Chapter 44

Serkael, who had been listening to our conversation, seemed to have finally caught on to the misunderstanding.

He asked flatly.

“Honestly, I’d like to know how ‘body’ got twisted into ‘breeding’.”

“…That bastard, is he messing with me?”

“Calm down. It’s not his fault God didn’t grant Serkael any social skills.”

Serkael’s face twisted in annoyance.

“God is a made-up concept invented by humans seeking salvation. Divine power is simply mana that exists in nature—”

Akain sank back into his seat.

“If that part got him riled up, then it seems you were right, Nike.”

See? I told you so.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

Despite the earlier argument, Zerno and Akain readily agreed to let Serkael examine my body.

‘It’s a free check-up from the Master of the Magic Tower, so they probably have no reason to refuse.’

Still, maybe to make sure he didn’t try any dark magic, Zerno and Akain stayed in the room with me.

‘At least the exam wasn’t painful or anything.’

Serkael and the wizards’ expressions grew increasingly strange.

“What in the world is going on…?”

“Has there ever been a precedent like this?”

“Impossible.”

Even Serkael was staring at the floating graph he had created in the air with a serious expression.

Akain’s expression was growing more uneasy.

“Why? Is it really a serious illness?”

“That’s not exactly right. If I had to be specific, it’s more accurate to call it a congenital abnormality.”

Akain froze.

Zerno strode forward and grabbed Serkael by the collar with one hand.

“This concerns the personal matters of Grand Duchy of Delosif’s lady.”

“What are you… ugh!”

“You’d better choose your words carefully, unless you want the history of the Magic Tower to end with you.”

The Tower Master scowled.

“I’m saying this because there’s a congenital abnormality in her mana reservoir.”

“Mana reservoir?”

As Zerno’s grip loosened, Serkael massaged his neck and muttered in annoyance.

“Nikaearsha produces an enormous amount of mana, way more than her reservoir can hold.”

Akain quickly pressed for more information.

“So?”

“It means that even when her mana is completely drained, she can recover in just a few days. Honestly, it was a good thing it was emptied. If not, her reservoir would’ve exploded.”

“Wizards store and regulate their mana using circles, right? Can’t Nike do that too?”

Akain’s tone was anxious.

“You think forming a circle is easy? It takes years of brutal training just to create even one.”

“Then…”

“With the amount of mana Nikaearsha generates, her reservoir should’ve already ruptured.”

“So, she produces more mana than most people, but her reservoir is smaller?”

“Her reservoir is actually much larger than normal. But… its shape is strange.”

“Strange? How?”

“It looks like it was severed, like someone took out a piece to transplant it into someone else.”

Serkael glanced between the three of us.

“Did the lady undergo surgery when she was young?”

“There’s no way! Who would dare touch the duke’s daughter’s body? Especially to do something as insane as cutting out part of her reservoir…!”

Akain shouted angrily.

Serkael nodded his head.

“Yeah. It’s not something a human could’ve done. Anyway, the main point is…”

Serkael fixed his eyes on me.

“You’re carrying a ticking time bomb.”

“Are you saying I could die?”

“It’s honestly surprising you didn’t die as a child.”

“I see.”

“You’re being told you might die, yet you’re so calm about it?”

I brushed off the wrinkles on my skirt, creased from lying in the coffin¹.

Then, I spoke casually.

“What’s so bad about dying naturally? At least it means I won’t have my life taken by someone else.”

I already knew how long I would live.

At least until the point when I was killed before the regression.

‘I guess I need to hurry things up.’

“I’ve paid the price for the deal. So, this is mine now, right? I’m taking it.”

I picked up Petra and looked at the Tower Master.

But Serkael’s expression was strange.

“Are you really not afraid of death? The fear of death is a natural human instinct.”

“Isn’t the ability to control our instincts what makes us human?”

“…I’ll allow you to speak with me again.”

What is he even talking about?

I turned away with a calm expression.

“If you want to talk, bring me something I need again.”

Something as valuable as the stabilized Petra.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

The carriage ride back to the estate.

I was sitting with Akain and Zerno, but the atmosphere was grim. Even though no one said a word, I wasn’t particularly bothered.

‘I’m already used to my family not talking to me.’

I stared out the window with a blank expression.

Before I knew it, the sun was setting.

At that moment.

“How can you not be scared of dying? Don’t tell me… did you already know this was going to happen?”

Akain asked.

I glanced at him briefly.

Seeing that his face was frozen like a statue, I turned my gaze back to the window and responded.

“I wasn’t completely sure, but I did suspect it. Sometimes, it felt like my chest was going to explode from pain.”

“Then why…?!”

“….?”

Akain clenched his jaw.

“Why didn’t you say anything to us?! Was I, was the family, that unreliable to you?!”

“I told you I was in pain.”

“…What?”

“I told you. I said I was in pain. That’s why I pushed the young lady and stormed out of the princess’s party.”

“….”

“I also said that I got scammed by a fake doctor. I spent a fortune because I thought he could relieve the pain in my chest.”

“….”

Akain couldn’t say anything.

The memory must have come back to him.

“I didn’t do it on purpose… The pain hit me suddenly… I think I said something, but it was a situation where I couldn’t even hear myself…”
“Spare me the excuses. Mikarin even got down on her knees because of you.”
“….”

That party.

“Do you even realize how much money that was? It was enough to feed all the people in the territory for a whole month!”
“I really thought he was a skilled doctor… I was in so much pain that I—!
“You really don’t know how to apologize properly, do you? You’re grounded for three months. You’re not stepping out of your room until then.”

And that doctor too.

Since they didn’t believe me, I stopped talking about it.

“You don’t need to feel responsible. It would’ve sounded like an excuse anyway.”

“….”

“And besides, the pain wasn’t constant. Most of the time, I was fine. That’s why I could still go around with Mikarin like that.”

“….”

“Oh, I’m getting off here.”

We had arrived at the upscale salon district, and I knocked on the carriage window.

One of the salons was my destination.

Just as I was about to step out, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“What is it?”

I frowned and turned around.

Akain was holding my wrist, his head bowed.

His face was completely obscured.

“I won’t cause any trouble. I promise… Ah, but you probably don’t believe me. Then, at least assign a knight to keep an eye on me.”

“….”

“I really need to go there today. Please, brother—”

I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes widening.

Thud, thud.

Drops of water were falling onto the carriage floor.

“Brother Akain… Are you crying?”

I shot a frantic look at Zerno. My eyes were practically screaming, ‘Do something about your brother!’

‘Why is he trying so hard to avoid looking this way?’

And he was gritting his teeth too.

¹ [ While I wasn’t sure about ‘coffin’ at first, the author did use the word ‘관’, which explicitly means coffin in Korean. In addition, there’s also no mention of it anymore in the future, so I’m assuming that’s where she was lying while getting her body examined! ] ↩