Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Wish - [2]
The next morning, breakfast—what should have been a peaceful time—began in a strangely tense atmosphere.
Stab. Stab.
The sausages on the plate were being brutally mangled.
With my fork in hand, I looked across the table at Serika.
"Serika."
"What."
"The sausages sound like they're screaming in pain."
"Doesn't matter. They're going in my mouth anyway."
What a curt attitude. Serika chewed on a mashed-up piece of sausage.
She's cute, but those fierce eyes... My sudden thought was of a temperamental little dog.
Like a Maltese or something.
"Oppa."
Serika swallowed the sausage and spoke to me.
"What were you doing in Rozina's room yesterday?"
"... "
Here it comes. First, let's have some water. After taking a sip, I answered.
"What do you think? I just played the piano."
Serika narrowed her eyes at my words.
"Then why did you go with your hair up? You always say it's a hassle and keep it down. And there was perfume too. Lavender scent."
"The maids forced it on me. It wasn't my idea."
"...Really?"
"Wait a second, something's off."
Serika flinched at my words.
"...Weren't you touring the estate? How did you know?"
She was definitely strolling in the garden at that time, or so I thought.
"I wasn't spying."
Serika set down her fork and crossed her arms.
"Rozina told me herself."
"The lady did?"
"Yeah. I ran into her this morning, and her face was positively glowing. She said to me, 'Last night's performance was so wonderful, Miss Serika. I couldn't even sleep because of it.' Something like that."
Is this a battle of wits? Better just nod for now.
"Yeah. I played for her. We had an agreement, after all."
"That's it? Really?"
Serika didn't drop her suspicion.
"No hand-holding or exchanging glances... nothing like that weird atmosphere? Rozina wouldn't just sit there quietly."
"It was the same as when I'm with you."
"Reeeally?"
Serika narrowed her eyes again.
"I played the piano, took a sip of wine, and we chatted a bit. That's all. Nothing romantic like you're imagining."
Of course... she did call me 'Master.' But just for the record, nothing happened.
Serika stared right through me, her gaze like she was testing my liver.
Finally, she sighed and relaxed her shoulders.
"...Fine. For now."
She picked up her fork again.
"I'll believe you this once. But you have to stay with me all day today. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. Got it."
Come to think of it, why am I the one being grilled? I considered saying that to Serika.
'...'
But something told me that would lead to real trouble. Like I'd never see the light of day again.
After breakfast, we headed to the library in the main house, guided by Rozina.
"This way."
Rozina led us with a gentle smile. She beamed at me, then at Serika.
Serika's forehead vein twitched slightly at the sight.
(I'd told Serika about the witch too. I was getting interested, and since she was curious as well, we decided to look for information. We'd asked Rozina for help.)
"You were curious about the witch's elixir, right? I found a few related records from the family archives ahead of time."
The Bellua family library was magnificent.
Bookshelves reaching to the high ceiling were packed with hundreds, thousands of books.
The mingled scent of aged paper and dust brought a strange sense of calm.
It lifted my mood somehow.
We settled at the central table. Stacks of worn, thick tomes sat atop it.
The servants must have prepared them.
Mysteries of the East
Forgotten Alchemy and Forbidden Herbs
The Soul Shapers
Suspicious titles from the start.
"Let's see..."
Serika picked up a book first. She flipped through the pages rapidly, skimming the contents.
With each turn, her brow furrowed more.
"This..."
Serika grimaced and slammed the book shut.
"It's total nonsense."
"Nonsense?"
"Yeah. It doesn't match magic theory at all. Even if you don't know magic, Oppa, you'd know it's weird, right?"
She pointed to a passage with her finger.
"'Capture the breath of heaven in a bottle and age it under moonlight for a week,' or 'condense the invisible light to form a shape'... What kind of magic formula is this?"
"If it was really nonsense, it wouldn't be recorded in history books."
"...That's why it's weird. No explanations of mana arrays or spells—just abstract metaphors. To me, it's like a collection of legends."
Rozina nodded along with our conversation.
She was flipping through another book herself.
"It doesn't seem to have any academic value. Maybe the Eastern shamans wrote it vaguely to hide their secrets... But by my standards, it's just fanciful nonsense."
"Exactly what I said."
Rozina suddenly clapped toward Serika and said something like, O! We finally agree for once!
Serika looked annoyed. Better not get involved. Interfering would be a loss.
I was flipping through a book too when a certain passage caught my eye.
It might seem like grasping at clouds to others, but to me, it looked different.
[The miracle begins from the highest crown, passes through wisdom and understanding to beauty, and finally reaches the kingdom to take form.]
My gaze fixed on the words "crown" and "kingdom."
'This... it's the Tree of Sephirot.'
Kabbalah. The diagram explaining the universe and the nature of God.
Starting from the first Sephira at the top, 'Crown (Keter),' energy flows downward through the stages, reaching the tenth Sephira, 'Kingdom (Malkuth),' where it becomes material.
'Just like what the dragon said.'
The dragon had told me.
The material world is merely the final, degenerated, condensed product of pure spirituality passing through four spiritual realms.
Definitely... this wasn't poetry. More precisely, it was a flow of energy?
'Capturing the breath of heaven in a bottle, probably.'
Not gathering mana from the air, but drawing spiritual energy from Atziluth, the realm of emanation.
'Condensing the invisible light, too.'
That would mean giving form to that energy in Yetzirah, the realm of formation.
This book... not a magic formula, but a blueprint? One no one had recognized?
I thought it through slowly. This world has a Kabbalistic worldview.
'Then even someone mana-less like me could create something if I grasp this principle.'
It's not about using mana, but materializing concepts. And I've already done it.
The piano.
The witch's elixir... it's not just about curing illness. It feels like creating a conduit?
Artificially infusing spirituality into the body to form a medium connecting flesh and spirit—that's the elixir?
A sudden thought hit me: that old inferiority complex. The one I felt looking at Serika.
Why can't I use magic? The wish to become a great being like her...
"Aiman?"
Rozina's voice snapped me out of it. She was looking at me with concern.
"You look tired. Are you alright?"
"Ah. Yes. Of course."
"Oppa. You sure you're okay?"
"I said I am. The book's so tough, the words were dancing around."
Only then did Serika relax her worried expression.
...I want to meet her. That witch.
"Baroness Rozina."
"Yes?"
"I want to meet that witch."
"...!"
Rozina's eyes widened. Serika jumped up in horror.
"Look at the books. It's all nonsense. The magic formulas are a mess, just wordplay. What would you even do meeting a woman like that? Get scammed on some elixir?"
"No, not that."
"Then?"
This calls for a certain approach.
"Truth is, I'm curious. My piano must be pretty famous if someone like her came all this way. Wouldn't it be polite to at least see her once?"
Catching her completely off guard, Serika froze.
Rozina stared at me for a moment, then nodded.
"Understood. If that's what you want, Aiman... I won't stop you."
Rozina pretended to ponder, tapping the desk with her finger.
"Hm... But wouldn't it be dangerous for you to go in person?"
"I think so too. Let's send a proxy."
Obvious, really.
"We'll send Hans. Didn't she say she wanted to see him?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "You damn...!"
"Hey! What kind of tone is that to a baron? You trying to get beheaded?"
Hearing my words, Hans immediately switched to a formal stance.
"No, sir."
"Even more awkward. Be yourself."
"...So what message do you want me to deliver?"
"Ask her, 'What is your Ratzon?'"
Hans blinked blankly, not understanding.
"What's that?"
"Doesn't matter. Just say it like that. Are you questioning a noble's order?"
"...Got it."