Chapter 101
The movements themselves were quiet and calm, yet surprisingly fast.
‘Hmm….’
Holding Leon, who had dozed off again in her arms, Riana whispered softly.
“Sir Laviel, did that attendant receive special training?”
It was a question born from a certain suspicion.
“Yes, that’s right. He also serves as a guard for Bernian, and his skills are quite good.”
…So it was true.
“But it didn’t seem like he had learned aura…”
“I heard he was born with a body that cannot accumulate aura or mana. That’s why he trained mostly in swordsmanship and martial arts.”
“Ah…”
There were sometimes people whose bodies rejected aura.
Even if they tried to gather it, it would scatter instead of staying in the dantian.
That attendant seemed to be one of those cases.
He was an interesting person, but Riana decided to set aside her curiosity for later.
“I’ll head out first then. Please pass a word to those childish knights for me.”
“Yes. Please take care, Your Highness.”
With her next appointment scheduled, Riana left behind only a brief greeting to Kion, who was busy with sparring knights.
Originally, she had planned to observe the training of the others, but Bernian’s request for a visit came first.
After all, she could always make time later to watch over their training.
Just as she was about to leave, Riana paused for a moment and turned back.
“Sir Laviel.”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps…”
Riana hesitated as though she wanted to ask something.
But then she smiled faintly and shook her head, saying it was nothing.
“I’ll be going now.”
“Ah…”
With long strides, Riana quickly disappeared from Kion’s sight.
Left alone, he stood still, gazing at where she had gone.
She had looked a little gloomy just now.
But what she hadn’t asked, he couldn’t possibly know.
Thanks to her quick steps, Riana soon entered the Emerald Palace.
Leon, who had been napping, opened his drowsy eyes as soon as they passed the palace walls.
“Kiyaaong…”
Then he yawned widely and tapped Riana’s arm gently with his chubby paw.
“You want to get down?”
“Kyung!”
“Ah, you want to sleep in the bedroom, don’t you?”
Leon purred as if confirming the answer.
Since Riana needed to prepare, he seemed to want to sleep off the rest in the bedroom.
“Don’t sleep near the edge this time. You fell off last time, remember?”
“…Mew.”
Leon avoided her gaze, pretending to be distracted.
That was too embarrassing of a memory for him.
Seeing Leon act so shy, Riana chuckled and patted his rump before setting him down.
Thud-thud-thud.
With a flick of his tail, Leon disappeared, showing his cute little backside.
“…He really is cute.”
Amused by his embarrassed reaction, Riana turned away from the window where he had run off and instead headed toward the main entrance.
“Oh, Your Highness! You’re early?”
It was Daisy who greeted her.
“Yes. I have an appointment with Duke Delcaron. He’ll be here in about an hour, so please help with preparations.”
“Ah, yes! I’ll inform the head maid right away. Jenny, please go to the chef. Pepe, take care of the drawing room. I’ll handle the bath myself.”
Without needing extra instructions, Daisy efficiently gave out tasks before leading Riana to the bath.
Riana gave a warm smile at her.
“Daisy, you’re starting to look like a real senior now.”
“Hehe. The new girls are all so quick and smart, so there’s not much left for me to do, really!”
Not long ago, Ianheart had added more staff to the Emerald Palace.
Several new maids—both young and experienced—had been hired, along with cooks and other specialists.
There hadn’t been any shortage before, but with the extra staff, things had become much more relaxed.
“Just a simple style today, please.”
“Yes!”
After a quick shower, Riana let Daisy dry her hair with a magical tool before carefully combing it out with a wide brush.
Next came the dress.
“What outfit would you like today?”
“Hmm… something in-between.”
The maid who had brought a navy dress beamed in triumph when Riana chose it.
The rest went smoothly.
Her hair was left naturally down with a light accessory, and the makeup was subtle, just as she preferred.
Thanks to the efficient work, they finished with about twenty minutes to spare.
“I should wait in the drawing room then. Who won today?”
As Riana asked, a young maid ran up to her with a bright grin.
“I did today!”
“So, Tina was the winner?”
“Yes! I’ve been practicing rock-paper-scissors really hard!”
Riana wasn’t sure if practicing actually made a difference, but the girl’s proud look was so cute that she laughed softly.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Beaming, Tina bowed before hurrying off to the drawing room.
“Your Highness, Duke Delcaron has arrived.”
About a minute later, the announcement came.
Riana smiled at Tina, who was nervously fluttering her eyelids, then cleared her throat.
“Let him in.”
Click—
The door that had closed a moment ago opened again.
“Welcome, Duke Delcaron.”
“Thank you for kindly accepting my request for a visit, Your Highness.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Please, sit.”
After bowing slightly, Bernian took a seat opposite her.
Soon, a maid entered and carefully served them tea and light snacks before leaving the room.
“I heard you were at the training grounds earlier. I feel apologetic for requesting a visit so soon.”
“It’s fine. You said you had something to discuss about the Founding Festival, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. …Hmm?”
Bernian, about to continue, suddenly paused.
He bent slightly and picked up a fallen hair tie between the table and sofa.
It belonged to Tina, who had rushed out earlier.
“This must belong to one of your maids.”
Riana accepted the yellow ribbon with an awkward laugh.
“I did see a young maid rushing out excitedly just now…”
“Haha… she was with me earlier. We were checking if she could sense mana.”
“Mana?”
“Yes, to see if she had the qualities of a mage.”
“…That’s a mana test, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, I suppose so?”
Recently, Riana had been conducting mana tests on the staff of the Emerald Palace.
The mana test determined whether someone had the potential to become a mage.
After all, only those born with the ability to sense and accept mana could become true mages.
If one couldn’t sense mana, then no matter how much theory they knew, they could never cast spells.
Some people lived their entire lives without ever realizing they had the rare potential.
In other words, many hidden gems existed.
The mana test was a way to discover them.
“I heard that such a test requires a special process and can only be done inside the Mage Tower…”
Bernian muttered with slight surprise.
He wasn’t entirely wrong—but not entirely right either.
“There is a special process, yes, but it doesn’t have to be inside the Mage Tower.”
“Then what does it require…?”
“Just one skilled mage with precise mana control, and a magic circle.”
The so-called ‘special process’ of the Tower was simply the magic circle.
“I see… I never knew.”
“Well, it’s more profitable for the Tower to keep it to themselves. No reason to tell others.”
Currently, those wishing to become mages paid huge sums to the Mage Tower for mana tests.
What the Tower gained was not only money.
The ability to discover potential mages was itself a great source of power.
Since mages were so rare, the Tower gained authority by uncovering them.
Most of those discovered mages naturally became affiliated with the Tower.
As Riana reflected on the connection between the Tower and these tests, she suddenly felt a gaze.
“…Duke?”
Bernian was looking at her with a peculiar, almost shining expression in his eyes.
Yet despite his gaze, he did not speak. Or rather, unlike his usual self, he seemed to hesitate, unable to.
Riana quickly realized the reason behind his hesitation.
