Elvadin noticed the change in Noah’s expression and asked,
“What is it?”
“……”
But Noah didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he stared at Lucillea without even blinking.
“……”
“……”
Several moments passed.
Still watching her with an unusual look in his eyes, Noah slowly removed his hand from Lucillea’s forehead.
Only then could Lucillea breathe normally again. The strange energy flowing from Noah’s fingertips had made it difficult for her to catch her breath.
Noah glanced at the girl, who was quietly panting beside him, before turning back to Elvadin.
“There’s no need to worry. It’s not a dangerous spell. Someone has cast an appearance-altering magic on her.”
“Appearance-altering magic?”
“Yeah. A spell that changes things like hair color, eye color, or both.”
Elvadin’s gaze shifted toward Lucillea.
Pretending not to notice, she quickly looked out the window.
“Can it be removed?”
“Hm? No. I can’t remove it.”
Noah answered with a bright smile.
What?
Lucillea’s eyes widened in surprise.
He can’t remove it? Really?
Then my identity won’t be exposed?!
Noah continued casually.
“You know how it works. If I can’t undo it, then the Master of the Magic Tower can’t either. Don’t go dragging busy people here for nothing.”
“Is it some kind of curse?” Elvadin asked.
“Similar, but not exactly.”
“What do you mean by similar?”
“Someone put their life on the line to cast it. Magic tied to a life can only be broken by paying with a life... or by fulfilling the condition set by the caster.”
“……What condition?”
Noah shrugged.
“How would I know?”
“……”
Looking directly at Lucillea, Noah asked,
“When you look in a mirror, you can see your real appearance, can’t you?”
“……”
Lucillea immediately avoided his gaze.
Noah chuckled.
“Well, would you look at that? You knew all along and pretended otherwise. That’s why you refused to give me your hand earlier.”
“……”
Elvadin spoke.
“Is there a reason you hid the fact that magic had been cast on you?”
“……”
Lucillea hesitated before carefully answering.
“In Mille Village, people used to say I was a child raised by a witch. After a while, they just started calling me a witch too.”
As she spoke about how she had been treated in the village, she nervously twisted her fingers together.
“If people found out that the face I see in the mirror is different from the one everyone else sees…”
Her voice grew quieter.
“They’d treat me like a real witch. So I thought it would be better to stay silent. Besides, nobody else could see the reflection I saw in the mirror anyway.”
“……”
“I wasn’t trying to lie. I was just scared…”
She lowered her head.
“I was afraid I’d be thrown out of the Grand Duke’s estate.”
“……”
Silence filled the office.
I can’t exactly tell them I lied because I’m afraid they’ll discover I’m your daughter.
The thought made her chest ache.
It’s not like I wanted any of this. How nice would it have been if I’d been born into a normal family? How was I supposed to know I’d end up in a family like this—with a father like him?
The unfairness of it all suddenly overwhelmed her.
Looking at the man sitting across from her—the father she couldn’t call Father—made her nose sting.
Hmph. It’s not like I’m fine with this. I’m exhausted and miserable too, you know...
When her trembling voice finally faded, the room fell silent once more.
Then Noah cleared his throat.
“Ahem. Well... I completely understand how the kid feels.”
“……”
After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously continued.
“By the way, kid. When you look in a mirror, does the reflection show—”
“That’s enough. Just enchant the necklace.”
Elvadin cut him off.
“Oh! Right!”
Noah clapped his hands as though he had just remembered.
“There was something more important.”
His voice softened noticeably as he addressed Lucillea.
“Now then, little one. To commemorate our first lesson tomorrow, I’ll personally enchant the necklace you picked out.”
“...Okay.”
She nodded weakly.
“You know, that’s a huge honor. Do you have any idea how much enchanted jewelry sells for?”
Noah puffed out his chest proudly.
Lucillea glanced at him and murmured,
“If I get kicked out, I’ll have to return the necklace anyway...”
“……Huh?”
As she sniffled quietly, Noah whipped around toward Elvadin.
Without making a sound, he mouthed exaggeratedly:
Hey! She’s going to cry at this rate! I told you it’s not dangerous! Tell her she’s not getting kicked out! Hurry!
Watching Noah’s frantic antics, Elvadin let out a small sigh.
“You will not be sent away. Stop worrying.”
Lucillea carefully studied his face.
“...Really?”
“Yes.”
“You heard him, kid! It’s been ages since a new sprout appeared in the magical world. There’s no way they’d throw you out over something like this!”
Only then did the shadow disappear from her face.
At that moment, Elvadin rose from the sofa.
Walking toward the window, he dismissed her.
“You may leave now.”
Lucillea jumped to her feet as if she had been waiting for those exact words.
“Yes! Then I’ll be going!”
She hurried toward the door at a nearly running pace.
“See you tomorrow, kid,” Noah called.
Ah, right. He’s still going to be my teacher.
Lucillea quickly turned around and bowed politely.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Mm.”
After also offering a respectful farewell to Riat, she hurried out of the office.
The moment she disappeared through the door, Noah’s gaze lingered on it.
The playful look in his eyes had vanished, replaced by confusion.
“What is that kid?”
After Lucillea left, Noah turned to Elvadin.
Rather than answering, Elvadin gestured toward the documents on his desk.
Standing beside him, Riat picked them up and handed them to Noah.
“Are these hers?”
“Yes.”
Perching on the corner of the desk, Noah began flipping through the pages.
Flip.
Flip.
For a while, the only sound in the office was paper turning.
But as he read, Noah’s expression gradually hardened.
The reports described acts of cruelty so horrific that they defied common sense.
“The villagers are bad enough, but this adoptive father...”
His face twisted in disgust.
“Isn’t he completely insane?”
“……”
Then he reached the final page.
The report written by Mei was filled with colorful curses and unrestrained outrage.
Noah immediately sprang to his feet.
“Ugh. That last one—Mei wrote it, didn’t she?”
As Noah tossed the papers onto the desk, Riat calmly reorganized them.
“It seems she developed some sympathy for Lucillea. For someone usually so reserved with her emotions, she was remarkably blunt and detailed in that report.”
“Mei’s always like that. Pretends she doesn’t care, but she’s soft-hearted.”
“Like you, Lord Noah?”
“Huh?”
Noah shrugged.
“Not me. I’m a cold and highly rational person.”
“There’s no way that’s true.”
Riat laughed.
“Anyway.”
Glancing at the documents again, Noah asked,
“Mei hasn’t read this report yet, has she?”
“No.”
“Then don’t show it to her.”
As Riat placed the neatly arranged documents back onto the desk, he replied,
“I was planning to burn them after you reviewed them.”
“Good idea.”
Noah returned to the sofa and sat down.
After a brief pause, he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, why did you stop me earlier?”
“Stop you from what?”
“When I was about to ask the kid what color her hair and eyes are in the mirror. If we knew that, we might be able to figure out who she really is.”
Elvadin was silent for a moment before answering.
“She’s a child who knew about the spell and still kept quiet. She understands that it was cast to hide her identity.”
“……”
“Do you really think someone like that would reveal the truth simply because we asked?”
“Oh.”
Noah let out a short sigh.
“Yeah, you’re right. She doesn’t seem that easy.”
Leaning back against the sofa, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Still... just who is that kid?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Could she be a runaway?”
“……”
“Or maybe...”
Suddenly, Noah’s eyes widened.
He shot upright and slammed his palm onto the armrest.
“That’s it!”
Even Elvadin turned away from the window at Noah’s outburst.
Grinning triumphantly, Noah declared,
“What if she’s the Emperor’s illegitimate daughter?!”