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nTranslator: Latte Proofreader: Adulldoll

nThe man hastily picked up the scattered papers.

nHe was in such a hurry that he unconsciously let go of his noble bearing and kneeled on the ground.

n“Sheesh! Look where you’re going… Huh? Y-young miss!”

nThe man hurriedly bowed his head.

nIt seemed as if he knew who Aria was, but unfortunately, the little girl was unfamiliar with his identity.

n“Is young miss, alright? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you…?”

nAria interrupted the man and presented him a card.

nWho are you?

nHe was slightly offended by her words, but he still answered her question.

n“My name is Rosen Stewart.”

nBaron Stewart.

nOne of the scribes of the Valentine Family.

nAria had heard of his name once.

nShe observed him for a moment before writing on another card.

nWhy is the scribe of the family here?

n“Well, I am here to organize the documents recorded by the other scribes.”

n‘Ah.’

nAria remembered that besides the Valentines, the scribes could also freely access the library.

n‘Well, he doesn’t look suspicious.’

nAria secretly approved of him and decided that he could pass.

nHowever, the scribe felt uncomfortable with her attitude.

n‘Why is she looking at me like that?’

nShe was eyeing him weirdly and even asked why he came to the library.

nWas she doubting him?

n‘No way… Did she see the contents of the paper?’

nBut that would be impossible.

nHow could she read the text in less than 30 seconds?

nThere was quite a distance between her and the papers as well. She would not be able to read them as she was so far away.

nThe scribe decided that Aria was just being rude because she hadn’t learned proper manners yet.

n‘She may be able to walk freely around the house now, but she’ll be kicked out soon anyway.’

nThere are rumors that the Grand Duke of Valentine was protecting her, but who knows how long it would last.

nThe scribe knew that no matter how cute Aria was, she would soon be expelled.

n‘The Grand Duke is a fickle person. His love for her is useless and the servants’ kindness will all be for naught.’

nEven if the Prince miraculously showed interest in the child, it wouldn’t make even the slightest difference.

nFor it was too late.

n‘Because the day the Grand Duchess dies will be the day she gets kicked out of here.’

nThe scribe pitied the ignorant child who went around thinking that the world revolved around her, when in fact, she knew nothing at all.

n‘That time will soon come.’

nBut the scribe wasn’t stupid enough to say those words out loud.

nHe was informed that the second son of the Beauport family had received punishment for carelessly making fun of the young miss. So he ought to be careful of his words as well.

n‘Didn’t he ended up working at the stables?’

nEvery time the scribe encountered Count Beauport, he would look dead inside as if he was a living corpse.

nEven though he was lacking in many ways, Count Beauport loved his son. He was barely able to make his son a knight. But to think that his son would be deprived of his title like this, he must have been heartbroken.

nAnd most of all, he must have been embarrassed as well.

n‘It’s better to become a child who didn’t have anything in the first place than to become someone like him. I mean, he lost everything in one day!’

nRosen didn’t want to end up the same way as Count Beauport’s son did.

n“Young miss. If there’s nothing else. I have some urgent matters to attend to. So please excuse me.”

nRegardless of what he was thinking, the scribe bowed to Aria very politely.

nStill, she had a bad feeling about him.

nAria recalled the papers she had read and the law books Vincent had been reading since he returned from the academy.

nShe wondered why he was studying law.

n‘It couldn’t be! Are they aiming for…?’

nAfter pondering for a moment, Aria looked out of the corridor window.

nThe scribe was holding the papers tightly as if his life depended on it.

nAria pressed the tips of her thumb and forefinger together and brought it to her mouth. Then, she let out a whistle.

n“Coo!”

nFrom a distance, she saw several birds flying through the sky at high speed.

nAria pointed her fingers to the scribe without hesitation.

nAt the same time, they rushed themselves to Rosen in an instant, as if they were trained soldiers.

n“Wh-what the?! Arghhh!”

nThe scribe got bird poop all over his head as he tried to run away to collect the scattered documents that got ripped.

n‘With this, I’ve earned myself some time!’

nAria glanced at him one last time before closing the window quietly.

n* * *

nAs expected, she had to meet him as soon as possible.

nShe didn’t even have time to ask.

nAria went straight to the wolves’ cage.

nAs soon as she opened the door, a wolf rushed towards her.

n“Hi, Silver. It’s been a while.”

n“Woof!”

nSilver’s fur was lighter when compared to the other wolves. That’s why she named him Silver.

nThough, even with such a simple name, Silver would still wag his tail in excitement whenever she called him that. He was really happy to have been given a name because the Grand Duke had never given him one.

nAfter stroking Silver’s head a few times, Aria quickly spoke, “Who is the strongest person that comes next after your master?”

n“Woof?”

n“No, not Lloyd. The strongest person after him.”

nThe wolf tilted his head and pointed at Aria with the tip of his nose.

n“Uh… Then, after me?”

n“Aroo!”

n‘I knew it.’

nAs Aria climbed on Silver’s back, the wolf quickly ran as if he had been waiting for this exact moment all his life.

n‘The tower.’

nThere were two towers in the Grand Duke’s Palace.

nThe west tower and the east tower.

nAmong them, Silver ran up to the spiral staircase of the east tower.

nAnd moments later, they finally reached the top of the tower.

nAria descended from Silver’s back and knocked on the firmly closed door.

nUnfortunately, there was no answer.

n‘Someone’s obviously inside.’

nShe could feel their presence.

nAria could sense that whoever was inside, had stopped their movements as soon as they heard her knock.

nThat could only mean…

n‘Are they purposely ignoring uninvited guests?’

nAria grabbed and turned the doorknob.

n‘…Seems that it’s locked from the inside.’

nAfter shaking the door a few more times, Aria looked back at Silver with a sigh.

nThe wolf quickly rushed towards her and…

nBaam—!

nHe rammed through the door!

nThe door was shattered, dust flew everywhere, and a purple-haired man that stood across Aria stared at her in dismay.

n‘I’m sorry.’

nAria felt bad about the mess she made but she was only slightly sorry.

nIf she were her usual self, she would have waited and come back again next time.

nBut now, there was no time for that.

nSilver stared at Aria as if asking to be praised for what he did, and Aria hugged him in return.

nThen, she stood in front of the man.

n“F*ck…”

nDid he just swear?

nHe spouted vulgar words whilst running through his curly hair with his fingers.

n“You shouldn’t have broken the door just because I pretended not to be in the lab! I guess it’s true when they say that birds of the same feather flock together.”

nThe man with purple hair continued to speak, “Welcome to the Grand Duchy of Valentine,” he said while clapping his hands sarcastically.

nHe seemed to have encountered something like this before.

n‘Then, the Grand Duke or the Prince must have already come here.’

nAria thought that it might be both of them.

nShe then rummaged through her bag and took out a new card.

nSorry, I really wanted to meet you.

n“Oh, of course you do,” he responded while clicking his tongue.

nAfterward, he reluctantly introduced himself.

n“My name is Carl, I am the shaman of the palace.”

nShaman?

nAria widened her eyes like a surprised rabbit.

nThe source of a shaman’s power is their ‘spiritual power.’ They had the ability to perceive, contact, and bargain or control the spiritual world. But it was illegal to use those powers.

nShe had never felt such unfamiliar magic before, but nonetheless, it was really magical.

n‘As expected, the grand duchy enjoyed extraterritoriality and were not governed by the emperor’s jurisdiction. That must be why he’s exempted from the local law and was able to use his powers.’

nThe shaman was proudly occupying the tower, but he would have violated the law if it weren’t for the extraterritorial rights.

nHe was perfectly suited to work in the devil’s palace.

nCarl began to feel uncomfortable from being stared at by the little girl in front of him.

n‘What an annoying little girl,’ he thought.

nHe would be lying if he didn’t admit that he was looking down on her.

nIn the first place, he thought that if he locked the door, the girl would just eventually give up and went back on her own.

nBut things didn’t turn out as he had hoped.

nCarl despised kids.

n‘Kids are ignorant beings that think all shamans are mages. How uneducated!’

nChildren loved mages.

nTo them, mages were idols.

nNot only in children’s books but also in history books. The mages had always played the role of the king’s helper.

nCarl knew that the little girl in front of him would be no less the same as the other kids.

n‘She probably came here to see a mage as well. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, there are no mages here!’ Carl scoffed inwardly.

n“This isn’t a playground. I’m not a mage that can meet your expectations. As you can see, I’m busy and I don’t have time to deal with you. So if you will, please leave,” Carl said.

nAria stared at the man.

n‘Does he even breathe when he speaks?’

nHe spoke so fast that it was a bit hard to follow what he was saying.

nThen, she took out another card.

nI want to know how to use energy.

nWhen he saw that, Carl’s eyebrows rose for a moment.

nHer words weren’t what he had expected.

nKids at that age were usually like, ‘Wow, that’s superb! Teach me how to use magic too!’

n“I see that you know the concept of energy.”

nEnergy was a generic term for powers such as mana, divine power, charms and enchantments, and spiritual power.

nEveryone had different types of energy.

nIt was up to the individual’s talents to utilize and develop that energy into power.

n‘If she knew this, then she must be able to distinguish the difference between a shaman and a mage.’

nIt also meant that she knew each person had different types of innate energy.

nCarl was still a bit skeptical, but he spoke with a softer tone than before.

n“Energy is not something anyone can use. If you lack talent and your body cannot handle the immense amount of power, you’ll lose your life the moment it flows out of your core.”

nCore.

nAria’s eyes sparkled when she heard a new word she hadn’t heard of before.

nShe was so mystified by the new word that she wasn’t able to listen to Carl’s words that followed after.

n“There is nothing to be discouraged. Only one in a million people can operate energy, and there are only one in ten million that can express that energy into a new form. I, on the other hand, am a genius that is born only once in every century… ”

nAria pulled the hem of Carl’s black robe as she listened to him blabbering about himself.

nThen, she pulled out another card.

nHow long does it usually take to control energy from the core?

n“Well, it usually takes a minimum of 5 or 6 years.”

nThat long?

nTurns out, Aria’s growth was already fast, for she was able to use her powers within four years.

nBut she needed less time.

nAria was disappointed.

n‘But…’

nIf so, then maybe…

nCan you forcibly pierce into my core?

n“What? Are you insane?”

nCarl was dumbfounded.

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