BACK in Elle Village, I sip tea in my favorite tea room. It’s calm right now in my beloved Elle Village.
About a week has passed since our little excursion to Gaea. I had such a blast casting that wide-area spell, I’m still on cloud nine just reliving the memory.
Speaking of that day, after giving the nobles a good taste of their own medicine, we went back to our original script and withdrew after pretending to lose to Guido and Aela. Word has it that the lords who suffered a taste of my magic promptly switched to Guido’s side. Including that crooked earl.
Not that I would trust them farther than I can throw them, but they shouldn’t be plotting any more assassination attempts on Guido. At least not as long as they are quaking in fear of the threat posed by Analia’s former Grand Magi Elle and Julius looming in the shadows.
After that night, the fight for the throne has gone predominately in Prince Guido’s favor. At this rate, things should settle down for Aela and Guido soon enough. I can’t wait to spend some quality time with them when it does.
“Are you thinking about last week again?” Julius asks with a laugh from his spot next to me on the couch.
“Of course! I haven’t been able to cast an awesome spell like that in ages! It was only for a moment, but…I was thrilled to have my magic back at full power.”
“I see. I’m glad it made you happy,” Julius says with a peaceful quality to his voice. I lean my head on his shoulder. He reaches out and strokes my hair.
It tickles, but I’m pleased.
“But you know what really made me happy?” I say as I’m enjoying this peaceful moment. “That you and Laurent spent so much of your time to do something for me. Wasn’t it difficult to prepare so many different magic circles?”
That was a grand spell that made use of the hardest time-space magic. It temporarily returned my magic supply to what it once was. Such a complicated spell couldn’t have been easy even for the strongest sorcerer Julius and the genius sorcerer Laurent.
I crane my neck back to look up at Julius’s face, and his stunning ice-blue eyes come into view.
When we first met, I thought they were cold, heartless eyes. The wintry eyes of someone who had given up on life and pushed people away. But they’re different now.
Softness creases the area around those ice-blue eyes as Julius smiles lovingly at me.
“Nothing is difficult when it’s for you. Every second I spend on you is supreme bliss for me.”
A loving voice, a loving smile. Knowing those are both meant for me sends heat radiating through my body. I want to scream that I feel the exact same way. I sit up and caress his cheeks.
“Hehe. You know, I feel extremely ‘free’ right now. After all, I can kiss you whenever I want to. Do you think there’s any greater ‘freedom’ than this?”
“…None,” Julius says, wrapping his arms around my back and pressing his lips against mine.
I twine my hands about his neck, angling my head to better receive his kiss. It’s a sweet, deep kiss where we seek each other.
Kisses with Julius always taste of freedom.