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“TODAY turned out to be much more intense than I expected,” Lord Viol muttered softly.
I was in complete agreement. And it felt like it had been even more intense now that we were back at home, sitting on our bed in our room, relaxed and ready to go to sleep. In the darkened room, the magical device my coworkers had given me continued to whirr away. It had become an indispensable part of our daily lives.
Calm music.
Pleasant fragrance.
Undulating waves of light.
Being in such a relaxed and happy environment makes the hustle and bustle of the day feel even more intense.
Then, something suddenly occurred to me. Maybe now was the perfect time to bring my efforts to fruition…?
I swallowed hard and made my suggestion to Lord Viol.
“Lord Viol, you must be tired today… I’d like to cast a spell on you to help you recover from your fatigue.”
“Hmm? Thank you. Yes, I should probably cast some healing magic. But I can do it myself…”
“No. I want to cast it for you. Please, lie face down on the bed.”
“All right.”
Convinced by the confidence in my voice, Lord Viol lay face down on the bed. I carefully brushed aside his black hair, which flowed loosely behind him, then placed both hands on his broad back.
Slowly, carefully, I cast my spell to recover fatigue on Lord Viol’s back. Then, just like Arles taught me, I extracted only the heat from the fire magic and slowly applied it to the main spell.
“Hmm…? It feels… sort of… warm.”
“Yes. I enjoyed it when you did this for me before, so actually, I’ve been practicing it secretly.”
“Secretly… You mean… You actually learned fire magic?!”
Hehe, yay. He was even more surprised than I’d thought he might be. All my hard work paid off.
“I still don’t have much aptitude for fire magic, so I can’t say I’m fully capable of using it. This is pretty much the only spell I can cast so far.”
“But I haven’t had any reports on it.”
“I told Arles to keep it a secret because I wanted to surprise you.”
“…You always, always surprise me.” I could hear the wry smile in his voice. Still, my answer seemed to reassure him. He laid down again and closed his eyes. “It feels good. You must have trained a lot.”
“Yes. I wanted you to feel really soothed, so I worked hard and practiced a lot.”
“I see…”
A comfortable, muffled voice, heavy with sleepiness.
I was happy that Lord Viol was trusting his body to my magic. As I carefully cast fatigue recovery magic on his head, shoulders, arms, waist, and legs, he let out a happy sigh.
I would so love to be a healing presence for Lord Viol.
“…Still… I’m glad it all worked out today,” Lord Viol muttered. He must have still been thinking about the events of the day.
“Yes. The Barrier Amplifier worked without a hitch, and I was also ecstatic to be able to greet Lord Kenrude.”
“Hmm. Really, I should have been the one to go and pay a visit to him first. What was I thinking? Or maybe the problem was that I wasn’t thinking?”
“Hehe, Lord Kenrude really loves you like a grandson.”
“He does. He always treated me to lots of sweets.”
It was so typical of Lord Viol to see gifts of sweets as a sign of affection. I couldn’t help smiling. I was sure Lord Kenrude was always rooting for the little boy he scouted, doing his best away from his mother and father.
“But I feel relieved about what happened for you today, too, Seren. I never imagined Prince Helios would speak about us with such pride.”
“Me too. I was so moved, I almost cried,” I confessed.
“I see.” Lord Viol stirred and turned over, lying on his back with a large pillow propped behind him. “Thank you, Seren. I’m fine now. I already feel so much better.”
Then he opened his arms towards me, and I snuggled against him. The fatigue recovery magic I had cast on his whole body must have been working well, as all the tension seemed to have left him, and he was as limp and floppy as a relaxed cat.
I followed Lord Viol’s example and relaxed my body, and he put his arms around me and hugged me gently. It was so warm, so comforting…
Lord Viol gazed at the lights coming from the magical device and reflected on the ceiling, his face beautiful in profile.
“Prince Helios, huh…” Staring at the ceiling, Lord Viol muttered to himself, “Before I got to know you, Seren, I never really encountered Prince Helios and didn’t know much about his personality. To be honest, he didn’t interest me.”
Come to think of it, I only encountered Lord Viol a few times as a princess consort in training. And that was just in passing. We never spoke. No doubt it was the same with Prince Helios.
“After I got to know you, I initially thought the prince was a disagreeable sort of fellow, but after hearing what he said today and seeing how he’s been lately, I’d like to do my best to produce good magical research for the sake of Prince Helios, the future leader of our country, as well.”
“Oh, Lord Viol…”
Just as I’d noticed how kind and wonderful a man Prince Helios was turning out to be…maybe Lord Viol had noticed the same thing.
If Lord Viol, renowned as a rare and exceptional mage, could use his powers to the fullest, then surely this country would flourish under Prince Helios’s reign. That was a reassuring thought.
“That’s so true. I feel the same way,” I said. “Anyway, the Barrier Amplifier started up without any problems today. If we can get two Barrier Amplifier devices running properly, we should be able to stably defend the country with a minimum number of people, right?”
“Yes. That’s the best thing of all, really. That’s what makes me truly the happiest.”
Lord Viol did sound truly happy. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He felt my gaze, and our eyes met. His eyes were like obsidian pools… Drawing me in. I loved those eyes.
“Of course, I’m happy to be able to protect my country, but… You’ve heard this too, right, Seren? When two High Mages become a couple, they have a hard time coordinating Wall duty with raising children.”
“Yes, Vellia said something like that…”
“Right. Originally, I wanted to create this magical device to lessen the burden on the Wall Guards and make sure the country stays safe, but after hearing what Vellia said… I was more determined than ever to make sure it was a success.” Lord Viol removed his arms from around me and gently stroked my hair. I felt so soothed, so cared for.
I felt like closing my eyes and drifting off, but Lord Viol’s mysterious eyes were fixed on me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him, either.
Lord Viol gave a little “heh” and smiled softly. His sudden, gentle smile made my heart skip a beat.