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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Mysterious Diary
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Emil trembled as he took out the second palette.
“I brought this one just in case…”
This one was coated in black paint.
And it was covered in dust, as if it hadn't been used in a long time.
“This one detects curses. Would you like to try?”
Thinking of Rose, I placed my palm on it without hesitation.
When I touched the first palette, I felt nothing, but strangely, my palm began to tingle.
Winter asked skeptically.
“Are you sure that thing even works properly?”
“Of course! Don’t you trust my skills, which once bested the Master of the Magic Tower?”
“Wasn’t that before Kivrin was even born? I can’t trust you when you’ve had no achievements since.”
“Gah.”
While the two were talking, I wiggled my hand.
Menelik asked.
“Does it feel unpleasant, like at the temple?”
I answered honestly.
“Not really… It just feels a bit crude.”
Winter wore an ‘I-told-you-so’ expression.
Emil flinched dramatically.
“Curses were only prevalent at least a thousand years ago, you know! The only reason I’ve mastered this much is because I’m a genius!”
Menelik scoffed.
“Mages always lock themselves away in their studies. Their prime never lasts long.”
“How can you say something only a swordsman who rolls around in a filthy training ground all year would say!”
“I’m a swordsman too, you know.”
“…”
“Say that again.”
While Emil groveled, admitting his slip of the tongue, I fiddled with the palette.
*Hmm, what do I know about curses to think this feels crude?*
Rose had said she learned curses from Del.
*Could curses be related to me, too?*
As I tilted my head in thought, Winter wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“At least it seems those viscount scoundrels didn’t do anything wicked to you, so that’s a relief. Then what could be the reason? It’s so worrying that even feeding you the most precious and finest things only has a temporary effect.”
Emil, who had been getting chewed out by Menelik, brightened up.
“I knew you would believe in me, My Lady! Ah, but I don’t think my concerns are baseless. The Young Lady is the first person I’ve ever been unable to detect.”
Emil chattered on excitedly.
“This is astonishing. I was born with many talents, but my detection ability is the best of them all. When I first met you, I thought it was because you were weak, but it’s strange that I can’t even sense the most basic life energy from you. Even a single flower or an insect has it.”
My eyes widened.
“W-what does that mean?”
“It either means you’re on the verge of death, or that you’re so powerful my ability doesn’t work on you. The former is more likely than the latter… Gack!”
Winter shot a cold glare at Emil, who had finally earned himself a smack.
“How impudent.”
“…I’m sorry. Please spare me.”
Emil apologized readily, then bowed deeply at the waist.
“Still, Young Lady, you don’t need to be too anxious about what I said. You’re a noble Nectarian, so no matter what, I’ll dedicate my life to helping you recover.”
Emil said he would protect me, even knowing there was something strange about me.
Menelik and Winter were the same.
Thanks to them, instead of trembling with anxiety, I could think one step ahead.
“Thank you so much. But Emil, were you able to properly see the Young Lord’s life energy?”
“Hmm, instead of that, I saw something… immense, you could say?”
I racked my brain.
Emil wasn’t the only one who couldn’t detect me. It was everyone except Kivrin.
But both of Emil’s hypotheses were hard to accept.
The Cheria in had lived a harder life than me, yet she safely made it to her coming-of-age ceremony.
Therefore, I couldn’t be on the verge of death.
The hypothesis that I was so powerful that his ability didn’t work… Yeah, that didn’t seem realistic.
“Could it be that I have an ability to hide my life energy or something? Like an illusion?”
“That is a common ability, but it’s crude. It will inevitably be seen through by someone stronger than the user.”
“So, the fact that you couldn’t see through it means…”
“It’s simple. It means they’re weaker than you.”
My eyes widened in shock.
By that logic, it would mean I could be stronger than a Sword Master, the Pope, and the Saintess, which was utterly absurd.
I kept my mouth shut.
Since nothing was certain, I figured it was better to let Emil think I was the weakest person in the world.
“Oh, right, I heard you attended a tea party for the first time today. How was it?”
That was the fifth time I’d heard that question. At this point, it was starting to get scary.
“Is my schedule posted somewhere for everyone to see…?”
“Not a schedule, but there was someone who was stopped from following you with a telescope.”
*A telescope…?*
Winter clamped a hand over Menelik’s mouth and hurriedly changed the subject.
“S-so, Cheria, why did you come looking for me?”
Anyway, Winter had said she’d love me even if I were an earthworm, so I spoke, full of expectation.
“Ah, well! I was hoping you would spend some time with me, Mother!”
I didn’t have to wait with bated breath.
Winter gave a rare, radiant smile.
“I would love to. I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”
*My mother is so beautiful when she smiles! Of course, she’s beautiful even when she’s not!*
Winter immediately took me not to her office, but to her personal study.
But not before kicking Menelik out.
—*We’re going to be alone, so you go play by yourself.*
*I think Father’s feelings were hurt…*
Winter’s personal study was quite cozy. And it was warmer than the other rooms, which were temperature-controlled automatically.
Plumply stuffed cushions and a thick, plaid carpet gave it a snug and warm feeling.
A mobile made of mother-of-pearl hung by the window, and a flower chandelier on the ceiling cast a soft glow.
The bookshelf held only a few dozen books.
I sat next to a doll that was resting primly on the sofa.
The doll, worn from being cherished by someone, was wearing the bracelet I had gifted to Winter.
Though it was called a study, it exuded the air of a deeply personal space, making my heart race.
“There’s nothing dangerous here, so feel free to look around. I’ll make you some cocoa. I can at least manage that.”
I craned my neck, peeking around here and there.
Just then, a book fell from the bookshelf with a thud.
*Huh?* I picked up the book and put it back.
But then the book fell again, as if the bookshelf had spat it out.
*What is wrong with you?!*
Wondering if the bookshelf was haunted, I picked up the book, trembling.
This time, I placed it on a display cabinet.
But the book immediately fell off.
“…What is this?”
I pursed my lips and glared at the book.
*Is the problem not the bookshelf, but this book?*
I lightly nudged the book lying on the floor with my toe, then crouched down.
*Is it a magic book?*
I carefully flipped open the first page with my finger.
It was written that this was a copy of something.
Flipping a little further, I saw the same characters I’d seen on the stone slate and in the formula carved on Kivrin’s back.
I could still read them as easily as the imperial language.
[My lady said she likes me because I’m pretty. I said I fucking like my lady too, but then she scolded me and asked where I learned such words.]
*A diary?*
[My lady thought I was human and gave me food. I told her it was my first time eating something like this, and now she keeps making me things. My tongue is being tortured… I wish she would let me do it from now on… (Footnote: Given the many corrections, we can surmise the content was of a very serious nature.)]
*That’s not what that footnote is about…*
It was a mercilessly harsh critique of the cooking.
And the way of speaking had a strangely childish tone.
*Could the stone slate in the artifact storage have been written by the same being? It did say it liked pretty hands.*
*Maybe that’s the preference of the ‘lady’ mentioned here.*
“Huhu, are you looking at that book? I doubt you’ll find anything interesting in it.”
I must have been focused without realizing it, because Winter’s voice made me jump.
Feeling unnecessarily guilty, I placed the diary just anywhere. It promptly fell with a thud again.
“…”
*Why does it keep doing this!*
As Winter stared at me, I gave an awkward laugh.
“C-can I borrow this?”
“I don’t mind, but wouldn’t a picture book be better? No one can decipher those characters, you see.”
*Maybe I should be glad that no one can decipher it…*
I sat on the sofa and placed someone’s diary on my lap.
