In front of a grand and imposing mansion.
Withered ivy blanketed the walls, and dead rose brambles filled the surroundings.
Jakiel glanced at the sister standing tensely beside him, holding his hand, and said,
"Does anyone really live here?"
"That's what they say. I can't quite believe it either…But still, they're the ones who offered to take us in…"
Just then—
The heavy gate creaked open.
A tall old man with white hair neatly slicked back walked out and bowed politely.
"Welcome, miss Selene."
"Hello. This is my younger brother, Jakiel. Jaki, go on, say hello."
Jakiel gave a small bow.
The white-haired man in a brown tailcoat spoke in a kind voice.
"I am Pierre, the butler of this estate. The master is expecting you. Please, come in."
Jakiel entered the mansion, still tightly clutching his sister's hand. Though the exterior had seemed so eerie it was hard to believe anyone lived there, the interior was surprisingly well maintained.
They passed through a long hallway lined with many portraits. Finally, the butler Pierre opened the door to a room.
Inside, a man wearing a monocle was buried in piles of books, his head lifting as they entered.
He was an aged man with dignified silver hair, dressed in a brown robe, and a peridot of brilliant light embedded in his forehead.
"Oho, welcome. You must be the eldest daughter of House Lapis?"
Selene nodded nervously.
"Then that must be Jakiel—the one said to have talent in magic."
When Jakiel didn't reply, Selene instead smiled brightly and said,
"He's not only gifted in magic—he's achieved outstanding scores in all subjects. He's a child with no weaknesses."
"…So I've heard. Your mother's accident was truly unfortunate."
The old man said this as he rose and stepped closer to the siblings.
"Saint Magdalena Orphanage offered to take the boy in, but I didn't think that would be the best choice."
"…Why not?"
Selene asked. The old man shook his head.
"Didn't they say Jakiel had excellent grades at school? We can't let such a gifted child receive group education at a low-grade orphanage."
"Thank you so much for saying so."
Selene bowed with a relieved expression. The old man studied her for a moment, then spoke.
"However… would a noble lady like yourself be able to handle chores suited for maids? You don't seem the type."
Selene shook her head firmly.
"We didn't have any servants at home. Since I was young, I helped my mother with all sorts of work, so there's no household chore I can't do. If you assign me anything, I'll do my best."
"Can you care for the sick as well?"
"I've done it a few times before. I can manage."
"Your job will be to care for my youngest son, who is ill. He's about Jakiel's age, so it shouldn't be too difficult. And Jakiel, starting tomorrow, you'll serve as my assistant. Understood?"
"Yes."
The siblings answered in unison.
They had never known their father.
The siblings' mother had been born as the illegitimate child of a high-ranking noble and was neglected throughout her upbringing.
Eventually, she became the mistress of a worthless man and gave birth to the two of them.
However, the meager financial support she had received from him dried up at some point.
Not long after, their mother lost her life in a carriage accident.
Their new residence belonged to Zeros Ferken, a court mage. It wasn't his main house, but a place he had acquired from a deceased mistress, intended for his youngest son's convalescence and his own research.
However, due to work, Zeros didn't visit often.
Jakiel went back and forth between the main house and this one, assisting in Zeros's magical studies and learning from him.
Meanwhile, Selene stayed behind to care for the eight-year-old youngest son.
At first, Selene had thought this opportunity was incredibly fortunate.
After all, she was able to place her brother Jakiel under the apprenticeship of a court mage. So she accepted the condition of doing chores without hesitation…
But after just a few days of work, she began to think of escape.
Zeros's youngest son, Louis, whether because of his illness or his nature, was monstrously ill-tempered.
On good days, he raised hell simply because he felt better. On sick days, he made all the maids and Selene suffer endlessly, whining that he was in pain.
In the end, most of the maids quit after just a short time.
The ones who remained were either orphans like Selene, in debt, or had nowhere else to go.
And even those were all humans—none of them were from the noble bloodlines like Selene.
As the only one of magical noble descent, Selene found herself ostracized among the human servants and maids.
How am I supposed to survive here?
Thinking of her future made Selene despair. She spent her days sighing and crying.
But whenever she saw her brother, she made a point of smiling brightly.
At the very least, the pay was good.
She could buy Jakiel any book or candy he needed for his studies, without holding back.
In fact, financially, they were better off now than when they'd scraped by under their late mother.
Just hold on a few years. Endure it, save up money, and get out.
Then I'll open a small dress shop or something…
It was that one hope that kept her going.
Then one day—
Her roommate, Mary, one of the maids, was suddenly all dressed up, more than Selene had ever seen.
She was even humming cheerfully.
"Something good happening today?"
Mary, compared to the other maids, was at least somewhat less cold toward Selene.
Still humming, she replied,
"Today's the day the second young master comes from the main house."
"The second young master?"
Selene had heard that Zeros had three sons at the main house—but she had never seen any of them before.
"Yeah. And let me tell you—he's insanely handsome. Once you see him, you'll fall for him too, I promise."
Selene listened absentmindedly and went about her day.
She worked herself to the bone all day long and completely forgot about the second son.
And that evening—
That day, Louis's tantrums were worse than ever.
In the end, Selene found herself by the well, drawing water—crying silently so no one would hear.
Just then—
"You… I don't think I've seen you around before."
"…?"
Selene hastily wiped her tears with the edge of her apron and turned around.
A tall young man stood there.
He seemed surprised by the diamond shining on Selene's forehead.
The peridot on the young man's brow and the diamond on Selene's met in a fierce gaze.
As Mia flew alone toward the crocodile-infested swamp, she suddenly froze at the sound of familiar wingbeats in the distance.
When she turned, she saw the flaming wyvern approaching.It flapped its wings with fury and drew close to Mia, then spoke,
"What do you think you're doing? Did you really believe you could shake me off?"
"Ugh… How did you know? Don't tell me you didn't sleep?"
"I woke up with a strange feeling, so I checked—and of course…"
Leca sounded truly angry.
The way steam flared from his nose and how he fumed was so amusing that Mia burst into laughter without meaning to.
"You're hopeless. Really. I thought this might be too dangerous, so I wanted to go alone."
"That's precisely why I'm coming with you. Please, don't do anything reckless."
Mia sighed.
"But it's a swamp. What do you plan to do about that?"
"I told you—I have my methods. By the way, how did you even know the way?"
"I summoned a fairy and asked."
They flew in silence. Leca seemed thoroughly upset that Mia had left alone.
Mia mumbled meekly,
"If something goes wrong, I'm not taking responsibility."
"I never asked you to,"
Leca said coldly. That shut Mia up.
At last, they arrived at the crocodile swamp.
Under the bright full moon, the cries of unknown beasts echoed in the distance.
The swamp appeared completely black.
Now and then, the sounds of crocodiles swimming rippled through the air.
"How many crocodiles are there, anyway?"
"We'll have to drain the water first."
"Drain it? The whole swamp?"
"Otherwise, how am I supposed to reach the bottom?"
With that, Leca summoned flames.
The flames danced over the surface of the swamp, slowly drying it up. But they were far too small, and the swamp was far too vast.
"At that rate, when are you ever going to finish drying it up?"
Mia asked in disbelief. He made it sound like he had some great method, and this was it?
"It'll be done before sunrise."
"No way. Move aside. I'll handle it. No—before that."
"Yes?"
"Move those crocodiles somewhere else. You can do that, right?"
"I can… But what are you planning to do?"
"You'll see. First, just move the crocodiles somewhere safe."
Leca muttered an incantation. Then, large mole-like creatures appeared and dove into the swamp.
They dragged the crocodiles away and disappeared.There were three crocodiles in total.
"You sent them somewhere safe, right?"
"They should be. I instructed the earth spirits."
"Alright, then."
Mia recited the battle magic spell she had learned from Rodolphe.
She was confident in summoning large-scale flames.
And now that she had undergone molting, her mana had increased—this time, she felt even more capable.
—BOOM! CRACK! KA-BOOM!—
The loud blasts startled nearby birds into flight.
The swamp was instantly consumed by enormous flames shooting up to the sky. The fire was massive enough to engulf an entire mountain.
Sparks scattered—
Leca shielded Mia's eyes with his hand.
The fire flicked its red tongue, devouring the swamp entirely before finally dying down.
"L-Lady Mia…"
Leca stared at her in shock.
To conjure fire of that scale, without any fuel, in a single moment—
Even he, a spirit of fire, couldn't do that. Could his father have done it?
"Hoo… Guess that's done,"
Mia muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow. Then she looked toward the dazed Leca and said,
"See? Who's protecting who now?"
Could this really be… the 'special power' of a human who had entered the water where a fairy underwent molting?
Leca was speechless, glancing back and forth between Mia and the ground where the swamp had been—
Now a massive crater.