What’s this?
Compared to my dull and passive father, the reaction is too intense.
Anyway, I continued speaking.
“They’re just occasionally visiting the mansion to review the clues left by Aurora.”
“But still, strangers are dangerous! How vulnerable you are without even using magic!”
The moment I heard that, the instinct to refute writhed within me.
I am not Seraphina Viviana, born into a wizarding family but unable to use magic anymore!
“What if I could use magic?”
“What?”
“I can show you magic now, father.”
While my father looked bewildered, I quickly retrieved a book named ‘Spatial Magic’ from the pile of books in the corner.
Let’s see, some usable magic…
– Spatial teleportation of objects.
– Within the range of sight, objects can be teleported. What’s needed is mana specialized in spatial magic, along with sufficient knowledge of calculus and geometry.
“Let me move that doll for you.”
Saying so, I pointed to the teddy bear on the bed.
With jewels adorning its eyes, nose, and mouth, the doll truly felt like it was possessed by a noble girl from a prestigious family.
Moving objects is somewhat ironic, thanks to Zeno’s paradox.
To move from the current point to the target point, one must pass through intermediate points, and then through intermediate points again, and again… essentially passing through an infinite number of points, which is impossible… of course, Zeno’s paradox is resolved by the characteristics of infinite series, but…
Oh well, it’s boring, so I’ll skip it. Poor readers of this fantasy novel won’t find magic amusing every time it appears.
If we were to grade this magic, it would be like a third grade. Not too difficult to achieve, but also a magic that you can’t use without studying.
Anyway, using calculus, I successfully completed the magic circle as before. As the magic circle succeeded, a bright white light flashed. And…
“Wush, there we go.”
The teddy bear on the bed floated up and went above my father’s head.
My father, grabbing the teddy bear that was about to fall, widened his eyes.
“You, don’t tell me…”
“Um, I studied math a bit harder. And I hadn’t tried spatial magic because the theory was too difficult, but surprisingly, I had talent for it…”
As I was explaining in detail to avoid his suspicion, he shouted with joy as if such things didn’t matter.
“Seraphina, you’re a spatial magician!”
“Well, you could say that.”
“Goodness, not a fire mage, nor a water mage, nor a dark mage, nor a music mage, but a spatial magician! My daughter is that rare magician!”
He was extremely delighted. Quite an unexpected reaction.
Did this person never really dislike me?
I thought he’d scold me for being the only one in the wizarding family who couldn’t use magic. Maybe it was just the original Seraphina feeling inferior?
“Wow, to use magic, you need innate mana and mathematical knowledge. Actually, you had enough mana, but I was worried because you hadn’t used magic before… Learning math has made you such a great magician!”
Hmm, so that’s how magic works in this world. Then, was the original Seraphina really unable to use magic because of math? That’s kind of sad.
“I’m touched that you’ve been secretly working hard all this time!”
“Hahaha…”
“Those gossiping fools will quiet down now! How much you must have suffered quietly all this time, putting in so much effort… My poor daughter…”
Hmm, it seems like he’s closer to liking me more than I thought.
“You don’t worry! I’ll stop the Marquess Shae, you don’t have to go out there yourself!”
“Pardon, father?”
“Just stay put! I’ll handle the negotiations!”
… I didn’t expect this.
Still, it wasn’t a bad thing for me, so I decided to keep quiet.
I didn’t want to get tangled up with a bunch of bad-tempered male leads.
***
My father confidently sent a letter to Marquess, suggesting another meeting.
Meanwhile, with Abigail’s help, I sneaked out without my father’s knowledge.
“Uh wait, no matter what, I wouldn’t have invested all my assets.”
My father was on my side, and the male leads didn’t blame me either.
So, could my life in this world be easier than I thought?
No, no.
Still, since I was the ‘villainess’ in the original, the attitudes of the male leads might change at any moment, and they might try to attack me.
In that case, I might also have to follow Aurora and become a runaway heroine.
What I needed in this situation was money! Money is always necessary to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.
So, I visited the bank with Abigail.
On the way to the bank, I saw the scenery outside the mansion for the first time.
Lawn-mowing automatons were placed in the garden, there were tourists taking pictures with cameras, and there were people riding one-person steam carriages recklessly.
The background of this novel was a steampunk world developed with magic engineering, and seeing it like this made it even more realistic.
Recently, there have been issues with AI automatons attacking humans, indicating that the technology might not be perfect yet.
“You must be from the Count Viviana’s family.”
As I stepped into the bank, a banker recognized the crest of the carriage and approached me.
“If you could wait for a moment, I’ll summon a dedicated officer for you shortly.”
“Yes.”
He led me to a room that seemed to be for nobles waiting. Luxurious decorations adorned the place, and the few people sitting in the room were all dressed in expensive-looking clothes.
Then, I made eye contact with the man sitting next to me.
“Ah.”
This is crazy, why is this guy here?
He was a man with shining silver hair under the lights and blue eyes reminiscent of an angel’s.
In fact, his face was so gentle and kind that one could believe he was indeed an angel.
Simone Monteverdi.
Marquess Monteverdi who rose to his title at a young age and the youngest Minister of Administration.
Wait, the last male lead is here too, after I just meeting the others today?
While I marveled at this astonishing situation, Simone approached me with an elegant voice.
“Hello, Lasy Viviana. I heard my friends visited you today.”
“Oh, right. Hello, Marquess Monteverdi. Nice to meet you.”
“…Actually, it’s not our first meeting. We crossed paths at the ballroom before, do you remember? I recall Lady Viviana had her hair neatly braided that day.”
“Oh, yes. Now that you mention it, I do remember. It was the day my automaton maid braided my hair.”
Compared to the other three male leads, Simone seemed to have a relatively normal personality on the surface, but he was also the only one who could control the male leads.
“I didn’t expect to meet you here.”
“Me neither.”
“Did you have a good conversation with my friends during the day?”
“Um…”
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“At first, I thought they were intimidating, but surprisingly, we had a good conversation. Fortunately, they didn’t try to take my money or act threateningly. We had a nice talk.”
“…Hmm, I see.”
Simone gave a faint smile.
“I think I know why you’re friends with Aurora.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s such a thing.”
What is it? Am I also seen as innocent and frail like Aurora in the original work?
Still, I seem to have a stronger mentality compared to Aurora, who would lose her composure at the drop of a hat.
Then, I noticed the document in Simone’s hand. What’s with that long sentence?
As if sensing my gaze, Simone spoke up.
“Oh, by the way, I heard from Aurora. She said Lady Viviana are smart.”
“Really?”
Aurora talked about me? Of course, it probably wasn’t in a favorable light regarding Seraphina, but still…
“It’s fortunate we met here. Perhaps Lady Viviana could help me.”
“Help you with what?”
“Could you take a look at this for a moment?”
With that, he showed me the document, which contained the following:
– “Certainly, one of them was a technician among them, but I can’t recall the technician’s name.”
“It’s a testimony from a witness at the crime scene. Apparently, they don’t remember all the information due to poor memory.”
《 Three passengers with the last names of Buffon, Moretti, and Juliny were on the Pérez-Trevelora train. These three men were an technician, a soldier, and a commander, respectively, and coincidentally they all had the same name.
1. Buffon lives in Pérez.
2. The commander lives between Pérez and Trevelora.
3. The passenger with the same name as the commander lives in Trevelora.
4. The passenger living closest to the commander earns exactly three times the commander’s salary per month.
5. Moretti earns 200 Rubles per month.
6. Juliny recently defeated the soldier he rode the train with in a billiards game. 》
“We need to find out the technician’s surname among these.”
