Chapter 28

September 20, 1689 of the Imperial Calendar, Tuesday. Quite a bit of time had passed since the massive incident involving the misunderstanding about sleeping with Prince Fren, allowing me to finally regain a bit of peace of mind.

Perhaps thanks to the shock I had suffered, I found myself able to throw myself even harder into learning magic and swordplay.

On top of that, today happened to be one of those rare practical training days during my magic lessons.

And not just with the standard 1st-circle elemental magic I usually used, but a historic day where I would directly manifest actual combat magic starting from the 2nd circle.

Though I couldn’t really defend myself if someone asked why I was only at the 2nd circle despite having all the necessary formulas and knowledge packed into my head, anyone would get beaten to a pulp for lying if they claimed they mastered the 2nd circle after learning magic for a mere three months in this world.

Besides, while I had never once skipped Carusien’s swordplay lessons, I had missed a fair number of magic classes—whether because I hated math or just due to sheer coincidence—which also played a part in why things turned out this way.

“Now, use your magic against that scarecrow over there, Armienne.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Vice-Master Capeldeor looked at me with loving eyes as I prepared to use 2nd-circle magic right off the bat. Eager to boast about it to others as well, he had deliberately scheduled this practical session in the training grounds where many knights had gathered.

Well, whatever the reason, it didn’t matter to me as long as I could actually use magic.

I had such romanticized notions of magic that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I had been taking those magic lessons entirely for this very day. Mastering proper combat and defense magic to play a major role on the battlefield, and single-handedly wiping out terrifying monsters!

Now this was the true essence of fantasy.

‘Whew, calm down.’

I forcefully suppressed my pounding heart and glared straight at the scarecrow up ahead. Since the 2nd-circle formula was nothing overly complicated—utilizing quadratic equations and probability learned back in middle school—there was no way I could mess up, but people naturally tended to get nervous when performing in front of an audience.

If I made a grand declaration here and absolutely nothing happened, it would spell total ruin, so I quickly reviewed the formula in my head once more and cast the spell.

Having only recently learned to sense mana and draw it into my body, I didn’t possess a massive pool of it, but 2nd-circle magic didn’t consume an overwhelming amount of mana either, meaning the outflow didn’t put too much strain on me.

“Fire Arrow!”

Fortunately, without any mistakes or misfires, a fire-made arrow materialized right in front of me with a crackling whoosh, radiating intense heat.

The moment I saw it, I barely managed to keep myself from screaming out loud. I felt like I might burst into tears of pure emotion.

Holy shit, it’s actual magic!

Even after crossing over into a fantasy world, all I had done so far was go on a ridiculously peaceful trip, shop with Miel, ride in a carriage, and drink booze with that damned Fren—to the point where I had started doubting whether this even was a fantasy world at all. But seeing that proud flame arrow manifesting before my eyes melted all those doubts away like snow.

If I could, I felt like I might even want to kiss that fiery arrow right then and there.

However, if I just left it sitting there, it would wastefully dissipate into thin air, so I quickly designated the magic’s target.

“Go!”

I didn’t strictly need to speak it out loud, but doesn’t a person just want to say things like that sometimes? I shouted in my rising excitement, and whether the spell possessed ears of its own, the Fire Arrow shot straight toward the scarecrow.

Bang!

The Fire Arrow collided with the scarecrow and detonated, scorching the surface, while the knights watching the spectacle silently erupted into applause.

“Whoa-oh-oh! That’s amazing!”

“Long live Lady Armienne! I believe this is the very first time in my life I’ve ever witnessed such flawless magic!”

“I used to think the word ‘genius’ was something you only found in a dictionary, but today I’ve realized it was meant precisely for this moment. A genius mage! Our genius young lady, Lady Armienne!”

Oh, come on, stop blowing smoke up my ass.

Blushing fiercely at the roaring cheers of the knights, I lowered my head. Still, it wasn’t an unpleasant feeling at all.

My hands were still trembling. This was the first time I had ever cast proper magic. I could finally feel, with every fiber of my being, that I had truly come to a fantasy world.

As if sensing my racing heart, Grandfather Capeldeor gently stroked my head. Normally, I might have felt a slight sense of awkwardness at his reaction, but today it felt overwhelmingly reassuring and warm.

“Well done.”

“Thank you, Grandfather.”

Feeling slightly more settled, I gave him a light hug. But seeing him immediately beam and look utterly overjoyed, I stepped back with a reluctant expression. Since I used to be a man, it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand Grandfather’s feelings, but seeing it firsthand was a bit… well, something else.

Just then, I heard the sound of the knights snapping to a disciplined salute right beside me.

“Hut!”

“Hut!”

Hearing that sound, I instantly knew who had arrived. In this mansion, there was only one existence capable of drawing that kind of reaction from the knights.

The figure to whom the knights swore genuine loyalty.

One of the two pillars of the kingdom.

A living saint who always carried a solemn and overwhelming presence, constantly thinking of the nation and looking out for its people.

A man revered by the citizenry almost as much as the king himself.

And furthermore, a swordsman rumored to have recently become a Sword Emperor, making it so that no one could rival him even in terms of raw martial might.

That great and mighty existence was none other than my father, Duke Ventor de Celion.

The problem was that such an incredible figure acted like this in front of me…

“Waaahhhh! My daughter, my daughter has become a mage! This dad is so very happy!”

True to his reputation, he burst into tears like a tragic fool completely obsessed with his child, instantly shattering the majestic image that had just formed in my head.

An unbeatable Sword Emperor? If I so much as said a single word, he looked like he would howl in emotional devastation and throw himself into a distant lake.

Still, today was a happy day. I decided to grant Father a little fan service out of my boundless magnanimity. Pulling away from a disappointed Grandfather, I ran over to Father and threw myself into his arms.

“Welcome back, Father. Hehe, if I’d known you were watching, I would have shown you an even cooler spell!”

“Hk!”

At my display of cuteness, Father suddenly clutched his chest and fished a bottle of medicine out from inside his tunic, gulping the pills right down. What is this—did a Sword Emperor who supposedly rarely ever gets sick actually have a heart condition?

Then, as if the medicine had kicked in, Father caught his breath and gazed down at me with watery eyes.

“Kuh, did everyone see that? The sight of my daughter casting magic so beautifully(?!)!”

“Yes!”

There he goes again.

“This body is in an exceptionally magnificent mood. Right, today is a party~. We shall hold a party~! A partyyyy~~! Everyone, release all the fatigue accumulated in your bodies for just today!”

“Whoa-oh-oh-oh!! Long live His Excellency the Duke!!”

“Huk-huk, this old man may join in as well, I presume?”

While everyone was cheering happily at the mention of a party, I alone felt a strange sense of dissonance. He had put that crazy, exaggerated emphasis on the word “father” earlier, and now he was putting heavy stress on the word “party”—it felt like something fishy was going on.

However, the sudden party swept me up, dragging me here and there, leaving me with zero spare time to dwell on it.

-Hahaha!
-Magnificent. Truly marvelous!
-Pour the drinks, pour them high!

While the heat of the party was still going strong, I quietly slipped away and headed up to my room. Since I had already made an appearance to everyone at least once, nobody would think it strange.

I pulled out my communication magic crystal and contacted Miel.

-Tonight, the fireflies of that day to your~~.

The soothing background music, changed on a whim since the opportunity had arisen anew, echoed and pleased my ears as I leisurely waited for Miel to accept my call.

A moment later, the breathless voice of Miel came through the crystal, sounding as if she had rushed over in a mad dash.

[Hah, pant… Ah, Armien. I’m sorry for answering so late.]

The apology only made me feel even more guilty, thinking that I had worn out the fragile Miel because of myself. If I could, I wanted to fly over to her right this instant and massage her feet.

Yet, on the flip side, a wave of warmth bloomed in my chest. The fact that she had dragged her frail body over at my call meant she liked me that much, didn’t it?

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what had made her take so long to pick up. Curiosity naturally sparked.

“No, it wasn’t really late at all. I should be the one apologizing for calling you out of the blue. Did something happen?”

The voice that answered my question wasn’t Miel’s, but that of an unfamiliar woman. For a split second, a wave of suspicion washed over me—could Miel be loving some other woman besides me?—but the very next instant, that suspicion transformed into sheer shock as I heard the words.

[Eek! Young Lady! What on earth are you doing running around completely naked?!]

“Cough!”

D-Did they just say Miel was naked right now? In other words, in her birthday suit, completely bare. To be entirely honest… I kind of want to see it. If I asked Yul, she’d probably take a picture.

Lost in such thoughts, I quickly shook my head. What kind of depraved thinking was that? I felt like I was getting more and more obsessed with Miel by the day. And what was slightly terrifying was that if I actually mentioned it to Yul, she would probably make it happen for real.

[Oh, goodness, Rachel, how could you say something like that out loud? Haa… Now Armien’s going to think I just wander around naked all the time.]

Hearing just Miel’s voice made her flustered expression pop vividly into my mind. Possessing a voluptuous yet perfectly proportioned figure with every curve in all the right places, along with a face so angelic it felt unreal in this world, Miel was talking to me completely naked and blushing furiously.

“Tch!”

Just imagining it was so intensely stimulating I almost grew dizzy. However, I managed to pull myself back from the brink by reminding myself of my own body, which arguably had even better proportions. In times like these, I was deeply grateful that I was a girl.

[Don’t misunderstand, Armien. It’s just… your call happened to come right while I was washing up… and I was so glad to hear from you that I rushed out in a hurry. I don’t normally walk around naked.]

Listening to Miel flusteredly explain something so obvious, I wore a fond, satisfied smile. Conversing with Miel always made my heart feel like it was floating up on clouds.

“No, it’s totally fine. More importantly, I called because there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

[Yeah, what is it?]

“Well, lately, my dad has been acting a little weird.”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t just been acting weird today. Starting two weeks ago, he had begun showing up in front of me way more often, sometimes looking anxious and restless, staring at me with eyes full of overwhelming anticipation before letting out a heavy sigh.

And today, he had made another grand appearance, even putting heavy emphasis on the word “party.”

I explained everything I had observed in meticulous detail. Miel listened quietly for a moment, looking as if she were mulling it over, before offering her conclusion.

[Come to think of it, Armien, isn’t the Duke’s birthday coming up very soon?]

Ah, I had completely forgotten.