The sound of a bird tapping at the window, and the bright yellow morning sunlight, tickled Isilla’s eyelids.
“Mmm... Haa!”
Her eyes opened refreshingly, and Isilla sat up.
She gave her body a quick stretch, then out of habit began circulating her magic power.
‘My magic circulation is going far too well, isn’t it?’
It was not a matter of feeling like she was in good condition today. It was so smooth that it felt strange.
Just as knights loosened their bodies and warmed up before training, mages performed magic circulation.
It was the act of rotating a handful of magic power once through the body.
One’s proficiency in magic circulation was judged by “how intact the amount of magic power was when it returned to the starting point.”
If not a single grain of magic power was lost, it was the level of an archmage, and even preserving more than half was considered enough to be called a decent mage.
Isilla was of the Silvaerin bloodline, filled with the mana of nature, and possessed outstanding magical talent.
Thanks to that blood, she was a genius who had recorded a magic circulation rate of 70% despite still being an academy student.
And yet, she could feel that her magic circulation rate had risen.
It was only a minute figure, but Isilla had recently felt her skills stagnating, so she was purely delighted.
‘But... why all of a sudden?’
She found it strange that she had suddenly broken through her stagnation, but good things were good things.
Thinking of it as the fruit of the training she had steadily kept up until now, Isilla finished getting ready.
She could hear the neighing of the horses that had been brought in front of the shop last night.
It seemed the coachman had gone out to take care of them.
When she went down to the first floor, the master was cooking.
“Ah, good morning. I hope your sleeping arrangements weren’t uncomfortable?”
“Good morning. I slept very well!”
After exchanging light greetings, Isilla sat at the bar table right in front of the kitchen.
Completely unlike the restaurants in the city or at the academy, this restaurant was structured so that the kitchen was wide open.
Cooks were said to place great importance on their individual recipes and hated showing others how they cooked.
Yet the master here continued cooking without the slightest concern.
Was it confidence that even if one watched, they would not be able to imitate him?
Before she knew it, Isilla found herself absorbed in the movements of the master’s hands.
‘Come to think of it... I don’t even know his name.’
Suddenly, she realized she did not even know the master’s name.
“Master, may I ask your name?”
“I’m Gang Jinwoo. And you?”
“I’m Isilla of House Silvaerin.”
As she gave her belated self-introduction, Isilla felt a little uneasy.
Once he learned of her family, his attitude would surely change.
He spoke politely as a matter of course, but the occasional casual words that slipped out were rather pleasant to hear.
His sharp eyes were like a well-honed blade, yet the scars covering his forearms and the calluses on his hands felt strangely warm.
“Ah, so you were the young lady of House Silvaerin. My apologies for failing to recognize you. Since I’m an outsider, I’m rather ignorant of the city’s affairs...”
As expected, the moment Master Gang Jinwoo learned of Isilla’s family, he immediately apologized.
Even when she was young and living in Silvaerin, Isilla had often gone to play in the residential districts of the commoners, so her sense of noble authority had faded.
His comfortable, unreserved attitude had felt warm, but in the end, it had come to this.
Unable to hide her regret, Isilla said,
“No, it’s all right. You made delicious food unlike anything I’ve ever eaten in my life... I’m really fine. In fact, you can treat me more comfortably...”
Since anyone with ability could enter the academy, there were many commoners there as well.
There had been some commoners who had become friendly with Isilla, but no matter how much she told them to treat her comfortably, they only waved their hands in refusal.
‘This man will have no choice but to decline as well.’
“Ah, really? Whew, that’s a relief. Thank you. My lady, you’re very warmhearted!”
“Eh, yes... yes! I suppose I am... a little!”
However, the master’s answer completely defied her expectations, leaving Isilla flustered.
‘He said I’m warmhearted...?’
At the academy, Isilla was called the eternal snow of the north, the coldest winter flower.
Her family, her radiant silver hair, and her snow-white appearance all contributed to it, but so did the fact that she was naturally very shy, which had unintentionally given her an aloof image.
Isilla was used to gazes that were not quite hatred but not admiration either—closer to fear than longing.
To the master, it was probably just a passing compliment.
But to Isilla, that compliment seeped into her heart more deeply than any praise she had heard at the academy.
Thump!
For some reason, Isilla’s heartbeat quickened slightly.
Naturally, there was no way the master could hear that sound, but Isilla somehow felt embarrassed and raised her voice.
“A-Ahaha! The weather is truly nice today!!”
“? Yes... it is. Ah, here is your breakfast. I made a clear soup using the leftover baeksuk from yesterday as the base.”
“Huh? Thank you very much, but I’m not sure if I should...”
“Please eat. If I sent you off without even feeding you, I’d feel uncomfortable.”
From the moment she had opened her eyes that morning, the delicious smell had drifted all the way up to the second floor, so she could not honestly say she had not been looking forward to it.
However, it might simply have been preparation for the day’s business, and since she had already imposed on him for the night, she had thought asking for breakfast would be shameless.
But he offered her a meal first, and she was extremely grateful.
“I’ll enjoy it, Master.”
“Please do.”
Isilla spoke to the master with all sincerity.
As if she had said something obvious, the master gave a faint smile.
The master said the dish was called “chicken gomtang.” It was lighter than baeksuk, but it retained that distinctive vitality.
The piping hot broth and hearty chicken came together, making it a truly excellent meal for breakfast.
By the time Isilla finished eating, the coachman had also completed the preparations for departure with perfect timing.
“My lady, we can depart at any time.”
“Understood. Um... Master. Thank you very much.”
“If you’re that grateful, please advertise for me. Though I don’t know if there’ll be any customers willing to come all the way out here.”
The master laughed lightly as he made a silly joke.
Thanks to his cheerful air, Isilla’s steps as she left felt even lighter.
“Hehe, look forward to it. I’ll introduce this place to enough people to fill the shop.”
Though she said it playfully, Isilla was sincere.
It was not as though the academy cooks or the cooks at her family estate lacked skill.
Nevertheless, the master’s cooking had shattered Isilla’s common sense.
‘Not knowing a taste like this is losing half your life... no, your entire life.’
The carriage gradually drew closer to the city, but Isilla could no longer think of her excitement at reuniting with her family. All she could think about was the master’s cooking.
Recalling the ecstasy she had felt when she first tasted the master’s food, she once again felt her body growing hot.
‘Hnng... haa...’
For some reason, the carriage approaching the city remained heated all the way until its arrival.
***
Kylan Silvaerin, the head of House Silvaerin, was seated in his office as usual, reviewing documents.
Silvaerin was a city located in the northernmost part of the empire, but it differed from the usual image of the north, which people tended to think of as barren.
Of course, the weather was cold. However, the harvest of crops, as well as the quantity and quality of resources obtained from nature, were remarkably high.
The reason was that Silvaerin lay on the front line facing Nuardel, the land of the elves.
The astonishing vitality emitted by the elves’ divine tree, the World Tree, also influenced Silvaerin, creating the rare sight of abundant resources despite the cold climate.
Even so, a front line was still a front line.
As both head of the family and lord of the territory, the amount of work he had to handle was directly proportional to the city’s prosperity.
“The work never seems to end...”
Kylan, who had been looking through documents all morning, pressed firmly around his eyes to relieve the strain.
Outside the window, the eternal snow of the Kallian Mountains remained steadfast, true to its name, but even so, he could feel spring in the scent of the air and the softened soil.
‘Isilla, are you doing well?’
The academy would soon begin its new term, and he wondered whether his only daughter was doing well.
Remembering Isilla from last year, stubbornly insisting she did not want to go even though the entrance ceremony was already late, Kylan let out a wry laugh.
She had been a spoiled daughter who hated being apart from her family, so Kylan had been very worried last year.
Still, according to the occasional news he received, she had adjusted reasonably well, which had put his mind at ease.
“I suppose I’ll see you during summer vacation, my daughter.”
Kylan drank a glass of water and stretched his stiff body.
Just as he was about to focus on work again, a knock sounded.
“Master. I have something urgent to report!”
The owner of the urgent voice was Fred, the old butler of House Silvaerin.
As a servant who had served House Silvaerin for a long time, he had experienced most unexpected situations, so it was rare for him to act so hastily.
Though puzzled, Kylan answered readily.
“Come in.”
With Kylan’s permission, Fred entered the office, first apologized for his discourtesy, then opened his mouth.
“Um... Lady Isilla has arrived. We just received word, so I believe it has been about fifteen minutes since she passed through the city gate.”
“What?”
Kylan was flustered by his daughter’s sudden appearance.
The academy started next week, didn’t it? She had come to visit now?
Naturally, there was no way the gatekeepers at the city gate or Fred would be lying.
“I will go out. Fred, prepare to welcome Isilla.”
“Yes. Understood.”
He was happy to see his daughter’s face before the school term began, but...
Kylan could not shake the feeling of being somewhat bewildered.