Chapter 24

Chapter 24
Elio twitched her fingers and averted her gaze from Carlos.

“Hmm… A fraud, aren’t we?”

“I… I’m not a fraud! The potion really does have purifying properties!”

“How much?”

“……”

Carlos held out his large, broad hand toward her.

“Purify me. Right now.”

“……”

Fiddling with her hands, Elio reached out. A soft white light burst forth from her palm, and she handed something over to Carlos almost as if she were trying to get rid of it.

“Huh?”

Carlos burst into a laugh that rang out even clearer than the sound of the falling rain. He had always looked like a cold, dangerous predator, so seeing him laugh so openly like this was a first.

With her face burning like it had been set on fire, Elio glared at the laughing man.

Stopping his laughter, a sudden sly grin pulled at the corners of his lips as he leaned down closer to her.

“Lady, you really don’t have much of a conscience, do you?”

In his hand rested a single stalk of white lilac that Elio had just handed him. It was a flower broken by the heavy downpour—one that she had only just purified.

Elio hung her head low and began counting the pebbles on the ground.

“…I told you my mana capacity is tiny. That’s why it’s not enough to purify a person. But it’s true that the potion has purifying properties!”

Well, even if it’s just 0.00000001%, if it’s in there, it counts as containing it, right?

“Hmm… What on earth is the point of purifying a flower?”

His light chuckles seeped into her ears. Even without looking in a mirror, she could feel the heat spreading across her face.

“Flowers get plagues, too! If I purify them, they won’t die.”

Elio continued stubbornly keeping her eyes averted. As she spoke, she felt her face grow even hotter. Even to her own ears, what she was saying sounded ridiculous.

So what if I save flowers from a plague? Good grief.

“I can… I can heal or purify people, too, if I really have to….”

She swallowed hard, crushing and tearing at a leaf until green juice began to ooze onto her fingers.

“And?”

“I can do it, but….”

“I’m just glad you’re healthier than I thought.”

The memory of the man’s voice, laughing so happily, flashed through Elio’s mind. She struggled internally, torn between whether she should confess that her heart kept stopping whenever she used mana on a person, or keep it a secret.

“…I pass out.”

His fingers, which had been twirling the white flower, came to a sudden halt. Elio’s eyes darted back and forth rapidly.

“Just for a very short moment! And only sometimes!”

“……”

“It’s—it’s just because I’m not used to channeling my mana yet! Isn’t that how all beginners are at first? But I’m practicing, so next time, I’ll be able to do it without fainting! As you know, Sir, I have great physical stamina, so I can practice dozens of times a day!”

Carlos offered a soft, amused smile at her parade of excuses.

He hadn’t expected anything from her in the first place. Her mother, Valentine, hadn’t held the slightest bit of interest in magic either. Even with the Master of the Magic Tower for a father, Valentine was a woman who found pure happiness in nothing but a single sword.

Perhaps because Elio took after her mother, she showed no particular talent for magic. The fact that her mana pool was smaller than that of a low-tier apprentice proved as much.

Carlos brushed his fingers against the lilac petals, his smile hardening slightly.

…Come to think of it, does that old man at the Magic Tower still not know his granddaughter is alive?

Would a stubborn old fool who cut ties with his own daughter and shut himself away from the world even care about his granddaughter?

“Sir…? Um.”

“Just having mana at all is impressive enough. You did well.”

Elio instantly bit the tip of her tongue and pressed her lips together.

Looking at the white petals Carlos was caressing, she pulled back her tingling fingertips. Fortunately, he seemed to brush off her mention of passing out as nothing more than a simple mistake in mana control.

“I’m actually really good at tending gardens! I can care for hundreds of blooms. If I look after them, not a single flower will die—truly!”

Pitter-patter. Raindrops fell into the puddles, playing a gentle melody.

Carlos smirked softly.

“There are no flower gardens in the Ducal Castle. It seems I’ll have to plant one if I want to see your purification in action.”

“There’s no garden?”

“Because no one here has any interest in flowers. Everyone is crazy about swords.”

“Still, how can there be no garden at all? Doesn’t the Duchess…?”

“My mother preferred building training grounds, too.”

Elio’s mouth fell open. Even for the greatest sword house on the continent and a family of Dragon Slayers, she hadn’t imagined they would be this obsessed with swords. No wonder the inside of the castle felt so bleak and desolate.

I guess that’s what it means to be a thousand-year swordmaster family that knows nothing but the blade.

“…The Duchess was incredibly strong too, right?”

“She was strong.”

At Carlos’s past-tense response, Elio blinked in surprise.

“Though she is sick now.”

“Where? Is she very ill?”

At her startled voice, Carlos simply smiled without offering an answer.

Faced with a silence that felt like a line being drawn between them, Elio couldn’t ask any further and resorted to picking at her fingernails.

……So the sick family member he mentioned is his mother?

Her heart felt heavy as she wondered if that was why he carried around his mother’s pendant everywhere he went.

“Come here.”

Before she realized it, Carlos had stood up and was calling out to her from a few steps away.

He waved the white lilac blossom in the air.

…He really thinks I’m a puppy.

Pouting her lips, Elio brushed the weeds off her hands and pushed herself up onto her feet.

She deliberately raised her voice, trying to sound bright.

“When are you going to find a house for me? Starting today, I’m really going to stay at an inn.”

“……”

“You’re really going to find one for me, right? I’m going down to the village right now. I have so much to do—I need to buy new magic books for healing and purification, too.”

“Watch the stone at your feet. Water ahead.”

After taking a quick look at the puddle, Elio hopped over it and ran toward the man waving the flower. A breeze carrying the scent of wet grass washed over her.

“Even a single small room is fine! Though I won’t be able to host a housewarming party for you, Sir!”

Splashing water droplets bounced up and brushed against her flushed cheeks, while his low laughter diffused into the humid air.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Here. Drink up.”

Wiping away his sweat, Toby flopped down beside Elio. Although the rainy season in the North was far more bearable than in the South, the air remained muggy even when the rain temporarily stopped.

“Thank you.”

Elio took a sip of the cool grape juice Toby handed her. It was still a quiet morning, with only the sound of the stream rushing wildly due to the swelling waters.

Having taken over the task of bringing her to the village on behalf of Carlos—who had been busy since early morning after finishing his dawn sparring—Toby kept his face screwed up in annoyance for some reason.

“You really didn’t need to bring me all the way here….”

“That mountain peak over there is the Ducal Estate’s vineyard.”

Muttering under her breath, Elio blinked in surprise and raised her head to stare at the mountain towering high into the sky, seemingly piercing the clouds.

“The wine made from those grapes is the finest in Lübeck! The very liquor said to be loved most by the Archangel is our Schüfenhart wine! At the Ducal Castle, you can drink it like water! The Royal Family of Cyprus buys it all up in bulk, so you can’t even get a bottle in the village!”

At his out-of-the-blue declaration, Elio blinked blankly.

“I don’t really like alcohol, though…?”

“…Damn it. What do you mean you don’t like it?”

Looking at Toby’s fierce, scowling eyes, Elio let out a gentle smile.

“I’m not going to run away anywhere. If you ever call for me because there’s work, I’ll visit the castle anytime.”

“Who said anything about running away? How is a noble lady supposed to live in a village without a single maid? Tsk.”

…A noble lady.

She let out a bitter smile. When she offered no reply, the atmosphere settled into a heavy quiet. Elio forced the corners of her lips upward.

“Oh, come on. We’re going to part ways in two months anyway!”

Toby stared at Elio, his eyes blinking in surprise.

“You said you both know everything, Sir Toby and Sir Leon. Since I’ll have to leave the Ducal Castle and live on my own eventually, it’s better that I get used to it early. Even without a maid, I’m really good at cleaning.”

Puffing out her chest, she raised her voice in a cheerful tone and tilted her head far back.

“I also need to look into where I’ll settle down later and how I’m going to make money. I have a lot of work to do and I’m very busy!”

The Ducal Castle was nestled between the mountain slopes like a massive fortress. Acting as if it were the grand guardian gate of the Dragon Mountain Range, it was so majestic and tall that looking up at it made her feel like a tiny weed blooming by the roadside.

As she mindlessly gauged the castle’s immense height, the word ‘guardian’ lingered in her mind. Once upon a time… had the Ducal family protected the dragons as cherished friends? Had they tried everything to turn back a fallen Black Dragon?

She let out a faint laugh at the absurdity of such thoughts concerning a family famed as Dragon Slayers.

“…Honestly, I’m much more comfortable in the village.”

A faint smile seeped into Elio’s voice.

“You saw it yourself, didn’t you, Sir? Except for the fact that my house was big, it wasn’t any better than a commoner’s home anyway. And now, I really am a commoner.”

Elio giggled brightly. Leaning slightly toward Toby—who looked even gloomier than she did—she shook her juice cup playfully.

“Besides, I’ve always preferred sweet, cheap tastes like this over super high-end stuff!”

“Cheap? That came from the most famous shop in the village! I paid a whole 900 shillings for that!”

Elio burst into a radiant laugh.

“Wow, that really is expensive! Then please buy it for me again next time!”

Toby stared at Elio with a dumbfounded expression.

“Where do you get off being so strangely fearless…? What’s the big deal about staying at the castle? His Grace isn’t even staying at the castle right now anyway.”

Toby muttered loudly as if making sure she heard, then scowled when Elio gave no response.

“What about the sword? What are you going to do about the sword? You asked me to help you practice! You have to come to the training ground like today if you want me to help!”

“Ah, the sword….”

“Come to the castle training ground every other day by 6:00 AM. Take a good rest this week, though.”

❖ ❖ ❖

…I won’t run into His Grace, right?

Elio blinked, recalling the offhand conversation she had with Toby that morning.

Even though Toby said His Grace was staying at the detached villa, her heart thudded nervously with anxiety.

Still, it would be better if I learned more self-defense….

Elio set down the dagger she had been polishing and looked around the room.

The room in the inn was large enough to fit a whole group of people, and it lacked nothing. Judging by the intricate gold filigree carved into every piece of furniture, it was likely the most luxurious inn in the entire village.

…He really did take responsibility and look after me.

Elio smiled softly and fell backward onto the bed. Her legs ached from walking around all day exploring the territory on her own. She let out a soft groan before rolling around in the blankets.

As expected of a high-end inn, the bed was fluffy and the sheets were crisp and smooth.

A humid night breeze blew in through the crack in the window.

The chiffon curtains swayed with a soft swoosh.

From beyond the window came the lively chatter and booming laughter of the villagers.

Everything just felt so peaceful that she stopped rolling around and slowly blinked her eyes.

…I really have left Architen.

The moon outside the window shone brightly, just like that night by the lake.

Back then, that guy was so mean. But he’s actually much sweeter than I thought….

Resting her head on her arm, she rolled onto her side with a soft rustle.