She was so jealous that she could taste bitterness in her mouth.
If Raymund were to throw a tantrum without caring about appearances, Seiana might show a troubled face but still allow it to some extent.
Maybe not as far as the changing room, but at least a nap together…
But Raymund’s greed wouldn’t allow even that.
If someone did something with Seiana, then he had to do it too.
‘And the things others can’t do with her, she has to do with me.’
As Raymund was lost in thought, wondering what he alone could do with Seiana that Aries couldn’t, a word suddenly brushed past his mind and escaped his lips.
“Marriage…”
“What?”
When Raymund suddenly blurted out such an absurd word, Aries couldn’t understand him right away.
Marriage?
The thing a man and woman do?
But why?
Why would that come out of Raymund’s mouth?
“You’re not saying you want to do that with me, are you?”
She asked just in case, but Raymund didn’t answer.
Feeling an unknown unease, Aries soon realized that the subject wasn’t her—it was Seiana.
“What!?”
Are you crazy?
You dare say you want to do something like that with Seiana?
For kids their age, it was a common enough fantasy—but not for them, as Espers.
No Esper before them had ever gotten married; they had all lived and died single.
So Raymund dreaming of marriage with Seiana was absurd beyond reason…
‘Wait?’
But the more she thought about it, the less impossible it seemed.
The reason Espers never married and died single was that there was no one who could truly understand and love them.
But Seiana was different, wasn’t she?
She didn’t show disgust or fear even when she touched their hands or looked into their eyes.
If anything, she showed genuine affection toward the two Espers.
‘W-wait a minute, then isn’t it actually possible? Really…?’
Aries stared at Raymund with trembling eyes.
His cheeks were flushed, as if lost in some romantic fantasy.
Seeing that, Aries’s own eyes flipped.
“How dare you…!”
It wasn’t something a duke’s daughter should say to a prince, but Aries didn’t care anymore.
“Why is it that just because I’m a girl, I can’t marry Seiana?”
It was the exact opposite situation from earlier.
Even if she napped with Seiana a hundred times or went into the changing room with her a thousand times, none of it could compare to marriage—a bond that could legally and completely tie them together.
“Why is it that I’m not royalty…!”
If I were royalty, I’d change the laws just to marry her!
Of course, that would still require Seiana’s consent—but there’s a big difference between not being able to and having a chance.
Consumed with jealousy and trembling, Aries finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Die!”
Kyaaa!
With her nails bared like claws, Aries pounced at Raymund.
She felt she wouldn’t be satisfied until she scratched his face or something.
Raymund, who had just been happily fantasizing, got angry at Aries’s interruption.
Normally, he would’ve used his Esper ability to send her flying far away, annoyed.
But perhaps because his mood was already off, this time his hand went out.
He pushed Aries’s forehead hard as she charged at him, and her eyes flared as she grabbed a fistful of Raymund’s hair.
Raymund, in turn, instinctively grabbed her hair too.
“Ah!”
“You jerk!”
“Let go!”
“You let go first!”
They growled at each other to let go, but neither did.
With their hands locked, the two started kicking at each other.
Even though they were still young, they were Espers, so their physical abilities were superior.
Both expertly dodged each other’s kicks, so they ended up only kicking the air.
And so, neither of them let go of the other until they returned to the imperial palace.
***
The woman looked out the window.
Soon, she saw a carriage passing by the palace grounds where she was staying.
It was a rough-looking carriage, completely unsuited to the grand imperial palace.
Only when it vanished completely from view did she step away from the window.
She paced restlessly around the room, unable to lean on anything for support.
When a small knock sounded at the door, she spoke.
“Come in.”
With her permission, the person outside entered.
It was the coachman who had driven the recently departed carriage.
But beneath the cloak he wore was the uniform of a royal guard, revealing his true identity.
The knight bowed deeply and began reporting on today’s events.
“A fight…? That child?”
“Yes, both of them, after getting off the carriage.”
The knight’s words were surprising.
That child, who had seemed to lose all spirit after the incident three years ago…
Raymund hadn’t stepped outside the prince’s assigned quarters even once.
Even when Aries poked at him, he didn’t move an inch.
Though she’d heard he had changed a lot recently, a fight?
She couldn’t tell whether that was a good or bad thing.
“Were they badly hurt?”
“They’re both strong, so you might worry, but neither of them sustained any serious injuries.”
They had only torn at each other’s hair and made a mess of it, but their lives were never in danger.
Esper battles were usually much more dangerous than this.
At those words, the woman felt relieved.
Even though she was angry, the fact that they had held back meant it wasn’t serious.
If anything, she welcomed the fight.
‘Maybe our child won’t be lonely in the future.’
By coincidence, the two of them had become Espers at the same age.
She was also the one who brought Aries—who had rejected her own family—into the imperial family.
As her mother, she could never truly understand Raymund.
But someone like Aries, with the same powers, might be different.
Maybe… maybe the two of them would fall in love and heal each other’s wounds…
Before, Raymund had always pushed her away, so she hadn’t held out hope.
But now, seeing how close they had become—going on outings together even—hope began to grow.
She was just about to dismiss the knight, feeling she had heard enough, when he hesitated as though there was more to say.
When she asked what it was, he answered.
“His Highness the Fourth Prince said he plans to go on a journey next month.”
“A journey?”
It wasn’t a request—it was a notice.
It wasn’t how a child should speak to a parent, but Raymund was an Esper before he was a prince.
Espers who had accepted their powers for the Empire did not have to obey anyone but the Emperor.
Even the Emperor typically left them alone, as long as they didn’t commit treason.
That was their right, as ones who accepted fate.
Knowing that, the woman still hesitated.
She knew she had no right to stop him—but as his mother, she couldn’t help but worry.
“Who will he be going with?”
“Lady Estevan and Lady Estarote.”
“Estarote……?”
She understood Aries, but the other name was unfamiliar.
It was a renowned noble family, famous enough for the name to instantly ring a bell… and yet, she couldn’t understand how they became involved with Raymund.
“I did tell you before that Ray was attacked, right?”
She had heard that during that incident when Raymund’s escort knights all went mad and attacked the very person they were meant to protect, someone had shielded Raymund.
But… was that not the end of it?
Recently, he had been going out more often and seemed to have changed, so she had looked into it out of curiosity.
However, she hadn’t grasped the full picture.
She decided that she needed to fill in the missing information in order to fully understand the situation.
“Explain to me in order how you came to be involved with the Count of Estarote.”
What she learned after that was astonishing.
That the noble young lady who had saved Raymund by chance was not even an ability-user, yet she showed no fear of them.
That was why Raymund cherished her deeply.
And that wasn’t even the end of it—after meeting Aries as well, he had completely fallen for that young lady.
They had even competed with each other, bringing offerings related to fairies in an attempt to impress her, and it turned out today’s fight had started because they argued over who would grow closer to her…
Every single thing was surprising.
“It really was strange how he suddenly started learning about fairies.”
He himself was an ability-user, a being more mysterious than fairies, so it made no sense for him to suddenly grow curious about them.
Even though she wanted to defend him because he was her son, she knew his personality well enough to know he wasn’t that innocent—she couldn’t take his side.
Feeling a complex and subtle mix of emotions, the woman asked: “Is the Count’s family perhaps… slow-witted?”
She didn’t know how else to phrase it, so she just asked if they were slow.
Even though her question was very condensed, the knight understood exactly and shook his head.
“No, only the young lady is special.”
There was no way to explain it other than calling her special.
Other family members turned pale and quickly averted their eyes whenever they made eye contact with Raymund, but Seiana was the only one who treated Raymund and Aries normally.
“His Highness becomes an ordinary boy in front of that young lady.”
He blushed, smiled sweetly, and even argued with his rival over who got to sit beside her… doing exactly the kinds of things a boy his age might do when he liked someone.
Hearing this, the woman’s eyes trembled.
Seiana’s presence had brought hope not only to Raymund but to her as well.
“Perhaps…”
Perhaps Raymund, at least, could live an ordinary life.
Of course, he would always be an ability-user, but if his partner didn’t avoid him, then maybe a happy marriage was possible.
He wouldn’t have to end up dying alone, like other ability-users who lived isolated lives.
The woman felt possessive.
She didn’t want to lose someone as precious as Seiana to another noble house.
“I’m sorry, Aries…”
She was relieved that Seiana was a girl.
If she had been a boy, it would’ve been good news for Aries.
Until she had met Seiana, she had thought that no one was better suited to Raymund than Aries.
But now, that had changed.