It’d been an ordinary paperweight a few moments before. But now, it’d turned into a glass apple.
“This is an Illusion. I’ve been working on it, using the research notes Longile left behind. So far, I can perform it on inorganic matter, as long as it’s about this size or smaller.”
“That’s an Illusion?”
I reached out and nervously picked up the glass apple.
It felt hard and smooth in my hand and looked exactly like an apple made of glass.
“I hope to be able to perform it on humans within a year.”
“On humans?”
“You and me.”
I blinked up at Ed.
Does he mean…
“…You want to make us look like different people, so we can go on a date?”
“Would that displease you?”
Ed looked down at me, raising one eyebrow.
I gazed up at him for a few more moments, breathlessly. The prospect excited me. I found myself grinning.
“It would please me very much! Hehe! I can hardly wait!”
Disguising ourselves to go on a secret date! It’s like something from a romance novel…!
Ed narrowed his eyes in pleasure, drinking in my excited response.
“Ultimately, I want to create a Magic Sigil that non-magic users can even use.”
“Non-magic users?”
“Right! You gave me the idea. Do you recall back before you could use magic, when you asked if there were any Magic Sigils that even you could use?”
Come to think of it, I recalled saying something like that before.
Back then, I was completely unable to conjure magic, no matter how hard I tried. I found it frustrating to have to keep practicing drawing Magic Sigils that I couldn’t even use.
I’d complained to Ed, muttering about how unfair it was that a person couldn’t even use the Magic Sigils she’d painstakingly drawn.
“As you suggested, the invention of such a Magic Sigil would revolutionize the age, allowing anyone across the world to wield magic. Wouldn’t that be a groundbreaking invention?”
“It would. Worthy of a Magic Count, perhaps?” I gazed deeply into Ed’s eyes. He grinned a little in response.
“Perhaps. But at the moment, I’m not getting any conclusive results. I believe it might work if you infused the Magic Sigil with magical power. Magical power infusion research is really coming along. But the practical application is still a long way off.”
“I see…”
I’d been hoping Ed was close to becoming a Magic Count already, but it seemed like that wasn’t the case. My face fell.
“It will only be a few years, at most.”
“Okay.”
Ed reached out to stroke my hair soothingly.
I gazed up at him.
He seems taller…
“Ed…you’ve grown again…”
“Yes, I know. I wonder when I’ll stop.”
“Hmm, you still have a way to go…”
“You think so?” Ed looked at me in confusion, but I just grinned.
In the last timeline, Ed had been a full head taller than me. He still had about two inches left to go.
“You say the strangest things with such confidence sometimes, Princess.”
“Do I?”
“You do. For example, you were so certain that I’d improve my sword-fighting skills.”
Ah, I nodded.
I had said something like that.
Because after all, the Edoile Licht La Boulacherie I knew had been a master swordfighter.
“Perhaps you can see into our future, Princess?”
Ed leaned in to peer at me, his eyes sparkling with mischief. I could see the weight of expectation in those red eyes. I felt a twinge of painful emotion deep in my chest.
I had seen a future between Ed and me already. And it hadn’t been a happy one.
“You’ll become a Magic Count, and you’ll come for me. And then you’ll take my hand, just like a prince.” I grinned, holding my hand out to Ed so that we could act out the scene.
It wasn’t a prediction, though. It was a wild hope. My greatest dream. If only it would come true.
Ed took my hand, his eyes softening, as if he were greatly pleased by my answer.
“By the way, what did you need to see Prince Charles about?”
“I wanted to give him a letter. But he was in a meeting.”
“You wanted to give him a letter?”
“Uh-huh. I got an invitation from the Sunruta Kingdom. Prince Daniel’s invited me to his coronation ceremony.” I pulled the letter from my bag, shrugging.
“Prince Daniel? From the Sunruta Kingdom?”
A look of concern flashed across Ed’s face.
Right now, there were plenty of young princes in Najir’s neighboring countries, but Daniel was the closest to me in age and the direct heir to his country’s throne. He was clearly the front-runner of possible marriage candidates for me.
Perhaps Ed was worried that this upcoming event would serve as a basis for marriage negotiations between Daniel and me.
A pleasant breeze blew in through the open window, ruffling the white lace curtains.
I could see the blue sky outside. It reminded me of a certain memory. A warm and happy one.
“That blue sky…even in the Sunruta Kingdom, the skies are connected…”
In our old timeline, Ed said something like that to me. He was trying to bolster my spirits in that dank jail cell.
“While I’m in the Sunruta Kingdom, whenever I start to miss you, I’ll just look up at the sky,” I said, taking a page out of his book. “That way, even though we’re apart, we can both look up at the same sky.”
Ed blinked several times in surprise, then his expression softened. Looking up out of the window, he squinted against the sun’s brightness.