IDDYD 11

Chapter 11

Alice, sitting at her desk, wrote letters on the paper. Following her unwavering gestures, the quill swayed and made scratching sounds.

After scribbling something diligently for a while, Alice’s hand stopped. The image of Aiden wrapping his arms around her waist a few days ago had suddenly surfaced in her mind.

“My pride is hurt.”

Her hand gripping the pen tightened. She couldn’t believe her face had flushed just from briefly touching him.

*Why did I have to blush there? I’m not some lovestruck girl.*

Her foolish actions from that time wouldn’t leave her mind. While it was natural to be startled when someone’s face suddenly came that close, she didn’t need to freeze up like a wooden puppet like that.

What was especially frustrating was that, unlike her, who was still bothered by the incident, Aiden, the other party involved, seemed to have not a shred of interest in the past event.

*’To be treated like this…’*

Alice, still seated in her chair, turned around and spoke.

“Mary, how do I look today?”

Mary, her personal maid who was refilling the teapot with fresh tea, looked at Alice upon being called.

“Young Lady, you are always beautiful.”
“Not that standard compliment.”
“…But I’m being sincere?”

Mary tilted her head, looking puzzled.

Alice’s attire was indeed different from usual. She wasn’t wearing a dress but a simple white shirt and black pants, with her hair tied back tightly in a single ponytail. However, wearing slightly different clothes didn’t diminish the beauty of the Young Lady she served. Her soft golden hair, slightly upturned eyes, and small, bright red lips were enchanting enough to captivate even her, a maid.

Mary was rather wondering why Alice, who had never asked such questions before, suddenly posed one to her. The Young Lady she knew was more aware of her own beauty than anyone else.

*’Ah, could it be because of Sir Aiden?’*

Mary’s eyes sparkled. Alice was the one who had previously had that intimate conversation with Aiden in the secluded hallway. There must have been something between them again.

*’Young Lady really isn’t being honest. Well, what can I do? She seems to want to keep it a secret, so I’ll just have to play along.’*

Having made this internal vow, Mary giggled to herself. Seeing this, Alice asked with a puzzled expression.

“What are you thinking about?”
“I was thinking how beautiful and elegant our Young Lady is today, as always.”
“…Alright, thank you.”

*That doesn’t seem to be it.* While suspicious of Mary’s true thoughts, Alice didn’t press further.

Instead, she sealed the paper she had been writing on into an envelope and handed it to Mary.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but could you mail this letter for me now?”
“Of course… Oh my.”
Taking the letter, Mary smiled upon seeing the name on the envelope.
“Is this for Lady Sophia?”
“Yes, I’m planning to visit the Dane territory soon. I have some business there, too.”

Sophia Dane was Alice’s close friend who lived in the south, the one she had mentioned to Aiden before. Her letter contained news of her upcoming visit to Dane territory and information about the sword Aiden was looking for. Knowing Sophia, who had a deep interest in artifacts, she might know something about a 500-year-old sword.

If she sent the letter now, a reply should arrive by the time she returned to the ducal mansion after investigating the Saint Mountains. Once she confirmed Sophia’s reply, she would go to the Dane territory, find Aiden’s sword, and send him back to the Demon Realm. It was a perfect plan.

“Ah, come to think of it, she did mention recently that she had more duties to handle in her territory.”
“Lady Sophia did?”
“Yes, so she said she might not be able to send letters for a while. I wonder if things have been resolved well.”

Alice muttered, recalling a letter from Sophia she had received months ago. Given the long distance between the north and south, Alice and Sophia made sure to exchange letters checking on each other at least once every two weeks. It had already been three months since Sophia’s letters stopped. By now, Alice was starting to worry if something had happened to her.

“Could her duties still be pending? I haven’t heard of any problems in the south…”
Given Sophia’s personality, if matters in her territory were resolved, she would have already sent a letter or more.

*’She’ll be fine, right? If it were truly a difficult matter to handle, she would have told me.’*

It was probably just awkward because a close friend who frequently contacted her suddenly cut off communication. Alice forcibly suppressed the unease creeping up within her.

Just then, a knock shattered the brief silence that had settled in Alice’s room.

“It’s me.”
A now-familiar voice came from outside the door. Recognizing the owner, Mary covered her mouth with a smile and said, “Then I’ll go mail this letter, Young Lady.”

After giving a light bow to Alice and a greeting to Aiden waiting outside the door, Mary left the room.

*Why is she so excited?* Alice watched Mary’s retreating back, which seemed oddly cheerful.

Aiden closed the door behind him as he entered her room. The new sword fastened at his waist caught her eye—the one custom-made at the smithy.

“Do you like the sword?”
“Yeah, it’s good? I like how it looks, and it feels great in my hand. Thanks.”
As if to prove it wasn’t a lie, Aiden smiled happily.

*He likes the sword I bought him.* Not a bad feeling. A slight smile touched Alice’s lips as well.

“More importantly, I heard you called for me.”
“Ah, yes. Come here for a sec.”

At Alice’s summons, Aiden approached her. When Alice held out her hand, Aiden naturally placed his hand over hers. Warmth was felt from their touching hands.

Alice closed her eyes and focused on the magic cast on him. Then, channeling mana to her fingertips, she gently rubbed the back of his hand.

The magic circle drawn on his hand flashed several times before shattering and disappearing.

She looked up at Aiden’s face. His eyes, which had been shining blue, had returned to their original purple hue.

Aiden looked at her with a surprised expression.
“Is it okay to dispel the magic here?”
“It’s fine. No one would enter the ducal princess’s room without knocking.”

Alice answered, reaching for a black case on her desk. A thin necklace chain looped around her finger.

Alice showed the necklace to Aiden.
“Also, I’ve finished improving the necklace.”
“Already? You said it might take a few more days.”

Originally, like the eye-color-changing magic, spells that altered any property typically lasted only a few days, very briefly. This was because maintaining a magically changed property consumed a tremendous amount of mana. To solve this, Alice had engraved the property-altering magic onto a magic stone necklace and, through intense focus, succeeded in extending the spell’s duration to one year. It was an achievement worthy of praise from the mages of the Magic Tower, who would likely call her a genius mage.

“Well, it’s me, after all.”
Despite that tremendous effort, Alice answered as if it were nothing and shook the necklace she was holding. It was a gesture meaning *’Hurry up and take it, what are you waiting for?’* but instead of taking the necklace, Aiden grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.

Pulled up by his strength, Alice’s eyes widened. Aiden brought her hand to his neck and said,
“You put it on me.”
“…Me?”
“Yeah, necklaces are hard to put on by yourself.”

*One could easily put on a necklace alone, couldn’t they?* Alice looked at Aiden with a baffled expression. He was the first to ask her, a ducal princess, to put a necklace on him.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”
*What’s so hard about that?* Alice approached Aiden, pretending it was nothing.

Alice reached behind his neck. Because of his height, Alice had to rise slightly on her tiptoes. Noticing this, Aiden bent his waist to lower his posture.

Flustered by the suddenly close proximity, she fumbled with her fingers to fasten the clasp and spoke hurriedly.
“If you take the necklace off, the magic will be dispelled too, so always wear it. Don’t take it off even when sleeping. If the magic stone in the necklace breaks, the magic will also be dispelled, so take good care of it.”
“Okay.”
“I did put one protective spell on it just in case, but it’s single-use, so it can only block one external impact. I actually wanted to put multiple spells, but that would have taken too long to modify…”

While diligently explaining and fastening the necklace, Alice turned her head at the gaze she felt nearby. Aiden was staring intently at her.

She met his eyes, which had already returned to blue. The temporarily changed eye color suited him so well it was easy to forget he was originally a purple-eyed demon.

*’Is it because it’s my magic? It fits perfectly, without any sense of discord.’*

After gazing at his beautiful, transparent blue eyes for a moment, Alice was the first to avert her gaze.

“…What?”
“Are we departing for those mountains today?”
*Was that why he was looking?* Alice decided to answer his question first.
“Yes, we’re leaving this afternoon. You… you do know how to ride a horse, right?”
“I should? Though the last time I rode one was 500 years ago.”

Unable to speak for a moment at his words, Alice finally opened her mouth.
“…Let’s do a little horse-riding practice before we depart.”