Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: A Precious Child
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“Who taught you how to draw out your mana?”
At Elbadin's question, Lucillea couldn't hide her excitement and chattered in a thrilled voice.
“No one taught me. To be honest, I barely managed to succeed just now! I was praying so desperately, you know?! That I wanted to be chosen by the Elite Corps! I squeezed out every last ounce of strength I had, I thought my head was going to explode!”
Lucillea stretched her arms high above her head, drawing a large circle to emphasize just how difficult it had been.
“Anyway, it seems my desperate wish came true!”
*Ehehe,* Lucillea chuckled shyly, beads of sweat rolling down her face.
But even after Lucillea finished speaking, Elbadin and Riat remained silent.
A sense of unease crept over her.
*What's with this atmosphere?*
*Don't tell me they're having second thoughts and are about to take back their offer?*
*No... He's the head of the Grand Ducal family. Surely he wouldn't be that fickle?*
But the longer the two men's silence stretched, the deeper Lucillea's anxiety grew.
*Then again, what do I know about him? He could be the most capricious person in the world.*
He did call my mana insignificant earlier.
*What if he really takes it back? What if they don't take me with them?!*
Growing impatient, Lucillea quickly added.
"Um, you see, I'm really good at moving this energy—the thing you called mana—inside my body. It's just a little hard getting it out, but if you teach me, I can learn in no time!"
The warmth that spread gently from her heart, the movement of that heat flowing through her veins, and how she could send the exact amount she wanted to a specific location.
Lucillea explained in detail how she could move the mana within her body.
But still, the two men remained silent.
*Is this still not enough?*
In that case...
“Actually, besides this, I'm also really, really good at laundry! I was in charge of my stepfather's laundry! It doesn't matter if the river is frozen! I'm good at breaking ice, too! Oh, and I don't eat much! I'm fine eating only once every two days, you know? Also... right. As long as I can avoid the wind and rain, I'm not picky about where I sleep and can sleep well anywhere, and I'm good at shoveling horse manure. Cleaning is a given, of course! I can adapt well no matter where you put me, so, so....”
Lucillea continued, cautiously watching Elbadin's expression.
“...Please, you have to take me to the grand duke's residence. I'll do anything to make sure you don't regret choosing me.”
*Please...?* With the corners of her eyes drooping to the floor, Lucillea looked at Elbadin pleadingly.
“...”
“...”
As his eyes met Lucillea's, Elbadin's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
The change in his expression was so faint that only Riat managed to notice it.
Riat averted his gaze from Elbadin and looked at Lucillea.
*Just what... is this child?*
Mana was an innate power one was born with, but not everyone born with it could become a mage.
Beyond mana, the heights one could reach depended on innate temperament, persistence, patience, and effort.
*The first and most important step is to sense what kind of latent power lies within one's own body.*
And yet, the Lucillea before him was already nearly a complete package.
She had realized on her own that her power was mana, and had even drawn it out to use it.
*Though it seems she herself doesn't realize what an incredible feat that is...*
She just didn't know how to use her mana yet, but if she had the support of the Grand Ducal family's education and training environment...
*By the time she becomes an adult, there won't be a single mage who can match her.*
At that thought, a thrill shot up Riat's spine.
The child who had seemed merely suspicious and questionable just moments ago now looked like a variable that could overturn the established order of the world in an instant.
*I didn't even feel this way when I first saw the Young Lord.*
Not that the Young Lord, who used aura, and Lucillea, who possessed mana, were comparable anyway.
Suddenly, Riat's gaze fell upon the child's slender wrist, peeking out from her short sleeve.
*...That's.*
Once his guard had lowered, he could finally see it.
The reason the child had to board the Grand Ducal carriage to leave Mille Village, the truth behind her words that she had hidden in the carriage to survive.
The hands and wrists that were nothing but skin and bones, and the scars and bruises that ran from her fingertips to her wrists.
Though they had faded considerably with time, they were not the kind of injuries one got from simply falling or bumping into things.
*If the visible parts are this bad, the hidden parts must be worse.*
And just how much had they starved her for the child to be nothing but skin and bones?
Riat thought he would need to investigate the environment Lucillea had lived in more thoroughly.
*Ahem.* Clearing his throat, Riat asked Lucillea.
“Are you from Mille Village? With a power like that, why didn't you show up at the square? If you had, you could have been tested by the Elite Corps in front of everyone.”
It was a reasonable suspicion. Unless she had some other motive, there was no reason not to appear in the village square.
At that, Lucillea lowered her eyes mournfully and replied.
“If you check, you'll see that my name probably wasn't even on the list. I was never recognized as a villager.”
“...”
Lucillea calmly recounted her story.
That she hadn't lived in Mille Village, but in a hut in the northern mountains outside the village with just her grandmother, and that the villagers had called the grandmother who raised her a witch.
And.
“A year ago, after my grandmother passed away, the villagers drew lots, and I got a stepfather.”
Riat's eyebrow twitched.
“Wait, hold on. They chose a guardian by drawing lots?”
“Yes. No one wanted to take me in. They called me the ominous child raised by a witch. But I'm fine. I'm not some weak kid who gets hurt by words like that!”
“...”
Riat's brow furrowed.
*How can she talk about something like that as if it happened to someone else?*
Anyone could tell she had lived an unhappy life.
How could a child who had personally experienced that life be so composed?
She was certainly different from the other children he had seen.
Even under Elbadin's chilling gaze, she calmly recounted a tragic narrative that would naturally evoke pity.
Without trembling in fear or shedding a single tear.
*Was there ever a child who could stare so intently at His Highness the Grand Duke?*
No, there hadn't been. And there probably never would be again.
Most children couldn't even look at Elbadin's face; many were crushed by his aura, struggling to breathe or losing consciousness.
*Is she fearless, or just clueless...?*
Judging by her deep understanding of mana, she didn't seem stupid.
*Then again, geniuses are often eccentrics with a screw loose somewhere.*
Riat tore his gaze away from Lucillea and spoke to Elbadin.
“Your Highness. This means there is no guardian to consent to the child coming to the grand duke's residence.”
At those words, Elbadin gazed silently at Lucillea and opened his mouth.
“In other words, there's no need to even ask for permission.”
“That is correct.”
“Still, we can't be too careful. Send Edmon back to Mille Village.”
Edmon was the captain of the Elite Corps. Having worked with the corps for a long time, he was famous for his skillful handling of such matters, ensuring no disputes arose.
“There's no harm in being certain. It would be troublesome if someone showed up late and caused a commotion, demanding the child back.”
Riat replied to Elbadin's words.
“Yes, Your Highness. ...I will ensure that no problems arise in taking the child.”
Elbadin answered with a slight nod.
***
-“Don't you worry, child. You remember what this old grandma always says, don't you? You are a very precious child.”
-“Don't you worry, child. You remember what this old grandma always says, don't you? You are a very precious child.”
-“Don't you worry, child. You remember what this old grandma always says, don't you? You are a very precious child.”
The earth beneath your feet will guide you down a beneficial path, the passing wind will lighten your steps, the flowing water will wash away your thirst, and the fierce flames will take even the anger from your heart.
The earth beneath your feet will guide you down a beneficial path, the passing wind will lighten your steps, the flowing water will wash away your thirst, and the fierce flames will take even the anger from your heart.
The earth beneath your feet will guide you down a beneficial path, the passing wind will lighten your steps, the flowing water will wash away your thirst, and the fierce flames will take even the anger from your heart.
-“You are the only child who can embrace the world.”
-“You are the only child who can embrace the world.”
-“You are the only child who can embrace the world.”
So don't you worry about a thing, and live just as you wish.
So don't you worry about a thing, and live just as you wish.
So don't you worry about a thing, and live just as you wish.
“...”
Lucillea, who had drifted off, slowly opened her eyes.
A nostalgic voice had seemed to whisper in her ear just moments ago, but upon opening her eyes, it vanished like a bubble.
*I think I heard something.*
But just like the scattered voice, she couldn't remember the story it had told her.
*Something about water and fire, I think...*
Huh?
Blinking her eyes, Lucillea noticed an unfamiliar ceiling and her thoughts came to a halt.
*But where am I?*