AME 82

Chapter 82

Alesia had no chance to avoid it and simply accepted Kaon’s touch. Just a moment ago, Kaon had been standing several steps away, but now he was suddenly right in front of her.

Propping himself lightly on the conference table with one arm, he leaned closer, carefully studying her face as though checking her temperature.

“I’m fine…”

“If you were really fine, I wouldn’t even have to say anything.”

The distance between them was far too close. Alesia tried to push him away with her usual words, but Kaon didn’t budge. He knew all too well that she had a habit of repeating that she was “fine” no matter the circumstance.

His tone, as though he understood her better than she did herself, made Alesia fall silent. Ever since she had collapsed a few times, Kaon had been extremely sensitive about her health.

“It feels like you’ve got a bit of a fever…”

His voice trailed off uncertainly, as though he wasn’t quite sure. Alesia, watching him press his hand to his own forehead for comparison, impulsively reached out her hands.

“You’re definitely warmer than I—!”

Her words broke off midway. Both of her hands had landed squarely on Kaon’s face.

Kaon froze stiffly in shock, but Alesia paid him no mind. She tugged him closer toward her.

The closer their faces drew, the more a strange heat spread between them, impossible to tell whose it was. Their noses brushed, and careful breaths mingled in the silence.

Alesia, staring steadily into the boy’s trembling eyes, gently rested her forehead against his. The heat radiating from him made her chuckle softly.

“Now you’re the hotter one, aren’t you?”

She teased, and suddenly the weight on her chest felt lighter. This was how it should have been from the start. Instead of letting Kaon throw her off balance by worrying too much, she should have brushed it aside with her usual playfulness.

It felt as though she had finally found the answer. The past few days, when she couldn’t face Kaon Ferdinand properly, suddenly seemed ridiculous. Satisfied, she let go of his face.

“What are you—”

But Kaon caught her hand, pressing it firmly to his cheek so she couldn’t pull away. No matter how she struggled, his large, hot hand held hers in place.

“Try playing that kind of trick again.”

Startled, she lifted her head to look at him. Kaon spoke slowly, his pale blue eyes burning with an unfamiliar intensity. His jaw was clenched so hard it looked like stone.

A shiver ran down Alesia’s neck. His gaze swept over every line of her face, uncharacteristically persistent.

After a long silence, Kaon finally shut his eyes. His eyelids trembled faintly, as though straining to hold something back.

“If you do, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

With that restrained voice, he pulled away at last. Straightening, he ran a hand over his face and let out a long breath before leaving the conference room.

His earlobes burned red as he turned away, but Alesia was too dazed to notice.

Kaon never returned to the conference room. Instead, Joseph came in, looking weary.

“The young master said something urgent came up. I’ll be speaking on his behalf about the matter of the monsters.”

“….”

“Pitar and Tosgana have already sent additional magicians from the tower. Since they’ve kept up contact with the tower, I’d say it’s a gesture of goodwill. Fortunately, Pitar is on friendly terms with Ferdinand, so we’ll be able to continue exchanging information.”

“….”

“Ferdinand has also requested cooperation from the tower. We don’t much like it, but they’ll have received far more reports there, and their research on monsters is the most advanced. We can only rely on them. After all, there are limits to how much territories can cooperate alone.”

Alesia nodded absently. Truth be told, she barely heard what Joseph was saying.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d ask you to attend the meetings as well once the tower sends its magicians.”

She glanced down at her hands. It still felt as though Kaon’s searing warmth lingered there.

“My lady?”

She didn’t know whether it was herself acting out of character, or Kaon. She should have laughed at him, dared him to try something, but she hadn’t been able to.

Those blazing blue eyes of his had looked as though he truly might do anything. Deep down, Alesia had realized instinctively that crossing that line meant there would be no going back.

“My lady Alesia.”

“…Ah.”

The tapping sound of knuckles on the wooden table made her look up. Joseph, glasses off and dark circles deep under his eyes, pressed his fingertips hard against his brow.

Only then did she realize how distracted she’d been. Judging by Joseph’s expression, it had been painfully obvious.

“How long do you plan to keep fighting like this? May I be so bold as to ask?”

His blunt remark made her lips snap shut. Strictly speaking, they hadn’t been fighting, but perhaps letting it look that way was easier.

What surprised her more was Joseph speaking to her in that manner at all. He had always treated her strictly as Kaon’s fiancée, the young lady of a ducal house—formal, polite, but distant.

Now, however, he addressed her as he would Kaon himself. She couldn’t believe this shift was mere whim.

“By next year, you will both be of age. And then, my lady, you’ll formally become a member of Ferdinand. I cannot speak for Inglos, but Lord Leonidas seems already decided.”

In those words, she found her answer. Joseph had accepted her as part of Ferdinand—not as Kaon’s fiancée from Inglos, but as Ferdinand’s future mistress.

Perhaps it seemed a small thing, but Joseph was the son of Baroness Robert and of Bronson, the chief steward.

As heir to the Robert family, retainers who had long served Ferdinand, his stance reflected that of his entire house. By extension, Alesia had just earned the Robert family’s support.

“It’s troubling enough when the two who must stand by Lord Leonidas to nurture Ferdinand act so childishly. The young master has always been like this, but if you follow his lead, my lady, I truly won’t survive it.”

He looked thoroughly exhausted, dark shadows beneath his eyes. Work had piled up since Count Dumont’s faction was driven from the estate, and clearly his condition wasn’t good.

And yet, the way he casually remarked that Kaon had “always been childish” made Alesia laugh in spite of herself, easing the tension.

Joseph, watching her closely, gave a little shrug.

“Seems you’ve understood everything I meant to say.”

“If I’ve understood correctly.”

“I’ll be counting on you, then.”

Their eyes met briefly, and Alesia offered him a faint smile. He returned it with a small, respectful bow.

“Now then, let’s return to business. The tower’s magicians should arrive as early as next week, so at that time…”

That evening, after dinner, Alesia went to the library. Unlocking the door with a key, she stepped inside, surrounded at once by the familiar scent of books. After making sure she was alone, she shut the door behind her and locked it.

Standing before the shelves, she pulled out a book from the second row, fourth from the right, and carried it to the desk. With a tug, she shook it until a thick, many-folded sheet of paper slipped out.

She unfolded it carefully. By moonlight, the paper revealed itself to be a map of the continent of Anetaum. The marks and notes she had left over the past months were all still there—it was her guide, her plan.

“The Kingdom of Farnia…”

From Ferdinand, a line stretched across mountains and a great river, past the border, into another kingdom. Her first planned destination had been the Kingdom of Farnia.

Though small in territory, Farnia was the hub of continental trade. With many foreigners and the common tongue widely spoken, it seemed an easy country to adapt to.

Alesia stared at the map. Only a few months ago, she had been planning to leave Ferdinand behind.

For the past two years, Leonidas had given her the same stipend once paid to the tower’s magicians. With the savings, she could settle comfortably in some quiet place.

So she had spent her spare time poring over maps, marking the nearest towers, charting the routes of Inglos-affiliated mage families—all for the perfect escape.

If she were truly still intent on running, she ought to be doing that now. But strangely, she no longer wanted to.

“I don’t want to leave this place.”

Her heart kept whispering the truth: she wanted to stay in Ferdinand.

At first, it was only that she never wanted to return to Inglos. But now, she found herself loving the people here, wanting to do something for them.

Inglos had given her life, but Ferdinand had given her a home.

If she had once deceived them by pretending to be a mage when she couldn’t even wield magic, then now she truly wanted to be of help.

“The problem is Rishar.”

Would he leave her alone, as he had Nia? If so, all would be well. But if he tried to exert control over her, trouble was bound to follow.

If she fled, it would remain her private matter. But if she stayed, Ferdinand would be dragged into it. And she wasn’t sure she could bear that.

“But still…”

Alesia folded the map and tucked it back into the book.

At the crossroads of decision, her heart had already chosen.

Now it was her turn to summon the courage.