The fact that Sophie had now acquired a friend by the name of Lunetta was all thanks to Livio, who’d showered Sophie in compliments and called her cute without any reservations. Maybe that knight really was an angel after all—an angel heralding good fortune ahead.
“So, then, um...Lunetta,” Sophie asked, drawing on the courage she’d received from that same angel. “If you don’t mind me asking again, would you mind telling me if there’s something bothering you?”
It wasn’t like Sophie would be able to do anything about it, but even then, Lunetta clenched her small hands in response. There, in her tightly squeezed fists, was bound to be Lunetta’s own courage.
Sophie waited for Lunetta’s response with bated breath, but she remained silent for a few long moments.
Finally, Lunetta spoke up. “You’re going away, so...”
“Hmm...?”
Wait, me? What?
Huh? Sophie blinked.
“Because I’m...going away? Um...do you mean because we turned down Vyce’s work and are going to continue our journey?”
Lunetta paused again. “I wanted to be together longer.”
Whaaaaaat? That’s just so cute, though! She’s so cute! And I’m so happy!!! What? You’re telling me that’s what she was sad about? Because she didn’t want to say goodbye? Sophie covered her face and gave a deep sigh.
Oh, I get it now—so this is what Livio feels like when he covers his face? What even is that? I just like them so much! Who, you ask? Livio and Lunetta, that’s who! With the greatest love and the greatest friend to now claim as her own, Sophie’s life was in the highest, blossoming peaks of spring. Doo-doo-do-dooooo! The wonderful music echoing through her mind was enough to bring a tear to her eyes. I’m so glad I’m alive.
“I’m sorry, Sophie, I didn’t mean to—”
“That’s not it, Lunetta,” Sophie replied. “Right now, I’m just overcome with the joy of being alive.”
“Hmm?”
Sophie clutched Lunetta’s hands before she even realized what she was doing. Lunetta tilted her head in confusion. The way she’s just chirping about so anxiously is way too cute! That was all in Sophie’s imagination, however. Lunetta remained just as expressionless as ever.
“You’re a dear friend and the greatest witch. I couldn’t respect you more,” Sophie said. “So tell me, is there a sort of spell that would allow us to communicate over letters?”
Lunetta looked surprised. “Not through voice or images but letters? You mean a spell for exchanging physical matter?”
“That’s right,” Sophie answered. “With letters, we can both take our time communicating with each other without having to rush, right? And I’ve always dreamed of getting letters from a friend.”
Sophie had only ever received invitations with nothing more than a superficial interest in her. She’d never had any sort of private communication with anyone. I wonder what it would feel like to receive a letter addressed to me? Sophelia had always been envious of others who got to experience that.
“I want to get letters from you too, Sophie,” Lunetta said, her obsidian eyes sparkling as she tried to conceal her own blush. “And the magic sounds fascinating too. We could repurpose the transfer spell that we used today.”
“But if you either have to draw a magic circle on the ground each time or use a massive amount of magical energy, wouldn’t that be a little bit inconvenient?”
“Correct,” Lunetta replied. “But if it was only a small letter, it wouldn’t take that much magical energy, so in that case it would just be a matter of carrying around a magic circle or using a magic gem...”
“So you’d have to be able to send it even when the recipient has their magic circle or magic gem put away, right?”
“Yes, you’re right,” Lunetta said. “Between the two of us, you’re the one who’ll be on the move, so... In that case, perhaps it would be best to weave in magic to manipulate space as well. No—that would be too burdensome. But if we were to try and limit the place where the required parts would be stored to a bag, for instance...”
Lunetta was likely sketching out all sorts of magic and spells in her mind that very moment. Almost as if she’d forgotten Sophie was standing right there in front of her, she began to draw something in the air with her finger as she muttered beneath her breath. Is that a magic circle?
Sophie couldn’t stop a chuckle from sneaking past her lips.
Lunetta looked up as if snapping out of a trance.
“Hey, Lunetta?” Sophie started. “There are still so many different things I want to see. I want to go to all sorts of different places and try all sorts of foods and discover parts of myself I didn’t even know were there.”
Shut up in the castle, she’d taken tomorrow as a given, locked in a glaring match with the future. But she’d thrown those days away. That was why Sophie didn’t just want to see more of the world—she wanted to learn about it.
It wasn’t the castle that had given Sophie’s life value.
It was Livio, who’d led her out of the castle, and Vyce and Lunetta—not the Vyce and Lunetta she’d met at the evening party, but the ones she’d met outside the castle walls.
It took courage to talk about yourself. And it took even more courage to express how you felt.
Calling someone’s name or grabbing their hand was truly, overwhelmingly terrifying. The thing she could trust the least in all the world was herself.
But even then—even then, she wanted to know. Sophie wanted to know more of the world. She didn’t want to know that pale, monochromatic world she was convinced she had figured out. She wanted to see the face of the world beyond her view.
“That’s why I’m going with Livio. I want to try going on a journey.”
“I see,” Lunetta said, nodding.
Sophie squeezed Lunetta’s hands—hands that were well accustomed to bearing hardship.
“So I’m going to write a whole load of letters,” Sophie said. “And I want you to send me a mountain of letters back, Lunetta!”
“I will,” Lunetta answered. “I’ll write you—I’ll write a lot of letters. I’ll be lonely and I wish you wouldn’t go, but I’ll complete the spell so we can write.”
Lunetta’s black eyes watered with tears, but her gaze was straightforward and honest. Sophie’s own vision started to blur right back.
Sophie squeezed Lunetta’s hands and nodded. “And let me help too.”
It was a magnificent night, a truly sparkling, radiant night.