“That’s strange. The wizard usually marks the barrier when absent. So that no one walks there in vain. Did she forget?”
“… I guess so.”

Melissa tilted her head as if she still didn’t understand.

The moment she saw Kael smiling at a strange woman, Adeline turned around and walked away from the cabin.
Even Adeline herself didn’t know why she did that. She didn’t realize she was walking forward until Melissa, who was waiting in front of the barrier, caught her.
Adeline said that there was no wizard in the cabin, and that today was not the day to meet, so she asked Melissa to hurry back.
In the end, they returned to the castle without fulfilling their purpose, and even today, when the new day dawned, Melissa still didn’t understand the situation.

“But she’s such an immaculate wizard… Did something happen?”
“People can’t always be perfect, after all. It could be that we made a mistake and went there when we shouldn’t.”
“But still… The more I think about it, the stranger it is. I’ve heard so much about that wizard.”

Adeline replied vaguely, then looked away from the window.

Since she saw Kael’s smile yesterday, that scene hadn’t left her head.
Even when she closed her eyes, she remembered, and it wavered in front of her. Even so, she couldn’t go to Kael and ask him.
Judging by the purple hair and the atmosphere she exuded, the woman Kael was facing was clearly the wizard who was the owner of the cabin.
So, she just needed to ask lightly about how the two of them were related. But strangely, her heart jumped, and she couldn’t even go to him, let alone ask him.

‘Why am I like this? It’s not like I don’t trust Kael.’

The more she thought about it, the stranger it was. It wasn’t like she didn’t know how Kael was looking at her, and she knew that his feelings for her weren’t small either. She was trying to find out about the curse, so she couldn’t believe that she was so nervous because Kael smiled at a strange woman.

‘Am I scared? I always thought he would only be kind to me, so maybe I was surprised to see that he could be kind to other people besides me?’

She had been trying so hard to find a reason, but she couldn’t see a clear answer.

“Then when should we go back? Since the party is the day after tomorrow, it will be difficult to go there tomorrow. Should we go after the party?”
“Ah… Yeah. Let’s think about it after we wrap up the party.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”

She was in a hurry to find out a little faster, but the scene she encountered yesterday made her afraid to visit the cabin.
She kept thinking that if she went back, she might face Kael again.

“Your Grace. It is said that the hall is all ready. They’re only fixing one of the chandeliers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Would you like to go see it now?”
“Yeah. It’s better to check quickly to see if there’s anything that needs to be fixed.”

As Isabel entered the room, Adeline jumped up from her seat without even giving her a chance to sit down.
She felt like she had to focus on the party to clear her mind a little.
Adeline took a quick step towards the party hall.

“… Huh?”

However, she found a familiar silhouette in the corridor that led to Kael’s office. It was the woman she had seen yesterday.

“Your Grace?”

Adeline approached the woman as if possessed and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Oh my?”

The woman turned around in surprise. Her purple eyes, which were the same color as her hair, widened, and she faced Adeline.

“… Ah.”

Only then did Adeline realize what she had just done.

“Lady Herma?”

while Adeline was bewildered and unable to say anything, Melissa, who had followed her belatedly because she was taking care of some work for a moment, called the purple-haired woman ‘Herma’.

“That’s right. I’m Herma.”

Herma Eupha.
The wizard Adeline had encountered yesterday was in the castle.

***

“I’m sorry. You must have been very surprised.”

Adeline brought Herma to her room.
Herma smiled brightly and faced Adeline. The energy emitted by her was very pleasant.

“Please forgive my disrespect.”
“Forgive? Please don’t say that, Your Grace. I already forgot about it. It’s just a pleasure to know that Your Grace knows me. I really wanted to meet you.”

She looked charming when she smiled. Seeing Herma’s smile, Adeline recalled how Kael had smiled yesterday without her knowing.
She kept thinking about the fact that the woman who was smiling with Kael in the cabin had come to the castle and was walking in the hallway that led to his office.
Just as Adeline was staring at Herma blankly, Herma grinned and continued,

“You came to my cabin yesterday, didn’t you?”
“How do you…?”
“I’ve made it so I know who crosses the barrier. I was looking forward to your visit, so it was a pity that you just walked away.”
“Ah…”

She didn’t think she would know at all since she hadn’t encountered her. A sense of embarrassment rushed in.

‘To be fair, there’s no way a wizard wouldn’t know. I feel so stupid too. I feel like I’ve been out of my mind since yesterday.’

Adeline reproached herself, saying that she must be out of her mind.
Seeing that, Herma smiled at Adeline. There was a hint of cuteness in Adeline’s appearance, showing what she was thinking.

“I would like to play a little more with Your Grace, but if I do, the Grand Duke will cut my neck, so I will hold back.”

Herma put down the teacup she was holding and smiled softly at Adeline.

“When we were young, His Grace and I went to the academy together. His Grace was only there for a year, but during that time, he hung out with me and other friends. We have memories of the time when we were foolish, so he just treats me a little more comfortably than others, and that’s all.”
“Ah…”
“Besides, I have someone who promised me eternity.”

Herma raised her left hand and showed Adeline her wedding ring.

“He can’t even reach His Grace’s feet, but to me, he is a much greater and more wonderful man than him. Although I don’t think that I should tell you this.”

While Herma’s slightly playful words continued, the tip of Adeline’s ears turned red.
She was also ashamed to be told what she was thinking, and even more embarrassed that Herma was already married.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t doubting you.”
“I know, Your Grace. I was just saying it mischievously.”

Everything from the moment she found the cabin yesterday to now flashed through her mind one after the other. She sighed, feeling pathetic in many ways.

“There is a lot I want to ask you to forget.”
“You didn’t do anything that you need to ask me to forget, Your Grace.”

Herma laughed as if she was enjoying the situation. She was curious because Kael, who was so cold-blooded that even she sometimes wondered how he could be so cold, had fallen in love with a woman. But now that she was facing the other person like this, it was just interesting.

“Ah, one more thing, I only came to the castle because His Grace entrusted me with something. There is a part in the castle that needs to be repaired with magic.”

The question that had not yet been asked was solved in an instant. Herma hoped that Adeline’s misunderstanding would be cleared up, and because her sincerity was conveyed in its totality, Adeline also stopped being embarrassed and shy and smiled brightly.

“I never thought I would meet His Grace in the cabin. But I was even more surprised because he was having a friendly conversation with Herma. I’m not used to seeing that.”
“He went there to request the repairs I just told you about. And I said a lot of silly things yesterday. I was dragged along while I was on a trip.”
“Are you traveling?”
“Yes. That’s why I thought I should get a lot of money for it, so I’m asking you to give him a hint so that he can take care of it. I’m serious.”

The sound of laughter scattered over the table.

“I’ll make sure to tell him. I can’t miss the chance to make up for today in style.”
“What do you mean, make up for today? You don’t have to. That’s what love is all about. It makes me think unlike myself, and it makes me do childish things even more than a child. To me, you were just as lovely.”

Herma spoke sincerely, and Adeline smiled a little shyly.

“I’m sure His Grace would be very happy to hear that, too?”
“It’s a secret from His Grace. Don’t forget.”

As Adeline’s voice suddenly became firm, Herma laughed out loud. She promised to keep the secret.

“By the way, why did you come to visit me yesterday?”

When the laughter stopped for a moment, Herma asked indirectly.
Herma was such a talented person that she continued to covet to be brought into the academy as a professor, but she was not an orthodox wizard who only dealt with white magic.
There was nothing particularly worthy of the Grand Duchess’ visit.

Adeline’s smiling expression stiffened slightly at the question asked by Herma.
It was not something she could say with a smile, so there was no helping it.

“There’s something I want to find out.”
“What do you want to find out?”

A moment of silence came, and Adeline, who had organized her words, slowly opened her mouth.

“The curse of darkness.”
“…”
“I want to ask you about how to break the curse of darkness.”

–