They were nothing more than tiny soap bubbles — and yet the moment they drifted close to anything, they carried the unmistakable threat of devouring every trace of magic they touched.
Even Oberon froze the instant the tip of his finger grazed one of the bubbles that had floated up beside him.
…Magic doesn’t work on them at all?
If anything, the bubble that had absorbed his magic only grew more solid.
Arcmund stared at Riersha with an expression of pure disbelief.
“This… is your ability?”
“I’s sowwy, Gwandpa. Wiewsha is sowwy.”
The heavy silence of the room was broken by Riersha clasping her tiny hands together and rubbing them in frantic apology.
He must be angry that I awakened such a useless power.
The soap bubbles that had been drifting lazily around the study began to bump into one another and burst, one after another.
Pop! Pop!
Pop-pop!
Her magic had run its course.
The very last bubble burst with a soft tick — right in front of Arcmund’s nose.
“Hmph—”
Seymour turned his head away as if he hadn’t seen a thing, though he couldn’t quite manage to cover his mouth in time.
Oberon’s gaze shot toward him like a blade.
Silence settled over the study.
“Riersha Arachrene.”
“…Yes.”
Riersha bowed her head low.
They might cast me out.
Everyone else had awakened formidable abilities. And here she was, with nothing but soap bubbles that lasted only a few seconds.
The shame was unbearable.
“You cannot even properly grasp your own ability. Until you can use it with full control, you are not to show it to anyone. Is that understood?”
So Grandfather felt the same way. She had known he would.
Riersha answered in a small voice.
“Yes, Gwandpa.”
“There is no estate to give a child who cannot even master her own power.”
Arcmund’s cold words dimmed the light in Riersha’s expression.
“Until then, you will live among the collateral branch children.”
Riersha, who had been bracing herself for the very worst, snapped her head up in surprise.
Her soft crimson eyes, glistening with unshed tears, gazed up at him — and Arcmund’s expression hardened into something even colder and more severe.
But Riersha didn’t mind any of it. This was not the end. She had not yet fallen from Grandfather’s favor entirely.
I still have a chance to win his heart.
She lowered her head with quiet resolve.
“Thank you, Gwandpa.”
The neat, round crown of her head appeared again, her hair parted perfectly down the center, her little twin buns sitting on either side like two small, precious things.
Arcmund’s gaze lingered there without meaning to.
The moment Riersha lifted her head, his eyes moved swiftly back to the papers on his desk — as though they had never left.
“You are dismissed.”
“Yes!”
Riersha answered with a voice far too bright and resolute for such a small child.
⁂
After Riersha had gone, Arcmund’s red eyes sank deeper than usual.
Through the window, he watched her take Sona’s hand and walk away, the two of them disappearing side by side.
He stared after that small retreating figure for a long moment before speaking in a measured, unhurried tone.
“Oberon. There was no deception in what Riersha said just now.”
“No, my lord. There was none.”
“Bring Rosinante to me.”
Riersha’s ability was far too dangerous.
It was the kind of power that anyone would covet — so alluring, in fact, that Arcmund found himself worried it might one day bring harm to the very child who possessed it.
And on top of everything, Riersha’s heart was far too tender.
If someone were to discover what she could do…
They would find a way to use her.
That was how absolute her ability truly was.
A power recorded in no ancient text, in no archive anywhere.
Arcmund narrowed his eyes at the faint cut on the tip of Oberon’s finger.
His voice was quiet and precise.
“Forget everything you saw here. Completely. Is that clear?”
“I receive your command.”
Oberon pressed himself low in a deep bow.
His silver-grey eyes shimmered briefly — and then went still.
⁂
From that day on, Riersha took up residence in the annex, among the children of the collateral branch.
“That will be all for today, Miss Riersha. We will have a short examination on today’s material next session.”
“Okie!”
Riersha answered with eager enthusiasm, and Carden smiled faintly as he erased the chalkboard.
When the Duke’s order had first come down — that he was to personally tutor Riersha — he had been no small amount taken aback.
To offer private instruction to a child not yet recognized as a legitimate heir.
Carden had always taught only the confirmed successors of the family.
It was obvious what people would say. That it was favoritism. That it wasn’t fair.
And sure enough, the whispers had started almost immediately.
I cannot make sense of what His Grace intends.
The rumors that Riersha was receiving undue special treatment grew thick and persistent.
That said — the girl was undeniably sharp.
Her comprehension outpaced children twice her age. The questions she asked carried a depth that surprised him. She picked up new words almost instantly and strung sentences together with a quickness that was difficult to explain.
At this pace, she might well catch up to the collateral children’s curriculum before long.
And yet.
Why place her among the collateral branch at all?
Keeping her in the annex, in the collateral wing, rather than in the successor’s quarters within the main castle — it was difficult to see the logic in it.
Arcmund was not a man who failed to foresee consequences. He knew perfectly well that placing Riersha here would make her a target.
“See you next time, Teachew!”
Riersha slung her bag over her shoulder, pushed her chair neatly back into place, and gave him a small, earnest bow before slipping out.
Carden blinked out of his reverie and smiled back warmly.
“Yes, Miss Riersha. Until next session.”
“Okiee!”
He still remembered how startled he’d been by her greeting that very first day. Now he received it quite naturally.
She flashed him a bright, sunlit smile and darted out of the classroom.
She must find it difficult, living in the annex — yet she carries herself with such spirit.
That was precisely what made it so bittersweet.
A child pretending that everything was fine meant, above all else, that she understood exactly what was happening.
Carden was gathering his lesson materials when a sudden thought stopped him cold, and his lips parted.
“Could it be…”
A teaching he had received from the Duke himself, long ago in his childhood, surfaced in his memory.
“If something is especially precious to you, you hide it among ordinary things. And the precious thing itself must not know. That way, no one will ever notice what you truly value.”
Could it be that Riersha’s placement in the annex followed the very same principle?
If that were true —
“Ha. You never change, do you, Your Grace.”
If Arcmund had sent her to the annex precisely so that no one would guess she held his favor…
If he had arranged things so that even Riersha herself would not realize it…
Then this was simply Arcmund’s way of protecting what mattered most to him.
Carden shook his head slowly.
“There is nothing left for me to do but hope the young miss understands his meaning before too long.”
Please, let Riersha not lose her way.
Carden had guided the heirs of the Arachrene family for many long years. He turned his gaze toward the window.
The people of this family had a peculiar habit — forever taking the long, winding road when a straight path lay right before them.
Every last one of them, except Riersha.
If only the others could learn a little of her directness.
An estate full of people who couldn’t say a single thing plainly. Every one of them.
⁂
On her way back after lessons.
Riersha found herself thinking about the day she had first met Carden.
Originally, Carden had been a teacher reserved solely for the family’s designated heirs. She knew that for certain — she had seen him conducting lessons every time she had sneaked into the Tower of Truth to spy.
To think Grandfather would assign Carden to teach me personally.
She still could hardly believe it.
At the same time, a fierce, burning determination to work as hard as she could surged up inside her.
But just as quickly, a shadow crossed her face.
The real reason Carden had been assigned to her was probably…
Because it would cause trouble if the other children found out I can’t even write properly yet.
It seemed most likely that Arcmund, worried Riersha might become a laughingstock, had assigned Carden precisely because the man knew how to keep secrets.
From Arcmund’s position — responsible for maintaining the order of the ducal castle — he could not allow the collateral children to think the family heir was somehow lesser than themselves.
The one who would lead the family had to hold an overwhelming advantage in ability, so that those permitted only what the collateral branch was permitted would never dream of reaching beyond their place.
Indeed, rumor had it that the main branch heirs’ training was far more grueling than anything conducted in the annex. By all accounts, the other direct-line children had already mastered their abilities to a degree that could rival full-grown adults.
I have to become like that too, and earn Grandfather’s approval.
To do that, she would have to give everything she had to what had been given to her.
Riersha gripped the strap of the bag Sona had sewn for her and walked on.
When she got back, she planned to finish her homework and review everything she’d learned today.
Her resolve was bright and steady — until, just a moment later, it faltered.
At the bend in the path, she spotted a group of children — and stopped walking.
