“How nice...”
Veronica leaned against the railing, gazing at the blooming fireworks from the second-floor balcony.
Of those fireworks filling the sky... was there even a tiny spark—that belonged to me?
She gently placed her slender hand over her heart. The surging emotions boiled in her chest, indescribable and complex.
Envy? Regret?
Perhaps both.
She drank the wine in her goblet in one gulp and was about to turn back inside.
Slightly hurried footsteps interrupted her.
She turned around almost eagerly, but upon seeing who it was, she quickly clicked her tongue in disappointment.
“Welton Gunier, what are you doing here?”
The alcohol seemed to have bolstered the man's courage. He cheekily said, “Lady Saintess, I wonder if I might have the honor of inviting you to a d—”
Before he could finish, a cold voice cut him off.
“Get lost.”
“Eh? Wait, Lady Saintess...”
“I said... get lost.”
“I'm going, I'm going...” Welton left dejectedly with a forced smile.
After a while, footsteps sounded behind her again.
“You...” Veronica turned around irritably, stopping mid-sentence.
“Yo~ Veronica, we've only been apart for a bit. Why do you look so pathetic?”
That familiar, teasing tone reached her ears before the person did.
“Look at you...”
That aggrieved look was practically like—like a kitten abandoned by its owner.
Lynn swallowed hard and tactfully chose not to say those words aloud.
“...What are you doing here?”
“Mr. Busy Man~ Why aren't you accompanying that silly pink-haired girl of yours?”
“If Miss Lilian knew you were here with me, wouldn't she get jealous?”
Lynn shrugged helplessly.
“Look at you. It's just that I didn't choose you as my dance partner...”
“I don't care about that!” her slightly hurried tone interrupted.
“Then you...”
Veronica pouted, her beautiful eyes glaring at Lynn as she enunciated each word: “I said—I! Don't! Care!”
You clearly care a whole lot, okay?
Lynn, raising his hands in surrender, shook his head repeatedly. “Let's get this straight first. Choosing Lilian as my dance partner was decided a long time ago.”
“Today is her birthday. Long before the competition started, I specifically checked the date, and it just so happened that the post-competition ball fell on this day...”
“Right~ I know~ Our meticulous young master~” she smiled sweetly.
“As expected of the rumored super playboy who breaks hearts without even blinking~”
“Those are all completely baseless slanders...”
“Fine, fine. I can't win against you.” Lynn sighed.
He patted Veronica's bare, fragrant shoulder and pointed toward the quiet garden. “Shall we take a walk?”
Veronica narrowed her eyes. “Just the two of us?”
“Yes, just the two of us.”
“...Without that little maid of yours?”
“I got her a whole table of desserts. She's probably eating to her heart's content~” Lynn shrugged.
Veronica stared at him for three seconds, as if trying to discern how much of his words were true. In the end, she let out a soft huff, placed her empty wine glass on the railing, and pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders.
“Let's walk then. I could use some fresh air.”
The two of them wound along the corridor to the path on the side of the main building.
Unlike the bustling hall, this corner of the garden was extremely quiet. The snow had been cleared to reveal a narrow gravel path, flanked by neatly trimmed holly and bare wisteria trellises.
Faint, warm light leaked from a distant window, casting grids of orange-yellow patches on the ground.
Veronica walked half a step ahead, her shoulder blades visible beneath her shawl, tracing a slender silhouette in the moonlight. Her pace was not fast; her high heels made soft crunching sounds on the gravel. Every step seemed intentionally slowed, waiting for the person behind her to catch up.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the slouching man behind her.
Back then, why did he know the Holy Cathedral's secret curse-dispelling spell?
And how did he defeat Alastor?
There seemed to be far too many mysteries surrounding this man.
And...
What on earth did that kiss mean?
A faint blush crept onto the young girl's ear tips. She hurriedly found a topic to cover it up.
“What was in the night sky just now... was very beautiful.”
“Those were fire spells, right? Were they specially made magical artifacts?”
“Bingo~ You can call them 'fireworks'.” Lynn clasped his hands behind his neck and leaned back. “I had to ask quite a few masters of magical artifacts to achieve this effect~”
“Compressing fire spells into a controllable, single-use core... It's a very good idea.”
Veronica said softly, “And debuting it at such a grand event. I suppose it won't be long before these... 'fireworks' take the entire North by storm.”
“Maybe you'll make a fortune.”
“Hmph~ I don't care about that. It's not like I'd ever be short on gold coins anyway.”
“...What a truly extravagant aristocratic style.”
“Sorry, I'm just that kind of big-spending young master~”
“Speaking of fireworks...” the man teased, drawing out his words, “do you want to set some off too?”
His handsome face suddenly drew close.
“...I don't.” Veronica turned her face away.
Her fair ear tips turned slightly red.
“I figured as much,” Lynn said, shrugging. “Even if you wanted to, I don't have any left in stock.”
“Then why did you even ask!”
How wicked. Veronica was about to glare at him.
“But—even though there are no fireworks... I still have this.”
Like a magician performing a trick, the man mysteriously reached into his breast pocket and suddenly pulled out—
“What is this?”
Veronica curiously pinched the forearm-length thin stick Lynn handed over.
“Hehehe~ In the place where I got the inspiration for 'fireworks', this stick has a very popular name~”
“You can call it—a Fairy Wand.”
“...Nonsense.”
“To adapt to local conditions, you can also call it a Witch Wand~”
The guy in front of her got excited once he started talking, and Veronica didn't interrupt his grand, sweeping speech.
She held the thin stick, rubbing the small cluster of polished, fiery-red magic crystal at the tip.
“You even used magic crystals?”
“Because what you have in your hand is just a prototype for show, you know. For samples, of course we use the most expensive materials possible.”
“A sample? Aren't you afraid I'll break it?”
“This thing is a single-use item anyway~ Besides...” Lynn smiled. “To have the great Saintess personally test it... this is a privilege that countless craftsmen can only dream of~”
“...Smooth talker.” Veronica tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hiding her blushing ear tips.
She cleared her throat to cover her embarrassment. “So... how do you light this 'Witch Wand'?”
Lynn took the Fairy Wand back, and with his other hand, conjured a tiny flame at his fingertips.
A weak, steady, warm orange light flickered slightly in the night breeze. Holding the end of the wand, he slowly brought the tip of the fiery-red magic crystal close to the flame.
“Watch closely. You light it here.”
“Pop—”
Sparks burst forth.
Veronica held her breath involuntarily.
The thin wand burned in his hand, the silvery-white light outlining the contours of his profile with extreme clarity.
Then, he turned the handle toward her.
“Hold it.”
Veronica took the burning Witch Wand.
The dancing firelight flickered, like a small swarm of fireflies imprisoned at the tip of the wand suddenly breaking free. They flew at high speed along the shaft, finally scattering and falling to the ground.
Unlike the grand and gorgeous display of fireworks in the night sky, the dancing light of the Witch Wand was only a tiny patch, appearing somewhat thin and fragile.
And yet... it was just that tiny patch...
Veronica stared blankly at the gradually shortening wand.
Until...
“Sizzle...”
The entire Witch Wand turned to ash, and the tiny flame brushed against her fingertips along the stick.
“Ah... I forgot to add an insulating layer at the bottom~”
“As expected, prototypes have their flaws.” The youth's head-shaking lament still echoed in her ears.
Indeed.
She looked at the slightly annoyed Lynn, and suddenly burst into a giggle.
There really... really are a lot of flaws~
“Hey—Young Master Lynn~”
She drew out her words.
The girl put her hands behind her back, skipped forward a few steps, and then stopped.
She tilted her head and blinked mischievously.
The soft moonlight outlined her with a silver glow.
“As the little maid who is about to be ordered around by you~”
“For the next three years, please take good care of me~”
...
...
...
【Emotion Points +600】
Rate on N.U.
