It’s even more dangerous if it’s not a fairy.
Because it means a strange, unfamiliar child is in our house.
Just in case, I prepared to flee at any moment, leaning against the door while scanning the room.
There were no signs of a break-in.
If it happened while Dad wasn’t around, maybe, but if someone really had broken in, there’s no way Dad wouldn’t have noticed.
And most importantly, the clothes the kid was wearing—
It looked a bit big on them, but it seemed like the shirt Dietrich always wore, which usually fit him perfectly.
“Did Dad bring you here? Are you Dietrich’s friend?”
Once again, the child didn’t answer my question.
While I wasn’t expecting much of a reply, my eyes caught something placed on the slightly open windowsill as I was thoroughly inspecting the room.
That’s…
The child noticed where my gaze was directed and tried to block the window with their body, but I had already seen what was there.
“Don’t put the cup there. If it falls, it’ll break and someone might get hurt.”
Why would anyone put a glass cup on the windowsill where it might break if it fell?
And it wasn’t even placed on the inner sill but on the outer edge. The cup seemed to be more than half full of water.
Were they trying to play some sort of prank on passersby?
“Don’t do that. Come over here, sit down, and drink some water. There are snacks too.”
On the table in the corner of the room was a tray with a water bottle and some snacks.
There was no sign anyone had touched them.
Thinking the kid might be playing with the cup, I gestured toward the snacks to coax them, but they didn’t move an inch from the window.
Why are they acting like that?
Today, at least, the rain had stopped and the wind had calmed down compared to last night, so it seemed less likely for someone to slip.
‘…Rain?’
Standing by the window, the child’s pale, cracked lips caught my attention.
The transparent water in the bottle didn’t seem to have decreased even slightly.
Which means the water in the cup I saw earlier was most likely rainwater.
Why rainwater?
As I tried to take a step further into the room out of curiosity, a wave of reddish heat surged up, as if to block my way.
I quickly waved my hands to disperse the heat.
“Hot! It’s hot!”
“Don’t come any closer.”
The voice sounded hoarse, like it hadn’t been used for a long time, almost like it was breaking apart.
The expression of caution and the sharp glare they directed at me—
I let my guard down, thinking they were just a child. That could have been a big mistake.
“Alright, I’ll leave. Goodbye.”
Trying not to provoke then any further, I stepped back cautiously and exited the room, shaking my burning hands.
Thankfully, they didn’t attack me as I retreated.
Looking down at my still slightly burning palms, I saw that they were flushed red.
It didn’t seem like a severe injury, luckily.
‘But seriously, who is this strange kid in our house…?’
Should I ask Dad about this?
“Young miss!”
“Kyaaa! The nanny!”
“Stop right there!”
On my way to ask Dad about the strange child, I found myself dangling midair, caught in the hallway by the nanny.
I completely forgot I was in the middle of an escape!
“Leaving just a note and running away! You really gave this nanny a fright, young miss!”
“I wasn’t running away! I just said I hate learning the Holy Kingdom language!”
“Even though you’ve only been learning the Imperial language for a few days, you’re already forming short sentences. Someone as talented as you should learn all sorts of things…!”
If this goes on, the nanny will really think of me as a genius.
Desperate to avoid such a dire situation, I quickly lifted my reddened palms and exaggerated my pain.
“Nanny, my hands are hot. Look, they’re red.”
Though it wasn’t a major burn, my hands had indeed turned red.
As I stretched out my palms and drew out a pitiful expression, the nanny forgot her scolding and carried me straight to the kitchen in a hurry.
That intense heat I felt earlier…
It was brief, but it felt as though the entire air around me was boiling.
“N-Nanny!”
As the nanny entered the kitchen carrying me, one of the servants rushed over, stuttering.
Why does he look so startled?
Looking at where he had been standing moments ago, I spotted a knight sitting with a mountain of cookies in front of him.
Offering snacks to knights in the kitchen isn’t unusual, so why was he so flustered?
“Bring some ice water. The young miss injured her hand.”
“Y-Yes! Right away!”
Following the nanny’s instructions, the servant quickly fetched ice water.
The moment I dipped my hands into the icy water, the coldness stung my fingertips, and the nanny frowned as she observed me.
“How did this happen?”
Though it was a power I had never seen before, I wondered if the nanny might know something about it.
I was about to ask her about the strange power the child had used but stopped myself out of habit and scanned my surroundings.
As expected, the servant, who had been openly watching us, pretended to busy himself with the cabinet.
‘Judging by his unfamiliar face, he must be a servant sent from the main house.’
Servants from the main house had always been like this.
Even from the time Dietrich and I were eating cake, they would stare at us as though they were monitoring us.
Back then, I thought it was just my imagination, but spending more time with them solidified my suspicion that it wasn’t.
Unlike the butler or Yasmin, who had been locked in the punishment room, most of the main house’s servants and maids still seemed to be in place. I couldn’t speak freely in front of them.
Biting my lip, I decided to come up with a convenient excuse.
“I tripped while running…”
“What? But it looks like a burn. Didn’t you just say it was hot earlier? There’s still heat radiating from your palms.”
“No! It was like this—ouch, ouch, ouch—and then I slipped!”
Stretching out both arms, I mimicked a ridiculous sliding pose, making the nanny tilt her head in confusion.
Meanwhile, the servant continued to linger nearby, pretending to organize the cabinet.
Before the nanny could question me further, I needed to change the topic.
Fortunately, there was something I had been meaning to ask her. Pretending as if I’d just remembered, I widened my eyes.
“Oh! Nanny, do you know what ‘protective blessing’ is?”
The power that child used earlier seemed very similar to the one Dad used.
Without moving a finger or chanting any spells, they could use extraordinary powers in an instant.
If that power is magic, shouldn’t there be some sort of chant involved?
Is it something like a broom, like in those magic movies?
In the wizard movies I’ve seen, they always chant and wave a wand.
If it doesn’t work like that, could it be the ‘protective blessing’ the butler mentioned?
“Protective blessing is a power passed down through the bloodlines of the Imperial family and the Four Great Duke Houses, young miss.”
Though I directed my question to the nanny, a knight nearby shifted closer to us and intercepted the answer.
He had a distinctive long scar running across his left cheek.
“According to the founding myth, protective blessing is said to be a divine power bestowed upon humans during the ancient war between gods and demons, when they sided with the gods.”
“Divine power?”
“Yes. It’s said that the five chosen apostles from that time became the first Emperor and the founders of the Four Duke Houses. They received a share of the gods’ power.”
“So, does that mean Dad too?”
“Of course. All direct descendants of the Duke Houses can awaken their protective blessing through training. One day, when you grow older, you’ll also be able to use protective blessing.”
Is our family’s power ice?
No, there was that time the coachman’s body seemed to be drained of all its moisture, so it might be more accurate to say it’s water-related.
After all, ice is just frozen water, so the source is probably the same.
‘Could I also use water powers if I train?’
Excitement surged within me.
Yes! Reincarnation into another world should come with at least this much supernatural ability!
“From today—!”
“No. The Master has said you must master the letters first.”
The nanny is really tough.
I was planning to use the moment to slyly transition into knight training, but no luck there.
Clicking my tongue and turning my head in frustration, I pouted and decided to clear up some lingering questions.
“Is our family’s protective blessing water?”
The same knight nodded in response.
“Yes. Didn’t you see Sir Leopord use his protective blessing last time?”
Then which family uses fire as their protective blessing?
