Chapter 44

‘Sigh…’

Even though she knew the praise was calculated…

…her resolve still wavered.

Somewhere deep down, it felt nice to be acknowledged.

Of course, that couldn’t possibly be true.

Janet was only saying things she didn’t mean to get what she wanted.

Even so…

She couldn’t help feeling a little pleased.

Janet carefully watched every subtle change in Aethlyn’s expression.

And in the end…

Things went exactly as she had intended.

Aethlyn was the first to give in.

“…Fine. About an hour a day. I wouldn’t call it tutoring exactly… We’ll just study together.”

“Thank you, dear.”

As though afraid Aethlyn might change her mind, Janet quickly reached out and clasped her hand.

Then, in a sweet, affectionate voice, she said,

“I’m so grateful to have a daughter who’s a mage. Thank you for looking after your little brother in place of this inadequate mother.”

“…”

Warmth spread from the hand suddenly wrapped around hers.

Not warm.

Not cold.

Just a vague, lukewarm warmth.

It felt so awkward that Aethlyn instinctively shivered.

At the same time…

She realized there was one thing she absolutely needed to make clear.

“But I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

Janet’s tone subtly stiffened.

The grip on Aethlyn’s hand loosened.

Meeting her stepmother’s suddenly wary gaze, Aethlyn answered with a faint smile.

“My dog comes with me.”

The moment Janet heard the condition, her expression immediately hardened.

One eyebrow twitched with displeasure.

“…That’s a bit unreasonable. What if that huge dog attacks Arthur?”

“Then I can’t teach him.”

“Aethlyn. Is it really too much to ask that you spend one hour a day with your little brother instead of that dog?”

Despite Janet’s rebuke, Aethlyn didn’t budge.

“My dog will simply stay beside me. You know how gentle and quiet he is. If even that’s unacceptable to you… then there’s nothing I can do.”

“…Sigh. You’re unbelievably stubborn.”

Leaning back in her chair, Janet dramatically fanned herself with one hand.

She had long since let go of Aethlyn’s.

For a while, she silently weighed the imagined danger posed by the filthy black beast against the loss Arthur would suffer by missing his magic lessons.

Finally, speaking as though she were making an enormous concession, she said,

“…Very well. I suppose we have no choice.”

“…Really?”

“But the servants will stay nearby and keep watch. You never know. While your back is turned, who knows what that ‘black-furred friend’ of yours might do?”

“…”

“The truth is, I’m worried about you too, Aethlyn. Right now that beast—well, that dog—is gentle and obedient toward you, but if something upsets it, it could easily become violent—”

Aethlyn openly cut her off.

“…It’s fine. That won’t happen.”

The corner of Janet’s mouth twitched.

Her lips parted as though she were about to say something sharp.

Instead, she forced an unnatural smile.

“…Very well. If that’s what you say.”

Her suffocating meeting with her stepmother was finally over.

She felt as drained as if she had spent hours sparring with magic.

‘*I’m exhausted. I’ll go upstairs and take a nap until dinner.*’

As Aethlyn climbed the stairs after leaving the drawing room, she suddenly stopped.

Her stepmother’s words replayed in her mind.

“But the servants will stay nearby and keep watch. You never know. While your back is turned, who knows what that ‘black-furred friend’ of yours might do?”

“The truth is, I’m worried about you too, Aethlyn. Right now that beast—well, that dog—is gentle and obedient toward you, but if something upsets it, it could easily become violent…”

‘Should I have made it clear that what she said upset me?’

But…

Aethlyn swallowed dryly.

‘She could misunderstand. He does look intimidating.’

It was an unpleasant truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Even Aethlyn had been startled when she’d first encountered him.

Those bright golden eyes.

That jet-black fur.

And his enormous size—so imposing she had mistaken him for a magical beast.

Now, to Aethlyn, he was nothing more than a giant, fluffy sweetheart.

But to someone who didn’t know him…

He certainly looked frightening.

“Well… putting that aside.”

Resting her elbows on the banister, Aethlyn let out a long sigh.

“…This is going to be exhausting.”

She had thought she could spend her remaining days at the estate playing with her dog while preparing for her final Academy entrance examination—which was practically a formality at this point.

Instead…

She had suddenly been saddled with babysitting.

Her last chance to relax here had been completely ruined.

And it wasn’t just any child.

It was Arthur Wintercrown.

Whether it was because of Janet’s harsh upbringing or simply the way he had been born, her younger brother possessed virtually no social skills.

Janet’s words from eight years ago resurfaced in her mind.

“Such a pretty face… yet you don’t have even a trace of the sweetness a girl your age should have.”

Ironically, Aethlyn couldn’t help thinking those words suited Arthur far better than they had ever suited her.

Despite his refined, noble appearance, there wasn’t a hint of sweetness about him.

Even the golem giants built by the Empire’s mages probably had more emotional depth than Arthur did.

‘*And I’m supposed to teach a child like that?*’

She simply couldn’t understand her stepmother’s claim that Arthur looked up to her.

Looked up to her?

‘We barely exchange a word once a day.’

Maybe, by Arthur’s standards, even that counted as a lot…

Still, calling it “looking up to someone” felt like a stretch.

Even now, she was sorely tempted to march back downstairs and tell her stepmother she refused.

But her feet wouldn’t move.

Her pride simply wouldn’t allow her to go back on her word.

After wrestling with herself for a while, Aethlyn finally came to a decision.

‘*I’ll just do the bare minimum.*’

She would think of it as fulfilling the minimum obligation expected of a member of House Wintercrown and simply let the time pass.

The servants might be supervising, but what did they know about magic?

When Aethlyn finally reached her room, the first to greet her was…

…the black dog.

Her terrifying…

…and impossibly gentle dog.

The moment she saw him sitting there with his tongue hanging out, all her complaints disappeared, and a bright smile spread across her face.

“So you were waiting here for me.”

As if answering her, the dog immediately padded over.

Then it lowered its entire body until it was nearly lying flat on the floor before gently rubbing its long snout against her ankle.

Like a Black Knight swearing loyalty to its liege.

A Black Knight?

Aethlyn let out a quiet laugh at her own imagination.

‘*I’m getting carried away.*’

Even so…

She couldn’t stop smiling.

She reached down toward the dog still lying obediently at her feet.

Then she stroked him.

From the top of his head…

…down to the back of his neck.

Softly.

Her slender white fingers sank into his thick double coat.

The outer fur was coarse.

The undercoat was soft.

How long had she stood there absentmindedly petting him?

Before she knew it, she found herself murmuring something equally sentimental.

“How could such a good boy ever do anything like that? I really don’t understand.”

A week passed after her “negotiation” with her stepmother.

Contrary to Aethlyn’s worries, life remained as peaceful and leisurely as ever.

Nothing had changed.

Well…

She did have to spend an hour with Arthur every day.

Even now, the two of them were sitting together in the library.

“…”

Aethlyn lowered her eyes to the book in her hands.

Across from her sat her younger brother.

He had an even thicker book propped up on his lap, his face completely hidden behind it.

The title on the cover was written in elegant lettering.

The Fundamentals of Rune Magic

“…”

Arthur had been completely absorbed in reading for the past thirty minutes.

His concentration was remarkable.

Aethlyn swallowed dryly.

‘He really is exceptional for someone his age.’

Arthur never once asked Aethlyn to teach him anything.

He simply immersed himself in magic books and busied himself practicing the spells he learned from them.

Objectively, it was the best possible situation for Aethlyn.

Just as she’d hoped, she barely had to do anything.

Still…

Doing absolutely nothing left her feeling strangely guilty.

So, at first, she’d tried to act like a proper teacher.

‘My stepmother asked me to help. I should at least make an effort.’

One day, Arthur was practicing a spell.

Aethlyn offered a small piece of advice.

“Arthur, why don’t you raise your arm a little higher?”

He rejected her suggestion immediately.

“If I raise my arm, it’ll only make me a bigger target.”