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Chapter 15
“Miss—!”
“Mary!”
Luciana, who had been checking the clock every ten minutes until the carriage sent on an errand returned to the estate, rose from her seat when she saw Mary come back clutching a box to her chest.
“Is that the item? It’s bigger than I expected. It must’ve been heavy to bring all this way….”
“Oh, this is nothing! Where should I put it?”
“Here!”
As Luciana began examining the box she’d set on the table from every angle, Mary—who had been watching with a sulky expression—pouted and started complaining about what she’d experienced in Rodwell.
“Miss, um… I’m sorry to say this, but that place felt really strange.”
“Strange? What do you mean?”
Had something happened while she was running the errand?
Mary was usually upbeat and rarely complained. Luciana, noticing her beloved maid’s disgruntled expression, asked with concern.
“Well, when I arrived and opened the door, the inside was way too dark!”
“Uh… really? If it was dark even in broad daylight, that means they deliberately blocked out the light….”
Luciana briefly wondered whether she should calm Mary down, who was getting worked up, but chose to listen quietly instead.
“It felt like no one was there, so I asked if anyone was inside, and then—would you believe it?—a man suddenly jumped out from behind me!”
“Without making any sound?”
“Yes! It’s not like he was trying to scare me on purpose or anything!”
What was that about? Did the duke’s knights handle things differently?
Since Luciana herself hadn’t been told anything about this, she felt flustered as well.
“And that wasn’t even the end of it.”
“Huh? There’s more?”
When Luciana asked with wide eyes, Mary pulled a decorative artificial flower out of a vase and held it up to her own neck.
“Mary?! What are you doing? That’s dangerous!”
“He wasn’t satisfied with suddenly pointing a blade at me—he just demanded, ‘State your affiliation,’ like that was all that mattered!”
Lowering her voice and hardening her expression, Mary mimicked the mysterious man, then put the flower back into the vase.
“I thought I might actually die if I made a wrong move, so I hurriedly held out my handkerchief. Honestly. Only then did he let me go.”
“What?”
“That alone made me mad enough, but as soon as I handed over the item, he shoved me out like he was chasing a rat out of the kitchen!”
Already anxious from having to run an errand to an unfamiliar place, Mary’s complaints poured out nonstop. They might have been slightly exaggerated, but every part of it was true.
“He pointed a blade at you? Are you hurt anywhere? Do you want some warm tea?”
“Waaah, Miss!”
Luciana checked Mary’s neck with a worried expression.
At that, all of Mary’s irritation melted away like snow. She threw herself into her beloved mistress’s arms.
“She’s two years older than me, yet… Maybe because I have memories of my past life? Mary just feels like a little sister to me.”
Mary hugged her so tightly that Luciana’s breathing was slightly cut off, but thinking about how Mary must have endured her fear for her sake made her feel guilty.
“You went through unnecessary trouble because of me. You must’ve been terrified. Are you okay now?”
“I was a little startled, but for your sake, Miss, this is nothing!”
“There you go again. You should take better care of yourself. Still, thank you for saying that.”
“Hehe.”
Seeing Mary recover so quickly, Luciana let out a relieved sigh and patted her a couple of times.
“You must be tired after the trip, so get some rest. No matter what you say, you were probably shaken.”
“Then what about attending to you, Miss?”
“I’ll just be holed up in the lab anyway. There’s nothing I need to dress up for today, and any simple errands can be given to another maid.”
With that, Luciana gently peeled the clinging Mary off and turned toward the door.
“Oh, and I’ll make sure to firmly tell them to be careful so nothing like today happens again. So don’t worry too much.”
“Miss… Truly, the only one who ever thinks of me is you, Miss Luciana—ugh!”
“Get some rest, Mary!”
Luciana forcefully pushed away Mary as she tried to cling to her again and hurriedly shut the door.
“There really isn’t another maid like Mary anywhere.”
Shaking her head back and forth, Luciana quickly approached the box, as if reminding herself this wasn’t the time.
“It’s finally here.”
Gulp.
With trembling hands, Luciana stroked the rough surface of the box.
Inside might be a hint that could untangle the chaotic knot binding her to Licht.
Feeling as though every second was precious, she hurried to the laboratory.
“Let’s see… I put it here.”
Rummaging through a drawer, Luciana took out the golden key Licht had given her on the balcony last time and unlocked the box.
Click!
As soon as the cheerful sound of metal turning rang out and she lifted the lid, she saw a considerable stack of documents piled inside.
Since the research had been conducted long ago, most of the materials were worn and aged, but among them were some that looked white and pristine, as if brand new.
“Huh? What’s this?”
Luciana spotted a white sheet placed on top and unfolded it.
〈Return Magic Configuration Manual〉
At the top, neatly written handwriting explained the purpose of the document.
Judging by how clean it was compared to the other materials, it seemed Licht had left this message separately.
“What on earth could this be?”
Following the elegant script, Luciana lowered her gaze.
“To ensure you pass safely after your heat period, this must be followed without exception.”
“……!”
The moment she read the first sentence, Luciana realized the purpose of the return magic.
Heat period.
Her grip tightened at the sudden emergence of a problem that could strike at any time, and she nearly crumpled the paper. Even if it was an unavoidable situation, it wasn’t something she could accept lightly.
She understood, logically, that she might have no choice but to spend the night with Licht—but actually carrying it out was a different matter entirely.
“I am looking for ways to avoid the heat period, but…”
Unfortunately, there was no guarantee of success, so she needed at least minimal preparation.
If she ended up spending the night with him again, she would have to return to the estate safely without anyone finding out.
With a faint shadow darkening her expression, Luciana continued reading.
“1. Infuse mana into the magical tool and recite the incantation written below.
2. When the mana stone glows, it indicates activation. Once confirmed, move to the location where you wish to register the return magic and cast the coordinate registration spell. (The registration is successful only if the mana stone’s light fades after completion.)”
“Is that all?”
The process was relatively simple. At the very bottom were the incantations for each step, along with a brief note from Licht.
“I didn’t intend to trouble you unnecessarily, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to visit your estate personally to register the coordinates, so I hope you’ll understand. Since you graduated from a magic-related department, you should be able to handle basic magic.”
“…If that’s the reason, it can’t be helped.”
It wasn’t a difficult task anyway.
“Still, with this level of craftsmanship, it looks like a top-tier piece even by the Mage Tower’s standards.”
Seeing that the incantations were written in ancient language, it seemed the artifact had been specially processed at the time of creation so that magic could only be registered using predetermined spells—
—a method often used to restrict access by others in artifacts commissioned for a specific individual.
“Kesen, tu… arhram?”
Unless one was a scholar deeply immersed in magical studies, ancient languages weren’t something an ordinary person would learn. Perhaps because of that, the pronunciation was kindly written in the imperial language next to the squiggly script.
“So once the coordinates are registered, not only movement magic but return magic comes as a set.”
On top of that, since the mana stone was said to glow in response to Licht’s signal, it meant at least three spells were layered together.
“This is no ordinary artifact. It must be worth at least the price of a mansion in the capital….”
Even considering how important the matter was, to hand over such an expensive item so readily—
Luciana clicked her tongue at the male lead’s astonishing wealth, even by noble standards, and settled herself in the center of the laboratory. It seemed much safer to set the coordinates here rather than in her bedroom.
“That’s one thing done.”
After easily completing the return magic setup, she began checking the rest of the contents in earnest.
On the very first page of the chronologically organized journal was a description of exactly how imprinting manifested.
“…It’s exactly the same as what he told me.”
You fall helplessly in love, and if you’re unable to keep your bonded partner by your side for long, you suffer from longing as if afflicted by lovesickness
