Marian's First Mana Circle
Ten days had passed since Chloe's first that day of change. Her lower belly no longer ached terribly, and things had settled into something bearable.
"Hmph, I thought all you knew how to do was throw tantrums, but apparently not."
Marian had succeeded in her mana initiation, successfully forming her mana circle. Considering that most people took anywhere from a fortnight to a month to even begin sensing mana, Marian's pace was undeniably swift. The blood of the Evergreen Grand Ducal House didn't lie.
"I did it! I did it!"
Was she feeling the special energy flowing through her body? Or perhaps the single ring coiled around her heart? Either way, Marian clearly realized she was now a 1st Circle mana awakener, and she bounced around eagerly demanding praise before throwing herself into Chloe's arms.
"Didn't I do great?"
"Ack, ah, Miss... just a moment..."
Marian kept jumping up and down in Chloe's embrace, begging for praise, which sent Chloe's ample breasts bouncing wildly up and down. Rosetta, watching the spectacle right in front of her, grimaced as if she'd witnessed something indecent.
"..."
Her own breasts were small. Quite small. And now they were shaking violently right in front of her eyes—breasts the size of a person's head...
"D-Duchess. I-It's not like I want to do this..."
"Why are you looking at me for approval?"
"W-Well..."
"Enough. Take that thing and get out of my room. I've helped you get her started with mana as requested, but from here on, it's your responsibility."
"Y-Yes, understood. Miss, hold still for a second."
"Huh?"
After a brief exchange with Rosetta, Chloe scooped Marian up by the hips and carried her toward the bedroom door. From the past ten days' experience, leaving Marian and Rosetta together too long always spelled trouble. It was time to go.
"Then we'll take our leave."
"Fine, go."
"You should say goodbye too, Miss."
"Oh, goodbye. Duchess."
"..."
"L-Let's go."
Even on the way out, she didn't forget to bid Rosetta farewell. Once outside the bedroom...
Whoosh!
As if she'd finally caught her breath, Marian, still cradled in Chloe's arms, let out a gleeful whoop and flailed excitedly.
"Miss, should I put you down now?"
"No way, I wanna go like this all the way to my room. I love it when you carry me, Chloe. Let's go! Go!"
"Sigh, alright. Off we go."
Whoosh!
Being carried like this was the kind of game fathers played with toddlers just learning to walk... But Marian, at twelve years old, had never experienced it. To her, Chloe was more than a teacher—she was a mother, a big sister, a father, filling yet another void left by her absent blood relatives.
And so, having patched that gap, they returned to Marian's bedroom.
"Alright, now..."
"Hug me!"
"Aren't you tired of it yet?"
"You tired of me, Chloe?"
"No, not that..."
"Then we're good."
"Yes... I suppose we are."
Even back in the bedroom, Chloe couldn't set Marian down. What could she do? Children raised in deprivation clung fiercely. Chloe stroked Marian's back understandingly as she nestled into her arms, and as Marian's small chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm of calm...
Chloe spoke softly.
"Miss."
"I'm listening, Chloe."
"It's about time we started a new alchemy lesson."
"For real?"
She must have enjoyed the last class on making the growth potion. It was just mixing ingredients and boiling them, but surprisingly, she seemed to have a knack for it.
"Yes. This time, we'll use mana to make a proper artifact."
"No more growth potion?"
"One dose is plenty effective. Who do you think made it?"
"True, since you made it, Chloe."
As she said that, Marian wriggled closer, burying her face between Chloe's breasts.
What the...
The longer the hugs lasted, the more fixated she seemed on the breasts right at eye level. Of course, it might just be Chloe's imagination, so she said nothing.
"Remember the snow globe?"
"Yeah! The super cool one! Expensive!"
"Yes, that expensive one. We're making three of them."
"Three?!"
"One for you, Miss."
"One for Chloe!"
Right. With three snow globes, they'd each keep one, and the last...
"The final one goes to the Duchess."
"To the Duchess...?"
"Yes."
If Marian and Rosetta's relationship stayed this frosty, trouble was bound to brew within a few years. Helping Marian with her mana initiation over the past few days had at least gotten them talking civilly. A light gift offensive might thaw the chill a bit.
Of course, anything too pushy could shatter their rapport irreparably... So just slip in one snow globe and retreat. Chloe was confident in her tightrope walking. This should go smoothly too.
#
"There, preparations complete."
"Wow!"
Marian clapped wildly in delight just from seeing the ingredients laid out. Chloe chuckled and joined in, matching her enthusiasm. But after a moment of gleeful applause...
"Huh...?"
Marian tilted her head, noticing something odd. The ingredients on the table were different from the growth potion ones.
Obviously, snow globes and growth potions required different materials... But that wasn't the issue.
"Why is there only one set?"
Normally, there should have been ingredients in front of Chloe too, but they were only for Marian. Puzzled, she asked.
"I can't make one."
"Why not?"
"I can't use mana."
Chloe confessed with an awkward smile. It was true—her alchemy was exceptional, but skewed entirely toward poisons and medicines. Artifact creation, the core of true alchemy, was beyond her without mana initiation. Even novice alchemists could attempt it; she couldn't even meet the baseline.
"Ooh, really? So even Chloe has things she can't do."
"Are you teasing me?"
"No, it just makes me happy..."
A strange satisfaction lit Marian's face as she heard the confession.
"Something I can do that Chloe can't. Honestly, everything so far was something I couldn't do but you could."
"Was it?"
"Wanna stand up?"
"I'm up."
As Chloe rose at her urging, Marian spread her arms wide, inviting a hug.
"Aw, no fair... How's a lady supposed to catch you?"
"Exactly!"
Chloe refused playfully, and Marian pounced like she'd been waiting, leaping into her arms. Chloe wobbled a bit but held firm, and Marian buried her face in those plush breasts, savoring the warmth.
"I could never hold you like this, or offer up soft boobs like these."
To Marian, this warmth from another person was more precious than anything. She wanted to give something back to Chloe... but she'd had almost nothing to offer.
At best, ordering the maids to bring Chloe's favorite snacks—but that was the maids' doing, not hers.
"So the first snow globe we make is yours, Chloe."
"Really? That's too kind."
"Hehe..."
Chloe pinched Marian's cheeks fondly, drawing out a beaming grin.
"Second one's mine, and the last to the Duchess."
"Why last for the Duchess?"
"Uh..."
"There's a reason, huh?"
"There is, but..."
"You can tell me."
"It's... a hassle."
"Pardon?"
"You're asking me to make one for her too, but honestly, hers is a chore... So I wanna get good at it quick and knock it out fast."
"Ah..."
Fair enough. Chloe wondered if her 'get them closer' plan would pan out. She knew Rosetta despised Marian, but she'd overlooked how much Marian disliked Rosetta too. She'd have to find a way to fix it—another task added. With that, the snow globe lesson proceeded.
And as today's class neared its end...
"T-Teacher! Lady Marian!"
"Viola?"
Viola burst into Marian's bedroom.
"The Grand Duke...!"
She announced that Haksen had awakened.