Zen looked slightly surprised at my confident words. Maybe he thought I was a fool who still couldn’t tell right from wrong, even after all the explanations he’d given me.
But I really do have a plan. I know a hidden secret that only someone who read the novel could possibly know.
“Anyway, thank you so much for today. Don’t forget your promise.”
Just as Zen opened his mouth to reply to my bright smile—
Bang! Kinder opened the door. Behind him stood my father.
“Lia, are you feeling any better?”
He walked straight over to me and studied my complexion.
“Of course! Thanks to the excellent skills of our mages.”
I turned to Zen and Kinder as I spoke. Zen had already wrapped himself in his cloak again.
“You really do look like some color’s come back to your face. Well done.”
I gave each of them a bottle of Shrimp Wine. From what I’d heard, it was a rare and highly sought-after wine that Shrimp’s head chef brewed over a year, gaining a legendary status even beyond our territory. Wine enthusiasts apparently paid astronomical prices for it on the black market.
“Don’t sell it—drink it yourselves. You’re both so frail, it worries me.”
I saw them off. Kinder hugged the bottle carefully to his chest like it was only natural and left the drawing room after saying goodbye.
“For such a precious gift, allow me to give you this.”
“…What’s this?”
What Zen handed me was a ring.
A smooth, thin silver ring—plain, without any ornament or design.
“If the day ever comes when you need my help, I’ll assist you—just once.”
I could see the faint smile rising behind his cloak. It looked like I had triggered the occupational curiosity that all mages seem to have.
“Gladly. If the day ever comes when I need it.”
Which, I was sure, it never would.
I smiled softly, full of conviction.
After the mages left, I finally regained my freedom.
Maybe thanks to all the moisturizing treatments, my complexion had improved and my skin felt supple and refreshed. Dad couldn’t insist that I stay in bed anymore.
My practice with Miss Velly had been pushed back another two days, and once I was sure I was alone in my room, I slipped out of bed and pulled out the old book I had hidden underneath.
When I opened the first page, the strange spell that had been written there on the day I fainted had completely vanished.
As if it had never existed at all. And I couldn’t remember a single word of the spell I had spoken aloud.
I remembered saying it—but the moment I tried to recall the actual words, it was like my memory had been muted.
Instead, I read the tiny script written at the bottom of the page.
[The wish of the desperate shall be granted.]
Reviving the dead is prohibited.
Wishes to control human hearts are prohibited.
Curing incurable diseases is prohibited.
Overturning one’s status is prohibited.
Causing harm to others is prohibited.
Gaining an immortal body is prohibited.
There were about a hundred more things you couldn’t do. Seemed like there were more restrictions than permissions.
A wish?
Beneath the line that said “The spell will activate the moment it is spoken”, a sentence in red was written:
[The spell has been used.]
“When…?!”
But the question didn’t last long.
Because I had only ever had one wish.
To say goodbye to my parents. And it had been granted.
How lucky it didn’t fall under one of those 120 restrictions.
It wasn’t just a dream—I had truly met them, talked with them—and the thought made my chest ache all over again.
Also, when I briefly returned to my body during that time… I had felt something. I shot up from the bed to check it again.
Ever since my injury, I hadn’t held a sword again. I never even thought about training.
It wasn’t because I was still hurt—my hands were fine now. I had just assumed I’d forgotten everything by now.
But the vivid memory in my mind kept whispering at me to pick up a sword again.
It’s okay if I can, and okay if I can’t.
My hands felt strangely empty.
Wearing the comfortable clothes Garnet had brought me, I followed her down to the training grounds.
At first, she’d been surprised when I said I wanted to visit the grounds. But perhaps remembering my father’s words—“Let her do whatever she wants”—she reluctantly helped me prepare, warning me not to cause any trouble.
He probably never imagined “holding a sword” would be on my list of things I wanted to do.
The path we took to the training grounds was unfamiliar to me.
Wait, there’s a forest inside the mansion?
We walked through a wooded area. The path was well maintained, but the wide stretch of bright green trees on either side made me wonder if people even lived here.
Once we passed through the relatively short forest, we arrived at a large open area where the knights lived and trained.
I saw Laies’ knights, deep in their training.
Well-trained knights.
Just from the way they held their swords, their stances, and their expressions, I could tell—this wasn’t just practice for them. This was battle.
Garnet offered to call the knight captain, but I told her it was okay.
I hadn’t come to pick a knight for myself.
Just watching them cross swords—felt as thrilling as being in a duel myself.
I plopped down on the sun-warmed grass.
“Sit down too, Garnet.”
“If you told me it was a picnic, I’d have brought sandwiches…”
I chuckled at her words as she sat beside me.
“Right? Everything’s better with snacks.”
Memories of munching snacks while watching baseball came flooding back.
While watching the knights spar from a safe distance, my eyes were drawn to one knight in particular.
His short brown hair fluttered in the breeze, never settling as he transitioned smoothly to his next stance. His movements were so quick that it was impossible to read what he was thinking.
There were countless cues—angles of the hand, direction of movement, footwork—that could hint at the next move. The opponent had to read and respond instantly.
Thud—
“I-I lost!”
Or else… this would happen.
The disarmed knight collapsed in front of him. Looking utterly defeated, he slumped to his knees, and the man offered him a hand.
“Learn to read movements. Go into the forest and practice striking logs for three hours.”
“Th-three hours?! Huff… yes, sir!”
The knight sprang up and ran off—straight in our direction.
“C-Captain! There’s someone over there!”
Oh no. Busted.
The brown-haired man the knight had called “Captain” and all the other knights spotted us.
Even though I’d been in the Duke’s estate for quite some time, I’d never encountered the knights before. Not surprising, given how secluded this area was—hidden behind a whole forest.
I wondered if news of me had even reached them.
The knight captain walked toward me.
Before Garnet could even introduce me, the man knelt on one knee and bowed.
“I greet the young lord of Laies, Lady Raberia Jenn Laies. I am Hute, the captain of the knights.”
Soon the other knights behind him also gave formal bows.
Somehow, I had ended up meeting the knights of our family in such informal attire. Then again, they were just as drenched in sweat from training, so I suppose it balanced out…
They referred to me as their lord. To those who had sworn lifelong loyalty to the family, my presence must have been branded deeply within them—a sign of just how powerful the Laies household was.
“Greetings to the proud knights of Laies. I am Raberia Jenn Laies.”
A refreshing summer breeze blew by.
“Please, you may rise. I was just watching your training in a moment of childish curiosity. I’m sorry if I disturbed your practice.”
“Not at all. It’s an honor to have you here. But that outfit…”
Hute looked puzzled by my attire, which didn’t exactly match the idea of someone just watching practice.
With my long silver hair tied up and dressed not in a flowy gown but in simple clothes adorned with subtle gold embroidery, anyone could tell—
“I wanted to try holding a sword.”
I smiled, knowing exactly how it must have looked.
Like the words of a spoiled young lady who had just been reading the best romance novels in her room, daydreaming about knights… and suddenly decided to run out and play pretend.
Aghhhhhh I’m so excited!!!! These next few fight scenes will probably be amazing and get me super happy