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Chapter 5
“Your Highness, have you been doing well?”
A cheerful voice, chirping like birds greeting the morning, echoed through the room.
It belonged to the mage who visited Licht three times a day.
Quite a bit of time had passed since he first began hearing it.
Licht had long since figured out the pattern of her visits.
“Wow, the weather is absolutely amazing today! I can even see the bell tower in the village beyond the forest! That’s incredible!”
She must be in a good mood.
Her voice sounded even brighter than yesterday.
Without realizing it, Licht smiled.
The village beyond the Angresia Forest…
He had only passed by it once on his journey, but he vaguely remembered seeing its bell tower.
The mage’s routine was usually the same.
The moment she entered the room, she greeted him.
Then she talked about the weather.
After many days of listening, Licht had learned that she loved clear, sunny days the most.
Just like today.
On days like these, her voice always rose with excitement.
Until now, the weather had never mattered much to Licht.
As long as it didn’t interfere with battle, that was enough.
But thanks to the mage, for the first time in his life, Licht found himself hoping for pleasant weather.
Because that meant…
The mage would be a little happier today.
“The Prosia flowers are starting to bloom! Here too, and over there. Wow, there are so many blooming near the entrance of the Magic Tower!”
“Wow… they’re so pretty.”
Next came the daily ritual of admiring the scenery outside the Magic Tower.
If Duke Melize had entrusted her with taking care of him, then she certainly wasn’t some mage who had only spent a day or two in the tower.
She had already visited three times a day for several days.
By now, she should have grown accustomed to the view outside.
“Waaah…”
Yet she still gasped in delight every single time.
That was what fascinated Licht the most about the mage.
She was astonishingly pure-hearted.
When he thought of Duke Melize—
A man who always looked down upon the world with an easy smile, pretending to care about nothing while somehow knowing every detail about the Imperial Palace and the noble houses—
The contrast between them couldn’t have been greater.
Perhaps that’s exactly why the Duke keeps her close. Because she’s nothing like him.
It was a reasonable conclusion.
Tap. Tap.
The now-familiar footsteps of the mage approached him.
It seemed it was time for her to inspect everything around him.
“Ah, I was supposed to clean today.”
Her movements paused.
Rustle, rustle.
He heard her taking out all sorts of things.
That wasn’t usually part of her routine.
Apparently she intended to tidy up today.
“I just can’t ignore it anymore. It keeps bothering me.”
When he’d first heard her voice, he’d assumed she was still a young girl.
But after listening to her talk day after day, he began to wonder if she might actually be around his own age.
Since Duke Melize had entrusted her with this duty, perhaps she was already close to adulthood.
As more time passed, his curiosity about the mage only continued to grow.
Her voice still sounded youthful.
Did she look youthful as well?
What color were the eyes that sparkled every day while admiring the scenery outside the window?
What did her hair look like as it rustled softly in the breeze?
He didn’t know when it would happen.
But the desire to open his eyes and meet the mage in person grew stronger with each passing day.
“You’re seriously so handsome today too.”
There it is again.
If Licht could still feel his body, a faint blush would probably have spread across his cheeks.
At moments like this, he was almost grateful that his senses remained frozen.
“How are your eyelashes so thick? It’s not like you’ve curled them or anything. How do they look like this every single day?”
That was right.
The scenery outside the Magic Tower wasn’t the only thing the mage admired every day.
If only he could move a finger.
If only he could utter even a single word.
He wanted to tell her that he could hear everything.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
As a result, every day he had no choice but to listen to her praising him from right beside his ear.
“How can someone look this handsome every single day? It’s like seeing you for the first time all over again.”
Licht had always known he was considered handsome.
But he’d never experienced someone openly praising his appearance like this.
Every single time, he could only feel embarrassed.
“At this level, forget the entertainment industry—you’d easily make it all the way to Hollywood.”
The mage occasionally used strange words he had never heard before.
Since Licht couldn’t possibly know everything about the world—especially the world of mages—he simply assumed they were expressions commonly used within the Magic Tower.
But…
That wasn’t the real problem.
“After looking at all those free-spirited weirdos around the Magic Tower every day, then seeing Your Highness…”
Ahem.
“It’s only natural to fall in love.”
At some point…
The mage had started confessing her love to him.
Of course, ever since childhood, Licht’s appearance had been famous for making countless people fall for him.
Even if he wasn’t quite the same as when he was younger, his father, Emperor Ergo, was a strikingly handsome man with a tall, imposing physique.
More importantly, his late mother, the former Empress, was still remembered throughout the Empire for her pure, delicate beauty, like a single lily-of-the-valley in bloom.
There was no reason the son born between the two of them would lack good looks.
Perhaps because he’d received excessive attention ever since childhood…
Licht had never been interested in romance.
The flirtations, the noble ladies throwing themselves at him—they only exhausted him.
Even when they confessed their love with tears streaming down their faces, he had never batted an eye.
Living each day fulfilling the duties given to him had always been enough.
At least…
That was what he had believed until now.
But somehow, he couldn’t simply brush aside the mage’s confession.
Am I going to unintentionally break her heart?
He didn’t want to make the mage sad.
And…
For some reason, he didn’t dislike her confession.
Even Licht found his own reaction surprising.
Though starting a relationship immediately would be difficult.
Surely they needed time to get to know one another first.
No…
He didn’t even know what the mage looked like yet.
But hearing her voice made him imagine someone who was incredibly kind…
And lovable.
…Perhaps it’s finally time for me to meet someone.
If his attendants or the Emperor had heard that thought, they would have rushed over with both hands raised in celebration.
He had spent years traveling across the Empire, resolving conflicts wherever they arose, leaving matters like marriage for later.
But he’d long since reached adulthood.
Even the current Emperor had married while he was still Crown Prince.
Because of that, the Emperor occasionally asked whether Licht had found a noble lady he wished to court.
Yet Licht was the Empire’s Crown Prince.
He couldn’t simply choose anyone.
To him, rank and family background mattered less than the person herself.
If he were to marry someone, she needed to possess the dignity, ability, and character necessary to live as a member of the Imperial Family.
And judging by the mage’s personality…
She was diligent.
She was optimistic.
She breathed life into someone who could do nothing but lie in bed.
Ever since his mind had awakened, her voice had become his light, his salt, and sweetness like honey.
If his curse were lifted…
If they could look into each other’s eyes…
Speak face to face…
Grow closer…
Perhaps their relationship could become something deeper.
Besides, she’s a capable mage of the Magic Tower. She’s been entrusted with protecting me, after all.
Even his own father, the Emperor, had fallen in love with his mother—a queen of a fallen kingdom—and married her regardless of her background.
There’s no rule saying I must marry the daughter of a noble family.
There was no reason he couldn’t do the same.
In fact, the absence of troublesome in-laws might even make her more welcome.
Since she seems to be Duke Melize’s favored disciple… Ah, I could ask the Duke to adopt her as his daughter.
It was an excellent idea.
Although Duke Melize had little interest in politics, he was one of the Empire’s few dukes, a man admired by countless people.
If someone like him supported the mage, adapting to life within the Imperial Family would not be difficult.
That’s a good plan.
Having quickly found a solution, Licht felt much better.
It was unfortunate that he couldn’t tell the mage himself.
Completely unaware of the thoughts running through his mind, the mage remained utterly absorbed in admiring him.
“No, seriously. Normally if someone just lies in bed all day without exercising, they’d lose all their muscles. This is incredible.”
Although he had been born with immense magical power, Licht had never once abandoned the sword.
That was why he had become the Empire’s greatest magic swordsman.
From the day he first learned to walk, he had trained tirelessly every single day.
My physique isn’t something that would disappear so easily.
Licht nodded inwardly.
For the first time, all those years of relentless training felt unexpectedly rewarding.
He had never maintained his body to receive praise or impress anyone.
Yet the mage’s sincere admiration didn’t feel unpleasant at all.
The confessions of noble ladies who had thrown themselves at him had always gone in one ear and out the other.
But now, lying motionless in bed, Licht found himself savoring every single word the mage said about him as though it were honey.
I should invite her to watch the Imperial Knights’ training someday.
He enjoyed sparring one-on-one with every knight under his command.
Training against many different fighting styles made him stronger.
And the sparring sessions never ended until every single knight had collapsed from exhaustion.
Then she’ll understand exactly how this strength and physique were built.
Completely unaware that both Edel and his entire order of knights would be horrified if they heard such a thought, Licht calmly continued planning it in his mind.
