“Don’t get too close.”

“Yes.”

With each step closer to the forest, Cordelia marveled at the densely layered barriers. She had thought Leonard’s laboratory, surrounded by twelve layers, was impressive, but this far surpassed that.

As she stared open-mouthed at the forest, the Baron quietly approached and asked,

“Lady Cordelia. Can you see something?”

“Yes. There are incredibly dense magic circles drawn all over the forest. Just as you said, Baron, they’ve set it up so that taking even one step in would result in being burned to death.”

Despite having learned for barely a month, she could stumble through reading what was written in the magic circles.

At that moment, Roti, who had gotten out of the carriage, suddenly darted forward. Cordelia was startled and blocked Roti’s path.

“No, Roti! This place is extremely dangerous.”

She obtained a rope from the Baron, made a knot, and tied Roti to a nearby tree.

Roti scratched the ground with its feet, showing its displeasure, but it was necessary because even a slight misstep at the forest’s boundary could result in death.

“Stay still. Understood?”

“Cordelia. Come here.”

“Yes, I’m coming!”

At Leonard’s call, Cordelia ran over, leaving Roti behind.

“Can you see it?”

“Yes. As you said, Master, the center is the weakest.”

“In the case of large-scale barriers like this, the finishing touches are always done at the center. With numerous formulas converging, it’s bound to be unstable.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Remember the coordinate system we learned? Call them out one by one.”

“Umm. Give me a moment. Three hundred fifty-four, two hundred twelve, forty-five. Four hundred one, seven hundred sixty-two, forty-seven.”

Cordelia began reciting the coordinates as she visually identified the weak points and converted them to the coordinate system. It was larger than expected, with over seventeen distorted areas.

Each time she called out coordinates, Leonard precisely placed magical power at that point. Cordelia marveled at the magical power that struck without the slightest error.

She was merely converting what she saw into numbers, but Leonard was calculating all of it in his head.

The two put their heads together and found all the weak points in the barrier. That alone took over two hours.

“Alright. Now step back. I’ll break it on the count of three.”

“When the barrier falls, should the three of us enter together?”

“Is there any need for that? I’ll go in alone, so you two wait here.”

“You’re going in there alone?”

Cordelia wasn’t the only one surprised. Beluce and the Baron vehemently opposed, foaming at the mouth.

“You can’t! Who knows what magical beasts might be in there?”

“We came all this way to protect you, and now you’re going alone? We absolutely cannot let you go by yourself.”

“Ah, you noisy lot. Then both of you come in. But you’re responsible for your own lives.”

Leonard waved his hand as if annoyed.

“Take care and come back safely.”

Cordelia naturally decided to stay behind. If she went in, she would only be a hindrance to the others.

The three men stood resolutely at the forest’s entrance. Leonard took out a pouch from his chest. He then grasped the reddest sacred object from it, put it in his mouth, and swallowed.

Powerful magical energy swirled around. Cordelia’s mouth gaped wide at the sight she had never seen before. Soon, that magical energy seeped into Leonard’s body.

Leonard raised his hand high.

“One, two, three.”

As he counted to three, an enormous magical power exploded at the weakest point of the forest’s barrier. Simultaneously, a powerful magical storm arose. The three men standing at the entrance were instantly sucked into it.

The wind was strong enough to make one’s body stagger.

Cordelia quickly grasped a nearby tree trunk tightly. If she didn’t, she felt she would be sucked into that storm.

“Ugh!”

The force of the magical storm was tremendous. Cordelia’s body lifted into the air. She screamed as she saw Roti, who had been tied quite far away, rising into the air.

“Roti!”

With a cracking sound, the roots of the tree Cordelia was clinging to began to uproot. She struggled in midair, trying to find something else to grab onto, but it was useless.

“Kyaaah!”

In the end, Cordelia too was sucked into the storm.

* * *

She barely managed to move a finger. Her whole body ached as if she had been beaten by someone.

Cordelia opened her eyes with difficulty. Thanks to the dense leaves covering the sky, the sun wasn’t very visible.

“Ouch, ouch.”

A groan escaped as she got up. She looked around.

Unlike how it appeared from the outside, the inside of the Diloana estate was in full summer greenery.

Cordelia carefully surveyed her surroundings. It was more peaceful than she had expected. Initially, they had predicted it would be teeming with magical beasts, but there weren’t even small animals in the forest.

“But how do I get out of here?”

The three men might not even know if she had fallen here or not. The worst-case scenario was that she could be left alone, trapped in this place.

As that thought occurred to her, Cordelia snapped to attention. This was no time to just sit around. She needed to find and join up with at least one of them.

“Master! Baron! Beluce!”

She walked towards where the sun was, calling their names earnestly.

Either the forest was too vast, or she had unfortunately become isolated in a remote area far from her companions, because no matter how much she called, there was no answer.

It felt like she had been walking for a good two hours, but she hadn’t encountered a single person, not even a squirrel.

By this point, fear began to creep over Cordelia. How long could she survive here with no food, no water, and no knowledge of how to make a fire?

That’s when she heard it. A rustling sound. Cordelia called out in that direction, filled with hope.

“It’s me, Cordelia! Who’s there?”

The sound of underbrush parting grew closer. Cordelia also approached that direction.

“Is that you, Master? Or Bar…”

Her eyes met with it. Cordelia’s body froze like ice. Why had she assumed that anything moving must be a person?

The black-eyed monster was staring at Cordelia, baring its fangs. It had a sleek body like a wolf but with five eyes. The claws on its feet looked sharp enough to tear Cordelia’s body to shreds at any moment.