A Day of Especially Intense Training
It was a day of particularly grueling training. Sweating buckets and chugging cold water, something hot suddenly surged up from inside me. I couldn't even spit it out—I just hacked and coughed. Something scorching boiled up in my throat. I barely managed to calm it down and returned to my room. I didn't think much of it. I must've just pushed too hard and nearly puked, I figured.
But when I got back, Ren was staring at me with a grave expression.
"Um, Lady Abigail."
"What?"
Ren hesitated, glancing at me sidelong over and over. When I gave him a puzzled look, he asked cautiously,
"Are you feeling unwell or anything?"
"Huh, now that you mention it, yeah, I'm off today. Probably overdid it."
"Hmm..."
Ren stroked his chin, deep in thought. I joked that I'd nearly thrown up during training and handed him some dessert. But he ignored it, staring at me with worried eyes for a long while.
"You should be careful, Lady Abigail."
"Careful of what?"
"Well... your mana..."
"What? I have mana?"
"Y-Yes. It's very similar to the duke's..."
That startled me. I'd thought Abigail was just a normal human who couldn't sense mana. Yet here was Ren casually saying he could see it in me.
Ren continued calmly.
"Ah, you can't feel it yet, can you? But if you don't start controlling it soon, it could be dangerous."
"Dangerous how?"
After hesitating even longer, Ren finally answered reluctantly.
"It feels like it's about to... explode."
"...Explode?"
"Yes. It's growing so massively inside you right now—it's terrifying."
"..."
"You really need to be careful."
I laughed it off back then, thinking he was joking. Me, exploding like a balloon—that's what he'd said. If even Ren, who could see mana, was this worried, just how much magical power did Abigail have?
"That much mana should be plenty. As expected from those monster freaks. The Carpoems." Benjamin shook his head in exasperation, waving his hand dismissively. The pure white flower he held fluttered with the motion.
I glared at the flower and muttered, "I still don't know how to handle mana. I can barely even feel it."
"You're kidding, right? I can feel it this strongly."
"Ugh, uh, what do I do?"
Benjamin looked at me like I was utterly pathetic.
* * *
I wanted to make some excuses for myself. Sure, I'd read all sorts of romance fantasy novels, but that was just superficial knowledge. Knowledge and experience are worlds apart, aren't they? I felt so wronged. Benjamin's mockery grated on me terribly. This is my first time possessing someone in a rofan, after all.
"Tch."
I slashed down irritably with my wooden sword. Each strike shaved off bits of the straw training dummy with a rasping sound.
"You're especially aggressive today."
"Huff, huff."
I finally stopped once the dummy was shattered, having lost most of its form. Jade, standing nearby, asked in a bemused tone,
"Did something happen?"
"No? Nothing at all."
I averted my eyes, pretending it was no big deal. Truth be told, I had plenty weighing on me. First off, I needed to sense the mana Abigail hadn't even realized she had and make it my own power. The original story gave almost no clues since Abigail never noticed it. The Magic Tower Master and Ren were both heaven-sent geniuses, so they weren't much help. Especially that Tower Master jerk—he just mocked me!
Irritated all over again, I pounded the dummy with my wooden sword. Jade eyed me with dismay.
"Lately, thanks to you, Lady Abigail, we're running out of dummies."
"Just make more."
"Whoever makes them, you smash them."
"Ahem."
The supplier had apparently complained to the butler, and I'd overheard a bit. The training dummies for the ducal house were specially treated—only skilled artisans could craft them. They were made extra tough to withstand knights' sword auras. And I was half-destroying them with Abigail's raw physical strength alone.
"Lady Abigail, have you felt unusually light on your feet lately, or your senses sharper?"
"Huh? Why?"
"No reason. Just wondering."
"Boring."
I raised my wooden sword again and glared at the target. For some reason, the Magic Tower Master—who'd laughed at me for being clueless—popped into my head. My battle fervor surged naturally.
"Hah!"
With a thud, the training dummy finally split in half. My hand tingled from gripping the sword as I panted.
"Haa... how many is this now...?"
"..."
"Lady Abigail?"
My breathing felt strangely unsteady. Before possessing this body, I'd had hyperventilation episodes now and then—this felt just like that. Gasping, I dropped the wooden sword.
"Hah, hah."
"Lady Abigail!"
Jade caught me in alarm as I collapsed. I tried to say I was fine, but hyperventilation choked out any proper words. I just gripped the collar of his shirt tightly, groaning.
"Just hold on a moment. I'll get you to the infirmary."
"Ugh, urk."
I could only nod faintly. Jade scooped me up effortlessly and dashed across the training grounds. My vision shook wildly. Dizziness hit me, and I closed my eyes.
* * *
Everything around me was pitch black. I looked around, but the scenery never changed—just thick darkness. Nothing else.
I pinched my cheek, just in case. No sensation.
That's when it hit me. Oh, it's a dream. But it felt weirdly real. My mind was sharp, not foggy like usual dreams where everything blurs together.
"Ah, ah."
I could even speak. Cool. Then it dawned on me—this was a perfect chance. Voice works here, so why not sing? At the ducal house, there were always people around, so I'd never belted out a tune. This felt like a private karaoke room—I could go wild.
Laughter bubbled up from all around—giggling, chuckling.
"This successor has some fun ideas."
"Wh-who's there?"
I tried turning toward the voice, but failed. It came from everywhere. It was clearly one voice saying the same thing, yet it sounded like many people speaking.
The same voice kept addressing my flustered self.
"Hello. This successor arrived pretty quickly. You look young—impressive. Good job."
"Successor?"
"Yes, the Carpoem successor."
It was an odd timbre—like a young boy's voice one moment, an old man's the next.
"...This is a dream, right?"
"If you want to think so, go ahead."
"But why only your voice?"
"Hehe."
The scene before me shifted bit by bit. The pitch black gradually tinted gray. Still dark, but now I could make out surroundings faintly.
"Hello?"
"He...hello?"
I stared at the boy who'd appeared, unsure whether to speak casually or formally. But looks could deceive. Some instinct told me as much. The boy had black hair and red eyes, just like the ducal house folk. As far as I knew, in the empire, only Carpoem blood produced black hair and red eyes.
The Carpoem ducal house's founder was said to be a dragon. They'd emblazoned their crest with a black-scaled, red-eyed black dragon as their ancestor, after all.
I gaped at him in disbelief.
"No way... a dragon? Haha."
"Yeah, that's me."
"...Haha."
They say assuming gets you killed. I recoiled inwardly in horror, trying to back away from the dragon. But no matter how far I retreated, the distance neither widened nor closed. I gave up and stood still.
"Haa... what do you want with me?"
"Obviously, to pass my power to this generation's successor."
"Huh?"
I gawked, mouth agape.
"The power of the Carpoem duke... is dragon power?"
"Well, just lending a bit."
"Wh-whoa."
To learn a secret even the original story hid, here of all places. The Carpoems' monstrous strength came from dragon heritage. No wonder Abigail's body was unnaturally tough—dragon blood mixed in.
"This is a hassle. Let's get it over with."
"W-wait a sec."
I waved off the dragon, who wore a strangely cynical expression. The Tower Master had seen right through me with his insight, but this dragon lacked that. I explained hurriedly,
"I'm not Abigail."
"So your name's Abigail? Don't care about the successor's name."
"No, the real Abigail's dead. I'm the one who took over this body..."
"Oh, that's what you think?"
"...Huh?"
The dragon spun in front of me with a grin. The unchanging distance vanished in an instant—he was right in my face. His bright red eyes peered at me curiously, inches away.
"Can't blame you for thinking that. Your road ahead won't be smooth either."
"What... what do you mean?"
"Hang in there, kid."
The dragon smiled brightly and placed a hand on my head. My whole body ignited like fire.
"Ah!"
"This power will be your shield against harm and your weapon to vanquish foes."
"Ugh, urk! Aaaah!"
Huge flames engulfed me. Even in the dream, the agony of burning alive crashed over me. It hurt, hurt, HURT. In that moment, I couldn't think—just scream.
* * *
"What in the world is wrong with Lady Abigail?"
Jade paced anxiously as he laid Abigail on the infirmary bed. He kept hovering, irritating the physician examining her nonstop.
Lady Abigail had collapsed suddenly on the training grounds and hadn't woken. Now she was running a high fever too. Jade, her sword instructor, was utterly bewildered. She'd been dominating the grounds full of energy just moments ago, smashing dummies to bits.
Recalling her vibrant form, Jade let out a worried sigh.
"Sir Jade, what happened?"