"There's a hole in the middle of this place? I can't really see it."
At Mia's words, Leca summoned will-o'-the-wisps to light the area and called upon fire spirits to clear the swamp's floor.
And indeed, a hole large enough for a person to fit through appeared.
"I'll go in first."
With that, Leca stepped in without hesitation. Mia quickly followed behind.
Inside, it was damp and structured like a narrow tunnel—too cramped to stand upright.
Only after summoning dozens of will-o'-the-wisps, including Mia's, could they barely crawl through.
The path extended in only one direction, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.
"How far do we have to go?"
Mia asked anxiously. Come to think of it, no one had told her how far it would be.
"…It shouldn't be too far."
"How do you know that?"
"If it were far, no mage would choose to travel such an uncomfortable route in the first place."
As Leca said, the tunnel soon came to an end. A ladder was fixed to the damp, muddy wall.
At the top of the ladder was a round opening, and through that round hole, a deep navy sky dotted with stars could be seen.
But the ladder was long, and the exit looked dreadfully far away. It would take a while to climb.
"So once we go up there, it'll be the land of mages—Taitonia, right…"
Mia murmured.
"By the way, someone said a salamander would come to meet us when we came out. Will that still work?"
Leca shook his head.
"That dark mage has already cast a spell to block us from seeing what's happening. That likely means he has also bound the salamander."
"Then where should we go once we're out?"
"There's a way to ask a fire spirit where the salamander's dwelling is. Just like last time…"
Leca didn't climb the ladder. Instead, he carefully surveyed the area.
"What are you doing?"
"…I was checking if I could transform into a wyvern and fly up. But it's too narrow. I don't think I can make it. Lady Mia, you might be able to."
Mia fluttered her wings. It was tight, but she thought she could manage to fly through with some effort.
"I think I can make it. Can't you turn into something smaller?"
"Pardon?"
"If you can transform into something smaller than a wyvern, I can carry you."
Leca nodded.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lady Mia."
In an instant, Leca turned into a small lizard and perched on Mia's shoulder.
Mia spread her wings and took flight.
The passage was so long and narrow that even flying took time.
Finally, as Mia emerged from the exit—
Two people in black robes blocked her path, crossing their spears in an X shape.
"Who are you? Identify yourself."
Leca instantly returned to human form. He held out the black orb that had been given to him by the serpent familiar of the witch.
At that, the two figures disappeared without a word.
The surroundings were silent, and bitterly cold.
Back in Sibareth, the weather had been like late summer, so there had been no need for heavy clothing.
"This place is so strange. The weather completely changed. How is that possible?"
Leca conjured a fur cloak with magic and draped it over Mia's shoulders.
"If several high-ranking mages gather, they can create weather like this.
Or this place might be inside a barrier, which would explain it."
"The land of mages really can do anything, huh."
Leca summoned a fire spirit and instructed it to find the salamander's location.
A short while later, the spirit returned and reported,
"Head straight east from here. Before long, you'll come across a large black tree. That tree marks the entrance to a barrier. You'll need to cut it down to break the barrier. Once it's felled, you'll see the mansion."
"Good work. Do you know exactly where in the mansion the salamander is?"
"I couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Just… it seemed to be underground."
With that, the small fire spirit disappeared.
The two walked eastward, braving the chilling night wind. All around them was silence—no people in sight.
Only trees and cats appeared before their eyes.
As they walked further, snow began to fall and pile up. Before long, everything glowed silver.
Snow blanketed the trees, the ground beneath their feet. Mia stepped onto the powdery snow with a crunch.
"Is something like this even possible? It's suddenly snowing…"
"I suspect it may be part of a mechanism."
"A mechanism?"
"…Unpredictable weather is a fundamental element of a barrier—meant to torment intruders."
As expected, the snowfall grew heavier.
Before long, it had become a full-blown snowstorm, swirling violently around them.
The temperature plummeted, and Leca instinctively conjured more fur, draping it over both himself and Mia.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. But still… this feels uneasy. We're going the right way, right?"
"Spirits can sense direction naturally. Our path is correct… I just don't know how much farther we have to go."
Leca spoke while shielding his face from the raging blizzard with his hand.
"The fire spirit made it sound like it wasn't far, but it feels like we've been walking forever."
"…That's because the weather's slowed us down. We actually haven't covered much ground."
The blizzard grew so fierce that they could no longer open their eyes properly to see ahead.
Branches snapped under the weight of the snow with sharp cracking sounds.
Mia watched all of this and thought,
If she had come alone, there's no way she would've made it this far.
From the two guards earlier, to discovering the salamander's location…
Of course, she could have defeated the guards in battle if necessary, but—
"Hey, do you think a fairy could have found the salamander's location?"
Mia asked, snowflakes melting on her lips.
"I doubt it. It's because the fire spirit and the salamander are of the same kind—they can resonate with one another."
"I still can't summon fire spirits, or use mind-transfer messages…
I've got a long, long way to go."
They stopped walking. Before them stood a massive black tree.
It was so huge, it would take five grown men linking arms to barely wrap around its trunk.
Even its leaves were black—truly, a tree that was black from root to crown.
"The snowstorm stopped."
"…Yes. I noticed."
Leca placed a hand on his sword. Mia looked up at the tree. It was the kind of thing you'd need a chainsaw to cut down.
A strange humming vibration surrounded the tree.
"It feels… alive. Like a mystical being."
"That's how barrier keys usually are."
Mia had the distinct sensation that the black tree was shaking its leaves and watching them from above.
"…Are you the new maid?"
The young man looked Selene up and down.
Her maid uniform and the diamond on her forehead clearly didn't match.
Selene nodded.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Selene."
"I'm Robellion.
The lord of this castle—he's my father."
So this is the second son of Zeros—the one Mary mentioned.
Selene looked at him, heart fluttering.
He was, indeed, a handsome young man.
His chestnut hair, neatly kept to shoulder length, matched perfectly with his bright green eyes—like fresh spring leaves—reminding her of a vibrant May tree.
His lean yet muscular build and sun-kissed skin made him look like someone who worked actively outdoors.
Selene suddenly found herself curious about what he did.
"…How did you end up doing this kind of work?"
It seemed the young man had questions about her as well. Instead of replying, Selene merely gazed at him with quiet, sorrowful eyes.
How could she explain such a complicated story?
"I'm sorry. That was rude of me. Anyway, I'm off tomorrow—would you like to take a walk nearby with me?"
That was how it began.
Robellion began to visit the castle more and more frequently—always in secret, never telling the main house.
It was usually late at night. That was the only time Selene was free.
Robellion, too, was busy with work during the day. So naturally, the two began meeting in secret under the cover of night.
The locations varied—at first, within Zeros's castle, later in the nearby woods or by the lakeshore.
When their relationship had deepened, Selene asked,
"Am I just one of those easy women to you, Young Master? Someone you can have whenever you like…"
Robellion's vivid light green eyes widened.
"What are you talking about? You're my first and only woman."
"What does that matter? You'll belong to someone else eventually anyway."
Selene spoke through falling tears.
Droplets rolled from the diamond on her forehead, scattering into sparkling dust as they fell.
"Don't say that. I love you. I always will."
Robellion whispered as he embraced her slender, trembling shoulders.
Time passed.
The blazing summer faded, and autumn arrived. As the air grew colder, Robellion's visits grew less frequent.
Instead of coming himself, he began sending letters through others.
They said things like:
I've taken on new work and I'm busy,
Even if we can't meet, don't forget that I still love you—and so on.
When even those rare letters stopped entirely, Selene made a decision.
On a day when the autumn leaves had all fallen—
A shabby young woman stood at the gates of the court mage Zeros's main estate.
No matter how many times the servants tried to drive her away, she wouldn't budge.
She insisted, Look at the diamond on my forehead! I am of noble blood!
Eventually, the servants let her inside.
Then, she refused to leave until she could see Robellion—demanding to wait until he arrived.
At last, Robellion appeared.
He looked over the woman he once loved… with cold eyes.