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Chapter – 05
But now that I had thought of my pocket, I had to pull myself together.
Milijente. This is for Milijente.
For my friend—someone I wouldn’t trade for any handsome man in the world—I held his hand.
“I noticed it yesterday as well.”
Calision spoke as he escorted me to the carriage.
“Your hands are very warm. I’m glad to see that your health seems fully restored.”
“Pardon?”
I looked down at the pink gloves covering my hands, unsure what he meant.
He met my gaze and added,
“Oh, I’ve naturally had cold hands, so even with gloves on, I can feel someone else’s body heat.”
Ah… of course my hands were warm. They were a conduit for magic.
Most mages who channel magic through their bodies would be the same.
But I had never expected the crown prince to sense my warmth through gloves. His comment caught me off guard.
Still, the crown prince wouldn’t have any magical power himself, so he wouldn’t be able to tell that I’m a mage from this alone.
As soon as we climbed into the carriage, I quickly pulled my hand away from his and sat down. Then, awkwardly, I asked,
“Your Highness… are you still not fully healthy?”
No matter how beautiful he was, frailty was nothing to boast of.
Calision, however, didn’t flinch, and sat opposite me.
“Unfortunately, some things in life don’t change easily.”
So… he couldn’t become as solid as a rock? He was still weak?
I listened quietly for a moment before speaking abruptly,
“Try ginger tea.”
Calision tilted his head in curiosity.
“Ginger tea?”
“Ginger warms the body.”
A brief silence passed.
The ginger tea advice had actually come from Milijente’s grandmother, and Milijente had repeated it so much that I’d ended up believing it too.
I had suggested it out of pity, thinking such a beautifully elegant man shouldn’t have to live a fragile life… but had I made a mistake?
Did nobles not drink ginger tea? Or perhaps ginger wasn’t available in Bristol?
I bit my molar discreetly as he continued to remain silent, embarrassed.
Fortunately, he spoke next.
“In that case, I suppose I should try it too.”
Then, almost immediately, he laughed as if he could no longer contain himself.
“Welcome again to Ustinia, April. It’s a loss for the continent that a lady as lovely and amusing as yourself is confined to such a narrow place.”
Before I could even gauge the sincerity of his words, Calision started the carriage.
“Have you heard? Since the last war, the emperor and his direct descendants have stayed only within the imperial palace.”
I had heard.
According to the founding covenant of Ustinia, the Tower of Magic would forever be under the control of the royal family. In return, the royal family promised not to covet magic.
That covenant had likely helped balance the separation of powers between the royal family and the Tower during the country’s early years, and for centuries, the two ruling factions had maintained this equilibrium.
However, after the current emperor’s last war and the ensuing era of peace, unauthorized mages began to appear.
People like me, born with magical talent but not direct descendants of the Tower, emerged.
It was difficult for the Tower to track all unauthorized mages, and those outside its control became threats to the royal family.
From the royals’ perspective, they were dangerous mages not under the crown’s authority.
As a result, the royals refrained from leaving the palace, which was safeguarded by permanent magical containment barriers created by the first Tower master before his death.
Thanks to this, in recent decades, the palace grounds had expanded greatly, with the Tower maintaining the barriers and vigilantly seeking unauthorized mages.
Calision, of course, glossed over all that.
“The palace is vast, so I hope you’ll find a spot that pleases you.”
I met his beautiful smile and smiled back.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’m really looking forward to it.”
I had no interest in the complicated matters between the royal family and the Tower.
I just hoped to stumble across a gap in the magical barriers—or maybe even a secret passage to the crown prince’s residence.
However, what I hoped for didn’t happen easily.
Instead of heading to the nearest building, the crown prince’s carriage followed the palace walls eastward, making a full circuit.
I had secretly hoped that, being a notorious playboy, he might invite me straight to the crown prince’s residence even in broad daylight…
But the crown prince’s “palace tour” turned out to be exactly that.
The expansive gardens, said to be the pride of the palace, were… well, nobles’ lives had no twists or surprises at all!
Even more frustrating was that the eastern section, about half the palace, was completely covered by perfect magical containment barriers.
Ah… in this case, sneaking into the crown prince’s residence would be impossible, so I’d have to receive a personal invitation within a month…
Stupidly dutiful Tower!
Just then, Calision spoke.
“If I had known you didn’t like gardens, I would have started on the western side of the palace instead. That side is slightly more… interesting.”
I tried my hardest to stifle a yawn but widened my eyes as if pretending to be alert.
“Really? But I like this garden…”
Calision smiled gently and asked,
“Is that so? Then may I ask which garden you liked the most today?”
“Uh… um… the Camellia Garden?”
Flustered, I just blurted out the first garden name that came to mind, and those mysterious violet eyes of his studied me with amusement.
“Oh, the Camellia Garden with no blossoms yet, you mean? We just passed that one.”
“Really? But… the leaves are so green, and…”
Cursed!
To be honest, growing up in rural Basewater, what was so special about a garden? Trees were trees.
There were plenty of flowers and trees in my village—I just didn’t know their names!
I couldn’t say that, of course, so I had to make up another excuse.
“…I’m sorry, Your Highness. I’ve spent so much time in gardens while growing up that I just… have a lot of experience with them.”
“I see.”
The playful look on the crown prince’s face immediately softened with an expression of apology.
“…I thought I knew what it meant to be cooped up, but I was mistaken. My apologies.”
Huh? If you apologize that much, yet you’ve never been sick or cooped up, then what does that make me?
Before I could respond, Calision added,
“As an apology, shall we put off the rest of the palace tour and play dominoes instead?”
“No, that’s okay… we haven’t even finished seeing the palace.”
“We can finish tomorrow.”
He winked at me enticingly.
Was he deliberately doing this to see me tomorrow too?
While I, a lifelong singleton, hesitated, he continued,
“You might not know, but the Viscount Heibner is one of my few close friends. If you honor me by joining me, I’m sure he would be delighted as well.”
Ah…
Feeling guilty for having only half-heartedly looked at the gardens, I couldn’t decline his next invitation immediately.
“I haven’t really played board games much…”
In truth, I was good at everything except dominoes.
Milijente went crazy over dominoes.
But I had a careless habit of secretly using telekinesis to stop falling blocks from toppling.
“Ah.”
For some reason, Calision’s expression darkened.
“Don’t worry, April. Everyone has a first time. If you knock over the dominoes, I’ll pay the penalty.”
You notorious star…
Why not just live up to your reputation and spend some private time with me instead?
Secretly showing me the crown prince’s residence, or something equally nice… there are so many better options!
