“Lam...” Char whispered, so close I could feel his breath on my face.
My ears were burning.
“Ah, uh, I’m fine. Thank you for catching—mmh?”
Something warm pressed against my lips. It took me a moment, but I eventually understood what it was. The heat from my ears spread to my cheeks.
“I really do like you,” Char said, as forward as ever, when he released me from our kiss.
“R-Really? Thank you, Char,” I stammered, unconsciously lowering my gaze.
I wish I could have given him a better response.
We both struggled with communication. Our feelings for each other were real, but our way of expressing them often fell short.
No, that’s not true. Char can do it just fine. I’m the one who struggles to respond.
I needed to show my affection for him more proactively without feeling embarrassed. I wanted us to become more like a proper married couple, even if it was a bit haphazard. I truly did.
All of a sudden, as I squirmed and fidgeted in Char’s arms, the door of the mansion swung open, and the twins came out, their expressions indicating they had a lot to say.
I panicked.
“Fouet! Barre! Th-This isn’t what you think, we, uh...”
They ignored my stammering as they stared at us.
“Come on, Lord Char, madam. You should have let us know you were back,” Barre said.
“Why are you two flirting in the gardens? You didn’t even show your faces inside. We were starting to worry that something had happened to you. Are you playing hooky?” Fouet asked.
Unlike me, Char was completely calm as he shot back, “I don’t want to hear that from you, Fouet.”
He had a point; Fouet was in no position to admonish others about slacking off.
“As I told you through the communication spell, we went to the elfins’ hidden village with Ves—Vesper. As it turns out, he’s pretty much a relative of Lam,” Char explained.
“Ooh. I knew there was more to him than meets the eye. His magic is just too good,” Fouet said.
“We’ve been meeting a lot of people with a connection to the madam lately, huh?” Barre added.
We hadn’t told them the full story about Vesper yet, so I quickly filled them in on our trip to the elfins’ village.
“And that’s the gist of it. As it turns out, Vesper is also a disciple of my master. Our meeting was a complete coincidence, but still, what a surprise. I didn’t even know half elfins existed.”
I still couldn’t believe what a stroke of luck it had been for us to meet at the Royal Knights.
“This string of coincidences led to me reuniting with my master. I’m so happy, I...” I was so moved that I couldn’t even finish my sentence, and I leaned into Char’s embrace.
These past few hours had been a succession of events that had left me with my heart overflowing with joy.
“By the way, where are Canon and the others?” Char asked the twins.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Canon appeared at the mansion door and began walking down the stairs. He must have caught sight of us from a window.
I spotted Ahn and the other two behind him, as well as the other female knights, including the captain. It seemed that they had successfully explained the situation to Canon. For some reason, though, the squad leader and her posse were all pale and shaky.
“I had no idea this girl was a countess!” I heard one of them moan.
“Welcome home, mother.”
“Hi, Canon. We’re back. How are you doing?” I asked my son.
“I’m well and so are things at the mansion. I was a bit surprised when you teleported all of these women over, though,” he said.
“Sorry about that,” I replied sheepishly. “It’s a long story. Did you read my letter?”
“Yes. They’re your friends and seniors from the chivalric order, and they’re here to look for work in Lèvres. Is that right?”
“Yep. I was thinking that they could work for Flèche.”
Canon nodded, although he still seemed a little confused by the situation.
“That’s what I believe will happen, yes. Most of them want to take the exam to join a chivalric order in Lèvres, and the others will be searching for jobs in the city. Um... Except for one. Miss Ahn is saying that she wants to work for us.”
“Huh?”
I looked at Ahn for confirmation, and she nodded. It seemed that this was true.
“She asked to work as a maid,” Canon continued. “She said that she likes children, so I was thinking that we could perhaps make her the dorm mother for the schoolhouse. What do you think? I believe the little ones would feel more reassured with an adult in charge of exclusively looking after them.” He glanced timidly at Char.
“I’ll allow it,” my husband said.
“Then it’s settled. We’re looking forward to having you here, Miss Ahn,” Canon told her.
“Thank you so much, Char, Canon.” I beamed at my husband and son. “Also, all three of my fellow rookies told me that they want to learn magic, so I’ll be teaching them.”
I used a quick spell to remove the seal blocking their mana. Most people had their powers blocked off unknowingly as children during a ceremony organized by the Faith called a “blessing.” Even the clergymen conducting the ritual in churches and cathedrals were unaware that they were sealing the children’s mana. According to Épée, the tool supplied by the main church for the ritual was actually a magic item, which was responsible for the sealing.
As such, for Ahn and the others to learn how to use magic, I first needed to free their mana.
“Aaand, done,” I announced.
The three of them nervously inspected their bodies. They must’ve noticed that something was different.
“It feels...strange,” one said.
“It’s like something is circulating within my body.”
“Yeah. It feels warm and soft.”
At least, they seemed to enjoy the sensation of the mana within their bodies.
“I’ll be teaching all three of you magic from now on, but there are also a lot of mages in the palace of Lèvres. It might be a good idea for you to get advice from all sorts of teachers. Oh, and the people on the next island over can also use magic, so if you befriend them, they might agree to help you too.”
“The people on the island? That sounds lovely.”
Their eyes sparkled with excitement.
“I still can’t believe I might be able to use magic... I’m really looking forward to it!” Ahn exclaimed.
The three of them were so honest and upright; I could somehow tell there was a great future ahead of them.