Silent Witch

Cyril involuntarily rubbed his eyes and looked twice at the scene before him.

The gardener shouted at the two figures matching in robes whom he called ‘my pals'.

He can't see their face clearly since it was covered by the hood, but he could tell they were a slender man and a petite woman.

And one thing that should be taken into consideration was the robes they were wearing. It was the kind of formal robe made of dark blue fabric with embroidered gold and silver threads that only the kingdom's best magician, the Seven Sages, was allowed to wear.

The gardener run over to the two with a cat in his arms.

"Hey, it's rare to see you guys out in the garden!"

In response, the robed man whispered in a listless voice.

"…We came all the way here to pick you up since we know you wouldn't show up in the Jade Room no matter how long we wait."

"Is that so? Well, sorry for making you take this trip. Thanks anyway! Oh, wanna have some vegetables?"

"No, thanks."

The gardener clicked his mouth, and this time he took out a turnip and munched at it.

Now Cyril has realized.

The robe that tied to the gardener's waist was made of dark blue fabric too. If he looked closely, he could see some embroidery made of gold and silver threads.

Speaking of the Jade Room, it was the room only that only the Seven Sages and the King himself are allowed to enter.

Furthermore, with the fact they wore robes that only the Seven Sages are permitted to wear, he arrived at one conclusion.

"The fifth… Witch…? Could it be he's the Thorn Witch…"

The gardener, Raul Roseberg the Thorn Witch, widened his eyes in surprise when he heard Cyril mutter those words.

"Wait. I thought you've already known my identity…"

As Raul munched on his turnip, the gloomy-robed man spoke listlessly.

"…it's obvious because you haven't worn your robe."

"Oh, now that you mention it. I took off this robe since it only got in the way when working in the garden. Can you hold this guy for a moment?"

As Raul said so, he shoved the kitten to the robed man, unfolded his own robe which was tied to his waist, and properly wore his robe this time.

And when the gardener with such a handsome face wore the Seven Sages' robe properly, he exuded an overwhelming air of dignity.

Both his rosy wavy hair and mysterious green eyes shone brightly against his dark blue robes.

——Unfortunately, he still wore clothes for farming work, a straw hat on his head, and a hand towel on his neck.

Besides, who would imagine a man who tended the garden clad in field clothes, couldn't climb down from a tree, forces anybody he meets to eat his vegetable, and proclaims himself the descendant of the Toilet Witch be one of the Seven Sages?

Cyril was lost for words while Raul Roseberg the Thron Witch smiled back in response and spoke.

"That's right! Let me introduce my pals to you! This gloomy guy over here is Abyss Shaman and the little one here is Silent Witch! Together, we are the Three Young Seven Sages!"

At Raul's words, the Abyss Shaman said ‘…don't include me in your strange group' disgruntedly, while the Silent Witch, just like her name, kept quiet with hanging head.

Are these guys really the Seven Sages…? The best magician in the kingdom…?

He almost couldn't believe the people in front of him were the Count Magicians, direct advisors of the King.

Recalling back how he acted toward him, he wondered if his behavior had been rude.

If he compares their rank, Cyril's family background, Marquis Highon House, had a higher standing than the Count Magician, which is equivalent to the rank of count.

But Count Magician is a peerage that cannot be described simply like that. Subjects who were given those ranks were allowed to have a direct audience with the king, which was incomparable to that of a normal count.

If he thinks about it further, he was just the adopted son of Marquis Highon. So the one who clearly had to keep his manner was Cyril himself.

So, with his blood almost drained from his face, Cyril tried to apologize to them. But before he could do that, the Abyss Shaman approached him with silent footsteps and held his hand.

The pale face of the Abyss Shaman that peered from the hood was somewhat ecstatic.

From lips that almost looked like a sick person, he whispered in a hoarse voice.

"…do you love me?"

Cyril was stupefied, dead silent for almost a good ten seconds.

Following this, he asked again expressionlessly.

"…I'm sorry, I might have heard it wrong. But, could you tell me once again?"

"Do you love me?"

Cyril staggered, he didn't hear it wrong! No, this person must have misunderstood something here, it must be like that!

As Cyril desperately told himself this over and over, the Abyss Shaman's pink eyes which were almost unreal, shone brightly as they came closer.

"Don't you think our meeting in the rose garden is like destiny? Of course, if destiny is true, should we be attracted to and loved each other? Meeting a beautiful girl disguised in men's clothes… great, that's the best!"

"Girl? Disguised?"

Cyril was lost for words, and the Abyss Shaman, as if trying to give him some assurance, continued.

"Please rest assured. What's important is not how big your boobs are, but how big our love is. So… do you love me? It's fine to have small boobs, so can you say ‘I love you' to me?"

Don't tell me, this… this… this man is…

As Cyril's cheeks twitched, the Silent Witch pulled the Abyss Shaman's sleeve and whispered something to his ear.

"Huh? He's not? A man?"

The Silent Witch's head which was covered with the hood was nodding.

As the Abyss Shaman tilted his head in puzzled, staring hard at Cyril's face, Raul Roseberg the Witch Thorn interrupted.

"He really is. There's nothing to doubt when he's the son of Marquis Highon."

At Raul's words, the Abyss Shaman staggered down in place and mumbled ‘I feel like throwing up…' or that kind of rude words.

Cyril was dumbfounded.

The Thorn Witch didn't seem to care about anything, just playing with the cat while the Silent Witch was flustered with the situation.

They are the Seven Sages? The so-called best magician in the kingdom?

The Abyss Shaman seemed to have a few loose screws, the Thorn Witch only cares about farming, and the Silent Witch was just like a child.

…wait, a child?

If he looked closely at her, she clearly had a petite figure. She was just like a kid wearing an oversized robe. Perhaps she tried doing her best in her own way since her hands were flailing around. But those hands which didn't have any gloves put on were red from the cold.

As Cyril stared at her hands, the Silent Witch turned her face down in fluster and began to fidget with her fingers.

And those minute gestures stirred some of Cyril's memory.

＊ ＊ ＊

You don't have to be depressed, Lord Cyril! You're a still man! I can tell your body frames and the shape of your throat are different from a woman's!

Monica was flailing her hands around as she tried hard to voice her words to the misunderstood Ray.

If we're talking about the Serendia Academy, there's no one who would mistake Cyril Ashley for a woman, but… If it was the Seven Sages, there might be some of them who would make such a mistake.

No matter how you look at him! Lord Cyril! Is a proper man!

Naturally, she didn't say it out loud, since she could only flap her hands around, but she then felt Cyril's eyes fixed on her.

Lord Cyril's watching me… my identity hasn't been exposed, has it? It's fine, he still doesn't know, he still doesn't know…

As she was pondering while fidgeting her freezing fingers, Cyril raised his brows slightly.

"Please pardon me if I'm wrong, Lady Silent Witch."

"………" *on alert*

While Monica held her breath as she took a step back, Cyril spoke.

"…have we met before…?"