Book 3 Chapter 10

Episode 59

“I’m going for a short walk. It’s a secret from Mom!”

Dazed gazes focused on Casena. Soon, the captain of the guards shouted.

“Young Lady, how are you standing…? No, a walk, what on earth…?”

“A walk is just a walk, what else would it be?!”

As Casena threw herself off the railing, gravity and updrafts immediately enveloped her. Not only the guardian knights but also Rein’s eyes widened.

“Ah, no, wait a minute!”

What is with this recklessness…? How long has it been since she met me that she trusts me so much? What if she dies doing that?

Without even a moment to shout, I had to jump down after her.

A floating sensation, hair wildly fluttering, overwhelmed by gravity. Amidst such sensations, Casena was giggling excitedly.

“The shape of the magic square is a fan, and the runes to be carved are Pan (板; Board) and Bu (浮; Float)!”

To explain, it was imprinting the properties of ‘foothold’ and ‘levitation’ onto wind-attribute magic. Soon, the headwind calmed, and the rate of descent softened.

“Look at that, isn’t it really pretty…?!”

The exclamation that burst from Casena’s chest escaped as a white breath.

“It’s been so long…! Seeing this city, looking down like this…!”

That was the first time Casena showed me a pure smile.

I thought, *She’s pretty.*

Even amidst the sickly aura of a cripple that was eroding the girl’s beauty… no, perhaps it was precisely because of that contrast that she was even more beautiful?

It seemed like the first time I had thought a woman was beautiful since Lysta.

“You know… I really loved seeing this, but it wasn't just because of that that I always went up to high places.”

“Why?”

“Because then Mom would look at me. Mom and Dad were always busy, so they didn't really pay attention to me…”

Heh, so that was the story.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

Around that time, a bell rang from the mansion, signaling an emergency, and shouts of soldiers were heard from above.

“Anyway, you know this city well, right? I’m terrible with directions.”

Thanks to that, didn't I get lost on the day of the entrance exam and have to take an additional test?

Then a confident yet arrogant, lady-like expression bloomed on Casena's face.

“Hmph! Who do you think I am? I’m a woman who has a knack for deceiving my mother and the guards and escaping.”

Casena let out a small laugh, then pointed to the left with her finger.

“Let’s go there! Just a little further that way and there’s a *tteok* (rice cake) shop, their *kkultteok* (honey rice cakes) are really delicious.”

“Yes, yes.”

Controlling magic, I changed the direction of our descent. As we slowly descended from the sky, I saw passersby whispering in bewilderment.

“Oh, what’s that?”

Amidst the attention, Casena excitedly pounded Rein’s arm.

“As soon as we land, I’m going to run!”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to run excitedly as soon as we land! Make it happen, okay?!”

Controlling the nervous system with magic was new to me too, so it wasn't something I could do as I pleased, but she was just making such carefree demands.

Still, I couldn’t just spit on that innocent face… and since I was hired as a tutor, I might as well do my best for now.

As Casena awkwardly landed and then excitedly began to run barefoot, her wild light purple hair flew vigorously.

“Uh, hey, that hair color, surely it’s not…”

“Isn’t that the Page family…?”

As expected, perhaps because of the highly distinctive hair color, I could hear passersby murmuring. Regardless, Casena excitedly turned the corner.

“Hurry, hurry! It’s right there!”

I wish you’d realize how hard it is to move your body with magic while also moving mine…

“I’m running, I’m running!”

But with her smiling so brightly, I couldn't say anything, as the saying goes, *you can't spit on a smiling face*.

“Here it is, here!”

The place Casena energetically ran to was in front of a *tteok* shop.

“Give me all the *tteok* here, this one and that one!”

The shop owner, whose white hair was streaked with gray, and who had *gyeongdan* (rice ball cakes) laid out on the counter, blinked. Then, a wistful voice trembled out.

“Ca-Ca-Casena, Young Lady?”

“Yep, it’s me! It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Oh my… No, I even heard that you had passed away.”

The shop owner watched Casena mumble with her mouth full of *tteok*, tears welling up in his eyes.

“It was my joy to see the Young Lady come all the way to this humble shop and enjoy *tteok* so deliciously, but I don’t know how to express this emotion.”

“No need for that. We’ll see each other often from now on!”

As Casena pointed at me, who had arrived a step late, and told him to give me a white honey *tteok*, the shop owner, handing over a skewer, cautiously asked.

“And who might this person be…?”

“This guy? He’s my tutor. Still a provisional candidate!”

Yeah, good for you.

Even as I was forced to eat the honey *tteok* due to Casena’s insistence, I felt the immediate pressure that it might get stuck in my throat.

Because in the distant sky, I saw figures descending with magic similar to mine. They must be the shields of the Page family, the Magic Royal Guards.

“You’ll have to decide now, here, whether to escape or be caught.”

As soon as she saw that, Casena stuffed the *tteok* skewers she was holding in both hands into her cheeks like a squirrel.

That means she intends to run away.

This is really exhausting… I frantically took out my money pouch, but the shop owner waved his hand.

“Oh no, no! How could I possibly accept money from the Young Lady! Just go!”

“If I don’t give you this, there might be trouble later for no reason. Well then.”

After roughly handing over a silver coin, I began running through the city with Casena.

We bumped into passersby, pushed through crowds… and all the while, Casena perfectly guided us through various alleyways. With a very excited voice.

Could it be that the fact she was running around the streets she loved, without anyone pointing fingers at her, made her so happy?

“Over there, to the right! A fountain will appear soon! Then left! You idiot! Not *that* left, but *that* left over there! Are you bad with directions? Can't even find your way?”

“Which left over there are you talking about, huh?!”

However, such runaway escapades are useless in front of skilled hunters.

One on the rooftop…

And another one right behind us, I suppose. Still, they wouldn't use dangerous offensive magic, fearing Casena might get hurt.

‘They’re closing the encirclement so quickly. Impressive.’

So, if we get caught around here, neither I nor Casena will get hurt.

“What, your running speed has slowed down!”

“Mana, my mana is running low.”

Actually, it’s not low.

Gradually slowing down, I pretended to stumble and entered a deserted alleyway, and at that moment, my foot caught on something, sending me flying.

Then *clank*, the sound of metal, heard half a beat later.

One of the sound-speed footwork techniques displayed by those who have reached the pinnacle of swift swordsmanship.

“Got you.”

Just before an undignified tumble, I rolled on the ground with a breakfall and stood up, immediately facing an overwhelming pressure.

It was an old knight.

His iron armor, gleaming in the twilight, was not an expensive ornament but a testament to the scars of fierce years, displaying his master's strength, and behind his back, three rings of mana shimmered brilliantly.

The mana of swordsmen. It was ManaChain.

Even three layers… isn't the three-chain stage a realm reached by a genius among geniuses? By the way, Lysta had four layers.

The old knight, who had appeared at some point, was respectfully holding Casena in his arms.

In that instant, he tripped me to neutralize me while simultaneously securing Casena.

Swan, the guardian knight of the Ludwig family, is a formidable practitioner at a young age, but as expected, for a family like Page, their chief guardian knight is an unbelievably skilled master.

“Let go, Anseine, let go of this! Let me go! Rein!”

“I cannot do that, Young Lady.”

“Run away, you at least run away!”

“If you attempt to escape, I will have no choice but to resort to force, Rein Wizak.”

The old knight’s eyes, watching me from his wrinkled eyelids, shone chillingly.

Is there no way to escape…?

Magic Royal Guards appeared on both sides of the rooftop. But even if they hadn't, I had no intention of running away anyway.

“This scoundrel, this brat…”

Soon, a middle-aged man appeared, panting, leading countless guards. It was Casena’s father, Yuren.

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right here, right now… Rein Ludwig.”

“The Young Lady wanted to see the city, so I merely let her.”

“You were trying to kidnap her, weren’t you! What are you doing with a child who can’t even walk properly?!”

Was he unable to think straight due to such a shocking incident? Yuren raised his fist and huffed, then looked at the old knight.

“Anseine!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“It’s summary judgment! I shall sever this fellow’s wrist right here!”

My wrist? No, the situation is getting too grim, isn't it? But here, all I have to do is wait.

“Your Highness, however, this person is the son of a prominent magic family.”

“I am the Grand Prince of the Archfien Royal Family!”

Because I was the son of a prominent magic family, Anseine showed a flicker of hesitation, but reluctantly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his master’s command.

It looks quite urgent, but I have something I firmly believe in here.

And that is:

“If you lay a hand on my tutor, I won’t stand for it!”

Casena’s loyalty.

The moment Casena shouted that, Anseine, who had been approaching me, stopped dead in his tracks.

Yuren blinked.

“Casena, what did you just say…?”

“Dad is a fool! I hate you, I hate you! You never try to listen to what I say!”

“That fellow tried to trick you and abduct you. How can you defend such a person…?”

Excuse me, but.

I’m not an idiot, why would I do that…?

“No! It’s not true! Rein was the first! Rein was the first person who knew what I wanted and let me go outside!”

“If it’s a walk, I can take you anytime…”

“With dozens of royal guards? People point fingers! They laugh at me while watching! You never listened, no matter how many times I told you, did you?!”

“I was only thinking of your safety─”

“─Yes, you would say that! You were thinking of my safety! But my feelings… you didn’t consider them at all…”

Tears flowed incessantly from Casena's face as she shouted that. It was truly the moment the wedge was driven into the match.

Not only the old knight Anseine and the guards who had been wary of me, but also Yuren, who had been raging just moments before, sweated profusely, at a loss for what to do.

“D-Don’t cry, Casena. I was wrong. But is it any different, this fellow taking you out, from being accompanied by guards? The common folk would have looked at it strangely.”

“He didn’t just take me out. He let me run! He said he’d make me walk again!”

Yuren blinked, dumbfounded. Then he looked at Anseine, and Anseine politely nodded.

“Yes, the Young Lady was indeed running… I (your humble servant) was also surprised.”

“Even so, isn't it just telekinesis? How many mages have tried to make you walk with that? And it was you who rejected them all.”

“No, that’s not it! I can feel myself running. It was different from telekinesis! Dad, I want to learn magic from Rein. So I’ll walk on my own power!”

How could one describe the surging emotions that swelled in Yuren's chest at that moment?

The child who had abandoned all present, future, and past, who had simply cooped herself up in her room wishing only for her own death, was now speaking of looking towards the future?

Yuren stared blankly, alternating his gaze between Casena and Rein, then strode over to Rein and firmly grasped both of his shoulders.

“Is that true? Will you really make my daughter walk?”

“Well, I’ll have to try it to know for sure, but I don’t think it will be *that* difficult.”

“Forgive my error for speaking such strange words in my confusion. And if, if you truly accomplish that task… I shall bestow upon you an immense reward. If it is something I cannot achieve within my power, I will even ask my elder brother, Archfien the Grand Prince, for it!”

The reward has already been promised, so that's enough. A reward from the Grand Prince, it would only be burdensome.

By the way, did the gamble succeed…?

Phew, it was a heart-stopping moment, but it seems to have ended well. Now my aunt will be cleared, and I will gain authority over the forbidden book list.

‘Well…’

Rein glanced at Casena, who was nodding at Yuren's changed attitude. She had a smile on her face as if she had never cried.

‘Looks like the affection level is pretty much settled.’

From the day of that incident, the task of tutoring Casena Page, the heiress of the Page Ducal family, was added to an already busy daily life.