Chapter 8
A few days later, in the office of Count Trow.
The count clicked his tongue while glaring at his eldest son, who was carefully reading his expression.
“So, Baron Defford failed in his attempt to do something to Lea Piett using the elixir he stole from you?”
Count Trow recalled the letter from the spy he had planted in the Piett ducal house.
Lea Piett had collapsed at a convalescent retreat, fallen ill for three days, and then awakened—she must have taken the elixir.
“She survived. What a lucky woman.”
“The baron seems to be quite desperate.”
A few days earlier—
The owner of the pastry shop that sold the cookies Lea had eaten was attacked on his way home and collapsed.
From the Trow count’s estate, they had tracked down the culprit who assaulted the pastry shop owner, and the man quickly confessed who had ordered it.
It was Baron Defford.
“So the baron has finally started cleaning up after himself.”
“You should have seen how terrified he was. It looked like he would even kill Lea Piett if it meant erasing all evidence.”
The count’s eyes gleamed.
“…Is that really beyond possibility?”
“Pardon?”
Lord Trow frowned without realizing it.
There was no way a coward like Baron Defford could carry out something like that.
“Father, are you serious? The baron is far too transparent.”
Last time as well, he had used a loose-lipped thug, making it easy to trace who attacked the pastry shop owner.
They were fortunate they had found and handled it first; otherwise, the Piett family would have discovered it quickly.
“If we tempt him and connect him to the underworld through us, wouldn’t he go and cause trouble on his own?”
Lord Trow felt uneasy.
“Is it really safe to be so deeply involved with such a foolish man?”
He worried it might backfire on them instead.
“Foolish men are useful in their own way.”
Count Trow advised him.
“Make sure you keep encouraging him. And don’t leave any direct evidence behind.”
Would it work?
Lord Trow remained doubtful, but he had no other option.
He needed to make up for the grave mistake of allowing the baron to steal the elixir.
“Understood, Father.”
❀ ❀ ❀
Lea was full of motivation.
She had no choice.
“Lea, what is your dream?”
“To live a long life.”
After answering bluntly, Lea Piett (age 7) had given a rotten smile and added, “That’s probably an impossible dream, isn’t it?”
From then on, she had one life goal:
Live long while enjoying the easy life, and die late!
“Let’s start the lesson quickly.”
As she urged him, Helix smiled.
“I’m glad my student, after such a long time, is so motivated. Today I’ll teach you the basics of magic.”
He began his explanation.
“There’s a common misconception people have when they first encounter magic.”
Helix stated firmly:
“Magic is not done through mental strength, willpower, or emotions.”
“Really?”
“It is not.”
After confirming again, Helix continued:
“Those things can sometimes help when you feel the limits of magic or are in crisis situations. But in most cases, they actually become a hindrance.”
“Why?”
“Because if you use magic like gambling, the mage ultimately suffers.”
Helix pointed at the stack of firewood beside the fireplace.
“If you know that one fireball burns exactly five pieces of firewood, then when you need to burn twenty pieces, you can simply cast fireball four times.”
“Right.”
“But if your magic is heavily influenced by emotions and condition, sometimes your fireball will burn thirty pieces, and other times just one. If you cannot predict your own power like that, the mage themselves becomes dangerous.”
Lea agreed with Helix.
What if, when facing an attacker, the decisive fireball she launched turned out to be nothing more than a weak spark?
“Go die!”
“Ah, that tickles! You really don’t want to die easily, do you!”
All it would do is provoke the enemy further.
“Then what should I do?”
At her question, Helix replied:
“You must make magic something your body naturally understands.”
Just as swordsmen train their bodies while calculating moves in their minds, mages should also rely on bodily instinct while their minds consider possible strategies.
“I’m not sure I get it.”
“Once you form concrete imagery and repeatedly train, you’ll understand naturally. Imagine you’re holding a magic staff.”
“Like this?”
“Straighten your posture a bit more.”
He moved behind Lea and reached out to correct her posture, then paused.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Helix took her hand and released a refreshing flow of energy.
“What is this?”
“My mana.”
“So mana feels different depending on the person too.”
Her hand is incredibly large and firm, Lea thought absentmindedly.
At the same time, Helix thought:
Her hand is oddly soft, like cream.
He gently let go and adjusted her arm.
Poom.
“Ah, that tickles.”
Helix’s mana passed through her palm, along her arm, circled around her heart as if tracing it, and then moved toward her dantian.
“Memorize the flow of mana just now. You must practice imagining reversing that flow.”
Lea nodded and extended her arm as instructed.
“Is this how I should hold my arm?”
“Relax naturally, like this.”
Helix lightly guided her arm into position.
“Like this?”
“You have good mana sensitivity, but your posture is terrible.”
“I’m just bad at physical things.”
Helix sighed lightly and corrected her posture again, placing his long fingers under her back.
“Now try moving your mana in the opposite direction.”
Poom.
Helix’s refreshing mana entered from her back and moved toward her dantian.
His mana guided her, circulating through her veins, moving toward her heart and both arms.
Thump.
Lea felt a response from both her heart and dantian.
“Now.”
At Helix’s words, Lea concentrated even harder.
“Your breathing is irregular. The foundation of power is circulation. Don’t tense up. Breathe slowly.”
He demonstrated with a deep breath.
“Hoo.”
“Hoo…”
“Again. Breathe in accordance with the flow of mana in your body. Hoo.”
“Hoo.”
Lea steadied her wavering breath and focused on the power within her.
Tap, tap.
She felt energy stirring somewhere inside her body like embers.
“Just a little more…!”
Helix watched her nervously from the side.
She was trying very hard, but she had absolutely no foundation in how to move or use her body.
“Even if she’s a noble lady… shouldn’t she at least know how to dance?”
After watching her for an hour, he finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“Lea, have you done any exercise before? Like dancing?”
She shook her head.
“I’ve been weak since I was little, so I just sat out even at balls.”
“Then what do you usually do?”
“Hmm… breathing?”
“……”
It was a life spent moving only her fingers, both in her past life and her current one.
“This won’t do.”
Helix said gravely.
“We need to increase your physical activity first. Mana won’t circulate through your body like this.”
“What? Mages have to worry about that too? Isn’t mana supposed to take care of itself?”
Helix looked at her with a rare expression of exasperation.
“A healthy body is where proper mana resides.”
“…Hearing something that sounds like a fusion of moral education and physical training is draining my energy.”
He ignored her grumbling.
“For now, let’s start with a walk in the back mountains.”
❀ ❀ ❀
“A walk, you said!”
From a ridge in the Hel Mountain range, Lea shouted.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Helix replied calmly without breaking his breathing.
He moved lightly along the rugged mountain path that others would struggle to climb, not even raising an eyebrow.
Lea looked up at him with a weary expression.
“Helix, be honest… you’re not human, are you? Are you maybe my little brother’s cousin or something?”
“There is a flaw in your statement, Lea. I have never met your younger brother, but if your brother isn’t human, then wouldn’t that make you non-human as well?”
He was rigid—but logical.
“Ugh, anyway, I can’t go any further.”
Lea sat down with a thud.
“We’ve only reached the ridge.”
“I’ve never even been able to walk around a villa properly. If you suddenly push me like this, I’ll collapse.”
Helix clicked his tongue and looked down at her.
“You need to walk more. Your mana also needs to learn how to move.”
“…Fine. Nothing comes for free.”
Lea groaned as she stood up, which Helix watched with surprise.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I thought you were trying to become a mage without effort since you said mana would handle it itself.”
“That was just me talking.”
She made a decision.
“You said I can become healthier. I’ll work hard at magic at least.”
“…Is there no option to work hard at everything?”
“I’d probably get sick if I did that.”
Lea laughed.
Though playful in tone, her smile carried fatigue.
“At first, I had so many things I wanted to do.”
She looked down at the Piett ducal villa below the mountain.
“I wanted to eat lots of delicious desserts, have pretty dresses made each season, go to balls, dance with a handsome partner…”
Her voice trailed off.
“But after eating just two slices of cheesecake, I ended up vomiting all night and nearly died.”
“……”
“After that happened a few more times, I realized something. No matter how much wealth and honor the Piett ducal house has, my world would always be narrow.”
The time she had spent lying in a luxurious bed, burning with fever and enduring pain…
Those long, suffocating, agonizing moments made up most of her life as Lea.
“…I understand that feeling.”
Helix nodded solemnly.
“I was confined as well.”
Lea looked at him anew.
A man who had been sealed away for a long time.
She felt slightly apologetic and awkward.
It felt like she had been boasting in front of someone far more experienced.
“No, it’s not like I suffered as much as you, Helix.”
“Is suffering any less suffering regardless of duration?”
What.
Lea clutched her chest inwardly.
Why did he have to sound so wise all of a sudden? It made her conscience ache.
After hesitating, she muttered,
“…Anyway, I’ll work hard at magic.”
“Good.”
Helix smiled and reached out to pat her head when—
Rustle.
Something suddenly began falling above their heads.
“…Snow?”
Lea was startled.
“In this season?”
Snow in early autumn.
Watching the increasing snowfall, Helix said:
“I have a guess.”
