Young Heiress's Secret Shield
When faced with a tricky question, people usually either lie calmly or avert their gaze. Those who can't hide their inner thoughts and are clumsy at deceiving others tend to react that way. In that sense, Sinat could be considered a remarkably honest and straightforward person.
Instead of lying to Kalen, she dodged his eyes and stalled for an answer.
"I-It's tricky..."
But curiously, Kalen was doing the same. If asked whether the question he'd posed to Sinat was truly "difficult," few would nod in agreement.
"Is it that hard to say what you did back then?"
"...Kal! You can't interrogate people like that!"
Pretending to be stern, Sinat forgot her stutter and wagged an index finger at Kalen.
"You said it was nothing at the time."
"..."
Her pure features twisted into a scolding expression—an ideal that could captivate many men. But Kalen wasn't one to be swayed by such things, especially when resolving the danger foretold for Sinat required answers.
He grasped her index finger and gently lowered it.
"Tell me."
Sinat had no defense against Kalen's earnest gaze. She bowed her head toward their joined hands and whispered softly.
"Spirit magic..."
It had happened after their return from the Rakatus Duke Estate, just before heading to the Hiatt Grand Duke Estate. The sharp prick Kalen felt at the nape of his neck when Sinat hugged him. She'd brushed it off as nothing then, but clearly it was more.
"Spirit magic?"
"Yeah... Karyong left a bit of mana on me."
"Why?"
Sinat flinched as if the word were a death sentence, her jaw snapping shut in sudden panic.
"B-Because you might get hurt, Kal."
"Hurt?"
"Ugh..."
Like confessing a deeply buried secret, Sinat's face flushed hotter as she murmured her explanation—a revelation that stunned Kalen.
She couldn't wield proper spirit magic without reaching the 3rd Hierarchy, but spirit-led spells—ones where the contractor's own power barely mattered—were possible. Their versatility and strength paled in comparison to true magic, of course, but wrapping someone in a one-use magical shield? That much she could manage.
That was the gist of Sinat's words.
"You came back from Rakatus all banged up..."
Before long, Sinat overlaid her other hand atop the one clutching Kalen's, gripping him tightly with both. She was plainly telling the truth.
So, worried sick about Kalen after his ordeals in Rakatus, she'd cast spirit magic to shield him.
"Can 2nd Hierarchy magic do that?"
Contract Attribute magic stood apart from the other five systems. It wasn't self-cast; it borrowed directly from the contracted spirit. Unique, yes—but even so, Kalen struggled to believe a mere 2nd Hierarchy spell could achieve something so profound. He knew better than anyone.
His body was already a wreck when he'd hammered in that 2nd Hierarchy Combat Attribute magic. It wasn't a suicide bid, but survival unscathed? Unlikely. Yet Sinat's shield had held. Spirit magic? Hard to swallow.
"I don't know. Grandpa was shocked at first, too."
According to Sinat, her tiny spirit could wield all sorts of other spirit magics. Come to think of it, her spirit was extraordinary. Even Grand Archmage Blamia had never laid eyes on it—only ancient tomes mentioned such a being.
Was that why it could cast such potent spells despite her 2nd Hierarchy limits?
"Sorry I didn't tell you... I had no choice. I figured you'd get even more reckless if you knew."
Blamia had warned him of the same: his body was unstable; treat it gently. Sinat had taken those words to heart more than Kalen ever did.
Whenever he pushed too hard, life-or-death crises arose. Life against wounds? No contest. Even with Blamia's advice, some threats outmatched him alone.
But Kalen wasn't the type to sulk before those who cared.
"...Thanks."
"Yeah..."
He'd sought answers about his nape, only to uncover something unforeseen. Sinat still fidgeted unnaturally—more secrets lingered, no doubt. But whatever they were, she'd saved his life once over.
Secrets had their reasons. Sometimes, blissful ignorance was best.
Respecting her heart, Kalen shelved the unspoken truths. She'd shared this much, so it likely tied to no "danger." Or perhaps just his fancy.
"Got it. And don't push yourself too hard."
With what he needed learned, Kalen turned toward his next task—not forgetting concern for Sinat, who seemed to be overdoing it lately.
In the spot Kalen had vacated:
"Sorry, but no can do. Kal."
Sinat smiled shyly, cradling her hands as she whispered—far too softly for distant Kalen to hear.
As Sinat reached for the 3rd Hierarchy, Blamia steadied his turbulent heart, and Kalen pieced together answers to the spirit's foretold peril.
A short, stick-like wand spun lazily in the air. Unconsciously twirling it, Kalen's mind clung to one certainty: it involved spirits—specifically, the monarch spirits and whatever they guarded. Their seals. Monsters, perhaps.
No other possibility fit. The danger shadowing Sinat. The pattern etched on her back—likely tied to her spirit.
For now, that was the soundest conclusion. And the truest.
The crux: her spirit had chosen Kalen.
Why him, not Grand Archmage Blamia? His thoughts drifted to before Rakatus—when Sinat apologized to her grandfather and broke through to 2nd Hierarchy. She'd clashed with some mystery beast in the Spirit Realm, fending it off with her unique constitution and mental image.
Blamia was unparalleled, yet bound to the established path's end. Kalen, meanwhile, stood at a new road's dawn—and its pioneer defined the horizon.
The spirit had picked him for that reason, he was certain. Etching the pattern, baring her mental image—all to warn him.
No concrete details on Sinat's peril yet, but this thread eased his pent-up frustration. Better a hint than nothing.
Kalen snapped the wand down and leaned back. He'd take a massive, visible threat any day—one he could slay or shield against. Far preferable to this creeping dread that left everyone on edge.
He hated seeing them quake. Initial Sinat, Eliana, Selasier—all grueling, but raw effort prevailed.
Not this slow-drip terror from the unknown, throttling like a noose.
Sinat, already drained from shouldering the family head's mantle—could he safeguard her unscathed?
A question he posed himself.
In the end, that was it. Indebted to Dranus' elder and lady. Trips to Rakatus and Hiatt to repay—all to ensure Sinat inherited cleanly.
This was merely another step.
A sliver of solace. Unintended as it was, he'd saved Eliana and Selasier for the Dranus name. Sinat would stand among them—not the bubbly girl, but Lady Sinat Dranus.
The thought soothed him. Beyond debt repayment, to shield those now dear, repay their warmth. Just repeat what he'd done.
His somber gray eyes, fixed on the frail girl in the training yard, sank low.
"Haa... haa..."
The cabin was wonderful. Vague childhood memories of a vast house—now she knew it as the Dranus Family Estate.
Still, she preferred the cabin. Grandpa doted on her there. Cozier bed than any sprawling luxury.
Then Kalen arrived—a super cool guy, a friend. Made it even better.
After he saved her life? Paradise. Learning him? Thrilling.
She'd once dreamed of staying forever. Grandpa seemed to share the sentiment.
But opportunity struck without warning. The Rakatus proposal. Everything snowballed from there.
Kalen protected her but wrecked himself. When it repeated, resolve hardened—fueled by memories of grandpa, parents, brothers together.
She yearned to draw this boy into that warmth. Knew it impossible, yet felt he'd agree.
So she rushed. Embarrassing to admit, but magic study bored and exhausted her.
Not dumb, though—she knew slacking demanded double effort now.
Impatience swelled from there. This time proved it: without Karyong's monitoring mana, disaster loomed.
Before his self-neglect caused real catastrophe. Back to happy days—now an impossible dream.
Lock him in her dream. Share the happiness.
Her lapis eyes gleamed beautifully in the moonlight. Today, too, she cut sleep to study magic. Raising mana to summon Karyong from the Spirit Realm.
-Creak.
The wooden chair Sinat sat on toppled with an ominous groan.
-Thud.
The girl's vision blackened as she collapsed alongside it.