Cordelia couldn’t easily answer and looked at Rosenblur. Noticing her gaze, Matilda asked Rosenblur.

“Is this something Cordelia shouldn’t hear?”

“No, it’s fine. Lydia is also Cordelia’s friend.”

“Then come in.”

Matilda stood in front of the door. Two eyes appeared in the center of the door. Rukan looked carefully at Matilda, Rosenblur, and Cordelia, then spoke to Cordelia in a friendly manner.

“We meet again, Vasquez.”

“Ah, hello.”

“Good. Come by occasionally and keep me company.”

Unlike Candias in Leonard’s research, Rukan had a gentle and calm personality. Cordelia smiled awkwardly at Rukan’s words and entered. Matilda sat down and said:

“Would you like something to drink?”

“I’m fine. Cordelia?”

“I’m fine too.”

“Hmm. Alright. You have questions about Lydia Elfenbaum? About the devil’s contract she made?”

Matilda seemed to already know why Rosenblur had come. Rosenblur asked, somewhat surprised:

“You knew?”

“She caused a magical outburst in the cafeteria a few days before you came. If someone who quit magic over a decade ago suddenly gains enough power to cause an outburst, there’s only one conclusion given the circumstances.”

“A magical outburst? Lydia?”

“You didn’t know, I see. I heard Cordelia was with her at the time.”

“Ah. Yes, that’s right.”

“You were with Lydia when she had a magical outburst? Are you hurt anywhere?”

He’s a thoughtful and kind person. Rosenblur showed gentleness by worrying about Cordelia first, even after hearing about his sister’s outburst. Cordelia shook her head.

“I’m fine. The outburst wasn’t very powerful, and I blocked it well with a barrier spell. Oh, and Lydia is fine too. The duration of the outburst was very short.”

“That’s a relief. But, sigh. To think she’d cause a magical outburst…”

Rosenblur’s sigh deepened. Matilda, reading the anguish on his face, asked:

“Explain from the beginning. Do you know what kind of devil Elfenbaum, I mean Lydia, made a contract with?”

“No. She completely denies the contract. She says she never made one.”

“That’s possible. As you know, there’s a negative view of gaining power through contracts with devils.”

Matilda left it at that and remained silent for a while. Rosenblur, unable to bear the silence, spoke:

“Would it be difficult to break the contract?”

“We need to know the contract terms first. As long as she didn’t stake her life on it, there are plenty of ways. Don’t worry too much.”

Matilda seemed to understand his urgency and calmly reassured him. Rosenblur’s expression brightened slightly.

“Then what should I do?”

“Persuade your sister to find out what devil she contracted with and what the terms are. Breaking it comes after that. Anyway, Lydia was only a low-rank or apprentice-level magician, right? The devil she could contract with would be of low rank. So breaking the contract shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“I see. Thank you, Matilda.”

“By the way, do you know why Lydia made a contract with a devil?”

Cordelia, who had been listening quietly, asked carefully. Rosenblur shook his head.

“I don’t know either. I can’t understand why Lydia would make such a choice.”

“Magicians who desire power usually fall into two categories. Those unsatisfied with their own power and wanting to climb higher, and those blinded by jealousy.”

“But neither fits Lydia’s situation, does it? Lydia wasn’t originally on the path of a magician, so she wouldn’t desire greater power. And jealousy? What would Lydia have to be jealous of?”

Matilda looked quietly into Cordelia’s eyes at her rebuttal.

Indeed, she doesn’t resemble Grita.

“You might not understand because your talent is overwhelming, but many ordinary people feel discouraged and jealous when they see someone like you.”

“What? Me? No, no, Matilda. My master always calls me a blockhead.”

Cordelia waved her hands, jesting. She sincerely thought she was average or slightly above. Isn’t the term ‘genius’ reserved for people like Leonard?

“Your master is an exception. Atilei has far surpassed the realm of humans.”

“That’s right. So I’m, um, average, aren’t I?”

“…I’d like to take Cordelia’s side if possible, but that’s too much. You passed the intermediate magician exam after only a year of learning magic. Moreover, breaking a 7-layered magic circle in one minute is far beyond average. We usually call such people geniuses.”

“Oh… Is that so?”

“Modesty should be in moderation, or it starts to look like deceit.”

Matilda spoke politely, but sharply. Cordelia was a bit flustered.

Deceit? She had never once thought she had exceptional talent in magic. When others praised her, she simply thought magicians were generous with compliments.

“I, I see. Since my master is always the point of comparison, I thought I was on the average side.”

“If you use Atilei as a standard, that could be the case. But if you’re too modest, others might not view you favorably. You’d be better off acting like your master.”

“Like my master?”

“As if you’re the only one in the world who’s great. Everyone finds it annoying, but they acknowledge the skill.”

“Ahaha…”

Cordelia laughed very awkwardly. Given her personality, she’d probably need to be reborn to act like Leonard.

“Going back to the original point, we don’t know exactly why Lydia Elfenbaum made a contract with a devil, but it’s possible she did it out of jealousy towards you. Jealousy often manifests towards those close to us.”

“Surely not. Shouldn’t I be the one feeling jealous? Lydia is incredibly beautiful, the daughter of the Elfenbaums, and has kind siblings like Master Rosenblur. Compared to that, I…”

This time, Cordelia strongly denied it. Matilda spoke somewhat sternly:

“Don’t think that having a lot means one doesn’t know jealousy. It’s a basic human emotion.”

“Jealousy, you say, jealousy.”

Rosenblur, who had been listening to their conversation, murmured the word as if savoring it. He had never thought about it that way, but Matilda’s words made sense. After Cordelia appeared, Lydia had started talking about her more frequently.

Cordelia carefully brought up another question.

“I have another question. Does making a contract with a devil change one’s personality a bit?”

“Personality? Well, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Matilda shook her head lightly as she spoke.

“Is that so? Hmm.”

“Why? Did you notice something strange?”

“It seems like Lydia’s personality has changed a bit. I haven’t known her for long, but she was an extremely kind and gentle person. But after coming to the Magic Association, how should I put it? More direct? Or rather, sharper. And her eyes too, never mind.”

Matilda turned to Rosenblur and asked:

“Did you feel the same?”

“Well, I only talked with Lydia for about ten minutes today. But Cordelia’s words make sense. She did seem a bit sharper.”

“There’s been a paper on the changes in a contractor’s state after making a deal with a devil. Generally, right after the contract, they can’t control their power and become overly confident. Don’t worry too much. It should improve with time.”

“I see. That’s a relief.”

Cordelia smiled brightly, seemingly reassured by Matilda’s answer. Matilda stared at her eyes for a while before asking:

“Did Grita live happily?”

“My mother?”

It seemed like a long time since she had heard that name. Cordelia carefully chose her words for a while before answering.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. She wasn’t on good terms with my father until just before she passed away.”

As far as Cordelia could remember, the couple’s relationship had always been terrible.

‘How arrogant. What makes you so great to spout such nonsense? You should be grateful to have been accepted into the Vasquez family!’

‘The glory of my maiden house, Manson, is better than the Vasquez family, which is nothing but ashes now!’

‘How dare you!’

Her mother was usually a person of few words, but it was different when arguing with her father. She would resist her father with all her might and shout back. Every time, her father would lose his temper and yell while jumping up and down.

It was common for furniture to be broken. When young Cordelia and Dennis burst into tears at the sound, the nanny would rush over to cover the children’s ears. This was a memory from her childhood.

Back then, she wished her parents would stop fighting, but she shouldn’t have.

Not long after Cordelia’s tenth birthday, her mother collapsed, and that wish was fulfilled in a devastating way.

“Besides, she was very ill. We called for a doctor, but couldn’t afford the medicine, so for the last year, we couldn’t even give her proper medication.”

“Did Grita never mention me?”

“No. I didn’t even know my mother was a magician until I came here.”

Cordelia smiled bitterly. Even now, a corner of her heart ached when she thought about that time.

While they couldn’t even afford her mother’s medicine due to their declining fortunes, her father readily spent large sums on hiring a swordsmanship instructor for Dennis.

Her mother knew this but didn’t say anything to her father.

“She probably wasn’t happy.”

“…”

“If she hadn’t married into the Vasquez family, she would have lived much happier as a magician.”

“Then you wouldn’t have been born.”

“That’s okay. Mother said so too. That it would have been better if I had been born somewhere other than her womb.”

Cordelia’s face sank low with sadness.

“When I was young, I didn’t know what that meant, but as I grew up, I understood. Maybe mother regretted having me. If I hadn’t been there…”

Then Matilda spoke very firmly:

“That’s absolutely impossible.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve known Grita for a very long time. She was a girl with a strong sense of responsibility who moved forward without regret for her choices.”