Chapter 59

Byon, byon, byon. 

As Luciel walked in her rabbit slippers, it looked as if two rabbits were hopping about.

In the long corridor leading to the South Wing, there were unusually many stone statues, there were so many things to see that she turned her head around every time she came.

When she finally arrived at the South Wing, Luciel felt strange. A large brown door that was supposed to be locked was open.

‘Is it a cleaning day today?’

Luciel crept inside with a careful step. There was a large and cool fountain pouring down from the entrance, and there was a brown-toned wall with picture frames and military medals on it.

Various swords were also displayed in the corner of a parlor that had a brown leather sofa and a fireplace. At that moment, her eyes met someone who was coming down the stairs.

Purple long hair.

The woman, who came down in a white robe, had sapphire like eyes that stood out from afar. They were sharp and shiny like a blade. She had a slim body, long limbs, and her movements and straight body were unusual. Luciel felt a sense of déjà vu, but it was definitely the first time she has ever seen such a person…

“It’s a face I haven’t seen before. Has there ever been a maid this young?”

From her stern tone and low voice, Luciel wondered if she might be a knight.

“Ah……me, I-I’m sorry. I got lost……!”

Luciel slightly stepped back under the woman’s momentum, who flopped on the couch and lifted a whiskey glass as if she didn’t care. Luciel’s cheeks turned red, as she tried to hide her pounding heart.

“I don’t need a maid around for today. Child, you can go back.”

“Ah, yes. thank you.”

As Luciel was about to turn her body, she heard a voice stopping her.

“Wait. The castle is very quiet. Can you ask Eva to see me as soon as she comes back?”

“Ah, that….”

“No. Forget it. Don’t tell anyone I have arrived. I want to be quiet for a while.”

“Yes…….”

She closed her eyes again and lay down on the sofa. Luciel grabbed her pounding heart and crossed the corridor again.

‘Who could it be?’

It was clear that she was high enough to ask for Eva. She was such a beautiful woman that her heart was pounding. Luciel wrapped her cheeks and returned running to the main building.

I’ll have to find another place to hide my jewels.

She wandered around hard, and became a little hungry. Turns out, she didn’t eat anything. Luciel decided to go to a small dinner hall for breakfast. Sasha was there to get Leoni’s meal.

“Chief Seth wants me to tell the Little Madam that this is a menu specially prepared for you.”

As soon as she saw the dish, Luciel thought she should go up to the room and eat.

‘Ugh, it already looks delicious just by looking at it. It would be dangerous to eat here.’

“…Uhn. Can I just eat in my room? I want to eat while reading a book.”

“Yes? Of course. I’ll bring it to your room soon.”

Even though she had obviously come up in a hurry, the meal arrived almost at the same time as Luciel.

It was a dish sprinkled with lemon-flavored soy sauce by stir-frying large shrimp, mushrooms, paprika, and onions. Next to it, there was also a grilled dish with beef and vegetables in crispy flour dough, and a drink with round ice floating in it.

It was a dish that stimulated appetite right from its appearance.

Is it because of my mood that this looks more appetizing than ever?

Luciel took the shrimp flesh with her fork. The moment she puts it in her mouth, a trembling joy spreads in her tongue. The white flesh of the plump shrimp was carefully chewed.

“Wow, so delicious.”

Luciel was brimming with intense emotion just by tasting such an amazing meal. She enjoyed this time so much, she hoped it wouldn’t end. The mana gathered in her heart began to produce jewelry over the air, like bubbles.

Ddorong, ddorong! 

“Oh.”

It was the first jewel she had ever seen other than a Topaz. It was a paler and much brighter color than an Emerald. It was a yellow-green jewel, akin to the leaf of a plant.

What emotion did it come from?

I just thought it was really fun while I was eating it.

‘I want to know what kind of jewel it is.’

Luciel thought that she should know what kind of jewels existed in this world. She would have to find out by herself what kind of emotions created her magical jewels, one by one.

‘I’m going to go to the library and see if there are any books on jewelry. If possible, would it be better to see it in person at a jewelry store?’

First of all, Luciel decided to enjoy this happiness.

“I ate so well.”

Luciel, who stroked her chubby tummy, laughed with satisfaction. By the time the sleep poured in and her eyes closed, her head fell and she opened her eyes belatedly.

“Come to think of it, the magic test isn’t far away, but I haven’t been able to practice.”

Grandpa Gillard always emphasized sincerity in magic, saying that if you neglect training, your skills will decrease rapidly. So I tried to practice every single day, but lately I haven’t been able to do it properly.

At this rate, the skills accumulated so far will be messed up. Although it’s not a tremendous skill.

‘I’m going to go practice magic.’

Luciel struggled to open the closet and changed into simple clothes. She also took off her yellow dress and lace-up socks and put them on one side, folding them one by one. She stood in front of the mirror and held a blue ribbon to her mouth, using both hands to pull her hair together.

‘Come.’

She summoned her wand and branded it. It was always a pretty wand whenever she saw it.

‘……Uh? Why is it so shiny?’

The wand, that was sparkling, flashed for a second and became transparent right after, making Luciel startled. She was afraid that the wand would disappear.

‘Oh, no!’

Luciel held onto the wand tightly with both hands, as if she could never lose it. Fortunately, it didn’t disappear. Instead, the shape of the wand began to change slightly, right in front of Luciel’s eyes.

A round, transparent bead was formed on the top of the wand.

Ding Ding Ding.

Just like when Luciel first connected her mana with the wand, a sound from pairing resounded.

‘What does this mean……?’

Luciel hurried to the training center. She wanted to know if there was something wrong with the wand. As soon as she arrived at the place, she picked it up and immersed herself in practice.

Perhaps because she finally awakened her power, the strange symptoms of her heart pounding when she gathered mana disappeared. In addition, she felt that the effectiveness of the wand had improved. Thanks to this, she collected mana more stably, and the power of magic became much stronger.

‘Something’s different.’

Paah!

Shoo!

The arrows made from Magic Arrow, which stretched out in a long curve, hit everything from the first scarecrow to the tenth scarecrow at the very end. Luciel quickly moved on to the next area. She now had to hit moving scarecrows.

Except for one of the ten, all scarecrows were knocked down.

The next area was to hit the flying scarecrow after avoiding a rolling straw ball, and she was never successful in this area.

“I hope I can be successful today.”

However, she was already exhausted and couldn’t put any strength on her legs.

‘Shall I rest for a bit?’

Luciel briefly leaned against a pile of straw and looked around the training ground. This was a magic training center used only by the members of the Bellstein family, and for safety, attack magic was to be practiced exclusively in here.

It was a wonderful place where restoration magic was piled up in layers along with various physical and magical shields. Everything was restored to its original state in 10 minutes no matter how much magic was used.

Apparently, most of the family used magic, so it was prepared like this. Although non-attribute magic was strong enough, it was true that elemental magic was superior in creating various advantages in different situations.

‘It would be nice if I could use the power of the elements contained in the jewels.’

The mage Erika was the one who researched my jewels. The research began after Luciel became the Crown’s Prince Concubine after breaking up with Maximus.

If so, it is highly likely that she has not yet entered the Imperial City. It was difficult to determine her age, but she was evidently older than the Crown Prince at the time, and she was always wearing a blue shawl with strange patterns.

‘Think about it, Luciel. What else is there…….’

What was the pattern on her cloak?

Her face…how was it again?

She always covered her head with a cloak and a shawl, making it difficult to see her face. There was a mole on her lips, and something like a tattoo on the back of her hand. But I also couldn’t remember the exact shape.

“Luciel.”

As she was taking a deep breath and trying to squeeze out her memories, she heard a kind voice, and Luciel quickly turned back. Gillard stood a little further, looking at her.

“Grandpa!”

“Are you practicing for the test?”

Luciel nodded her head.

“Tomorrow was the best opportunity to take the test. But, it looks like I’ll be busy with other business. Can I delay the test a little longer?”

“Oh, of course. In fact, I was worried because I still lacked a lot.”

Luciel replied with a slight scratch on her forearm, but in fact, she still had a cluttered mind filled with thoughts on Erica.

‘If I could only find her, everything would be easier.’

“You don’t have to be too burdened. You can do it well enough.”

“Yes. I’ll do my best. But what happened?”

As Luciel was concerned, Gillard shook his head.

“It’s nothing serious. I only have to go to the tower. I left all the work to the deputy chief, and things got a bit messed up by the elders nagging.”

“……Deputy? Elders?”

A lot of question marks appeared on Luciel’s face and Gillard explained with a laugh.

“In the Empire, there are four Wizard’s towers in the east, west, north, and south directions. Among them, the tower in the north belongs to the Bellstein family and I oversee it. The wizard who owns the tower is called the master of the tower, and that is me.”

“Ah……I read about it. It was recorded in a book about my grandfather’s achievements.”

“Did you even read that?”

“Yes…….so, is Grandpa the strongest wizard?”

“It’s officially like that in the North.”

“Officially?”

Does that mean that it is not the same in unofficial matters? Come to think of it, I heard that my father-in-law is also a strong wizard…….