My Childhood Friend Is An Archmage Chapter 114
Translated by d6y (ko-fi)
Chapter 114
* * *
Morning arrived.
I can't get this off.
I sighed, looking down at the hem of the dress I wore last night. I tried to use soap to get the dirt off, but it didn't work.
I'll just put it in my bag and go back to the Kaerun Duchy to deal with it.
That's what I decided as I hid the soiled dress at the bottom of my suitcase.
Tok, tok.
"Skyla, are you ready?" My mother's voice came through after a knock on the door.
I quickly zipped up my bag and opened the door. "Good morning, Mother."
"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes…. Did Mother and Father sleep well too?"
"Of course." As she said that, there was a hint of bagginess under her eyes.
At the same time, her voice echoed in my ears.
‘Actually, I couldn't rest properly because the Duke was so upset.’
My gaze turned to my father, who was standing next to my mother.
Like my mother, he hadn't slept well the night before. His complexion was not looking too good, he looked like a freshly rinsed wheat stalk, drooping like a sack of straw.
"...Are you okay, Father?" I asked cautiously, as I had never seen him so gaunt.
In response, he jerked his head up. "Of… of course. Your dad is full of energy!"
'I never thought Skyla would hate my moustache….'
Moustache?
I tilted my head. Oh, wait, come to think of it….
"...Father, what happened to your moustache?" I asked.
There was nothing under my father's nose. His moustache, which was his identity as the Duke of Kaerun, was gone.
He cleared his throat. "Oh, my moustache? It makes me look older, so I'm trying something new this time. What do you think, does it make me look younger?"
‘My moustache was my pride…. But Skyla hates it, so I had no choice. My daughter is more important than my moustache!’
I was confused by the two strands of voices that spoke simultaneously. I could distinguish which one was coming from my father's mouth, but the other one was ambiguous.
"Father… I don't hate your moustache." After a long moment of silence, I cautiously spoke again. "I don't know where you're getting that idea from, but if you got rid of it because of me, you don't have to."
My father looked genuinely puzzled by my words.
"Oh, no, Skyla, I shaved my moustache because I wanted to, so you don't have to worry about it!"
‘You told me at dinner last night that you didn't like the look of my moustache and wanted me to cut it off!’
I snapped after hearing that. "No, Father, I never said that I didn't like your moustache last night, so why are you misunderstanding?"
My father's complexion turned white at my rebuttal. My mother, watching from the sidelines, looked puzzled.
"Skyla, you...."
‘How do you know my thoughts so well? This can't be…!’
My father seemed to be racking his brain for the right words.
"Have you… learned to read minds?"
"Mind reading?" I echoed back.
Mind reading. The ability to read someone's mind.
But I don't read minds, I just hear them.
"It's not like that," I said, "I was just responding to what you said. You just said that I didn't like the look of your moustache, and I was just pointing out that it wasn't true."
At my explanation, my parents stared at me blankly. It was as if I was speaking a foreign language they couldn't understand.
After two long hours of conversation, I finally realised.
The spell the mage had cast on me the night before wasn't just a spell to hear Lancer's mind.
She had given me the ability to hear everyone else's thoughts.
"Let's keep your powers confidential….”
"Yeah. People will be suspicious of you if you tell them you're cursed by a witch they don't know."
My parents whispered to me in a low voice, conscious of the stares around them.
I nodded, still too young to know better.
In retrospect, they were probably right. Even Lancer with powerful magical abilities was being ostracized right now. What if I told them that I had been cast a strange magic that allowed me to hear people's thoughts?
Perhaps we would be frowned upon as a pair.
My parents frantically searched for the mage I had met, but it was in vain.
Not a single person in the hotel, or in the restaurant I was in yesterday, claimed to have seen a middle-aged woman with red hair.
I sincerely regretted not asking for the mage’s name then. If I had at least known her name, I might have been able to find her.
Maybe she didn't give me her name on purpose.
Two days later, I climbed into the carriage heading for the capital with a heavy heart.
My parents held my hand tightly.
"Don't worry, Skyla. It won't disrupt your life too much."
"That's right. Let's try to think positively. Being able to hear other people's thoughts is a pretty useful ability!"
With that, my parents tried to cheer me up all the way back to the imperial capital.
However, contrary to their hopes, the ability to read other people's minds was not as convenient as they thought it would be, and it made everyday life impossible.
"I think we should rest here for the night, thank you for your hard work." This is what the coachman said when we stopped at a rest stop at the halfway point.
At first glance, it was a warm and friendly gesture. But I couldn't take this polite greeting at face value.
Because what he was thinking was something else entirely.
‘Tch, the rest of them fool around on holidays, while I work my ass off. I'm going to sleep like a log.'
I narrowed my eyes at the coachman's remarks about my parents. I was quite shocked by his thoughts, as I had always thought that he was sincerely serving the Duchy.
It was the same at the inn.
"You're a beautiful couple! And your daughter is very beautiful, too!"
‘They’ll give us a nice tip if we flatter them like this, right?’
The innkeeper greeted us with a big smile.
"Tonight's menu is freshly caught and roasted goat!"
‘Actually, it's frozen meat that came in a few days ago, but it's loaded with spices, so they'll never know.’
Or a restaurant owner who prided himself on selling only honest food.
"Mommy loves you the most in the whole world, Skyla."
"Daddy thinks so too. Our daughter Skyla is the best!"
‘Actually, my duke is the best!’
‘I'm sorry Skyla, but my lovely wife comes first!’
Even my parents, who used to say that nothing in this world is more precious than me…. Never mind, that doesn't sound like a relevant flashback.
Anyway.
Thanks to the spell the mage cast on me, I was able to realise how different people are on the outside and inside.
This was true even back at Kaerun mansion.
"Duke, Duchess, and Lady, I sincerely welcome you back to the mansion!"
‘Ah, but now we have to get back to work!’
'It's been nice to not have to prepare proper meals while you've been away….'
'It’s going to be annoying cleaning the Duke and Duchess' bedroom again!'
Everyone greeted us with bright smiles and gentle demeanours, but they were all complaining in their heads about their jobs.
I felt my complexion turn white. When I returned to Kaerun Manor, I was greeted not with a friendly welcome, but with a barrage of grumbles and complaints.
I bowed my head low and fled to my room.
"My lady."
I flung open the door to find my handmaid, Phoebe, wiping the window sill with a rag. Her face was expressionless as usual.
Seeing her, I unknowingly gasped and swallowed dryly.
The first emotion I felt when I saw her after a week was fear.
She doesn't usually talk to me much. She never spoke to me in a friendly way, and she never approached me unless it was absolutely necessary.
It would be more accurate to say that there was nothing between her and me, as public and personal affairs are separated.
But what kind of person was she really?
"Have you returned from your trip?"
‘My lady, you're back! I'm so happy to be your maid! I miss you so much that I unknowingly entered your room last night, laid down on your bed, and sought your warmth! My lady, please take me with you when we grow up!’
...Hmm?
I was expecting an annoyed rant, but what I got instead was a passionate rant instead.
Perhaps it was then that I began to trust her completely.
After returning to the mansion, I lay on the bed doing nothing for half a day.
One of the servants approached me as I was relieving myself of the fatigue of travel sickness.
"My lady, Lord Lancer is here to see you."
Lancer!
I jumped up at the sound of his name. It was almost a reflex.
"Where is he?"
"He's waiting in the parlour. Shall I escort him to your room?"
‘Why does the lady look so nervous?’
I coughed at the keen observation of the servant.
"No, I'll go down there myself."
With that, I dressed up and went straight down to the parlour. I grabbed the souvenirs I'd bought for Lancer from my travels.
"Skyla."
I hadn't seen him in a long time, but he looked just as I remembered him.
Of course, a person can't change in a week.
I decided to pretend nothing had happened between us.
"How have you been?"
"Fine. How was your trip?"
And just like that, the conversation began.
All the while, I listened carefully to Lancer's voice. Or, to be more precise, I was paying close attention to what he could be thinking.
But….
No matter how long I waited and waited, I couldn't hear him.