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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Legendary Intuition
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After that, Axel and I repeated the same test more than ten times.

Each time, I got the answer right.

My accuracy was so astounding that even I was surprised, let alone Axel.

‘Legendary Intuition… this is amazing, isn’t it?’

If Legendary Intuition was this good, I could only imagine how incredible Mythic Intuition would be.

I grinned, lost in a happy fantasy.

With this intuition, I could go to any gambling den and never lose money.

I pictured myself striding confidently through the doors of a casino.

The image wasn't particularly impressive, since I was still a four-year-old kid, but the thought of raking in cash was delightful.

But my beautiful daydream was quickly shattered.

“Ouch!”

Axel had flicked me lightly on the forehead.

“You are absolutely not allowed to go to a gambling den.”

Axel said with such conviction, it was as if he’d just taken a trip inside my head.

I clutched my head with both hands, my eyes wide.

“What? How’d you know!”

Had this guy developed some kind of mind-reading magic without my knowledge?

“As if.”

Axel clicked his tongue.

“We’ve been stuck together for ages. I know exactly what you’d be thinking in a situation like this.”

True.

I could read Axel’s thoughts just as easily.

‘What a relief. It’s not like he developed a magic more powerful than mine.’

I let out a sigh of relief and leaned back against the carriage wall.

“Anyway, we gotta get that kid. My intuition says so.”

Having witnessed my intuition firsthand, Axel didn’t doubt its necessity.

The problem was the method.

“Even if he’s illegitimate, he’s still Duke Kroiche’s son. They’re not some pushover family. How do you propose we get their son?”

“Hmm…”

I stroked my chin, pondering, then shouted the answer that flashed into my mind.

“Kidnap?”

“Hah.”

A dry laugh escaped Axel’s lips.

“So much for being a Saintess. Looks like you haven’t shed your old black mage habits.”

Axel even shook his head as if I were a lost cause.

‘But it’s the easiest way.’

I pouted and gazed out the window.

We were already nearing the Elpinade ducal estate.

Most aristocratic mansions looked similar and were hard to tell apart.

However, the Elpinade estate had a unique structure that made it easily recognizable from a distance.

It was a tall, pure white tower, known as the ‘Ivory Tower.’

It was there that the Elpinade ducal family nurtured talents capable of interpreting the divine book of prophecies, earning them a reputation as a house of scholars for generations.

‘The book of prophecies is said to contain the crises that will one day befall the empire and the methods to overcome them, right?’

But the entire book was encrypted, and even the brilliant geniuses gathered in the Ivory Tower had yet to fully decipher it.

The Ivory Tower invited and educated talented children regardless of their social status, but the selection criteria were so strict that not just anyone was chosen.

It was no exaggeration to say that all the smartest people in the world were in the Ivory Tower.

Being educated at Elpinade’s Ivory Tower was proof of one’s intelligence, an honor coveted not only by nobles but by royalty as well.

‘Plus, an invitation to the Ivory Tower comes with room and board, so children from poor families are desperate to get in… huh?’

A spark of inspiration ignited at the end of that natural train of thought.

An invitation to the Ivory Tower was not a choice, but a duty.

The first emperor considered the deciphering of the prophecies an essential task and issued an imperial decree that any talent designated by the Ivory Tower could not refuse the summons.

Since the prophecies remained undeciphered, that imperial decree was still in effect.

‘I think I just…’

Found a more elegant solution than kidnapping?

“Axel. Is there a way to get into the Ivory Tower?”

Just by asking, Axel seemed to have understood my entire plan.

He narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.

“You and your clever little schemes.”

At his merciless praise (?), I proudly lifted my chin.

“Thanks for the compliment.”

At my confident attitude, Axel shook his head with a familiar, weary expression.

“Ordinary people can’t get in. Admission to the Ivory Tower is only possible after passing the invitation committee’s rigorous screening process.”

“Scweening?”

“Usually, there’s a test. A lot of people want to enter the Ivory Tower, and the tower welcomes any talent it can find.”

“A test…”

I stroked my chin and asked.

“Can I take it too?”

“You? A test?”

“Yeah.”

Even Axel, who claimed to know my thoughts so well, stared at me as if he couldn’t comprehend it this time.

“You could, I suppose. If you get a recommendation. You can get a chance to take the test with a letter of recommendation from someone on the invitation committee, but…”

As I met Axel’s questioning blue eyes, a forgotten fact flashed in my mind.

“Wight! Piggy!”

I left him at the temple!

* * *

“Piggy!”

The moment I returned to my room, I hugged Piggy tightly.

Fortunately, when Axel had first made Piggy, he’d included a ‘find its way home’ feature!

Of course, Axel’s reaction had been incredibly smug. “I knew a day like this would come, with that clumsy personality of yours,” he’d scoffed, which was thoroughly annoying.

‘But what if I move?’

Would Piggy still recognize the new place as home and return?

‘I’ll have to ask Axel later.’

It was a crucial question, since I might have to move to the temple one day.

As I rolled around on the bed, happily clutching Piggy, the three flower-named maids approached with warm smiles.

“It seems you had a pleasant outing, Young Lady.”

“Yes.”

I answered Lily’s question promptly.

I’d extended my lifespan and landed a satisfying smack on the forehead of Duke Kroiche, my nemesis from a past life. Of course, it was pleasant.

‘And I even got Legendary Intuition.’

It had been a very fruitful outing.

Seeing my bright smile, Rose and Daisy whispered to each other in surprise.

“I never knew Young Master Axel had a knack for looking after children.”

“I agree. He’s somewhat lenient with children, but I can’t imagine the Young Master ever accommodating anyone else.”

‘Right, right.’

I wholeheartedly agreed with Rose and Daisy in my mind.

Perhaps because they had served Axel in the Elpinade household for so long, they had a perfect grasp of his character.

Of course, their whispering…

“Where do you find servants who gossip so openly about their master?”

…ended with Lily lightly smacking their backs.

“There’s no one else to hear. What’s the harm?”

“That’s right. It’s just us.”

Rose and Daisy giggled, clinging to Lily’s arm.

Since I looked like a perfect child on the outside, it seemed they didn’t count me as ‘someone who could hear.’

In the end, Lily sighed with a helpless smile and didn’t scold them further.

“Instead of whispering, hurry and prepare her bath. The Young Lady hasn’t even had a meal yet.”

*Grumble.*

Just as Lily said that, my stomach let out a loud growl.

The sound made all three of them—and me, frankly—stare with wide eyes.

“Oh, my! Are you very hungry?”

As Lily asked, I realized I hadn't eaten anything special.

I’d been busy since morning meeting the duke, defeating Hannah (?), and visiting the temple. I had been on an empty stomach the whole time.

“Yes. I haven’t eaten anything.”

“Goodness. You must have a snack to tide you over before your bath.”

Under Lily’s direction, Rose and Daisy began to move briskly.

In less than ten minutes, muffins, cookies, and a glass of warm milk were set before me.