The World Has Become Kinder to Her

“Will anyone who can handle mana sense it, not just mages?” Lotus asked, thinking of people like Hession and Kenneth, who were knights but sensitive to mana. Manores quickly understood the meaning behind her question.

“Not only knights, but even ordinary people with high mana sensitivity might feel something unusual.”  

“Frederick mentioned that there’s a binding spell on it,” Lotus added.  

“That cursed man,” Manores muttered under his breath. “May I take a closer look at the bracelet?”  

Normally, Lotus would never agree to such a request from another mage, but she knew Manores well enough from her past life to trust him. He wasn’t someone who would harm her simply because she had ties to Frederick.  

Manores extended a hand, and a thin golden stream of light emerged, touching the mana stone on her bracelet. The stone began to glow brightly, and in the blink of an eye, a translucent shield erupted, pushing Manores to the far side of the sitting room.  

“Are you alright?” Lotus asked, concerned.  

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s a reactive shield that adjusts its response depending on the amount of force applied, and it’s combined with a binding spell. However, it’s only half as effective because it’s exposed.”  

Manores straightened himself and spoke coolly.  

“The mana inside the stone is overflowing, but it’s designed to limit any external influence. The only way to deal with it is to conceal it somehow. That fool should have used a concealment spell from the start. Concealment is far more practical than binding.”  

Lotus pretended not to hear the muttered insult toward Frederick. It seemed the bracelet could only hold two spells at most. She had a sinking feeling that she knew why Frederick had chosen binding over concealment, and it pained her to think about it.  

Manores then asked if she had any jewelry he could use.  

“Jewelry? I don’t have anything suitable for enchantments, no.”  

“You’re easy to talk to, Lady Lotus. It doesn’t need to be the finest gem, just something large and reasonably durable. Ideally, an emerald would work best. Diamonds are too hard and don’t mesh well with concealment spells.”  

An emerald… A particular piece of jewelry came to mind. It was a necklace Hession had given her to celebrate her debut into society.  

“Please wait a moment.”  

Lotus retrieved the emerald necklace Hession had gifted her and handed it to Manores, who inspected it closely.  

“This will do. It’s only temporary, after all,” he murmured as he examined the gem.

About thirty minutes later, Manores handed the necklace back to her, now imbued with a concealment spell.  

“I didn’t have much time or the best materials, so the spell isn’t permanent. It should hold until Lord Frederick wakes up, though.”  

“Manores, I have a question.”  

Lotus didn’t take the necklace immediately. Instead, she met his gaze directly, her green eyes locking with his brown ones.  

“Did Frederick giving me this mana stone bracelet provide enough reason for you to help me?”  

The two stared at each other, their gazes probing, as if trying to extract as much information as possible.  

“…Frederick’s been acting strange for a while now,” Manores began. “At first, it seemed like he was possessed by something. That state seemed to improve slightly, but then he started going out every night. Where to? Here. The Estelle mansion.”

Lotus remembered the time she had jumped from the window, only for Frederick to catch her as if he had been waiting.  

That response was only possible if he had been hovering around the area regularly.

“When exactly did he start acting strange?”

“September 28th, Imperial Year 672,” Manores replied, his voice steady.  

Lotus’s heart sank.  

It was the exact date she had regressed to the past. As if he had followed her in death, Frederick had started acting strangely right after her return. A sharp pang of emotion shot through her chest.  

“On the fourth day of his odd behavior, he declared that he would be staying here at the Estelle estate for a while. He claimed he had something to investigate. Then yesterday, I saw the mana-filled bracelet on your wrist,” Manores continued. “There are still many mysteries to unravel, but one conclusion is clear.”  

Lotus swallowed nervously as Manores, still composed, continued.  

“Frederick Abran’s strange behavior is directly tied to Lotus Estelle. He has become obsessively concerned with your safety.”  

Lotus remained silent, unsure of how to respond.  

“He is the strongest mage in the tower. Though he often appears foolish, at his core, he is someone who protects those close to him. If he lost someone he is desperately trying to protect, I don’t want to imagine what might happen. That’s why I’m willing to help you.”  

With that, Manores handed her the necklace again. Lotus took it with trembling hands.  

“You don’t need to wear it all the time. As long as you keep it with you, it will conceal the mana stone bracelet’s presence from most. To others, it will seem like nothing is there. But people at the level of Hession or Kenneth might still sense something is off or feel its presence.”  

“Thank you. Sir Manores, I…”  

“Yes?”  

“…Can I see Frederick?”  

Lotus asked, her face pale. Manores observed her with the curious eyes of a mage but refrained from asking further questions.  

“I’ve placed a barrier around his room. It’ll adapt based on who crosses the threshold. I’ll return in an hour.”  

After accompanying her to Frederick’s room, Manores turned and left, his back disappearing down the hall. Lotus watched him go, then gave a small bow of gratitude before turning toward Frederick’s bed.  

Each step toward him felt like a weight pulling her down.  

*I want to see his face. I need to talk to him.*  

*No, I don’t want to see his face. It’ll be too painful.*  

Conflicting emotions raged within her as she finally reached his bedside. She looked down at Frederick, who lay peacefully in his sleep.  

Though loud and disruptive when awake, here, his silver hair and delicate features made him look almost angelic.  

“…You fought so desperately to see me again?”  

She couldn’t understand it. The Frederick she knew would’ve treated her death as little more than losing an amusing toy.  

“Was I wrong? Did you, at least, see me as someone like you?”  

There was no response, of course. The sleeping Frederick couldn’t answer, which made it easier for her to say what had been too difficult to confront while he was awake.  

“If that’s true, then our relationship is too tangled to unravel.”  

Memories of their time together flashed through her mind.  

— *Compared to seafood from the capital, dishes from the Retre province make me want to cut off the chef’s hands. But I’m merciful, so I’ll just avoid eating it.*  

*You don’t even like seafood.*  

— *This is a top-grade mana stone. I got it when I became the master of the magic tower. With a stone like this, I can store incredibly powerful magic. Since you’re as fragile as a kitten, I engraved a shield spell into it.*  

*I want you to be safe.*  

— *Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I couldn’t protect you?*  

*I want to protect you.*  

If all his seemingly selfish actions were actually his way of caring for her, then everything she’d misunderstood about Frederick suddenly took on new meaning.  

If his affection, which she had likened to someone doting on a pet, was actually the affection one shows another person.  

If the look in his eyes, which she had always dismissed as a reaction to his wounded pride, was actually the hurt of someone who had been emotionally scarred in their relationship.  

“…Did the letter I left behind make you sad?”  

She had once believed that no one would mourn her death.  

But when Frederick handed her the mana stone bracelet, his silver eyes had held deep sorrow.  

— *Why? Because it’s too much for you?*  

— *Or because you think it deserves someone greater, a better owner?*  

Though his lips had been smiling, his moon-like silver eyes had shimmered with unshed tears.  

It had been enough to make Lotus want to cry alongside him.  

“…Tell me you weren’t sad, Frederick,” Lotus whispered, her voice fragile.  

She wanted him to grin arrogantly, as he always had, and tell her it didn’t matter, that he hadn’t been hurt.  

“Then you wouldn’t have been wounded at all.”  

If Frederick hadn’t cared for her, if he hadn’t loved her, then her sudden death wouldn’t have hurt him. The letter she left wouldn’t have hurt him.  

“It’s easier to believe that no one ever loved me.”  

Lotus Estelle—the girl abandoned by her family. The girl who was the subject of rumors among nobles she barely knew.  

Lotus Estelle—the woman who, to avoid a terrible future, had smiled and given her body to men. She had received nothing but disdain and coldness her entire life, never once feeling genuine affection.  

“I’m used to wounds like that. I’ve grown accustomed to them. But you…”  

You were never someone familiar with those kinds of wounds.  

Lotus couldn’t finish her sentence. Tears, brimming at the corners of her eyes, spilled down her cheeks, filling her mouth with their salty warmth.  

The only way to stop herself from sobbing was to clamp her lips shut.  

Ah, Frederick. What were you thinking when you saw that returned brooch?  

The more she tried to imagine his feelings, the more her tears flowed.  

The Frederick she knew had been flippant, mischievous, but also deeply kind.  

— *I want Francis to be happy.*  

— *The more I step forward, the safer the other mages will be.*  

He had been willing to give up his position for his ambitious younger brother and endure dangers for the sake of those under his command.  

As the eldest son of the Duke of Abran, and a skilled mage, Frederick had always walked a path of safety, success, and glory. Her death must have been the first real wound he’d ever suffered.  

*Who am I,* she thought bitterly. She, who had left a scar, a red mark, on the life of someone so innocent and pure.  

“I never wanted to hurt you,” she whispered, her voice trembling as another tear fell onto the blanket and landed on Frederick’s exposed hand.  

“I never wanted you to be in pain.”  

Her pale, soft hand gently closed around his cold one.  

“I’ve caused you so many wounds without even realizing it. I’m so sorry. Truly…”  

Her voice, filled with guilt and sorrow, echoed into the quiet room. But it never reached the one who needed to hear it.