“I never imagined that filthy old man would covet my daughter. I will take proper measures.”
His voice was cold as ice.
Since Viscount Milpianne had been dealt with, wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to reveal all of Mariposa’s wrongdoings?
‘No, no, no, Giselle. Calm down.’
For a moment, she felt excited—it was the first time someone had taken her side. But she reined herself in.
‘The stage hasn’t been fully set yet. The servants, the aides, and the nobles are all still on Mariposa’s side. Even if I expose her, she’ll slip through easily.’
Even though Count Floret and Mariposa didn’t have a particularly close relationship, he might still feel some gratitude toward his younger sister for managing the family during his long absence at sea.
‘If Mariposa is to face the consequences of her actions, I need to build up to it properly.’
For now, dealing with that disgusting old man would suffice.
“Yes, please handle Viscount Milpianne!” Giselle replied with a cheerful smile, fiddling with the necklace around her neck.
Noticing her action, Count Floret explained in an almost offhand manner, “Ah, right. I should tell you. That necklace is actually a magical artifact for disguise. It’s enchanted with a spell that changes one’s appearance. In the empire, there’s no artifact more perfect for disguises.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. From what I hear, it’s said to have a hidden function as well.”
“A hidden function?”
“Exactly. Count Sehera always had a habit of embedding amusing functions into various magical artifacts.”
‘So it might have functions beyond just altering appearances.’
Giselle nodded thoughtfully, her fingers grazing the necklace that Count Floret had given her. But there was a slight drawback.
‘Ugh, I only tried using it for a moment, and it consumed so much mana!’
As it was a keepsake from her father, who had been a Grand Mage, the mana absorption was immense. Struggling to catch her breath, Giselle turned back to Count Floret.
“Thank you. I’m sure it’ll come in handy someday.”
“Your mana is quite pure. If you train diligently, you can become stronger. Perhaps you should attend the academy, find a mentor, or at the very least use the assistance of magical artifacts.”
However, the cost of attending an academy, hiring a capable personal mentor, buying potions, or acquiring proper magical artifacts was astronomical.
‘Learning from an exceptional mentor, traveling around for personal training, gearing up with full magical equipment, joining the mage tower, and greasing some palms to navigate the politics… Becoming an ordinary mage would cost billions, and a Grand Mage would require tens of billions.’
In other romance-fantasy stories, magic training was often provided for free. But in this empire? Not a chance.
It was then that Count Floret made an enticing proposal.
“It’s late, but I’ll find you a magic teacher.”
Judging by his expression, this seemed like the perfect chance to make a strong impression.
‘I still have a potion I secretly swiped from that restaurant.’
“What kind of teacher? Can I meet them now?”
—
“Tch. What could a lady who hasn’t even attended the academy possibly know? That’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”
In this world, freelance mages capable of teaching others were rare. One such mage, Hassan, flinched and looked at Giselle in surprise.
‘Wait, I didn’t accidentally say that out loud, did I?’
Giselle smirked arrogantly. “That’s what you thought, wasn’t it? Go ahead, test me.”
‘Is she… a witch?’
Thrown off from the start, Hassan scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said, “Beginners usually can’t do this. Those without mana definitely can’t. But it doesn’t matter if you fail, so let’s start with mana breathing.”
“Already did.”
What? In one second?
Hassan stared at Giselle with a mixture of disbelief and discomfort. He could clearly see the flow of mana around her body.
‘What is this? It’s just the standard breathing technique… but she’s good at it?’
Her cousin Abisan hadn’t been able to properly perform mana breathing for years. Yet Giselle acted as though it was second nature, as if she’d learned it before.
‘Well, maybe she has slightly more mana than I expected. Could just be beginner’s luck.’
Hassan blinked and began rummaging through his pocket for an artifact.
“Actually, the maximum amount of mana a mage can gather is determined by their innate talent. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“But training isn’t useless. The more circles you form near your mana heart, the stronger the spells you can cast. Grand Mages, for instance, typically form ten circles. That’s a massive amount of mana.”
“And?”
“Well, I don’t expect much. I wouldn’t want to put too much pressure on you, anyway.”
Mana is an energy that floats in the air, and only certain special individuals can store it within their bodies. In this world, people referred to that storage as the “Mana Heart.”
The size of the Mana Heart determined how much mana a person could absorb.
“I doubt it’ll be anything impressive.”
Without much expectation, Hassan pulled out a square-shaped artifact and brought one end of it to Giselle’s hand.
“Not even a single circle—”
But before he could finish, he froze, his eyes widening in shock.
“Yes, it’s true she doesn’t even have one circle. But… what is this? This woman… she wasn’t like this before?”
The size of her Mana Heart was enormous.
For most talented mages, five circles were the limit no matter how hard they tried. Only truly exceptional mages could achieve ten circles.
However, Giselle’s innate Mana Heart far exceeded that of an average five-circle mage.
“No, this doesn’t make any sense. That Giselle? Even Lady Mariposa always said Giselle had nothing!”
Hassan frowned as he observed Giselle, who was looking at him with a calm, unconcerned expression.
“She must have cheated somehow.”
With Count Floret’s return, Giselle was likely manipulating things to gain his approval.
In a cold tone, Hassan muttered, “That’s enough for today’s lesson. I need to report this immediately.”
—
“How did it go?”
“There’s nothing more I can teach her.”
Count Floret nodded with the satisfaction of a proud parent. After years of seeing his nephew Abisan’s failing grades, having such a capable daughter felt like a dream.
“Was this the amazing thing Giselle mentioned? Awakening her magical abilities?”
He remembered her last words and allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.
—
“Count Floret.”
“Yes?”
“The rumors about me so far must have painted me as timid and fragile. But things are different now!”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll show you how much I’ve changed—with something so shocking you won’t believe it.”
Remembering her bold statement, she seemed like a completely different person from the past.
Pleased, Count Floret’s smile widened slightly.
But Hassan, sulking, added a dismissive remark. “She must have used some kind of trick.”
“So, what you’re saying,” Count Floret replied with amusement, “is that my daughter performed that well?”
His lips curled upward, as though holding back laughter.
“That can’t be! Giselle has never attended an academy! And she was famously known in society for not having any mana at all!”
Hassan continued to belittle Giselle as though it were the most natural thing in the world, completely ignoring the changing expression on his employer’s face.
“I think we need to monitor her further. She might even be using forbidden sorcery.”
The moment those words left his mouth, a strange tension filled the air.
Count Floret stared at Hassan for a moment before speaking in a tone that feigned kindness.
“Forbidden sorcery?”
“Yes, absolutely!” Hassan stammered.
“Then, you’re fired.”
