Chapter 33
“Miss, it’s better to change out of your going-out clothes before going to sleep.”
With her eyes half-closed, Lilia shrugged off the dress she had been wearing and handed it to Yupi, slipping her head into the sky-blue pajamas Yupi was holding.
“Yaaawn.”
Rubbing her blurry eyes, she yawned repeatedly and collapsed into bed, burrowing into the blanket.
Even buried under the covers, Lilia whispered to Kiki, who she was holding in her arms, with a still-dazed expression.
“Phew… this isn’t a dream, right?”
The little creature nodded, bracing its tiny eyes.
“Pssht!”
“Then you can only take a one-hour nap before bathing, okay? Promise!”
“Mm, promise.”
“Oh my, you must be really sleepy. Sleep well.”
Muttering that, Yupi left the room.
Click.
As soon as the door closed, Lilia and Kiki pulled off the covers and sat up.
Their previously blurry eyes were now full of energy and curiosity, as if nothing had happened.
“Let’s summon them quickly.”
Lilia immediately released mana and summoned the keys.
“Oh, I can summon two at once?”
Placed side by side, the two keys looked completely different.
The golden Key of Authority gleamed with power, crowned with a regal decoration, floating weightily in the air.
Meanwhile, the new key shimmered with a clear, watery blue, flitting around the room on its own, full of life and energy.
Words appeared in the magic book.
[Please check the name of the new key.]
“Oh, right. The Key of Authority also had its name written on its shaft, didn’t it?”
But at that moment, the new key floated upward, reaching almost to the ceiling.
“Whoa? Hey, where are you going?”
Sighing, Lilia took a deep breath and spoke to Kiki.
“Kiki, I think this key’s a bit of a troublemaker. How do we catch it?”
“Pssht.”
Kiki quickly jumped onto the desk and snatched the key, bringing it back.
“Oh, good job! You’re pretty capable.”
Lilia held the key tightly with both hands.
“Clutch.”
“Alright, alright.”
She slid a small bag of jerky toward Kiki with her foot, as if paying a reward.
She could hear the little one munching on the jerky with tiny chomps.
But Lilia’s gaze was completely fixed on the new key.
Just holding it made her fatigue disappear and energized her.
“This is truly amazing power.”
The top of the key had a blue droplet-shaped ornament.
“I think Tiana’s key looked like this too!”
Lilia smiled happily as she examined the body of the key.
[Healing]
Seeing those two letters, Lilia’s face lit up with a broad smile.
It was the Healing Key she had wished for from the very beginning.
The key that the heroine Tiana had possessed, which had healed and saved countless people.
“…Finally, I can cure Father’s illness.”
Tears welled up in Lilia’s bright green eyes with emotion.
At that moment, the magic book flipped pages with a shararack sound.
[♟Healing Key
-
Heals the body from poisons, curses, injuries, diseases, unconsciousness, or disabilities.
-
Does not affect the dead.
-
Cannot cure all illnesses.]**
Reading the first line, Lilia exclaimed, “Ooooh,” until her eyes stopped at the last line.
“Cannot cure all illnesses?”
So the Healing Key might not be able to cure her father’s disease?
Her heart sank immediately at that thought.
“This can’t be… No way.”
Her heart felt like it was crumbling from disappointment and anxiety.
But she couldn’t believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.
“…N-no, this isn’t good. No, Father’s disease might still be curable. After all, the key was summoned by the heroine herself!”
While gathering her resolve, she noticed the final line.
[-If you have the ?? Key, you can use near-miraculous healing.]
So if she got the question-marked key, she could perform near-miraculous healing…
It seemed the keys could affect each other.
Maybe keys interacted with one another.
After all, the Key of Authority also had the power to discover and summon new keys.
Other keys must have similar powers.
“The more I learn, the more amazing it is. There must still be many hidden powers.”
Lilia blinked slowly.
“Anyway, I need to see the Healing Key’s effect with my own eyes.”
The line about not being able to cure all illnesses lingered again.
Would the Healing Key not completely cure an incurable disease?
“But I can still cure Father’s disease. It’ll be fine.”
Holding onto that fragile hope, Lilia hurried to Clacid’s sickroom.
Meanwhile, Bellita, watching Conrad from afar as he was ignored by Lilia, descended the hall stairs with a graceful stride.
She looked amused, her lips curling into a wide smile.
“Oh my, look at that. Didn’t I say? Don’t underestimate her just because she’s young.”
“……”
Conrad relaxed his furrowed brows when he saw Bellita, but it only made him look as emotionless as usual.
“You remember what I said clearly, right?”
Bellita’s crimson eyes shone sharply.
He remembered exactly what she had said in the garden that day.
But it wasn’t funny at all.
That little girl’s magical power was no joke…
“Yes, Aunt. Do you have anything else you want to say?”
“I just wanted to remind you. It seemed like our eldest niece had forgotten.”
“I have not forgotten.”
Conrad answered coldly, and Bellita let out a scoffing laugh.
“You really take after your father.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”
“Your niece’s magic is metal-type, right? Well, I learned one fact about metal-type magicians.”
Her soft whisper made Conrad’s eyes widen suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you if you promise to help me… How about it?”
Conrad licked his dry lips and replied,
“I’ll think about it.”
“Why hesitate so much?”
Bellita teased him with a sly smile.
“What if you end up stealing Grandfather’s attention?”
“You wouldn’t waste your attention on such a foolish girl anyway.”
But Conrad’s eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.
Bellita, biting back a smile, said,
“Looks like you’re already worried. You don’t need to be so guarded. I’m Osdel’s older sister, and I support you. I’m on your side, someone you can trust.”
“……”
“If you want to hear the rest of the story, come here.”
Bellita handed him a business card with the location of her boutique in the city center.
“Why meet at a place like this?”
“That’s silly. It’s my shop. Come visit sometime. You can even bring your fiancée.”
Smiling warmly, Bellita walked past a pale-looking Conrad and headed to the reception room.
She turned on a shining communication device and answered.
“Yes, hello. Our prince, it’s Mom. I miss you so much. When will you come?”
Watching Bellita fidget and disappear, Conrad intentionally dropped the business card and quickly turned away.
