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“Reshia?” A voice filled with curiosity reached my ears as I huffed at the empty air. Startled, I turned my head to find Eugene blinking at me with innocent eyes. It was then that I realized how easily I could be mistaken for someone mad, all thanks to the message window that only I could see.

Forcing a wide, albeit awkward, smile, I quickly placed my hand on Eugene’s shoulder. He was still seated, making it easy to reach him. 

‘When we were younger, I could simply pat his shoulder,’ I thought. But now, Eugene was much taller than me, and even on my tiptoes, it was a struggle.

“You should go back to your room and rest, Eugene,” I said gently. Despite looking perfectly fine, Eugene was still recovering. He hadn’t had a moment’s rest since waking from his long slumber, having immediately helped us with our tasks. He must have been exhausted.

“Axel has already informed the attendants. From now on, you’ll be staying in the main residence.”

“What? But…” Eugene tilted his head in confusion, as if hearing something completely unexpected. It was well known that only direct family members stayed in the main residence of the Elpinard family—just like the story about the rooms named after precious gems. The rule was so strictly enforced that even I, as an adopted daughter, had to stay in the annex until I was fully recognized as a proper lady of the house.

‘Back then, young Duke Gallio was in charge of the household affairs and treated me quite harshly,’ I recalled. It wasn’t until my father offered me one of the rooms with a jewel name that my position in the household improved significantly.

Eugene, who wasn’t related to the Elpinard family by blood, seemed puzzled by the idea of staying in the main residence. As he stood there, bewildered, Axel approached him.

“You’re not planning to just take my magic and pretend nothing happened, are you?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“Naturally, you’re going to be my disciple and diligently study the arcane arts. To do that, you need to stay close to me.”

“Ah…” Understanding dawned on Eugene’s face, and he bowed respectfully to Axel. “Yes, I will repay the gift of your precious magic by studying hard.”

“Well…” Axel’s eyebrow twitched at the unexpected show of respect. In truth, there was no need for Eugene to stay in the main residence just because he was Axel’s disciple. But given that it had become evident that the former emperor and Duke Kreutz intended to use Eugene as a vessel, we couldn’t afford to let him fall into their hands. He needed to be kept close, within easy reach, for protection—though it was probably more accurate to call it “supervision” rather than “protection.”

With that somewhat underhanded intent in mind, Axel was clearly caught off guard by Eugene’s sincere expression of gratitude. Despite maturing with age, Axel was still fundamentally the principled young mage he had always been. From a young age, he had always been weak against those who displayed genuine respect and courtesy.

Realizing that I was watching him closely, Axel cleared his throat awkwardly and lightly patted Eugene on the back.

“In any case, head to the main residence. I’ve already made arrangements, so an attendant will be waiting at the entrance to guide you.”

“Exactly! Leave the rest to the adults and take it easy!” I added, clenching my fists in encouragement.

“Yes, I will.” Eugene smiled warmly, stood up, and extended his hand to me.

“Uh?” I blinked in confusion, staring at Eugene’s outstretched hand. What was he asking for? Seeing my puzzled expression, Eugene tilted his head slightly, as if he were the one who didn’t understand.

“You said to leave things to the adults and take it easy, right? Isn’t Reshia part of the ‘taking it easy’ group too?”

“Oh.” 

I quickly glanced over at Axel and Bael. If we were to define the “adults” in this situation, it would obviously be those two. 

‘Maybe it’s because I met Eugene when he was so young.’ Despite thinking I had fully adapted to my teenage life as Reshia, my adult self seemed to pop out unexpectedly, especially around Eugene.

“And I don’t know my way around very well. Couldn’t you guide me to the main residence?” he asked, his voice sincere.

“What? But…” I leaned in and whispered in his ear, recalling an old memory. “Remember when you snuck out of the Ivory Tower and came to see me? Didn’t you say you memorized all the paths back then?”

“Oh.”

Eugene looked momentarily surprised, his mouth slightly agape, before he chuckled softly and shook his head. “It’s been so long that I’ve forgotten everything.”

I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. True, it had been years. So many years, in fact, that it was strange to think he would still remember the paths he had memorized back then.

“Alright,” I replied, taking hold of Eugene’s still outstretched hand. “I’ll guide you to the entrance of the main residence.”

* * *

“Just go that way,” I said, pointing in the direction we needed to walk as I started moving.

“Now that you’ll be staying in the main residence, we’ll be seeing each other more often. Back when you were studying at the Ivory Tower, we only met every few months.”

“That’s true.”

“Oh! And you can still continue your studies at the Ivory Tower. Even though you’re Axel’s disciple now, you should still graduate.”

“Is that so? If Reshia says I should graduate, then I’ll do it.”

“Hmm?” I stopped in my tracks, feeling something odd about his words, and looked at him.

“What if I told you not to graduate?”

“Then I wouldn’t.”

“Hmm…” I let go of his hand and crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes at him. Eugene tilted his head again.

“Was that not the answer you were looking for?”

“Of course not! Why would you just do what I say? What you want is what’s important.”

“It *was* what I wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm. I wanted to follow Reshia’s wishes.”

“…”

I was at a loss for words, looking up at Eugene. His innocent smile only made it harder to figure out where to even begin pointing out what was wrong.

“Hmm… I don’t like a Eugene who just follows my wishes.”

“Do you like it when I act on my own?” Eugene asked, his eyes wide with surprise as if the thought had never occurred to him.

“People usually like it when someone listens well. Everyone used to say that,” he continued.

“There’s a difference between listening well and following blindly,” I replied, letting out a deep sigh as I took both of his hands in mine. “Eugene, I think it’s much better to act on your own terms than to just follow others like a puppet.”

“Really?”

“Really.” I answered firmly, and a beautiful smile appeared on Eugene’s face. I thought he understood what I meant, but then he said something completely unexpected.

“I don’t think so, Reshia. You don’t even know what I’d want to do if I acted on my own.”

“Then tell me what you want to do, and we can discuss it together.”

“Discuss it?” He seemed puzzled by the idea.

“Yes. We can talk about what’s possible and what isn’t. We can decide together after discussing it.”

“I don’t know… I’ve never really had a discussion like that before.”

I was at a loss for words again. ‘Eugene’s attitude must come from his past experiences,’ I thought.

Being adopted into the Kreutz family, enrolling in the Ivory Tower, even becoming Axel’s disciple—none of those decisions were made according to Eugene’s own will. He had been swept along by the rough currents of life, drifting until he ended up here. The thought that I, too, had contributed to that made my heart heavy. Even though I thought I was saving him, I was still imposing my will on him, denying him his freedom. It made me feel hypocritical.

‘But that’s okay,’ I resolved. I just needed to help Eugene live a life where he could make his own choices from now on! Sitting back in defeat wasn’t in my nature.

I looked Eugene squarely in the eyes and said, “Eugene, I want to know what you want, what you like.”

“I like you, Reshia.”

“I know you like me. I like you too, Eugene.” Who wouldn’t like someone as sweet as him? “But that’s not what I mean.”

“There’s nothing else.”

“Nooo…” I started to feel exasperated as our conversation kept going in circles. I was about to let go of his hands and smack my chest in frustration when suddenly a message window popped up before my eyes.

**[Message from Heaven]**  

*(Urgent) (Warning) The quest has not been completed!  

Do you want to reset the quest progress by letting go now?*  

**Progress: 3 minutes / 30 minutes**

‘Ah!’ I realized that time was being counted! Quickly, I grabbed Eugene’s hand again, just as I was about to let it slip away. Eugene’s eyes widened in surprise at the sudden, firm grip.