Chapter 78
Viscount Tyler looked at the duchess’s trembling fingertips—as if he understood her sorrow—before slowly opening his mouth.
“Indeed… we can’t know for sure, but it seems something is interfering. If we remove that, everything should settle. Also, she has already manifested two different magic attributes.”
“Ah, that’s…”
As I stuttered and avoided his gaze, he stared at me with a piercing, persistent intensity.
“Fire: 100%, Air: 92%, Water: 84%, Earth: 2%, Wood: 75%.”
“With those numbers, she can manifest almost everything except the earth attribute, can she not?”
“Correct. On top of that, her light attribute is at 100%. And darkness is 87%.”
“What about her mana capacity?”
Unable to resist, I shot the viscount a question.
The glasses that had been precariously resting on the bridge of his nose caught the chandelier’s light and flashed.
“Unmeasurable. This is the first time the magic awakening reader has produced such results.”
“Is this similar to Eloise’s case?”
Marcel, who had been listening quietly, asked the question offhandedly.
The viscount’s eyes—which had been hidden in the reflection—finally became visible.
“It’s hard to say for certain whether it is the same or different. But the fact that her usable mana cannot be measured is at least similar.”
“So that’s what ‘unmeasurable’ means.”
“Yes, Your Highness. You have brought us a truly rare child.”
Marcel clasped his hands together and fell silent for several seconds, deep in thought.
Then he pulled something from the inner pocket of his jacket and placed it on the table.
A thick, rectangular, glittering yellow slab…
A gold bar?
Is that something princes can just carry around?!
“This will be public knowledge later anyway, but… it would be best if you forgot about Lizette.”
“Your Highness should know better than anyone that such material compensation means nothing to me.”
Viscount Tyler pushed the gold bar back toward Marcel with a sly grin.
No—if you’re not going to take it, give it to me! The words nearly slipped off my tongue.
“Then what do you want, Viscount?”
The duke growled low like a beast defending its territory, and the viscount’s shoulders trembled.
Even so, he finished what he wanted to say.
“Allow me to study Lady Lizette once a we—”
“Get out.”
Just two words.
The viscount instantly shrank like a whipped dog, grabbed his belongings, and hurried out of the drawing room.
Marcel roughly ruffled his own hair.
“Rumors will spread soon.”
“Your Highness only needs to testify about Eloise’s awakening. We will take care of everything else.”
The duchess sipped her tea, a cold smile curling her lips.
A chill ran down my spine—one I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Your Highness, would you inform Her Imperial Majesty first?”
“I was planning on returning anyway. Lady Monclaire, I’ll offer my proper congratulations next time.”
When Marcel stood from the sofa, Etienne stood as well and approached me, whispering quietly.
“You’ve learned fire and light already. Learn the wood attribute before our next meeting.”
So this was what he wanted to say—homework.
How could a teacher assign homework on such a wonderful day? And wood attribute at that—the one with the low manifestation rate.
I should be grateful he didn’t mention earth, which is at only 2%.
“Well then, we will take our leave. Congratulations on the Monclaire Duchy’s prosperity, Duke, Duchess.”
“Thank you for your words. But more than that, I am relieved Eloise is no longer in pain.”
The duke’s honest confession surprised not only Marcel but me as well.
Marcel glanced at Eloise, smiled widely, and returned to the imperial palace.
The Monclaire household, after seeing the two off, stood awkwardly near the gate for a moment.
The first to speak was the duchess.
“Lizette. Shouldn’t we hold a celebration of our own on such a day?”
“Of course, Lady Catherine!”
“The weather is lovely—let us hold it outdoors.”
With a single gesture from the duchess, the maids bustled into action.
While the banquet hall was being prepared in the garden, Eloise held me and strolled toward the rear garden.
Raoul followed a few steps behind.
“If you have something to say, then say it, Raoul. Don’t follow like a scolded puppy.”
“Sister, that’s too harsh. Calling the young duke a puppy…”
“Even if you’re a young duke, you’re still my younger brother.”
At Eloise calling him “my brother,” Raoul’s footsteps grew noticeably lighter.
He closed the distance and walked beside us.
“Sister, since you have awakened, I believe you should become the true heir.”
“Even Lizette wouldn’t laugh at such a boring joke.”
“I am serious.”
Eloise stopped walking and looked down at Raoul, meeting his eyes.
His blue-green eyes—close to turquoise—held a touch of loneliness, but his gaze was steady.
“I have no desire for it. You shall inherit.”
“Sister…”
Her shoes began moving again, slowly, as the sun high above started drifting toward the west.
“Think about it again—”
“Raoul, I have never once wanted to become anything—neither crown princess nor heir. I only want to be myself. But you are different.”
“I only took the role because I was pushed into it.”
“For something forced upon you, you’ve done remarkably well. Even when you hated me, I admired you.”
At the mention of hatred, Raoul carefully gripped the lace at Eloise’s sleeve.
Eloise noticed the small gesture and turned toward him.
“I… I never hated you. To me, you were a star. Just because a star is hidden behind clouds doesn’t mean it stops shining.”
“…We should replace your literature teacher.”
I silently agreed.
Raoul’s honesty was praiseworthy, but the phrasing was excessively cheesy.
“I—I’m sorry I wasn’t honest before. I thought you abandoned Monclaire to choose the crown prince.”
Eloise’s sleeve trembled faintly in Raoul’s hold.
She quietly listened to his confession.
“I thought Monclaire couldn’t protect you, so I tried harder. And it hurt… thinking you didn’t recognize that effort.”
“I have never once abandoned Monclaire. As I said earlier, I know very well how well you’ve fulfilled your duties.”
Raoul’s head dropped miserably.
With his delicate features and watery eyes, he looked as though he might cry at any moment.
“So continue leading Monclaire well. I simply want to live comfortably as the Lady of Monclaire now.”
Only then did Raoul release her sleeve and lift his head.
He still looked a bit lonely, but his eyes were much clearer.
“Yes. As you wish, Sister. I will make Monclaire the most prosperous duchy in our history.”
“Good. A fine resolve.”
“And… congratulations on your awakening. You too, Lizette.”
It was a secondary congratulation, but I reached out a paw and patted his head anyway.
“Thank you, Raoul. And well done.”
The tips of Raoul’s ears turned red.
Eloise’s soft laugh tickled my ears.
“It seems preparations are complete. Let’s head to the garden.”
“Mm!”
“Sister, allow me to carry Lizette. She’s grown so much—she must be heavy.”
“Young duke. That is not something you say on a day like this.”
I glared at Raoul, and Eloise adjusted her hold on me with a smile.
“I’ll continue carrying her from now on anyway, so get used to it.”
“You’ll… continue?”
“Everywhere.”
We already spent plenty of time together—how could we be even more attached?
Am I going to become Eloise’s personal emotional-support cat?
…Actually, that didn’t sound so bad.
As that thought crossed my mind, we arrived at the garden, and my mouth fell open.
“Wow… It’s so pretty.”
It was simpler than the banquet held for me before, but since it was in a garden overflowing with blooming flowers, it felt like stepping into a fairy realm.
Several round tables were laid with delicious dishes, and large, volleyball-sized glowing orbs floated gently through the air.
“Elly, what are those?”
“Magic-infused mana stone spheres.”
“Come to think of it… you said magic isn’t used inside the duchy.”
I suddenly remembered what Eloise had casually mentioned on the day my banquet was held.
