After quite some time under Seria’s relentless punches, I was finally free from her assault.
She looked slightly out of breath, likely from how vigorously she had been swinging.
“Exercising late at night, are we? Such dedication.”
…Well, honestly, I doubt she intended to admit that so boldly. She was probably just groggy from the late hour and flustered by seeing me come back injured out of nowhere. Her mouth must have moved before her brain caught up.
Still, the truth she blurted out wasn’t something that could be brushed aside—it was clearly a criminal act.
“What? What’s the problem? Is it wrong for a princess to wander around the palace?”
She tried to act confident after the fact, but it was too late. I was already prepared to tease her.
“Seria, that’s a crime. Ever heard of stalking?”
“It’s not like that! I only tried the tracking spell today for the first time…!”
“First-time offenders are still criminals.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not like that…!”
Seria argued vehemently, as if she were terribly wronged. In the end, I decided to let it slide—but on one condition: she promised never to cast tracking magic on me again.
“For what it’s worth, I really wasn’t planning to use it again. Just so you know.”
“The first time’s the hardest. The second and third are easy.”
“What do you even think of me, Rudion?”
“A stalking criminal?”
“You said you’d let it go!”
What a shameless girl. Did she really think her crime could be erased that easily?
…Maybe I should stop teasing her. She’s been more focused on my injuries for a while now.
Now, how am I supposed to explain this? I pondered, but a perfect lie didn’t come to mind.
“Why are you hesitating? Just give me your arm already. Let me treat it first.”
Surprisingly, Seria was the one to bring it up.
Her sudden suggestion left me dumbfounded, and she continued in a nonchalant tone.
“I’ve known for a while that you’re hiding a lot. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? Do you take me for a fool?”
…Well, she had a point. I’d done plenty of suspicious things before, so it would have been stranger if she hadn’t noticed.
But she’s willing to let this obvious situation slide? Why?
Not that it matters much to me whether she believes what I say. I handed her my arm as instructed. She began diligently applying ointment and wrapping it with a bandage.
The way she tied it, though, was… less than ideal.
“This is your first time doing this, isn’t it?”
“Of course. Normally, injuries are healed right away.”
Typical of the royal family, with their close ties to the Trierr family, who specialize in healing magic.
They wouldn’t have to leave any wounds untreated. I could get healed instantly if I wanted, but Seria seemed to understand that I didn’t care for that, which is why she was tending to me this way.
Still, with how sloppy her bandaging was, it might’ve been better if she hadn’t bothered.
“Seria, bandages aren’t ribbons.”
“All done. How does it look?”
“Thank you. But it’s clumsy.”
“…If you don’t like it, redo it yourself!”
Annoyed at her own poor handiwork, she stormed off. In the end, I had to rewrap the bandage myself.
As soon as I finished, Seria quickly left.
“Well, I’ll be going now. Goodnight, Rudion.”
She was clearly embarrassed. Not that she ever acted confident anyway.
For some reason, I felt wide awake now. Maybe I should read one of the books I borrowed before going to sleep. It’d be a waste not to read even a page.
I opened a book… and before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep. Books really are the best sleeping aid.
“Your Highness, what brings you here at this hour?”
“Nothing important. Don’t mind me. I’m heading back to my room now.”
Click.
By the time she returned to her room, it was well past a reasonable hour for sleeping. She lay on her bed, but the memory of her actions replayed in her mind, and her face flushed with heat.
“Why did I have to say that…?”
Thump! Thump!
She vented her frustration on her blanket, but the heat in her cheeks refused to subside. Of course, she had used tracking magic—it was the truth.
But still…“Why did Mom have to teach me that…?”
To be honest, it wasn’t entirely her choice, so she couldn’t help but resent the person who caused all this. Yes, everything that happened was entirely her mother’s fault.
After dinner, her original plan was to guide Rudion to the guest room. However, a sudden summons from her mother made that impossible. In the end, she left the task to a servant and answered her mother’s call.
“Mom, why did you call me?”
“You’re here? Come, have a seat.”
When she opened the door to the room her mother had called her to, her mother was waiting at the table, as if she had been expecting her. On the table were a variety of desserts—her favorites—carefully prepared.
There was no reason to refuse, nor any need to, so she followed her mother’s words and sat down.
“So? How much do you like him?”
“…What?”
It was a trap.
No, she had somewhat expected that this was what they would talk about… But she hadn’t anticipated that the question would hit her squarely the moment she sat down, without even a chance to taste the dessert.
Her mother continued, “Well, as much as I don’t want to let go of my daughter, I’ve always dreamed of giving her advice about love. Shall we call it a mother’s romance?”
Even as her mother tried to explain further, she couldn’t give an answer. How much do you like him?
[Current Affection Level: 39/100]
She obviously couldn’t show that to her mother. But just saying “a lot” felt too embarrassing for several reasons. It was an incredibly difficult question to answer.
However, even her silence seemed to be an answer in itself. Her mother’s lips curved into a subtle smile.
“I’ll give you some advice, Seria. In situations like this, you have to take the lead. A boy like him is bound to have rivals, don’t you think?”
…Her mother’s words brought a face to mind—Alkine, the student council president.
The determination in Alkine’s eyes whenever she looked at Rudion was anything but simple. Lately, that intensity seemed to have grown even stronger.
‘Lilith also talks to him quite often, but…?’
Still, it wouldn’t be her. Lilith didn’t seem interested and, if anything, was more focused on teasing her about Rudion.
In the end, there was only one person who could be called a rival right now.
“There is someone.”
“See?”
Alkine. If anyone at the academy matched Rudion as his partner, it would undoubtedly be her. Her strength was truly extraordinary.
For now, Seria was always by Rudion’s side, but if a dangerous situation arose? If they faced a threat she couldn’t involve herself in?
In such a case, the likelihood of those two resolving the problem together was high.
She hated that thought. Imagining the two of them growing closer through shared hardships made her feel like crying.
Although she had confessed her feelings to Rudion and left the choice to him, the mere thought of such scenarios filled her with unease.
“Want to know the method I used back then?”
“…What is it?”
Her mother’s words were like a ray of light to her. And so…
She couldn’t refuse, but the content of her mother’s advice was so shocking that she was left speechless.
“Use tracking magic and surveillance magic to figure out where he is and what he’s doing. That way, you can quickly figure out what he wants. Once you know, it’s easy to act on it.”
It was more of a crime committed with magic than a proper method.
“I know, but it worked, didn’t it? And back then, your father wasn’t even the emperor.”
When she pointed this out, her mother nonchalantly replied with a smirk. That made it even more absurd, and she couldn’t help but argue back.
“He wasn’t the emperor, but he was still the crown prince, wasn’t he?”
“Hmm, true.”
“That’s not something to just brush off….”
She had always known her mother was extraordinary, but this was beyond her imagination.
At the same time, it made sense—there was no one who could oppose her mother, so such methods were feasible. She couldn’t help but admire her a little.
That thought led her to imagine her own situation. If a royal like herself used tracking and surveillance magic on a commoner like Rudion, would anyone dare to object?
“So? You don’t need it? I was going to teach you.”
Though she was hesitating, her mind was already leaning in a particular direction.
“You really don’t want it?”
“Just teach me the tracking magic. That’s all I need.”
“Fufu, I’ll teach you both. You can decide how to use them.”
And so, she made her decision. She didn’t want to learn surveillance magic—it was the last shred of her conscience.
In the end, she was forced to learn it anyway, but she had no intention of actually using it. From the moment she learned tracking magic, she knew it wasn’t right, but rationalizing one’s misdeeds was a necessary evil.
It didn’t take long for her to use the tracking magic she had learned. Before going to bed, she decided to deliver the promised Journey of the Stars series to him, and she used the spell in the process.
She had worried that Rudion, who always seemed to notice whenever she used magic, might catch her, but for some reason, he didn’t seem to realize anything this time.
It couldn’t have been an act—he wasn’t good at pretending.
Once she returned to her room and activated the tracking magic, she could vividly sense Rudion’s location. Even though they were far apart, it felt like they were in the same space.
‘If I stay like this, it’ll feel like we’re always together.’
Of course, Rudion wouldn’t know, but it didn’t matter as long as she felt it. This kind of sensation was enough for her personal satisfaction.
Still, she had no plans to keep the magic active for long.
‘Even if he doesn’t notice now, he might figure it out eventually.’
More importantly, it felt too creepy. She could admit to being a frivolous girl, but she refused to think of herself as a pervert. Not that such thoughts had never crossed her mind… No, they hadn’t. Absolutely not.
Whatever the case, this wasn’t right. She needed to cancel the magic quickly—
“Huh?”
It cut off.
No, it disappeared entirely. It was as if the target of the tracking magic had vanished, leaving the spell to wander aimlessly.
The feeling of being with him moments ago dissolved like an illusion, leaving an empty void.
This wasn’t the magic being canceled; it was the target of the magic disappearing. The thought that something might have happened to Rudion made her body move on its own.
Bang!
She flung open the door and retraced her steps to the guest room. Without knocking, she opened the door and entered.
“…Rudion? Where are you?”
But the room was empty. Only the books she had lent him earlier sat on the desk. There was no trace of Rudion anywhere.
Only the tracking magic she had cast pointed to the last spot where he had been standing.
…Why had he pushed the bookshelf aside? She didn’t understand him, as always.
Still, she knew he wasn’t the type to move the bookshelf without reason or disappear without a word.
“You’re coming back soon, right?”
Muttering to herself in the empty room, she could only wait for Rudion to return.
Suddenly, a stream of text appeared before her eyes:
[Waiting with trust. Affection increased by 1!]
[Affection level: 40 achieved!]
[You have received a special reward and unique attributes.]
[As an affection reward, you’ve gained the “Concept Realization” bonus.]
[Unique attribute “Time” has increased.]
[Current Time Value: 1]
[Confirming changes to Time Value.]
[You can now glimpse fragments of the future known to the target.]
‘…The future?’
As she read through all the text, she felt confused, but her consciousness began to blur before she could think further.
Fearing she might collapse, she quickly pulled over a nearby chair and sat down. Then, she blacked out.