Wow! Getting Adopted! Golden Spoon Life Begins! (3)
"Ugh..."
My butt feels all square. I twist and turn on the carriage seat. It's been eight days since we left the capital. Or is it nine? Who knows. I gave up counting after day three. My head hurts just thinking about it! Even if the carriage is super cushy, being stuck in here for over a week is pure torture. And this is a romance fantasy world—no smartphone, no internet. I'm dying of boredom. Dopamine! I need dopamine!
"Chloe, it's dangerous to stick your head out like that."
Elia, sitting across from me, nags gently. She's devouring the etiquette book that Bestert Count guy gave her like it's the last meal on earth. Doesn't she get motion sick? Guess the original heroine's hardware is just built different.
At my feet, Kkamang is sprawled out comfy, snoring away with deep snort-snorts. I wanna live like that, without a care in the world. But my back aches too much to sleep.
I peer out the window.
"Huh?"
The scenery is all the same. Same buildings, same houses, same fields! Nothing like the shiny capital. The village buildings are all boxy angles, like giant diced radishes.
Ahem, ahem!
Bestert Count, flipping through papers in the corner of the carriage, clears his throat.
"Just a bit longer, girls. We're almost there."
Ah, so he's my new dad now? His voice is stiff, his eyes stern. New dads are probably all boring like this. In the novels from my past life, these kinds of dads always turned into total girl-dads later. But maybe not in this family.
Thud!
I'm staring out the window to kill the boredom when the carriage suddenly stops. Escape time! The door flies open, and I bolt outside.
"Whoaaa!"
A massive gray house looms right in front of me. For a "house" made entirely of gray stone... yeah, it's more like a castle, right? No decorations, just windows crammed together. Looks less like a home and more like a giant prison or fortress.
New Dad steps down, leaning on his cane.
"Come on down. This is Bestert Manor, where you'll be living from now on."
In front of the house, people in black uniforms stand in perfect rows. They look super polished... whoa, maids and butlers! They all bow politely in unison as we get off.
"Welcome home, my lord!"
"We greet the new young ladies!"
Hearing that last bit hits me—oh yeah, I'm adopted now. Does that make me a real noble lady? And nobles are rich, right? Realizing that perks me right up. I hop down the carriage steps.
Thump!
"Whoaaa!"
I spin around—hey, there's a fountain!
"Water's coming out over there! It's huge!"
New Dad's face doesn't change at what I'm pointing at.
"Hmm, yes. A fountain with water. Don't run—you'll fall."
Sigh, the count's expression stays the same. He looks like he's scared of kids and about to cry. Judging from my past-life memories, he's probably never properly raised a child.
But do we have no other siblings? I heard there were no kids in the house. Well, this isn't Earth! Adults can be stricter here, no complaints. Come to think of it, the blue chat window folks seem easier to talk to.
The chat folks seem to like the new house too. Anyway, I'm hungry—hope they feed us soon. Nobles, so steak or... what was it? Fine dining! Yeah, fancy stuff like that, right?
* * *
The inside of the manor is way bigger and more maze-like than it looked from outside.
"You've had a long journey, so I'll skip the formalities. I'll show you to your rooms first—the safest spots in the manor."
We follow Bestert Count down a long corridor. Forever walking. The walls have just a few old guy portraits, no decorations—super barren.
Even more desolate than the hallways at my old company!
After ages, a huge iron door appears at the corridor's end. But we can't get close.
Thump!
A shimmering blue light wavers in the air. Like a rippling translucent glass wall blocking the path.
"Look here."
The count stops in front of the blue barrier, suddenly all stern and proud, voice booming.
"This is a barrier to protect the house's important people. See this blue wall?"
"Yes, I see it."
Elia's polite voice replies.
"This is a magic defensive barrier built 300 years ago by the empire's greatest archmage for the Bestert family."
"Whoa, 300 years ago? So sturdy!"
Elia claps her hands, chiming in perfectly.
Fueled by her reaction, the count's explanation snowballs.
"Indeed. Only Bestert blood can control it. One drop of my blood, two ancient passphrases handed down generations, and the ancient release incantation—recited perfectly over exactly three minutes..."
Sigh, sleepy. New Dad's long spiel buzzes like a lullaby. Butt hurts, legs hurt. Is this normal? I stifle a yawn and peek beyond the blue wall. Inside, a massive fluffy feather bed taller than me. And on the table, three chocolate muffins neatly plated.
Hungry. Want muffin.
"...Thus, the second verse circulates mana along the sun's path..."
The count's monologue shows no sign of ending. Elia nods along, legs crossed a bit from the ache.
No good. We'll be stuck here another ten minutes. Gotta do something. But how?
Then the chat explodes, screen flashing.
'Bottom right blue line?' I ask quietly. Chat scrolls too fast.
"Can you explain again?!"
The chat scrolls down in unison. Huh? Just pull the knot like untying a shoelace? I toddle toward the translucent blue wall. Up close, it's a tangle of complex lines—mana stuff, probably. And there, amid the spiderweb of glowing threads, a blue knot just like chat said.
"...Thus, this barrier can't be broken by physical force... Chloe?"
New Dad, mid-speech, spots me and freaks.
"Step back! Touching the barrier carelessly could rebound and hurt you...!"
But the bottom-right blue line is crystal clear to me. I pinch the thin mana thread poking out with two fingers and yank downward.
Shrrrrrip!
Like unzipping a coat or untying a ribbon. The 300-year-old family guardian barrier melts away perfectly to the sides, vanishing clean.
"It opened!"
I shove the now-wide-open iron door and slip inside. Straight to the table—I snatch a chocolate muffin.
Oh, right—manners first.
"Itadakimasu!"
* * *
The adults left in the corridor freeze in eerie silence at that instant.
"..."
What Chloe just pierced wasn't some ordinary barrier. It was the pinnacle work of Argentia's greatest archmage of the era. Yet all that security evaporated like a mere thread under a child's hand.
The butler's and servants' jaws drop grotesquely.
"My lord...!"
The butler whirls to the count, face ashen.
"The barrier was dismantled without a trace by the young lady's touch! How is this even possible...!"
Panicked servants look ready to summon guards any second.
But Bestert Count, who should be most shocked as its master, remains composed. Though inside, his thoughts churn.
He closes his eyes, pressing his brow against a pounding headache.
...Of course.
He recalls Chloe at the cathedral tea party, slicing an entire space just to snag a snack.
The girl who cleaved a decorative steel walnut knights couldn't crack. What meaning does a mere mana-woven barrier hold for a child beyond common sense? Before such genius talent...
The count sighs deeply, shaking his head in perfect resignation.
"My lord, there's clearly a problem with the barrier. We must contact the Magic Tower at once and summon mages to reinforce it...!"
"No need. The barrier is intact."
He waves it off with a voice heavy with defeat.
"No issue with the barrier itself. It's just a curtain to that child. Pointless to fuss."
"P-pardon?"
"Double the patrols on the outer walls."
As the count turns with a bitter back, cheerful crashes and Chloe's bright yell echo from the once-sealed room.
"Whoa! Elia! This bed's so fluffy!"
"Ch-Chloe! Don't jump around like that!"
Elia, stunned but sighing, hurries inside after her. Thus, the law-abiding noble's two new daughters settle into their first day with a bit of chaos.