DTBTHS Chapter 15

"What things?"

"That it's an incomplete product that can only be used on that child... and the story that Ariadne can create the completed version."

"You saw the effects yourself. Don't you believe it, then?"

"Honestly speaking, I hope it's not true. If it is true, it's too dangerous. If this becomes known..."

"Every single riffraff will swarm after the child."

"War could break out over that child."

"Would it only be war? Conspiracy and schemes will run rampant. Even the King can't be trusted in matters like this. Keep your mouth shut."

"As expected, no matter how clever, that child is still young. To speak of such things so carelessly."

At the Margrave's words, the Archmage's eyes flashed behind his glasses.

"No, I was rather impressed."

"Pardon?"

"That child knows her exact value. She revealed it because she knows."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That way, we'll make the effort not to let the Duke take her back."

"..."

"In other words, if she had no value, she thought we would hand her over to the Duke."

The Archmage added bitterly. The Margrave made a pained groan and pressed his hand to his forehead.

"To think she'd have so little expectation..."

"We're both being punished for our indifference all this time. That child may never open her heart."

The Archmage spoke in a deflated tone and sank into the corner of the sofa.

"She'll hate me. She says she doesn't hate me, but there's no way she wouldn't. She keeps calling me 'Lord Archmage' so formally. At first she called me grandfather... If only I'd recorded it then..."

This time the Margrave looked steadily at the Archmage.

"Are you going to run away again? You should make the effort for the child to open her heart."

"Will effort work? What should I do?"

"That's something you need to figure out yourself, Father."

"...What does the child like?"

"I don't know."

"But you've been seeing the child constantly these days, haven't you? Give me a hint."

"I don't know either. Figure it out yourself, Father."

He coldly detached the clinging Archmage and stood up from his seat. The Archmage could only sigh deeply.

Ariadne sat on the bed and unfolded the contract.

No matter how many times she looked, the blank remained empty, and the Margrave's seal remained distinct.

It was a contract no different from a blank check.

'I didn't think he'd hand over something like this so readily.'

She touched the slightly protruding embossed section.

'I didn't think they'd react that way when I showed them the Elixir either.'

The hand that had wiped her sweat came to mind. In the great dining hall, wiping the food from the corner of her mouth as well.

The hazy memories from the journey also surfaced.

Hands that had straightened her blankets, cooled her forehead, spooned porridge into her mouth, caught what she'd vomited.

It had clearly been the Archmage who tended to her while she was ill. He could easily have ordered someone else to do it.

'Little one. Let's go.'

The large, warm hand that had held hers and led her.

'I'm sorry for realizing too late. Sorry I couldn't rescue you sooner.'

The Margrave's words, whispered with wet eyes.

'I want to become real family you can lean on as much as you need.'

The words he'd spoken while giving her the blank contract.

"...Could they be sincere?"

Ariadne murmured quietly to herself.

She didn't believe in blood relations. The belief that family would love you unconditionally simply because they were family—that was an empty faith.

Neither her grandmother nor her father had loved her. No matter how much she loved them, they never changed.

But Mother had been different. Mother had truly loved her. She had poured out love even before Ariadne could give any.

Memories of following the morning glory vines into a tight embrace. Memories of kisses on her cheek and forehead. Memories of laughing together. Memories of Mother staying by her side until she fell asleep.

The affection that had poured over her warmly.

The morning glory vines that had tried to pull her from the study until the very end. The stems that had approached her even while withering.

Gestures that had tried to protect her somehow.

Simply because she was her mother, Gloria had loved her that much.

Not all family bestowed unconditional love upon each other.

However, there were clearly people who poured out love generously for the reason of family alone.

Just as there were those who loved each other like family even without sharing blood.

She'd pretended not to know because acknowledging it would make her lonely, because expecting it was frightening.

'Could we become that kind of relationship?'

Where giving love brought love in return, where smiling brought smiles back. Where they smiled first even when she didn't smile.

Could becoming that kind of relationship be possible?

'No, surely not. Becoming that kind of relationship couldn't be this easy.'

She looked down at the contract again. She traced the firmly pressed letters with her fingertips.

'There must be some ulterior motive. Win my favor to put me at ease, then extract the recipe, or something like that...'

She frightened herself by conjuring all sorts of negative assumptions.

Yet even so, she couldn't take her eyes off the phrases written in the contract and the Margrave's signature.

Eventually she buried her face in the contract and lay down on the bed. She pulled the blanket over her head and hid.

'It can't be. Still, perhaps, perhaps—'

The assumption that kept surfacing circled in her mind. No matter how much anxiety, planning, and doubt she poured out, that ember wouldn't die down.

'Perhaps, becoming real family might be... possible.'

From when walks were permitted, Ariadne began gradually exploring the castle grounds.

A young child wandering the castle grounds was something that hadn't happened at Snowstorm Castle in a very long time.

A gentle vitality circulated through the previously empty castle.

The Margrave ate meals with Ariadne without fail. The Archmage also appeared at the dining table every time.

Originally the Archmage ate his meals while conducting research alone in the western tower. Holing up in one's quarters and rarely emerging was a common trait among mages.

For such an Archmage to eat together in the great dining hall was an extremely exceptional occurrence.

—It must be because of the young miss?

—It's thanks to the young miss.

The servants would whisper and smile secretly among themselves.

Ariadne, who at first felt she might get indigestion at every meal, gradually grew accustomed as they ate together repeatedly. She became less and less tense.

Walking through the greenhouse holding the Margrave's hand after breakfast also became part of her routine.

Snowstorm Castle had an enormously large greenhouse. Even when pure white blizzards raged beyond the glass dome and glass walls, inside the greenhouse it was always like a spring day.

'It wouldn't be the same method as my previous life, so it must be magic?'

Ariadne looked beyond the glass with wonder. Following her gaze, the Margrave spoke.

"This is a place your grandfather made for your grandmother."

"Lord Archmage?"

No wonder the scale was tremendous.

When she turned around with wide eyes, the Margrave smiled with a loosened expression.

"Yes. So your grandmother could walk even in winter, he cast magic and made it himself."

As time spent with the Margrave increased, something Ariadne realized:

When no one else was nearby, the Margrave's face would loosen with a few screws missing whenever he looked at her.

Then when the butler cleared his throat or the servants gaped at him, he'd startle and return to a stern face.

Maintaining a hardened expression was more dignified and suited the Margrave better.

Still, Ariadne preferred that foolish expression that didn't suit him.

Because it resembled the expression Mother had when looking at her.

The Margrave whispered in a soft tone.

"When the blizzard stops, let's walk outside too. When spring comes, we'll go to the lakeside. In summer we can even swim."

Ariadne looked up at the Margrave. He was grinning broadly. She asked in a small voice.

"Is there a lake nearby?"

"There's a very pretty lake. When spring comes, flowers bloom thick as a carpet. It's the perfect place for a picnic."

"...Will you go together?"

"Of course."

"Aren't you busy?"

"That's exactly why we should go together. You have to rest for work to go well."

"Is going on a picnic with me resting time?"

"Of course!"

The Margrave suddenly lifted her up.

"Eek!"

He sat her on his shoulders. It was possible because the Margrave was large as a bear and Ariadne was small.

"Isn't it getting hard to walk?"

"I'm fine. I can walk more."

"Don't push yourself. Just think of it as riding a horse."

"A h-horse..."

"Come to think of it, you haven't learned horsemanship yet. Hmm, when you've grown about this tall, I'll buy you a good foal."

The Margrave gestured to slightly above his waist and laughed heartily.

Riding on his shoulders, that laughter transmitted through her entire body. The inside of her chest tickled.

Ariadne, who had been smiling faintly, discovered the Archmage sneakily hiding behind a tree in the greenhouse. With her elevated view, she could see him clearly.

'He's hiding again.'

Since she'd begun wandering the castle grounds, the Archmage had occasionally lingered nearby.

At first she'd thought he was monitoring her, but watching more carefully, he seemed to have some other intention.

She looked down at the Margrave and spoke quietly.

"The Lord Archmage is watching."

"I know."

"Why does he keep hiding and watching?"

"That's what I'd like to know. And he's not even a child."

The Margrave clicked his tongue.

"Does he have business with me, perhaps? Something related to the Elixir..."

When Ariadne muttered and turned around, the startled Archmage cleared his throat loudly and departed in another direction.

"He's just leaving."

"He'll come back in a bit."

The Margrave chuckled.