“Here, come here.”
As Viscount Theo warmly waved his hand, a mage dressed in a long gray robe approached. The opponent’s face was unknown, but there was only one mage who agreed to meet him at this time.
The Viscount urged the mage to guide him inside.
“Come on! Before anyone comes!”
“…….”
Guiding Viscount Theo inside, the mage carefully placed their feet on the warping magic circle.
In an instant, several red lines searched his body in detail and promptly brought him inside. The mage who entered first touched the traffic system in the warp circle and eventually allowed even Viscount Theo to enter the building.
“Thank you, thank you.”
Upon entering, a room with huge scrolls containing dozens or hundreds of shield magic circles was revealed. It was like a small library.
Is this the secret to making Bellstein’s Black Wall so strong?
Viscount Theo was also captivated with unknown ecstasy by the amazing scene that unfolded in front of his eyes, but soon recalling the purpose of going there he looked at the mage and said.
“Wasn’t the shield changed some time ago? Please explain what happened…”
Then the mage, who was silent the whole time, snapped from his quiet demeanor and started to laugh. The mage slowly took off the hood of his gray robe, revealing his face.
At that time, a dark shadow of fear appeared in Viscount Theo’s eyes when he saw the impeccably beautiful face that came along.
“Y-Y-Y-Y-Your Grace!”
“…….”
Viscount Theo was startled and fell to the floor, trembling on the spot.
It felt like his breathing was suffocating just by looking at the Duke’s face. Viscount Theo trembled and teased his mouth. He seemed to be moving his tongue around without knowing what he was talking about.
“I-I will explain everything. I’ve been curious about the insides of the Central Administration Office…… I asked the mage to take a tour for a while.”
“No need to explain.”
The Duke took out the dead crow and the letter he had been hiding inside his robe and threw it to the floor.
It was proof that the Viscount was trying to steal the Duchy’s secret.
Viscount Theo’s eyes widened.
“I-I-I was wrong. F-F-forgive me. Please have mercy……!”
“If you don’t do such a thing in the first place, it’ll be easier. You’re bothering me.”
His cold bloody eyes rolled around. The Duke had no expectations, and he felt no disappointment.
“Your Grace……”
A choked voice, not sure whether he was weeping or moaning, came from the Viscount, but the Duke opened his mouth and said with a kind voice that makes one think he’s was worried about the Viscount, but that’s only if you don’t pay attention to the words used.
“Don’t speak before I ask. You make me want to stop you from making sounds forever.”
The Duke, who grabbed Viscount Theo’s neck at once, coldly asked.
“With whom did you communicate?”
“……Gasp!”
His throat was so choked that he couldn’t answer because he was suffocating. The Duke who had sharply narrowed eyes dragged Viscount Theo by his long robe and came out of the office as it was.
The Viscount, who had been struggling, was still drowsy and had a stuffy neck.
Then, the waiting soldiers and Commander Jarga approached.
“Take this guy and find out whether the opponent is an old raccoon or fox cub.”
The old raccoon was their own slang for Marquis of Cavill, and fox cub was their slang for the Prince.
“Yes, sir.”
“Sa, save me…….”
Soon, Viscount Theo was taken to the interrogation chamber in the dungeon after his mouth was blocked by soldiers. Less than an hour later, Commander Jarga reported.
“Your Grace, his contact is the Imperial Palace’s aide, Palos. It is presumed that the order was given by the Prince.”
The red eyes of the Duke who was fiddling with the iron bead in his hand gleamed with bloodlust.
“They say the Prince enjoys hunting. I should send a very good gift.”
The Duke said so and looked at the dead crow on the floor.
* * *
Luciel, who returned early to the private residence, ate and enjoyed her resting time folding origami with Rose and Bessie.
The origami set she received as a gift last time had magic on it, so it was a waste to use it recklessly, but it was the best to refresh herself. Luciel liked to fold colorful papers and do things that sometimes don’t require thinking.
A beautiful yellow paper butterfly flew through the paper flowers they had folded inside the parlor.
“Pretty.”
“Ah, this summer, the fountain cannot be opened because of the drought, but instead, there’s a domed magic observatory where you can see the stars, Little Madam!”
“Really?”
The Duke’s castle was already several floors high enough to see the stars from the windows, but Luciel has never experienced seeing stars from an observatory.
“Then shall we go and see together?”
At Luciel’s suggestion, the two smiled as they saw Kizef quietly entering the parlor. He swung a finger over his lips as if asking for a secret.
“How about going out to play with the young master rather than us?”
“That’s right. You should go on a date as a couple.”
Bessie and Rose took turns teasing.
“Ah…….”
These days, I haven’t met Kizef at all. When I woke up in the morning, he was already outside, and he didn’t come back until I fell asleep.
He also didn’t even show up for the last magic class. Luciel, of course, has been very busy with her duties every day, so she couldn’t look for where Kizef was.
‘When did he tell me to not get out of his eyes?’
Still, Luciel felt a little empty because it was hard to see his face even though they were living in the same place.
“Kizef seems a little busy……I’m not sure if he likes going to see the stars.”
“I am sure he will like it, Little Madam.”
“That’s right, he must enjoy whatever time he gets to spend with you Little Madam.”
“Is that so? “
Luciel turned around and still had no idea that Kizef was behind her. In the meantime, a paper butterfly gently landed on her head as she awkwardly answered the maids teasing. While Luciel’s gaze was taken away with the butterfly, a low voice could be heard from behind.
“……I’m not busy.”
“Whoa! What?”
Surprised Luciel’s crimson eyes widened as she looked up at Kizef.
“Kizef! When did you come? I was surprised.”
“Just now…….”
As Kizef answered, he took a step closer and grabbed the paper butterfly that had landed on Luciel’s silver hair with his long fingers.
“That’s too much.”
I was so surprised that I almost made jewels.
Luciel’s face, who was secretly muttering with only the shape of her mouth, turned red. Rose and Bessie laughed and quietly walked out of the room.
Kizef had wet blonde hair clumped together as if he had come out from a hasty shower. The scent of soap, which was stronger than usual, pierced her nose.
When his eyes met, they softened and slightly bent.
“I like stars.”
“…….”
“Let’s go see the stars. With me.”
“Yes.”
With a sly smile, Kizef held out his hand, and Luciel carefully grabbed it. Her heart pounded as he gently pulled her hand towards him, cautiously so, lest he would miss it.
Looking sideways, he was very unfamiliar today.
Is it because I haven’t seen him in a long time?
His eyes seemed to have changed a little, and for some reason, he seemed to have lost weight.
Breathing out louder than usual, a striding gait as if in a hurry, and the strength of his hand holding her hand tightly as if he would never let go.
Is that why?
Luciel couldn’t come to her senses and after walking along with Kizef for a while, they came to a standstill.
“……But where is the observatory?”
Both of them didn’t even look at the road properly while distracted by each others presence.
Kizef looked around while muttering. There were several high towers in the fortress, and it was nighttime, so it was confusing to guess which one was the observatory.
“Huh? Really? Rose said it had a round roof.”
The two circled around the area for a long time before they were able to find the place hidden behind the library.
A pure white dome-shaped observatory.
It had an oval-shaped roof, like a large egg.
“……Found it.”
However, the way up to the observatory was made up of a long spiral staircase, so it was quite a struggle.
“Light!”
Kizef’s light magic illuminated the rather dark observatory stairs. However, as they climbed up to the fifth floor, Luciel’s legs lost strength.
“……Ha, Ha, Ha, just a little bit……Can’t we take a break and go?”
However, there was no place to sit and rest, and the entry seemed to arrive a little further upstairs.
“No, I think it’s best to hurry up and arrive in the hall. Do you want me to push from behind?”
“…….”
Luciel shook her head and sat down on the stairs. Then Kizef turned his back to her.
“……Come.”
“Are you going to carry me on your back?”
“Hurry up before I change my mind.”
“……No. It’s okay. I’m rested now so….agh!”
Luciel, who was about to go up the stairs with great vigor, collapsed again. When she got up in a hurry, her ankle slightly sprained.
“…Hung.”
Luciel’s had a tearful face and Kizef was angry.
“It’s because you keep holding on instead of coming to my back. Silly.”
“……This time, I have nothing to say, even if you call me that.”
Luciel, who was depressed, was funny and cute, but Kizef looked at her ankle first.
When he took off her sock he could see that under her tiny, thin ankles, the bone was red and swollen.
As Kizef slightly tried to twist her ankle, Luciel held back the pain and shut her mouth tightly.
“It hurts?”
“Yes…a little.”
“I think you must have sprained it.”
“With a little help, I can walk…….”
Kizef, who helped her up, hugged Luciel instead of only supporting her as she had asked. Even as he hugged her up, his breathing was normal as if nothing had happened.
Somehow, Luciel didn’t hate it. It was a cozy feeling.
“……Oh, isn’t it hard? Let’s just go up with magic.”
“These days, I’m training to increase my strength, so this much is fine.”
Even so, it must have been very difficult to climb the stairs that were difficult to climb even by oneself. Kizef, who never backed down, seemed like a stubborn man, but Luciel keep quiet all the way up.
‘I guess he wants to train even after coming all the way here, that’s amazing.’
She climbed up in his arms, and in the blink of an eye, they reached the observatory.
“See, it didn’t take long, right?”
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Kizef looked at the closed roof of the observatory while holding Luciel.
It was a quiet space with no one around. The constellations painted on the closed interior ceiling shone softly. There was also a large magic telescope for viewing the celestial bodies.
“But how do we see the stars when the ceiling is blocked?”
At Luciel’s question, Kizef looked around. Soon he found a yellowish pentagram magic circle on the floor.
When he stepped on it and activated it, the vault opened little by little and the sky began to appear.