Thud.
With the sound of the door closing, a heavy silence descended.
Kaon didn’t say a word as he walked through the wide courtyard where flames poured down like starlight, passed through the hall, climbed the stairs, and reached the room. No, he couldn’t say anything.
When everyone was spellbound by the mesmerizing scene, Kaon only had eyes for Alessia.
Her silver hair fluttered in the night breeze as if scattering light, her eyes gently closed in prayer, her small lips moving silently.
Kaon swore he didn’t miss a single moment of it.
During her incantation, he confirmed once again that the natural state of mana surrounding her was extremely stable, showing no signs of change. But then, Alessia cast a spell. Despite not feeling any magical energy, she conjured flames out of thin air.
According to the arrogant mage from the Mage Tower, this was impossible.
“Kaon? Is something wrong?”
As Kaon strained to clear his confused thoughts, turning away from Alessia, he squeezed his eyes shut at the sound of her concerned voice.
He knew this wasn’t right. He knew he shouldn’t be pondering and deciding on his own, that he should speak up about anything. He even knew that if he just asked outright, he would get answers.
He knew all this in his head, but his mouth just wouldn’t open.
What if it wasn’t a misunderstanding? What if what he saw was the truth? What if Alessia wasn’t really a mage, and Ingelos had deceived Ferdinand with an unknown trick?
What if Alessia had been…no. Stop. Kaon shook his head quickly, as if to shake off the thoughts. The mere imagination of the worst-case scenario was enough to scare him.
It was strange. The reason he could rise to the position of an elite knight at the mere age of twelve was because he was fearless by nature. He had received praise for his knightly prowess, able to maintain focus even as a sharpened blade flew towards his face.
Yet, he couldn’t understand why he hesitated so much over something that seemed trivial.
‘It’s nothing serious. We just need to talk it through.’
Taking a silent deep breath, Kaon slowly turned around. Worry was written all over Alessia’s face as she looked at him.
“Alessia.”
“Kaon, what’s wrong? You look pale. Are you sick?”
Ah. The moment he heard her kind and gentle voice, Kaon suddenly realized where his fear originated from.
He liked Alessia.
He couldn’t tell since when. He didn’t want to admit it, but maybe since the day she approached him at the palace ball and offered her hand. Joseph’s nonsense about falling in love at first sight with Ingelos’s daughter might have been right. Damn it, it was entirely right.
Perhaps he was too much like his father, who fell in love at first sight with his mother, and now he was paying the price for mocking his father, who was blinded by love.
But one thing was for sure: he really, really liked Alessia.
He liked this small girl who had to look up to him because of her small stature, who always tried hard in everything she did, and who lived boldly in a land filled with people who disliked her.
That was why he was afraid. Afraid of facing an unwelcome truth, afraid of losing her.
“I have something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
He had many questions, but his lips only quivered without parting easily. Alessia patiently waited for him.
‘Maybe it’s a good thing I found out first, before anyone else.’
Kaon clenched his fist. Thinking about it, perhaps it was fortunate that he discovered it first, so the issue could be resolved without much commotion. This was the only positive aspect of the situation. Taking a deep breath, Kaon finally asked.
“Alessia, are you…really a mage?”
Alessia blinked in confusion, and then her eyes fixed in place.
***
Thinking about it, there must have been a better way. A skilled method that could have led the other person to reveal the truth without directly asking, surely.
But Kaon was never good at beating around the bush. He had a natural talent for anything that required physical effort, but speaking was the exception.
Baroness Robert emphasized that eloquence was an important virtue for nobility, but to the young lord of a knightly family distant from social circles, her words didn’t resonate much.
For knights, actions were more important than words. Trust earned through words had its limits, but actions convinced everyone to believe and follow.
So, Kaon believed his choice was not wrong. Until now.
“Hahaha!” Alessia suddenly started laughing, “Kaon, what are you talking about all of a sudden?” she asked as if she had heard an amusing joke.
“So, if I’m not a mage, what do you think I am?”
It was a genuinely curious tone. At the same time, it was caring, as if she was indulging a four-year-old child who believes in impossible stories.
“What do I think you are…?”
Kaon was flustered. He hadn’t anticipated Alessia’s response.
This wasn’t the scenario Kaon had imagined. He thought Alessia would be confused or surprised and would eventually confess the truth, explaining any misunderstandings or circumstances if there were any.
Then, as Ferdinand’s son, Kaon would have to act like he didn’t know about the situation but would do his best to help Alessia. Because he liked her.
“Hmm, Kaon? What do you think?”
But Alessia was composed. Not just composed, but so relaxed that Kaon felt foolish for even bringing it up.
Kaon’s gaze dropped. Alessia’s small hands, always so noticeable, entered his view. His eyes soon moved to her index finger, specifically to the ruby ring she always wore.
She hadn’t been wearing any ring at the ball where they first met. Kaon remembered that moment vividly, having replayed it dozens of times in his mind. The first time he saw the ring was the day Alessia visited Ferdinand. Since that day, she hadn’t taken off the ruby ring even once.
Initially, he hadn’t paid much attention to it. It was a noticeable ring in a bad way, but that was it. It was slightly annoying, but not enough to give it much thought, so he forgot about it.
It was today that he took notice of the ring again.
The moment Alessia finished her spell, an incredible magical power was released from the large ruby set in the ring.
‘It was definitely that ring.’
It was a sight he had never seen before in his life. It was as bizarre as a knight swinging a sword without drawing it from its sheath.
The magical power that disrupted the stable mana wasn’t coming from Alessia. It was emitted by that ruby. There was no mistaking it. He had seen it with his own two eyes.
“…”
Despite having seen everything, he couldn’t easily answer the question, ‘If I’m not a mage, what do you think I am?’ It wasn’t that he had nothing to say, but rather that he couldn’t say anything.
Pointing out that Alessia used the ring to perform magic would inevitably reveal how he knew about it.
To the eyes of those who did not practice it, magic was merely a wondrous and marvelous phenomenon. They were unaware of the existence of mana or the flow of magical power, and naturally, they didn’t understand how magic manifested.
Kaon was one of the seers. He didn’t know how he came to possess a talent that only a very few mages had, but he could see all of it.
The problem was that this was an unknown fact. His mother, the only one aware of Kaon’s ability, had earnestly advised him to keep this ability hidden all his life.
“Kaon, you must not tell anyone about what you saw today. Okay? Promise me.”
“Anyone? Not even to dad?”
“Yes, not even to your father. You have to live as if you see nothing. Understand?”
He didn’t understand why at the time, but as he grew up, it became clear. This rare ability usually manifested in those who possessed magical power, but the Ferdinand lineage had no mix of mages’ blood. Kaon’s mother was also not a mage.
If Kaon’s ability were to be revealed, it would be unavoidable for her to be suspected of infidelity in conceiving him, especially since, unlike her husband of noble Ferdinand descent, she was at best a peasant’s adopted daughter.
‘There were indeed secrets being kept.’
Kaon swallowed a bitter smile as fleeting childhood memories passed through his mind.
Regardless, Kaon had lived his life abiding by his mother’s request, even after ascending to the position of a duchess, for the sake of the woman who was endlessly gossiped about among the nobles.
But now, if he were to tell Alessia, “I saw that the magic came from that ring, not you,” all his efforts would come to naught. That alone would be disastrous, but there was more at stake.
If the story reached Ingelos, it would soon be known by the royal family, and before long, the entire kingdom would hear of it. His uncle, who was eager to undermine his niece under the guise of support, would seize the opportunity to oust the siblings and proclaim himself the duke.
It would not only fail to honor his mother’s dying wish but also stir up even greater strife within Ferdinand, presenting multiple problems.
‘Should I betray the mage from the tower? Claiming he was the one who suspects you?’
But simply denying it would end the matter, so that was not a viable solution.
‘I was too hasty.’
Kaon regretted his impulsiveness. He should have approached the matter more cautiously instead of rashly acting without a plan. Now, it seemed likely that he would end up being treated as an oddity without uncovering the truth.
“Kaon, how about we do this?”
Alessia, who had been silently observing him, spoke up first.
“I’ll show you magic right here, now. If you see it again, maybe you’ll be convinced?”
It was a simple and naive suggestion. Just seeing it wouldn’t solve anything, but for the moment, there was no other solution.
“…Yeah. That might work.”
Swallowing a sigh, Kaon nodded. Since it had come to this, he thought he might as well observe more closely.
“Alright, then.”
Alessia, smiling as if the matter was resolved, started murmuring in an ancient language that was still beyond full comprehension.
Kaon focused intently on the ruby ring. Though no signs were apparent yet, he was certain the magical power would come from there. After a short time, the low murmuring of the spell ceased. However, the ruby ring did not emit magical power as before.
‘What’s going on?’
Kaon looked up, puzzled.
“Kaon.”
Alessia, with her left hand raised to the sky, was staring intently at him.
“I clearly raised this hand, but…”
“…!”
“You were only looking at my ring?”
Alessia took a step closer to him, almost close enough for their foreheads to touch, but she seemed unbothered.
The eyes that looked up at Kaon were as red as always but held an unfamiliar coldness.
“Kaon Ferdinand.”
Alessia called out his name in a steady tone, then slowly raised her right hand. The index finger with the ruby ring twitched as if feeling the air, then pointed directly at Kaon’s eyes.
“You can see it, can’t you?”
🍉🍉🍉
