Chapter 64

Once they had completely left the training grounds, Agnes finally set Noah down.

“Noah, can you give Mom a little time? There’s something I want to talk about.”

When she asked, Noah blinked his round eyes a few times, then nodded.

“Alright then, shall we go to your room?”

Agnes waited for another nod before taking his small hand and leading him back to the bedroom.

Once the door closed, she knelt down so that their eyes were level. Her hands gently rested on his shoulders and arms.

Agnes hadn’t said a word yet, but Noah already seemed to realize he had done something wrong. He lowered his head, looking downcast.

Seeing him like that, scolding him suddenly felt meaningless. Agnes steadied her breath and spoke in a calm tone.

“When you told Lizzie you were cold, was that true? Lizzie isn’t here, and it’s just the two of us, so you can be honest.”

Noah hesitated for a while, then shook his head. Agnes was taken aback but managed to hide her surprise as she asked again.

“You wanted to go to the training grounds so badly that you lied to Lizzie? Can you tell me why?”

“The training grounds…”

Noah shook his head slowly and mumbled.

“I wasn’t trying to go there.”

“Then what? Hmm… did you want to see His Grace?”

When Agnes carefully suggested the reason, Noah nodded several times.

“Because you like him?”

Noah made a small, uncertain sound.

“You don’t like him, but you still wanted to see him?”

Agnes caught herself pushing too much and fell silent. Waiting for a child to speak first was always the hardest part.

After a long moment, Noah finally spoke.

“I like His Grace.”

Agnes couldn’t help but let out a weary laugh.

“So you went because you like him.”

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Hmm… it’s a secret.”

Agnes was momentarily speechless. Noah, noticing her confusion, began looking up at the ceiling and around the room as if to avoid her eyes.

Watching him fidget, Agnes slowly regained her composure.

She thought she understood what he meant by secret.

He must have been referring to the secret conversation he’d had with Dylan. That alone told her why he had lied and gone to the training grounds.

‘So it was because of Dylan’s curse.’

Noah likely didn’t know it was a curse. To him, it probably seemed like a strange jewel that grew and shrank in size. But his fascination with it was unmistakable.

Why though? Was it truly dangerous to even look at the curse, just as Dylan feared?

Probably not.

Though she couldn’t be certain yet, Agnes believed it came from the boy’s clumsy sense of care.

She couldn’t bring herself to scold him any further. Instead, she gently stroked his head.

“Alright. A secret is a promise, so you should keep it. But it was still wrong to go to the training grounds after I told you not to, and lying to Lizzie wasn’t right either, was it?”

“Yes.”

Noah’s pouty expression returned, making it hard to believe he had just been so determined to keep a secret.

Agnes almost gave in to his cuteness but barely managed to hold back.

“Then apologize to Lizzie and promise me you won’t go to the training grounds again. If you want to see His Grace next time, don’t go there by yourself. Tell me instead, and I’ll ask when he’s free.”

Noah nodded slowly, his small head heavy with guilt.

A moment later, Agnes called Lizzie in. Noah confessed everything honestly and apologized. Lizzie started to wave it off, but when she caught Agnes’s expression, she straightened her posture and acted strict.

“Yes, I was upset because you lied to me, young master. But since you promised not to do it again, I’ll believe you.”

Agnes smiled as the two reconciled, though something heavy lingered in her heart.

‘If only the Imperial Magic Department would send the test results sooner.’

She wanted to ease her own worries but even more, she wanted to ease Dylan’s.

She wanted to tell him confidently that Noah seeing his curse wasn’t a problem at all.

She wanted to tell the unease hidden behind his gentlemanly composure that not everyone feared or rejected him.

That she didn’t.

And that this child didn’t either.

* * *

It had been a full week since Gavelin began showing visible disappointment every time he brought in the mail on a silver tray.

Now, whenever he delivered a letter, he would state where it came from before handing it over.

“This one is an invitation from Baron Orwellin.”

It was natural that many northern families would send invitations after the Duke of Vasteron’s marriage.

Even if the invitation was politely declined, sending one was still a gesture of courtesy and goodwill.

But since there was a particular letter Agnes had been waiting for, every polite invitation only deepened her disappointment.

Then, on the sixteenth day since her arrival in the North, Gavelin entered again with the tray in hand. Agnes forced herself not to look too expectant and kept her eyes fixed on the desk.

“Where is this invitation from?”

She tried to sound indifferent, but her voice betrayed a trace of disappointment.

Then she realized something. Gavelin hadn’t said who the letter was addressed to this time. She quickly lifted her head.

He was smiling faintly, almost imperceptibly, as he extended the tray toward her.

“It’s a letter from the Imperial Magic Department.”

Agnes broke into a bright smile and reached out for it at once.

Inside the thick envelope was the long-awaited result of Noah’s magic aptitude test.

She unfolded the paper and began reading. She barely skimmed through the formal greeting and went straight to the main text.

“…While it was previously assumed that Noah Overhen possessed potential in magical aptitude, his Kyronic mana shows only minimal manifestation and does not reach a promising level.

However, it should be noted that his mana sensitivity is abnormally high, resulting in excessive exposure to the etheric field. This may lead to heightened sensitivity and overreactions in daily life. It is therefore advised that assistance from the department…”

She hadn’t finished the paragraph before dizziness washed over her. Agnes pressed her fingers to her forehead and reread the same lines again and again.

“Gavelin, do you know anything about magic?”

“I’m afraid not, my lady.”

“That’s alright.”

His answer came as no surprise. She sighed and read through the rest of the document.

The final line seemed almost to mock her confusion.

“If you find the contents of this report difficult to interpret, please contact the Magic Department to request a dispatched expert.”

Agnes let out a dry laugh and gestured for Gavelin to approach.

He stepped forward, read through the report himself, and smiled thinly.

“No wonder it took them so long to send this.”

“I know. What are they up to?”

Her tone was full of unease, and Gavelin answered calmly.

“The Imperial Magic Department is always short on manpower. Magic is a dying field. It seems young master Noah’s magical aptitude is quite rare. Rare enough for them to want him.”

“So that’s why they twisted their words like this?”

“He is under the protection of the Duke of Vasteron. They must be cautious. They likely wish to send someone here, but since they cannot freely enter this territory, they want to make it seem as though we were the ones who requested it.”

Agnes sighed again, pressing her hand against her forehead.

“To be honest, I have no idea what any of this means. Kyronic mana, etheric field… It says his daily life could be affected. That worries me.”

“It’s written that way on purpose, my lady.”

As usual, Gavelin’s tone was calm, but he hesitated briefly. His eyes showed he had something more to say.

Agnes noticed and waited.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

“But summoning a mage to Vasteron might not be a wise decision.”