Uh-oh.
'I did. I really did lie.'
Right.
She had lied about her age.
In a noticeably smaller voice, Lucilea asked,
"...Why does my age matter?"
"Because there's no way to prove you're seven years old."
Elvadin continued calmly.
"The villagers all gave different answers."
Some claimed she was seven.
Others insisted she was eight.
A few even said she was six.
Without realizing it, Lucilea swallowed nervously.
"That doesn't surprise me. They weren't interested in me."
So naturally they wouldn't remember her age correctly.
"Hm."
Elvadin fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"More importantly."
"Yes?"
"There's magic placed on you. Do you know anything about it?"
"...What?"
Lucilea's eyes widened.
'How does he know that?'
Was that simply the sort of thing someone as powerful as him could sense?
The truth was exactly as Elvadin had said.
There was indeed a spell cast on Lucilea's body.
She didn't know its official name, but she knew what it did.
It altered her appearance.
'Grandma used to say my brown hair and brown eyes looked like cocoa mixed with milk.'
But the reflection she'd seen in mirrors told a completely different story.
Hair the pale pink of peach blossoms.
Eyes a brilliant sapphire blue, as though they contained the entire sky within them.
The warm brown color Briola described was nowhere to be found.
For a long time, the fact that other people saw her differently than she saw herself had left her confused.
'But I couldn't exactly ask the villagers about it.'
If she had, they might have accused her of plotting some witch's trick.
'Or maybe they wouldn't have listened to me at all.'
Time had passed.
Then her memories returned.
Only after regaining those memories had everything started to make sense.
'The original Lucilea disappeared when she was young. So someone must have cast a spell on her.'
Naturally, the original novel never revealed who had done it.
By now, she was tired of repeating the same conclusion.
The story had never been particularly interested in the backstories of its villains.
Still, Lucilea had her suspicions.
'Whoever cast this spell wanted to hide the fact that I was related to the Archducal family.'
For example...
Perhaps her mother.
The woman who had given birth to her.
But that was only speculation.
'I'll figure that part out eventually.'
For now, surviving this conversation was more important.
Blinking innocently, Lucilea looked up at Elvadin.
"There's magic on me?"
"You didn't know?"
She shook her head.
"Not at all."
Elvadin studied her for a moment before glancing toward Riat, who stood near the door.
The moment he did, the office door opened.
Someone entered.
The newcomer appeared to be around Elvadin's age.
He wore neat mage robes, but his appearance was strikingly extravagant.
His sky-blue hair shimmered faintly with silver and looked slightly messy, while golden eyes sparkled with an almost childlike innocence.
"You've arrived, Lord Noah."
"Mm. Long time no see, Riat."
With an expression that suggested he'd been inconvenienced, he removed his robe and handed it to Riat.
'Noah...?'
Suddenly, something May had said came back to her.
"The necklace you chose will be personally enchanted with a protective spell by Lord Noah Radevian, the greatest mage of the Archducal House."
Right.
The mage who was supposed to enchant her necklace.
So this was him?
Curiosity filled Lucilea's eyes as she stared.
Noah wandered toward the sofa, grumbling.
"Ah, I'm exhausted. What was so urgent that I had to come here before even unpacking my luggage?"
Lucilea's eyebrow twitched.
'Um... can he talk to the Archduke like that?'
They looked roughly the same age.
But Elvadin was still the head of the Archducal House.
To Lucilea, it seemed strange that a hired mage could speak so casually to him.
Meanwhile, Noah strolled over and deliberately chose the seat directly beside Lucilea despite there being plenty of empty seats available.
Dropping into it, he sighed dramatically.
"This could've waited until tomorrow morning. You're still as impatient as ever."
Elvadin looked at him without expression.
"The sooner it's confirmed, the better."
"Fair enough."
Noah nodded.
Then he turned his attention toward Lucilea.
"So you're the kid from the letter."
"Huh?"
Looking completely lost, Lucilea glanced at Elvadin.
The Archduke introduced him.
"This is Noah Radevian, the Archducal House's chief mage."
He paused.
"He'll also be the one teaching you how to use magic from now on."
"Ah..."
Lucilea looked back at Noah.
The mage grinned.
"Let's get along, kid."
"My name is Lucilea. Please take care of me."
"Yeah, yeah."
Still smiling cheerfully, Noah examined her from every angle before addressing Elvadin.
"Can I remove it now?"
"First determine what kind of spell it is."
"That's easy enough."
...What?
Lucilea's instincts immediately began screaming.
Something ominous was happening between those two.
Sure enough, Noah extended his hand toward her.
"Give me your hand, kid."
Immediately, Lucilea slipped both hands behind her back.
"W-Why?"
"What do you mean why?"
Noah looked baffled.
"So I can figure out what kind of spell is on you and remove it."
"...WHAT?!"
Lucilea nearly jumped out of her seat.
She whipped her head toward Elvadin.
"Y-Your Grace!"
But it was obvious the decision had already been made.
Elvadin simply sat there watching.
'What do I do?!'
Lucilea knew almost nothing about magic.
Whenever fantasy elements appeared in romance-fantasy novels, she'd usually skim through them and focus on the romance instead.
So naturally, she knew almost nothing about the spell affecting her.
But one thing she understood instinctively:
If that spell was removed, her true identity would likely be exposed.
'I have to stop this somehow.'
The problem was—
How?
'I don't have the strength to escape.'
And she couldn't keep refusing forever either.
'They'll become suspicious.'
Given Elvadin's personality...
He might even throw her out immediately.
'Would it actually be better to reveal my identity than get kicked out?'
Ugh...
She really didn't want that.
And it wasn't simply because she disliked the idea of having a father.
'If my identity is revealed now, the chances of Serdian being driven out increase dramatically.'
In the original story, Serdian was expelled from the Archducal House.
Officially, Lucilea had been the one responsible.
But the true masterminds had been someone else entirely.
'The branch families and the vassal houses.'
The moment they discovered Lucilea was Elvadin's biological daughter, they decided to use her to remove Serdian.
For seven long years they tormented him.
And eventually—
Disaster struck.
Elvadin was poisoned and fell into a coma.
Serdian was accused of being responsible.
'Anyone could see it was a setup.'
But no one defended him.
Thus Serdian was expelled.
Branded with the accusation that he had tried to murder the adoptive father he loved and respected more than anyone.
Fortunately, Elvadin eventually recovered.
But he never stopped Serdian's expulsion.
And Serdian had likely interpreted that silence as abandonment.
'That was when the assassins started targeting him seriously.'
One attack after another.
Until eventually he suffered wounds so severe that his life hung by a thread.
And then—
'Cynthia.'
The only person who saved him.
The heroine appeared and rescued Serdian from death itself.
When he finally awakened...
What had he felt?
'Enough hatred to choose me as his first target for revenge.'
After killing Lucilea, that vengeance had spread toward everyone connected to House Decartes.
A chill ran down her spine.
As though she could already feel the edge of Serdian's blade.
Taking a deep breath, Lucilea clasped her hidden hands tightly behind her back.
"M-My grandma said never to give your hand to strangers!"
"Hm?"
Noah blinked.
"Wasn't it supposed to be 'don't follow strangers'?"
"Same thing."
"Hah."
He laughed.
"Look at this kid."
Then he pointed at himself.
"Didn't you hear what the Archduke said? I'm going to be your teacher from now on."
He smiled smugly.
"That means I'm not a stranger."
"...Ugh."
She had no comeback.
To be honest, she'd only blurted that out to buy time.
And even that had failed.
What now?
As Lucilea desperately searched for another excuse—
"Fine."
Noah suddenly shrugged.
"You don't have to give me your hand."
"Huh?"
Hope immediately lit up her face.
"Really?!"
She looked up eagerly.
Then—
Tap.
Noah casually poked her forehead with a finger.
"Eh?"
"Because this is enough."
"...Eh?!"
Startled, Lucilea jerked backward.
But strangely—
She couldn't move.
Not even an inch.
"Ah, ah."
Noah waved a hand casually.
"Don't struggle. You'll only hurt yourself."
"Y-You can't..."
"Can't what?"
He laughed.
"If you keep carrying around a weird spell like this, you won't be able to stay in the Archducal Estate."
His grin widened.
"I'm doing you a favor. Later, you can thank me for—"
Then—
"...Huh?"
The teasing smile vanished from Noah's face.
And for the first time since entering the room—
His expression froze.