~Special Side Story Chapter 22~
* * *
“Then, Your Highness the Princess, have a good night.”
“Mm. You too—sweet dreams, Head Maid.”
The head maid bowed politely to Iby and left the room.
Waving her hand at the departing head maid, Iby waited until the door closed, then scampered over and pressed her ear against it.
For a moment, she could hear the maids chatting, followed by the sound of their footsteps fading away.
Now, only the guards standing watch in the corridors and a few attendants waiting at a distance would remain.
After confirming that everyone had moved far enough away, Iby approached the window and drew all the curtains closed.
The only thing floating in the room now was the magical light that Headmistress Seraphina had created for her.
“Take a little rest too.”
Iby waved her hand toward the light attached to the ceiling.
In an instant, the light vanished, and the room sank into darkness.
The first time Iby had done this, Seraphina had muttered with a sigh.
“That’s usually something you can only do after studying magic for about a year…”
Blinking in the dark, Iby turned her head.
Though darkness lay everywhere, there was one place where a faint glow leaked out.
She walked to her bed and looked at the magic stone placed beside the nightstand.
The very first gift she had ever received from her father.
And her favorite gift of all.
Dad said Mom picked it out.
That might be why she liked it even more.
Placing her hand on the magic stone, Iby said,
“You sleep for a bit too.”
As if it understood, the magic stone dimmed its light.
Now the room was filled with perfect darkness—so dark she couldn’t even see her own hand.
“Alright.”
Clenching her fist in the dark, Iby took a few steps toward the center of the room.
Then she took a deep breath and, recalling what she had learned from Seraphina during the day, began drawing in her mana again.
Pop!
At once, a sphere of mana formed above her hand.
“Hehe…”
Iby beamed with joy as she looked at the glowing orb she had created herself.
When Seraphina had first told her to try gathering mana, she had instructed Iby to picture the shape she wanted to create in her mind.
The first thing that had come to Iby’s mind was the magic stone her father had given her.
The one she always kept beside her bed, sometimes even hugging it while she slept.
Thinking of it, the mana seemed to respond, as if asking, Is this the shape you want?, and gathered into that exact same form.
Iby gently floated the round mana orb into the air.
Like a balloon, it drifted upward until it touched the ceiling.
She stared at it, focusing intently.
Moments later, the single orb split into several smaller lights, twinkling like stars in the night sky.
“It worked!”
Iby hopped in place, delighted by the sight.
All those nights of secretly practicing had been worth it—she really wanted to succeed in that thing she was preparing in secret with Seraphina.
The Headmistress said that once I could make it split, the rest would come easily!
Iby gathered strength into her hand again.
Another mana orb formed, rose to the ceiling, and scattered just like before.
Perhaps because she had already succeeded once, the second time was even easier.
So this time, Iby changed her approach.
She formed another orb of mana and concentrated even harder.
The mana, which had been golden until now, slowly turned red.
“This is a success too!”
The moment Iby rejoiced, the roomful of light vanished all at once, like a candle being blown out.
She tried to create light again with her mana, but this time it refused to gather properly.
Groaning in frustration until sweat formed on her brow, Iby finally gave up and groped her way back to the bed.
When she touched the magic stone beside the nightstand, it glowed softly, illuminating the room once more.
“Hoo…”
Flopping onto the bed, Iby let out an exhausted sigh.
She remembered what Seraphina had said when they first began this practice.
“Your Highness has an enormous amount of mana, but drawing it out is a different matter. Look—here’s some soup. If you use a ladle, you can scoop up a lot at once. But what if you only have a teaspoon? Then you’d need to scoop dozens of times to get the same amount, and your arm would hurt much more. Practicing mana control every day is like slowly making your spoon bigger, bit by bit.”
After hearing that explanation, Iby practiced gathering mana every single night.
I want to use magic beautifully, just like the Headmistress.
When Cloise came to rescue Iby, Seraphina had used magic to hunt down the remaining enemies.
With all the children already rescued, and orders given to wipe out the remnants even if it meant burning the entire mountain, Seraphina had no reason to hold back.
“Shall I live up to my old reputation for once?”
Once, she had been called a being who brought blood and death across the battlefield, alongside Cloise.
With no children left to be harmed, she unleashed her large-scale attack magic without restraint.
On the way back with Cloise, Iby saw fireballs raining down from the distant sky.
It was terrifying—but also breathtaking.
I wish I could use magic like that too.
Then her friends wouldn’t have been taken in the first place. And even if they had, she could have saved them before they were hurt.
Thinking that way, she had envied Seraphina.
But after returning to the imperial palace, she learned something unexpected.
When the palace physicians examined her, they noticed something strange—besides the sound of her heartbeat, they could hear another kind of “flow.”
Usually, that sound was heard only in people whose mana had awakened.
Naturally, Seraphina was summoned immediately.
Before even using a spell to sense mana, she gasped the moment she entered Iby’s room.
“Her mana has manifested, hasn’t it?”
After examining her for a long while, she cried out in shock.
“It seems that when the imperial crest awakened, all the power that had been suppressed until now awakened at once. The power of protection, the forest’s power that Lillian possessed, and even mana… The world is really unfair.”
Her honest thoughts slipped out at the end, earning her a glare from Cloise, but Seraphina paid it no mind and continued examining Iby’s abilities.
“Even possessing one of these powers is difficult, yet she has three at once. Normally, different types of power would clash and the body wouldn’t be able to endure it. But looking at Her Highness now… yes, she’s perfectly healthy. I heard she even broke a window yesterday while having a snowball fight with Ruska.”
In any case, the three powers had settled perfectly within Iby’s body.
She said that when I grow up, I might even be able to combine different powers with magic.
Seraphina had clung to Iby, insisting they absolutely must research that together someday.
She had been dragged away by Cloise shortly after.
Still, Seraphina promised to teach Iby every spell she knew.
If I can use magic like the Headmistress…
Seraphina said there was even a spell that let you fly through the sky.
Then I can visit the orphanage in the evenings for a bit. I can go to Irene’s house, and to Ruska’s and Arcel’s houses too, and be back in no time.
And not just that—everyone could fly together.
Just like when they once rode a hot-air balloon high into the sky.
Imagining flying freely with her friends, a smile spread across Iby’s face.
She wanted to master magic as soon as possible.
* * *
The next day, Irene came to the imperial palace.
Carrying an armful of gifts for Iby, she was walking cheerfully when Aiden appeared from the opposite end of the corridor.
“Aiden, sir? Where are you headed?”
He was usually near Iby, so it was strange to see him moving on his own.
Is something important going on?
“I was waiting for you, Miss Irene. May I ask you to spare a moment before meeting Her Highness the Princess?”
“Huh? Me?”
Aiden wanted to see her privately?
“Yes. It concerns Her Highness…”
“What is it?”
At the mention of Iby, Irene’s eyes lit up.
Seeing that, Aiden thought he had found exactly the right person and lowered his voice.
“Were there people at the Academy who oppressed or belittled Her Highness in the past? For example, a professor of economics…”
“Ah, those people?”
Irene narrowed her eyes knowingly.
“Just a moment. I’ve got everything organized right here…”
She rummaged through her bag, pulled out a notebook, and flipped rapidly through the pages until she opened one near the back.
“So this is what you’re looking for.”
The notebook she handed over was filled with names.
Among them were Rimora and Izriella.
Their names were written in thick red letters, underlined, and even marked with fluorescent stars.
And across those names, bold red lines had been drawn—like they would never be needed again.
“We were just discussing with Arcel and Ruska what to do with these people next semester…”
Irene said, fluttering the notebook that detailed when, where, and how each of them had mistreated Iby.
“If the Imperial Knights help us, that would be incredibly reassuring.”
Aiden smiled faintly at her words.
“Please don’t worry. We will prove that the Imperial Knights are a gathering of the vilest, pettiest, dirtiest, and most cunning people in the world.”
At Aiden’s declaration, Irene smiled brightly in delight.
You’re all dead.
