Chapter 16
It felt like a decade-long pent-up frustration was finally coming to a head.
Before going to bed, Elysia repeatedly pictured Fiona’s face in her mind.
It was the image of Fiona desperately trying to protect the walls she had built up.
It was the last image of Fiona that Elysia had hoped for.
“Partin Elysia. Are you listening?”
Eden gave Elysia a look more fitting for a scholar than a mage.
Elysia, still reminiscing about the thrill of yesterday, responded without hesitation.
“Of course.”
She didn’t forget to give a relaxed smile.
But inwardly, she cursed being called Partin.
Eden, oblivious to this fact, glanced at Elysia with a doubtful look and then shifted his gaze back to the book.
“Then let me continue. The number of mages is decreasing. Just a few hundred years ago, if both parents possessed mana, the child born between them would also have a high probability of being born with mana.”
Elysia, who had studied the history of the continent, was already familiar with this knowledge.
It was inevitable.
Most of the history recorded was about Meldion and magic.
Meldion was the history of the empire, and consequently, the history of the continent.
So, without Meldion and magic, nothing would remain in history, whether one liked it or not.
“If it were just a matter of not being born, it wouldn’t have become such a problem.”
“……”
“Although it’s a difficult part to explain to a novice like you, the factors contributing to the decrease in the number of mages are mainly attributed to the decrease in mage births and mana diseases.”
Even though he appeared expressionless, his statement didn’t carry much credibility.
Elysia didn’t feel any sympathy towards Eden, so she didn’t find his attitude displeasing.
In the first place, Eden was in no position to sympathize with Elysia.
“Due to the unknown cause and the lack of a cure, mages afflicted with mana diseases are left with no choice but to await their impending death quietly.”
Fear crept into Eden’s eyes, which were heavily shadowed with dark circles.
‘He won’t last long.’
Elysia speculated on the lifespan of the instructor in front of her.
As Eden had shown indifference to Isabella’s death, Elysia also felt indifferent to his death.
Afflicted with mana disease, relinquishing his position as a mage, Eden, who had emerged from the shadow of the mage tower, didn’t even consider resting at home and immediately leapt into the path of an instructor.
In his classes, his pride as a former mage overflowed.
Perhaps that was why Elysia felt that his work as an instructor was like a lingering attachment to his mage days.
As if determined to fulfill the duties of an instructor, Eden effortlessly continued his explanation, making it hard to believe that he was the one suffering from the disease.
“There are various symptoms. Some people suffer and eventually die, while others unexpectedly die without any prior signs, even when they seemed healthy.”
Isabella belonged to the former category.
And he, perhaps, belonged to the latter.
Externally, signs of fatigue were evident, but that was all.
He didn’t experience seizures like Isabella, and apart from a diminished vigour, he seemed to carry on with his daily life without difficulty.
Wouldn’t it have been better if Isabella had lived like Eden and then died?
The question seemed to have no answer.
“Today, it seems like Yeongae can’t concentrate.”
Perhaps it’s because of the topic.
As if he knew enough, Eden shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yes?”
Did he really fail to control his expression?
Elysia’s lips stiffened awkwardly.
“Let’s finish the lesson here today.”
“….”
Eden travelled to the Celestial Realm in the Empire every week for Elysia’s weekly lessons.
Despite understanding Elysia’s situation from Eden’s perspective of having to travel long distances, it was inevitable for him to feel annoyed.
“I’m sorry.”
Knowing Eden’s efforts, Elysia humbly apologized for her mistake.
When the highest-ranking nobleman’s daughter, Elysia, apologized, Eden’s expression softened slightly.
“I’ll come back next week.”
“Yes. See you next week.”
With a farewell anticipating the next week, Eden left Elysia’s room.
Alone, Elysia rubbed her forehead to soothe her stiff expression.
Though not as bad as Eden’s, Elysia’s complexion was not in a good state either.
Ignoring her own condition, Elysia put on her coat.
She didn’t forget to tuck the candy for Eden into the pocket of her coat.
As she brushed off her tired look, Elysia’s face remained expressionless.
Having finished her preparations, Elysia leaned against the window, waiting for Eden to come out of the mansion.
“He’s gone.”
After a long wait, she saw Eden leaving the mansion with Edic there to greet him.
As if acknowledging the wait, Elysia turned and left the room.
She walked through the narrow corridor, descended the stairs without delay, and as she reached the ground floor, a wide view of the outside landscape opened beyond the main house door.
A serene autumn landscape.
With no one around, it felt even more desolate.
With her unexpected impressions, Elysia passed through the main house door.
As she stepped outside, the dry autumn wind brushed past Elysia’s clothes.
Ignoring the cool autumn breeze, she was about to turn towards the direction of the annex.
“Sister!”
A familiar voice caught Elysia’s steps.
“Ariel.”
Elysia stopped and turned towards the direction where the endearing voice of her younger sister Ariel was coming from.
Sure enough, Ariel was running towards her, waving her arms energetically from a distance.
Not expecting to meet Ariel at this time, Elysia was slightly surprised.
But soon, she smiled affectionately and said, “Don’t run. You might fall.”
“Okay!”
Despite the spirited response, Ariel continued running towards her with all her might.
It was Ariel’s effort to get closer to her sister as quickly as possible.
“You’re full of energy today too.”
Finally reaching Elysia, she tidied up her younger sister’s sweaty hair around her forehead and neck.
Before finding Elysia, Ariel had clearly been playing vigorously, as her hair was stuck with sweat around her forehead and neck.
As she removed the clinging strands of hair from Ariel’s neck with a familiar touch, Ariel smiled satisfactorily and clung to Elysia’s arm.
Elysia, who usually focused on exercise and building relationships, lived a minimal life even in her mansion, rarely taking walks.
Even now, unless she was going to meet Eden, she wouldn’t bother strolling through the garden.
“Then I’ll call you!”
Ariel said, puffing up her cheeks. Feeling disappointed about missing a rare opportunity, Elysia’s frustration surfaced over Ariel’s white cheeks.
“I was just planning to go inside for a moment.”
“Still…”
Lately, feeling it was difficult to meet Elysia, Ariel felt upset even about such trivial matters.
“Yesterday, I waited to have dinner together…”
Ariel said, resting her forehead on Elysia’s shoulder.
Elysia’s lips curved upwards at the endearing antics of her younger sister.
“What did you say last time, sis?”
Elysia asked, caressing Ariel’s head affectionately.
Ariel tucked her cheek in and replied, “If you’re late, don’t wait and just eat first… so, I heard Rachel and ate right away!”
When she felt like sulking for waiting, she would change her attitude immediately, claiming she didn’t wait long because she might get upset.
‘So cute.’ Finding the contradictory attitude cute, Elysia couldn’t resist and hugged Ariel tightly.
“Oops!” A strange sound escaped Ariel’s lips as she suddenly buried her face in Elysia’s embrace.
Temporarily forgetting her discomfort with her crumpled face, Ariel also wrapped her arms around Elysia’s back.
“Sis… Are you busy these days?”
Ariel, like Elysia, had never been outside the mansion.
Therefore, in such an environment, it was natural for Ariel to be fixated on playing with Elysia, her only companion being her sister Elysia and the maid Roa.
“I can’t seem to find time due to the new job I took on.”
Elysia buried her face in Ariel’s shoulder and made an excuse. “You eat well even without me, okay?”
“Ugh. If anyone hears this, they’ll think you’re going far away.”
Just the thought of it was unpleasant. Unlike usual, she was complaining to Elysia.
“Really? Sorry.”
Even while apologizing, Elysia continued to smile.
Whatever Ariel did, in Elysia’s eyes, everything from one to ten looked adorable.
“Hmph! I forgive you because you’re my sister.”
Perhaps enjoying Ariel’s playful apology, Elysia responded with a teasing tone. Cutting through the quiet autumn air, a warm atmosphere enveloped the two. Suddenly, Elysia, sensing something strange, raised her head and asked, “But Ariel, what about your classes?”
The warm atmosphere quickly turned tense. Ariel subtly turned her head away from Elysia. “Oh, today is a day off….”
“Is it as you please?”
“…….”
“Why are you sweating so much? Did you run away from Roa?”
“…….”
Every word that was said hit the mark, so Ariel could do nothing but keep her mouth shut without making any excuses.
“Ariel, what’s the point of skipping a class that only happens twice a week?”
It was not even half of Elysia’s class time. Even that was forcefully reduced by Elysia.
But even that was disliked enough to run away like this.
She had been complacent, thinking that the number of times she ran away had decreased compared to last year.
“But, but it’s not… fun….”
‘To call that an excuse…’
It was such a typical Ariel-like excuse that she even felt disappointed.
Elysia, who had remained silent and distanced herself from Ariel, looked down at her younger sister, whose eyes sparkled like a dead fish.
“Sorry… Are you angry?”
Aiming to somehow melt Elysia’s frozen heart, Ariel clasped her hands together and widened her eyes.
It was a ploy to play cute and relieve Elysia’s mood, even resorting to acting cute.
A ploy that was clearly visible in Elysia’s eyes.
“Ha….”
Whenever Ariel made a mistake, she would do three things.
Act cute. Act lovely. Act repentant.
Since she had acted repentant a few days ago, this time she seemed to be trying to act cute.
No, was it lovely?
Elysia, like a ghost, noticed Ariel’s ploy.
“I’m not angry.”
Nevertheless, Elysia kindly said that she was not angry, shaking her head.
Knowing all of Ariel’s ploys and patterns didn’t mean that Elysia would let it go.
Nine out of ten times, she didn’t.
Today was one of those nine times.
