Vivian rubbed her stiff eyes as she sat up and pushed her hair back.
It was that dream again—the dream of the day Cade had dumped her and she had fallen into the sea.
The same day she had gained her empathic ability.
I haven't had that dream in a while.
She had heard stories of sailors falling overboard and being rescued by crystal whales, but she had never imagined she would experience such a thing herself.
And I certainly never imagined I'd gain an empathic gift because of it and end up working as an Imperial civil servant.
She pulled aside the heavy curtains and opened the window. An icy sea breeze immediately swept into the room.
The Gaia Empire of the Northern Continent remained cool even in the middle of summer.
And the coldest place in the empire was Melgot, the city bordering the northern coastline.
True to its reputation as the Land of the North Wind, the morning air felt sharp enough to leave frost on her skin.
Yet even that freezing air failed to clear her head.
I barely slept. Tossed and turned all night. And then that dream had to make it worse.
Against the backdrop of the gray sea and overcast sky, a giant seagull glided through the air.
She tried to distract herself, letting her gaze wander.
But the dream from the night before kept returning.
Her father's back as he walked out through the mansion gates toward the sea where crystal whales swam.
And his back.
And his back again.
I'm sick of it.
As though his face had never existed, her father remained in her memories only as a retreating figure.
Whenever she thought of crystal whales, she inevitably remembered his distant silhouette, and her stomach churned.
Even though there was nowhere farther for him to go, he always seemed to be moving farther away.
Whenever he turned around in her dreams, his face was unfinished.
His mouth smiled as he called her name, but there were no eyes.
Because she couldn't even remember what kind of eyes he had looked at her with.
If not for those crystal whales...
Obsessed with them to the point of abandoning his family, her father had once again set sail claiming he was on the verge of a great discovery.
And he never came back.
It had been seven years since Baron Soling—her father—had disappeared.
In that time, her mother had passed away.
Yet her father hadn't appeared even for the funeral.
The impoverished House of Soling, which had possessed almost nothing to begin with, slowly collapsed.
With no relatives left, she was now the only person bearing the name Soling.
Had she not worked as an ancient language tutor and somehow managed to keep paying taxes, the estate would have been confiscated long ago.
This is all because of crystal whales.
Even if one had saved her life and awakened her empathic powers—
After helping ruin someone else's family, the least it could do was that much.
I'm not particularly grateful for becoming a crystal whale investigator, either.
She wanted to block out the ocean, even for a moment.
She was going to be staring at it for days anyway.
With an irritated sigh, she yanked the curtains shut and turned around.
Then immediately slammed face-first into a dark figure that had suddenly appeared before her.
"Ugh—!"
Startled, she looked up.
Standing there was Cade, his hood pulled low over his head.
Vivian froze.
Then she hurriedly grabbed the blanket draped over a chair and wrapped it around her nightclothes.
Several books stacked on the floor were kicked aside, scattering everywhere.
"C-Cade?! How did you get in here?"
Only after blurting out the question did she remember that Cade was a mage.
Of course he had probably used teleportation magic.
That said, being capable of teleportation didn't excuse barging into a woman's room uninvited.
"Do you realize this is trespassing? How did you even know I was here? And what if someone sees us together outside the Magic Tower—"
Cade silently watched her rapid-fire complaints.
Then he asked,
"Were you crying?"
"...What?"
She touched her cheek.
There wasn't a single tear.
He had suddenly appeared and now he was asking nonsense.
"What does it matter whether I was crying or not? Why are you here?"
"This was lying in my office."
He pulled something from his pocket and held it out.
A badge engraved with a sandpiper and a fountain pen.
Her civil servant badge.
She hadn't even realized she'd lost it.
"So you really are a government official. Sorry for doubting you."
He hadn't believed her even after learning she was an Empath.
Vivian accepted the badge, giving him an odd look.
"Thanks for bringing it back, but I was going to the Magic Tower today anyway. You didn't have to come all the way here."
"I'll be away from the Tower for a few days."
"What?"
Her eyes widened.
"How long?"
"No idea."
"...Is it because of me?"
She asked the question half in disbelief.
Cade answered without hesitation.
"Maybe."
"..."
The anger swelling inside her vanished as quickly as a receding tide.
He was the master of the Magic Tower.
She was merely a first-year civil servant.
No amount of anger from her would change anything.
The blanket slipped from her weakened grip.
Feeling utterly lost, Vivian stared up at him.
Then, as if possessed, she reached out and grabbed the edge of his robe.
"Then what am I supposed to do...?"
Cade visibly flinched and stepped back.
But not enough to pull the robe free from her hand.
Even if he refused to stamp the official document, she could keep trying as long as he remained in the Magic Tower.
But if he wasn't there—
There was no way she could chase a mage around blindly.
He could disappear with teleportation magic whenever he wanted.
This opportunity means everything to me.
Is it really because of me? Just because I'm the civil servant who happened to show up?
Desperation overwhelmed her.
Unable to think of any persuasive arguments, she could only cling to him.
A complicated emotion flashed across Cade's face.
Then he tugged his robe back and said coldly,
"It's because of the sea monsters. Their numbers have increased lately. I need to deal with them before they reach the harbor."
"...Sea monsters?"
Unlike magical beasts, sea monsters possessed no apparent intelligence.
They were savage creatures that left corrupted mana wherever they passed, contaminating everything around them.
No one knew how they came into existence.
Only that their numbers had been increasing noticeably over the past few years.
And because they were far more vulnerable to magic than swords or arrows, mages had been running themselves ragged trying to contain them.
Before Vivian had joined the department, she had even heard stories of crystal whale researchers nearly losing their lives because of sea monster attacks.
Then it isn't because of me.
Was he messing with me?
Vivian shot him a suspicious look.
"Fine. I'll wait."
"...You'll wait?"
"You're going to hunt sea monsters, aren't you? Then I'll wait. But the moment you come back, I'm visiting the Magic Tower again. Keep that in mind."
Apparently he hadn't expected her to be this stubborn.
Cade simply stood there like a nail hammered into the floor.
"Now hurry up and leave. I need to get ready for work."
Out of habit, Vivian opened the door halfway for him before abruptly closing it again.
I still can't get used to the fact that Cade's a mage.
Feeling awkward, she turned back toward him.
He was already gone.
Teleportation magic.
Just like that.
"..."
She stared blankly at the spot where he had disappeared and let out a long sigh.
She would have to stay here until she obtained the Magic Tower Master's seal on the document.
Which meant she would continue seeing Cade.
The Cade who was completely different from the man she thought she knew.
Then again, perhaps it was only natural that he felt unfamiliar.
There was nothing strange about someone being kind only to their lover.
Though this feels less like a difference in personality and more like outright fraud.
Had he realized he'd been too harsh on her yesterday?
Why else would he come all the way here just to tell her he wouldn't be at the Tower?
And return her badge, too.
Could it be that he still has feelings for—
The moment the thought crossed her mind, memories surfaced automatically.
The day he had dumped her.
The way he had cornered and pressured her in the Magic Tower.
...No. Impossible.
No matter how long the sea monster extermination took, she needed time to adapt to this office anyway.
It was better to think of it that way.
Meeting Cade is awkward, but this is work. I just need to do my job properly.
Since I'm already stationed here, I might as well do the observatory work properly too.
Melgot was far from the Imperial Capital.
Perhaps the rumors about her hadn't reached this place.
Thinking that, Vivian felt surprisingly relaxed despite it being her first day.
The moment she stepped into Melgot Marine Observatory, however, she was greeted not with peace but with hostile stares.
"That's her?"
"Who?"
"Oh, the thing that was supposed to come from the Imperial Palace?"
"..."
Apparently the rumors had spread all the way here.
How?
Even the office administrator seemed less than pleased to see her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Vivian Soling from the Imperial Palace."
She offered a polite greeting.
The administrator immediately shot her a sharp glare.
"I'm Administrator Yukel. What exactly did you do at the Magic Tower before work? The Tower Master asked us to verify your identity."
"...Who said what now?"