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Chapter 9
After fastening the two wolves to the carriage harness, Ailesia closed her eyes and raised her staff.
“Good. They’re nearby.”
Thunk.
The moment she lightly tapped the ground with the tip of her staff, a flash erupted—and two enormous beasts appeared out of nowhere.
“Polaris, Shyla. Sorry for summoning you so suddenly.”
“Grrrwoong?”
“Kyaang!”
A brown bear twice the size of a normal one and a deer with silver-white antlers taller than Theremion himself answered with delighted cries.
“Kishishish….”
At some point, Yormu had also poked his head out of the lake, flicking his tongue.
Polaris, the mountain bear.
Shyla, the deer of the valley.
Yormu, the serpent of the lake.
These three were the true rulers of the western forest—the apex predators that reigned over it.
“I think I’ll be leaving the house empty for a while. Please take care of things while I’m gone. Eli, say goodbye too.”
“Polly, Shasha, Yor! Stay well! I’ll come play again!”
Standing a little farther back, Theremion blinked with forced calmness.
Watching his niece casually greet those terrifying creatures like old friends was hard to believe even while seeing it firsthand.
“Gruwoong.”
“Kyareung.”
“Kishisit.”
Polaris rubbed its nose against her, Shyla nuzzled her gently, and Yormu lightly brushed his tongue against her waist.
Eleanor, utterly delighted, was practically buried beneath the giant animals with her tiny frame.
‘…How long has it been since Eli looked that happy?’
Before he realized it, Theremion was watching the scene with ease.
Eleanor laughing among the animals, Ailesia smiling beside her—it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.
‘It makes me want to paint this.’
Just as the corner of his lips slowly lifted in admiration, a cheerful voice rang out.
“Alright then, shall we go? See you later, everyone!”
Ailesia lightly spun her staff once, and golden light burst from her body.
“…Where are we?”
The lake and log cabin had vanished without a trace.
Theremion found himself standing in a familiar place, while the knights beside him stared around in utter disbelief.
“You see the village entrance over there? Go get the horses.”
“…Did you just use spatial transportation magic?”
“Yep.”
“…On this many people? At once?”
There had been no chant, no hand signs, not even the distinctive magical ripple that usually accompanied spellcasting.
It had happened literally in the blink of an eye.
Theremion looked dizzy as he felt his common sense collapse completely.
“Ailesia… what exactly are you?”
“I know, Uncle!”
Eleanor raised her hand high and shouted brightly.
“Teacher is a kind and super strong witch! And the prettiest in the whole world!”
“…I see.”
At the very least, it was clear that she treated Eleanor with endless kindness.
But…
‘What kind of witch is a “super strong witch”…?’
Still, if Eleanor liked her, wasn’t that enough?
Theremion gave his niece a somewhat awkward smile.
* * *
Crackle, crackle.
With a campfire gently burning between them, Ailesia and Theremion spoke in low voices.
The return trip had gone rather smoothly.
Thanks to taking the shortest routes and even using gates along the way, they were only about two days from arrival now.
Ailesia hadn’t even needed to support them with magic.
“It took over a month and a half to reach the Chernil Forest, but the return trip is surprisingly fast.”
“Hm? A month and a half?”
Listening to him, Ailesia tilted her head in confusion.
“Yes. I didn’t count the exact days, but around that long.”
In the original story, it had taken about two months for Eleanor to return after disappearing.
The timeline roughly matched.
“Weren’t you tracking the pendant’s magical signature? Even then it took that long?”
“Once the distance becomes too great, it only shows the direction. And even knowing the direction doesn’t mean we can move in a straight line.”
“What kind of defective product is that?”
She’d thought it was broken, but apparently it had flaws from the beginning.
As Ailesia muttered in dissatisfaction, Theremion looked dumbfounded.
“That item costs about as much as an average noble estate.”
“So it’s overpriced too? Is this country’s economy alright?”
“……”
Looking as if he couldn’t believe what kind of woman she was, Theremion silently pressed at his temple before continuing.
He explained that he had forced himself onward until he could pinpoint the pendant’s location.
To move as quickly as possible, they had stuck to roads where horses could run.
“We had to thoroughly search every possible location.”
“That must’ve been hard.”
“It would have been easier to use gates, but I gave up on that. The tracking artifact might have been damaged, and there was no way to measure the distance properly.”
Including all the wrong turns they’d taken, he had effectively traveled several times the shortest possible distance.
“Still, you’re a really good uncle.”
“Me?”
“You endured that exhausting journey with only one goal in mind—finding Eli. That’s impressive.”
“…Please stop teasing me.”
“I’m genuinely complimenting you.”
Flick—
Theremion turned his head away, but the tips of his ears had turned red.
‘He really can’t be honest.’
She’d heard he had no resistance to women, but maybe he was simply shy by nature.
“Mmm…”
Had their conversation gotten a little too loud?
At the sleepy whimper, Ailesia reached out and gently patted Eleanor’s shoulder.
Eleanor was fast asleep with her head resting on Ailesia’s lap.
They’d told her to sleep in the carriage first, but she’d stubbornly insisted on sleeping beside Teacher until sleep finally overtook her.
Wrapped in her leather coat and bundled tightly in a thick blanket, she wouldn’t catch cold.
Blonky and Whitey, curled up behind them, were also serving as an effective windbreak.
“Ailesia.”
“Hm?”
After a brief pause, Theremion spoke in a serious voice.
“What are you planning to do once we arrive at the estate?”
“What do you mean?”
His gaze was too serious to brush aside casually.
Though they were traveling together because he couldn’t resist Eleanor’s stubbornness, now that they were close to arriving, his thoughts had clearly become complicated.
‘The prologue has definitely changed. The first button has already been undone.’
She would decide how to undo the second button after arriving at the Letis Grand Duchy.
But first, she needed to establish a decent rhythm with Theremion.
“I intend to treat you as the family’s benefactor and honored guest. However, I thought it would be better if there were a more solid justification.”
“A justification.”
It seemed Theremion had been thinking hard about how to bring Ailesia into the household.
‘So that’s what he’s been worrying about these past few days.’
Separate from the issue of internal discipline, he couldn’t help worrying about the relationship between Eleanor and Ailesia.
After finally returning home, what if Ailesia suddenly left?
At this rate, Eleanor might genuinely run away from home.
“I apologize for saying this, but I don’t want even the slightest stain attached to Eli.”
“You mean me being by Eli’s side could become a problem?”
“There are people who create problems even when none exist.”
Hearing his answer, Ailesia widened her eyes in surprise.
‘Not bad.’
Their young Grand Duke had surprisingly sharp political instincts.
Being a teenager didn’t mean he was immature.
“Do you have a good idea?”
“I plan to introduce you as Eli’s tutor.”
“A tutor?”
“I can’t say for certain with my limited knowledge, but there cannot be another mage with your level of skill at such a young age. At least not within the Empire.”
“You don’t even know how old I am, so what do you mean young?”
Ailesia let out a small laugh.
“Of course there isn’t.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m a witch, remember? Shouldn’t this level be standard?”
“…Can you please stop saying that?”
A deep crease formed between Theremion’s brows.
Since Eleanor was asleep, he couldn’t raise his voice and instead spoke even more quietly.
‘Though this expression isn’t bad either.’
His frown had its own charm, but it wasn’t her favorite.
After traveling together and observing him carefully, she had concluded that Theremion looked most attractive when he wore a calm expression with just the slightest smile tugging at his lips.
“I really am a witch though. What’s the problem?”
“Why do you keep—ugh?”
Ailesia reached out and gently rubbed the crease between his brows.
Theremion jerked back in shock.
Just moments ago he’d been trying to look stern, but now his entire face flushed bright red.
“W-What are you doing?”
“Shhh. What if Eli wakes up?”
“That’s because you—!”
Just look at him getting all worked up. How adorable.
Yep, this was exactly how a bashful teenager should react.
