Lofna’s home sat outside the city, beside a riverside watermill—a fenced wooden cottage with a small yard.

The place was fairly spacious. It had two floors: a storage loft on top, living space below. Behind the house, in a cattle pen, stood a single milk cow.

The air around the house carried the dry scent of hay, not unpleasant.

This was where Lofna’s mother lived.

She was a red‑haired woman who looked a little worn out. Once, she’d been a pretty girl, knew some letters, had a bit of polish.

But after marrying the prince and giving him a child, all she’d gotten in return was this riverside house and a maid or two.

Her parents had long since passed away, and her other relatives didn’t really care about her. So she could only take the gold coins she’d hidden away, buy a cow, and make dairy products from its milk to earn a bit of extra money.

Sometimes she also helped out at the mill and made a little more.

When Shel arrived, he happened to see her and a few maids cutting up freshly made cheese.

There was none of the poise a prince’s consort ought to have about her. She was just an ordinary working woman.

Seeing Shel arrive with her daughter, who was happily munching on cake, she hurried over.

When she saw the scrape on her daughter’s leg, her heart clenched. She quickly fetched some herbs, pressed the squirming little girl down, and smeared a pungent ointment over her legs.

After asking Shel what had happened and getting the full story, she immediately grabbed Lofna and gave her two sharp smacks on the rear, scolding her for losing the copper coins.

“Forget it, forget it… it’s just a few coppers.”

“Teacher Shel, you don’t understand—those few copper coins are enough to buy a big block of cheese.” The woman looked very apologetic. She cut off a large brick of slightly smelly cheese from the board she was working at, wrapped it in cheesecloth, and handed it to Shel. “I don’t have anything else. Please take this as compensation.”

“Oh, there’s no need…” He waved his hand. “I’m not hungry.”

But she insisted, so he could only accept it.

Taking the chance, he gave Lofna’s home a closer look, and felt that this house wasn’t much better than the staff dorms over at the Church.

He couldn’t help asking, “Ma’am, you’re a prince’s consort. Isn’t there any room in the palace, or a place for you in the city? And why are you working by yourself?”

“In the city?” Lofna’s mother gave a bitter little smile. “You think it’d ever be my turn? My husband alone has more than a dozen official wives. There’s no place to fit that many people. There’s no extra house for me in the city. Living here is good enough.”

Shel thought it over and had to admit she was right.

The royal palace here was only so big, the city itself was small. The old king had too many sons and daughters, and even more grandchildren. A woman without any real standing naturally wasn’t high on the list.

The teachings of the Eternal Church said marriage was sacred. Unless a wife was barren, a man was supposed to stick to monogamy.

But out here in a small, remote state like Ipoli, the Church couldn’t control much.

How many wives a man took depended entirely on his own ability.

As for how he was supposed to feed them all—well, that was fate.

A princess like Lofna, with only a title and almost the same treatment as an illegitimate child, wasn’t anything unusual.

Her mother had it hard. She not only had to work and earn money, but also look after Lofna, who was always running around.

Even as she was chatting with Shel, Lofna had already finished the cream cake Shel bought her. Her eyes went straight to the fresh cheese her mother had just made. She tried to sneak another piece, only to be caught again and dragged over for a few more smacks on the butt.

“This child is just like that—she’s terribly greedy and loves to play…” Her mother gave a tired little laugh. “I’ve heard Lofna talk about you. She says Teacher Charles always gives her tasty things and treats her well. I’ve really troubled you.”

“It’s fine.” Shel didn’t mind. “Lofna’s already pretty good. She never causes trouble in class. Giving her some treats is appropriate. You’ve done well as her mother too.”

Though this woman was dressed like a village wife, he could tell she had some education and knew basic manners. She was sensible and reasonable, which was rare.

And while she did hit her daughter, she wasn’t like Hilna’s mother.

Hilna’s mother always wore a hard face, striking her daughter’s hands and back with a damp whip. Whenever it left bloody marks, Hilna’s hands would start to tremble uncontrollably, to the point she couldn’t even hold a pen.

Lofna’s mother only picked the spots with more flesh to hit, like her backside.

Her strikes looked heavy, but they didn’t really hurt.

So Lofna never learned her lesson.

Just like now: she’d barely finished getting her butt smacked before she slipped back over again, trying to steal more cheese.

“All right, stop peeking from over there.” Shel spotted the little girl craning her neck and motioned her over. He broke off a chunk of the cheese her mother had given him and passed it to her. “Here, you can have it. I’ll head back now.”

It was already getting late. It wasn’t exactly proper to keep chatting with another man’s wife, so he got up to take his leave.

He lived at a small country church, about half an hour’s walk from the palace.

If he followed the shaded path worn into the ground by travelers’ feet, he’d reach it quickly.

But it was early autumn, and night fell faster than before. To see the road more clearly in the dark, he softly chanted a simple spell, calling out the light element lingering in nature.

Tiny light spheres rose slowly from the ground like bubbles in water, swelling larger and larger. Then they began to bounce around him, as if they were alive.

Those softly glowing orbs not only lit up the path, they also drove away light‑shy mosquitoes and other insects.

Guided by those lights, Shel walked briskly down the tree‑lined path. Without worrying about bugs from the woods biting him, he strolled along and reached his lodgings in a relaxed mood.

At the church door, he snapped his fingers, letting the light orbs disperse. Then he felt around his waist for a moment, took out a ring of keys, and got ready to open the door and go in.

Just then, he suddenly heard a noise behind him, like a small animal moving through the grass.

When he turned around, he saw his follower.

“Lofna? What are you doing here!?”

The little girl stood only a few meters away, tilting her head up to look at him.

By the faint moonlight, Shel could see the hazy reflection in her eyes—she looked like she’d just witnessed a miracle, her face full of awe and envy.

“Teacher, was that magic you used just now?” she asked excitedly. “Were those glowing bubbles spirits you summoned?”

“Forget about that for now… why did you follow me here?”

“Ah.” Lofna let out a little sound, as if she’d suddenly remembered something.

She slowly pulled a piece of already‑crushed cheese from her pocket and held it out to Shel. “Teacher, this is the cheese you gave me earlier. I thought about it and decided I should give it back to you, since you already bought me a cream cake today. I wanted to return it, so I followed you.”

Looking at her dazed expression, Shel understood.

After taking the cheese he gave her, the girl had agonized over it for a while, then decided she should return it.

But when she stepped outside, she happened to see him casting the spell and summoning those light orbs. Entranced by the sight, she’d just followed along, dazed, all the way here.

“Forget the cheese. You crushed it already, there’s no need to return it… But you sneaking out of the house like this, your mother will be worried.”

“She won’t. I know the way back.” She was very sure of herself, and still hung up on Shel’s spell. “Teacher, you still haven’t answered me. Were those glowing bubbles magic? Are you really a Mage?”

“Yes. That was just the most basic illumination spell.” Shel nodded. “And yes, I really am a Mage. But I only know some simple spells, okay? Now, you should head home.”

Lofna just stood there, blankly.

She seemed so shocked by her teacher being a Mage that her feet wouldn’t move.

Shel sighed. He knew he’d have to make an extra trip tonight.

“Lofna, come with me. I’ll take you home…” He rubbed his temples. “I need to talk to your mother about how to keep you in line. You can’t keep wandering around like this with your head in the clouds. What if something happens to you?”

Only then did Lofna snap out of it. She nodded to show she’d listen.

On the way back, Shel had no choice but to cast the illumination spell again for light, summoning those warm‑glowing orbs.

Lofna ran and jumped around them, delighted. The way she looked at Shel was even more full of worship.

“Teacher, you’re so amazing. Why don’t you let everyone see you casting spells? Everyone would be so jealous.”

“This is just the most basic magic. It’s nothing amazing, and there’s no need to show off.” Shel didn’t want to explain too much. “These spells are a pain to learn, and I don’t use magic that often in daily life, so I usually can’t be bothered.”

“If Mages are that amazing, why are you always unhappy, Teacher?” she suddenly asked another strange question.

“I’m not unhappy. And being a Mage has nothing to do with being happy or not.” He couldn’t keep up with Lofna’s train of thought anymore.

“But you never smile.”

“I’m not an idiot. I don’t smile for no reason.”

“But you’re a Mage. If someone made you unhappy, you could turn him into a donkey to cheer yourself up. If someone bullied you, you could knock him into the sky with magic. If you didn’t have any money, you could chant a spell and have gold coins fall like rain… how could you not be happy?”

“That’s from fairy tales. My spells aren’t that powerful. I can basically just spit fire, make light, and freeze things. I can’t turn people into animals. Making gold is alchemy, not magic. I don’t know how.”

“Ah.” Lofna stared again. “So there are things even Mages can’t do?”

“Of course. Everyone has things they can’t do. Magic isn’t omnipotent.”

“Oh.” She looked a bit disappointed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I wanted to ask you to teach me magic,” she said, sounding dejected. “After I learn magic, I could make myself smarter. And if I become a Mage, I can travel around like you, and I won’t have to end up like my mom—marrying someone and working in the mill.”

She knew she wasn’t clever.

“Lofna, everyone has their troubles. Traveling around is dangerous too. Before I came to Ipoli, I passed through a lot of countries. I ran into bandits, thieves, and corrupt officials. Every time was miserable. You have a mother who loves you, you have food every day, you don’t have to worry about starving, and there’s no war in your homeland… that’s already very good.”

“But I really, really want to be a Mage.”

“Learning magic is very hard.” Shel shook his head. “You need talent, and you also need luck. Even I had a tough time learning a few little tricks, and I’m in no position to teach anyone magic.”

But the moment he said that, he was immediately slapped in the face by reality.