“…I suppose there’s truly nothing I can hide from Lady Nadia.”
Archis did not deny it.
“Why are you going this far?”
“Yuri is the type who is often misunderstood. Of course, I do think she can be a bit careless at times…”
Nadia found it amusing that Archis was watching her reaction so carefully, and she covered her mouth as she laughed.
“But I like Lady Yulia’s bright side.”
“Yes, so do I. That’s why I hope the people who appreciate Yuri’s good qualities will continue to remain her friends.”
It was clear how much Archis cared for and cherished Yulia.
As Nadia stared at him, Archis seemed to misunderstand something and waved his hands.
“Ah, that doesn’t mean I’m asking you to approach Yuri first. I only mean that if Yuri apologizes to you, I hope you might think of her a little more kindly.”
“No, I wasn’t thinking that at all…”
Archis flustered, clearly at a loss. Watching him was almost like watching an overprotective older brother.
Could the young Duke of Plang and Count Crimson’s daughter truly be this close just because they were cousins?
Just how much affection did he have for her?
As that thought crossed her mind, mana surged toward Nadia’s core and hardened.
Without consciously focusing, her vision of mana activated purely out of curiosity.
Just as she was about to glimpse the dense mana gathered in Archis’s heart, he suddenly reached out and covered her eyes.
“…Please don’t look.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Nadia let out a soft exhale and whispered.
He had once said he was a mage, so he likely could easily read her clumsy manipulation of mana.
“It’s normal for it to be uncontrollable at first.”
“…My lie was exposed, wasn’t it? At the horse racing track—I said I picked them by looking at the horses.”
“I noticed from the very beginning.”
Archis removed his hand from her eyes.
With her vision cleared, Nadia saw his slightly troubled expression.
“Really?”
“Yes. I heard the sound of someone’s core opening at that time.”
“A sound?”
“If you hear it once, you’ll understand immediately. I’ve never heard a bell more beautiful in my life.”
Archis extended his arm politely, and Nadia took it.
There was no reason to refuse an escort from such a handsome and well-mannered man.
“What exactly were you curious about earlier?”
At Archis’s question, Nadia looked puzzled. She had assumed he would already know, given his sensitivity to magic.
Archis chuckled softly and added an explanation.
“The information one can obtain through mana differs from person to person. Some can see another’s core, others can tell how long someone has studied magic.”
“That’s… really fascinating.”
Nadia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity at this new information. Archis looked pleased, as if he had found an excellent student.
“Did you know?”
“About what?”
“Only a very small number of mages can read information through mana. Lady Nadia may have a talent for magic.”
Archis seemed to mention it casually, and the conversation moved on.
Yet the words lingered in Nadia’s mind in a strangely romantic way. Magical talent—something she had never even imagined in her past life.
Thanks to Archis, the party had begun pleasantly.
Moreover, wherever Archis went, people gathered, allowing Nadia to speak with many guests.
With a beautiful red-haired lady escorted by the party’s host, people approached her out of curiosity alone.
When Nadia introduced herself as “Nadia of House Hess,” the reactions were almost always the same.
“Hess? Oh… yes, of course I know it. Nice to meet you.”
People struggled—either they had never heard of it, or only vaguely recalled it as a minor house.
Saying outright that they didn’t know it would be impolite in front of the host.
Fortunately, Archis stepped in to smooth things over.
“It’s a beautiful northern territory, so I’m sure you’ve all heard of it. Recently, mana stones were discovered there, raising its prominence.”
With just that simple explanation, people were able to continue the conversation comfortably.
“Oh, the north has such beautiful snowy landscapes.”
“Mana stones—what a blessed land.”
“Lady Nadia growing up so beautifully must be the pride of Baron Hess.”
After being publicly humiliated by Count Crimson only recently, Nadia felt even more keenly the value of the person standing beside her.
Nadia and Archis spent a long time at the center of attention before exchanging tired glances.
With a playful smile, Archis led her behind a curtain.
Nadia followed with a puzzled expression—and let out a short laugh.
“You’ve hidden an entire balcony.”
“Isn’t that within the rights of the party host?”
This way, no one would know the balcony existed, ensuring both privacy and peace.
Nadia sat down in the chair placed there.
After running around mines in comfortable shoes, standing in pointed heels all evening felt like torture.
Livenia and Nadia had developed calluses in completely different places.
Tapping her knee lightly, Nadia suddenly spoke as if something amusing had occurred to her.
“I think I understand why you’ve been escorting me all day.”
“Because Lady Nadia is a beautiful lady.”
At his effortless answer, Nadia couldn’t help but laugh again.
“Thanks to today, I won’t be ‘the unknown girl no one has ever heard of’ anymore. People will now remember House Hess as the mana-stone-holding family.”
“You would have been remembered even without my help.”
“But this made it happen much faster. Thanks to that… I think it will be easier for me to interact with Lady Yulia again.”
Nadia asked with a playful expression,
“Archis, aren’t you a little too overprotective of your cousin?”
At her question, Archis turned halfway away, flustered.
“Did you read my mana?”
“If I had, you wouldn’t have been unaware of it.”
“Then how did you know?”
“The opposite. It was impossible not to notice.”
Everything Archis did seemed to be for Nadia, but in truth, it was all for Yulia.
Archis placed one hand over his abdomen and bowed.
“…I apologize. That was rude of me.”
“You don’t need to apologize. This outcome isn’t bad for me either. Besides, without this hidden balcony, my feet would be bleeding by now.”
Nadia soothed him with calm humor.
Archis, reassured, took a seat beside her.
“That’s also true—I did want to become closer to you, Lady Nadia.”
“Yes, I’m glad I got to know someone like you as well.”
Archis still looked awkward and apologetic, but Nadia felt nothing in particular.
After all, Yulia—who had instantly shown her affection upon meeting—had been the unusual one.
Archis approaching her for Yulia’s sake, and Yulia now out of contact due to her father’s pressure—none of it was more than mildly bittersweet to Nadia.
She knew better than anyone that affection from others was rare and not something easily obtained.
Archis awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
“When I was younger, I often visited Count Crimson’s estate with my mother. Yuri was happy to have someone her age and would follow me everywhere.”
“Oh my, how cute.”
She could easily imagine it—Yulia, bright and honest, clinging to her older cousin to play with her.
“Yes. She was very cute. But I was a rather ill-mannered child. I didn’t want to play children’s games.”
“Ahaha, children are like that.”
“Exactly. It was typical of children. If only Yuri hadn’t fallen into the river while following me.”
Nadia’s eyes widened in surprise, and Archis continued with a bitter expression.
“She became ill for quite a long time after that. At first, I stayed by her side out of guilt, but it eventually became habit. Even now, if she walks behind me, I worry she might fall.”
According to Archis, Yulia had indeed been sickly as a child.
Just as Nadia was about to comfort him, Archis suddenly lifted his head.
Before she could ask what was wrong, he pressed a finger to his lips and looked outside the balcony.
There, Yulia and Count Crimson were standing.
The two were speaking in the dark.
It did not seem like a pleasant conversation.
Though they kept their voices low due to the presence of others, Count Crimson’s posture alone was domineering, while Yulia looked as though she might run away at any moment.
Archis pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Oh no… I forgot to tell them to stop the count.”
This party was meant for young nobles on the verge of debuting or active in society, so older or already married nobles were not invited.
But since the Crimson and Plang families were connected by marriage, the guards had no reason to stop Count Crimson.
“Please excuse me.”
Archis quickly left the balcony.
Through the gap in the curtains, Nadia saw him take two glasses of wine and step outside—likely preparing an excuse to intervene naturally.
Even though Archis and Yulia were cousins, they were still from different houses. His ability to interfere was limited.
Concerned, Nadia watched from the corner of the balcony.
Count Crimson was still pressing Yulia, who kept shaking her head.
The count’s face was red with agitation, and his voice briefly rose.
“…We must make sure of that man!”