Chapter: 8
At first, some people thought Silvia was simply acting strangely. But as time passed, they gradually grew used to it.
And now, a month later, the servants of the west wing had begun saying this to their colleagues working elsewhere.
“You know Lady Silvia? She’s nothing like the rumors. They make her out to be some kind of villain of the century, but the lady I’ve met is incredibly kind and gentle.”
“What? Are you sure you’re talking about Lady Silvia? Not Lady Eirin?”
When a servant from the main house—unaware of her change—answered like that, another west wing servant cut in.
“No, I really mean Lady Silvia. Didn’t I tell you? She saw the wound on my knee and gave me medicine to apply to it herself! What kind of noble cares that much about a maid like me?”
“But still…”
“See? You really can’t trust rumors. You know I used to work at another noble estate, right? Their young lady was praised everywhere for being kind, but in reality she was nothing like that! If a maid made even the slightest mistake, she’d slap her across the face!”
As the west wing servants grew so excited defending Silvia that they were practically spitting, the main house servant tilted their head in confusion.
“Is that so? Were the rumors really wrong?”
That wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
For a full month now, Silvia had switched to a balanced, healthy diet focused on vegetables and grains, practiced mana breathing at set times every day, and exercised consistently.
And the changes to her appearance were clearly visible.
“Was the young lady always that pretty?”
“Wasn’t the eldest young lady kind of… well, not ugly, but plain?”
“Yeah. She had an ordinary face, but with all that weight on her, people called her ugly.”
“But now…”
The servants watched Silvia Atlante as she passed through the corridor, heading out for a walk.
With the weight gone, her facial features stood out clearly. They weren’t flashy, but there was a neat, graceful beauty to them.
Her glossy brown hair swayed softly, and her straight posture revealed a well-balanced figure.
But more than anything, what stood out was her presence.
Neat, composed, and firm. Unlike before, when she always wore an irritated, unpleasant expression, the current Silvia gave off a strangely pleasant atmosphere that lifted the mood of those around her.
And that atmosphere made her look beautiful.
“She just… looks pretty somehow. Is something wrong with my eyes?”
Murmuring that, the servant rubbed their eyes. The servants weren’t the only ones whispering about Silvia’s change.
“Hey, did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“About the eldest young lady.”
“Who?”
“The ugly one—no, Lady Silvia.”
At his fellow knight’s words, Knight Hans frowned deeply.
Who was Silvia?
The duke’s daughter, infamous for being ugly and ill-tempered, was even more notorious among the knights.
She tormented her escort knights so badly that there were rumors saying if you were assigned to guard her, you should fake an injury and escape.
“What about her?”
“They say she’s… changed.”
That was all? After sounding so serious?
Hans scoffed, giving his companion a look that clearly said What nonsense.
But the other knight flushed and launched into an impassioned explanation.
“No, I’m serious! A kid working in the west wing said it. She’s lost a ton of weight, her personality’s improved, and she’s like a completely different person!”
“Stop talking nonsense and take this.”
Hans shoved a heavy load into his hands. Even while accepting it, the knight kept talking.
“I’m telling you, it’s not nonsense!”
“Please. If that’s really true, I’ll buy you drinks for an entire month.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Not just that—I’ll blow this month’s wages and buy beer for the entire knight order that day.”
“You promised!”
“Fine.”
The knight grinned, thrilled at the thought of free alcohol, but Hans didn’t care.
There was no way his pay was in danger.
People don’t change so easily.
And especially not that Lady Silvia, who had zero willpower.
Impossible.
At least, that’s what he thought at the time.
He had no idea he’d soon be pounding the ground in regret.
“Good. I’ve more or less achieved my goal.”
The woman reflected in the mirror smiled in satisfaction.
Her slender face and neatly arranged features were harmonious, and her body—freed of excess fat—revealed soft, flowing lines.
Most of all, she liked her expression.
Before, even when she was doing nothing, people would ask, “Did something upset you?” Her impression had been that bad.
Now, her naturally gentle expression—one that looked like she was smiling even at rest—made her appear twice as pretty.
The woman in the mirror, whom even a stranger might call “beautiful enough,” was none other than Silvia Atlante, the so-called ugly duke’s daughter.
“I’m a completely different person compared to a month ago.”
It had already been a month since she became Silvia Atlante.
For the past month, every day had been the same.
Each morning, she practiced mana breathing to gather mana. Every meal was filled with vegetables instead of greasy food.
After eating, she always moved.
She walked diligently through the garden, stretched, and did strength exercises like push-ups and squats.
As a result, the waste built up in her body was flushed out, leaving her skin smooth like a baby’s—and the weight dropped noticeably.
Seeing her buried features come to life as she slimmed down was nice.
But the real benefit was something else entirely.
“I can move so much more easily now.”
When she was overweight, even a little movement left her out of breath, and her entire body ached as if it had been beaten.
Trying to sleep made her feel suffocated, and waking up left her arms and legs tingling. It was a different kind of suffering from being bedridden—but suffering all the same.
But now—
“Now that I’ve lost weight, nothing hurts, and moving is easy.”
Thanks to that, she felt much closer to her goal of a “healthy and happy life.”
Admiring Silvia’s slimmer body in the mirror, she then thought of another goal she hadn’t achieved yet.
“But is spirit summoning still out of reach?”
It had only been a month since she started mana breathing.
On average, it took one to two years of accumulating mana to reach “awakening,” so she still needed at least ten more months of steady practice.
“No… at this pace, it probably won’t even take half that long.”
The speed at which she was accumulating mana was faster than Silvia’s memories suggested.
“I think it’s because all the impurities were flushed out during my first mana breathing session—but I don’t know the exact reason.”
She didn’t know why, but since it was a good thing, she continued focusing diligently on mana breathing.
“Thanks to that, I’ve already gathered half the mana needed for awakening. At this rate, I’ll awaken in just a few months and become a spirit mage.”
Considering that the original Silvia hadn’t gathered even a handful of mana by this point, it was an impressive achievement.
“Still… it’s a bit disappointing.”
There was no immediate danger, but having power—and not having it—felt very different.
“If I follow the standard path step by step, I’ll only reach mid-level spirit mage even after five years.”
That was impressive in its own right, but it wasn’t enough.
“Isn’t there another way? A way to get strong faster…”
“Ah!”
Why had she been so fixated on the proper path? There was no rule saying she had to walk only on paved roads.
“If there’s a shortcut nearby, I should take it!”
She pulled the cord and smiled with triumph. She had thought of a way to grow strong—very quickly.
Four years from now, a discovery that would shake the world would be announced.
An incredible item would appear—one that doubled the speed of mana accumulation just by consuming it.
Until shortly before that announcement, it was just a common herb, easily purchased at any apothecary. Boiled in water, it cured colds—a standard emergency remedy.
But when burned, its effect changed completely.
After drying the herb for three days, mixing it with other herbs, rolling it up, and burning it, it transformed into something extraordinary—one that doubled mana accumulation speed.
“Four years from now, people won’t be able to get enough of it. But right now, before its true use is known, I can buy it dirt cheap.”
“Did you call for me, my lady?”
“I need to go out.”
“Out? But the duke said—”
“You mean the confinement order?”
“Yes. I was worried you might get into trouble. I’m sorry for overstepping.”
Bell replied in a subdued voice, eyes lowered, clearly afraid she’d upset her mistress.
Silvia didn’t dislike that. In fact, she was pleased.
A month ago, she would have let Bell do whatever she wanted, uncaring even if she were summoned by the duke later.
But now Bell was afraid—yet still trying to stop her.
That was real progress.
“Does that mean I feel closer to her now?”
She liked the improved relationship with Bell.
“At this rate, sincerely apologizing and clearing away the dark past Silvia created won’t take long.”
Smiling reassuringly, she put Bell at ease.
“I’ve been cooped up in the west wing for a month without stepping outside once. The duke won’t complain if I go shopping for a bit, so don’t worry.”
Even if he did, she didn’t really care.
Still, Bell seemed reassured and asked brightly,
“Shall I prepare the carriage?”
“Yes. But not the family carriage—get a rented one. Something plain and unremarkable.”
“Yes. Where would you like to go?”
“Fortum Street.”
Also known as the capital’s finest shopping district.
With another name—the holy land of shopping—Fortum Street was the perfect place to buy and sell goods, so she chose it as her destination.
“Shopping…”
It had been a long time.
After being hospitalized, she hadn’t been able to go out much, so real shopping had been impossible.
At best, she’d bought items from the hospital shop or ordered cute but mostly useless trinkets online.
Even that was rare—once every few months at most. While her family worked themselves to the bone to pay her hospital bills, she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy shopping.
But now, things were different.
She could wander from store to store and make impulse purchases if something caught her eye.
No matter how much she was ridiculed as the “ugly duke’s daughter,” Silvia was still a member of House Atlante—and the Duke of Atlante was one of the richest men in the empire.
What did that mean?
“I’m rich too!”
