"Then, that's it for today."
"Yes! You've worked so hard again today!"
After saying goodbye to Swen, Reika quietly returned to her room and reflected on the time she had spent with him over the past few days.
'It was amazing! That small waterfall.'
Although it wasn't particularly large, the waterfall was still beautiful enough to be etched in her memory. She had seen people practicing on the rocks where the waterfall cascaded in novels before... Swen had said that was just fiction, though.
Over the past few days, she had been able to spend more time outside the castle, surrounded by nature.
As Swen had said, mana was abundant in nature. The energy surrounding her was mana itself.
Reika had always been able to sense the mana mixed in the air, but she had never felt it so strongly. It felt like her training was starting to bear fruit, blossoming like a flower.
As for magic, it was developing smoothly. She could now control bigger fireballs for longer periods and with greater ease.
She remembered Swen’s suggestion to try creating an "ice spear" next time instead of a fireball. She didn’t fully understand what he meant, but for some reason, she felt like she could do it.
Swen was an amazing man. He had told her he wasn’t a mage, but there were times when he spoke as if he already knew magic. He had mentioned the ice spear, and after hearing him, Reika felt like she could give it a try, something she had never considered before.
'Could Swen be hiding the fact that he is a mage, like me?'
She had heard that Swen once performed a miracle, causing a huge rock to fall from the sky. For Reika, who could barely conjure a fireball, it seemed like something far beyond mere magic.
Would she ever be able to perform such an incredible miracle through continued training?
As these thoughts piled up, Reika arrived at a more fundamental question.
If Swen was indeed hiding his identity as a mage, could it be that this ability was something that must not be revealed to the outside world? Was her father’s decision to keep her indoors related to hiding her own magical abilities?
Just then...
"Reika."
"...!!"
The voice of her father, Jinor, came from outside the door. Reika was startled. Her father rarely came to her room.
Whenever he did visit, it was usually to check on her progress in her magical training. Since Swen had started teaching her, he hadn’t come to see her at all. As the head of the national office, he surely had many pressing matters to attend to. Reika didn’t particularly yearn for affection from Jinor, so she hadn’t minded that he rarely visited.
'What could this be about?'
Nervously, Reika couldn’t bring herself to answer immediately. But once again, Jinor’s voice came through.
"Are you there?"
"Ah, yes...! I-I’m here."
"May I come in?"
"Y-Yes...!"
Jinor entered her room. Reika quickly stood up from her seat and bowed respectfully.
"Ah... welcome, Father."
Jinor naturally made his way to a chair and sat comfortably.
"Well. How is your training going?"
"It has progressed much further than before."
"Really?"
Reika briefly explained her progress. Jinor nodded in approval as he watched her control the fireball with ease, without the usual gasping for breath.
"It seems you've worked hard. How is the learning going?"
"Swen has been explaining everything in such an easy-to-understand way. Ah, well..."
"Go on."
"Thank you for allowing me to go outside."
Reika bowed again, thanking him. Even though the outside world was overflowing with mana, she would have never had the chance to experience it if Jinor hadn’t allowed her to go out.
"..."
Jinor looked at her as she bowed, and after a moment of silence, he spoke in a serious tone.
"Are you really grateful to me?"
It was a somewhat strange question, but Reika answered without hesitation. After all, despite not being allowed outside, he had taken her in as an orphan and cared for her.
"I’ve never forgotten your kindness, Father. I’m always thankful for how you took me in and cared for me. This is the truth."
"...Hmm."
Jinor briefly rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought. Then, he looked at her with a serious expression.
Reika flinched, wondering if she had done something wrong.
"Well, I’m not here to scold you. Relax."
"I-Is that so...?"
"How do you feel about Swen?"
"...What?"
How did she feel about Swen?
Wait... was he asking about Swen as a teacher?
After all, it was her father, Jinor, who had arranged for Swen to become her instructor.
"Well... Swen has been teaching me very clearly on how to improve my mana reading ability. Following his guidance, I’ve definitely made quite a bit of progress—"
"That’s not what I meant."
"...?"
"I’m asking how you feel about him as a husband."
"...H-Husband??"
What? Husband?
Suddenly, her father was asking such an everyday question, which completely threw Reika off, leaving her speechless.
"What... what do you mean by that...?"
"I mean exactly what I said. How would you feel if Swen became your husband?"
"...I... I..."
Reika flushed deeply and lowered her head in embarrassment. She had never thought of Swen in that way before. Was it because he didn’t feel like a man to her? No, that wasn’t it. The real reason she had never considered him like that was the opposite. She didn’t dare to think of someone like Swen as a man, afraid it would be presumptuous on her part.
His neatly arranged white hair and fair skin exuded a mysterious aura, one she couldn’t sense in any other young man. And whenever he smiled and said, "You can do it," it felt like support, something she could lean on, which she found incredibly comforting. Furthermore, though it might be a little bold to think this way... wasn't he extremely handsome?
Because of all this, she couldn’t imagine a place for herself by his side. She was at the age where she understood that it was better not to reach for things that were beyond her grasp.
"Do you dislike it?"
"What? No, no! It’s not that...!"
"Then that's good."
While Reika was flustered and at a loss for words, Jinor remained as calm as ever.
"Father... I can’t quite follow the conversation."
"Hmm? You can’t keep up with this? I thought you were more perceptive."
"No, it’s just..."
Without waiting for Reika to respond, Jinor got straight to the point.
"I’m thinking of proposing marriage to him."
"Marriage... proposal?"
"Yes. He is no ordinary man, so it’s necessary to establish a deeper connection."
Jinor spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, almost as though this were a normal father-daughter conversation, but to an outsider, it might not seem like one.
"If you haven’t forgotten your gratitude to me, then marry him. Of course, that’s only if he agrees."
"..."
Reika didn’t know what to say and simply lowered her head further. Marriage to Swen. It wasn’t that she disliked the idea; that much she knew for sure. But everything felt so sudden.
"If you really don’t like the idea, then there’s nothing to be done, but I hope you’ll consider it positively. Think it over."
Jinor stood up and quietly left the room.
Reika wasn’t sure what to do, but she couldn’t forget his last words.
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
'If he agrees... Does that mean I still don’t know Swen’s thoughts on this?'
If that was the case, there was no need to jump to conclusions. She let out a deep sigh.
'Marriage...'
It was obvious that, regardless of the person, Reika would have to marry whoever her father chose. As for Swen, he wasn’t a bad match. In fact, he might be the best match she could have imagined. It was common for daughters to act in accordance with their family’s interests, and Jinor, at least, respected her opinion enough to give her the choice if she didn’t like it.
'But... has Swen never been married?'
For someone like Swen, she thought he might already have one or two wives. But then, she remembered the red-haired knight who had been by his side when she first met him. She had been strong and a tremendous support to him, yet at the same time, she had a delicate and graceful beauty.
'Who is she? Just a bodyguard...?'
If she married Swen, would that woman still be there to protect her as well?
She chuckled at herself, realizing how silly her thoughts were.
***
"Ah-choo!"
"Are you alright, Airen?"
"Ugh... Yes. I’m fine. Just had a sudden cough."
Airen said that while taking a bite of cake from the table. Then she...
"Wow!"
Her violet eyes sparkled, and she placed a hand on her cheek, genuinely impressed.
"This is really delicious!"
"I’m glad it suits your taste."
"Mm. Swen, was it the child you’ve been teaching who made this?"
"Yes. I thought it would go well with tea, so I brought it along."
I was having tea time with Airen, and her cake paired perfectly with the tea she brewed. Seeing how much she enjoyed it, I regretted not bringing some cookies along as well.
"It’s incredible. There was never such a cake at Arnel Castle."
"How do you know?"
"Well, um..."
"Did you try all of them?"
"..."
Airen suddenly closed her mouth, blushed, and put on a serious face at my question.
"...Well, I don’t think that’s important right now."
Seeing Airen act like this made me smile without realizing it. It was peaceful, though I knew it wouldn’t last long.
But for now, I immersed myself completely in the present moment, savoring the tranquility before things got hectic again.
***
Day after day, I spent time with Reika during the day and with Airen at home during the night. My routine was peaceful, but the political situation in the continent was anything but.
The first shocking news came: Kelstein Castle in the north had fallen. This was a major event in history, marking the Serpina Army’s invasion into the central continent.
Brans Army had been holding the northern borders, but now with Kelstein Castle fallen, the defense lines would soon break. Whether they liked it or not, the feudal lords of the continent would have to find a way to survive in the face of Serpina’s massive wave.
Almost simultaneously...
The sky-blue flag of Raklein Castle was lowered, and the red flag of Aishus Army flew on the high spire.
The southernmost Raklein Castle of Brans Army and the northernmost Kelstein Castle had both fallen almost at the same time.
It was a massive shift in the power structure.
If there was any silver lining for Brans Army, it was that the neighboring Roland and Hesna armies in the south remained quiet and did not attack, seemingly hesitant to move troops in case their main forces were attacked.
Either way, with both the northern and eastern borders breached...
'Brans Army is done for.'
Rather than unifying the continent, they were likely heading toward becoming a minor power.
And on one day, when the world’s balance seemed to shift as quickly as a great wave passing through...
"Excuse me, is this Swen?"
"Yes, that’s me..."
As I was heading toward the Nighthardt family mansion as usual, a soldier from the Aishus Army stopped me.
"My lord is looking for you."
"My lord?"
Had they called for me? I couldn’t think of a reason why...
'Well, there must be a reason.'
I immediately made my way to Valharat Castle.