Chapter 177

* * *

“That’s not it!”

“I don’t like it. I wanted to be the only one who knew.”

“…Sorry.”

“Ugh, I guess it can’t be helped. My brother must have forcibly made you cut it, saying it was ‘courtesy towards the imperial family.’ It’s really a waste but…”

Evan laughed awkwardly.

Honestly, Evan thought his eyes weren’t pretty at all.

Such expressions only applied to his mentor Jeremiah, or his precious little sister Loretta.

Still, the fact that Loretta saw him as pretty somehow made him feel good.

“What brought you to the imperial palace? Did you come with my brother?”

“Yes.”

“How about the Magic Tower? Are Grandfather and the cats doing well?”

“Everyone misses you, Miss. I… of course, I’ve been keeping it a secret from Master Jeremiah.”

“That’s very kind of you. Please tell them I miss them too, okay?”

The boy nodded. Then, as if recalling something, he opened his mouth again, saying “Um… come to think of it.”

“Come to think of it?”

“E-Echo kept trying to get on the carriage today. As if she wanted to come along…”

Echo was the cat at the Magic Tower that took care of Evan.

“But Master strictly said she couldn’t, so she… couldn’t come with us.”

At the end of his stuttering story, Loretta concluded with a smile.

“Maybe Echo knew we would meet today!”

It seemed that was what he had wanted to say too.

Evan nodded while fidgeting with his cheek.

“Tell me more about how you’ve been doing, Evan.”

“Things that might interest you, Miss… I’ve been coming to the imperial palace often with Master, and also…”

In a quiet voice, Evan also told her about the medicinal herb garden Jeremiah managed.

He said when he gathered and bundled the herbs little by little, Jeremiah hung them up high.

Loretta listened to the slowly unfolding story with pleasure, resting her chin on both hands.

“Um… I don’t know if I should ask this.”

And around the time his explanation of his daily life ended, he carefully asked with his hands clasped together.

“Have you been… doing well, Miss?”

“Mmm, I’m always doing well. There are always things I need to learn at the Baldwin ducal house.”

Loretta recalled the conversation she had with her father last night and smiled a bit painfully.

“But sometimes I feel lonely.”

“L-Lonely?!”

“Yes. So when I told Father, he brought me here today. But thanks to that, I got to see you today, Evan. Should I say it’s good that I was lonely?”

“Ah, no. Miss, you mustn’t… be lonely.”

He anxiously fidgeted with his hands over and over, making only a sad face.

“…There’s nothing I can do for you.”

“Why do you think so?”

Loretta held out her hand to him.

Evan wiped his palms on his pants again this time before holding that hand.

The two hands that had been leaning against the cold marble floor were both cold.

But when they waited a little longer like this, a faint warmth began to rise from where their hands touched.

“Evan.”

When that warmth spread to the fingertips of both of them.

“Whatever it is.”

Loretta asked him in a calm voice.

“Will you cast magic on me?”

“…!”

Evan was so surprised that he ended up letting go of her hand.

Because there was no way he could do that.

Using magic on humans without proper reason was forbidden for practitioners.

“Could it be… you don’t want to?”

At the carefully asked question, he made a face like he was about to cry.

“I-It’s not that I don’t want to.”

“But you let go of my hand. Evan’s hand was warm and felt nice.”

“That’s because I was so surprised… For me to use magic on you, Miss.”

“Why are you surprised? You’ve used magic on me before too. Healing magic, I mean.”

Loretta lifted her voluminous skirt up to her knees.

There wasn’t a single small bruise left on her healthy pink knees.

In the first place, she hadn’t bumped into anything too hard, but Loretta thought it was all thanks to Evan’s magic.

“See, it’s fine. Right?”

“…Yes.”

“Then will you use magic on me now?!”

Loretta asked with an expectant face, but he shook his head.

“Why can’t you?!”

When she asked as if interrogating him, Evan hesitated before carefully answering.

“B-Because there’s no proper r-reason.”

“I really like Evan’s magic. Isn’t that reason enough?”

“I’m sorry but…”

She glared at him with sharp eyes and brought her face close to his.

“Why on earth?”

“I’m a practitioner, Miss. It’s the rule… to use magic with Master’s permission unless it’s a necessary situation like an injury.”

“That’s unfair!”

Loretta clenched both fists and shouted, but Evan slowly shook his head.

“No. Master is trying to p-protect me.”

“…Then what about me?”

“Huh?”

“I said before. That whenever I hear my heartbeat, I’ll think you’re with me.”

“Miss.”

“But seeing as I feel lonely, the mana you left in my body must have all disappeared.”

At her assertion, Evan shook his head.

“That can’t be. Mana doesn’t disappear that quickly.”

Moreover, at that time, Evan had been blankly staring at her and ended up sending too much mana into her body than he had thought.

“But I do feel lonely, it’s because Evan’s mana is gone.”

“That can’t be. Back then, I sent so much… Ah, Miss?!”

As if tired of Evan constantly denying it, Loretta quickly grabbed both of his hands.

Evan couldn’t avoid it and just blinked his wide eyes.

“It’s true.”

Soon Loretta whispered.@@novelbin@@

“Really, there’s not a bit of Evan left in me.”

He couldn’t say it wasn’t true anymore.

Because Loretta looked truly lonely as she muttered like that.

“Um… then should I ch-check?”

After a short silence, Evan carefully offered.

“Yes. Check for me.”

Loretta sat even closer to the boy.

Evan soon closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the hand holding hers.

For quite a while.

“…Huh.”

He tilted his head and looked up.

Loretta raised her chin slightly and smiled confidently.

“See, it’s not there, right?”

Soon, out of a mage’s curiosity, Evan pulled Loretta’s hand again and examined her vessel.

But there was nothing there.

Even though the last time they parted, it was filled to the point of overflowing with his mana…

“But it’s only been a month, how…”

“‘Only a month’?!”

Loretta frowned, looking very disappointed.

“That month felt really long to me.”

“I thought of you the whole month too, Miss. But for the mana to completely leave your body in that time…”

He was raising a proper question as a magic practitioner, so he didn’t even realize how embarrassing his words were.

“You only thought of me?”

But soon Loretta pointed out that part.

“…Huh?”

“You just said it, Evan. That you only thought of me the whole month.”

“Ah, no!”

Evan hurriedly shook his head in surprise.

“…You didn’t?”

“No, no, that’s not it!”

At the question Loretta asked with a very sad face, Evan completely forgot his question about the mana disappearing from her body so quickly.

“…I did think of you, Miss.”

“I knew you would. Because Evan can’t do without me.”

At the story she told with a smug face, Evan readily nodded.

“That’s right. I can’t do without you, Miss.”

“Yes, so use magic on me.”

Since the conversation had returned to square one, Evan was in a bind.

In the first place, he didn’t even know what kind of magic to use on her.

“Magic that makes my loneliness disappear.”

“Th-There’s no such magic…”

“No, there definitely is. And Evan will cast that magic on me. Right?”

The gaze looking at him held deep trust.

Evan somehow couldn’t shake his head.

‘…But there really is no such magic.’

His bind lasted a bit longer. Loretta now seemed to be waiting only for his magic without saying anything more.

After a little more time passed like that.

“Miss Loretta?”

A voice calling for her was heard from near the temple entrance.

Loretta was startled and quickly held her breath.

Watching her, Evan recalled what she had said a little while ago. Did she say she was playing hide-and-seek?

The seeker seemed to have come all the way here.

“Miss, I think… you should go now.”

“But…”

Loretta looked at him with lingering attachment, but Evan was unusually firm.

“Even if we overlook the fact that we hid in the temple, if we’re caught together like this, it will be troublesome for you, Miss.”

He paused for a moment and added in a small voice.

“Because I don’t want to be… your trouble.”

“Evan.”

“Go.”

Just then, the footsteps searching for her got even closer. Loretta had no choice but to stand up from her spot.

“…I’m not getting up because you’re my trouble.”

Loretta corrected one last thing he misunderstood.

“Evan is my most wonderful secret. I don’t want to get caught by anyone.”

“…”

“It means you’re very precious to me, dummy.”

Loretta, feeling a bit embarrassed, slightly stuck out her tongue and passed by Evan’s side. To return to Isaiah.

But she couldn’t take more than three steps before her feet stopped.

Because she felt something soft and warm on the back of her hand.

Surprised, she looked back and saw Evan had gathered one of her hands in his and was resting his forehead on it.

A green light was rising from where they touched, and Loretta knew well that it was the light from Evan’s mana.

“Evan.”

When Loretta called, he quietly raised his head.

“Miss, this time, please,”

The words Evan barely managed to say were still slow, but they were clear without the slightest tremor.

“Keep it for a long time.”

“…Okay.”

“You mustn’t lose it.”

“I won’t.”

Finally, all the light disappeared between her white fingers.

Evan slowly let her go, and Loretta stared at the back of her hand for a while before breaking into a smile.

“Then, Evan. Let’s meet again?”

After giving a lively greeting, she quickly ran out from behind the statue.

“Isaiah!”

Isaiah, who had been bending over nearby to look under a chair, was startled and quickly turned to her.

“My goodness, Captain. You were hiding behind the statue.”

Loretta approached Isaiah and stretched out both arms.

After playing hide-and-seek the whole snack time without eating anything, she had no strength left in her legs.

“The captain is no longer a baby, so you’re quite heavy now.”

Even as he said that, Isaiah lightly lifted Loretta up high.

Loretta dangled her floating feet and grinned.

“Oh, you seem to have had fun.”

“Yes, my loneliness disappeared. Hide-and-seek is the best after all.”

Loretta closed her eyes and listened to her heartbeat.

Thinking that Evan’s pretty green mana was dwelling near it, she somehow found herself smiling.

“I’m glad.”

Isaiah soon laughed along with her.

“Seeing the captain like this will make Melody happy too.”

Loretta nodded, and Isaiah began to move his steps out of the temple.

“Now let’s return. If the Duke finds out your snack time was delayed by 30 minutes, he will be very displeased.”

Loretta left the temple, returned to the Duke’s office, and ate her snack.

The snack prepared by Mrs. Higgins was green grapes, and the bursting refreshing taste was very good.

It was after she finished eating the grapes that the Duke returned from his meeting, so Loretta was able to avoid getting caught for today’s game of hide-and-seek.