TYLSA 06

Chapter 06

Before I could work on improving my relationship with Calix, there was something else I had to do first.

“Adjutant, what is His Grace the Duke doing right now?”

“Lady Yuri, you’ve arrived. His Grace is currently taking a short break after handling some backlogged work.”

I was going to visit my father in this body and inform him that I had blossomed as a mage.

“Your Grace, Lady Yuri is here to see you.”

“Let her in.”

Although our relationship was said to be strained, it seemed he wouldn’t refuse his daughter’s visit, as permission was granted easily.

I entered the office through the opening door.

A middle-aged man with black hair—the same color passed down to Calix—opened his eyes at the sound of my approach.

They were cool, blue eyes that did not easily reveal emotion.

“Father, I hope I’m not interrupting your rest.”

“Hm.”

The Duke neither confirmed nor denied it, instead gesturing for me to take a seat.

I obediently sat in the place the Duke had indicated.

After a moment, the Duke slowly spoke.

“What brings you to see me?”

It was a remark that said everything about how strained and awkward the father-daughter relationship was.

Instead of getting straight to the point, I rang the bell to call for a waiting maid.

“I’ve prepared some tea for us. I thought it would be better to talk while we drink.”

“You prepared tea?”

The Duke raised an eyebrow in surprise.

When I nodded, the maid wheeled in a cart I had prepared in advance.

And she poured cups of fragrant chamomile tea.

“Would you like to try some, Father?”

What I had prepared today was the tea that Yuri had once mentioned as “the tea Mother used to enjoy.”

‘Since the Duke still holds fond feelings for his late former wife and Yuri’s biological mother…’

If I could evoke even a bit of nostalgia, that would be good.

“…”

Fortunately, the Duke sat across from me instead of making any comment.

“To think you even prepared tea. It seems whatever you have to say is quite serious.”

“Not at all.”

I took a sip of the tea and spoke.

“I just thought it had been a while since I last faced you like this, so I prepared it.”

“…”

The Duke stared at me for a moment with an unreadable expression.

‘Is this level of social grace not enough to make any headway?’

Tsk. The fabric shop owners would at least open up after a cup of coffee.

As I clicked my tongue inwardly, the Duke spoke.

“…Go ahead and say what you came to say.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I attended Marquise Ciantic’s picnic recently and had the chance to meet the Tower Master.”

I started with that and briefly explained what had happened that day.

But as he listened, the Duke reacted to an odd part of the story.

“…Wait, did you just say you encountered a wild boar while out on a walk?”

“Yes, but the Tower Master helped me right away so…”

The Duke clicked his tongue loudly.

“It seems Marquise Ciantic’s household has been managing their hunting grounds poorly. Would you like me to send an official letter of protest to them?”

“…Pardon?”

Why did the conversation jump there?

“No, that’s not it.”

Before I could even get to the main point, I hurriedly explained that since I had ended up safe, I had accepted Marquise Ciantic’s apology.

Even after my explanation, however, the Duke did not erase his dissatisfied expression.

“To experience something like that and let it go with just one apology…”

Huh? What is this reaction?

‘It seems the Duke doesn’t approve of how I handled things.’

But what was done was done.

Without panicking, I calmly spoke.

“It couldn’t be helped. Something more important happened to me.”

“Something important?”

“Yes, Father.”

I deliberately set down my teacup and spoke.

“I’ve blossomed as a mage.”

“What?”

At the unexpected news, the Duke could not hide his surprise.

And for good reason—in this world, children with mana sensitivity typically blossomed before the age of ten.

I calmly explained what had happened with the Tower Master.

“I thought the Rozenheyer bloodline of mages had died out, but you…”

Even after hearing the full explanation, the Duke looked complicated.

He suddenly gazed at me and murmured.

“…Come to think of it, your mother also had the talent of a mage.”

“Mother did?”

“Yes. Though she never managed to blossom in the end.”

It was the first I’d heard of it, but I wasn’t surprised. Wasn’t it common for a parent’s abilities to be passed down to their children?

Even in my case, my late father had been an art teacher.

‘Oh, so that’s how it was, I suppose?’

But unlike me, who felt little particular emotion, the Duke seemed to recall something and was looking at me as if seeing me anew.

‘Is this an opportunity?’

I cautiously tested the waters and asked.

“Father, how old were you when you first met Mother?”

“I was about your age.”

The Duke said, “Come to think of it,” and continued.

“I suppose it’s about time for you to start taking an interest in marriage and preparing for it as well.”

“Pardon?”

No, why did the topic suddenly jump there?

“I-I haven’t really given that much thought yet. I only just made my debut not long ago, after all.”

“Hm…”

The Duke nodded with an unreadable expression.

‘Oh dear.’

It seemed to me that the Duke would rather marry off his awkward daughter than improve their relationship.

Cold sweat broke out.

‘This… I think improving my relationship with Calix might actually be easier than this?’

To divert the Duke’s attention from the ominous topic of marriage, I said,

“At any rate, I’m glad I inherited the same talent as Mother.”

“Who knows.”

The Duke let out something like a sigh and said,

“The Magic Tower doesn’t belong to any nation. The Tower Master, Elijah Marakesh, is also a man of unclear affiliation. Though he was originally an imperial citizen, so he holds a knighthood in formality at least…”

“…?”

“Never mind, don’t worry about it. Given your current circumstances, it seems right to accept his offer for now.”

“Yes, understood.”

“…And one more thing.”

The Duke’s words didn’t end there.

“As you know, I am the only one who knows your true name.”

“…”

It was true.

In this world, there was a setting that a mage’s true name was their fatal weakness.

That was why children who showed talent as mages from birth lived with their true names hidden.

Like me now, because of a talent that might one day blossom.

“I’m telling you just in case, but you must never reveal your true name to the Tower Master, not even by accident.”

“Yes, I know, Father.”

“You are a blood descendant of the first Duke of Rozenheyer, the Dragon Seal Duke. You must not do anything to tarnish that prestigious name.”

“Yes.”

As I nodded and answered obediently, the Duke simply gazed at me silently for a while.

I wondered what he was about to say, but he soon sighed and spoke.

“You may go now.”

“Yes, understood.”

I did not refuse the dismissal and obediently left the room.

Outside, I mulled over the conversation I’d had with the Duke.

‘Improving my relationship with Calix is important for the future, but that doesn’t mean I can neglect my relationship with the Duke.’

After all, he was the current head of the Rozenheyer household.

In fact, one could argue that improving the relationship with him was even more urgent than with Calix.

‘For now, given that he emphasized not tarnishing the reputation of the first Duke of Rozenheyer, it’s clear he values honor…’

But that was about all I could guess. Since he hadn’t been a conquest target originally, I had far too little information.

Moreover, the fact that the topic of marriage came up the moment we met face to face suggested he didn’t particularly want to improve our relationship either.

‘…Then I suppose it’s better to start slowly with Calix, the actual conquest target, first.’

Hoo. A sigh escaped me naturally.

—

* * *

—

The next day.

I urged my maids early in the morning to prepare for teatime.

After carefully packing sweet desserts and small sandwiches, the place I headed to was…

“…What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Calix asked me with an annoyed face.

Having already anticipated this reaction, I wasn’t intimidated and smiled brightly as I asked back.

“The weather is lovely, isn’t it?”

“Hah…”

Calix responded with a dry wash of his face instead of an answer.

“Is that why you’re having tea in my reception room right now?”

—

<system> Mini-event triggered!

‘Teatime with Calix’ has begun!

Event success if not kicked out for 10 minutes.

—

Just as I was about to answer, a system message appeared first, cutting off my response.

‘A mini-event!’

I had just started this to try getting a little closer, and a mini-event triggers.

But it was too soon to be happy.

—

<system> Event success: Relationship with Calix improves.

Event failure: Relationship with Calix deteriorates further.

—

‘What?’

If I fail, the relationship deteriorates further from here?

‘…I absolutely cannot fail!’

At that moment, a number reading 10:00 appeared above Calix’s head, and I could see it slowly starting to count down.

I resolved to stay in this room by any means necessary for 10 minutes, then offered Calix this:

“Why don’t you come over and have some tea too?”

“Why on earth should I have tea with you?”

Despite looking flustered, Calix hadn’t kicked me out yet.

I tapped the seat next to me.

‘I’ve never properly tried to conquer him before.’

But from experience, I knew that people like this were weak against pushy behavior.

If I acted timidly and hesitated, I might end up hearing “Please leave” instead. This was all knowledge I had from experience.

Sure enough, Calix sighed but sat down across from me, unable to hide his bewildered expression.

“I didn’t know you had enough leisure to pull such absurd stunts…”

I had the maid pour the tea and answered.

“Not yet, I don’t.”

“Not yet?”

Calix’s gaze toward the tea placed before him was cold.