WHEN I arrived at Charles’s office, I could hear voices coming from inside. I couldn’t make out the conversation, but it sounded like a meeting of some sort.
“Shall I announce you, Your Highness?” The attending guard addressed me from his post in front of the doors.
“No, it’s all right. I’ll come back later.”
It might be a really important meeting.
I could always give Charles the letter after dinner. I resolved to just come back later.
As I turned to go, I caught a glimpse of someone from the corner of my eye. Someone wearing a black robe. The uniform of the Royal Magician.
“That reminds me. Maybe I’ll go see Ed…”
The Royal Magical Research Laboratory’s wing was located right next to the Official Wing. It wasn’t too far from where I currently was.
It actually took me about ten minutes to find my way there. As I stepped into the Magical Research Laboratory for the first time, I found myself gazing around in wonder. The floor was all flagstone and the walls were built of gray stone in the same color. There were numerous doors and a magical globe hung from the ceiling, illuminating the place.
“I wonder where Ed’s room is?”
Everyone seemed to be shut up in their assigned rooms at the moment. The corridor was completely empty.
After wandering around for a few minutes, I decided to just try calling out to see if he would answer.
“Ed!”
My voice echoed down the silent hallway.
As I waited, there was a clattering sound as one of the doors opened.
Ed’s head poked out from around the doorframe and I relaxed. How lucky that I’d been able to locate him so quickly! But Ed seemed taken aback to see me there. He simply gazed at me with his mouth open for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong, Ed? You should see your face!”
“P-Princess? What are you doing here?!”
“I was nearby, so I decided to drop in. I actually went to see Charles, but he was a bit tied up.”
Hanging onto the doorknob, Ed quickly looked up and down the hallway to make sure no one was watching. Then he quickly ushered me inside.
I’d never been in Ed’s research chamber before. It resembled Grail Academy’s Magic Practice Room. Only, it was a lot smaller; only really big enough for drawing one Magic Sigil. The tables against the walls were laden with flasks, beakers, scales, and magical ingredients of all kinds.
“This is a surprise…you’ve never been here before. Have you, Princess?”
“Nope! I just felt like seeing you, though.”
Actually, witnessing that little scene between those two lovers had been what sparked it.
Ed and I…had feelings for each other. Of that, I was now certain.
But Ed and I couldn’t enjoy little trysts in the garden like Lietta and Hendrick. The best we could do would be to stroll through the grounds together, keeping a modest distance as we walked.
Because I was a princess. This country’s only princess. And Ed was the second son of a duke with no peerage of his own to inherit. He was merely a Royal Magician.
Of course, being a Royal Magician was a splendid job. Becoming one meant that one attained the official title of “Royal Magician” and noble social standing. However, this social standing was on the same level as that of a Magic Knight or a member of the Imperial Guard and couldn’t be handed down to one’s children. Nor was it on the same social level as that of a natural-born aristocrat.
In other words, Ed didn’t have enough social status to get engaged to a princess.
“Princess? Is something amiss?” Ed was blinking, surprised by my sudden desire to see him.
“…I want to go on a date. With you.”
A book fell to the floor with a thud.
Ed frowned slightly, gazing at me.
“Princess…”
I blinked, suddenly realizing what I was doing. The last thing I wanted was to cause trouble for Ed.
“I’m so sorry, Ed! I didn’t mean to put you in a difficult spot. I just saw this young couple in the gardens, and it made me really envious.”
“I wish I could walk freely arm in arm around the grounds with you, as well.”
“…Really?”
“I assure you it’s true.”
Ed lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile, his gaze shifting to one of the tables in the corner of the room.
“The great magician Longile was gifted indeed. But there were magical arts even he could never completely master. One of them was the art of Illusion.”
“Illusion…?”
“Yes. Take a look at this.”
Ed walked over to the table and picked up a paperweight used to keep documents in order. He offered it to me.
“What does this look like?”
“Looks like a paperweight to me.”
It was an everyday, nondescript paperweight. It was made of heavy metal and resembled a cylinder cut in half. Easy to grab and pick up.
Ed began muttering an incantation, holding the paperweight in his hand. Then the object started to let off a dull glow that seemed to concentrate and grow brighter, then…
“Wow! That’s amazing!” I blinked, wide-eyed with surprise.