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n✿

n“Erita looks good in blue.”

n“Father, you don’t know anything. It’s purple.”

n“Both of you, calm down. Pink’s the best for you.”

nI looked at the men’s heated debate with hazy eyes.

n“Why are you so serious about the color of my clothes?”

nIn addition, the subject was my dress. Of course, I talked about it with them at first.

nIt was a part related to my debutante.

nBut after that, they became more serious, I was quietly drinking tea and listening to their stories.

nI intervened earlier, but if we choose multiple dresses and wore one we won’t be able to get the money back.

nShould I say it one more time?

n“Hey, I’ll choose the right one for me.” Erita carefully brought up the story again.

n“You can’t.”

n“No!”

n“It’s not possible.”

nI mean, of course, I was cut off at once. At this point, it started to feel unfair.

n‘It’s mine! It’s my dress!’

n“How beautiful are you trying to make it to be?” I said it in a bumpy way. Then they answered as if it were natural.

n“Shouldn’t you be the main character?”

n“My sister would look pretty in whatever she wears, but she’s greedy.”

nNext to him, Fern also agreed with father and Aaron.

nYou said something inappropriate to each other before. This time, they became unified.

n“…I don’t need anything fancy like that.”

nI know it’s for me, but I couldn’t stop feeling uncomfortable for some reason.

n“I don’t want to stand out either.”

nThe reason I came to the capital city in the first place was because of the original work.

nIt’s a debutante banquet, but it’s not as important as my plan.

nEventually, I quietly left the office while the three were talking about nonsense.

nAnyway, the tailor and jewelry dealer will come tomorrow.

n“Lady! Did you finish your conversation well?”

nAs I entered my room, Mary was arranging the bedding.

n“Mary….”

nI staggered and sat down on the sofa then stretched out.

nThen Mary wrapped a soft blanket around me.

n“You left excitedly, but why did you come exhausted?”

n“No, Mary, listen to me.”

nI told Mary about what happened earlier.

n“Those three people are so hard to talk to…”

nMary smiled awkwardly and patted me at my complaints.

n“Well, then I have nothing to say, but… Anyway, since I have nothing to do, I’ll be right back!”

n“What? Where are you going?”

n“I want to go to the plaza. I can disguise it in magic…”

nAfter blurring the end of my speech for a while, I jumped from my seat at the thought that suddenly came to mind.

nI already ate lunch anyway,

nIt means I’m free all day because I don’t have any business or schedule.

nIt’s already been three days since I went out with Aaron.

n“Mary! Can you find some clothes?”

nIn my closet, there were several modest dresses for occasional outings, other than colourful dresses.

nI’m secretly going out, but it doesn’t make sense to wear luxurious clothes, right?

n“Are you really going out? Master might come looking for you.” Mary said anxiously.

n“It’s okay. I’ll be back before dinner.”

n“Lady…”

n“No, it’s okay. If they come to find me, tell them that I went to the lab.”

nMary tried to stop me with a sullen expression, but my mind remained unchanged. I hummed and packed my pocket money along.

n“Really, you have to come back before dinner, be careful.”

nEventually, Mary brought my clothes even though she was worried.

nIt’s because she simply knows it’s no use trying to stop me.

nIn fact, it was not the first time I went out secretly. I used to go out often in the north, too.

n“It’s perfect if you change your hair color with magic.”

n‘As expected, magic is the best!’

n“Will you wear this today?”

n“Yes. I’ll tie my hair up neatly.”

nChanging into ordinary clothes, I even wore a robe on top of it.

nWinter in the capital is a suitable chilly day, so it’s good to wear such clothes.

nIf it was in the north, it would continue to snow for at least three months.

nWhen I tingled my finger, from the top of my head the surroundings gradually turned different.

n“Mary, I’ll be back!”

n“You have to be careful.”

n“Yes!”

nAfter waving at Mary to say my good-bye, I immediately used teleportation magic.

n‘I have to write it.’

n“I have to write down what I know how and what to write.”

nOnce I closed my eyes and opened them, the scenery in front of me changed.

nLooking around, it was a few blocks away from the mansion.

nThe mansion itself was close to the Imperial Palace, so it was not too far from the downtown area.

n“I successfully came out without getting caught.”

nSatisfied, I began to walk excitedly. How diligently did I walk along the main road?

n“It really doesn’t take that long.”

nAlong with the loud noise, the downtown area began to appear.

nMaybe it’s because I came out secretly after a long time, but I think it’s strangely more fun.

n“I got money. Where should I go first?”

nLet’s go eat snacks first!!

nIt’s the most prosperous in the Empire. Wouldn’t there be more to see than the North?

n✿

nBefore I began to explore the capital, I decided to fill my stomach first.

nI had lunch, but snacks are another story.

nThere were a lot of stalls that smelled delicious.

n“Hello, miss!”

n“What’s this?”

nAmong them, it was the bright red skewer that caught my eye.

n“Oh my, you’re a pretty girl.”

n“This is lamb with spicy sauce. Do you want to try it? If you like spicy food, you won’t regret it.”

nAs the lady said, the spicy smell stimulated my nose.

nAt that I nodded without hesitation.

n“Hmm… I’d like one skewer and one orange.”

n“Yes, I will combine the two of them.”

n“Here you go!”

nI take the money out of my pocket and hand it over.

n“Wait a minute! I’ll grill it for you.”

nI looked around while waiting. Most of them were commoners.

nPeople who pretended to be aristocrats could also be seen.

n“Okay, it’s done.”

n“Lady, enjoy your meal.”

n“Thank you!”

nWhen I sat on a chair next to me and took a bite, the spicy taste suddenly came up to my tongue.

n“Wow, it’s so delicious!!!”

nIn an instant, a skewer disappeared. Should I order one more? Well I could do exercise later in the evening.

n“If you enjoy it, it’s zero calories.”

nAfter contemplating for a while, I eventually ordered another one.

n“Since I couldn’t eat dessert a week before the banquet anyway.”

nLet’s eat one more skewer.

n“Thank you for the food! I’ll come back again next time.”

nHaving filled my stomach with skewers, I decided to go to the bookstore first.

nThe clues to the black magic, in which I felt, were not enough to collect.

n“Since I don’t know when the original story will start, it’s better to have as many clues as possible.”

nIn the end, nothing was found in the old books brought from the north. It was all just the facts I already knew.

nI entered a room and looked around the big bookstore.

nThe old man, who seemed to be the owner, was dozing off in a chair.

nI don’t know if there’s such a thief. I’m not sure if there’s anything to steal here though.

n“Let’s take a look around for a moment.”

nAs I walked through the bookshelf, I heard a creaking sound on the wooden floor.

n“Oh, dust…”

nA few streams of thin sunlight lit up the dust. Frowning, I stared and focused on the book.

n“It’s organised in its own way.”

nUnlike the dusty space, the books were surprisingly well organised.

nThere was no big expectation that someone could get something out of here.

nOriginally, the ‘Black Magic‘ was prohibited by the Empire 300 years ago.

nAt that time, most of the information on black magic was lost.

nIn the mansion, no one knew except for Fern that I was looking into black magic. Even my father and Aaron.

n“Wasn’t it here…?”

nAs I carefully looked through the place where the magic books were gathered, I pressed hard on my arm as I stiffened.

nUnfortunately, there seemed to be nothing here.

n“Ugh!”

nI was about to leave the bookstore hiding my regret and got stuck in a pile of books.

nLikewise, they were books related to magic.

nFinally, when I decided to go after seeing the books here, I bent my knees and sat down.

n“I guess it’s a theory book.”

nLet’s open each book and it was full of words related to theory.

n“…I found it.”

nThen, in the last book I picked up, I was able to find what I wanted.

nAs expected, a book written in old letters.

nI looked at the front and back covers, but there were no letters written.

n「There’s something that many people don’t know…」

nThe beginning that began calmly.

n「The price of black magic is the soul of the user himself.

nHowever, the ruined black magicians finally found a way not to sacrifice themselves.

nA terrible and vicious way…」

n“Way… ”

nEven if I didn’t turn the page, I knew what the way was.

nWhen I carefully turned the page, the method I knew was also described.

n「Giving a child’s soul as a sacrifice instead.

nAmong them, the most effective thing is to dedicate a child who’s less than 100 days old to life.

nThen, you can gain strength without signing a soul contract.」

nIt was a fact that I already knew, but I couldn’t help but frown.

n“…What crime are you guilty of?”

nIn addition, there was one more fact that was not written here.

nGiving a sacrifice is different from signing a contract with the soul of a practitioner as a collateral.

n‘So if you don’t make sacrifices regularly, you’ll lose your strength.’

nAs a result, it was because of that why black magic was prohibited.

nThe work of black magicians who were crazy about power kidnapped children and sacrificed them.

nAs a result, the number of children killed reached millions. Since the official number was like that, there were probably more children who were secretly killed.

nHowever, even after a massive search, all the black wizards could not be eliminated.

n“Those who gained strength through this method couldn’t be distinguished from ordinary people.”

nThey were no different from ordinary people on the outside.

nIf the Empress really used black magic, she must have used this method.

nI turned over one more page…

nThe page goes over with a rustling sound.

n“…!”

nI had to constantly try to resist the outburst of cheers. I rubbed my eyes and read them again just in case, but the words written in the book remained.

n「This is the record I want to leave today.

nHow to distinguish those who have gained strength like this…」

nI finally found it.

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