Chapter 19

“I have”

“Not every day, right? If he truly loved you, he would have dined with you every single day.”

“We did eat together every day.”

“…Did he wait until you finished your meal? No, right?”

“Hmm. He did wait.”

“Does His Highness say goodnight to you when you go to bed? No, right? He doesn’t even show up, does he?”

“He stayed until I fell asleep.”

“…Does he stroke your hair? Every day?”

“Yes, he does.”

Suddenly, the girl’s words came to an abrupt halt.

Kanna quietly observed the girl’s expression before asking.

“What about you?”

The girl flinched as her eyes met Kanna’s and clamped her mouth shut.

“Does your father do that for you?”

“Of course! Naturally. My father loves me very much!”

“That’s a relief.”

The child was endearing, despite her sharp tongue.

Kanna reached out her hand to the girl’s neatly combed yet slightly messy hair.

As she gently patted the head of the child who was at least a head shorter than her, the girl’s bright blue eyes flickered with confusion.

Why is she smiling like that? Why is she patting my head?

What’s so relieving about it?

It took the girl quite a while to finally smack Kanna’s hand away.

“Oh, sorry.”

“….”

The girl shot up from her seat as if in indignation but couldn’t take her eyes off Kanna.

The boy, who had been rolling his eyes trying to grasp the situation, suddenly tried to threaten Kanna in a way he seemed to have practiced many times.

“Do you know who her father is? He’s the one who has fathered seven Empresses….”

“Enough! Follow me!”

At the girl’s command, the boy immediately fell silent and turned to follow her.

The girl, who seemed ready to leave, stopped in her tracks one last time and turned back to glance at Kanna.

But soon, with an expression that practically shouted “Hmph!” she sharply turned her head and disappeared for real this time.

Kanna slumped into the sofa and raised her palm in front of her eyes.

Normally, she wouldn’t have even attempted such a thing.

Was it because she had been staying at the Imperial Palace for too long?

They say doing things you wouldn’t normally do means your end is near.

At that moment, Kanna’s ears perked up, sensing a disturbance.

She had just thought she could finally rest, but life always had its way of proving otherwise.

Kanna noticed it only moments before a deafening explosion erupted nearby.

She leaped toward the source.

Those caught off guard by the explosion screamed, crouching down to shield the children beside them and covering their eyes.

The source of the explosion was near the terrace.

Chairs toppled over in the wind, trays clattered together, and silver platters fell and rolled across the floor. Someone tripped over their own feet and collapsed with a thud.

But despite the commotion, the result was rather anticlimactic.

Everyone looked around in confusion at the now-quiet surroundings.

The violently flapping curtains gradually settled, and the dust in the air began to clear.

Someone gasped audibly.

Through the lingering dust, the outline of a small figure became visible.

The large glass window leading to the terrace had shattered into countless pieces, leaving only the frame behind. Two small children lay collapsed in front of it.

Several people, recognizing the children as belonging to their families, screamed shrilly and rushed to retrieve them.

The children were unharmed, not even a scratch on them.

Despite the glass shards flying everywhere and the gusts of wind….

Servants pulled shawls from their shoulders or grabbed blankets from the sofas to wrap around the children.

At that moment, someone in the crowd pointed a finger.

“Over there, by the terrace!”

There were more children inside the scene of the incident.

It was clear that the origin of the commotion lay there.

Atop a child with fiery red hair spread out like flames, another child, who bore a striking resemblance to their long-revered hero, was sitting.

Kanna acknowledged to herself that it had been a close call. A disaster had nearly occurred.

“Move!”

“….”

“I said, move!”

Each time the red-haired child shouted, the nearby objects creaked.

It was as if an invisible force was pushing them, causing them to shudder unnervingly.

“That child belongs to the Duke’s family….”

“Someone, do something!”

Kanna had her hand covering the child’s eyes.

The child, panting heavily in agitation, twisted and turned her head, but there was no escaping Kanna’s grip.

“Move! Let me go!”

The child stomped her feet and pushed against Kanna’s jaw with her hands.

“Miss Kanna!”

Sylan came running toward her, her face pale with fear.

Kanna shook her head calmly, ensuring she could understand.

Furniture slid across the floor and crashed into the walls in the direction of the child’s kicks.

Even so, the child couldn’t overpower Kanna. Frustrated, she clenched her teeth, her body trembling, before bursting into loud, wailing sobs.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Sylan froze in place.

People pulled her back, away from the danger zone.

“Why are you stopping me? Let me go!”

“….”

“They! They started it! They attacked me!”

As if in response to her emotions, a strong gust of wind blew through, lifting the shards of glass into the air and sending them flying toward Kanna.

People screamed and shut their eyes.

The child, as if completely drained, collapsed limply.

Kanna removed her hand from the child’s eyes and lifted her upper body.

The child, with reddened eyes, glared at Kanna. Kanna spoke in her usual calm tone.

“A child with magic… must learn how to control their power.”

As Kanna ran her fingers through her hair, finely powdered glass rained down to the floor.

It looked like beautiful silver dust.

Just moments ago, the shards had seemed sharp enough to pierce through tender flesh.

The child stared at Kanna with incomprehension, her face gradually turning pale before she began to gag.

Her fingertips trembled intermittently.

When one exhausts all the mana within their body, nausea is always the first symptom.

Then comes the excruciating pain, tearing through every cell of the body….

Without a word, Kanna grabbed the back of the child’s neck and pulled her into an embrace.

She placed her hand on the child’s back.

There were no mages present in this inner chamber. No one would notice such a minor act.

Silently, Kanna transferred some of her remaining mana to the child.

The child, though panting, seemed to realize that leaning against Kanna brought her some stability. She clung tightly to Kanna’s clothing.

No one dared approach, but the commotion had drawn people into the inner chamber.

The room grew as noisy as a marketplace as time passed.

The child, now free of the unpleasant mana-induced nausea, began to breathe more easily.

Kanna, pressing her ear against the child’s hair, murmured softly.

“It’s all over now.”

Kanna knew better than anyone the pain the child had endured.

An immature body cannot handle an overwhelming amount of mana.

It’s like a bucket filled to the brim, spilling over at the slightest ripple.

Kanna also understood what it felt like to be left alone amidst the wreckage of something she had unintentionally created.

The child didn’t respond, but eventually, she began to sob, burying her face into Kanna’s shoulder.

Kanna wasn’t surprised when she felt her shoulder grow damp.

“…What is the meaning of this?”

The loud voices of the nobles, who had been arguing amongst themselves over the chaos, suddenly fell silent.

Emerging through the crowd was the Emperor.

The chamberlain, standing beside him, looked anxious, as if worried the Emperor might collapse again.

“…You.”

The Emperor’s face turned red as his eyes met Kanna’s.

“What on earth have you—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the child in Kanna’s arms made a retching sound and promptly vomited all over Kanna’s clothes.

“….”

The Emperor immediately took a step back.

The other nobles also retreated half a step.

The child, meeting Kanna’s gaze, turned bright red, her face flushing all the way to her ears.

Her red hair made her look like a ripe tomato.

“Lizzy!”

Hearing her name called, the child’s expression hardened. She pushed Kanna away and stood up abruptly.

As a result, the vomit dripped down onto Kanna’s pants.

Kanna gazed down at her ruined pants with a look of quiet resignation.

Meanwhile, a well-dressed man emerged from the crowd.

He hurriedly bowed to the Emperor before rushing to his daughter’s side.

“Are you alright? Can you stand? Do you have a fever? A headache? Does your stomach hurt?”

His touch, as he checked her cheeks and body, was familiar and gentle, but Lizzy twisted away, avoiding his gaze.

“Unauthorized use of magic within the Imperial Palace is considered treason.”

“Y-Your Majesty.”

The man immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head. The Emperor looked down at him and gave his command.

“You will be held accountable later. For now, take the child and leave.”

The man bowed deeply, then picked up his daughter and stood.

The Emperor turned to survey the crowd.

“So, are the children unharmed?”