Is this a dream? I pinched my cheek. But no matter how much I slapped and pinched, all I felt was a sharp pain. Karl was still there before me.
“Am I seeing things…?”
With all the care and good food from people around, I shouldn’t be feeling weak. Why am I seeing someone who shouldn’t exist?
I was confused. Rather than joy, I felt fear as I looked closely at Karl. His deep-set eyes and sharp jawline confirmed that it was indeed the Karl I knew.
“It hasn’t been long enough for you to forget your husband’s face, has it?”
“Seeing illusions now? I must be weaker than I thought. How much more do I need to eat…?”
That must be a ghost or an illusion. I concluded I needed more rest and squeezed my eyes shut.
“If you’re a ghost, go away, and if you’re an illusion, disappear.”
“Celeste.”
“W-What are you doing? Don’t come closer!”
“Oh dear. I’m not a ghost. Look here, Celeste.”
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name….”
If it’s a ghost, disappear! I began reciting the Lord’s Prayer, which I had learned in the church I attended as a child.
When I opened my eyes, I hoped it would be gone, but the ghost in the shape of Karl did not vanish. In fact, it moved a step closer!
“G-GO AWAY!”
I was so panicked that I didn’t even think to scream for help from outside.
Avoiding the ghost I encountered in my bedroom, I made the choice to escape under the covers.
I jumped into bed and quickly pulled the blanket over my head. I couldn’t remember the Lord’s Prayer anymore; it was something I’d memorized when I was too young.
I’m going crazy. I grabbed the edges of the blanket tightly, stuffing it under my feet, fearing the ghost might slip in through any gaps. I curled up as small as possible, clasped my hands together, and squeezed my eyes shut.
How long did I lie there? The surroundings were quiet.
“Is it gone…?”
By now, the ghost must have found it boring and left. Slowly, I lowered the blanket. Just peeking out with my eyes, I stared at the spot where the ghost had been standing.
“Celly.”
“Ugh, Aaaah!”
The ghost was still there. I couldn’t bear it anymore. As I threw off the blanket and tried to jump out, the moment I placed my foot on the floor, the ghost grabbed my arm.
“Ah! Let go!”
“Celly. Celly.”
The ghost in the form of Karl pulled me into an embrace. Amidst my frantic struggling to push him away, I suddenly thought, “Can I actually feel a ghost…?”
“Not a ghost. Celly.”
Then I noticed that the arms holding me were warm. A ghost shouldn’t have warmth. I slowly raised my head to look up. Karl’s face, almost stifling a laugh, was looking down at me.
“Karl…?”
“It’s Karl. Not a ghost.”
Ultimately, Karl burst into a fit of giggles. My earlier panic from mistaking him for a ghost was momentarily embarrassing while the realization that the man before me was the real Karl struck me as a shock.
“Karl! How are you here…?”
“I stopped by for a moment.”
“This isn’t a place you can just stop by on your way, is it?”
“If you set your mind to it, it’s certainly a place you can come to.”
“No, the time it takes to come and go… You sent a telegram via the Louisette transmitter this morning, didn’t you? It seemed like you were in Lahart until this morning, so how are you here now? That’s my question.”
“Physically, it would be impossible.”
Someone who was clearly in the capital in the morning appeared to be in the grand city three days away by carriage at night.
It was a situation that couldn’t be understood theoretically. So, isn’t it more natural for me to think the Karl in front of me was a ghost?
“I borrowed some power from a magic stone.”
Karl shrugged with an innocent expression.
“A magic stone?”
He slowly sat down on the bed, still holding me. As a result, I ended up cuddled like a child on his lap.
“Doing the impossible physically is what magic is.”
“Are you saying you can teleport or something with a magic stone?”
“There’s no reason why not.”
“I’ve never heard that teleportation was among the things you could do with a magic stone. Wow, that’s amazing.”
This man is really Karl. I raised my hand in amazement and touched his face, feeling the warm and soft yet firm texture of his skin. It was definitely the Karl I knew.
“No matter how much I missed you, this is a bit too familiar, isn’t it?”
“Ah, I… I’m sorry.”
I hadn’t meant to touch him like that. My cheeks felt hot.
“Sorry? That just means I liked it.”
With a grin, Karl took my hand and pressed it against his cheek. It seemed like he was the one being overly familiar, not me…
***
One hour before the reunion with Celeste, Karl murmured how much he missed her and began to contemplate a plan.
If it were up to him, he would dash to the Grand Duchy where Celeste and Valerie were, but he found himself increasingly fatigued with each passing day, tied down by work. It was then that Clovis hinted at a clever solution.
“Your Highness, do you know how much magic stone is used for teleportation magic?”
“Why are you suddenly bringing up teleportation magic?”
“I thought that if teleportation magic became commonplace, we could use our time more efficiently in capturing criminals.”
“That’s quite random.”
“Wouldn’t it be worth considering, Your Grace?”
“Uh, no.”
Though Clovis had circled around the question, he wasn’t the type to say anything unnecessary. Karl suspected there was a specific reason behind his sudden mention of teleportation, and reflecting on Celeste helped him uncover it.
“So, you’re suggesting I use teleportation magic to fly to the Grand Duchy?”
If someone had to express it so indirectly, who would get it immediately? Karl chuckled. Using teleportation magic would allow him to move anywhere at once without being constrained by time.
However, he had never even considered using that magic because the amount of magic stone needed would increase dramatically with the distance. The farther away the destination, the more magic stone required.
Using magic stones to teleport to another region with different administrative authority could be seen as a tremendous waste, at least for someone of his status. Of course, if he had the financial means, it wouldn’t matter, but to use teleportation magic for the Grand Duchy, which required three days of travel, would consume an immense amount of magic stones.
This is exactly why Karl had never thought to use teleportation magic.
But they say love makes a person foolish.
Normally, he wouldn’t embark on such an inefficient and extravagant endeavor. But to Karl, Celeste and Valerie now held a meaning far beyond “rational” or “efficient.”
Moreover, a way to see her without time constraints suddenly came to mind. From this line of thought, Karl promptly reached a conclusion.
He had to see her. Even if just for a moment, he wanted to hold her, talk to her, and breathe in her scent—the fragrance that brought him peace.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will prepare the magic stones.”
“…Prepare quietly.”
“Of course. I’ll get ready very discreetly, without anyone knowing.”
Karl instructed Clovis to bring some of the magic stones he possessed.
Though it was subtly expressed, Clovis gave a sly smile to his superior, who seemed to understand his intentions well. Indeed, His Highness has noticed.
Pride or contentment—feelings that Karl didn’t particularly want to distinguish—filled Clovis’s face as he ignored them and took a step toward Celeste.
“Have a good trip, Your Highness.”
With that, the magic stones were prepared. A cold chill swept through his body, and suddenly, the flow of air and light around him shifted.
Clovis stood there, waving goodbye as if to send him off, looking quite pleased with himself.
Like a grandfather watching his adorable grandchild. Though he found her face displeasing, he thought he’d say something when he returned as Karl closed his eyes and opened them again.
“Karl…”
He realized it was quite late, and showing up unexpectedly like this would surely surprise Celeste, but it was too late.
Karl arrived at the Duke’s chamber, a place he had become familiar with, yet felt oddly unfamiliar.
Looking around the dimly lit room, Celeste appeared to have prepared herself well, but fortunately, she hadn’t fallen asleep yet.
The moment he saw her murmuring his name while seated at the tea table, Karl reconsidered his intention to quietly observe Celeste’s face and leave.
“Did you call for me?”
Celeste flinched as her shoulders tensed. The sudden voice startled her, and even that reaction seemed so adorable. Suppressing a laugh that threatened to escape, Karl called to her again.
“I guess I missed you a lot.”
She was just too cute. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into a hug. Overwhelmed by unfamiliar feelings, Karl lost his composure.
“I missed you too, Celly.”
