Chapter 65 - Independence

"Alright, Professor. But I have one question."

"Go ahead."

"Why is Trisha treated this way? If you just let her be free, there'd be no need for me to get involved."

Ella exhaled a long stream of smoke, paused for a moment, and then said, "If you're going to live together, you should know a few things about Trisha. First, Trisha isn't fully affiliated with Eternia. She's half Eternia, half somewhere else. Just know that we tried to give her as much freedom as possible, but that was the limit."

Ella recalled what the Order had casually mentioned when discussing Azaelis' admission.

Chronically dissatisfied, rebellious, and a child who engages in dangerous eccentricities when left free. That was the Order's overall assessment of Azaelis.

The near-imprisonment treatment was strongly desired by the Order. Following that, they wanted to permanently station Order troops at Eternia and even have their royal guard disguised as students to constantly monitor and protect Azaelis.

It was only settled due to Azaelis’ extreme opposition and her threat to commit suicide by biting her tongue.

"Is she a princess or something?"

"More than that."

"...It's hard to imagine."

"Just accept it."

Even a princess' entire army couldn't change it. Azaelis held that much value.

Throughout Eternia's history, the Planteras' top priority directive had always been 'Protect Eternia,' and it had never changed.

But after Azaelis enrolled, that steadfast first directive changed.

Protect Azaelis, even if Eternia falls.

And no one objected to this change.

The current Saint Flenche was too old to empower the North.

Azaelis, who would succeed her, was different. She had the potential to end the daily tragedies at the northern defense line and change the fate of the entire continent.

Azaelis was desperately trying to escape the Order's control. Since she had staged a suicide attempt saying she'd rather die than accept restraint under the pretext of protection, forcing more patience would clearly only have negative effects.

A strange light flickered in Damian's eyes. It was hard to guess what emotion he felt. As always, he was a boy with extremely minimal facial expressions.

She planned to keep the tongue-biting incident secret from Damian. Starting a relationship with preconceptions wouldn't do any good.

When Damian remained silent, Ella asked, "No other questions?"

"No."

"Alright, let's stop here for now. If you have questions, come find me at the library."

***

Silveryn sat on the fountain edge against the evening sunset.

Next to her was our carriage, surrounded by knights in golden armor.

As I approached Silveryn, she stroked my head affectionately and said, "How is it? Livable?"

"I can live well even in places crawling with rats and bedbugs. I feel rich."

"That's good."

"But why are these people here?"

"...For something important. Let's talk about the rest in the carriage."

As we got in the carriage, the knights mounted their horses. They surrounded the carriage like escorts as we moved.

Silveryn glared briefly at the knights through the carriage window before irritably drawing the curtain.

She turned away from me and remained silent for a moment. Then she spoke with difficulty, "My disciple. I have to leave for somewhere far away due to urgent business."

"Where?"

"The Holy City. You know where that is, right?"

The Holy City where all buildings supposedly sparkle with gold. The Holy City was a mysterious place I'd only read about in books.

So that was it. The knights' unusual attire meant they were from the Holy City.

"Yes, when do you leave?"

Silveryn paused before speaking.

"...Tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

My heart sank, and I was momentarily speechless.

I knew we couldn't be together every day like before once the academy started. Though I'd somewhat prepared myself mentally, this was too sudden.

"...When will you return?"

"I'm not sure exactly. It could be months."

"Do you have to go?"

"...Yes."

I wasn’t sure if I should feel shocked or hurt. An emotion difficult to express in words constricted my chest.

Being with Silveryn every day wasn't a given. We could be separated overnight like this.

Due to Silveryn being the Archmage. She must have many people who rely on her and many responsibilities to bear.

That was only now becoming real to me.

Why does it feel so long when it's just a few months?

"I won't be able to go to the entrance ceremony with you."

"...It's okay."

Silveryn avoided my gaze and fell silent.

We couldn't exchange any words until we reached the mansion.

***

Late at night, Silveryn came down the mansion stairs in her nightgown, holding a single candle.

She walked through the dark, silent corridor and stopped in front of a door.

Then she knocked carefully.

"...My disciple."

It was deathly quiet.

Usually, she would have Damian come up to her if there was business.

Silveryn couldn't spend the night like this, so she finally came down to Damian's room.

"Are you sleeping?"

Silveryn quietly opened the door and peeked inside. The room was pitch black.

Damian was sound asleep in bed.

Silveryn approached the bed silently. She placed the candle on the bedside table and sat lightly on the edge of the bed.

Then, she slowly stroked Damian's hair as he slept curled up.

Seeing his peacefully sleeping face made her feel oddly annoyed.

"Here I am lying awake worrying about you, while you're sprawled out sleeping soundly?"

She poked his cheek gently with her finger, not enough to wake him.

He must have been in deep sleep, as he didn't stir at all.

Watching his peaceful face made her heart heavy again.

"Why am I so worried about a brief separation..."

Even Silveryn couldn't understand why she was acting this way.

Though he was a child who could manage perfectly well on his own, she couldn't shake off her anxiety.

Silveryn slightly lifted the blanket and slipped underneath. Lying next to Damian, she whispered softly, "My disciple, since I won't see you for a while, let me be a little selfish."

Then, she wrapped her arms around Damian and closed her eyes.

***

Damian and the servants came out to the courtyard early in the morning to see off Silveryn departing for the Holy City.

Silveryn approached Damian and handed him a dagger and a small glass vial.

"My Disciple. Could you fill this with some blood?"

"What?"

"Blood. Dagger. Vial. Now."

Without a word, Damian cut his palm with the dagger and let the blood drip into the glass vial. When it was half full, the flow of blood gradually decreased.

"What will you use this for?"

"You'll see."

She held out her palm to Damian.

In Silveryn's hand were two metal cubes the size of fingernails.

"Take one and swallow it."

"What?"

"Put it in your mouth and swallow."

Damian stared at the cube for a moment before quickly swallowing it.

Silveryn put the remaining cube into the vial containing Damian's blood.

Soon the cube began to glow as it reacted with the blood.

"To think I'd use this precious thing on a boy much younger than me. Want to feel it?"

Silveryn corked the vial and held it against Damian's cheek. The bottle pulsed at regular intervals.

"...What's that thumping?"

"Can you feel it? It's your heartbeat. With this, I can feel your heartbeat even if we're on opposite sides of the continent."

"...That's amazing."

"I need to know how you're doing even when I'm far away. This cube was also made from star fragments. While I'm there, I plan to receive an oracle using this."

"Oracle...?"

"Yes, I'll come back with only good news. Don't worry."

Though it was time to leave, Silveryn couldn't bring herself to move.

She carefully healed Damian's hand with a potion.

Then Silveryn bent slightly to meet Damian's eye level. She caressed his cheek for a while.

Though it was just a couple of months, they looked like people who had to part for years.

"You're making it hard for me to leave, my disciple."

"Don't worry about me. I was always good at living alone."

"Are you saying you'll live well without me?"

"No... that's not what I meant..."

"Right, even if it's not as good as when you're with me, live well."

"Yes."

"And listen well, my disciple. Eternia isn't a safe place. It only seems relatively safe because the outside world is abnormally dangerous."

"It's okay. I'm staying in the safest place in Eternia."

"No barrier or magic can be perfect; they all have weaknesses. Even the Labyrinth, the safest place in Eternia, has vulnerabilities."

Silveryn tapped the mask tucked in Damian's chest with her finger and said, "Do you know why you need to wear masks in the Labyrinth? The central part of the Labyrinth was once devastated by a worthless magic creature called a Doppler. Now the barrier blocks Dopplers and masks are enough to deal with them, but back then, Dopplers were a type of magic creature that had never been reported to academia or seen by anyone—literally something experienced for the first time. So they couldn't handle it."

"..."

"Even now, reports occasionally come to the Magic Academy about magic creatures that no one has ever experienced. Some possess high intelligence, some even have magical abilities. Eternia can't predict and block all of these. It means something strange could come and devastate everything at any time."

"I'll be careful."

Silveryn grabbed both of Damian's cheeks. After thinking for a while, she spoke more forcefully, "My disciple, you're a very independent child. You try to solve everything alone without relying on others. Even with someone like me beside you. It's fine if you want to hunt ghouls alone or secretly make things with strange recipes you pick up. That's the way of life you've maintained forever, and that's how you grew. And when you're by my side, I can block most problems."

At the mention of recipes, Damian seemed guilty and gradually avoided Silveryn's gaze. She grabbed his chin and fixed it back in place.

"But now I won't be beside you. Do you know what worries me most? You don't value your life. Sometimes when I look at you, I feel it. You act like someone who doesn't care if they die. You were like that when we first met. You're the only crazy person who would face a ghoul horde bare-handed in uncharted territory. Repeat after me. I am crazy."

"..."

"Quickly."

"I... am... crazy."

Everything Silveryn had been holding back began to boil over. She revealed her unfiltered emotions.

"So, don't go doing anything dangerous, ya hear? Remember, I took responsibility for you. If you do anything life-threatening while I'm gone, know that when I return, all the freedom you've enjoyed will be revoked. I'll confiscate all those dangerous recipes you have stored, and I'll personally manage and control everything—what you eat, where you go, what classes you take, what clothes you wear, who you meet, what friends you make. Understood?"

Damian's pupils shook strongly at Silveryn's first-ever authoritarian attitude.

"Are you serious...?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?"

"...I understand. I'll be careful."

"Good."

Silveryn calmed her agitated feelings for a moment and took out a Stitch from her chest.

"You've used this before, right? Wait a moment."

She blew on her index finger, creating a small flame.

Then she began engraving initials on the stitch with that finger.

The metal surface burned black following her movements.

S♡D

She placed the stitch in Damian's hand and said, "This is precious, so keep it safe. Use it if anything happens. It will reach me immediately. You know, right? There are very few Stitches that come directly to me, so don't lose it."

"I'll keep it safe."

"And here's your homework while I'm gone. Listen well."

"Yes."

"Firstly, eat three proper meals a day.

"Secondly, maintain regular training in swordsmanship, spirit arts, and mana.

"Thirdly, send Teacher letters longer than ten lines every week, no, every five days."

Damian was half dazed from feeling completely overwhelmed.

"...Yes."

"Did you memorize them all?"

"What?"

"Let's check if you memorized it. First."

"Eat well."

"Second."

"...Train hard."

"Third."

"Let… weekly… um, I forgot."

Silveryn frowned and said, "Of all things to forget."

She pinched one of Damian's cheeks with all her might.

"Again, first."

With his cheek stretched like dough, Damian said in a trembling voice, "S-send letters every day. S-sincerely."

Silveryn glared at Damian for a moment before releasing his cheek and gently rubbing the reddened spot.

"Right... that'll do."

She very slowly brought her face close to Damian's.

Then she planted a deep kiss on his cheek.

"I'm going."

After confirming she'd left a dark mark, Silveryn finally turned away with difficulty and got into the carriage.