When the red light vanished, it was as if they were in the middle of some secret base.
Surrounding them were a collection of vials, medicinal herbs, books, quills, sheepskin parchment completely covered with magic circles and scribbles, and an array of colorful magic gems. It was all so chaotically crammed together, yet it seemed oddly cohesive. It was as if it were an illustration of a witch’s room that one might find in a book.
“Whoa...!” The word stole past Sophie’s lips before she even realized it, only to hear a beautiful laugh echoing out near her core.
“You certainly seem thrilled, Lady Sophie.”
It went without saying that the owner of that voice was Livio, who was giving her a radiant smile as he firmly pressed himself against Sophie to support her since she couldn’t walk on her own. His sturdy arms and frame were just as stunning as they’d been on that first night—and that dazzling face of his too.
What had changed, however, was the fact that one of Livio’s hands had made its way to Sophie’s waist.
Indeed, since wobbling to her feet after transporting the group with Lunetta’s magic, Livio’s hand had, without a doubt, made its way to Sophie’s waist.
Hmm? Sophie thought. Hrrrm. Her happy-go-lucky brain had brandished its bell, ready to ring it at a moment’s notice. Is it my time to shine?
“At ease, soldier!” Or something like that! Sophie thought. Ha ha.
Sophie was actually in the best of moods.
That night she and Livio had escaped the castle...Livio’s hand had been on her shoulder. With Sophie crouched over, Livionis had hesitated to even extend his hand to her in true knightly fashion. While Sophelia had liked that about Livionis, she was simultaneously delighted and embarrassed that the “proper” level of distance between them had disappeared. Sophie couldn’t help the warmth that now surged through her chest.
Sophie looked up at Livio, only for him to narrow his eyes back at her.
“I mean, it’s just like a secret base!” Sophie said.
“You’ve got a point.”
Laughing, Livio squeezed in even closer, towering three heads taller than her. Because of his astounding size, when he clung to her as if he were trying to nuzzle the top of her head with his cheek, Sophie felt her chest squeeze tight. He’s so cute...it hurts.
“Ah, so it was too much after all.”
Sophie followed the quiet voice with her gaze to find Lunetta sitting on the ground.
Lunetta was looking at a magic gem that had shattered like glass, peering at it under the light.
“The magical energy...” Lunetta said. “I should’ve known it’d be empty.”
“What were you makin’ with that thing?” Vyce asked.
Lunetta flung away the shard. “It’s not like I was trying to make anything. Phel gave me a large magic gem and I wanted to see how much magical energy it could store, so I’d just been filling it up, that’s all.”
“What were the results?” Sophie asked.
Lunetta tilted her head to the side. “Who knows? I poured a substantial amount of magical energy into it, but it seemed like there was still room to me, so I was still in the middle of the experiment.” Lunetta paused, considering. “Still, I at least found out that, in the absence of a magic circle to serve as the spell’s coordinates, a massive amount of magical energy is needed to help direct the spell, just as I expected. Furthermore, the transportation itself requires vast amounts of magical energy. In other words, the experiment’s provided us with valuable insight: If one can prepare a densely filled magic gem and a tremendous amount of magical energy, then no magic circle is needed to serve as the spell’s coordinates. It seems the situation at hand would dictate which method would be the most effective.”
Well now, Sophie thought, smiling.
Lunetta hadn’t just wanted to come back home. Even after finding herself in a terrible situation and forced to grapple with her unsavory past, Lunetta’s eyes still shone. It was written plain as day on her face: There were all sorts of things she wanted to test.
Sophie found herself feeling jealous of that side of Lunetta. She wasn’t being sarcastic, nor was she trying to get in Lunetta’s good graces—that was just how she felt.
For a long time, Sophie had envisioned herself as a fine fiancée to the crown prince, a fine crown princess, and a fine queen in turn. She had lived only for those roles. Feelings and personal sentiment hadn’t been permitted. Perfection had been required of her, and in turn, Sophie had required that same perfection of herself.
If, for example, it had been Vyce she’d been paired with, things might’ve been different.
“Perfection?” She could practically hear the king snorting already. Just take a look at how much Lunetta’s grown. It’s amazing—it really is.
But it had been the prince that Sophie was paired with, and Sophie’s parents had been what they were. In a different environment, the roles expected of her would have differed as well. In short, Sophie had never had any time for her own interests.
Training her voice, secretly practicing magic, reading the books that the queen had given her...they were all breaks from her duties and education.
That was why Sophie found the world of magic that Lunetta taught her about so fun. But when it came to getting so absorbed that all the other things stopped mattering, that wasn’t quite the case for her. Sophie’s interest in magic was just a curiosity for her, through and through. She’d just picked up a little bit from nibbling away at the edges of magical tomes here and there, that was all.
Must be nice, Sophie thought, watching Lunetta as she stared at the fragment.
“Must be nice”?
Was that really what she’d thought? Could she actually be jealous of someone?
Sophie had gone through her life with half-closed eyes, convinced that that was just how the world worked, so jealousy was a new emotion for her—not that it felt particularly good.