— Celestia’s POV —
“Before that, I have sothing important to tell you.”
The sun cast a soft amber hue across the training grounds, the horizon lting into hues of gold and fire. Karin and I were casually chatting when a nobleman’s figure approached—poised, deliberate, as though the earth itself made room for him. His golden hair shimred like molten sunlight, catching the glow of the dying day, and his amber eyes glinted with quiet intelligence and sothing gentler—sothing reserved just for .
I bowed instinctively. “Good evening, Count Shufillen.”
He returned the gesture with a smooth smile, one he wore with the ease of soone born into elegance. “Good evening, Celestia. Thank you for your hard work today. Here—this is for you.”
A towel, fresh and soft, t my hand before I could respond. The gesture had beco so familiar it no longer surprised —yet each ti, it stirred sothing quiet in my chest.
“Geez,” I muttered with a faint smile as I accepted it. “I told you, you don’t always have to bring this… but thank you.”
“It’s nothing,” he said simply. “If it’s for you, it’s never troubleso.”
The words were casual. Almost. His tone carried a gentleness that made them linger, unspoken layers beneath the surface.
I wiped the sweat from my temples, the fabric cool against my flushed skin. He handed one nearly every evening after training, a detail that hadn’t gone unnoticed. Nearly every day, he watched train and only returned to his lands after ensuring I was safe.
A noble with ti to linger—one might wonder how he managed his lands. But Count Shufillen was no ordinary noble. His subordinates operated like a well-oiled machine.
Every night, he returned to his territory via teleportation scroll, only to reappear the next day unless sothing truly urgent bound him to his ho. The idea of using a teleportation scroll—a gold coin’s worth of magic—daily made my head spin. Such a casual, reckless luxury spoke volus of his world… and how far removed it was from mine.
I wasn’t foolish. I knew what his attention ant.
He hadn’t confessed—not outright—but the affection in his actions clung to like a second shadow: his patience, his offerings, his gaze.
But I couldn’t afford to return those feelings. Not now. My heart was a battlefield reserved for one war: the search for my siblings. His feelings were convenient, and I would use them if I had to. That truth didn’t change the fact that part of felt his gaze sotis lingered too long, his words carried a warmth that made hesitate… just a little.
“So, what’s this important information?”
Karin’s voice pulled back.
Count Shufillen cast her a brief glance, polite but distant, then focused his golden eyes back on . And in his eyes, I saw it—hesitation, tension, sothing tightly coiled in his chest finally ready to be released.
“Celestia,” he said softly, “I found the location of your brother.”
The world stood still.
“…What?”
A breath caught in my throat. Then the words sank in.
He found him.
“W-What!?” My voice broke. I stepped forward, heart racing, heat flooding my cheeks as I reached out—without thinking—and grasped his hands in both of mine. “Are you serious!? Where is he!?”
The words escaped too fast, too raw. Before I realized it, my body tilted forward with desperate anticipation. His eyes widened in surprise, and for a heartbeat, we stood there—my fingers curled tightly around his, our faces just inches apart. His hands were warm. Steady. Sothing flickered across his face—sothing stunned, but soft.
His lips parted, but before he could speak, Karin’s theatrical cough jolted back.
“Ahem.”
I gasped and released him imdiately, stumbling a step back.
“Ah—sorry! I didn’t an to—it’s just—” I exhaled sharply, struggling for composure. “I was… too happy. I lost control.”
“It’s alright,” he said, voice gentler than before. He scratched the back of his neck, turning his head just slightly. “Actually, it’s… the first ti you’ve held my hand, so… I didn’t mind. I was kind of happy, too.”
I blinked, unsure how to respond. A slow heat crept up my neck. I looked away, heart still pounding for reasons beyond the news.
I exhaled slowly.
Karin sighed as though she were watching a slow romance novel unfold against her will.
“So… where is he?” I asked, more carefully this ti.
“About that...” Count Shufillen’s tone shifted, becoming more serious. “I’m not certain it’s him, but… there’s been a report of a boy—nine or ten years old—with blue hair, a blue left eye, and a red right eye.”
My heartbeat surged, fast and uneven. “That’s him! That has to be him! Where is he!?”
“There’s a gold mine along the northern border of the Empire. The boy works there… as a mining slave.”
A breath hitched in my chest. My hands trembled.
“A… slave…”
The word slamd into like a cold blade. I’d prepared myself for the worst—but hearing it aloud, visualizing my little brother swinging a pickaxe underground, dirt and blood on his skin, collar on his neck, breathing in ash and ore—left montarily speechless.
My knees wavered. For a second, my vision tilted. His hand caught my shoulder before I fell, steadying , grounding . His face was close again—closer than before—his eyes searching mine with quiet urgency.
“Are you alright, Celestia?”
I swallowed hard. “Y-Yeah… Thank you.”
I turned to Karin, my voice trembling but firm. “Teacher, let —”
“I know,” she said, already tossing a teleportation scroll. I caught it, barely.
I bowed. “Thank you. I’ll bring him back.”
“Yeah. Good luck.”
Count Shufillen’s concern etched deeper into his features. “Do you want to leave now? The sun is setting. You could wait until morning.”
“Thank you for your concern, Count, but I can’t wait. Who knows what could happen if I’m late? I can’t lie in bed while my brother might be sleeping on the cold ground. I have to go.”
He sighed—an exasperated but fond sound. “Then I’ll send a few knights to escort you.”
“I appreciate the gesture, but no. I need to move fast, and I’ll be freer without a unit behind .”
“Tsk.” He clicked his tongue in frustration, but relented. “Stubborn as ever. Then take this, at least.”
He rummaged through the magic bag at his hip, pulling out a sheaf of papers and handing them to . My eyes scanned them quickly, and I gasped.
“This is…”
“All the information you might need. The mine’s na, its surrounding towns, your brother’s supposed owner. Everything I could gather.”
Detailed maps. Supply routes. Shifts. Slave records. Even the na of the man who held Freed's leash. I read quickly. The man holding Freed wasn’t a noble, but soone beneath even a steward. A subordinate’s subordinate.
“His master… isn’t a noble?”
“No. Just a subordinate to a noble. To be exact, the man in charge of the mine is his subordinate. The noble holds the land, his appointed steward oversees the mine, and the steward hands off day-to-day business to others. Slaves fall to the bottom of that chain. Essentially, the slaves’ master is a commoner.”
“You seem awfully knowledgeable, Count.”
He shrugged. “Well, you know that I also let my subordinates take care of all things. Nobles rarely do the dirty work themselves.”
Karin cut in. “If he’s not a noble, you’ll be fine—so long as you act quietly. Don’t give them a reason to escalate.”
She was right. If I wanted to get Freed out, I’d have to be swift, silent, and ruthless. The law wouldn’t save him. I would.
Still, I had to ask: “They kidnapped him from our kingdom… isn’t that a cri? Wouldn’t that be enough to hold them accountable?”
“There’s no proof,” the Count said, tone cool. “If accused, the Empire would claim they acquired slaves through legal rchants. No one would dare call it a cri without evidence.”
That’s how the world worked.
“I see.”
With nothing more to say, I made my preparations in haste. Within the hour, I was astride a horse, bound for the Empire’s northern edge.
It would take less than a month if I rode through the night, slept little, and stopped even less. A mad rush fueled by love and fury.
I wouldn’t stop until I reached that mine.
I wouldn’t stop until I reached him.
And the man who dared put chains on my brother would learn the price of touching what was mine.
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