Chapter: 41
With the duke’s permission already secured, there was no real reason to accept the invitation.
‘If I keep showing my face everywhere for no reason, even rumors that would’ve died down will just keep going.’
That’s how rumors are, after all.
Even if they blaze fiercely, once you stop adding firewood, they eventually burn out. Later on, people start thinking, “Did something like that even happen?”
And once that happens, the attention focused on me will fade as well—and with it, the invitations that serve as proof of that attention will stop coming.
‘More importantly, there’s something else I should be worrying about.’
Hmm.
“…Should I reveal that I’m a spirit contractor?”
The former Silvia had announced it to everyone the moment she awakened as a spirit contractor.
She wanted to boast that even someone who had been dismissed as an ugly duke’s daughter possessed such an extraordinary ability.
‘But the duke didn’t react at all.’
At best, he showed a lukewarm response—something like, “So even you turned out to be somewhat useful.” It was nothing like the dramatic reaction Silvia had hoped for.
Still, revealing herself as a spirit contractor did bring her one benefit.
‘She passed the academy entrance exam through a special admission track—an academy she wouldn’t even have been able to approach otherwise.’
Spirit contractors were such a rare talent that simply revealing that fact was enough to barely secure admission to that prestigious academy.
As long as she didn’t cause any major incidents and graduated safely, her future would be wide open.
I recalled the spirit I had summoned and contracted with.
Sylphid, the Spirit King of Wind.
‘If I reveal that I contracted with Sylphid, getting into the academy wouldn’t just be easy. No—it wouldn’t be a matter of ease. Wouldn’t every place be desperate to recruit me?’
A spirit contractor bound to a high-grade spirit is treated like a quasi-noble, and one contracted with a top-grade spirit receives treatment superior to most nobles.
But a Spirit King—something never once recorded in history?
‘It’d be absolute chaos.’
And not just ordinary chaos.
‘I do plan to live properly and seriously in this new life, but…’
Even so, revealing myself as a contractor of a Spirit King was still too much.
‘If you possess power you can’t handle, you’ll only end up being controlled by it.’
If the Duke of Atlante truly devoted himself to protecting me, then revealing the Spirit King contract wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.
But—
‘I can’t trust the duke.’
In fact, he was the one I needed to be most wary of.
‘He isn’t the kind of man who loves or cherishes his children.’
Honestly, this problem would be solved easily if I contracted with another spirit.
If I bound myself to a low-grade spirit and pretended to be an ordinary low-level spirit contractor, I could live comfortably while being treated as a moderately useful talent.
The reason I couldn’t resolve such a simple issue—and was stuck worrying over it—was obvious.
“It’s all because of Sylphid.”
[What did you say?]
“I said I can’t contract with other spirits because of you, Sylphid.”
After the ball, while I stayed holed up in my room, I tried summoning other spirits.
But no matter how many times I tried, I couldn’t summon even a lowest-grade spirit, let alone a low- or mid-grade one.
After failing repeatedly, I had no choice but to call Sylphid. While talking with him, I finally learned why I couldn’t summon other spirits.
‘So it’s because of this guy.’
Spirits of a lower rank than Sylphid were unable to respond to the summons of someone contracted to him.
I suspected Sylphid might be deliberately interfering and pressed him on it, but he indignantly denied it.
—Why would I do something so pathetic? It’s instinct! Once a spirit contracts with a contractor, that contractor stands on equal footing with me. It’s only natural that weaklings can’t bear that kind of burden!
However you looked at it, the conclusion was the same: because I had contracted with Sylphid, other spirits were too frightened to respond to my summons.
“Sigh.”
[…Why are you sighing?]
“It’s my 마음. Can’t I even sigh with my own body?”
The sigh came naturally—Sylphid had disrupted a significant portion of my plans.
‘Revealing that I’m a spirit contractor would make many things easier, but…’
I couldn’t reveal it yet.
‘Not unless I find a way to summon another spirit—or avoid revealing Sylphid.’
I looked at the root of my troubles.
‘The Spirit King of Wind, huh…’
After spending so much time summoning him lately, I’d come to understand him a little better.
I didn’t know his exact age.
Apparently, once he passed two thousand years old, he stopped counting.
But the fact that he was already over two thousand meant he’d lived for a length of time I couldn’t even imagine.
‘He really doesn’t look it, though.’
Despite possibly being thousands—maybe even tens of thousands—of years old, Sylphid’s words and behavior were downright childish.
An arrogant, immature child.
I suspected it was because he’d spent most of his life in the spirit realm.
‘Time flows much more slowly there than in the human world, and it’s full of pure, innocent spirits.’
That childlike personality caused problems, too.
For example—constantly whining about wanting to go outside.
[Contractor. Are you just going to stay here again today? Why do you live such a boring life? Let’s go outside and do something fun.]
If he’d behave quietly outside, it wouldn’t be an issue.
The problem was why he wanted to go out.
[Let’s see. Aren’t humans fighting wars these days? Aren’t there any monsters to hunt and kill?]
“There’s nothing like that. And even if there were, I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.”
[Tch.]
What kind of spirit is this violent?
‘I should’ve known from the moment he crushed Count Avita’s leg at the ball.’
I’d vaguely sensed it back then, but Sylphid’s disposition was extremely unusual.
‘The lowest-grade spirit Sylph Silvia used to contract with hated fighting and loved nothing more than blowing wind like a fan.’
I even searched through books on spirits, wondering if my perspective was too narrow—but not a single book mentioned spirits that enjoyed bloodshed and slaughter.
‘Is it because he’s a Spirit King? Unique. Very unique.’
Despite all the trouble, Sylphid wasn’t completely useless.
“Sylphid. Bring me that book over there. The one on the far right of the third shelf.”
Speaking while lying on the bed, I watched as Sylphid moved the wind and brought the book to me.
[Here it is.]
“Thanks.”
He even took care of annoying errands like that.
“Did you dry my hair properly?”
[Perfectly dry.]
As he proudly claimed, my hair—which had been damp just moments ago—was now soft and fluffy.
“Can you hold the mirror?”
Reflected in the mirror Sylphid held, my curly hair looked neatly styled with just the right amount of volume.
‘As a hair dryer, he’s two hundred points out of a hundred.’
Smiling in satisfaction, I praised him.
“You did great.”
[Hmph!]
Sylphid cleared his throat shyly, then quickly started whining again.
[Contractor. Then how about going outside today? The weather’s nice—]
Knock knock.
“You should go back now.”
[No, Contractor!]
“I’ll call you again later.”
[…You must keep your promises.]
Grumbling with his lips stuck out, Sylphid returned to the spirit realm.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Bell rushed in with an excited expression.
“The carriage is ready!”
“Is it?”
I picked up the small bag I’d prepared in advance and stood up.
“Please give it to me, Miss.”
“It’s fine. It’s not heavy.”
Not to spare Bell the trouble—it was simply light because there wasn’t much inside.
Bell pouted and muttered, “Still…,” but I shook my head.
As we walked toward the main gate, a massive carriage came into view from afar.
It was clearly a carriage belonging to the Atlante family.
“…Didn’t I tell you to prepare a hired carriage?”
“Well, I was going to,” Bell said, glancing toward it in excuse.
“But the butler said he couldn’t possibly allow you to ride in such a filthy, shabby thing.”
“The butler?”
I strode straight toward the carriage—more precisely, toward the butler.
“Butler.”
“Yes, Miss.”
“You’re going to Aisel.”
“Yes.”
“Aisel is currently crowded with academy entrance examinees. It won’t be ideal for sightseeing.”
‘One of those examinees is me.’
The butler didn’t seem to consider even for a moment that I might be heading there for the entrance exam.
Even though Eirin had left for Aisel just yesterday for that very reason.
‘Well, Eirin’s been studying for the academy since two years ago, and Silvia hadn’t read a single book until a few months ago—so I guess it makes sense.’
I briefly considered telling him my real purpose, then decided against it.
I wasn’t trying to hide the fact that I’d be taking the academy entrance exam—but I didn’t feel like volunteering the information either.
“It’s fine.”
“If you say so, Miss.”
The butler opened the carriage door as he spoke.
I greeted him while stepping inside.
“Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“Pardon?”
“I plan to stay two nights in Aisel.”
“…Two nights?”
I waved at the clearly flustered butler through the window.
‘Did he think I’d come back after just one day?’
His reaction left a bad taste in my mouth, but I quickly brushed it off.
‘I got the duke’s permission, so it should be fine.’
When I told the duke I was going to Aisel, he didn’t even ask why.
As always, he merely warned me not to cause trouble.
‘It’s comfortable, in its own way.’
If I were his biological child, his coldness would’ve hurt—but since I didn’t expect affection from him, his indifference was actually easier to live with.
