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chapter 04
She wondered if these numbers were part of a magic circle, but she didn’t feel much residual magical energy.
“Then… this must really have been written to convey information.”
For now, seeing three numbers like this, the first thought that came to mind was…
“Coordinates, of course.”
The first number corresponded to the x-axis longitude, the second to the y-axis latitude, and the last number—z-axis—represented a height. That roughly fit.
Sherylotte took out a world map from her belongings.
Applying the three numbers Eonian had given her, the approximate location appeared to be somewhere in a mountain range near a volcano. Judging by the rough terrain, it was likely the mine Eonian had shown her earlier.
…but why bother giving just the coordinates of a mine?
The next morning.
Sherylotte rubbed her sleepy eyes as she left her room.
She had spent the night trying to figure out whether the note Eonian gave her had any hidden meaning, and ended up sleeping only a few hours. She stretched and yawned.
“Damn it… if only there hadn’t been money involved, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Did she really have to marry that guy?
Apart from her distrust of Eonian, the proposed sham marriage wasn’t a bad deal. The funds he offered could help rebuild her family and lands.
But her current goal was to avoid marrying Noel Leonard and to escape from her aunt.
Getting involved with another man through marriage wouldn’t change anything—it would only swap one master for another.
Sherylotte’s distrust of Eonian was enormous—one of the reasons she couldn’t accept his contract lightly.
She scratched her head and got out of bed.
The inn, which they had rented an entire floor of, was quiet. As she came around a corner, a small escort from the north greeted her.
“…Ah, good morning, Your Grace.”
“Yes, good morning. Was there any trouble last night?”
“Y-yes, Your Grace.”
“….”
Nothing at all—right. If Eonian had really tried to kill her, she’d have been found dead by now.
She barely managed to stop her expression from hardening.
Sherylotte calmed the boiling frustration inside. The knight before her was barely out of training, and it was no wonder he hadn’t sensed Eonian’s approach. If she scolded him now, it would only reveal that Eonian had tried to enter the inn yesterday.
“Any letters from the north?” she asked.
“There was an urgent letter just now…”
The knight brought a letter from his superior’s room. The room shared by the commander and vice-commander was empty, so no one stopped him.
Opening the letter, she saw a report with a wax seal, neatly split along the lines.
[Due to a sea dragon, a tsunami occurred, but it has been safely resolved.]
It had been sent by the knight stationed in a rural northern coastal area.
“So, no other precautions?”
“That seems to be the case. You can rest assured…”
“The seawall didn’t break, did it?”
“Huh?”
Sherylotte cast a glance at the apprentice’s innocent expression.
The magical seawall in the north was an artifact effective against both waves and magical beasts…
“It’s more likely that something happened while I was under my aunt’s supervision.”
Giving up hope, Sherylotte asked again.
“Why, did a whale or a beast swallow it?”
“M-Magical seawall… what is that…?”
The knight stammered, about to answer, when suddenly:
“…Y-Your Grace!”
The innkeeper hurried up the stairs.
“There’s a guest asking for you.”
Sherylotte’s eyes hardened.
“So…”
“….”
“Are you managing to live well even in this cheap inn?”
Sherylotte silently sipped her tea.
Odelle, who had been observing her, continued indifferently.
“You’re not even responding now. No greetings, nothing.”
“…You always come with faint dark circles. How could I ask about your well-being?”
“Oh, did it show? I tried to cover it with makeup.”
With a completely unshocked expression, Odelle brushed near her own eyes.
Odelle Freyu: a beauty with dark green eyes and pale skin. She was Sherylotte’s aunt and the Duchess of the East.
Sherylotte clicked her tongue in her mind while staring at Odelle.
“Did she come to reclaim the family heirlooms?”
Honestly, she didn’t want to hand them over—the ring, the duchess title of the East, and the Freyu family estate all originally belonged to her mother. Why should she lose them now?
“They say Vascalia gave you a thousand-day promise.”
“…Yes.”
“And you dared to treat my niece like a mere messenger?”
Yet the next words from Odelle softened Sherylotte’s hostility.
“How audacious… Once you’re found, I’ll have the knights challenge you to a duel immediately.”
A question mark appeared in Sherylotte’s mind. Found?
“…Did the Southern Duke hide somewhere like a mouse?”
“They say he fled from the townhouse.”
Sherylotte’s breath caught in surprise.
“The Law King has been searching, but he doesn’t know if he’s gone for good. I also didn’t realize a wolf male could be so skilled at escape.”
Sherylotte didn’t know how to respond.
“Then the reason he came like a thief that day… it wasn’t just to come secretly…”
Was he being pursued by the Law King?
“…I see.”
Sherylotte put down her teacup and replied flatly.
“Your Highness must have suffered greatly as well. You need to find him quickly.”
“Really?”
One of Odelle’s eyebrows rose. Sherylotte looked at her, and Odelle’s finger moved in the air.
“No, actually, the later we find him, the better. Then we can get an even larger settlement with Leonard.”
Apparently, her aunt’s mind was still operating in ways unfamiliar to Sherylotte.
“In fact, it didn’t matter if Leonard married the eldest daughter. It’s a marriage between a magician and a bishop, after all.”
Sherylotte refrained from asking what did matter. Instead, she remained silent, sensing the pain in her aunt’s whip-like smile.
The syllables were like a whip—it hurt. Her heart raced, and Sherylotte instinctively lifted her eyes to Odelle.
Tilting her head, Odelle asked:
“Wouldn’t it be better to have the wedding in autumn?”
“…You mean the actual wedding?”
“Yes. Not the engagement, the wedding. It’s vacation time, and you’re also taking a leave from school, aren’t you?”
Odelle rose from her seat and beckoned her silent maid. She used a magic pen to stroke Sherylotte’s stiff shoulders.
“Bring the ring. I’ll amend the certificate recipient.”
Sherylotte slowly stood and brought the heirlooms. As Odelle moved the pen, the name previously written as Princess Leonard instantly changed to Sherylotte Avril Chartreuse.
Sherylotte’s eyes trembled as she took the ring box.
She hadn’t wanted to reclaim her heirlooms this way.
“Sherylotte, my niece.”
“…Yes.”
“It’s not a bad proposal for you either. Think about it and contact me.”
Sherylotte watched Odelle leave the inn and let out a bitter laugh.
“Not content with collars and shackles, now she wants chains on my fingers too.”
Frustrated by her inability to escape, her anger boiled inside. She thought she could have fled north if she delayed, but now she couldn’t, and her heart refused to calm.
“This is giving me a headache.”
At this rate, she felt she might explode from rage. If living as livestock for a wealthy family was inevitable, she’d rather be the head of a poor household—free, without shackles, name tags, or restrictions…
“We can give each other freedom.”
…Wait.
“There is someone who proposed freedom, isn’t there?”
Sherylotte, lost in violent impulses, suddenly stopped.
Eonian, fleeing the Law King to make a political marriage. The one who had caused chaos by sabotaging the wedding with reckless energy.
Was the Eonian who once smiled and insulted her the “model student council president” really the same person as this slightly unhinged one?
Back in her room, Sherylotte held the heirlooms. Like the ring rolling in her palm, her accumulated distrust clawed at her heart.
“Honestly… I don’t know.”
She did think he had changed.
But she couldn’t tell if yesterday’s behavior was truly him. She didn’t want to probe that deeply.
One thing was certain: only a proper contract could save her.
Sherylotte took out the note Eonian had given her. She knew she couldn’t entrust her fate to anyone else. Even with the same contract, she wouldn’t reveal weaknesses.
Frowning, she tore the magic circle in two and placed the pieces on the nightstand.
Her heart thumped violently. In a brief, off-beat moment:
-Did you miss me?
A soft, feminine voice whispered, laced with laughter—telepathic communication through a magical device.
Sherylotte exhaled like blowing out a candle. She whispered:
“No.”
-Then should I come over?
“…No.”
-Ahaha!
The clear laughter reignited her murderous impulses. Should she just bash her head against the wall? That would cut the communication.
Sherylotte pouted, sitting on the edge of the bed. She felt uneasy, as if Eonian were right behind her.
-Anyway, sending me a message like this means you want to contract with me, right?
“….”
-….
Silence settled between them.
-Why aren’t you answering?
“Why would you think I’d just accept your contract so easily?”
-…What?
Eonian repeated the question.
Sherylotte’s lips curled. Just a moment ago she had been ready to fight to the death, but seeing her adversary flustered made her feel slightly better.
A breathy, deflating laugh escaped her, and Eonian’s voice dropped:
-Are you seriously deferring the contract?
