Chapter 46
“You could’ve just told me you wanted the bookmark. There was no need for all that trouble.”
“I did want Mother’s books, too… Still, I apologize, Your Majesty. I acted thoughtlessly and ended up troubling you.”
“That’s enough. It’s hardly a serious offense.”
With the tension completely dissolved, we settled into a relaxed conversation, laughter flowing freely between us.
I skillfully kept up with the Emperor, all the while silently thanking Modway.
‘Well done, Modway. Thank you so much.’
[Hehe! It was a little tough, but I’ll do anything for you, Master!]
[Oh my~ how dependable, Modway~! Learning new skills and growing up so well~]
[Indeed, impressive! I’ve never been prouder of you than today!]
Cheered on by Marinne and Nesgal’s praise, Modway flapped his small wings in delight.
Watching him, I fidgeted with the bookmark in my hand.
‘Good thing I trained Modway in advance.’
Spirit Training.
The idea had been inspired by one of Nesgal’s techniques.
‘The technique to imbue others with the energy of fire.’
Nesgal had succeeded in learning new skills through training with his former master. That made me wonder—what if other spirits could also acquire more precise abilities through dedicated training?
‘So I began searching for techniques tailored to each spirit.’
The skill I trained Modway in had come from a big hint I’d gotten from Hist.
‘Teleportation was his specialty.’
Whenever Hist teleported, there was always a sudden, artificial gust of wind.
I’d picked up on that early on and delved into books and research papers to study the fundamental principles of teleportation.
Eventually, I made a realization:
‘Long-distance teleportation relies on light-speed magic for fast travel, while short-distance teleportation uses wind magic to minimize mana loss.’
Wind magic! What could be more fitting for a wind spirit like Modway?
Until then, I’d thought teleportation was too advanced to even consider, but Hist had shattered that misconception.
‘So I started training Modway in short-range teleportation.’
Conveniently, Hist’s business card—which I still had—featured a teleportation formation for short-range jumps. It made a perfect study aid. On top of that, Nesgal, having already mastered his own technique, shared all his knowledge.
‘Thanks to that, Modway’s training went smoothly.’
And now—
[I’m a helpful spirit, right? Right?!]
His hard work was finally paying off.
‘Absolutely. Modway, you’re an amazing spirit.’
[I am! I’m awesome!]
Modway gleefully twirled in the air at my praise.
Watching him, Nesgal let out a hearty laugh and looked at me.
[Modway is admirable, but your quick thinking is just as impressive, Master. To think you’d use that old bookmark from the secret archive in such a pinch.]
At that, I gave a quiet smile.
‘I hadn’t planned to use it like this, though.’
The day I had picked up that bookmark in a moment of nostalgia, it had been an innocent, thoughtless gesture.
But now, the situation had unfolded in such a way that it became a perfect excuse.
‘Guess I got lucky.’
Modway had learned short-range teleportation. The bookmark, tied to memories of my mother, made for the ideal emotional prop.
Even though the Emperor had read all the books my mother had written, he clearly didn’t recognize the bookmark.
All those little pieces came together, creating the perfect story to erase his suspicions.
I clutched the original book and the bookmark to my chest with a bright smile.
“I remembered seeing this bookmark tucked into one of Mother’s books, but I couldn’t recall the cover. The moment Your Majesty showed me this book, it came back to me!”
“I see… Perhaps it was Tilia’s bookmark that made me want to read this book again too.”
The Emperor muttered, still looking slightly unconvinced.
To erase even that trace of doubt, I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster—ensuring he’d never again question my character or innocence.
“Thank you so much, Your Majesty. I’m truly happy.”
The Emperor, watching my expression, finally gave a satisfied nod.
After all, he had always been soft when it came to this face—so identical to my mother’s.
As Marinne quietly watched the whole exchange, she leaned in and whispered curiously:
[By the way, Master~ was that really the first bookmark your mom ever made~?]
At her question, I smirked internally.
‘Of course not.’
That bookmark had been burned long ago—along with other belongings of my mother, who suffered from periodic bouts of anxiety and once threw everything into the fireplace in a fit of rage.
But so what?
What mattered was this: even the smallest of memories could become tools to survive a crisis.
“Then, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now.”
“Very well. I’ll have a servant deliver the rest of the books to your quarters.”
“Hehe, thank you for your thoughtfulness!”
After playing my part perfectly, I offered a graceful bow and rose to leave—book in hand.
My heart was still pounding all the way back to my quarters, but I kept a calm, collected exterior.
Only once I stepped into the familiar safety of my greenhouse could I finally let out a deep sigh.
[Master! Are you okay?!]
[You worked hard today, Master~]
[You should rest now.]
“I can’t. This is just the beginning.”
I immediately sat at my table, spreading open the original book and my mother’s diary side by side.
There was a mountain of work to do.
‘I need to analyze this book thoroughly!’
I had to cross-reference it with my mother’s diary to spot any discrepancies.
And so, my days settled into a pattern—fulfilling daily duties, and spending sleepless nights buried in the original text.
Thankfully, it didn’t feel tiring.
The book held a treasure trove of information—most importantly, the fates of Gobard and Agatha, which had long been shrouded in mystery.
I read it over and over until I could recite it from memory.
‘Everything in here will become material for the new vessel that Moren and I will build.’
As I organized information about future events and hidden secrets, a path began to emerge—a heading for the voyage we were about to embark on.
Right now, I had two plants I was carefully tending.
One was the ancient plant ‘Gram’ gifted to me by Hist.
‘It’s a fussy one. Not even a sprout yet.’
The other had been pilfered from the Emperor’s private collection by Modway.
‘I don’t even know its name yet.’
Of the two, my attention was especially fixed on the unnamed flower.
Even without knowing its name, its identity wasn’t entirely a mystery.
I touched the petals—still fresh and vibrant thanks to preservation magic, even though it had bloomed some time ago.
‘It definitely seems like an ancient plant.’
Ancient plants were wildflowers that had taken root in the most fertile lands, blessed by the gods long ago.
But most records of ancient plants had been lost. The number of unknown species far exceeded the known ones.
‘There is, however, one flower that always appeared in surviving records—always used in tandem with other ancient plants.’
A red flower, known only from a simple sketch.
So while I couldn’t be certain, the one before me had the same red petals.
‘Coincidence or luck?’
As I stared intently at the flower, the spirits appeared one by one, chiming in.
[Hmph! Dimody would know for sure!]
[Taking care of plants was always the job of the earth spirit~]
[No time to waste! Wake Dimody and ask, Master!]
“I’d love to.”
I turned my gaze to the fragments sitting beside the flower.
Two identical pieces lay there.
Ever since I’d obtained the fragment sealing Dimody, I’d searched far and wide for a way to undo the seal—but found nothing.
‘Ugh, why is everything I want to know always hidden?’
I even combed through the original book, but of course there was nothing about spirits.
Gobard and Agatha couldn’t see them, so it made sense.
‘Still, I can’t leave Dimody like this forever.’
Ideally, I wanted to finish everything before the Emperor noticed the fragment was missing.
Which meant… I had no choice.
‘I’ve been putting this off because it feels sketchy.’
I picked up one of the fragments from the table and examined it.
Then, Marinne gracefully drifted toward it.
[Well~? Looks flawless, doesn’t it~?]
I met her eyes and smiled slightly.
“It really does.”
If it weren’t for the faint spirit aura leaking from the fragment, even I wouldn’t have noticed.
Marinne, satisfied with my response, flicked her tail at something beside her.
It was another fragment—identical to the one in my hand.
[I didn’t copy Dimody’s aura~ since the Emperor can’t sense spirits anyway~]
“Well done, Marinne.”
I placed the fake fragment beside the real one.
With both fragments sitting side by side, the spirits fluttered around them playfully.
Tapping my finger on the table, I thought:
‘Good thing Marinne had just learned such a useful skill.’
Modway had learned short-range teleportation using wind energy.
So what had Marinne learned?
‘Water takes on the exact shape of any container.’
A trait perfectly suited for this skill:
Copying objects with perfect accuracy.
Notably, this wasn’t a skill I had chosen.
‘Marinne picked it herself.’
Apparently, she had been training to develop new techniques even before we met.
‘She especially wanted to copy not just appearances, but essence itself.’
With her clear goals and years of experimentation, Marinne’s training had progressed even faster than Modway’s.
Thanks to that, I was able to create a flawless fake of Dimody’s fragment.
‘Not that the fake matters all that much—but still, it’s a nice bonus.’
