Chapter 6
“What do we do?”
“I don’t know!”
“You were the one who said we should follow her!”
“Well, yeah, but—!”
“What are you two whispering about?”
Before they knew it, Riela had popped up right in front of them, her face suddenly leaning in close.
“Run!”
With a shout, Daniel grabbed Aria’s hand and bolted. Aria tried to resist, but his grip was too strong, and she ended up being dragged along.
“Oppa! I’m tired!”
“Oh, s-sorry!”
Daniel quickly let go. Aria, who had never run so hard in her life, gasped for breath, sweating heavily.
“You could’ve just—huff—told her—gasp—the truth!”
Aria shouted at him between ragged breaths.
To her, none of this made sense. So what if Riela had changed a little? Was that such a big deal?
People changed. She had, too. Last year, she couldn’t eat Brussels sprouts, but this year she could.
And Daniel had changed as well. One day, he suddenly started talking about Riela all the time, and now he was even following her around in secret.
“But they’re supposed to have an incredible love…” Daniel muttered.
“What does that even mean? I haven’t understood a single thing you’ve been saying!”
“Who is it that she’s supposed to love? It can’t be Leonit, right? That can’t happen…”
“Stop talking to yourself and talk to me! You’re just looking down on me because my grades are bad, aren’t you?”
Fuming, Aria glared at her brother, who was still trapped in his own world. Finally, she turned away from him.
“Forget it. I’ll tell Riela myself.”
She could never lie to someone more precious than her brother. Resolute, Aria left him behind and hurried over.
“Riela!”
Cupping her hands around her mouth, she called out loudly. Riela turned, her hair—now a little longer—fluttering in the wind.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have class?”
“Ah, my teacher couldn’t come today.”
“Really?”
It wasn’t a complete lie. Her tutor couldn’t attend because her son had his first recital. Aria had even encouraged her to go, saying it was fine to cancel the lesson.
Riela was holding a large botany book, flipping through its pages. But what she was looking at wasn’t exactly a flower.
Strictly speaking, it was an herb—something with petals, but with roots used in medicine.
“What are you reading? Let me see too!”
“Just… bored.”
Her tone was evasive, but Aria didn’t care. She plopped down on the ground, not minding her dress getting dirty, just so she could meet Riela’s eyes.
“Where’s Daniel?”
“He’ll find his way here eventually.”
Her curt tone made Riela tilt her head in confusion.
How could anyone lie to such a pure face?
Gathering her courage, Aria confessed:
“Riela, actually… my brother and I were following you since this morning.”
“Oh, really?”
“You knew?”
Her flat reaction made Aria ask again nervously.
Riela, still peering at an unknown plant, muttered to herself in disappointment, then finally nodded.
“Mm-hm. You were so obvious—it was impossible not to notice.”
What?! Even though they had tried to hide their footsteps, she had noticed everything!
Aria’s heart sank. She wanted to cry. Why did her brother suggest something so mean against someone as kind as Riela? Holding back her tears, she said:
“You must be really disappointed. I wanted to tell you the truth, but my brother told me not to. Still… I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
After all, it wasn’t really Riela’s fault for “changing.” It was Daniel who had suggested tailing her.
Aria braced herself for anger. But instead, Riela put her book down and burst out laughing.
“Oh, that’s all? Don’t worry about it. I thought it was kind of fun—like we were on some kind of secret mission!”
Like a knight on a covert assignment, Riela darted her eyes around suspiciously, then puffed out her chest proudly.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“You’re sure you’re not upset? You can be honest. If it’s because of my brother, I’ll scold him for you.”
Aria clenched her fist confidently, ready to defend her friend. But Riela just laughed until her cheeks hurt.
“Riela!”
At that moment, Daniel’s voice came from behind.
Annoyed at having their fun interrupted, Aria scowled. But Daniel ignored her completely and walked straight to Riela.
“I heard you followed me?”
Riela was the first to speak. Daniel froze stiff.
“Uh, well, that’s because—”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. As long as you didn’t follow me into the bathroom, I’m not mad. If you had, I might have been annoyed.”
Her sharp eyes softened, and Daniel let out a huge sigh of relief.
“What were you looking at?” he asked.
“This. It just looked interesting.”
“That’s a Lumeranin flower.”
“You know what it is?”
Riela’s eyes sparkled with awe. Embarrassed but pleased, Daniel straightened up and launched into an explanation.
“Every mage needs it. When they draw magic circles, they use oil extracted from Lumeranin flowers.”
He continued explaining confidently.
I could’ve explained that too…
Aria pouted but held her tongue. Riela was listening so intently that she didn’t want to interrupt.
Still, she poked Daniel’s side with her finger whenever Riela wasn’t looking. The Maynard siblings’ little skirmish went unnoticed by Riela.
“What are you two doing?”
“Ah, nothing at all! Right, Aria?”
“Y-yeah! Nothing!”
Their awkward laughter didn’t convince Riela, who gave them a suspicious look. In the end, the siblings had no choice but to form a temporary truce.
***
“Have you felt any indigestion or stomach pain lately?”
I shook my head.
“Any dizziness, or headaches like your eyes might burst?”
I shook my head again.
“Any chills, or heaviness in your body?”
Once more, I shook my head.
The physician, satisfied with my answers, took out a flat wooden stick.
“Say ‘ah.’”
I opened wide, and he carefully inspected my throat before jotting notes in his record. His face brightened.
“You’re doing much better than yesterday. At this rate, you’ll be able to go outside soon.”
“Really? Yay!”
“Still, your throat is swollen, so I’ll prescribe medicine. Take five packets a day after meals.”
Last time, it had been ten packets. The dose was halved. Thrilled at the thought of going outside, I threw my arms up in excitement. The maid beside me chuckled at my joy.
“You can even start light exercise now. Just don’t overdo it.”
“I’ll be careful!”
When the doctor left, I couldn’t hold back—I bounced in place, overjoyed.
“Young lady, he said no jumping!”
“But I’m just so happy! I can finally go out with Aria!”
Too excited to notice my maid’s worried look, I was already planning a private outing with my favorite girl.
What should I do to make this the best date ever with Aria?
Pacing the room with excitement, I suddenly remembered something.
“Could it be… is it really thanks to this?”
I pulled out the suspicious-looking magic stone necklace Daniel had given me.
My condition had been strangely better lately. The only thing that had changed was this necklace.
“Still, it feels a little like fake science…”
I eyed it doubtfully, then turned to my maid, who was tidying wilted flowers.
“Where’s Daniel right now?”
“Hmm, he went to the Magic Tower today.”
“The Magic Tower?”
“Yes. He has lessons there.”
“And Aria?”
“She’s in Madam Rendell’s class. It should end in about an hour.”
The maid assumed I was just bored and wanted to see them. Not entirely wrong—but I had other plans.
With Aria in class and Daniel gone, that meant…
I finally have free time!
Free from the Maynard siblings’ constant watch, I had to use this precious chance wisely.
“I’m going out for a walk!”
“Please wait, I’ll come with—”
“No need! I’ll just visit the garden and library!”
“Young lady!”
Ignoring her protests, I dashed out of the room straight to the library.
“Do you need a book, miss?”
The librarian, who usually kept out of sight when Daniel was around, approached me.
“Do you have anything about ancient times?”
“Ancient times?”
“Yeah. Daniel gave me this necklace and said in the past, magic stone necklaces were used to cure illnesses.”
“Oh, I see. Then you must mean Foundations of Ancient History. That’s the only book the young master has checked recently.”
“Can I borrow it?”
“I’m sorry, he hasn’t returned it yet.”
“Then… is there another book with similar content?”
My desperate, sparkling eyes made the librarian hesitate, lips twitching.
“Ahem. There is one… though it’s more advanced than the beginner’s volume. Will that be all right?”
“Yes!”
Anything was fine. What I needed now was real knowledge.
Even though I had read the original novel so much I nearly memorized it, there were still many gaps in my understanding.
And besides, who could say the story wouldn’t change?
In transmigration stories, the plot always changes.
After a moment of thought, the librarian pulled a heavy book off the shelf and handed it to me.
