Liria briefly recalled the original story.

“It’s a magical key with mysterious powers. It will fulfill the owner’s wish.”

“This key will grant wishes?”

“Try talking to the key with a sincere heart.”

‘That’s right, in the original story, it was said to grant earnest wishes too. It wasn’t just limited to healing.’

Tiana obtained the Healing Key because her wish was to heal people.

“Then the reason Grandmother’s key has the power of movement is……”

“Yes, meeting that child was my wish. So I desperately wanted the power to connect to my domain.”

She didn’t know Grandmother had obtained the power of movement for such a reason.

Moreover, to think that she herself was qualified to become a spirit user, the owner of the key.

Liria felt like tremendous events were rushing at her.

Lillian continued her next words.

“When you make a contract with the key’s spirit, Liria, a magic key that will fulfill your wish will be created.”

At those words, Liria’s heart pounded.

“Then will any wish be granted?”

“You’ll have to find that out for yourself after you contract with the spirit, won’t you? I’m curious too, about what kind of key you’ll obtain.”

Rolling her large eyes, Liria pondered what she truly desired.

Initially, she had only wanted to obtain a Healing Key like Tiana’s.

She had believed it was the sole way to save her father.

But what if she became the key’s owner and had other choices?

What was her genuine wish?

Liria clenched her tiny fist and recalled, one by one, the goals she had set for herself.

To gain Grandfather’s approval, to stop Osdel’s evil deeds, and ultimately to drive him out of the family.

To save Adrian, the future male protagonist, and avoid the death flag.

‘Saving Father and protecting the family are all my goals.’

To ensure that this family doesn’t become a villain family, the power of healing alone wasn’t enough.

She needed a power that would make her stronger than anyone else.

This magic key was a power that only she, as a spirit user, could possess.

If there were other powers besides healing or movement in the magic key… she wanted to make them all her own.

‘That’s my wish!’

Her heart pounded wildly.

“I want to become the true owner of the key! So I want to use all the powers that the key can bring.”

Hearing the ambition and strong desire emanating from the small frame, Lillian smiled with satisfaction.

“Liria, you’re ready to become the owner of the key. Shall we start the contract with the spirit?”

Her sparkling green eyes were now filled with determination.

“I’ll make the contract. I’ll become the owner of the key!”

“Good. The contract starts with holding each other’s hands.”

Lillian smiled gently and made Liria hold hands with the spirit Kiki.

“Close your eyes, and try to release all the mana in your body as much as possible. Then your mana heart will be filled with the spirit’s mana.”

“All of my mana?”

“Yes. Your mana is needed too.”

“But my mana is so weak, I’m not sure if it will help with the contract.”

“That doesn’t matter. Have confidence.”

“Yes!”

Paaah!

Liria took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and grasped Kiki’s small hand.

Somehow, the little one had become very docile.

Slowly.

She drew up every last drop of mana deep within her.

Paaaah!

Hwaah!

Though frightening, she began to release her mana bit by bit.

Releasing all the mana from one’s heart isn’t an easy task.

Come to think of it, the original Liria wouldn’t have been used to using mana due to her innately weak mana.

She didn’t feel particularly averse to it.

That must be because Liria and herself have different souls.

However, it seemed her body wasn’t the same. As soon as the mana filling her heart drained out, there was an immediate reaction.

Her head felt dizzy for a moment, and her breathing became rapid.

“Liria, from now on, just listen to what I say and answer.”

“I understand, Grandmother.”

Soon, the wind rushing from all directions endlessly scattered their hair and clothes.

“I, Lillian von Roberg, spirit user and owner of the key, hereby pass on all authority to the next generation’s owner, Liria von Roberg. Are you ready to accept the power of the key?”

Liria opened her eyes brightly and answered.

“Yes!”

The moment the spirit Kiki also cried out “Kyakya,” the wind stopped.

A golden keyhole appeared and disappeared in Liria’s green eyes and Kiki’s pitch-black eyes, as if being engraved.

A tingling sensation began to transmit through their joined hands. A great amount of mana rushed into Liria from this tiny creature, who knew where such strong power had been hidden.

The sensation of the mana circuit, which had been faint due to weak mana, became clear. This was the first time she had experienced such strong and deep blue mana. She had heard that the higher the purity, the stronger the mana.

“Uh, I feel an incredibly strong and thrilling energy!”

“The contract with the spirit has been established. Now your hearts and souls are connected. You’ll be able to borrow mana and power as much as you want. And……”

At the same time, the golden key hanging around Lillian’s neck disappeared.

Sususu.

Next, the splendid room, and finally her figure, were gradually fading away.

“My contract has ended and the key has disappeared. Now you should be able to summon it. Liria, I think you’ll obtain a wonderful key.”

“Huh? Gra-Grandmother?! Where are you going?”

With those final words, Lillian’s figure vanished into the distance.

***

“…Grandmother.”

When Liria came to her senses, mumbling, she was lying on the bed in her room. Why was she here when she should be at the spirit tree?

A lot had happened.

She had finished all the qualification tests, met Grandmother Lillian, and even made a contract with the spirit.

Her body didn’t seem to be in pain. Rather, her body felt light and her mind was clear.

‘What exactly happened? Surely it wasn’t all a dream?’

As she opened her eyes brightly and gently lowered the blanket, the first face she saw was that of the old Count Roberg.

It was Grandfather.

She caught sight of his profile, sitting with his chin resting on his hand, eyes closed.

It was an unfamiliar scene for Liria, who had never had a private audience with her grandfather, but perhaps because she had encountered him recently in her father’s sickroom she didn’t feel as scared of Grandfather as before.

However, she was startled by the coldness emanating from him.

A mana aura colder than ice.

‘He seems to be in a very bad mood. Could it be because of me? Ugh, what should I do? Should I pretend to be asleep again?’

Although he had shown an affectionate side to her father, Grandfather as the head of the family was clearly a cold person.

‘I must not get on Grandfather’s bad side no matter what. It could disrupt my plans. I should lie low for now…’

Just as Liria was about to wriggle back into the cozy blanket with a troubled expression.

“…How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?”

“!”

A hand suddenly approached and yanked off the blanket. Her small body instinctively curled up as words tumbled out.

“…P-please spare me.”

Reddened eyes, now narrower, turned towards Liria.

“Huh, who said they were going to kill you?”

At Vladimir’s words, Liria quietly shook her head.

“Why am I here?”

A body as solid as a mountain and a chilling sense of pressure. Indeed, it was vastly different from seeing him from afar.

A pressure that made others bow their heads. His magical power, which was even lowering the room temperature, was the very essence of freezing energy.

‘…C-cold.’

Liria shivered and wrapped the blanket around herself. At that moment, fortunately, a savior entered.

“…Your Grace, the chilling mana still lingers in the room. She’s still just a young child. It’s dangerous.”

It was Suleiman, the library director and test supervisor.