“Vyn, you know you can’t lie to Dad, right? Are you sure that holy bastard didn’t lay a finger on you?”
“Yes… Really, it was just a coincidence that we ran into each other.”
“I swear on the Kinzell name, I will never let this matter slide. I’ll insist that His Majesty take proper action.”
Dylan dragged his bear-like hand across his face.
When he looked back at Ivyn, his face was resolute.
“Looks like it’s finally time for our Vyn to start learning necromancy.”
“Necromancy?”
Ivyn’s eyes went wide at Dylan’s sudden words.
“From now on, Dad and your brothers will personally oversee your necromancy lessons. Each of us will handle the subjects best suited to our strengths, so don’t worry and learn at your own pace.”
In the original story, Ivyn Kinzell was the only non-magic user in the necromancer family… Could this be a story change caused by my avoiding Ivyn’s death?
It seemed this recent incident had seriously altered Dylan’s way of thinking.
Sucking the last bit of pudding from her spoon, Ivyn felt a creeping sense of unease.
Necromancy.
Magic that deals with corpses…
“It’s getting late. Everyone, head back to your rooms.”
Finishing her meal in a cheerful atmosphere, she went toward her bedroom.
Lying down on her soft bed made of goose feathers, she felt the fatigue of the past few days melt away like snow.
Even her worries about necromancy lessons seemed to ease a little.
Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s not like they’ll have me raising rotting corpses right from the start, right?
The next morning.
Ivyn took her time to have breakfast and, after finishing her morning preparations, she headed toward the indoor training hall in the annex.
The first lesson was scheduled to be taught by her second brother, Bill.
“Oh, Vyn, you’re here.”
“Morning, brother. Did you sleep well?”
As Vyn exchanged warm greetings with him, a commotion started rising from the spectator stands of the training hall.
“Kyaaa! It’s Vyn!”
When she turned to look, she saw the triplets holding huge banners.
Each banner was printed with Ivyn in a different pose: one with her holding the hat on her head and smiling brightly over her shoulder, another tilting her head cutely with whipped cream smeared all around her mouth, and the third with her sitting atop her brothers, tugging their hair playfully while grinning widely. Encouraging messages were printed alongside each image.
[ Oh, princess! How can she be so beautiful? How can she learn necromancy so effortlessly? ]
[ Princess, we love you. The universe began for you. This planet was reborn for you. The rivers flow for you. ]
[ On the day the Holy Nation bastards die, our Vyn will lead the charge! ]
“…”
Ivyn, staring at the banners with her bleary, deadpan eyes, let out a small sigh and averted her gaze.
It hadn’t even been a few days since she’d become part of this family, yet she was already starting to feel overwhelmed.
“Vyn, are you okay? Should I kick them out since they’re annoying?”
“I’m fine. Let’s just start the lesson.”
A few hours later, Ivyn’s official first basic necromancy class came to an end.
“Alright, that’s it for today’s lesson. Good job, Vyn.”
“Thanks, Bill!”
The John-Hon-Dan trio in the stands burst into fanfare, singing at the top of their lungs to celebrate her completing her first class without incident.
Ivyn~ Ivyn~
Victory song!
Boom-boom-tap Boom-boom-tap Clapclap-clap-clap!
The Holy Nation can’t outshine our family!
Why?
Because our family has Ivyn!
Even if the Holy Nation makes a ruckus,
they don’t stand a chance against us—so give it up!
Boom-boom-tap boom-boom-tap clap-clap-clap!
“…Brother Bill, let’s go. I’m hungry.”
“Wait a sec.”
As Bill walked alongside Ivyn toward the exit of the training hall, he stopped and turned back.
The triplets hadn’t left the hall yet.
Shhk-
With a casual flick of his hand through the air, a magic circle began to glow beneath his feet—then thick shards of bone burst forth from it.
Crack! Crack!
As the bone shards entwined themselves together, they formed massive prison bars.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m just keeping those little brats locked in the training hall so they can’t get out anytime soon.”
“Even so… isn’t this a bit… too much?”
Watching the bars made of solid bones, Ivyn asked worriedly, and Bill replied as if it were no big deal.
“They started it first, though?”
“…”
“Come on, let’s go. You said you’re hungry.”
“Uh… yeah…”
“They’re just useless members of the family anyway, so it’s fine.”
That evening, Ivyn stood on the balcony of her room, gazing absentmindedly at the front yard. Her mind was tangled with all sorts of complicated thoughts.
Hmm… well, at least the immediate crisis between the Holy Nation and the Kinzell family has been somehow avoided…
What weighed on Ivyn’s mind was the original story’s original plot.
In the original, the peak of the relationship between the male and female leads coincided exactly with the time when House Kinzell and the Holy Nation were at war.
The question was: was that absolutely necessary?
Did the story really require the Kinzell family to face annihilation to move the plot forward?
And if that was an irreversible part of the original story’s plot…
Wasn’t that implying that for the paladin Theodore and Saintess Pavella to feel any romantic emotions for each other, a war between the two factions had to break out?
Tap-tap-tap.
“Hmm…”
Ivyn, drumming her slender fingers against the balcony railing in thought, suddenly paused.
Something had just popped into her mind.
“Then… wouldn’t it be fine if they just… didn’t end up together?”
TL Note:
Hello~ Elle here. I took my sweet time doing updates, I know.
Piaf, my baby princess kitten and soulmate, urgently needs surgery. The cost is far beyond what I can handle alone, so I’ve prepared some special challenges to turn every bit of support into hope for her.
💬 Challenge #1: Every 5 unique comments = 1 extra chapter
💖 Challenge #2: Every 10 NU votes = 2 extra chapters
☕ Challenge #3: Every $15 on my Ko-fi goal = 3 extra chapters
Every comment, vote, and donation brings us one step closer to her surgery.
Thank you, truly, for supporting us.
