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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Chapter 14
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‘The Hermetic Nation.’
A nation that appeared like a comet 100 years ago, when magic worldwide weakened and many countries faced chaos.
From the beginning, they spared no national support for alchemy, and now they were called the 'Holy Land of Alchemists.'
If it weren't for the Esclid Grand Ducal Family, the Greenhurst Empire might have had to be wary of the Hermetic Nation.
"I hope it goes well."
Mabel waved her hand towards the disappearing carriage.
She hoped Sigmund and Dane, who had left with happy expressions, would return with the same.
"Miss~ Shall we go get some mama~?"
"Yes~"
Chef Jacques was waiting in the dining room they headed to, holding Ella's hand tightly.
And today, too, Chef Jacques took away the meals for two people.
By now, Mabel was a little curious.
Not even showing his face on the day the Head of Household left.
Who on earth was so bold?
‘Is there someone I haven't thought of?’
But no matter how much she thought, she didn't know.
‘No, maybe it's something I can't remember.’
Mabel couldn't even remember what kind of person she was in her previous life.
So there might be missing parts in the novel's content.
‘Modern common sense? Only things like that keep coming to mind...’
"Hmmph..."
It was then that Mabel let out a groan, glaring at the empty dining table.
"Miss~ Shall we have our dessert in the garden~?"
Ella, who had approached carefully, knelt beside the chair and looked up at Mabel.
As if pitying Mabel, the ends of her eyebrows drooped down.
"In the garden... Yes, let's invite lots of people and eat together~ Like a picnic~"
It seemed Ella thought she was staring at the empty table because she was lonely.
Because she had eaten alone today without Sigmund.
‘That's not it at all!’
But she enjoyed making a fuss and playing with people.
So much so that her stomach hurt from laughing, and she couldn't sleep at night.
"Hehe, okay!"
When Mabel smiled brightly, Ella also smiled faintly, as if a weight had been lifted.
* * *
"A picnic with the young miss, a picnic!"
"Hurry and prepare!"
"What kind of gift should I bring?!"
The unseasonable storm that had swept through the elegant ancient castle, boasting centuries of history, hadn't subsided for days.
As Ella had predicted, it was a butterfly effect stirred up by the breath of an 8-year-old girl.
But there was one person who paid no mind to the undignified commotion.
"Aselt, older brother, can you really focus on a book in this situation?"
"Because commotion is something you hear with your ears."
*Rustle.*
A pale hand with reddish knuckles turned the page.
Aselt, sitting by the bay window and reading, was as peaceful as if he were enjoying a quiet holiday.
A peculiar point was that his eyes, which were reading the book, were covered with a black blindfold.
Aselt's black hair fluttered in the wind blowing through the open window.
"Everyone's clearly enchanted by that woman's daughter."
Kellik grumbled, watching Aselt, who alone remained unhurried.
Kellik, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, with his short red hair and amber eyes, brought to mind a red fox.
He looked even more so due to his vertically slit pupils, unlike others.
"Now even Dane is completely smitten."
"...Even Dane?"
Aselt's gaze, which had not paid attention to Kellik's words until now, finally left the book.
Vertically slit black pupils gleamed coolly beneath the blindfold, but Kellik didn't notice.
"Yeah. They're saying she's some Saintess of the Alchemy God or something, but it seems everyone's brains are just for decoration. What could such a tiny girl possibly know about alchemy? She looks about five or six years old, just by looking at her."
*Hmph,* Kellik snorted.
"She probably just memorized a few things to distinguish information to feed her mother. I don't know why they're teaching such a kid how to read."
"...Sophia Ashilonia."
"Yes, to that woman. Aren't Master's research materials going to be plundered again at this rate?"
Kellik, who had been muttering that he should at least get his act together, suddenly widened his eyes.
"But you surprisingly didn't forget? You're not interested in people, older brother."
One corner of Aselt's mouth twisted as he rubbed the edge of the book page with his fingertip.
"How could I forget? It's not just anyone, it's *that* woman."
*Chirp, chirp, chirp-*
Just then, a small yellow bird chirped and landed on the windowsill.
"Oh, a canary."
The moment Kellik pointed at the bird with his finger.
"Squeak!"
*Flap!*
Aselt's shadow, cast on the floor, instantly transformed into a snake and immediately chased the canary away.
Kellik, who saw the scene through the shadow, frowned.
"Honestly, I don't know why he hates yellow things so much."
"Kellik."
"Huh?"
"Do you know what color Sophia Ashilonia's hair is?"
As if he hadn't just transformed into a snake, Aselt picked up a fluttering canary feather and spoke.
"It's yellow."
After saying that, Aselt closed his book and stood up.
"Huh? My eyes are also yellow... Older brother, where are you going?"
Kellik, who had been muttering to Aselt's departing back, asked.
Aselt, who had already grasped the doorknob, turned to look at his brother, who seemed either foolish or innocent.
Then he curved his red lips into a smile.
"To see the baby canary."
* * *
At the same time, Mabel was completely engrossed in Ella's incredible tales of valor.
"I warned that man. 'If you ever disregard me for being a woman again, you will be neither man nor woman,' I said."
Ella clenched her hand in the air, making a gesture as if plucking something off.
"Then that man prostrated himself before me, apologized, and scurried away~ His Grand Ducal Highness seemed very impressed by this and offered me a knight position, but I declined because it was too much trouble, and then he offered me a maid position~ The pay was good, so I hesitated but accepted, and it was truly a relief~"
Finishing her story and returning to her usual tone, Ella wiped the cream from Mabel's mouth.
"To almost miss the chance to serve such a cute young miss~ Oh, what a close call~"
"Ehehe."
Mabel, still unaccustomed to compliments, laughed awkwardly.
"Alright~ My story about fighting 17-to-1 and saving His Grand Ducal Highness ends here~ Please finish your meal~"
Only then did Mabel realize that she had stopped eating her cake and and was completely absorbed in Ella's story.
Ella's storytelling skills were exceptionally good and entertaining.
Climbing the highest tree on the mountain at 3, knocking down a dominant male bear at 7, fighting 17-to-1 to save Sigmund at 13, and conquering an arrogant mercenary group to bring them into the knight order at 15!
Although preposterous, she told it so vividly that it felt real.
"But... it seems people are a bit late."
Mabel mumbled, taking a big bite of the cake she had speared with her fork.
It had already been an hour since they entered the glass greenhouse in the garden.
Even if they were making additional desserts because the number of picnic participants had increased, someone should have arrived by now.
"Right~? So much time has passed already~"
Ella, too, found it strange at that moment, so she immediately rose from her seat.
"I'll go check, so please wait a moment~"
Ella exited the glass greenhouse, muttering that it was truly strange.
And...
‘Ella isn't coming back either.’
At first, she thought Ella was just taking a while.
But as 10, then 20 minutes passed, Mabel couldn't stay still either.
Moreover, the surroundings were excessively quiet.
Not only human voices, but not even the chirp of a small bird, which had been singing all along, could be heard.
As if a predator were lurking nearby.
Suddenly, a creepy feeling came over her, and Mabel shivered.
"I-I should go too..."
It was then, as she deliberately muttered to herself and stood up, that the realization of being left alone suddenly frightened her.
"Hmm, it's not yellow."
A languid, beautiful voice spoke from right behind her.
Startled, she spun around, and there was a boy.
A strange, handsome boy with hair as black as night, his eyes covered with a cloth of the same color.
"Uh, since when...?"
She hadn't known he was sitting right behind her.
"Only just noticing. I was so bored waiting, I almost went crazy."
Unlike Mabel, who was frozen stiff with shock, the boy was overflowing with composure.
"I heard you lived caged, but you really couldn't survive in the wild."
He smiled softly, saying something she didn't understand.
"Nice to meet you."
The boy seemed very friendly, but Mabel instinctively stumbled backward.
It was purely instinctual.
She felt a cold trickle of sweat run down her spine.
By then, Mabel had forgotten even to breathe.
But the boy paid no mind and even extended his hand.
"My name is Aselt."
She knew.
Aselt Elapid.
Mabel screamed internally.
Because that boy was the villain Mabel had been trying to find!
