Chapter 9

The corner of Elena’s lips rose sharply when she suddenly encountered the cute creature.

“Lani!”

Elena hugged her tuft of fur, cradling her towards her bosom.

[Master! I missed you so much so I came to see you!]

“I wanted to see you too.”

Elena caressed Lani’s fuzzy fur, and then cuddled her.She hadn’t thought of seeing Lani for a few days; she was so focused on what she was doing.

Besides, it was possible that Lani’s dwelling wasn’t in the Duke’s Garden.

“What are you doing here?” Elena asked, hugging Lani.

[I came to meet Master!]

Elena pondered on what to feel about those words.

“I see.”

Lani smiled and dug into Elena’s arms.Subsequently, a maid walked in from the hallway opposite her.For a moment, Elena was confused.

She wasn’t guilty, but how should she explain the spirit to the maid?Eventually, the maid arrived before her.

“Hello, my lady.”

She just greeted her and passed by.As if she had never seen Lani.

“Lani. Are you invisible to other people?”

[Yes! I am! You are the only one who can see me! Of course, it is also possible for me to materialize so that other humans can see me. But there is no need for that.]

Lani replied, pursing her little mouth.

‘That’s interesting.’

Elena stroked her and laid her down.Then continued walking with her magic book in her arms.The little rabbit hopped next to her and caught up.

“Lani, I have a question for you.”

[Yes!]

“I asked this last time… How did I become your master?”

[Ah. I’ve been thinking about that too! The first time I met, master, I was so happy that I got distracted!]

Lani replied with a smile.

[The master is… Well, it’s unique to spirits like me. Before I was born, a long time ago, there was another master. But he disappeared, and a new master did not appear for a long time.]

For some reason, Lani’s shoulders seemed to sag.

[So, the spirits became weak and a lot of them disappeared. Of course, there were newborn spirits, but they didn’t last long. I almost died a while ago. But thanks to the master, I came back to life!]

Elena listened to Lani and mused over her thoughts.

‘So, the previous elemental spirit master died, and the new Elementalist didn’t appear for a long time, so the spirits gradually disappeared…’

Lani was smiling brightly, but Elena’s heart didn’t feel good.

[The number of living spirits right now is small; but since the master is here, it will soon increase!]

“Really?”

[Yeah! The master’s power brings the spirits to life. Even now, just being by your side like this gives me strength!]

Elena’s lips rose as if painted.

‘Spirit… I never thought of it.’

In the meantime, Elena thought that she was just going to live her life as a wizard.

However, when she found out that she had the power related to the spirits, she felt as if she had made secured insurance.

‘But why aren’t there any books about spirits?’

Elena pondered over Lani’s words.

‘I wonder if the spiritual master hasn’t been born for a long time. Potentially, the lengthy period caused it not to have an existing document.’

Then it made sense.

[Ah! Sooner or later other spirits will come to visit the master!]

“Really?”

[Yes! Yes! Spirits think only of their master from the moment they are born.]

At Lani’s words, the inside of her chest suddenly tickled.

[I am a very lucky spirit. To be able to meet the master just before extinction.]

Elena nodded her head in agreement.

“I am lucky too. I met you in the garden.”

[Hehe.]

It was really strange.By chance, in the residence of the Duke of Halos, she met Lani there.Thanks to this, Elena learned that she has new powers, and even got a cute friend.

It was when she was walking with Lani and smiling happily when she heard something.

“Ugh, I don’t like it, I don’t like it.”

The voice of someone in trouble came from a corner of the hallway.Elena’s eyebrows narrowed.Because the owner of the voice was someone familiar to her.

Elena hastened her footsteps.

Then she saw Jane and Killian in the corner of the hallway.

Jane was pressed against the wall, her tears dangling from her face, and Killian was blocking her with his arm on the wall, preventing Jane from leaving.

And Killian’s lips moved towards Jane.

At that moment, Jane’s eyes collided with Elena’s, pleading for help.

The moment she saw those desperate eyes, Elena’s body instinctively jumped out first.

“Young Master!”

Killian flinched at Elena’s call. Then his gaze returned.

“What is this? The other person obviously hates it!”

Elena grabbed Killian’s arm. Then Killian narrowed his brows and released Jane.Jane ran straight behind Elena, as if she had met her savior, and hid her body.

“…Elena.”

Killian sighed and looked at Elena. His eyes were entangled with various emotions, two of which were troubled and irritated.

“…..”

Killian looked at Elena with complicated eyes and then turned his body.

Not long after, his figure disappeared from the hallway.Trying to get a kiss by force even though he could clearly see that the other person didn’t like it.

‘Are you crazy?!’

Still, it was quiet for two days, and Elena wondered what he had heard from Duke Halos.

And he did that to Jane.

‘Did you decide to change target, from Lexion to Jane?’

“I… Lady Elena.”

While she was deep in thought that her forehead wrinkled, a soft voice came from behind her.

“Ah yes?”

As Elena looked at Jane, she saw a single streak of tears trickling down her large eyes.

“Don’t cry.”

“Ugh, no. It’s just… I was so scared.”

From her tears, the magnitude of the horror Jane must have felt was apparent.

Elena put her book down on the floor and gently reached out and stroked Jane’s shoulder.

Then Jane burst into tears and she dived into her arms.

Seeing the female protagonist crying broke her heart.

‘She’s a heroine who once thought I was her friend…’

Elena hugged Jane.

Jane whimpered and cried in Elena’s arms. She felt her slender body tremble.

Elena comforted her by hugging her then she gently pushed her away.

And with a wink, she parted from Lani.Lani understood her meaning, bowed her head to Elena, and then left her seat.

It wasn’t long before Jane stopped crying.Exhausted from her sobbing, Jane couldn’t properly control her body.

Elena took Jane and brought her to her own room. Then she put her on her bed and called the maids.

“Could you bring me some hot tea and a towel?”

“Yes, my lady.”

The maids moved quickly.In the meantime, Elena quietly stroked Jane’s shoulder.

Once the maids returned, she handed Jane the hot herbal tea.

Watching her take a sip of her tea, Elena grabbed a hot towel and wiped the corners of Jane’s eyes.

Once Jane had calmed down, to some extent, she said, not meeting Elena’s gaze.

“… I’m sorry, Lady Elena. I cried all of a sudden.”

“It’s okay.”

Elena took a sip of her herbal tea and looked down at Jane.

Jane still wouldn’t make eye contact with her.Then, slowly, she opened her mouth carefully.

“Today, Master Killian was forcing me, so I was a little scared.”

At least Jane thought he was being polite towards women.

‘He thought that he could do whatever he wanted to his fiancée.’

‘Or did he tell Jane what he heard from the Duke?’

‘If not, did he change his target to Jane since she only heard the Duke’s warning about Lexion?’

While Elena was preoccupied with bad thoughts from every direction.Jane finally raised her head.

“Still, Lady Elena helped me.”

She smiled brightly.She could make a good child cry for her.

“Thank you, lady Elena.”

“No. What I did was normal.”

“It’s not natural. What Lady Elena did was splendid and wonderful.”

Seeing Jane like that, who spoke with a broad smile, broke my heart.Elena said, smiling after her.

“Jane can do it too. No, you have to. When someone is coercing Lady Jane, you have to be able to say no if you don’t like it.”

At Elena’s words, Jane’s eyes widened. She continued to spur her with her words.

“Even if it’s a betrothment, if it’s unreasonable, make sure to turn it down.”

At Elena’s encouragement, Jane slowly nodded her head.Then as she realized something, Jane’s eyes became determined.

“Yes. I will try!”

* * *

A few days have passed since Elena unintentionally gave her advice to Jane.In the meantime, Yuri visited the mansion once, and Elena learned a lot from her.

Among those classes, the history of the empire was really interesting.

It was a tale about the previous emperors and their failures and triumphs on the continent through numerous wars.

In particular, the relationship between the imperial family and the horse tower was interesting like a novel.

‘Well, it’s true that this world is a novel.’

And just in case, Elena asked Yuri about the spirits.

However, even Yuri, who has an expansive amount of knowledge, could not answer those questions related to spirits.In any case, Elena reviewed what she had learned from Yuri for a few days, and she studied the book on her own.

She often shared the stories with Lani, who visited her, and she spent her days back and forth between the library and her room, where she also happened to meet Jane frequently.

Every time she went to the library, Jane was there.Even last time, maybe because of Killian, Jane was especially friendly to her.

‘That’s good for me.’

It was because Elena now had a cute friend around her age.Inside the library, she reviewed and discussed what she had learned from Yuri and gradually accumulated knowledge.Then, naturally, the two began to call each other by their names without a title.

“Elena.”

Like now.

“Yes, Jane.”

“Isn’t that the person passing by, Master Lexion?”

Elena followed Jane’s gesture and turned her head.