After her meeting with Riley, Liliana made her way to the Ministry of Magic. She had left the matter of the attempted poisoning to the prince, since she hadn’t come to harm, but she doubted interrogating the maid would reveal the true culprit.
She met Petra at the gate, just as she had during her first visit, and together they headed toward the vice minister’s office. He was out—probably for work—but they arrived without any of the mages harassing them.
“Ben gave me the key,” Petra said with a wink, unlocking the door with practiced ease. “Don’t tell anyone.”
They stepped inside, and the mage locked the door behind them. Then they descended the stairs to the place where preparations for lifting the hex had already been laid out.
“Did you bring it?” Petra asked.
“Yes, it’s right here,” Liliana replied. She set the potted plant on the table and undid the invisibility spell concealing it.
“No flowers, huh?”
“They wilted, but the bulb is still alive. It should bloom again when the season turns.”
“Interesting...”
Petra examined the lily of the valley with intense curiosity. For someone in her profession, she knew surprisingly little about flowers; mages were supposed to be well-versed in medicinal botany.
“I know I’m supposed to know this stuff, but I have a bad affinity with this kingdom’s flowers,” she said defensively.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” Liliana replied. She had never heard anyone lament their “affinity with flowers” before.
“Ben’s a master with them, though. It’s honestly sickening how well he knows them.”
Petra’s tongue was naturally sharp—especially around other mages—but when she spoke of Ben, there was a trace of kindness beneath the spite. Even Liliana could see it, emotionless as she was.
She doesn’t seem aware of it, though...for whatever reason.
Unaware of her student’s thoughts, Petra set about gathering what they needed to lift the hex. There was such a bounce in her step that Liliana half expected her to start whistling. The mage chalked a sigil on a stone pedestal Liliana didn’t recall from her previous visit, then placed a white, human-shaped piece of paper at its center.
“What’s that?” Liliana asked. She recognized the paper from her past life, but she had never seen anything like it in this world.
“It’s a katashiro. They’ve been used in eastern hexes for ages. They’re pretty handy—think of them as stand-ins for people.”
So the usage was the same as in her past life. Could eastern hexes follow the same principles as Onmyodo and Shinto? If so, perhaps she really could become proficient with them.
If I remember correctly, everything in nature is categorized into yin and yang, and all things are created and destroyed through those two cosmic forces.
Eastern hexes and magic were built on five basic elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—each aligned with yin or yang. Western magic, by contrast—the kind used in Slivegrandia and the western half of the Empire of Yunatian—held that the world was composed of the four classical elements: fire, wind, earth, and water.
No wonder the mages here struggle with eastern magic. Most of them can’t think outside the box.
Liliana didn’t know any mages besides Petra, but if the others were anything like the oafs she’d encountered on her previous visit, she doubted they were particularly competent. Most in the ministry were probably hired for their connections rather than their skill.
“Mages other than Ben are too soft in the head to appreciate things imbued with eastern hexes or magic, so I only use them when I’m working alone,” Petra said. “People like them are the reason research into magic and hexes barely progresses in this kingdom.”
Making her usual scathing remarks about her colleagues, Petra set the lily of the valley beside the katashiro. She murmured an incantation and channeled mana into the sigil, and the pot was wrapped in a golden glow—the same light that had enveloped Liliana when Petra first analyzed the hex. It was mystical and strangely mesmerizing.
Before long, a shifting pattern appeared across the sigil, constantly rearranging itself.
“This hex is simplistic,” Petra said. “I can’t tell who placed it on you, but it was either someone close to you or someone who had access to something connected to you.”
“By ‘someone close,’ do you mean a blood relative?”
“Yeah. The mana’s similar to yours.”
In that case, it had to be her mother or father. Most people would reel at the thought of a parent hexing them, but Liliana remained perfectly calm.
Petra smirked. “You look relieved more than anything.”
“Yes, I am. Honestly, I expected this, so I’m glad to have been proven right.”
“You really don’t act your age, do you?”
Petra gave a wry smile and a shrug, clearly aware her student wasn’t bluffing. If anything, Liliana was glad she wouldn’t need to start suspecting anyone new.
“Well, let’s dispel that hex. Just to confirm—you don’t want the person behind it to know it’s been lifted, right?”
“No, thank you.”
“Got it. Stand over there, please.”
Liliana stepped beside the stone pedestal and the lily of the valley resting atop it. Petra drew a new sigil around her, then placed four white crystals along its perimeter. She murmured another incantation, and the same golden light from before mingled with silver before enveloping Liliana.
“Lay thy shadow upon the katashiro.”
Liliana barely caught the words, but the white paper rose at once, drifting and turning like a leaf caught in a breeze. Each time Petra spoke an incantation, the katashiro swayed in response. It looked as though she were unraveling threads one by one, untangling the hex until, at last, it tore free of Liliana and entered the katashiro in its complete form, staining the paper with wine-red script.
The golden-and-silver light faded, and the katashiro fluttered to the floor. Petra incinerated it with a burst of magic to purify it. She regarded the ashes with cold eyes, then looked up at Liliana.
“We’re done,” the mage said. “How’s your voice?” She sounded almost unsure, as if afraid it might not have returned.
Liliana hesitantly opened her mouth. After half a year without speaking, she could barely remember the sound of her own voice.
“Ah...”
The rasp that escaped her made her shut her mouth at once. Her eyes darted to Petra, who was grinning from ear to ear. After a stunned pause, Liliana tried again.
“I...can...speak.”
“Great!” Petra exclaimed. “It worked!”
Liliana’s voice was still too quiet to hear clearly, but the mere act of speaking felt strangely nostalgic. As the seconds passed and the reality of it settled in, her forced enthusiasm softened into something real.
Petra lunged forward and swept Liliana into an elated hug. Liliana froze at first, unaccustomed to physical contact, then slowly, hesitantly returned the embrace.
Pulling back, Petra looked her straight in the eye. “I’m so glad it worked,” she said warmly.
No one in Liliana’s life had ever touched her out of genuine feeling. Marianne only touched her while she was tending to her; Riley only when he was escorting her. Her family didn’t touch her at all. She knew such distance was normal among nobles, yet the combination of physical contact and sincere emotion shook her to her core. Never before had anyone been so openly happy for her.
She forced a smile, unable to name the emotion stirring inside her, and murmured, “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it—especially after how much you paid me. Honestly, I would’ve lifted that hex for free.”
When Petra stepped away, Liliana felt both unease and relief. Once the initial shock had passed, warmth spread through her chest, and a faint, natural smile tugged at her lips.
Is this...joy?
She had to comb through everything she knew to identify the feeling coursing through her—an emotion she had never experienced before. Comparing it to Petra’s words, she finally arrived at a theory.
I must be happy that she’s happy.
Liliana’s lost voice had never been Petra’s burden. So why had the mage been so pleased to help her? Why had she acted without expecting anything in return? Perhaps she was simply proud of successfully lifting the hex, but the term didn’t feel right. “Happy” fit far better.
Either way, Liliana appreciated the woman’s sincerity.
As she savored the warmth blossoming in her chest, a sharp pain suddenly lanced through her head, far worse than any headache. A chill swept through her, forcing her to cover her mouth as her brief happiness ebbed away. Petra didn’t notice; she was busy tidying up. Thankfully, the pain faded as quickly as it had come.
I must just be tired from the new experience.
Having convinced herself of that, she joined Petra in cleaning up. The process was quick; the procedure hadn’t required much at all.
“That’s our first objective out of the way,” the mage said, evidently in high spirits. “You’re not planning to tell anyone about it, right? Not even your handmaiden?”
“That’s right. Some other concerns remain.”
To escape the wretched fate the game had in store for her, Liliana needed to avoid becoming crown princess—and to do that, she needed everyone to continue believing she was mute. The most she’d told Petra was that she was in danger for political reasons. That much was true: Her father was a powerful noble, and there were plenty among the Arcacians and neighboring nations who wanted her dead. The mage hadn’t seemed entirely convinced, but at least she hadn’t insisted on bringing Marianne into the loop.
“So, should we get back to our lessons on hexes and magic?” Petra asked.
“I suppose so. I would appreciate your tutelage.” Liliana had said she wanted to improve her hexes and magic for self-defense, so it made sense for them to continue.
“Sure thing.” Petra grinned. “You’ve got a great attitude. It’s rare to meet someone who actually appreciates hexes. Here in the kingdom, magic is all anyone cares about.”
“It’s true our countrymen tend to view hexes with disgust, but I’d imagine a few people must take interest in them.”
“Hex users are seen as the dregs of society. Nobody with sense wants to enter the profession.”
In the kingdom, hexes invariably conjured associations with dark magic. Petra spoke matter-of-factly, though frustration seeped through her tone.
“Is that why you call yourself a mage?” Liliana asked.
“Yeah. It’s not untrue—I can use magic—but hexes are my specialty.”
Liliana thought back to the three mages and their mocking behavior. Their cruelty seemed too intense to be explained solely by Petra’s foreign blood or commoner origins. Perhaps her affinity for hexes played a part in how poorly she was treated at the ministry.
“There seems to be a great deal of depth to hexes,” Liliana said. “Learning about them is sure to lead me to many new discoveries.”
“You’re spot-on. I’ll ask Ben if I can bring you to his manor sometime. The hex books and tools there are way better than anything in the ministry. I’ve visited plenty of times before.”
With that surprising revelation, Petra put the kettle on, looking thoroughly pleased.