Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“A-Allen, sir... I-I’m about to...”

“That’s it. Just like that. And relax, please; it’ll be over before you know it.”

“Y-Yessir!”

Miss Walker cowered and squeezed her eyes shut, although there really wasn’t anything to be afraid of; it wasn’t as though this little guy was going to hurt her. I supposed that anyone might be frightened the first time. I gently took the maid’s slightly trembling right hand and guided her to touch it. She let out a little squeal.

“What do you think?” I asked. “Can you feel it?”

“Uh, um, well...”

“It’s all right. I’ll hold your hand until you calm down.”

“Th-Thank you very much.” After a pause, she added, “I-It’s...warmer than I expected...and I can feel the flow of mana clearly.”

“Good. Well done. You really are a good girl, Ellie. You take instruction so well.”

“Huh? Oh, w-well, um... Th-Thank you very much...”

“Ahem.”

A reserved cough interrupted us. I glanced over to see a girl in a white dress with an icy smile plastered on her face.

I see.

I hugged Miss Walker tight.

“A-Allen, sir?!”

“Sir! Ellie! Separate this instant! You’ve been all over each other since...” She trailed off and then seemed to start on another thought entirely. “I don’t care if this is an experiment in sensing dark magic by touching the professor’s familiar! I fail to see how that justifies rubbing her head or clinging to her like that!”

“Well, I’m enjoying myself. Oh, but if you object, Ellie, I’ll never do it again. Did you mind?”

“N-Not at all.” After a brief pause, she added, “Um, in fact, I’d like more head rubs...”

“Ellie?” Tina asked pointedly.

“O-Oh! I-I’m sorry!”

Miss Walker separated from me with tears in her eyes. Her Highness was glaring daggers at me all the while, but I paid her no mind. It would take more than that to rattle me—not that it was anything to boast about, but I had plenty of experience being picked on by much more frightening people.

Anko, the professor’s familiar, which took the form of a black cat, was lounging on the table. It opened its eyes a crack and shot me a dissatisfied look.

You want more petting? Yes, yes.

“Anko” was apparently the name of a sweet from a country far to the east. I wondered whether it was also black.

“I hope this experiment allowed you to experience the flow of dark magic.” I instructed the two girls while currying favor with Anko. “Let’s not waste any time putting that into practice. First, Ellie.”

“Yessir!”

Miss Walker stood before a bare candle and held out both her hands with a serious look on her face. Regrettably, nothing happened.

“H-Huh...?”

“Don’t worry—if you’d succeeded on the first attempt, there would be no point in my being here. Go touch Anko again and then give it another try.”

“A-All right, sir!”

“Tina, it’s your turn next. Give it a try.”

“Yes, sir.”

Her Highness approached the candle with a sad but brave expression. She must have been nervous because she was walking in the most peculiar way, moving her arms and legs in perfect unison. It was a little amusing—even more so when she noticed that I was watching and glared at me.

She’s so sensitive to my gaze.

After taking several deep breaths, she steeled herself and announced: “I can do this!”

“All right. Go ahead.”

Her Highness thrust out both her hands and...couldn’t formulate a spell. The formula itself appeared in the air for an instant, and it was simply magnificent—few people were capable of formulating a spell so subtly, even in the professor’s class. But it was no use. Her spell formula collapsed and dispersed before it could activate. I could see a faint afterglow of pale-blue mana, but that was all.

She turned to me, on the verge of tears. I couldn’t understand why she was so upset—she definitely had mana, and while her spell formulae were by the book, they were excellent overall. She was getting as far as deploying them...but they didn’t activate.

Perhaps I should consider the possibility of an external factor, like a curse or jamming spell.

I put my right hand on Her Highness’s head. “It’s all right. As I just said, if you’d succeeded on your first attempt, I’d be out of a job. Let’s take our time and carefully test different options. You could sense the flow of Anko’s mana too, couldn’t you, Tina?”

“I could...although I’ve never felt dark magic before, so I can’t say whether I did it correctly.”

“Darkness is a difficult element to handle, as is light. But if you could sense it, then it’s possible that you could learn to do it, so don’t let it get you down.”

“Sir?” Her Highness asked after a pause.

“What is it?”

“Would you give us a demonstration? Preferably something other than the flowers you showed us the other day.”

“Hm... All right. I’ll give it a try.”

I removed my right hand from her head.

What’s that dissatisfied look for? I need a free hand for this, and my left one is busy stroking Anko. Well, I don’t exactly “need” a free hand, but it does make things easier.

I clenched my right hand into a fist and then slowly opened it.

“Wow.”

“U-Unbelievable... You make it look so easy...”

“Will this do?” I asked. “No, Anko! Don’t try to catch it! Oh, honestly...”

I used my right hand to shelter the magical black kitten I had just created before Anko could get at it. There, there. That was a close call. Maybe it stemmed from Anko being the professor’s familiar, but it was too curious for comfort. Then again, my students seemed to be just as bad.

“A-Allen, sir! L-Let me hold it too.”

“Me first, Ellie.”

“No fighting, you two. Here, have one apiece.”

I created a second kitten and then gave Her Highness and Miss Walker one each. They made a delightful picture—one that I made sure to record to a video orb.

“It r-really seems like it’s alive!” Miss Walker exclaimed.

“It’s fluffy...” Her Highness observed. “It feels like petting a real kitten.”

“I’m glad they meet with your approval, but please bear in mind—those kittens are only as close to perfect as they are because I have Anko here to serve as an example. I can’t always create such detailed creatures.”

“Yes, sir,” the girls answered in unison. They were such good friends that I could almost mistake them for sisters when they were together like this. It was a calming sight.

There was a chance that magical creatures would appear in the practical portion of the academy entrance exams, so I’d thought it a good idea to get my students accustomed to them while I had the chance. I had even delayed Anko’s return to the royal capital—it had arrived here before I had—to enlist the familiar’s help, but that evidently wasn’t enough. Setting aside Miss Walker, Her Highness was likely going to require quite some time, so I would have to think of other approaches.

“Now, for your next lesson... What are those looks for? ...Very well. You can keep holding those kittens. They won’t disappear for about half a day.”

✽

That night, I visited the Howard family archive. After having done a variety of experiments, I was certain that Miss Walker would be all right. She would probably be ready for the written test as well, considering that she had all the basics down.

When it came to Her Highness, on the other hand...I still didn’t have so much as a clue. She was perfectly prepared for the written test, so I could devote almost all of our time to the practical, but we still only had three months. A reasonably bright noble child with their sights set on the Royal Academy would normally take at least a year to prepare. And while she may have had private tutors before me, she had been unable to use magic that entire time.

After more time scrutinizing Her Highness’s attempts at spellcasting, I had discovered that something seemed to be preventing her spells from activating. What that something was, however, I had no idea. I had initially suspected a curse, but there was no trace of one. Besides, she was a member of one of the Four Great Dukedoms—it was difficult to imagine that something like that could have gone undetected all this time. Either way, it was safe to conclude that whatever was obstructing her magic wasn’t harmful to her personally.

In which case...this wasn’t a problem I could solve with my current knowledge. Of course, I wasn’t going to throw in the towel over something like that. It was only my current knowledge that was lacking—in other words, I just needed to find more. So after dinner, once Her Highness had left the room, I had made a request of the duke.

“You want me to let you into our family archive?”

“Yes. If possible, I would like to investigate old manuscripts—perhaps predating the War of the Dark Lord.”

“Meaning that, in your opinion, modern magical science isn’t up to the task of explaining why my girl can’t cast spells?” the duke asked heavily.

“Regrettably so. This is only a guess, but did Her Highness’s previous tutors all give up after the first attempt?”

“...They did.”

“I thought so. Did they at least leave you their conclusions in some form?”

“The most I got from any of them was ‘This girl can’t use magic for unknown reasons; this is a waste of time’!”

“I see.”

I needed a moment to digest that. To be frank, I thought it was almost a dereliction of duty; Her Highness’s spell formulae were excellent and just shy of activation.

“I believe that Her Highness is capable of learning to use magic,” I said clearly, looking Duke Walter in the eyes. “Please allow me to examine the documents in your archive to help her do that. I won’t do anything to interrupt her lessons, and I would never dream of removing any of the documents. I simply—”

“Very well—you have my permission. But don’t neglect your health; I’m sure it would upset Tina if you overwork yourself,” the duke warned. “Graham.”

“Yes, Your Highness?” the head butler asked.

“Give Allen the spell-key to the archive.”

“As you wish.”

After that exchange, I had to be thankful for the duke’s magnanimity.

I relied on the moonlight that streamed in through the windows and the lamp in my hand as I searched for the documents I needed. Ancient and rare texts that could qualify as national treasures were casually arranged on the shelves. That was a ducal house for you. I would normally be ecstatic to read them, but I had no time for that at the moment.

I had read most of the contents of the Royal Academy and university libraries, so I immediately excluded any books that I recognized. I was looking for something from over two centuries ago, hopefully related to the study of magic.

All of a sudden, I heard the archive door slowly open.

I instinctively took cover. Who could it be at this hour? I wondered, watching as a lamp bobbed toward me. Hm? This voice and these footsteps belong to...

“Listen, Lady Tina—we can’t stay long. Graham will be upset with me again if we do. I didn’t tell anyone I took the key.”

“Yes, I know, Shelley. I won’t be— Oh, here it is! The Compendium of Magical Science!”

It was Her Highness and a woman in late middle age. I believed she was the head maid, although we hadn’t yet spoken. Her Highness was happily jumping up and down in her nightgown, clutching a book thick enough that a swift blow with it could probably knock someone over. It was an illustrated encyclopedia that covered almost all existing spells. I couldn’t believe that any child would want to read such a thing in this day and age; even at the university, I had been the only one with such interests.

“You really are just like the mistress, my lady—a booklover, a diligent student, and fascinated with magic,” the head maid said.

“Really? I’m like mother? I’m glad to hear that. I can’t use magic, though...”

“You’ll be fine, my lady. My husband tells me that your new tutor is quite an accomplished gentleman! At the very least, he certainly seems nice.”

“He’s awfully mean! Although I must admit, yes, he is quite nice too...”

“What an odd person he must be. Now, please be on your way, my lady. I’ll catch up with you once I’ve locked up.”

“Oh, yes. All right. Thank you.”

Her Highness’s footsteps gradually faded away, and then I heard the door shut. Now—

“I know you’re there, sir,” a quiet voice stated. “Please show yourself.”

I thought so. She’s more than just a head maid. Her gait was identical to Graham’s, so I could tell in an instant—this was a woman who left no openings. She didn’t seem to be hostile though, and I wasn’t doing anything wrong...so I poked my head out from behind a bookcase.

“I suppose I can’t fool you.”

“I don’t believe you were terribly intent on hiding.”

“I surrender,” I announced after a pause, raising my hands. It wasn’t like she seriously intended to do anything to me, though. “How may I be of service? I take it you want to discuss something with me.”

Now that I got a better look at this woman, there really was something about her that reminded me of Graham. Could she be his wife?

“Pardon me, sir, but I’ve come here because there’s a request I simply must make of you. I serve as the head maid of this household. My name is Shelley Walker.”

“I’m Allen. You didn’t find me here by coincidence, then?”

“No, sir. I intended to sneak in here tonight with or without Lady Tina.”

“I see.”

“She’ll grow suspicious if I’m gone for too long, so I’ll be brief—I want you to know how much Lady Tina means to all of us. Once you understand that, I want to ask something of you.”

Mrs. Walker’s gaze was deadly serious, and that was enough to give me an idea of what she wanted. Yes, this woman loved Her Highness very much.

“Lady Tina is extremely intelligent—her research with crops and other plants has already proved a great boon to the House of Howard,” she began. “And yet, she can’t use magic. For that reason alone, every tutor she has had over the past few years has taken their leave, rejecting all her other qualities in the process. Each time, Lady Tina wept in secret, and each time, I and every other member of the household were grieved at the sight. It was then that we asked ourselves—does she really need to go to the royal capital at all?”

So, the previous tutors had been “rejecting all her other qualities.” Had they even been paying attention? Magical ability or not, Her Highness’s talents were a national treasure.

“But Lady Tina still could not bring herself to give up on enrolling in the Royal Academy,” Mrs. Walker continued. “Then we learned that you would be coming. Oh, if you could have seen how delighted Lady Tina was! She had recently been forcing herself to act cheerful so that we wouldn’t worry, but... Mr. Allen...”

“Yes?”

“Lady Tina considers you and the Lady of the Sword an inspiration—no, the very embodiment of hope.” Mrs. Walker looked me in the eye before making her request. “I beg of you—please save Lady Tina. She has no one else she can turn to.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment.

“Mrs. Walker,” I said. Tears were now streaming down the woman’s face—a show of emotion that had quickly renewed my determination. “There’s no need to worry. You can rest assured that Tina will learn to use magic—that’s what I’m here for, after all.”

“Do you really mean it, sir?”

“I do. Oh, but I have one request.”

“What is it, sir?” She eyed me for a moment and then added, “If you hope to lay a hand on Lady Tina, you’ll have to defeat my husband and me first!”

“No, it’s about Ellie.”

“Ellie? H-Has she been disrespectful?! My h-humble apologies. B-But I assure you, she doesn’t mean any harm. Please forgive her, sir. That girl is the only granddaughter Graham and I have. If anything were to happen to her...we could never face our late daughter and her husband.”

“That’s just it.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

I had only known Miss Walker for a few days, but it was clear to me that she had more than her fair share of talent. And yet she was timid and lacked confidence. Some might dismiss that as just her personality, and perhaps it was. After seeing Mrs. Walker’s reaction, however, I was certain—these people weren’t telling Miss Walker just how much she meant to them!

“Please leave Her Highness to me. I want you and Mr. Walker”—I paused for emphasis—“to tell Ellie how you honestly feel about her.”

“I-I should hope that we already do...”

“Not nearly enough! I can teach that girl magic and I can teach her academic subjects, but I cannot give her a family’s love. The only people in the whole wide world who can do that are you and your husband. Please, talk the matter over with Mr. Walker as well.”

“...Very well. I will discuss this with my husband. Thank you very much, sir.”

With that, Mrs. Walker left the archive.

Many difficulties lay ahead, but there was one thing I could say with certainty: this job far exceeded the scope of a private tutor’s. You planned this too, didn’t you, Professor? Curse you! I won’t forget this—not ever! Not even Anko’s charms could cancel this out!

With my resolve strengthened, I seized hold of several books in the ducal house’s moonlit archive.

✽

A storm had been brewing since that morning, both indoors and out.

“I can’t accept it! I demand an explanation!”

“Is that so?” I answered from my chair.

The girl standing in front of me and shouting with her hands on her hips was Her Highness, Lady Tina Howard, the thirteen-year-old I had been teaching for the past ten days. She was wearing a pale-green dress for a change. Her wardrobe tended toward white, but shades like this also became her.

“Sir! Are you listening to me?!” she shouted. “You were thinking of something else just now, weren’t you?!”

“I was thinking only that today’s dress suits you.”

Her Highness took a moment to process my comment. “H-Hmph. I’m too old to fall for such deliberate flattery. Now, be that as it may—I demand an explanation!”

“I was in earnest. What would you like me to explain?”

“That should be obvious. Is it true that you went for a stroll with Ellie this morning?!”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a ‘stroll.’ If you ask me, it was more like harvesting—hunting for snow-covered vegetables was backbreaking work, although it yielded delicious results.”

“Then you don’t deny that the two of you went to the outdoor vegetable garden alone?” Her Highness pressed. “It’s not fair, sir! Why do you always give Ellie special treatment?! I wanted to join you!”

“Oh, but I couldn’t possibly...”

“Why not?!”

“You have to ask?”

The reason was because she was the duke’s daughter, but she was bound to lose her temper if I told her that. I really was in a bind.

At times like these, the best thing to ease tensions is—

The door burst open and a maid in uniform hurried into the room. “I-I’m sorry I’m late!” she panted. “I was helping grandma, and I lost track of the... H-Huh? I-Is something the matter?”

No, Miss Walker, not you! Well, not that you’re not welcome, but I was hoping for that familiar, since it’s opted to continue prolonging its stay.

“Ellie.”

“Y-Yes, Lady Tina? Th-That look on your face, um, well...frightens me...”

“Sit right there!”

“Y-Yes’m!”

Her Highness forced Ellie to take a seat before sitting down herself. Her arms and legs were crossed, her cheeks were puffed out, and her eyes were angrily narrowed. I was sure this was her best attempt to appear furious, but for some reason it brought a smile to my face—especially when paired with the flustered Miss Walker.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you this anyway,” Her Highness said. “Ellie, what do you think of our teacher?!”

“Huh? Um, well, I suppose...I-I think he’s a wonderful teacher. And very kind...”

“That’s true,” Her Highness admitted, albeit after a pause, “b-but that’s not what I mean! Do you like him? Do you dislike him? If you’re not even fond of him and still went out to the vegetable garden in the wee hours of the morning... I-I won’t tolerate that sort of behavior!”

“I am fond of him, though.”

“...Huh?” Her Highness was positively stunned by Ellie’s response.

Okay, I think I know what this is. I suppose I’ll have to step in and— Oh, Anko, wherever have you been? I can’t say I approve of your declining to return to the capital simply because of the cold weather. I realize that I detained you initially, but is it not high time you took your leave of us? I see. You want me to pet you? Yes, yes.

“Y-Y-You are?” Her Highness stammered.

“Yes. He’s my next favorite person, after grandpa and grandma!” Miss Walker chirped in response.

There came a long and painful silence before Her Highness turned to me. “Sir.”

I chuckled. “You look like Ellie’s older sister right now, Tina. I wonder why.”

“A-Allen, sir... You must be mistaken,” Miss Walker corrected me. “I’m a year older than Lady Tina; that makes me the older sister.”

“Well, I can’t seem to recall you ever acting like an older sister,” Her Highness countered.

“Lady Tina! F-Fine. If you’re going to speak about me that way, then I won’t let you sleep with me anymore, even on nights when it thunders!”

“What?! Th-That’s low, Ellie! You’re as frightened of thunder as I am!” Her Highness took a moment to collect herself. “Very well. If that’s how you’re going to be, I have an idea of my own. Sir, listen to this.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s... I know. It’s a story about a certain girl who’s one year older than me.”

Hm... I’m fairly certain there’s only one person in this mansion who fits that description.

“There’s another girl here one year older than the young mistress?” Miss Walker asked. “I thought I was the only one...”

You truly haven’t caught on? Not that I intend to stop her.

“That girl is a whole fourteen years old, and yet...”

“And yet?”

“Her room is simply full of dolls!”

“Oh really?”

“She’s always, always been childish! I try to tell her that she’ll never become a fine lady that way, but she won’t hear a word of it! What do you think of that, sir?”

“Hm... I think that Ellie is quite charming.”

“Huh?” Miss Walker seemed rather taken by surprise. “O-Oh, um... Th-Thank you very much, sir.”

“Wh-Why is that your reaction?! Jeez, sir, you really are mean! S-So, if my room were full of dolls, then—”

“Tina, are you feeling quite all right?” I asked, cutting her short. “I think we ought to call off today’s lesson and let you take some rest. I’ll carry you to your bed. What do you say? I think it’s for the best.”

“Meanie! Meanie, meanie, meanie!”

“I’m only joking. I think you’re both quite charming. You really could be sisters,” I opined, basking in happiness as I listened to them banter.

Her Highness had an elder sister who was attending the Royal Academy—or so I’d been told—but these two really were close. I supposed that the bond between master and servant was part of the reason, but it seemed more as though Her Highness, younger but for the most part highly capable, was leading and supporting the older but somewhat clumsy and bashful Miss Walker. I never tired of watching their strange but heartwarming relationship.

I think that’s about enough idle chitchat.

“Charming...” Her Highness giggled at my compliment. “You don’t have to stop there, you know.”

“Th-Thank you very much, sir.”

“I’ll consider it,” I said. “Now that Ellie has joined us, I think it’s time we begin today’s—”

A sudden flash shone through the skylight, and a fierce rumble of thunder followed close on its heels.

I’d thought we might get some rain—after all, it was rather warm out this morning—but nothing like this. I suppose it’s better than snow. Then again, if the cold weather returns tomorrow, a lot of things will end up frozen solid.

The next thing I knew, I felt something warm on both my arms. I waited a moment and then asked, “What do you two think you’re doing?”

“I-I-It’s not what it looks like. I-I’m not the least bit scared. Honest.”

Her Highness was clinging to my right arm and showed absolutely no intention of relinquishing it, come what may. Miss Walker, meanwhile, was clutching my left arm more reservedly.

“O-Oh, I need my dollies,” she muttered. “I’m s-scared of thunder...”

On my lap, Anko remained utterly unfazed. Shouldn’t you really be the most bothered by this? You are shaped like a cat, after all.

There came another flash of lightning, followed by a peal of thunder.

Both girls whimpered. Her Highness’s grip grew even tighter, and this time Miss Walker squeezed my left arm tight as well. My right arm was in pain, while my left was softly cushioned.

This is a problem. I can’t teach like this. I looked at the girls and saw that they were squeezing their eyes shut. This might not look entirely proper if there were anyone else here to see it.

I could see clouds flowing past through the skylight, but I doubted the thunder would stop anytime soon. This was a difficulty I hadn’t anticipated.

Maybe I ought to give them the day off. They have had lessons for ten days straight.

We had mostly finished preparations for the written test, and Miss Walker had even succeeded in making a flower of wind. Her Highness, however, still had a long way to go, and there was nothing for it but to keep experimenting with new approaches.

Right! Now that’s settled, I’ll just escort them to their rooms and—

Miss Walker shook her head emphatically and then leaned almost coquettishly against my shoulder. “We’ll have our lesson,” she announced. “Like this.”

“But I really don’t think—”

Before I could finish voicing my opposition, Miss Walker interrupted me again. “Lady Tina, please return to your room.”

“I-I will not!” Her Highness protested. “Y-You just want an excuse for the two of you to be alone together!”

“I’m not as good a student as you are, my lady; I can’t afford to take time off. I want to go to the Royal Academy with you. I don’t want us to be split up!”

“Ellie... Sir, I can stay for our lesson as well...as long as we stay like this.”

I took a long pause before voicing my decision. “No. It’s important to take breaks. You ought to take today off and—”

“Lady Tina! Ellie!”

The ordinarily coolheaded head butler burst into the room. He must have been outdoors—his uniform was sodden and his boots were caked with mud.

He reminds me of the maid from before, the way he— Whoa there. I quickly cast a levitation spell on the two girls and one familiar, freeing both of my hands to catch Mr. Walker’s knife hand strike. Oh dear. The look in his eyes is terrifying.

“I’m not sure I approve of surprise attacks,” I remarked after a moment of tense silence.

“Mr. Allen.” The head butler paused for emphasis. “I insist that you explain the state of affairs I have just witnessed. Depending on your answer...!”

Sure enough, someone had gotten the wrong idea! Before I had a chance to explain, however, the two girls who had just moments before been clinging to my arms simultaneously cried out.

“G-Graham! Wh-What do you think you’re doing?!”

“St-Stop it, grandpa! Mr. Allen hasn’t done anything wrong!”

Mr. Walker fell silent.

“It’s as they say,” I confirmed.

The head butler slowly withdrew his hand and extinguished his animosity. As he did so, he made a deep bow. “M-My sincere apologies. My mind went blank, and... To assault a guest without warning is an unpardonable offense! Please, sir, I ask that you punish me as you see fit.”

“Oh no, please don’t let it bother you. For better or worse, I’m used to events playing out like this. You must have been out of your mind with worry for the young ladies when it suddenly started thundering. That’s why you came straight here from outside without even bothering about your clothes. I suppose it’s been your job—or Mrs. Walker’s and the others’ when you’re away—to comfort them at times like this?”

“I am deeply ashamed,” Mr. Walker admitted after a pause.

“Did you hear that?” I said to the girls. “The two of you really are loved.”

Her Highness and Miss Walker, who had been watching with bated breath as they floated in midair, still looked surprised. Anko had dispelled my spell on its own and landed on the floor.

“It’s a shame about today’s weather, but this thunder shows no sign of stopping—that’s why I was thinking we ought to call off today’s lesson. I’ll release the spell now.”

I gradually lifted my levitation spell and gently deposited both girls on the floor. They were still stiff as boards, though I couldn’t even begin to imagine why. I waved a hand in front of their faces.

“Are you all right?”

“Sir.”

“Allen, sir...”

Both girls began speaking after a moment and then demanded in unison: “What was that just now?!” They closed the distance between us in a flash.

Please, leave me some personal space.

“Explain!” Her Highness ordered. “Why did you go out of your way to block Graham’s strike?! If you had the time to cast a levitation spell on us, you ought to have spent it worrying about yourself! And how were you able to block Graham’s strike, anyway?!”

“Th-That’s right!” Miss Walker agreed. “Grandpa is unbelievably strong! He’s a martial arts master! What was your plan if you’d gotten hurt?! That goes for you too, grandpa!”

“Y-Yes, well...” Mr. Walker stammered. “You see, Ellie...”

“No excuses!” both girls shouted in unison.

Mr. Walker was hard-pressed for a reply. Could this be a precious scene? Anko, where have you gone off to? Oh, you’re beside the girls.

A single meow silenced them both.

“Do you hear that?” I asked them. “Even Anko is telling you to stop. I wasn’t hurt at all, so please return to your rooms. There’s more thunder on the way, you know.”

No sooner had I given the warning than there was a third flash and a loud rumble. Both my arms were seized again, at which point Mr. Walker let out a barely audible groan.

“Young ladies...” I prompted them after a moment.

“We’re going to take our lesson like this!”

They were in perfect sync.

I’m glad that you’re such good friends, but try not to take after her. Speaking of which...I think my letter should have reached her by now.

✽

Dear Fugitive,

I received your letter with the news, but much too late. You sent it by the national post on purpose, didn’t you?

There are many things I want to say to you, but let me start with this: why the Howards?! You hate the cold! It’s warm at my family home in the south, plus you’ve been here plenty of times before, so you know your way around. What reason could you have possibly had for going all the way to the north?

Most importantly, you could have just tutored my little sister here! Jeez!

I’ve met Tina a few times at dinner parties in the capital. As far as I know, she should be a tough nut to crack, even for you. Of course, there is one thing you could try that I’m sure would work...but I trust you know that’s forbidden. Stop using it with anyone other than me. I know you can’t take responsibility for it. If you end up saying something like, “Mwa hah hah. I’ve got the life of a thirteen-year-old girl in the palm of my hand,” then I’m going to slice you up and incinerate you for real the next time I see you.

So, that aside...what happened at the test site? You seemed your usual self after your exam. I honestly can’t believe that you failed something as simple as the court sorcerer exam. Are we going to get heavy snow in the south tomorrow? Or maybe a rain of spears?

You wrote that your practical was the problem. Is that supposed to be funny? Do you expect me to believe that someone beat you in a confined space like the training ground? Not even the professor with his unhealthy obsession with bothering us or the headmaster of the Royal Academy with his twisted personality could do that.

I know you’re keeping a big secret from me. I suggest you hurry up and spit it out already if you know what’s good for you; I’m going to make you tell me regardless. I can’t help wondering—since when have you been in any position to keep secrets from your mistress?

Oh well. I understand that you won’t be returning to the royal capital for some time. In that case, I’ll enjoy my own break here. Let’s meet before the Royal Academy entrance exam. If you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth, slice you up, and then incinerate you. Plan accordingly.

Yours truly,

Your mistress and (soon-to-be) pursuer

Lydia

PS: I won’t ask for a letter every day, but be sure to write me every week! And send your letters by griffin mail!

✽

During a break from lessons, I read the letter from the albatross that had arrived that morning and then neatly folded it with a sigh.

I’m in trouble... She’s furious.

I would need to be prepared for the next time we met or my life would be in jeopardy—after all, she had been almost unrivaled in the kingdom back when all she knew was swordplay, and now she had added magic to her arsenal. She could even rapid-fire the supreme fire spell Firebird without breaking a sweat. What was I to do? I thought I knew why I had failed the exam, but I could never explain it to her.

“Is something the matter, sir? D-Don’t tell me...” Her Highness faltered. “Are you returning to the capital?!”

“A-Allen, sir! Y-You, uh, um...” Miss Walker struggled to find her words. “Y-You mustn’t!”

Both girls were fixing me with serious stares, worry clear on their faces.

This won’t do; I forgot that I wasn’t alone. I can’t just sit around sighing or they’ll start to worry. This is something I’ll need to work on.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” I answered them with a wry smile. “It’s all right. Lydia is just upset with me.”

“She’s upset? Sh-She sent you a letter by griffin just for that?!”

“D-Doesn’t griffin mail cost a fortune...?”

“Yes, it does, although the speed is worth the expense. I sent her a letter by the ordinary postal service shortly after I got here, but it could have taken as much as a week to reach the Leinster estate in the south. Judging by this letter, it might actually have taken nearly ten days. I’m sure the bad weather had a hand in that. But someone without much money to spend, such as myself, normally can’t afford to send things by griffin or wyvern.” I paused for a beat and then added, “Not that I hear of many people using either for a simple letter.”

The national postal service was a fixture of everyday life in the kingdom, but it was slow; even express delivery wasn’t much faster. As a result, there was cutthroat competition between private delivery services that made speed their selling point. Both griffin and wyvern mail were the crème de la crème, and they didn’t come cheap...yet that wealthy young lady used them without turning a hair and wanted me to do the same.

She always makes such unreasonable demands. Where does she expect me to get the money fro— Hm?

I checked the envelope marked with the Leinster family crest that the letter had arrived in. Inside was a stack of checks made out for the exact cost of griffin mail to the south; she had even taken the time to make sure that there was one for each week. Resting along with them was a sheet of notepaper, which bore the following words in a hand that I had become all too familiar with over the past four years:

“Any other objections?”

Oh, that’s right... She’s always been like this...

My shoulders slumped. I supposed this was her idea of getting back at me. She was fairly careless most of the time, but she never left anything to chance when I was concerned.

“Wow.” Her Highness was taken aback for a moment. “I see Lady Lydia hasn’t changed. I’m sure that she’s unbearably lonely being apart from you, sir. But still, you’re our teacher right now!”

“Sh-She feels so strongly about you, Allen, sir...”

For some reason, the two girls gave reactions that were entirely different from my own. I didn’t think it was anything as sweet as they made it out to be, but...

I stuffed the letter and checks back into the envelope and shifted gears. For the time being, these girls were my priority! I had been tutoring them for over twenty days, and steady progress was being made...mostly by Miss Walker.

As far as preparation for the written test went, Her Highness had always been in good shape. I’d recently gotten Miss Walker to solve the selection of mock exam questions I’d made, so she was bound to secure a passing grade as well. I should have expected as much from the heir to the Walker family, longtime supporters of the House of Howard—she’d had the basics drilled into her, and her education was nothing to scoff at.

I had been reporting both girls’ scores on each mock exam to Duke Walter and Mr. Walker, both of whom were delighted with their progress. They must have really loved the girls, but they were unfortunately incapable of showing it. I supposed that was one of the difficulties of being family, though I was in no position to criticize—I still hadn’t informed my parents or my younger sister that I had failed the court sorcerer exam. I would need to write to them once I had made clearer plans.

In any case, the written test wouldn’t be an issue, and the interview? It would take a serious failure of character to fail that. Even Lydia had passed it, after all. The problem was the practical.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s resume your lesson.”

“Yes, sir!” The two girls answered cheerfully—actually, Her Highness sounded a little hesitant. She still hadn’t managed to shake off her doubts about her magical ability, although I was sure that if she could succeed just once, the rest would be easy.

It was then that I remembered a line from Lydia’s letter: “Of course, there is one thing you could try that I’m sure would work.”

Should I try it...? N-No, it was out of the question! It was forbidden, and not just because Lydia had written so. It was a miracle that it had worked for her; she had only learned to use magic thanks to her own astonishing potential. I couldn’t attempt to repeat that success. It was simply too dangerous. And I certainly couldn’t shape the destiny of a thirteen-year-old girl by—

“Sir? Is something the matter?”

“I-If you’re not feeling well, um, I could be your nurse!”

“Ellie,” Her Highness began after a pause, “haven’t you been awfully quick to get close to our teacher lately? Ever since that business with the thunder.”

“N-Not at all! I-If anything, Lady Tina, you’ve been making sure to take a seat next to him at breakfast, lunch, and dinner these past few days—even though there are days I can’t join you because of work...”

“E-Ellie!” Her Highness took a moment to compose herself. “Y-You have it all wrong. That’s just a coincidence—simple happenstance. I merely felt bad for our teacher because he has nobody to dine with.”

“Is that so?” I asked. “And I was so glad to have you sit next to me, Tina...”

“Huh?” Her Highness froze, apparently blindsided by my response.

“No one will sit next to me when Duke Walter is absent except for the two of you... I can’t help feeling that everyone is avoiding me. There have even been days when Anko is my only company. But I see how things stand now. I couldn’t possibly trouble Your Highness, so there’s only one thing for it—Ellie, would you be kind enough to sit next to me from now on, when you’re not working?”

“Y-Yessir! It would be my pleasure.”

“You’re so mean, sir!” Her Highness pouted. “And you too, Ellie!”

I chuckled. “It was only a joke, of course. Now, shall we begin? Try out the spell formulae I gave you yesterday, one by one.”

✽

“Not this one either.”

The old book I had just examined in the dim lamplight wasn’t what I was seeking. I was unfortunately already acquainted with spells for curing hangovers. I had lost track of how many times I had needed them since the albatross had developed a taste for wine—the age of majority in the kingdom being sixteen.

I was in the Howard family archive, where I had been searching for documents like this every night since I had received Duke Walter’s permission.

Her Highness had been unable to activate her spells yet again during that day’s practice, despite the fact that Miss Walker was continuing to improve with each lesson. Miss Walker had already succeeded in making three flowers bloom—fire, earth, and wind—and while the remaining elements were giving her a bit of trouble, it was only a matter of time. Even darkness, the most difficult element to visualize, should be manageable with Anko’s help.

I was glad that Anko continued to prolong its stay—few people in the whole kingdom made use of dark-magic-based familiars. Perhaps the professor had thought that far ahead when he... No, he couldn’t have. He called Anko his familiar, but even that was suspect, given how much freedom he was allowing it.

Miss Walker even seemed to have gained confidence in herself, to the point that she had started to become more assertive. I wondered whether Mr. and Mrs. Walker had said something to her; I also found her far more cheerful than she had been when I arrived. I liked her much better smiling than hanging her head.

The problem was Her Highness. She had tried and failed with fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, light, and darkness. I had been able to glimpse her spell formulae deploy for an instant at first, but lately they were vanishing before they even reached that point. It was almost like...rejection. She did marginally better with ice, the specialty of the House of Howard—her formulae would deploy for several seconds but ultimately refused to activate all the same. These attempts left nothing more than infinitesimal slivers of ice in the air, so small that I doubted Her Highness even noticed them. She had never had any success with the existing spells in her textbooks, and she did no better with my spell formulae. Even a spell formula to produce a small flame, into which I had incorporated other elements in as simplified a form as possible, proved impossible for her.

And yet, Miss Walker was improving at a faster rate using my formulae. There was no doubt that something was impeding Her Highness’s magic. But it wasn’t a curse, so what could it be?

We had a little fewer than eighty days before the Royal Academy entrance exam, accounting for travel time and various preparations, and that number was slowly but steadily decreasing. The situation was difficult, but not entirely hopeless—Her Highness was one step shy of activation, at least when it came to ice spells.

I just need to identify those ice fragments, too small to be seen with the naked eye, I thought as I locked the archive door with several old books in hand, then I’m certain I could make a breakthrough. Now to return to my room and read through these. I hope that one of them is what I’m looking for.

“Allen, sir?”

A familiar voice came from behind me, interrupting my thoughts about my next steps. I turned to see a young blonde maid carrying a lamp.

“Good evening, Miss Walker. Are you making your rounds?”

“Y-Yessir! I just finished them, and I was on my way back to my room when I caught sight of you, sir. What are you doing in— Oh, I almost forgot.”

I waited for Miss Walker to continue, wondering what she would say.

“Um, um... I know I really shouldn’t, but could I have a moment of your time?”

✽

I was certainly glad that Miss Walker had become more assertive. I was also glad to see her more cheerful. That said...

“Thank you for waiting, sir. I’ve brought hot tea. Is something the matter?”

“Thank you very much, Miss Walker. Please, have a seat here.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young maid looked puzzled but seated herself regardless. Seeing her like this, I realized that she was every bit as beautiful as Her Highness. And her chest was, well...ample for her age. I doubted that either of them would be lacking for suitors in a few years.

“Miss Walker,” I warned the girl sitting in front of me, careful to maintain a serious expression, “you must realize that you are a very charming young woman, and—”

“Please wait.”

“What is it? It’s important that you hear this.”

“Well, this is much, much, much more important!” Miss Walker paused before continuing. “Allen, sir...” Her voice was deeper and her gaze more severe than usual. I had never seen her so intense.

“Y-Yes?”

“Why have you been calling me ‘Miss Walker’? You always call me by name, and... Don’t tell me that was only during our lessons? Is that the reason?”

“W-Well...of course not.”

“You’re lying. How dreadful... Is that all I mean to you, Allen, sir? It’s too much.”

“Th-That’s not true.”

“In that case, call me ‘Ellie’ at all times from now on!”

“...Very well. I promise, Ellie.” I raised my hands in a show of capitulation; she was too determined for me to refuse. Maybe the numerous dolls at her bedside gave her courage?

Miss Walker giggled. “Thank you very much. Now what did you want to tell me, Allen, sir?”

“Oh, that’s right. Listen, Ellie. I’ll say this as many times as it takes: you are a very charming young woman. You mustn’t invite men into your room this late at night, even if you have an important private matter to discuss, and even if that man is me. What would you do if something were to happen?! Self-defense is one of the subjects I plan to teach you before your entrance exam...but from now on, please save this sort of thing for someone you’ve set your heart on.”

“In that case,” Ellie replied in an almost inaudible murmur, “it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“N-No. I understand, sir. But, uh, um...may I go to your room on nights when I’m afraid, like when it thunders?”

“W-Well...”

“Please, sir?” She looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

“Very well,” I answered after a moment. “You have my permission on nights like that.”

“Yay! Thank you, Allen, sir.”

“Don’t tell Her Highness...although I’m sure she’ll find out before long.”

“Yes, sir!” she bubbled. “Her Highness...?”

Girls could be frightening. Ellie normally behaved like a younger sister to Her Highness—although I recalled hearing that she was a year older—but she seemed disconcertingly grown-up at times like this.

“Now, what did you really want to discuss?” I prompted her as I calmly sipped my tea. “I really can’t stay too long. Mr. and Mrs. Walker will be upset with me if they find me here.”

“Oh, r-right. Allen, sir—thank you very much.” Ellie abruptly stood up and then bowed her head to me. Her expression was serious, but not in the same way it had been earlier.

“Well, that was sudden. What for?” I asked. I honestly hadn’t a clue.

“I lied when I said that I was making my rounds,” she confessed after a brief silence. “I was waiting for you, sir. Grandma told me where to find you. I think you met her in the archive the other day?”

“I did meet her, although we only stood there chatting for a moment.”

“Now you’re lying. Grandpa and grandma called me to come see them out of the blue earlier. They both hugged me and told me, ‘We love you more than anyone else in the whole wide world, and not just as a memento of our daughter and her husband. We love you as family, pure and simple.’”

“That’s wonderful, although I think it was obvious given Mr. Walker’s behavior during the thunderstorm the other day.”

“But they’ve never said anything like that to me before. When I pressed them about it, grandma said that you got upset at her—that you told her to make her feelings clear with words and deeds.”

“I wasn’t upset; I merely suggested that she vocalize her feelings to avoid any confusion.”

I’m glad to hear they took decisive action.

Ellie was much shier than Her Highness, and she was also more inclined to depend on the kindness of others. I’d had a feeling that this would become a source of much frustration for her had she gone to the Royal Academy as she was. If she were secure in the knowledge that her family loved her, however, I was sure that she would use that support to forge ahead—just as I once had.

I stood up, reached out a hand, and then slowly rubbed Ellie’s head. “That really is wonderful.”

“Y-Yessir. Would you mind if...I told you a little about myself?”

“Not at all.”

“My parents passed away before I was old enough to remember them. My grandparents told me that they were doctors, and that they worked to treat a plague in the royal capital...where they lost their lives.”

So, ten-day fever—a disease that had supposedly claimed many lives after a sudden outbreak in the royal capital a little more than ten years ago. It had never been seen before or since, and it remained incurable. It was widely known as a rare disease, but the cause of the outbreak and the reason it had subsided were both apparently still unknown. It must have been disastrous at the time—supposedly, there had even been rumors that a group dissatisfied with the royal family had been responsible.

“So... So, I really don’t know anything about my parents. I don’t know what their voices sounded like, or what their favorite things were, or how they fell in love, or... I think my grandparents were against their living in the royal capital, so...”

Ellie rubbed her head against my hand for a moment before she continued.

“I was orphaned as a small child and taken in here. My oldest memory is of just how white and cold the snow was. That, and a little girl who did her very best to stick close behind me. She had just lost her mother too, so she must have been anxious. We were birds of a feather.”

Ellie giggled to herself and rested her head on my shoulder.

“I really used to be like a big sister to Lady Tina, you know? Now, it kind of seems, um, well...like she’s the one taking care of me...” Ellie trailed off toward the end of her sentence, and then she added, “Even though I’m older.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“...Allen, sir. Lady Tina is right—you are just a little mean. But...” She relaxed and let herself slump against me. “You’re so very, very, very kind and warm. I’m truly glad I got to meet you. Lately, I’ve been worrying that I might have used up my whole life’s worth of good luck.”

“I’m honored to hear you say that. Nevertheless, Ellie...”

“Yes, sir?”

I bent my knees so that I could match her eye-level and smiled with the heartfelt conviction that she would be fine. “You have all the talent you’ll ever need. If you remember to work hard and keep improving bit by bit, you’ll be able to become whatever you want. You’re not alone—you have people who love you. At the very least, you have to take a little girl by the hand and guide her!”

Ellie giggled. “A little girl, sir?”

“That’s right. You’re her older sister, after all.”

Ellie fell silent for a moment; then she said, “Allen, sir...”

“Yes?”

This time, she gave me a tight hug. I thought it must be the first that I’d received from her. She was trembling slightly.

“I-I was scared. I’ve always been told that I’m the heir to the Walker family, but I was sure I could never become like grandpa and grandma. Even Lady Tina, who I secretly considered my little sister, blew past me academically in no time at all, so I felt like there was no place left for me.” Ellie let her words trail off and then resumed after a pause. “That’s why, when I heard that Lady Tina would be getting a new tutor, I mustered up my courage and asked the master to let me take lessons with her.”

I needed a second to process that. “Is that how it happened?” I asked.

That’s a surprise. I was sure that Mr. Walker had suggested it himself. Still... I see. This girl summoned the courage to take the stage herself. In that case, I can’t let her down.

“Ellie.” I stroked her back as I gently spoke her name.

“Yes?”

“You’re amazing. You’re a brave girl who forged her own path by her own will. And thanks to your courage, I got to meet you. Thank you. Let’s both continue to do our best together.”

“Together with you, Allen, sir?”

“Together with me and Her Highness.”

Ellie paused for a moment before asking, “Can I make just one request?”

“What would you like?”

“I-If...I manage to get into the Royal Academy with Lady Tina...would you give me a hug too, sh-shir?!”

A moment later, she let out a little exclamation of embarrassment. It sounded like she had stumbled over her words. It also sounded like she wasn’t the least bit worried that Her Highness would fail to gain admission. I couldn’t suppress a laugh.

All right. I’d better do my best for her.

“Uh, um... Is that a ‘no’?” Ellie asked me timidly with upturned eyes.

“Very well—I promise. Now, I should be getting back to my room. Upsy-daisy.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, I mean, um... A-Allen, sir?”

I scooped Ellie up in my arms, carried her to her bed, and then tucked her in. She immediately burrowed under the covers. Perhaps she was embarrassed about her request? I picked up the old books I had set down on her table.

“Thank you for the tea,” I said. “Let’s keep up the hard work in tomorrow’s lesson.”

Before I closed the door, I heard a soft but clear voice say: “Y-Yessir. G-Goodnight...”

A pair of dark figures met me outside the door.

“Mr. and Mrs. Walker.”

“Mr. Allen,” they answered in unison, “if you want to lay your hands on Ellie, you’ll have to defeat us first!”

Their love was a little overbearing.

But as you can see, one of my hands is occupied with books, and— What? You’re still going to do this? I see. Very well. Good grief...

As it turned out, they were both masters of close-quarters combat at a level that was rare even in the capital.

✽

“Allen, sir. Good mor— Wh-What happened to you?! You’ve hurt your face! Th-This is awful. Um, um, where was that salve...?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch; not even worth casting a healing spell on.”

“O-Out of the question! Please stay right there, sir. I’ll fetch some salve for you.”

No sooner had Ellie run up to me than she dashed out of the room again.

What could have gotten into her, Your Highness?

“Sir,” Her Highness asked after a pause, “did something happen between you and Ellie?”

“No, nothing in particular.”

There was another pause.

“Are you sure?”

“I have no reason to lie.”

After all, the only thing we’d done the previous night was have a little chat. I supposed we might have become slightly better friends too. Even so, I could feel a pair of reproachful eyes focused on me as I closed the book that I’d been reading.

Not this one either, huh?

“Allen, sir! I’ve brought the— Eek!”

Ah. Déjà vu. I rose from my chair and caught Ellie. “Are you all right? I think you ought to take things a little more slowly.”

“Th-Thank you very much... But, um, you’ll catch me like this whenever you’re around, won’t you?”

“Well, I suppose so, but...”

“Then, in that case—”

“Sir. Ellie...”

Whoops. This won’t do. Now, Ellie, let go and— Why are you clinging to me instead?

“Ellie?” Her Highness interjected. “Our teacher doesn’t like that. Release him at once!”

“Do you mind, Allen, sir?”

“Not in the least.”

“You heard him, Lady Tina. That means I can get all the hugs I want.”

“S-Sir,” Her Highness protested after an indignant pause.

Oh, jeez. It looks like this is going to be another hectic— Ellie?

“Um...” Ellie whispered to me, “Would you mind having another talk sometime?”

Of course not. After all, I am your tutor.

✽

Dear Lydia,

Yes, it has been ten days since my last letter. Sorry it took me so long to write back to you; I’ve had a lot on my plate to delay me.

First of all: please, no more checks, under any circumstances. I may not be wealthy like you are, but my parents taught me that borrowing and lending money are the last things I should ever do. I’ve opted to use a few of them just this once, but I will pay you back out of my tutoring wages. Don’t you forget that.

The situation here hasn’t changed much—the reason for Her Highness’s inability to use magic remains unknown. She does respond to ice for just an instant, though, so that may be the key to helping her. I’m currently investigating the Howards’ trove of old documents.

Her Highness’s maid, Ellie, is something special—she has a natural talent for silent spellcasting. If she continues to improve at her current rate, I think she has a shot at placing highly in the Royal Academy entrance exam.

Well, that’s all for today. I’ll write to you again soon.

Yours truly,

Allen

(Buried in old books.)

✽

Ellie stood before the eight candles resting on the table. She inhaled deeply a few times; then, once her breathing had steadied, she announced, “I can do this!”

“Good,” I replied. “Go ahead.”

She held out her hands and deployed several spell formulae simultaneously. A flower of fire was the first to bloom, followed by flowers of wind, water, and then finally earth.

She’s improved again. She must be doing a fair bit of training on her own. I’ll have to warn her not to push herself too hard.

“Well done,” I said. “I’m impressed that you’re able to cast your spells so silently. Are you still struggling with lightning and light?”

“Th-Thank you very much... Uh, um... You see...” Ellie stammered for a moment before managing an explanation. “They frighten me a little...b-but I think I’ll manage ice and darkness soon! I’ve been getting A-Anko to help me with them over the past few days.”

“I was just thinking I hadn’t seen Anko around lately. So, it’s been in your room. My apologies for the inconvenience.”

“I-It’s no trouble at all.” The maid giggled. “I mean, it’s so, well, fluffy, for one thing.”

She was doing well—well enough that I thought it might be time to start teaching her in mock combat. The problem was the girl in a blue dress who stood before just a single candle. She let out a groan; I could see frustration, irritation, and desperation clear on her face.

“Why? Why won’t it work...?”

“It’s all right, Tina. We still have time. You were able to detect tiny slivers of ice, weren’t you?”

“I can sort of recognize them now. But Ellie is already so...” She groaned again.

I rested a hand on her head. “You’ll be fine. Let’s try a different spell formula, all right?”

“Yes, sir...” she hesitantly responded. From what I could see, she was on the verge of tears.

Hm... Why is this happening? I wondered. I can’t figure it out. I should be ashamed of myself for letting this girl look so miserable.

Her Highness had made only a little progress—her ice spells just barely produced a response, while spells of any other element vanished no matter what changes I made to their formulae. I had thus decided to focus exclusively on ice, and in this regard, my first order of business had been helping her to sense the infinitesimal slivers of ice I had managed to detect. She had been dubious at first, but a week ago she had finally succeeded. Her Highness’s first sight of the slivers had left her dumbfounded; then she had burst into tears.

“This is the first time in my life...” she had sobbed. “The first time I’ve ever been able to see my own magic...”

Her tears had come as a harsh reminder that she was more troubled than I had realized. I had reproached myself on that day, certain that there must be more I could do for her.

Since then, I had put my absolute all into my work—from morning till evening I would focus on teaching my lessons, while from dinner till midnight I would pore over documents and design new spell formulae. But even then, I hadn’t made any noteworthy progress. I was at a standstill.

Ellie was improving at an astounding rate, as she had just demonstrated. At her current pace, it seemed as though she might even manage to master all eight elements. She absorbed my spell formulae like parched soil soaks up water, and circumstances seemed to suggest she had even started receiving close-combat training from Mr. and Mrs. Walker.

I was painfully conscious of the fact that seeing Ellie’s continued progress was only making things harder for the troubled girl in front of me—after all, Ellie was her best friend as well as both an older and younger sister figure to her. The issue had remained out of sight and out of mind before now, since neither of them had been able to accomplish much with magic, but now that the difference in their abilities was so apparent...

Hypothesize, experiment, and repeat. I didn’t believe there was anything wrong with that approach, and given that I still didn’t know what was causing Her Highness’s impairment, my past experiences told me there was little else I could do. But when I saw her in such obvious distress... I must admit, my convictions wavered.

Lydia would certainly be upset with me—she might even put an end to our friendship—but I couldn’t let that dictate my decision. If the need arose, I would link Her Highness’s mana with—

“Sir?”

“Allen, sir?”

Both girls were staring at me in apparent concern.

“Oh, pardon me. I was just a little lost in thought. That’s our time, isn’t it? Let’s call it here for today. Tina, please don’t let this get you so down—there’s always next time. Ellie, well done. Let’s put in another good day of work tomorrow.”

After dinner, I called on the duke in his office to update him on the situation.

“In other words,” Duke Walter began, his voice tinged with disappointment and resignation, “teaching Tina to cast spells remains beyond even your abilities. Helping her to sense those shards of ice was an impressive feat, but as things stand...”

I was sure he had received the same report many times before, and that the news had stricken him on each occasion. Nevertheless, he had continued his search for a teacher who could grant his beloved daughter’s wish. I couldn’t blame him for being in this state after spending so much time and effort but having so little to show for it.

“And the same lessons are helping Ellie’s talent to blossom?” The duke paused for a moment and then added, “What bitter irony.”

“Her Highness has a vast supply of mana, and the construction of her spells is beyond reproach.”

“And yet, as you’ve told me, her spells don’t activate. Is that still true even with the new formulae you’ve devised?”

“It is. They’re yielding better results than I could have hoped for with Ellie, but...”

Roughly one month had passed since I had begun practical magic lessons with my two students, and as predicted, the one to demonstrate a remarkable amount of growth in that time...had been Ellie. I had taught her the simplified spells I had formulated—ones I had based on existing spells designed to force the activation of a single element but with an increased amount of “blank space” to leave elementals more room to do as they pleased—and she was now close to mastering them.

I no longer had any concerns about Ellie’s performance in the practical; now it was merely a question of how high she would manage to place. It was possibly even time to begin teaching her magic with an eye to her studies at the academy—she was that highly motivated.

Her Highness, on the other hand...had yet to produce any favorable results. She had never been able to cast existing spells, and she fared no better with my spell formulae. I had considered that an excess of mana might be to blame and redesigned spells to reduce the supply, but as expected, they had failed to activate. I had then tried increasing the mana supply to force spells to activate, but with the same result. Did the problem lie with her mana itself, then? No, it was entirely ordinary. And there was no possibility of a curse, no matter how often I searched for one.

I couldn’t help admiring the perfect construction of Her Highness’s spells—it surpassed even Ellie’s and was now even more refined as a result of daily practice. But...it did her no good. I was sure that her learning to recognize those slivers of ice had been a major step forward for her, but she simply couldn’t progress any further. She had reached a stalemate.

We still had time, but I was beginning to lose patience. What was behind her inability to use magic?

“What is your opinion on our situation?” the duke pressed me. “There are only two months until the entrance exam.”

“Am I free to speak my mind?”

“Of course.”

“Her Highness will learn to use magic—I have no doubt about that. I just can’t be certain it will happen before the entrance exam.”

He mulled over my words. “Then will you work to convince her to give up, as I asked you to?”

“I will not. If she wishes to enroll in the Royal Academy, then I believe she ought to, even without the ability to cast spells.”

The duke closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “You mean to say they would make an exception for her?”

“Her Highness is more than sufficiently qualified. I would question the sanity of the Royal Academy if they refused to let her attend.”

“...Under any other circumstances, I would be delighted to hear that you view her so highly.”

“I’m being sincere when I tell you that Her Highness’s talent rivals Lydia’s. Wouldn’t helping her to hone her skills also be a great boon to the Ducal House of Howard?”

“I understand that—I do! But you must have experienced firsthand how troublesome the nobility can be. It would be a hard road for my girl to walk.”

Duke Walter’s face was suffused with anguish. I was sure he was speaking not as a duke, but as a father concerned for his daughter. The second daughter of one of the Four Great Dukedoms being unable to use magic and admitted only by special exception would obviously attract attention, and nowhere was without its share of people eager to spout nonsense.

“In any case, I do want you to make your best effort.” The duke announced his conclusion with his eyes shut and his hands folded on his desk. “But if there has been no change after another month, then do as I ask.”

“But sir!”

“I’m sorry, but... Please. You see how it is.”

“...I understand. I may not look it, but I’ve accomplished the unreasonable before. I will find a way.”

There was still no hope in sight, but I was determined to do something. Her Highness’s mana was perfectly ordinary and there was nothing wrong with the way she constructed her spells—her impairment had to have a cause.

My only clue is those momentary slivers of ice. I’ll just have to start there.

✽

I bit back a yawn the next morning as I made for the room in the greenhouse; once again, none of the documents I had finished reading the night before had been of any help. I had stayed up until nearly dawn for several days in a row now, and exhaustion was catching up to me. I hadn’t even been able to rouse myself in time for breakfast.

This is a problem. At this rate, I’ll end up making the girls worry.

“Good morning.”

I opened the door and stepped inside to find Her Highness apparently napping with her head resting on the table. She must have been tired—she had recently taken to frantically practicing magic from after dinner until late into the night. I decided to let her sleep until Ellie arrived.

I took care not to wake her as I walked over, took a seat in a nearby chair, and then cracked open the old book on magical science I had brought with me. It concerned magic predating the War of the Dark Lord. I had already confirmed that no symptoms matching Her Highness’s had been reported in the past two centuries, at the very least, and for that reason I had turned my sights to even older data. The ducal house’s archive was fortunately replete with old works.

Time passed in silence. It appeared that Ellie was running a bit late.

The book turned out to be the biography of a swordsman—fascinating, but unfortunately not what I currently needed. I moved to take the next book from my bag, and that was when my eyes met Her Highness’s.

“Sir.”

“Did I wake you? I’m terribly sorry.”

“Don’t be. That’s a very old book, isn’t it?”

“I believe it predates the War of the Dark Lord.”

“Are you reading it for me?” Her Highness asked after a pause. Her tone was serious—she was quite clearly on edge.

She’s a little too studious, I thought as I gave her a pat on the head.

“Not at all. This is something of a hobby of mine, and—”

“You’re lying, sir! I know you’ve been staying up reading late into the night. I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning either.” She gave me a pointed look before resuming with a question. “How many hundreds of books have you read this past month? You search the archive every evening, don’t you? And you formulate new spells for me day after day too... You’re even forced to help with our evening practice.”

“That’s all true, but please, don’t let it bother you—I love reading and enjoy improving spell formulae. I’m sorry about this morning. I don’t often sleep in, so it’s really rather embarrassing...”

“...set.”

Her Highness muttered something that I couldn’t quite hear. I gave her an inquiring look, at which point she leapt to her feet, trembling violently, and blurted out:

“Be more upset! Blame me more! I can’t cast spells because...because I don’t have any talent for it...”

There were tears in her eyes; it appeared she was being even harder on herself than I had suspected. Seeing Ellie make so much progress right beside her must have played a major hand in that.

“I’m sorry.” I bowed my head to her. “I’m not fit to be a teacher if I’ve caused you to say such things. That said—”

“I’ve...I’ve had enough... I respect you and I like you a lot, sir... And I love Ellie too, but...every time you praise her—every time I see her improving by the day—foul feelings well up inside me... So—!”

The next instant, a raging torrent of azure mana flooded the entire room. The area around Her Highness turned white and then began to freeze solid.

“Is this...the House of Howard’s ice magic?!”

Over the past month, we had tried spells of every element. I had sensed some potential with ice magic, but it had simply refused to activate for her. So why now?

Investigating the cause can wait. Her Highness has never so much as cast a spell before—I very much doubt she can manage this much mana.

She was out of control, like a fully opened water pipe. No matter how immense her supply of mana was, it would soon run dry if this outpour continued. In the worst case...she would die.

“Tina!”

Her Highness screamed something in response, but I couldn’t hear her. I tried to approach, but the blizzard had become a barrier between us—one that would be difficult to breach. It was all I could do to slow the spread of the ice magic. I had been trying to deploy fire spells for some time, but they were shockingly unresponsive.

What was this feeling? It was as though something were squeezing my heart in its grip. There was something there. Something unknown. Something I knew I shouldn’t confront. It was the same feeling I’d gotten when Lydia and I had fought that black dragon, except this time, I was without that unstoppable albatross around my neck. What could be worse?!

I was struggling to grasp the situation. I couldn’t even hear Her Highness—the fierce blizzard shut out her cries completely.

I’m cornered... At this rate, my mana will run out before Her Highness’s. What now? What should I do? Think. Think. Think!

All of a sudden, the door slammed open.

“A-Allen, sir— Eek!”

“Mr. Allen, wh-what in the world is happening here?!”

“Ellie, stay back! Mr. Walker, please isolate this building in an ice-resistant barrier! This blizzard will engulf everything if left unchecked! Leave Her Highness to me!”

“Allen, sir...!”

“As you wish, sir. Please, take good care of the young mistress.”

Mr. Walker began retreating with the uneasy Ellie in tow. That was the head butler of a ducal house for you—his decision-making was thankfully quick.

The onslaught of ice magic was ongoing and increasing in power and fury. The area around me was already turning white. I couldn’t use fire spells—or I could, but only with considerable difficulty. Either way, I doubted they would last for long. Light, earth, and lightning spells were sluggish too. Water and wind spells responded...but something about them felt odd. Were they frightened, like living creatures? I had forced them to activate to slow the incursion, but they had become shockingly less mana-efficient. And as for darkness... Darkness was much too dense. If I cast a dark spell in this situation, I suspected I would also lose control of my magic.

My prior beliefs were seriously shaken. There was evidently something here that exerted a massive influence on water, wind, and dark magic while rendering the other elements unusable. It was going to be impossible to break through this blizzard with my skill and mana; I wasn’t even certain how long I would be able to maintain my temperature-control spell.

Perhaps I ought to resign myself to it...

It was something I never wanted to do again, and I’d certainly never expected to be forced to make such a decision here, of all places.

I cast the most powerful water and wind spells that I could muster to forcibly interfere with the blizzard. I was well aware they would guzzle mana, so I reduced the temperature control around myself to the absolute minimum to compensate.

“Tina! Tina!” I called out to Her Highness by magic. “If you can hear me, please answer!”

“—ir!”

Her voice was barely audible, but I renewed my interference with it to guide me.

This will be dramatically more difficult than it was with Lydia...although I’m also a little more capable than I was then.

Somehow, I managed to establish a circuit to Her Highness. It wouldn’t last long, considering the amount of mana at my disposal.

“Tina!”

“—ir! List—there’s—something—me.”

“Your mana is out of control right now. If it’s not stopped, at worst, you could lose your life.”

“—ould I do?”

Her Highness’s voice came in fits and starts, but it was reaching me. Now if she would only consent to... I strained my mana and strengthened the circuit. I had a few dozen seconds at best.

“I’m about to link our mana. That way, I can bring yours under control.”

“I-Is that even possible?!”

“This is how I succeeded when Lydia lost control. I know it’s not a pleasant thought, but please allow me to do this!”

“All right! I don’t mind! There’s no problem at all! I believe in you, sir!”

Her immediate agreement left me speechless—entrusting her mana to another person wasn’t a situation she could have anticipated, and it was tantamount to putting her life in that person’s hands. It was something that would give anyone pause. Even I wasn’t eager to do it, and I was the one making the connection. To top things off, Her Highness had only known me for less than a month. Was that really enough for her to stake her life on?

Once I’ve dealt with this and completed my duty, I’ll ask her why she has so much faith in me. This time, I’ll see it through.

“Thank you. Now, prepare yourself.”

“Yes, sir!”

I connected the circuit, and—

An intense pain shot through me. My frail body cried out under the load of an unbelievable quantity of mana. My brain threatened to burn out. This girl’s latent mana supply was on par with Lydia’s...or possibly even greater. Unless I acted fast, I wouldn’t last long.

Other things flooded into me along with her mana—anger, dejection, despair, impatience, and intense joy. Were these Her Highness’s feelings? Her emotions were spilling out unchecked, possibly due to how deeply linked we were. Naturally, the same was true of mine.

For an instant, I glimpsed something that dwelt deep within Her Highness. I heard its voice. What was it...?

I forced her mana under control and calmed the blizzard. Fire returned to life as I did so, and yet...the thing I had been sensing for some time was still alive and well. My attempt hadn’t completely dispelled the raging ice magic.

I pooled my own nearly exhausted mana with the mana that had escaped Her Highness and cast an imitation of the supreme fire spell Firebird.

“This should do it!”

With the fire spell at my command, I charged into the blizzard. My mock bird couldn’t hold a candle to Lydia’s—it disintegrated almost immediately—but it was enough. I already knew where Her Highness was. I stretched out my hands in her direction.

Let me reach her!

“Tina!”

“Sir!”

I grabbed Tina’s hands and pulled the adorable girl into my arms. Her tiny body was trembling like a leaf; she must have been terrified. I gently stroked her back as I turned my attention to the thing that had been attempting to manifest itself. Its supply of mana had been cut off, and it was quietly fading away.

Could that be one of the lost great spells...

“Frigid Crane?”

“S-Sir...”

I lowered my gaze to find Her Highness blushing profusely. The circuit was still linked. I hurriedly disconnected it.

“Ahem. I’m glad that you’re safe. I truly am.”

“Th-Thank you very much, sir.” There came a pause, and then she added, “Also...”

“What is it?”

“Please call me ‘adorable Tina’ from now on. And why have you been calling me ‘Her Highness’ in your thoughts?! That’s forbidden! Absolutely, categorically forbidden! And, you’ve been in Ellie’s room, haven’t you? I demand an explanation!”

“I-I’m impressed you were able to pick up so much in such a short amount of time... Let’s go call Ellie and Mr. Walker.”

“No, sir. Keep holding me like this. For now—just for now—you’re my tutor and no one else’s.”

And so, I continued holding Tina in my arms—at least until Ellie burst into the room, her face stained with tears. She wasn’t massively pleased to see us like that, so I promptly let go, but then Tina became displeased, and...

Have I done something wrong lately?

✽

I’m able to link my mana with other people’s. I still remembered when I had first realized it—I had gotten separated from my younger sister while we were playing tag in the forest. I was no match for her physically and had been able to faintly sense her mana, so I had assumed she was all right and kept moving...that is, until I discovered her with an injured leg. With the benefit of hindsight, I realized that it had probably been no more than a sprained ankle, but at the time, I had been truly frantic. My sister had been bawling her eyes out, and I had only known how to cast healing spells on myself at the time.

I didn’t know why, but I had gripped my sister’s hand and wished to heal her pain...and it was in that instant that I felt something connect. The next thing I knew, my sister was energetically running about, shouting that her leg didn’t hurt anymore. I’d actually told her this story when she entered the Royal Academy. From what I recall, she’d looked embarrassed for a moment and then said, “I remember that. You’ve always been a worrywart.”

I had been researching my ability ever since that day, but all my attempts to discover anything about its particulars had ended in complete and utter failure. Even the libraries of the royal capital, which far outstripped those of my hometown, had offered no clues. I was consequently at a loss, though I had at least learned several things in the process of using it:

First, the person I was linked to and I shared each other’s emotions and thoughts.

Second, I could control the mana of the person I was linked to, but they could not control mine.

Third, the quantity of mana I had access to depended in part on the will of the person I was linked to.

Fourth, after forming a link with a person once, it was easy to form it again.

Even those were enough to give me pause. Of course, I lacked the physical ability to handle vast quantities of mana—this meant that I could only use the ability for extremely brief periods of time and that it was far from being the answer to all my problems.

I had formed a link with just three people in my life thus far, and my connection to the third had only been established the day before. In addition to my four points, there was one more thing I had learned about my ability—something like a side effect. It was...

“Are you prepared, Tina?” I asked the girl standing ready. After a moment, she responded.

“Unacceptable. You didn’t add ‘adorable’ before my name! I demand a do-over.”

“Ellie, what do you say to a bit of one-on-one practice? I think it’s high time we finished this exercise.”

“Y-Yessir!” The maid then giggled to herself. “One-on-one.”

“Sir! Ellie! J-Jeez!”

“I’m only joking...Your Adorable Highness,” I teased.

“M-Meanie! Hmph! Suit yourselves, then. I have Anko to keep me— Ah!”

“Ah! Wh-What’s gotten into you? Th-That tickles.”

Anko, who had been curled up on a chair, had sprung up and leapt over to Ellie with startling agility. That was unusual. Perhaps it sensed danger—enough danger to merit that reaction.

“Sir...” Despite everything that had happened the previous day, Tina was bursting with energy.

“I’m watching.” I encouraged her while readying an ice-resistant barrier. “Please, don’t hold anything back. Ellie, get behind me.”

“Y-Yessir!”

“I can do this!” Tina declared, holding her hands out toward a candle. She deployed a gorgeous spell formula, and...

Her spell activated.

Oh dear. This is more than I bargained for.

Ellie jumped up and down, cheering “Yay!” over and over again.

“...Tina.”

“Y-Yes, sir?”

“Let’s work on your output control going forward.”

Before my eyes was a gargantuan flower of ice. It towered not only through the ceiling of the room, but through the roof of the greenhouse too. Even the broken glass, which ought to have fallen around it, was frozen solid, and the air was freezing in spite of my ice-resistant barrier. I was forced to deploy several more layers of my barrier to at last restore things to a bearable temperature.

In terms of scale, I’d say this is on par with an advanced spell.

It might have been preferable to a certain someone who had begun gleefully casting Firebird the second day after I had linked mana with her, but that was only a matter of degree. The ability to cast a spell on this scale would ordinarily be grounds for immediate admission to the Royal Academy; in fact, it would be grounds for admission to the Royal University. Had it purely been the fruit of hard work, I wouldn’t have had such reservations about it, but—

Tina threw her arms around me without warning. Tears were streaming down her face, but something told me they were tears of joy.

“Even so, I can see how hard you’ve worked.” I gave her a gentle hug and slowly stroked her head. “Well done. Very well done. You really are an amazing girl, Tina.”

Tina shook her head, and her hair swayed in evident delight as she hugged me tighter without saying a word. It was no wonder that she was so overcome with joy—she had just successfully cast a spell for the first time in her life. Ellie must have felt the same way, because she was watching us with tears in her eyes.

“Lady Tina! Allen, sir!” She rushed over and threw her arms around us both, crushing Tina against me.

“Ellie,” Tina chided her a moment later, “that hurts.”

“I-I’m shooo glad,” the maid sobbed. “I-I’m so, so happy for youuu...”

“Jeez. You’re such a crybaby... But thank you...Ellie, sir.”

Ellie must have been concerned too, especially considering that she had been making steady progress while her dear friend since childhood struggled. Although the sight of the two of them warmed my heart, I still turned my attention back to reality—to the giant flower of ice.

As far as I had seen, Tina’s spell formula had been firmly within the bounds of elementary magic—and an existing formula, at that. And yet, this was the result. There could be no doubting that whatever lurked within Tina was exerting its influence. And then there were the words I had heard when we were linked:

“OH, THE KEY. AT LONG LAST, WE MEET.”

I didn’t really understand it; the only word I had been able to make out clearly was “key.” Nevertheless, it appeared that whatever it was had stopped impeding Tina’s attempts to activate spells. My control circuit also seemed to have remained within her, as in previous cases.

As a result, Tina had gained the ability to partially master her overabundant mana using my spell-control techniques. Her construction technique was already fairly refined, so all that remained was for her to adjust to the sensation of spellcasting. Once she had that down, she would have free rein over her mana...although I would probably need to prepare even stronger and more effective ice-resistant barriers in the meantime. I supposed that we ought to take our time working on the details at a later date. As for the present, it was time to rejoice. Oh, and also...

“Tina,” I whispered in her ear.

“Ah!” Tina squealed. “Sh-Shir, wh-what are you...?”

“You mustn’t tell anyone that we linked mana, all right? It’ll be our secret.”

“Our secret...” she whispered back after a pause. “Just between you and me, sir...”

“That’s right.”

Tina giggled in delight.

“Lady Tina. Allen, sir. Wh-Why are you whispering to each other and leaving me out?! I-It’s not fair!”

“I can’t tell you,” Tina chirped. “It’s an S-E-C-R-E-T. Isn’t that right, sir?”

“Tina, stop taunting Ellie like that. Ellie, don’t worry—it’s nothing. Now, I suggest we clear up this mess before Mr. Walker loses his temper at us.”

I took another look at the colossal flower. Power aside, the precision was astounding—it was even better than mine. Had Tina done that unconsciously? Or had it been...

There were so many things I didn’t know. My own beliefs had been seriously shaken, but the two girls in front of me were smiling at each other.

Good. As long as they’re happy, the rest can wait. Including my excuses to her.

✽

Dear Professor (surprisingly ranked “the sixth most likely teacher to lose at gambling” in the university),

It’s been too long. A month and a half ago, a certain someone’s schemes resulted in my being packed off to a snowy land. There are many things that I’d like to say to you...but I’ll set them aside for the moment.

I’m writing to you because I need you to send me something posthaste. I believe you have contacts in military research institutes. Please send me multiple military-grade ice-resistant barrier scrolls as soon as you possibly can. The cold weather here is beyond the pale. As things stand, your dear student will become an ice sculpture before he returns to you come spring. Please help me. My well-being is in your hands.

Yours truly,

Allen

(Unable to handle heat or cold.)

PS: I’ve already informed Lydia that I’m here...but if she asks what happened in the court sorcerer exam, please don’t tell her. (I assume you’ve already found out.) By the way, Anko doesn’t seem anxious to return to the capital. Professor, have you forced it to...? If you have, I trust you’re prepared for the consequences.

✽

Dear student of mine (who appears to be a hard worker but actually aspires to be a layabout),

Hi there, Allen. I appreciated your letter. I’m delighted that you seem to be enjoying your time in the north. I’d actually love to join you, but as you know, I’m a busy man; I doubt I’ll get a chance this wintertime, which really is a shame. Of course, I wouldn’t be able to go in any case—I promised my dear, departed mother that I would only visit the Howards during the summer. Speaking of my mother, she was asking to see you just the other day.

Now, as for your request... It seems to me that both you and Lydia have been losing respect for me by the year. Am I just imagining things?

I certainly do have contacts—you wouldn’t know it, but I was the previous leader of the court sorcerers. That said, diverting military technology for private use is no easy task. I’ll make an exception this time and send the scrolls to you, but be more circumspect in future.

Your insinuations about Anko are entirely unwarranted. I may not look it, but I am the secretary of the Royal Capital Cat Lovers Association. I won’t deny, however, that I showered it with too much affection. Whether Anko is a cat is also a matter for debate.

Also, please correct yourself—I am ranked fifth in the university.

I’m pleased to hear that your work seems to be going well. And be sure to send letters to Lydia, even if she doesn’t answer them.

Yours truly,

A genuine hard worker and pitiable man menaced by his pupils