Chapter 77: Melusine

I still remember it sometimes.

Her expression, looking at the Emperor of that time with a teasing gaze, every time her belly grew.

After that day, the lord’s gaze towards me became even more thorny.

It was a perfectly natural reaction, given that we had consummated our relationship without a formal wedding ceremony, even though we were engaged.

Leona herself didn’t seem to care much.

On the contrary, she was busy happily contemplating what kind of dress to wear for the wedding.

“What should we do about academy admission….”

“Oh, it’s fine, Dad. I wasn’t planning on going to a place like that anyway.”

“Leona, you must understand the gravity of the situation!”

“Mom, what on earth would I learn from those fools?”

Right?

Leona, who had become pregnant right before her academy admission.

Whether she knew her parents’ worries or not, the way she stroked her belly and spoke to the then-unborn Leonard inside was so very much like her.

It might have been different in the old days, but after the Empire unified all the kingdoms and the academy was established, the age of marriage for nobles had risen.

Nevertheless, Leona’s additional excuse that she was merely upholding tradition only ended up raising the countess’s voice.

“Fine. Then I’ll get you a private tutor.”

“I told you I don’t need one.”

In the end, she didn’t enroll in the academy and took lessons with a private tutor at the mansion. She was taught by none other than Sarah Flask.

Sarah Flask.

The great magus who created a new era was Leona’s private tutor.

At the time, I thought it was the best thing that could have happened, but now… I’m honestly not so sure.

Given her age, the Emperor and I naturally expected an old woman with white hair to arrive.

However, Sarah Flask appeared as a young maiden in her prime, only slightly older than us.

“Wizards are said to transcend their lifespan once they reach a certain level. Wouldn’t an alchemist be even more skilled?”

“…I suppose so.”

“Hey, Edwin. How long are you going to speak so formally? You’re the man I’ve acknowledged, so you don’t have to be so polite.”

“I must decline.”

Sarah and Leona’s lessons took place in the castle garden.

It was thanks to Leona’s whining that she didn’t want to sit at a stuffy desk all day and stare at books.

Curious about what kind of lessons the greatest magus in the world would give, we—or rather, I was more or less forcibly dragged along by him—hid in the bushes and watched.

“…What are they doing?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure either.”

But to the Emperor and me, who were ignorant of magic at the time, all we could see was a flash of light appearing and disappearing repeatedly.

One thing was clear: just as Sarah Flask seemed to be testing Leona, Leona’s gaze also seemed to be testing her.

“Alright. That’s enough for today.”

“Well, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Alright! Sarah, I’ll hire you as my private tutor.”

“…Should I be grateful for this?”

“Who knows? Shouldn’t you just do as your heart desires?”

After the first lesson, Leona smiled brightly and approached the bushes where we were hiding.

For reference, the Emperor had found the lesson observation more boring than expected and was sleeping beside me.

“Edwin!”

“Uh, huh?”

“Let’s go!”

And so, Leona, with a radiant smile, grabbed my arm and led me away.

Yes.

This was the place.

Behind the castle, in the middle of a forest decorated like a small paradise, this sparkling lake.

This emerald lake, which resembled the color of her eyes.

Leona loved it very much.

“….”

The water rippled gently in the sunlight filtering through the forest wind.

This scenery, which at first glance seemed unchanged, felt incredibly lonely for some reason.

“Edwin.”

Even though so much time had passed.

My heart, which still missed her, whispered softly.

It felt as if she would appear from between those bushes at any moment.

“Dad?”

Just then, she appeared with a rustling sound from between the bushes.

My precious daughter, born between her and me, who looked just like her.

The way she had small leaves and such stuck in her hair like ornaments, as if she had gotten lost, was so very much like her.

“…Come here.”

As I made a small gesture to pick them off, my daughter immediately toddled over.

She looked just like my deceased wife, but at the same time, her distinctly different appearance brought me back to reality.

Similarly, the sad longing that had been piercing me until just now subsided and soon turned into a deep memory.

My daughter was very quiet even while I was picking off the small leaves and twigs from her hair.

Only after I was done did she peek her head out and look at the lake hidden behind my back in admiration.

“Wow….”

Just as my wife and I had, my daughter also beamed a radiant smile at the beauty of the lake.

“It’s a very beautiful lake!”

I respond to my daughter, who is seeking my agreement.

As she strolls around the lake, she discovers a small rowboat.

“Dad!”

Even though I hadn’t told her anything, seeing her like the same things as her mother made her shadow loom even larger behind her.

My daughter had already taken a seat in the rowboat and was waving her arms eagerly.

How long has it been since I last sat in this rowboat?

Sure enough.

The seat felt a little cramped compared to back then.

Nevertheless, my hands, which were rowing, remembered the feeling of that time.

After a few familiar strokes, the rowboat was soon neatly settled in the middle of the lake.

“I like this place the best. The chirping of the birds, the whispers of the spirits, any sound from the forest can be heard best on this lake.”

The longing of the past speaks to me.

My daughter, who would normally have sparkling eyes like a child, was for some reason quietly contemplating like Leona who used to enjoy the scenery of the forest and lake, making the illusion of the past overlap even more.

“Can you hear it?”

The her in my heart asks, across time.

What did I answer back then?

Yes.

I said I couldn’t hear it.

At that time, I could only see her in front of me.

And the sound of my own heartbeat blocked out everything else.

That’s what I thought.

But it wasn’t.

Even later, when I had grown somewhat accustomed to her beauty, I still couldn’t hear anything.

“It’s a nice sound.”

In the illusion, my daughter said.

Something I couldn’t hear then, and can’t hear now.

The daughter in front of me also seemed to be hearing the same thing.

“A sound… you say?”

“Yes. From the forest, and from under this lake. Countless sounds are whispering.”

When she asked if I couldn’t hear these sounds too.

I honestly told her that all I could hear was the occasional chirping of birds.

I still remember the somewhat lonely expression on her face then.

I had never imagined she could make such a lonely expression, as if she were the only one in the world, so it remained even more clearly in my memory.

“Can’t you hear it, Dad?”

My daughter tilts her head.

This was the second time I had been asked this question.

I, how should I answer?

What is the right answer?

“You sound just like your mother.”

The choice I made was to tell her the honest old story.

My daughter listens quietly as I tell her about a memory with her mother that was just like this moment.

Afterwards, I told her that unlike her and her mother, I couldn’t hear those sounds.

“But… aren’t you a spirit user too, Dad?”

“It’s a different kind of sound from that.”

“Is… that so?”

My daughter crosses her arms and tilts her head here and there, looking puzzled.

Unlike her mother who had a lonely expression, she herself didn’t seem to know the identity of that sound.

“Let’s go back now.”

I am satisfied with the fact that I didn’t have to see the same expression twice.

I didn’t want to repeat the same feeling of apology for leaving her alone in the world with my daughter.

He rows the rowboat.

After finishing the small outing between father and daughter, they return to the castle to end the day.

“Oh?”

And then.

The moment she was about to pull up the covers to sleep, Lin’s necklace glows as if guiding her.

Following the light of the necklace, Lin slowly walks in her pajamas.

She gradually feels puzzled as she retraces the path she had lost while strolling through the castle during the day.

“This is….”

And so, Lin reaches the lake where she had ridden the rowboat with her father.

The necklace, which had been quiet during the day, emits a bright light as if responding to the moonlit lake.

Then, a blue girl emerges from beneath the water’s surface as if blooming.

“…Huh?”

However, the girl’s appearance was vastly different from that of a normal human.

Horns protruded from both sides of her wet hair, but they emitted a gentle aura like the fairies she had seen in the Abel Forest.

“Lin. Little one born from the lake.”

The girl, who is both a dragon and a fairy, carefully steps on the water’s surface.

With each step the girl takes towards Lin, small ripples spread across the water.

“Um….”

However, unlike the girl who spoke as if she knew Lin, Lin, who had no acquaintance with her, is flustered.

The girl nods her head slightly as if in understanding, then places her hand on her chest as if introducing herself.

“My name is Melusine.”

“Melusine…?”

I am the fairy dragon who protects this sacred lake.