‘What’s the point of promising the kid to scold him if he’s not even going to face him?’
Even if they did meet, there was no way Ellie, who couldn’t touch anything, wouldn’t be able to cause any physical or mental harm to Rutus. But it was a matter of principle.
She had thought that calling the child to the main house meant he was ready to mend their relationship.
‘If this is how it’s going to be, why did he even call him to the main house? Not that I’m against it, but still, this is a bit…’
Ellie raised a hand to cover her eyes and swallowed back the sigh that threatened to escape.
“… Mommy?”
The child, sensing something odd in Ellie’s behavior, tilted his head in confusion.
– Hmm. It’s nothing. Adi, what should we play today?
“Hmm.”
Th-Then I want to eat pudding and go to the study! The child exclaimed, clasping his hands tightly, as if he had been waiting for this moment, and Ellie nodded in agreement.
After finishing breakfast and dessert, the child’s routine until the afternoon walk usually consisted of a few activities.
Baking with Marie, drawing with coloring tools, or feeding the horses in the stable.
‘Or asking to be taught in the study.’
Yesterday was drawing, the day before was baking, and the day before that was the stables, so today it was the study.
Ellie gently patted the child’s back as he sat swinging his legs in front of the couch, eyeing the pudding that Marie had placed on the table without them noticing. This much had been expected.
“I brought both custard pudding and milk pudding since you’ll be having chocolate cake later in the afternoon. Which would you like?”
“Can’t I have both?”
“Unfortunately, you didn’t keep your promise to brush your teeth after drinking chocolate milk before bed last night, so you have to consider your poor teeth and choose just one.”
“Aw…”
“Or you could choose to have both puddings now instead of the chocolate cake later. What do you think?”
“…I’ll have the milk pudding.”
“Alright.”
“And put syrup on it too…”
The child, who had stopped swinging his legs back and forth, spoke sullenly, and Ellie had to stifle a laugh.
If she laughed now, the child would surely sulk for at least three days.
– That’s why Mommy told you to brush your teeth before bed last night.
Successfully suppressing her laughter, Ellie gently chided the child. She had indeed reminded him to brush his teeth the previous night.
Hearing this, the child puffed out his cheeks, his lips protruding in a pout, but from Ellie’s angle, all she could see was his round, pale cheek.
‘Who was the one who crawled half-asleep into the bathroom and fell asleep on the floor?’
Huh. Ellie shook her head, unable to hold back her dismay at his audacious behavior.
After waiting a long time with no sign of movement, she had found the child fast asleep on the cold marble floor.
Ellie wished the child would consider her feelings too.
For a moment, she had really thought her already stopped heart might stop again.
“Does it taste good?”
“Yeah. It’s delicious. But it’s so small.”
Isn’t this something for babies? The child, who had been eating a pudding about the size of a small child’s palm with a tiny spoon, smacked his lips.
‘…Well, that’s because you are a baby after all…’
Ellie was at a loss for words as she watched the child, who had already finished the pudding and was now licking the syrup clean off the plate.
Marie, similarly stunned by the child’s bold remark despite being so little, opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words.
After a moment of thought, Marie finally managed to speak as she took the empty plate and began to clear it.
“Well…um, maybe…”
“…?”
“If you brush your teeth every day for a month without forgetting, I’ll suggest to the chef to make a slightly bigger one for you…”
“Really?”
Immediately, the child’s face brightened, and Marie, as if she couldn’t handle it, laughed heartily and left the room.
‘…Should I tell him that scraping the plate clean isn’t good table manners?’
Ellie pondered as she watched the small, dark head in the room where they were now alone, but that thought didn’t last long.
“Mommy! The study!”
– Hmm, okay. Then Adi, go get your notebook and writing tools.
It wasn’t like he was going to debut in society just yet, so she decided to let him do as he pleased for now.
* * *
– What do you want to learn today? If you’re not in the mood for studying, shall we read a book instead?
Ellie asked, gazing at the child who had practically run into the study.
“Magic! I want to do what I did last time!”
– Really? Let’s see, where did we leave off last time…?
“Making circles!”
The child sat down and raised his hand excitedly. Ellie nodded and spoke,
– Good. Then before we start, can you tell me what I first taught you?
“Don’t use magic or move objects with magic carelessly when others are around except for Mommy, and always get permission if I have to use it.”
This was something she had been reminding the child every time since she had first witnessed him using magic.
Especially after coming to the main house, she made sure to ask him this every time they came to the study, to keep it fresh in his mind.
‘We have to be more careful than before.’
Compared to the secluded annex where only a few designated servants had access, the main house had a much larger number of people coming and going.
Moreover, the training ground, where knights with highly developed senses were practically stationed, was right behind them, and most importantly, the sword master lived under the same roof. It was best to be as prepared as possible.
Ellie clapped her hands, satisfied with the child’s answer.
– Circles are the most basic step for becoming a mage. Why do you think that is?
“Um, because… if you don’t have a circle, you can’t use magic.”
– That’s right. You have to feel the mana and condense it… well, gather it to create a ring. Only then can you use magic. The number of circles determines the magic you can use.
“Why?”
– Because if you recklessly use magic beyond your abilities, it can strain your body. It’s a safety measure.
“Why?”
– Because if you run out of mana and exhaust yourself, or if you push your circle too hard and it breaks, it can be very painful. In severe cases, it could even lead to death.
“Why?”
– Well, that’s because of the recoil…
But didn’t I explain this last time? Ellie tilted her head n confusion Then, noticing the trembling corners of the child’s mouth, she let out a deflated laugh.
So that’s why he kept asking the same question. he was just playing a prank.
Ellie reached out and tickled the child’s neck. The child’s high-pitched laughter filled the study.”
– Is it okay to tease Mommy like that, or not?
“No, heeheek! It’s not okay!”
Only after getting a definite answer did she remove her hand and spoke again.
– Anyway, normally, people can’t use magic without a circle. But Adi can use magic without a circle, right?
“Ummm… yes.”
– The reason Adi shouldn’t use magic in front of others isn’t just because he’s the young master of Ratcliffe, but also because of this.
Even Mommy has never seen a case like yours before. Ellie’s words made the child blink his large eyes.
As she said, Ellie, who had spent most of her life in the Mason family, had never encountered such a situation.
‘Considering his mana level and application skills, he’s on par with some of the top mages in the magic tower.’
Despite far exceeding the maximum amount of mana that a young body could handle, he seemed unaffected, and he naturally used magic as if it were second nature without even a circle.
He had long surpassed the realm of normalcy.
She had tried to persuade him to create a circle, just in case, but after several failed attempts, he had given up.
To be exact, it wasn’t a failure, but rather it was impossible for him to make circles.
‘Given his usual level of magic usage and understanding, he should have been able to create them long ago…’
Every time the child attempted to create circles, the mana paths were as clear as those of experienced mages.
Even if he tried to circulate the mana to create a circle, it was like trying to spin a wheel that was already in place.
In other words, there was no circle, but the mana was spinning in mid-air.
“……”
“…Mommy?”
Even if he had Mason blood, it was still unusual for someone from the Ratcliffe family, known for not being naturally gifted with mana, to produce such an extraordinary mage… wasn’t it?
So, Ellie paused for a moment and asked the child,
– Adi, are you sure you’ve never been taught magic by anyone?
At that moment, the child’s eyes trembled slightly.
Ellie spoke again.
– Adi.
“……”
– If you know something, you have to tell Mommy honestly. That way, we can at least figure out what to do next.
“I’ll just… be good, so you don’t have to figure anything out…”
– Can you be sure that nothing dangerous will happen? What if the person who taught you magic is dangerous―
“They’re not dangerous!”
The child shouted, interrupting her sentence.
Ellie widened her eyes in surprise and looked at the child.
“……”
The basic steps of becoming a mage weren’t created for no reason.
The child’s magic was strange and especially powerful or advanced in its execution. However, because of this, it could be even more dangerous.
‘So, at least I need to have some information to find a clue, but his reaction…’
Crash!
The child suddenly jumped up from his seat, and the chair clattered loudly as it fell backward.
The child stuttered in panic, seemingly shocked by his own actions.
“Th-that’s not it….”
– I’m not angry. So, what’s not it?
“I-It’s not that I was taught… I saw it in a book a long time ago.”
– A long time ago? When?
“Oh, a really long time ago… even if I try to tell Mommy, I won’t remember.”
Ellie pressed her fingertips to her temples and let out a quiet sigh.
Even if it was a long time ago, considering the child’s age, it would be at most 5 years from the time he was born.
And it wasn’t that he couldn’t tell her so she wouldn’t know, but because he wouldn’t remember.
‘Considering that I woke up in this state around winter… so it hasn’t even been six months at most.’
Ellie was about to tell the child that it was okay and to tell her who it was anyway.
But before she could, the child, who had been darting his eyes around, suddenly dashed toward the study door, preventing her from asking.
– Adi!
“I don’t know! They’re not a bad person…”
– I understand, so don’t run! You’ll fall and get hurt!”
She didn’t even have time to lament at the thought that today’s lesson was a waste.
“Ouch!”
The child who was about to run out of the study door bumped into someone’s leg and held his nose in pain.
Immediately after that, the child’s eyes widened as he looked up and met the gaze of the person who had lifted him up by placing their hands under his armpits.
* * * *
If you want to support the Translator, Translator’s Ko-Fi:
