Chapter 117

Prince Richard was well satisfied, while Percival looked conflicted, as they dropped me off at my house. As for me, I just wanted to hang back so I wouldn’t get dragged into the storm.

“By the way, have you heard about your reward for helping with the salt production last summer?”

Come to think of it, I remember something about that. I had assumed the reward was having two baskets of eggs, butter, and sugar delivered instead of one. At first, I thought it was pretty meager, but getting double the ingredients continuously is actually quite a blessing. Or was the monster meat we received during the winter hunt the reward? Wait, if he’s asking whether I’ve heard about it, it must be something else.

“I see. Viscount Granger hasn’t told you yet. In that case, I shouldn’t be the one to tell you either.”

Prince Richard chuckled, but I pleaded with my eyes: Please don’t tease me like that!

“Haha, ask Viscount Granger. If you tell him I mentioned it, he should let you know.”

Having successfully arranged a plan to pull Prince Keith away from Captain Hammond, a cheerful Prince Richard said goodbye in front of the entrance.

“Oh, right. I’ll think of a reward for this time, too.”

I really don’t need any more rewards, so please just stop dragging me into trouble! …Is what I wanted to say, but couldn’t.

After lunch, I went strawberry picking with my younger brothers in the greenhouse. Yeah, they were still a bit pale, but I gave them a little nudge to help them turn red.

“Don’t pick the ones that still have green on them. Let me leave those for next week. And Henry, you’ve already eaten five, haven’t you? Put the ones you pick into the basket.”

Henry, who was just about to pop a sixth strawberry into his mouth, sadly said, “Okay,” and placed it in the basket. Honestly, one more wouldn’t hurt, but I didn’t want him getting a stomachache.

“Sister, is it alright to cut that many roses?”

Nacius looked worriedly at the rose bushes, which were now mostly just branches and leaves.

“It’s fine. I’ll give them a little boost with my magic, so they should bloom again in a few days.”

I wonder if I could grow medicinal herbs in this greenhouse too, I thought. It would probably work if I dug up the roses, but that felt a little pitiful. After all, selling those roses had been a huge help. Between autumn and winter, nobles gathered in the royal capital of Romano because there wasn’t much to do on their estates, making the social season very lively. Selling roses for parties brought in a good profit. Even the Angus family had a greenhouse, but they mentioned their roses didn’t bloom nearly as well as ours.

“I wish it were a little bigger!” This was just a wish, not a spell, but mana suddenly started flowing out of my body. I instinctively placed my hand on Nacius’s shoulder next to me to keep myself from falling.

I kept my eyes closed through a fit of severe dizziness, but opened them when I heard Henry shout, “Amazing!”

“Sister, are you alright?” Nacius looked at my face with concern. Ah, our eyes were almost at the same level.

“Nacius, you’ve grown so much.”

Nacius just looked exasperated at me.

“Sister, now is not the time for that! The greenhouse got bigger! Is this your household magic? I looked through the books in the library, but none of them said household magic could repair things or expand a greenhouse!”

Yeah, it wasn’t written in the magic textbooks or the academy library books either. I had checked, too.

“This is strange. I definitely wished the greenhouse were bigger, but I didn’t mean to use magic.”

Out-of-control magic is scary. It would be awful if I felt ill will toward someone and accidentally hurt them with magic.

“You should talk to Father.”

Nacius’s gray eyes clouded with worry. I’m a failure as an older sister, making my younger brother worry about me like this. While I was thinking that, Nacius proved to be far more mature than I gave him credit for.

“I want to protect you, Sister. Please don’t push yourself.”

Wait, the way he addressed me changed to a slightly more formal “Sister.” Nacius really is growing up. I felt a mix of joy and sadness. A sister’s heart is complicated. But this wasn’t the time to get distracted.

To consult my father, I stood outside his study. Yeah, it felt just like standing outside the teachers’ lounge. In other words, I’m bad at this. But since it was bothering me, I knocked.

“Who is it?”

“Father, it’s Patience. Do you have a moment?”

With his permission, I went inside. He seemed to have been reading; he placed a bookmark in his book and set it on the desk. Since the study was small, even the little fire in the fireplace made it cozy and warm. I wanted to hole up in here too.

“Patience, it’s rare for you to come talk to me. Take a seat.”

Was it really that rare? Maybe it was. He had called me into his study before, but I might never have come to talk to him on my own initiative.

“Actually, my magic expanded the greenhouse on its own. I did think it would be nice if it were larger, but I had no intention of casting a spell. So I came to ask for advice because I was worried my magic might be running out of control.”

Father listened earnestly until I finished.

“I don’t know much about household magic myself, so I looked it up in books, but there were no records describing household magic like yours, Patience.

However, looking at you, I don’t get the feeling that your magic is going wild. It’s common for mana to increase as the body grows, but in your case, it feels like it’s increasing at an incredible rate. Until you get used to it and settle down, refrain from using chantless magic.“

I see. Patience’s body is in a growth period, and her height is shooting up fast. Naturally, her mana is increasing, too. I had felt that as well.

“Father, reciting those chants is a little embarrassing…”

Father burst out laughing. Oh, I didn’t know he could laugh like that.

“Ah, sorry about that. You don’t need to recite embarrassing chants. But when you use magic, be clearly conscious of it and at least say the name of the spell. Don’t make a habit of using magic unconsciously.”

Ugh, I could think of plenty of times I’d done just that.

“When I’m sewing, embroidering, or weaving, I tend to use magic unconsciously. What should I do?”

Acknowledging once more that he wasn’t an expert on household magic, Father offered some advice.

“Isn’t it because using magic is faster or produces cleaner results? In that case, decide from the start whether you will consciously use household magic, or strictly do the handiwork without using magic at all. Once your growth period ends and the increase in your mana stabilizes, your magic won’t run wild anymore.”

I liked the feeling of getting absorbed in handiwork and unconsciously using household magic, so I felt a little disappointed. Deciding to use magic right from the start just felt a bit different. (Side jobs aside, of course.)

Whether he noticed my disappointment or was reminded by Prince Richard’s visit, Father finally brought up the topic of the reward.

“I heard you worked with Prince Richard to figure out a way to make salt from seawater, Patience. As a reward, you’ve been granted a scholarship for Romano University. Once you graduate from the Royal Academy, you should enroll there.”

Wait, that was the reward? But in that case, I wanted to give it to Nacius.

“Father, I would like to give that scholarship to Nacius.”

Father’s expression turned stern—a face I had never seen before.

“Patience, this is a reward granted specifically to you. You must not simply give it away to Nacius.”

He told me off firmly. I felt deeply disappointed. Wait, Father’s lips were trembling… Was he holding back his anger?

“Pfft! Patience, you don’t need to worry about Nacius. The Queen gave us a reward to show appreciation for your hard work as Princess Margaret’s attendant. Her letter said, ‘As a loving sister, Patience will surely be happy with this.’ Nacius received a scholarship as well. But keep it a secret from him until he enters middle school.”

I glared at my father as he laughed. Hmph!

“Father, that was awful of you! I was genuinely worried that I couldn’t give it to him. I wonder if I can become a government official after graduating from university?”

Father stopped laughing and looked at me with a serious face.

“Think carefully during middle school about whether you truly want to become an official. It’s perfectly fine to choose a different path. You might even find another calling at university.”

That’s true. Patience is still only eleven years old. There’s no need to lock in a career as a government official just yet. Wait, do parents in another world usually encourage their daughters to go to university? Well, since we don’t have a dowry, getting a job might make a university degree more useful. Plus, Patience will only be fourteen when entering university. Father probably thinks it’s still too early for marriage anyway.