“Don’t follow people you don’t know.”

“You don’t even know the way.”

“Don’t talk while eating.”

Things he said to me were like someone would say to a seven-year-old. I thought he was being considerate of me since I had no memories of my past, but these things weren’t something you said to a twenty-four-year-old adult!

D*mn it! Does he really just think of me as a kid? My pride was a little hurt. I felt pathetic. But one thing was clear, he cared about me in his own way. He cherishes me. However, the way he feels about me might not be the way I feel about him. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. What was I thinking? To even think he would like me as a man would like a woman… ‘

“I’m not a child!” I exclaimed.

His hand on my head slid down and stroked my hair gently. “I know.”

I clenched my fist and shook off his hand. “I am saying that this is how you treat a child. I am not one!” I said fiercely. Kaichen’s eyes widened for an instant. Then he smiled sincerely. It almost seemed like his warm brown eyes returned to its original gold. It must have been an illusion, but it felt that way in that moment. His gaze was so intense that I felt my shoulders shrink. Why is he looking at me that way?

“Of course. There is no kid in this world who can be as stubborn as you.”

“What! I am a twenty-four-year-old adult!”

“Alright. Where do you want to go next?” He smiled and held out his hand for me to take. “I will buy you something delicious to make you feel better.”

I didn’t move.

“Come on,” he said.

My fluttering heart blazed like a flame. I was happy to have him all to myself at least in this moment. Even if it was just a teacher-disciple relationship, it was enough for now. From the moment I was saved by him, I was destined to flutter like a flag in the wind. The dark emotions that filled my head flew away at his smile. I smiled back and took his outstretched hand. A familiar heat passed through my hand.

“I think I will only feel better if you buy me cotton candy.”

“Alright. Cotton candy it is.”

* * *

Kaichen ushered her into a restaurant with a great view overlooking the entire west square.

“Teacher, Heulin’s night is twinkling with magic lights.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s pretty. But when I think about how they are made by squeezing the blood out of magicians, it makes me queasy.” Dalia shuddered. He fought the urge to laugh.

“It’s not compulsory.”

“I guess not. They store the mana and use it, right? Then you would have to recharge it every day, but who does that?”

“Because of lack of control, beginner mages who can’t use their mana properly do these things for a living, to make money.”

“Then, fortunately, mana is not taken away recklessly.”

“They don’t pull out mana to the point where it’s physically damaging. The magician releases their own mana. Taking it by force is no different than taking their life.”

“But… how should I say this… it reminds me of a human battery from which mana is being pulled out. Maybe they are kept underground, bound and gagged.”

“Battery?”

“Mana charging device.”

Kaichen smiled at Dalia who often said terrible things effortlessly. He had thought she was mesmerized by the lights when she gazed out with so much focus. It hadn’t crossed his mind she might be thinking of something so macabre.

“Teacher, look! Is that the palace? As expected, it is the shiniest one here. Very flashy. Are those normal magic lamps?”

“Each palace in the Imperial Palace has a different color.”

“It’s really fancy, but it hurts my eyes. The colors are all jumbled together. It looks tacky,” she said. “Shouldn’t someone tell His Highness that whoever is controlling the lighting isn’t doing a very good job of it? Don’t tell me people think that’s beautiful. It looks… cheap. The Imperial Palace shouldn’t look like that.”

Kaichen was stunned. He clamped his mouth shut. No one really thought the Imperial Palace was beautiful. But it was a great building, and the Empire was proud of it. Kaichen remembered that Julius often looked at the colorful palace with bleary eyes and said he wanted to die in shame. However, the current emperor’s only hobby was to experiment with colorful lights. The ‘tacky’ lights of the Imperial Palace were the emperor’s will. No one could question it.

“It’s His Majesty’s hobby.”

“Oh…,” she said and covered her mouth with her hand, looking guilty.

Kaichen burst out in laughter. She was so honest. He liked that about her. It worried him that she might find it difficult to adapt into the high society where everybody was expert in the art of subterfuge, whether she would be able to hide her honest opinions and feelings. But he didn’t want her to change.

“I know I am greedy but it’s still not enough.”

His heart had skipped a beat at her words. He thought she had said it as a joke at that moment. Even though he knew her desires weren’t the same as his, he secretly harbored hope. Maybe…

For now, he would be what she wanted him to be: her one and only teacher she could lean on. He felt like he was the one who wanted to hog her for himself. Dalia said she was worried that she might lose, and someone might take away his time. And yet, he was the one who was