CH 29

After taking a leave of absence from his knight’s position, Therid returned to the mansion and remained melancholic throughout. He didn’t show it because Lady Astita was ill, but it was only natural for his difficult dream to be shattered.

On top of that, the mansion’s debt continued to pile up. Since Lady Astita’s income relied heavily on farming, there was no significant amount of money coming in. They might not be able to handle the increasing interest within the next ten years, and bankruptcy seemed imminent. Naturally, the atmosphere in the mansion grew gloomy.

‘Is this how our once prestigious family will end up?’

Just when he thought there was no way to recover, Siara appeared before him. After that, everything fell into place. Lady Astita’s madness, the mansion’s debt, Therid’s dreams — everything.

Whether it was the influence of Siara or not, even the servants who initially treated her with unfamiliarity now seemed open-hearted. It was rare for the household staff to accept outsiders so quickly. It was a mysteriously magical occurrence.

‘Could she be a child sent by a fairy?’

Lost in vague thoughts, the Count’s hand was handed a document. It was a document stating that a portion of the profits from the calendula orchards would be transferred to the mansion. The Count recalled the time when Siara first expressed her intention to donate the income through his wife.

“Count, please accept it.”

“…I can’t accept something like this without giving anything in return.”

Although he needed the money urgently, he couldn’t accept a large sum without knowing the reason. After repeatedly rejecting Siara’s persuasion, she eventually returned the profits to Lady Astita. She was pleased, saying, “My daughter is doing something admirable.”

When the Count saw his wife’s smiling face, he couldn’t refuse Siara’s favor any longer. It was because of his outburst when she refused Siara’s favor that he felt remorse. At that moment, the Count pretended not to know and accepted the money. He was desperate for it.

In the end, the money was used to pay off the borrowed debt. On the day the certificate of debt repayment arrived, the Count almost collapsed from relief. The sensation of that moment was still vivid. The hope of returning to a peaceful daily life and the uneasiness of receiving money from an unknown person mixed, making his head dizzy.

However, since then, Siara didn’t mention money or get involved in the affairs of the mansion. To the Count, her actions felt considerate, as if she knew he had been deeply shocked by borrowing money from Viscount Leven.

How many people can do such things for strangers? For that reason, he became more and more swayed by his wife’s words.

‘Siara is our daughter.’

The Count tightly gripped the paper. The flickering light of the candle relentlessly danced on his face. As he pondered, Therid entered with a knock.

“I’m sorry for being late.”

The Count nodded as he looked at Therid. Returning with a calm face, as usual, the Count organized the documents to hand over to Therid.

Therid, sitting next to him, silently scanned the documents and burst into laughter. Wondering what could be the reason for his son’s cheerful laughter, the Count turned his head, and Therid spoke.

“Father, do you know? The magician that Siara brought with her? Despite being young, his skills are remarkable.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I witnessed it yesterday. Well, he managed to bring out my aura from within me.”

“Aura?”

“Yes! I thought he could only use transformation magic, but no. He cries so pathetically when he speaks, saying he can’t use transformation magic. But his abilities were no less than those of a royal magician. No, they were even stronger.”

Therid’s words made the Count’s expression stiffen. It was said that Hierian, the genius and current master of the Mage Tower, surpassed the level of a royal magician at the age of ten. However, it was unbelievable that a young magician who came to the mansion was stronger than a royal magician. 

After a brief silence, the Count spoke up.

“That child. Do you know his name?”

Therid spoke with excitement.

“It’s Hie.”

“…Hie?”

“Yes, I heard that’s what Siara calls him.”

Hie, it was a name that sounded like a nickname for Administrator Hierian. But it didn’t necessarily mean it referred to Hierian.

Since the wizards greatly admired the administrator, they often named their children with names similar to his.

As the Count was lost in thought, he caught sight of a document. It was the document Siara had handed him, regarding the distribution of revenue from ointments. Upon closer inspection, he noticed some writing he hadn’t seen before. He took out the magnifying glass he kept on one side and read the small writing.

Written in elegant purple ink were these words:

[Hierian]

The Count stood up in an instant.

“Where is that wizard right now?”

* * *

In the late afternoon, as the red sun was setting, I sat on the terrace sipping tea.

‘Another idle day today.’

It felt fulfilling to spend a day doing nothing. Hierian was sitting next to me, drinking milk tea. He shook his legs back and forth, wondering if the heavily sugared milk tea tasted good.

Even during our days in the subjugation force, Hierian and I would often have tea together. Maybe that’s why. Even without any conversation, the air that passed between us was peaceful.

Between the sounds of birds chirping, Hierian’s humming filled the air, and then a knocking sound was heard.

Knock, knock.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Father?”

What could be the matter at this hour? I quickly got up from my seat and opened the door. Hierian also stopped shaking his leg and got off the chair.

When I opened the door, my father’s face, dark with expression, appeared. Despite being busy with festival preparations all day, he seemed unusually pale, so I asked cautiously.

“Why is that?”

But my father’s gaze was fixed on Hierian. When I said I am bringing a guest, I thought it would be okay since he didn’t say anything, but it seemed to have bothered him all along.

‘Did I have to introduce him first? I thought you were busy, so I postponed it.’

I quickly introduced Hierian.

“He’s my acquaintance. His name is Hie. He’s still young, but he’s a wizard.”

“Hello, Count.”

Hierian neatly placed both hands on his abdomen and bowed his head. A pleased smile spread across his face, showing good manners.

‘He’s quick to pick up on things.’

In a short amount of time, he seemed to have grasped who he was and calculated how to act.

But my father remained silent. Perplexed, I looked at him, and he reluctantly greeted us.

“…Nice to meet you. Being a young wizard is impressive.”

“I have mediocre skills.”

“I heard from my son that you’re a remarkable talent.”

Hierian’s smile grew wider upon receiving the compliment. He hesitated for a moment, then replied cheerfully.

“Thank you!”

“I just stated the obvious. If you have the skill to defeat a royal wizard at your age, you could aim for the next administrator position.”

My father’s gaze became stern. Simultaneously, Hierian’s expression changed strangely. Then, a deeper voice flowed out.

“…Thank you.”

“I hope you have a pleasant time. The Sunflower Festival will be held soon, so I invite you to come and enjoy.”

“Yes.”

“By the way, Prince Dianel will also be visiting the festival. I would like to introduce a promising wizard to His Highness. Is that okay?”

At that moment, Hierian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

‘Not good!’

Sensing the crisis, I stuck close to Hierian and quickly interrupted him before he could say anything.

“Now, who should I introduce―blah.”

“Haha, I’m sorry, but Hie is very shy and doesn’t like to take the lead.”

As I laughed without reserve, my father’s gaze turned toward me. He stared at me as if piercing through me, and then calmly spoke.

“…I appreciated what happened last time. I should have expressed my gratitude, but I was quite late.”

“Oh no, it was nothing.”

Then my father squinted his eyes and asked.

“Why? It’s not common to casually give such a large sum of money to someone.”

Well, we’re family, so. I swallowed the words hovering in my mouth and smiled.

“I have a lot of money.”

“…I see.”

Father left the room without saying anything else. Once he was gone, I released Hie. Then Hie had a plump expression and muttered.

“That old man, he seemed to have caught on, didn’t he?”

“Huh, Hie. Address him as ‘Count.'”

“…Count.”

Hie pushed out his lips and said.

“Anyway, I felt like he saw through my identity.”

I agreed with that. If it was a noble, they would know that Hie was entangled with the manifestation of Crown Prince Dianel from his childhood.

Due to the nature of sorcerers who ride magic beasts, it was well-known among sorcerers that they didn’t particularly like Crown Prince Dianel. Father couldn’t have been unaware of this, but there must have been a reason for him to deliberately mention the name of the Crown Prince.

While eating the cookies on the table, I organized my thoughts.

Bringing up the topic of magic beasts and mentioning Dianel’s name. Maybe he thought that I might be a sorcerer because Therid mentioned it.

“Whatever the reason, I feel uncomfortable.”

“Because of Dianel?”

Hie sat down next to me, picked up the same cookie, and nodded his head.

“I hate him so much. Someday, I’ll kill him.”

“A child shouldn’t say things like that.”

Although I said that, I understood Hie’s feelings very well. Dianel was not easy to get along with, and it was difficult to speculate about the wounds he had suffered as a child. 

I nodded and continued speaking.

“Well, I don’t like him either.”

Then Hie raised his head and looked at me.

“Really? Sister also hates Dianel?”

Nodding my head, Hie faintly smiled and whispered.

“…I’m glad.”

He lowered his head deeply and muttered again.

“I think we’re on the same side.”

I gently stroked Hie’s head and realized that now was the perfect time to manipulate him. So I subtly asked Hie.

“Then, do you want to be on the same side as me?”

“The same side?”

Hie looked at me with innocent eyes, not knowing what was happening inside me.