The Duke slowly opened his mouth.
“…I can’t guarantee the taste.”
“Did father really make it?”
“Yes.”
Just in time for the child’s birthday, she didn’t expect him to make cookies. When the hell was this made?
“Then let’s eat.”
The child picked up a cookie. With a crisp sound, the cookie pieces were sucked into the child’s mouth.
“Dad, it’s so delicious.”
He continued eating without answering. Still, looking at his face, he seemed to be in a good mood, subtly relaxed.
“Try it, Elia. It’s so delicious.”
“The Duke made it for you to eat. It’s okay.”
As she shook her head, the child looked at the Duke.
“Dad. Can Elia eat the cookie too?”
The Duke, who looked at her silently for a moment, glanced at the maid. She put another plate covered with a lid in front of her.
“What’s this?”
“This is also made by the Duke.”
“…was there for me too?”
“Yes.”
She was a little surprised by the lady-in-waiting’s words. When she opened the lid, there were piles of cookies on the plate, but they were a little different in shape from the children’s. The jagged mess seemed to have given her things that somehow failed a bit… That’s right. Without much expectation, she crunched and bit into the cookie.
“…Delicious?”
“Right?”
“Yeah. I think it’s fine.”
The taste was strangely addictive, so she ate five cookies in an instant.
“Can I have the cake now?”
“Yes. You can cut with this. It’s a special knife that is not dangerous, so cut it comfortably.”
The child carefully started cutting the cake with the special cake knife she handed him.
“…what? Elia, it doesn’t cut well from here. It feels solid.”
“Really? What is it for?”
“Uh, wait a minute. I think there’s something inside.”
The child examined the inside of the cake, then slashed around it with a knife and pulled her box out.
“Elia. What is this?”
She smiled at the child who was holding the box and looking at the dishes.
“Happy birthday. It’s a birthday present from me.”
“…Did you prepare a present for my birthday?”
“Sure. Of course.”
The child hurriedly opened the box. Seeing the object revealed, she gave a small admiration.
“It’s very unique and pretty. Is this a music box?”
Perhaps because it was a combination of a music box and a snowball, the child’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“Yes. It makes a sound when you turn the spring on the side, and since there is a model inside the glass, you can shake it like this.”
When the music box was shaken slightly, the powder inside flew away.
“You’re really pretty…”
The child who had been looking inside the music box with his sparkling eyes lifted a fork.
“I’d like to try the cake too.”
“Yes. I’ll cut it up for you.”
Cut the cake into appropriate sizes, throw it on a plate, and hand it to the child. After eating the cake, the child’s face brightened.
“It’s so delicious.”
“I’m glad.”
She wanted to try it too, so she took the cake on a plate and tasted it.
‘Um, that’s fine.’
While eating strawberries and bread together, she could feel their gaze.
“Can I get the Duke too?”
“It’s okay.”
“Don’t do that, try it. It tastes good.”
The Duke also cut the cake and put it in front of him. He looked down at the cake disapprovingly and slowly raised his fork.
“…It’s terribly hot.”
After tasting some of the cake, the Duke frowned. She guessed it was not very sweet. She didn’t mind and ate her share of the cake.
“I can’t eat any more.”
The child, who had eaten a piece of cake before I knew it, touched his bulging belly.
“Are you full?”
“Yes. My stomach has grown a lot.”
“Oh, you can take a rest without class today.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I got permission from the Duke.”
“Thank you, Father.”
The child nodded at the Duke and smiled shyly. The Duke, who put down the tea he was drinking, opened his mouth.
“Deliam.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Stop by the stable in the afternoon.”
“In the afternoon? Can we just go now?”
“Okay.”
After saying that, the Duke got up from his seat and left the dining hall.
“Why are you asking me to go to the stable?”
“Well, I’m not sure. There must be a lot of horses in the stable, right?”
“I’ve been there before, but the stables are huge and there are a lot of horses.”
The child bellowed with an excited face. After exchanging a few more conversations with such a child, she got up from her seat. The child’s bells continued as they left the restaurant. When she arrived at the room, she looked at the smiling child as she touched the music box.
“Liam, would you like to wait here for a while? I have to meet someone. It won’t take long.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Seeing the child nodding his head, she left the room. Sarah was waiting in front of him.
“The Mage Tower Lord is waiting for you.”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Arriving after Sarah, she stood for a moment in front of the parlor door and took a deep breath. She was a little nervous because it was the place where she met the master of the magic tower. When she opened the door and entered, she saw the back of the owner of the Mage Tower.
“Are you Miss Elia Lawton?”
The one who got up from his seat looked back at her. For a moment, she inhaled without realizing it. It was a man with pale green eyes and hair as white as his own. As soon as she saw him, it was clear that he was different from normal people. He couldn’t pinpoint and explain, but the atmosphere he gave off was very heterogeneous. The man approaching me smiled at his eyes and held out his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Allegro Bian. Call me Allegro.”
“It’s an honor to meet the Mage Lord. My name is Elia Lawton.”
“Come over here and sit down.”
The Magic Tower Lord treated her like a guest and led her as if she was the owner of this place. She couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something was wrong with him, but she wasn’t offended. It was true that she was living here as an ambiguous person who was neither one nor the other.
“I kept wanting to see you, but it was a pity that I didn’t have time.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. Everything I heard from the Duke is interesting and unmatched.”
She thought she heard something she couldn’t hear.
“Would you like some tea?”
She looked down at the teacup in front of her for a moment. It was because she didn’t understand the question.
“I’ll drink it when it cools down.”
“Apart from what’s in front of you. Do you have a favorite type of car?”
“I like things that are moderately bitter.”
“Then how about this car?”
Suddenly, the teacup in front of her disappeared and another teacup was placed. What, what was it magic? She looked down at the teacup in front of her in surprise. Inside, instead of the vermilion tea water from earlier, there was light green tea water.
“You seem surprised.”
“…little bit.”
“Try it. If it suits your taste, it will be fine.”
She lifted the teacup and gently brought it to her nose. The scent was unexpectedly familiar. This sound… When she took a sip, as expected, the green tea was right.
“It is brewed with famous tea leaves in the eastern region.”
There was also green tea here. As she looked down at the teacup again, she heard a small laugh.
“You seem to like it. Unlike before, your expression has relaxed.”
“…Ah, it seems that I was nervous without realizing it. There were a lot of mistakes.”
“No. Rather…”
The master of the Magic Tower, who was speechless, stretched out his upper body. His face came very close.
“Young lady, are you okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m asking if it’s okay to see me.”
“I don’t really feel anything special, why is that?”
“…Hmm. Is that so?”
The master of the Magic Tower touched her mouth and narrowed his eyes.
“Aren’t you trembling or choking because you’re scared?”
“Yes. I’m scared and my body doesn’t even shake”
“What the hell did the Duke say?”
“It was cursed, but it didn’t have any effect, or I read the book with the spell, or something like that?”
The man who was bitten in the upper body said after taking a sip of the teacup.
“Then, shall we take the question first?”
Question… She stared at the man in front of her for a moment. Interesting eyes were still on her.
“Is it true that there is a way to completely lift the curse on my body?”
“…Ah, you mean the curse?”
“Yes.”
“But is it really necessary?”
“Is there a need for that… what do you mean?”
“The effect has run out anyway, so it won’t matter too much if you leave it alone.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to solve it though? It’s not normal magic, much less curse magic.”
“So the young lady wants to completely remove the curse on her body. Is that so?”
“Yes. So, the Lord of the Magic Tower…”
“Allegro is enough.”
The man who intercepted her words quietly pressured her. But she didn’t want to call him by his name. She just felt that way.
“Yes, Mr. Bian.”
“I wanted to be called by name, but it’s a pity.”
“That can’t be the case. Let alone the Lord of the Magic Tower.”
“But you can call me that at least once. I want to hear from the young lady.”
With a strangely wishful tone, she stared at the Master of the Magic Tower.
“Is it when something happens when your name is called?”
“Why aren’t you talking?”
“I was surprised to see that you were quicker than I thought.”
“Now, please answer my question. Can you solve the curse door?”
“It’s hard to say for sure.”
“Why?”
The Magic Tower Master, who had been silent for a while, moved to the seat next to her in an instant.
“It seems that the young lady’s body is weak. My magic doesn’t work either.”
“Bian’s magic doesn’t work on me?”
“That’s right.”
Aside from being startled by the unexpected sound, the breath felt close by was unpleasant.
“I would appreciate it if you let it go a little before that.”
“Well, yes.”
Moved to the other side, the shrugged mage lord would strike again.
“Anyway, the effect has long since expired, so it won’t harm the young lady’s body anymore. However, it might make you feel a little uncomfortable.”
When she saw the man who casually said that he was not talking about her, she felt embarrassed. She deliberately sighed and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“It’s a bit disappointing.”
“…Disappointing?”
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Because Mr. Bian is the master of the Mage Tower. I thought, of course, that the curse on my body could be lifted.”
She deliberately blurted out her words. She clearly caught the slight crack on the man’s face, who continued to smile.
“When did I say it couldn’t be solved? I just said it was ambiguous.”
“Doesn’t being ambiguous mean you can’t do it?”
The Master of the Magic Tower looked at her for a while and shrugged his shoulders and said.
“Well. Okay. I’ll be honest. I thought I could make it all the way before I met the young lady.”
“Did you?”
“It’s because it’s so incredible to see it in person. The young lady must have noticed, but you know that your body doesn’t work well with magic, right?”
“Yes. A little bit.”
“Do you know why?”
“No. I have no idea.”
“It is because there is no mana in the body.”
No mana at all?
“Even if you can’t use magic, you have a very small amount of mana for a person.”
There was a contradiction somewhere in the words of the Mage Tower Master.
“…Sounds like I’m not even human.”
“I checked the number and it’s the same. A few young kids don’t have a very small amount of magic on their bodies.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The newborn baby is also possessing mana.”
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR.
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Next will be released on August, 13.
Thank you very much for reading, I hope you found it cute or interesting at least ^^
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