A Flower Blooming in the Plague (1)
A flower that survives among the harshest beasts is bound to grow thorns. Yet, thorn-covered flowers cannot embrace one another in the coldest winter.
The conversation between the adults did not end until late afternoon. Having finished the meeting, the head butler cast a brief glance out the window. In a city where the sun rarely shone, the dark storm clouds made the boundary between day and night utterly ambiguous. Thus, he shifted his gaze from the window to his wrist. 18:24.
"...Won't you stay a while?" the butler asked Shen, who was putting on his overcoat. But Shen replied as he wrapped his scarf around his neck, "I am fine, Elder."
"It is late. With the snow falling like this, if you were to go missing out there, it would bring great shame upon the young master and myself."
At the mention of the word 'young master' from the butler's mouth, Shen's shoulders flinched. However, he soon shook his head, declining the butler's invitation.
"I am no Mage, but I possess enough skill to at least be called a magic caster. This level of snow is no obstacle."
Shen softly chanted an incantation. "Coalor carpolaris, sungel." With the short spell, a faint warmth radiated from his skin.
"As long as I am not manifesting fire outside my body, raising my own body temperature is something I can manage even without a magic tool. More than anything..." Shen trailed off, tightening his scarf. "I do not yet deserve to be under his protection."
"...It would be bad manners to hold you back when you feel uncomfortable. Very well. Travel safely."
"Thank you, Elder. If you ever need us again, please call upon us at any time."
Shen bowed his head and left the drawing room.
Standing by the window, the butler watched Shen disappear into the city's white darkness. For a long while, his eyes traced the thin line carved into the snowy path. And by the time that line etched in the snow was covered once more, the butler drew the curtains and turned off the lights in the drawing room.
Time passed. By the time the heavy snowfall finally began to subside.
"Ugh, so cold. This is insane, seriously."
Erika bundled her coat tightly around herself as she stepped out of the annex. Today was her scheduled checkup. It was the day she was to meet Julian to manage her chronic illness, PNH (paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria), and receive her Heparin treatment.
Normally, Julian would make a house call to the annex, but today he had business in the main building and had summoned her there instead.
*Crunch, crunch.* She pouted as she trudged through the snow, which sank up to her ankles.
Of all days to have an appointment.
Even though the blizzard had weakened, the wind was still biting. Erika sniffled as she walked toward the main building. The main building was located on the opposite side of the estate, separated from the annex by a single garden.
"Of all things, why did the corridor have to collapse..."
Originally, there was a proper, roofed connecting passageway between the annex and the main building to shield people from rain and snow. However, unable to withstand the weight of the heavy snow that had poured down relentlessly for days, half of the passageway's roof had collapsed with a loud crash last night. As a result, the corridor was completely closed off, leaving no choice but to walk straight across the wide-open outdoor garden to get from the annex to the main building.
Naturally, the precious young master of a Baron's family, Julian, could not possibly brave this snowfield to make a house call. To be precise, Julian himself didn't mind, but a certain elderly butler had opposed it so vehemently, foaming at the mouth, that it became impossible. Consequently, Erika, the patient, had no choice but to brave the freezing cold to get her treatment.
"Ugh... why is this so long?"
*Crunch, crunch.* After a few minutes of crossing the garden, leaving footprints in her wake, Erika finally arrived in front of the four-story stone building.
Come to think of it, this is my first time coming here.
Brushing the accumulated snow off her body in front of the building, Erika reflected. Ever since she had arrived at this estate, her radius of activity had been entirely confined to the annex. The place where she first woke up upon arriving at the mansion was the annex, and her subsequent workplace was also the annex. To someone who had lived on the streets, a two-story brick house with her own room felt cozy enough, so she had never found a reason to explore the main building.
But today, by a stroke of chance, she finally set foot inside the main building.
"Whoa... the ceiling is practically in the sky."
The moment she opened the doors of the main building and stepped inside, Erika's jaw dropped. Before her stretched a seemingly endless, cozy space filled with the warm glow of brass chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling.
"Was the mansion always this huge?"
She tilted her head as she looked down the hallway lined with marble statues and gold-framed paintings. The Nihilit estate had looked massive from the outside, but she hadn't expected it to feel this vast.
However, her curiosity did not linger for long. At the far end of the long corridor, a small figure walking toward her caught her attention.
It was a tiny girl with silver-white hair neatly braided down.
Whoa, there was such a cute kid here?
Erika was a girl herself. A girl on the cusp of puberty who couldn't resist cute things and naturally wanted to make friends with peers. To her, this small, adorable girl was someone she simply couldn't ignore.
The child was bowing deeply to an old maid passing by with a feather duster.
— "Thank... always... much..."
— "Oh my! No, please...!"
Though she was too far away to hear the exact words clearly, it was obvious the child was greeting the elderly maid.
Watching this scene, Erika's mind instantly formulated a highly logical and obvious conclusion.
A sly grin spread across Erika's face. Unlike other noble families, the House of Nihilit had an incredibly low turnover rate for servants. Because of this, new servants were rarely hired unless someone retired, which meant Erika was still the youngest in the annex. Even after a whole two years!
But her sorrowful days as the youngest were finally over.
I finally have a junior!
Wearing a mischievous smile, Erika crept up behind the child. Then, donning a somewhat devious grin, she suddenly spoke up.
"Yo, yo, where has this cute little lady lost her way?"
Erika used the greasy, smooth-talking tone she had picked up from Wangcho's lackeys. Startled by the voice that didn't match the speaker's appearance at all, the child whipped her head around. Her clear, ice-blue eyes widened in surprise as she met Erika's gaze.
"Pardon...?"
"Are you lost because it's your first day?"
"What do you mean..."
"The family here is really nice, so you'll be fine, but it's still not a good idea for a servant to wander around too much."
"Big sis will..."
Erika unconsciously reached out and pinched the child's cheeks, stretching them. For a split second, she wondered if it was okay to do this to someone she had just met, but the thought vanished instantly. The moment her fingertips felt the heavenly, squishy softness, manners no longer mattered.
"Whoaaa..."
"Hwaaaah..."
"Ah, what was I going to say again?"
"E-Excuse me..."
"Right! Which department are you in? The kitchen? Or the laundry room? Just say the word. If you let me squish your cheeks, big sis will take you there."
*Streeetch.* Erika gleefully pulled and tugged at the little girl's squishy cheeks. The silver-haired girl's face turned as red as a tomato, her lips parting and closing soundlessly.
It was then.
"Erika."
A familiar voice echoed from behind. Erika's hands, which had been happily kneading the cheeks, froze. She slowly turned her head and saw Julian standing behind her. Her teacher wore his usual gentle smile, but for some reason, a cold shiver ran down Erika's spine.
"Uh... Te... Teacher?"
"It was about time for our appointment, so I came out to meet you, but I didn't expect to find you doing this."
Julian's gaze shifted to the child whose cheeks Erika was still holding.
"By the way, Erika. Just like when we first met, it seems you need to learn how to treat people with a bit more caution upon your first meeting."
Erika tilted her head.
"Huh? What do you mean..."
Ignoring Erika, Julian spoke to the silver-haired girl.
"Freya, are you alright?"
*Freya.* The moment she heard that name, Erika's mind went completely blank. No matter how indifferent Erika was to her surroundings, she had heard enough to know who that was.
Freya Nihilit. The only daughter of the Nihilit family, and the young lady of this mansion.
"Uh... um..."
"H-Hello..." Freya greeted awkwardly, rubbing her reddened cheeks. "You're... Miss Erika, right?"
"..."
"I've heard about you from my brother. He said you possess the talent of an outstanding Mage..."
"..."
"Brother summoned both of us because he said he had something to tell us..."
But Freya's polite, cautious greeting didn't register in Erika's ears. Erika stood frozen like a stone statue for a long moment, then slowly lowered her gaze, extended her hand toward Julian, and spoke.
"So... can we call it even if I offer you my left wrist?"
*Flick!* Julian's finger snapped sharply against Erika's forehead.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
Inside my room. Erika sat on a chair, rubbing her red, swollen forehead.
"Roll up your sleeve."
"Okay..."
I sat Erika down on a small chair and immediately prepared for the examination. Meanwhile, Erika looked around my room.
"I thought it felt familiar. It looks a lot like our clinic."
Indeed. My study resembled a clinic more than the study of an elegant noble young master. Since I organized patient charts and research records in my room, it inevitably ended up looking like a clinic before I knew it.
I glanced past Erika's shoulder. Behind her, sitting on a leather sofa in the corner of the room, was Freya.
"So this is what Brother's clinic feels like..."
Hearing Erika's words, Freya nodded slowly. Even so, she kept rubbing her still-stinging cheeks while cautiously reading Erika's expression. An awkward air hung between the two.
"..."
"..."
And the one to break the silence was none other than Erika.
"Ow!"
As I pricked her arm without warning, Erika let out a cute shriek.
"It's not like this is your first time getting a shot."
"At least let me prepare myself mentally!"
"If you prepare yourself mentally, you just tense up your muscles."
"But shots hurt!"
"I keep telling you, it hurts more because you tense up..."
Having finished the injection as smoothly as water flowing, I pressed a cotton ball against the spot and said, "Keep pressing down on it."
"Okay."
While Erika held the cotton ball, I turned to Freya, who was sitting nearby.
"Freya, let's have a look at you too."
"Yes, Brother."
Handing the hemostatic cotton over to Erika, who stepped back while rubbing her arm, Freya took her place on the chair. I placed my hand on Freya's forehead, checked her tongue, and felt around her neck.
Hmm. Everything is normal.
"Freya. Has your coughing at night subsided a bit?"
The moment I spoke to Freya, my voice became exactly half a tone gentler than when I spoke to Erika. To Erika, I was a somewhat strict teacher, but to Freya, I had to maintain my character as a sweet older brother.
Perhaps noticing the difference, Erika pouted. I ignored her silent protest and placed the back of my hand on Freya's forehead to check her temperature.
"Yes, Brother. After taking the syrup you made for me yesterday, my sore throat is completely gone."
"That's a relief. Still, make sure to avoid the cold wind for the next few days."
For the record, the syrup I gave Freya was thyme syrup. I originally planned to make it with ginger, but Freya couldn't stand the smell of ginger at all, so I changed the ingredients.
...Tsk. Ginger is hard to come by inside the walls anyway. At least Father and Mother seemed to like it, so we decided to use the rest for cooking fish.
"Now, that concludes the checkup."
I closed the chart and spun my chair around. In truth, I had a different reason for summoning Erika and Freya here. Freya only had a mild cold, so she didn't strictly need my medical attention. The real reason I called them both at the same time was none other than 'magic.'
"Erika, now that you can read the runic script, and Freya, since you can as well, I believe it is time for both of you to learn Exception Handling."
Exception Handling. It was the absolute basic of basics in magic, designed to prevent oneself or one's allies from being caught in one's own spells. I had originally planned to teach Erika as soon as she arrived at the mansion, but because she couldn't read, the timing had been delayed. But since Freya had also reached the appropriate age, I decided to teach them both together.
"Now, I will teach you the basics of Exception Handling."
"I have a question!"
Erika raised her hand high before the lesson could even begin.
"Wasn't a tutor supposed to teach us this instead of you, Teacher?"
"Look out the window. Do you think a tutor could make it here in this weather?"
"Ah."
"Then let us begin."
I immediately stood up and walked over to the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, I began to write on the board without a moment's hesitation.
*Scribble, scribble, scribble.* The sound of chalk racing across the blackboard echoed through the room.
Si jactor = amicus, tunc effectus = nullus.
Si jactor ∈ {socii}, tunc damnum → 0.
Si objectum.signum = [protectum], tunc penetratio = negatur.
∀x ∈ zona_effecti : (x.factio ≠ hostilis) → exemptus(x)
Quando vis_refluxus > θ, tunc jactor.exemptus = verus.
Si tempus_initii < t₀, tunc omnes_socii → salvus.
∃y : (y.distantia < r) ∧ (y.intentio = neutrum) → y.status = immunis.
"...Huh?" As I filled the portable blackboard with writing, Erika let out a dumbfounded sound. "...Teacher, you have this memorized?"
"Of course. It's the basics."
I wasn't being particularly special here. Most magic casters memorized formulas of this level. The only difference was that while other magic casters only memorized one or two conditional statements they used frequently, I had memorized all the minute details.
"Whoa..."
Freya stared at my back, completely spellbound.
Heh. How's that? Even if I lack the talent of a Mage, I am confident that my theoretical knowledge is second to none. Did you think a genius who mastered a three-year curriculum in three months was some kind of joke?
'Si-Si-Ta-Pa... wait, what was next?'
Of course, in reality, my mind was too busy reciting the first letters of those formulas to actually feel smug.
For twenty minutes, I scribbled on the board without pause.
*Clack.* Only after drawing the final stroke did I set the chalk down.
Damn. That's a work of art.
One thing I realized after reincarnating is that this body's hardware is absolutely top-tier. Maybe it's because this is a fantasy world, but it felt as if mana had seeped into my brain, making it run incredibly fast.
Did I miss anything...
What should I call this? A memory palace? Recently, I've become able to use a technique similar to that. This formula filling the blackboard was also accomplished using that very skill.
Anyway.
"Now, this is the collection of conditional statements for Exception Handling."
*Tap, tap.* I lightly knocked on the blackboard as I spoke.
"To ensure your spells avoid your allies when cast, you must attach these conditions to your spell formulas. The combination changes depending on the situation, and once you become proficient, you can use only a few of them, but..."
I tapped the board with the chalk.
"For now, even if you can't memorize them all, you must master the basics thoroughly. Only then will the scope of your magic truly expand."
"A-All of them?"
"All of them."
To reiterate, there was a reason why Mages were so rare. Breaking through to become a magic caster in the first place was incredibly difficult. The world was not kind enough to let someone become a Mage simply because they possessed a talent for sensing things.
There's a reason noble families scramble to adopt anyone with the talent of a Mage.
I handed a sheet of paper to the two girls, who were completely overwhelmed by the writing.
"At least memorize the top five."
"...Just in case, Brother, how long did it take you to memorize this?"
At Freya's question, I counted on my fingers. Let's see...
Since I memorized ten sentences a day...
"Four days?"
At my nonchalant reply, both of their jaws dropped. Watching their reactions, I barely managed to suppress the corners of my mouth from twitching upward.
This is exactly why I can't give up this genius persona.