Chapter 07
“Wow! It’s so pretty!”
“Huh? Which one is the flower?”
“Come on!”
Asiel burst into cheerful laughter, but the count had been completely serious. No matter how hard he looked, he honestly couldn’t tell the pink roses apart from his daughter. Gale had been right. If he set Asiel down here, he might actually lose her among the flowers.
Asiel, however, had other things on her mind. Her little legs swung back and forth eagerly. She clearly wanted to get down and run around. But remembering her brother’s warning earlier, she couldn’t bring herself to ask outright, instead sending her father pleading glances.
The count…
“Don’t go too far.”
“Okay!”
In the end, he lost.
If Gale had seen this, he might have thrown his sword and leaped into the air in horror, but Asiel finally stepped onto the academy grounds. Thrilled, she scampered toward the pavilion.
Then she bumped into someone approaching from the opposite direction.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a hard collision, and she didn’t fall over. Rubbing her forehead, she quickly bowed.
“I’m sorry!”
When she lifted her head to see whom she’d bumped into, one thought flashed through her mind.
Could this be what it feels like when a god descends?
The elderly man standing beneath the sparkling sunlight looked nothing like the god she had always imagined, and yet somehow…
He felt divine.
Despite his advanced age, he was remarkably tall. His beard was pure white, and his face radiated kindness.
“Hm. And who might you be?”
“Professor Pelli!”
The Count of Windsorberry hurried over, calling out in surprise.
The old man looked between Asiel and the count before extending a hand toward the little girl.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“It’s been a long time, Windsorberry.”
“My apologies for not visiting sooner. Ah… I should be calling you Headmaster now.”
At the respectful greeting, Headmaster Pelli affectionately patted the count’s shoulder. Although he had never had many opportunities to teach him personally, Windsorberry had been one of the academy’s most outstanding students.
“I remember. Wasn’t this the place where you and Miss Reyna used to meet in secret?”
Asiel blinked in surprise.
The count, meanwhile, turned bright red.
He had intended to tell his daughter about it eventually, but hearing his former professor bring it up so casually was embarrassingly different.
There really are no secrets at this academy…
“Miss Reyna was an exceptional talent as well. Which explains why both Gale and Quentin turned out to be such outstanding students.”
“You flatter us.”
“And this child must be the one I’ve heard about…”
Headmaster Pelli’s gaze settled on Asiel.
Even someone as fearless as she unconsciously stiffened beneath his eyes.
Though wrinkled with age and warm in appearance, his gaze was sharp, intelligent, and unwavering.
“She is my youngest daughter.”
“So I’ve heard. The child without a divine blessing.”
Asiel couldn’t even remember the event herself.
Yet the fact that she had failed to receive a blessing at the age of five had followed her like a permanent label. Her parents had cut ties with anyone who spoke carelessly about it in front of her.
“I don’t need a blessing.”
“Hm?”
“Asiel has Mommy, Daddy, and my big brothers.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
She wanted to prove something to this man called Headmaster Pelli.
That even without a divine blessing…
Even without a god’s power…
She could still be perfectly happy.
Moved by her confident declaration, the headmaster knelt until they were eye level.
Looking into his warm brown eyes, the words flowed naturally from her lips.
“And if nothing else works out, I’ll marry Allen someday. Mom said House Chaim’s mines recently discovered iron ore, and they made a huge fortune…”
“Asiel, what are you saying?”
The count hurriedly scooped her into his arms, completely flustered.
His little daughter had just laid out an incredibly practical life plan.
We’re wealthy too!
We have more than enough money for you to live comfortably your whole life! Please don’t say things like that… especially not in front of Gale.
“What a sensible child.”
“Ah… yes…”
“But besides marrying Allen, is there anything you want to become?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Asiel folded her arms and thought seriously.
Now that he mentioned it…
She had never truly considered what she wanted to do when she grew up.
Because everyone feared she might be hurt by not receiving a blessing, they had always told her she didn’t have to do anything at all.
Since Headmaster Pelli was sincerely asking, she didn’t want to answer carelessly.
After thinking for a long while, she suddenly clapped her hands.
“I think writing books sounds fun.”
“Have you read any books recently that you enjoyed?”
The Tale of Sir Loren.
Sir Loren had possessed no divine blessing, yet he foresaw a devastating flood and saved countless lives.
Though originally an ordinary farmer, he was eventually knighted, and many people believed that because he faithfully helped others despite lacking divine power, he would surely be reborn into a noble family blessed by the gods in his next life.
“That wasn’t exactly an easy story for a child.”
Headmaster Pelli looked genuinely impressed.
The count smiled proudly.
After all, he himself had sat Asiel on his lap and read the entire story to her.
So she’d really been listening.
“I enjoyed it,” Asiel said, “but something bothered me.”
“Oh?”
“Why wasn’t Loren ever given the title of Saint?”
“Hm… that’s a good question.”
“The noble named Zig appears in the story too. Even though he had divine powers, he abandoned everyone and fled to save only himself.”
“You know Zig is a fictional character, don’t you?”
“I thought so.”
The story never specified which divine blessing Zig possessed.
It merely described him as a noble favored by the gods.
“That’s precisely why The Tale of Sir Loren has never truly been recognized,” Pelli explained. “Neither as a historical legend nor as an original work of fiction.”
It was read mainly among commoners.
The nobility and royalty, meanwhile, quietly tried to bury it.
As literature, it was difficult to classify because the translator had merely adapted an old tale from somewhere on the continent.
As legend, it failed because the translator had inserted the entirely fictional character Zig into the narrative.
“Why?”
“Simply translating an existing story isn’t enough to call it your own creation.”
“But Zig is fictional.”
She tilted her head.
“If the author created Zig and used him to express his own thoughts… doesn’t that make it his own story?”
“What do you think the author’s message was?”
Asiel blinked rapidly.
It was a difficult question.
Her pink lips pursed as she struggled to find the words.
Oddly enough, Headmaster Pelli found himself becoming anxious as he waited.
“I don’t know if I’m right…”
She thought a little longer before answering.
“But I think the author used Zig to say that the truly noble person is the one who saves lives, regardless of birth or social status.”
The moment she finished speaking—
Headmaster Pelli shot to his feet.
He slapped his knee with a loud smack.
“I’m terribly sorry, but something urgent has come up. May I excuse myself?”
He sounded genuinely regretful.
Still bewildered, Asiel nodded.
The headmaster bid her farewell, promising,
“I hope we’ll meet again very soon.”
Asiel simply assumed it was nothing more than a polite goodbye as she settled comfortably back into her father’s arms.
3. The Beginning of a Legend
Standing before the gates of Etrear Academy, Asiel declared,
“Yes… if someone ever writes The Great Biography of Asiel Windsorberry, they’ll definitely have to begin with my meeting with Headmaster Pelli.”
“Stop talking nonsense and keep walking.”
“So… this is the place where Asiel Windsorberry’s new legend begins.”
One month after that encounter, a letter arrived at the Windsorberry estate.
To Miss Asiel Windsorberry,
We are delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into Etrear Comprehensive Academy.
Following your outstanding performance during your one-on-one interview with the Headmaster, you have been admitted through our Special Admissions Program.
That conversation counted as an interview?
The moment she read the letter, Asiel staggered toward the drawing-room sofa, buried her face in a cushion…
…and let out an ecstatic scream.
She was unbelievably proud of herself.
Despite possessing no divine blessing whatsoever, she had earned admission into the academy through her own ability.
That evening, during the banquet celebrating her acceptance, the count openly shed tears.
He couldn’t stop praising the wonderful conversation Asiel had shared with Headmaster Pelli.
“Bernard was completely shocked,” Allen said as they walked. “When he heard you’d been admitted through the Special Admissions Program.”
“Heh…”
Asiel suddenly stopped.
Her shoulders trembled.
Alarmed, Allen grabbed her shoulders.
“Asiel?”
She raised her head—
“WAHAHAHA!”
Her laughter echoed across the academy grounds.
“You’re that happy?”
She nodded so hard it looked as though her neck might snap.
Allen watched her happily flutter about.
Part of him wanted to leave her to enjoy herself.
But he endured.
After all…
The countess had tearfully begged him right up until the academy gates to take good care of Asiel on her very first day of school.
