Finding the Hidden Cinderella - Chapter 10

Without even realizing it, he had become completely absorbed in the memories of the previous night, as though lost in a dream.

Did Daisy cast that memory spell again? Judging by the expression on her face, apparently not.

This wasn’t magic. These were fragments of last night’s memories returning to him on their own.

And yet…

Strangely—incredibly strangely—he still couldn’t remember her face. If he could remember even that much, he wouldn’t have to wander around carrying a pair of enchanted slippers.

Of all things, her face alone remained missing from his memory.

It was almost as though someone had deliberately cast a spell to prevent him from remembering it.

‘Magic?’

Aaron stared blankly at Daisy.

‘Don’t tell me… Could the Grand Archmage have some sort of grudge against me…?’

Impossible. Until today, they had never even exchanged a single word. Why would the Grand Archmage have any reason to cast such a malicious spell on him?

And if she had been the one who cast such a spell, there was no reason she would now be helping him search for the woman from the previous night.

No matter how he looked at it, that theory was nothing more than baseless speculation.

“I only asked because it looked as though you were moving your lips like someone who’s thirsty.”

Daisy’s comment made Aaron realize that, lost in his recollection of tasting the woman between her thighs the night before, he had unconsciously licked his lips. How embarrassing…

“Would you like to stop and get a drink? Count Senkov’s estate is still some distance away.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Come to think of it, he was thirsty. Perhaps imagining all of that had something to do with it.

The two continued on, Aaron on horseback and Daisy in her carriage, until they came upon a small pond.

Daisy behaved as though she had known it would be there all along.

Not that Aaron found it particularly surprising. She was a wizard. After all, people said wizards could see dozens of miles into the distance.

“Whew… That’s refreshing…”

Dropping to one knee beside the pond, Aaron cupped up the cool water and drank deeply before wiping his wet lips with the back of his hand.

Beside him, Daisy knelt gracefully, gathering water delicately in both hands before bringing it to her lips.

Watching the elegant way she drank, Aaron found himself growing curious.

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“When did you become a wizard?”

From what he had heard, even becoming an ordinary wizard required training from a very young age. And Daisy wasn’t merely a wizard. She was the Grand Archmage.

Just how young had she been when she began training? Aaron wondered.

Despite looking so young, was she actually over a hundred years old? Or did magic simply keep her looking youthful?

“Around the time I learned to walk.”

“Then…”

“I began studying magic when I was three.”

“…Wow.”

Aaron couldn’t help but marvel. Three years old? Wasn’t that the age when children were only just learning to toddle around? And she’d already begun formal lessons? It was beyond anything he could imagine.

Of course, Aaron himself had started training to become a knight at a young age. But even then, he had been eight years old. That was hardly comparable to a three-year-old.

“How could you possibly start at three…? Did you leave home then?”

Children whose magical abilities awakened were sent to the Academy of Magic to be trained as wizards.

“When I was about three years old, our house caught fire.”

Seated by the water’s edge, Daisy spoke while gazing into the distance. A breeze swept past, stirring her pale blonde hair.

“The flames spread with terrifying speed until the entire estate was engulfed. Everyone inside was on the verge of burning to death… when it began to rain.

“But it wasn’t rain that fell from the sky. Water simply poured out of thin air. Only after that torrent had extinguished every last flame did it finally stop. That was the day my family realized I possessed magical power.

“When I was three years old, I made water with my own two hands and brought down rain. A three-year-old child who summoned rainfall using nothing but raw magical power, without even the incantation normally required. That alone was enough reason for my family to let me go.”

“But weren’t you far too young?”

No matter how extraordinary her magical talent had been, she had only been three. At least, that was how Aaron saw it.

“At the time, the kingdom had been suffering through a prolonged drought. Even the rain-invoking rituals had failed. Then a mage with an affinity for water appeared. I suppose they felt they couldn’t afford to wait any longer.”

“So did the drought end?”

“With the aid of a grand magic circle, I was able to bring rain over the entire kingdom. After that, the senior mages concluded that I possessed limitless magical potential. From then on, I began training to become the Grand Archmage. I wasn’t allowed to leave the tower. I spent my days studying there.”

“Since you were three?”

“That’s right.”

“You never even got to go on a date?”

The question slipped out of Aaron’s mouth before he realized it. But he genuinely meant it.

She looked to be a woman in her twenties at most. Yet she was saying that she’d been confined to the tower, studying, from the age of three until now.

Was that even possible? Didn’t that mean she’d never gone on a date? Never played with children her own age? Never even danced at a festival?

“There was one time… On the night of a festival, I secretly slipped out of the tower.”

Aaron felt a small wave of relief. Why hearing that she’d once sneaked out to attend a festival made him feel relieved, he couldn’t quite explain.

“I believe it was during the Autumn Harvest Eve Festival.”