Charles patted the crown of her head. Her efforts to impress him had been half successful, half useless. What Charles really wanted was for her to take some time off. Lille, on the other hand, didn’t care that she had less downtime if it meant he would praise her for studying so well. They had both been expecting a different outcome, and Lille was frustrated that she hadn’t fully understood Charles’s feelings.
“Oh, Leo!” she called, suddenly remembering. “We need to give Ark the meat your mom packed for him.”
“Ack, you’re right. It’s gonna go bad soon otherwise.” Leo grimaced. “Ark, we brought you a souvenir. My mom found some super good quality meat, so she cooked some for you.”
“Your mom’s a good’un. I’ve never even met her,” Ark said, pleased.
“We used to have a pet canary, y’know? Mom loves birds.” Leo grinned.
Ark glowered at him. “Leo… You didn’t tell her I’m a pet bird, did you?”
“Give me some credit. I said you’re Master Charlie’s familiar. But…maybe she didn’t really get it. We’re not a very magical family, after all,” he replied, shrugging.
“…Next time, make sure you clear things up,” Ark said in a low tone.
As Leo and Ark headed toward the kitchen, Lille grabbed hold of Charles’s sleeve.
“Master Charlie, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure. Shall we go to your room?” he asked casually.
Lille didn’t even have to explain; he could already tell she wanted to speak in private. For some reason, she was reluctant to let go, so she kept a tight grip on his sleeve as they walked to her room. He didn’t comment on it, and simply looked down at her, sending a soft smile her way. Perhaps he assumed she’d been feeling homesick.
Charles shut the door behind them when they stepped into her room, and immediately turned to Lille with a look of concern in his eyes.
“Lille, did something happen at Leo’s house? You keep looking at me like you’re anxious about something.”
“Huh? Really…?” She blinked. “Do you think Leo noticed?”
She had honestly believed she was succeeding at acting normally, but Charles had seen right through her. Or maybe she let her worry show precisely because she was with Charles.
“I don’t think so. Why? Is it something you can’t tell him?” He tilted his head.
“No, he already knows. It’s just…if he realizes I’m anxious about it, he might blame himself.”
“Don’t worry, Lille. Everything’s going to be fine,” he assured her gently, bending down to her eye level. Although Lille had grown, Charles was tall and her height would never catch up to his.
She appreciated the way he always considered her—and not only the fact that she was smaller than he was, but also what things were like from her point of view, in general. After a single glance at his jade-green eyes, she felt like she could tell him anything and everything that had ever weighed on her mind.
“What happened?” he said quietly.
“Well…”
She sat on the edge of her bed and Charles sat facing her on a chair. Lille was unused to speaking for such an extended length of time, and she struggled to recount what had happened. At times, remembering what she had seen was painful, and she fell completely silent. Even so, Charles waited for her. He listened patiently and didn’t rush her once.
“So, you saw the past…” he hummed sagely.
“You told me my magic wouldn’t grow any stronger than I wanted it to be. But, the thing is, this all happened because I wanted to know about Leo’s past. So it listened to me, and…”
“Do you regret it?” Charles asked seriously.
Regret it? …No, not at all.
She would never regret telling Leo his sister’s last wishes. Having the power to see his past was what had made that possible.
“No, I don’t,” she replied firmly.
“Then, what are you scared of?”
“…Scared?” She furrowed her brow. Until he said the word, she hadn’t recognized the emotion for what it was. She realized she was terrified of hurting someone—herself included—as a result of her magic growing stronger.
“What if I accidentally look at someone’s past without their permission again? What if they don’t want me to know? That’s what scares me…” She frowned timidly.
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Charles said, rising to his feet to put a finger to Lille’s pendant. “You said this stone got hot just before you saw the vision, right?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“Magic stones have the power to lend stored energy to their owners, if the owner truly desires it. And more valuable stones are thought to have a particularly strong effect.”
“Really?” she asked, marveling at the stone hanging from her neck. Perhaps that was why August had gone out of his way to present her with such a precious stone: he worried about her after seeing she couldn’t control her magic very well.
“Yeah. And, most importantly, it won’t lend you that power if it senses any doubt in your heart. So…” he said, a sympathetic smile on his lips, “if there’s something deep within you that doesn’t want to see it, your magic won’t show it to you.”
“But…what if I accidentally wish to see those things whether I want to or not?” she asked vaguely, pursing her lips.
What if, even just for a moment, she wished she could see the things Charles didn’t want her to know about? And her magic rushed to fulfill that desire? It seemed entirely possible that she would one day peer into Charles’s past—into his heart—instantly and inadvertently.
“I think you should trust yourself more. I’ve never met someone who’s as considerate as you are; it’s unlikely you’ll read anyone’s thoughts by accident. You’ve kept good control of it thus far, right?” he said reassuringly.
Yet, Lille couldn’t trust herself the way Charles trusted her. Why? Because her magic wasn’t fully developed yet? No—it was because she could sense her feelings toward Charles rapidly changing, and she was scared it was just a matter of time until she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from prying into his past.
But she couldn’t tell him that.
“I know your mind’s racing. But, whenever you’re worried about something, you can always speak to me, all right? If we tackle things bit by bit, you’ll definitely regain your confidence,” he suggested.
She nodded. “Okay.”
“At Leo’s house, you lost consciousness from his mana flowing out of control, and had the help of the diary, the room itself, and the stone’s power. Basically, your magic awakened after a series of coincidences. It’s unlikely that’ll happen again. Plus, I’ll keep an eye on you, so don’t feel like you need to worry so much. Okay?” he said softly, giving her a smile of encouragement.
“Okay… Thank you.”
“Good. I need to have a talk with Leo, too. It sounds like he’s finally interested in going to magic school,” he chuckled.
In the vision she had seen, Charles said Leo would be his apprentice until he was allowed to enroll in magic school again. Even so, she imagined Charles would be sad if Leo really did move out.
“Oh, wait. Lille, I forgot to say something important,” he said, pausing in the doorframe and looking over his shoulder. “Thank you for saving Leo. Your power’s the reason he’s able to move forward again.”
“…You’re more than welcome.”
With those words, Lille was saved as well—though Charles probably didn’t realize it.