Chapter 77
I sat on the temple steps, watching the flames I had conjured in midair shatter and rain down like sparks.
“Beautiful.”
It was far more stunning than I had imagined.
The idea of unleashing divine power in midair came from Exi’s mana core that I had seen in the training grounds.
The way the tiny sparks scattered through the air drew my gaze even in the midst of a tense battle.
And then there were the flames I had seen launched into the sky at the first banquet I attended in Ignitus long ago.
What I had created was a fusion of those two visions.
“Miss, it’s so beautiful…!”
Io, holding the spellbook beside me, exclaimed in awe.
I rolled up the Ascend, Explosion, and Diffusion scrolls Io had handed me and tucked them into my arms.
The flames only lasted a few minutes, but they carried countless experiences of mine within them.
For that reason, this was a very meaningful gift for me.
“Let’s go down now. People are probably waiting.”
“Yes!”
“Thank you for your help, Io.”
Io had assisted me wholeheartedly from start to finish while I prepared this.
“No, Miss. Ignitus has been like a benefactor to me.”
Io said as he followed me.
It took quite some time to reach the mansion, yet not a single person had left; they were all waiting for me.
“Miss!”
At the forefront, someone stretched out his arms to greet me—it was Ankus.
I ran to him, embraced him, and shouted,
“This is my gift! Do you like it?”
“Of course.”
Ankus spoke in a trembling voice and quickly covered his face with his sleeve.
“Ahh…”
“Ankus, why are you crying?”
Abelus, who had come up beside him, asked in confusion.
“Miss… you’ve already grown up so much.”
‘Someone might think you raised her…’
Unable to withstand the demands of others for him to let me go, Ankus gently put me down.
“It was truly amazing, Miss. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
“You prepared all this by yourself…”
The crowd rushed forward, showering me with praise.
Then, suddenly, they fell silent and parted to either side.
I soon realized why.
The head of the household was walking toward me.
“Head of the house!”
Overjoyed, I called out first.
“You did wonderfully, Kalidora.”
“Did you like it?”
“It’s beyond words.”
He smiled. Unlike before, it was a smile so clearly filled with happiness that anyone could see it.
I laughed softly in response.
“Tell me what you want in return.”
“I… don’t really have anything…”
I hadn’t prepared the gift expecting a reward.
Instead, I looked around at everyone and said,
“Miss, say it quickly. Opportunities like this don’t come often.”
My attendants chimed in.
“Really, there’s nothing. I actually prepared this gift to express my gratitude. I heard you were all worried about me.”
While speaking to the head of the house, I glanced around.
Though the surroundings were dark, I could feel everyone looking at me warmly.
“And I also wanted to let you know that I’m okay now. I’m no longer lonely.”
Saying this, I tugged at Ankus’ sleeve beside me.
“Did you hear that? I’m fine. And I didn’t play with the mole because I was lonely.”
“Th-then why…”
“Well… you see…”
I wracked my brain to come up with some excuse.
“…I was just curious about something I held back when I was young. Now that I’ve tried it, I have no regrets. It wasn’t as fun as I expected anyway.”
Fortunately, the head of the house and the attendants seemed to understand my explanation.
“Yes, curiosity is natural.”
“You did hold back a lot, after all.”
However, even if the head of the house understood, it seemed he could not allow me to leave without receiving a reward.
“Kalidora.”
He called my name again.
“Give me a chance to express my gratitude to you as well.”
Hearing that, I could no longer refuse.
“Hmm…”
Abelus whispered to me as I hesitated.
“Ask for more praise.”
“Pardon?”
“It seems your expression wants that.”
Even with the dim light, could it really show on my face?
I decided to follow his advice.
“Head of the house, please praise me more.”
“…”
He hesitated, unable to speak easily at my request.
It was the first time anyone had seen him like this, despite his usual eloquence.
I decided to be a little more honest.
“…Like how Ankus did.”
Confused, he didn’t understand, so Ankus made a gesture, spreading his arms wide.
“Ah.”
The head of the house opened his arms to me.
Without a second thought, I leaped into them.
Feeling his warmth, a voice echoed in my head.
“-Thank you.”
A soft voice, eerily similar to my own, that I had heard before.
“Good morning!”
Early in the morning, I sprang up, feeling completely refreshed.
It had been so long since I woke up without a single worry.
“Miss, you’re awake?”
“Did you sleep well, Io?”
“Of course!”
Io approached me with a wide smile.
“Miss, the news you’ve been waiting for just arrived today!”
The news I’d been waiting for?
I soon realized what Io meant.
“A reply from the Tellus family has arrived!”
Io handed me a letter written on fine parchment.
Assuming it would surely be an acceptance, I unfolded the leather with no preparation.
‘Great, if I prepare to welcome the Tellus twins, everything will be perfect…’
I eagerly read the letter, but the contents were unexpected:
“Thank you for the invitation, but we, the siblings, cannot accept.”
“…Huh?”
Was this a rejection?
My mind immediately filled with question marks.
Why?
Below the main statement, a lengthy explanation claimed that affairs of the estate kept them too busy.
‘Busy? That doesn’t seem right at all.’
I didn’t know about Tertia, but Titus was the type who wasted his days wandering about.
No matter how I thought about it, their reason for refusing the invitation made no sense.
I first went to the office to hand the letter to my attendants, to let them know there was no need to prepare for guests.
“You were rejected?”
Even my attendants seemed surprised.
“That’s strange. The Tellus family is usually very hospitable…”
“Miss, they must have had a reason. They wouldn’t reject an invitation without cause. Please don’t be too disappointed.”
“…Yes.”
I said that, but I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
Meeting Tertia would now be postponed indefinitely.
Seeing my attendants fidget anxiously, I left the office to avoid giving them more concern.
‘There must really be some reason.’
I decided to ask Titus directly.
It had already been several days since I last contacted him.
Ankus’ misunderstanding had caused the mansion’s surveillance to tighten abruptly.
Now that everything had returned to normal, I felt safe to meet Ululu freely.
Noon.
I finally encountered Ululu in the courtyard where I had always waited.
“Shh! I can’t talk to you now. I don’t want to be misunderstood again.”
Ululu, looking gloomy, placed the accumulated letters from the past days in front of me.
“This interest. We harvested the first blueberries at the manor. If interested, meet me at the forum. Don’t get any weird ideas. Sharing produce is one of our family’s annoying traditions.”
“Seems like you’re not home. Doesn’t matter. Some foolish commoner tried to borrow gold from me. Did he really think he could?”
“So bored. The pigeon I raised got too fat to fly. Birds, I tell you… what should I do.”
“Are you okay? Ululu hasn’t been able to see you for days.”
…Busy, my foot.
He clearly had plenty of free time.
I decided I must meet Titus immediately, even if I had to reveal my identity.
I had to know why he refused the invitation.
