Chapter 43
“There are already so many rumors and snobs in the imperial palace. I can only imagine what they’ll say behind our backs…”
Aramis muttered with clear displeasure.
“You’re not coming, so don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t planning to. I have knight training, remember? Go by yourself.”
“I’m taking Harper.”
“…Excuse me?”
Aramis asked back, puzzled.
“Why would the second young lady go with you to an event celebrating your promotion to young duchess…?”
“She said she wanted to come.”
At Callista’s simple answer, Aramis raised an eyebrow.
She looked completely unfazed, as if nothing was unusual about what she said.
“…Is this supposed to be a ‘bonding trip between sisters’ or something?”
“You think so too?”
Callista’s eyes sparkled as she suddenly turned to look at him.
“We look like close sisters, don’t we?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“She even wore a ribbon like mine. If you look closely, doesn’t she resemble me?”
“Is there something wrong with your eyes?”
Aramis asked, horrified.
“She doesn’t resemble you. Not from head to toe. Not even a tiny bit, not even the size of a mouse’s tail. Neither of you resemble the Duke either.”
“Of course not. If we resembled our father, we’d both be uglier than we are now.”
“And yet you say things like that…”
Aramis clutched his chest, took a deep breath, and tried to speak calmly again.
“Listen carefully. Miss Harper, if I had to compare her to an animal, she’s definitely in the puppy family.”
He thought of Harper, who always smiled so easily whenever she was given food.
“And I’m not?”
Callista asked with wide eyes, as if genuinely curious. Aramis sighed and rubbed his face.
“My lady, you’re more of a beast. A lion, perhaps. Or a monster… maybe a dragon…”
BANG!
Callista slammed down the documents she had been reading.
Her eyes, which had just been wide and round, now sharpened into a glare that could strangle someone just by looking.
“I—I was wrong! Of course, you’re like a puppy too!”
Aramis scrambled for words. Truth be told, her sudden growl wasn’t that different from a hunting dog.
“As long as you understand.”
Callista nodded and rose from her seat.
“I’ll be back. I should return before dinner.”
She left the study, leaving a dumbfounded Aramis behind.
Her crooked ribbon swayed precariously with every step.
Srrrrk—
The carriage carrying Callista and me rolled smoothly along a well-paved road.
There wasn’t even the usual rattling sound, which fascinated me, so I kept looking out the window.
“What’s piqued your curiosity?”
Callista’s voice startled me, and I quickly turned my face away from the window.
She tilted her head at me, and the crooked purple ribbon on her head momentarily aligned perfectly horizontally.
“It’s just… I thought it was really bumpy last time.”
“It’s magic. It’s like a variation of a protective barrier surrounding the wheels. You can make it and remove it quickly.”
She opened her palm, revealing a blue glow, and then snuffed it out.
Bump—
The carriage immediately jolted. Now it felt like a regular carriage running over uneven terrain.
“Ow…”
My rear bumped into the seat from the sudden jolt, and Callista quickly restored the magic, returning the ride to its smooth state.
Wow, she’s being nice. She’s gotten really nice lately.
“It’s a simple spell. You should be able to do it soon.”
She said it nonchalantly.
“Haah… if you say so.”
But I stared gloomily at the tips of my shoes. Her words reminded me of something depressing.
“No matter how much I try, I can’t improve at magic.”
I slumped my shoulders as I muttered.
It all started a few days ago.
Callista suddenly ordered Theon to teach me magic.
“Theon, you know magic?”
“No. Not at all.”
I had asked with sincere amazement, but he confidently shook his head.
“Magical energy must be innate. But even without it, if you understand the theory, you can teach it. The young duchess used to ask me for advice when she was younger.”
Wow, that’s amazing.
He doesn’t even have magic power, but he taught Callista.
So that’s why she’s so well-versed in theory, unlike other geniuses.
But while I was full of admiration, a sobering truth came to mind.
“But I don’t have magic power.”
That, I was sure of. In my past life, I’d never had any magical abilities.
While I could excuse that I never had the chance to awaken them at home, even the warlock that Kleine brought in to test me had said I had no talent at all.
No, to be precise, he said something even scarier.
‘The moment you leave the palace, you’ll die.’
He’d repeated that often enough to scare me.
Though he didn’t need to. Children with real talent usually awakened their magic even without formal education.
Like Killian, who had once created a magical barrier with no teacher at all.
“You do have magic.”
“No, I don’t.”
“You do. The young duchess said so too.”
“…She did?”
I was about to keep denying it, but stopped when I heard that.
Strangely, I found it hard to say that Callista was wrong.
“Most members of House Luperne are born with some latent potential. The current Duke, in his youth, also had great potential… and once every two generations, someone inherits magic on par with the empire’s finest.”
“That’s her, though.”
One person every two generations meant our generation’s slot was already taken.
I grumbled, but Theon didn’t budge.
“You don’t know this, but the young duchess didn’t inherit it. A warlock once said she didn’t carry the unique aura passed down by Luperne’s true prodigies.”
“…What?”
I was stunned.
She didn’t inherit it? So all her talent… came from effort?
My mind flashed to some generic novels I’d read in my past life.
The kind where someone who seemed naturally gifted turned out to be ordinary—and through countless years of unseen effort, rose to an unbeatable level.
“It’s because she takes after her mother. The direct line of House Reetra is all smart and exceptional.”
…Excuse me, where’s my touching backstory?
So she just hit the genetic jackpot on both sides.
“Well, let’s try. Focus.”
Theon looked so determined, I decided to trust him.
Maybe some latent ability would explode under the right mentor.
With scenes from other novels in mind, I followed Theon’s instructions and tried focusing in various ways.
Three hours later, I was amazed to learn…
“Nothing’s working.”
Turns out, I had zero talent. Theon calmly shook his head at my now flushed face.
“You can take a break.”
“Ugh… wait a sec…”
My first assignment had been to sense the mana around me. But no matter how hard I focused, I couldn’t.
Was mana even real? Were they all lying to me?
“Instead of blind focus, try different environments. Experience is important. Build strength slowly.”
“Suuuure…”
As he said, I tried sensing mana in every situation.
While eating chocolate, while eating lemon cake, while eating roast turkey.
“It has nothing to do with food. Also, stop eating so much greasy stuff.”
After that scolding, I tried while hungry, sleepy, cold, hot—everything.
“…Still didn’t work.”
I mumbled, feeling down. Callista chuckled.
“You think a few days of practice is enough? Even Aramis took that long, so don’t worry.”
“Oh… Aramis did?”
Hope returned, and I looked up at her.
Right. Even talented people need time at first.
In my past life, I had no chance to practice. And in this life, I’m only eight. There’s time.
“How long did it take you?”
“I did it on the first try. When I was three.”
…Forget it. I give up.
“Try focusing on emotions, not just the situation.”
“Emotions?”
Callista nodded with a more serious expression.
“Everyone is different. For some, magic peaks when they’re happy. For others, it awakens when they cry for the first time. One person didn’t access magic until they fell in love at age twenty. Strong, unfamiliar emotions stimulate internal magic.”
“Oh…”
“For me, it was a sense of accomplishment. The moment I memorized Chapter 1 of the Imperial Code, I naturally sensed something in the air. When I focused, the feeling of mana deepened.”
“…You memorized the Code? At three?”
Why would a three-year-old do that?
I didn’t get it, but couldn’t ask more questions. Just then, our carriage slid to a stop in the heart of the imperial capital.
“We’ve arrived.”
The door opened. Callista got out first with elegant poise, then helped me down.
“We’ve reached the palace.”
She briefly shaded her face from the sun with a fan and glanced at me.
“Will you play around a bit? Or come with me to greet His Majesty?”
I smiled and shook my head.
“I’ll play alone.”
I had no intention of wasting this rare chance to explore the palace.
If I was lucky, maybe I’d catch some clue about Killian and the Empress.
“I’ll go to the garden over there.”
If I hid behind a tree in that vast garden, I could probably overhear the maids gossiping.
If I can’t do magic, I’ll use my body instead.
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