——!
––!
“…Ah.”
Lucia flinched. She must have been distracted by the sound coming from outside the window. She placed a bookmark on the page she was reading and stretched.
“Yawn.”
Lately, she had been shut up in the study, reading books non-stop, making her body feel sluggish. She had decided to gather information about what had happened over the last 500 years, but the progress was slower than she thought. There was a limit to how many books she could read in a day, and Lucia’s concentration also had its limits. Though Lucia felt discontented with this…
The sense of achievement from learning and realizing something new was far more enjoyable than revisiting the path she had already known. Lucia became so engrossed in reading that she neglected her usual training.
It felt like she had become a literature girl.
She never found joy in reading a book in both her past and present lives. However, deep down, she felt oddly satisfied and realized reading wasn’t so bad.
“I should have learned to read when I had the time.”As the hero Kyrie, she had joined an expedition. The Empire invested the most resources and manpower in subjugating demons, so she thought she was somewhat fluent in the imperial language.
‘Should I have asked Seriana or Yura to teach me? No, I can’t take away their rest time. How could I even think of it?’
As the war continued, the availability of food dwindled. Eventually, those with administrative skills, the “ink users,” began to be moved to the rear. They didn’t even get a proper break, let alone learn to read or write.
Always at the forefront of battle, Kyrie and her companions never really got proper rest.
Comparing that harsh environment to the present brought many thoughts.
Practicing as much as she wanted, doing whatever she wished, and eating to her heart’s content.
The Prient family, who audaciously claimed to be the descendants of the hero, might be very presumptuous. However, if their reason was understandable, she might tolerate it. After all, thanks to them, she got to enjoy such luxuries. Wasn’t this beneficial to her in the end?
‘Let’s stop for today.’
Her eyes felt dry after reading for a long time. Lucia rubbed her eyes and looked at her cluttered desk.
On the desk were two books and a sheet of paper.
One was, as expected, a Silleyan-Imperial language dictionary. The second was a history book she started reading recently.
And the last was…
[A Silleyan-Imperial Pronunciation Guide for Younger Sisters.]
Lucia held the wax-coated paper in her hand. The word “younger sister” was written in big, bold letters, which irked her, but she chose to ignore it. After all, Shiron, though they had different mothers, was definitely Lucia’s elder brother.
Perhaps that was why. Thinking about it, Shiron had always oddly taken care of her.
About a month ago? It was the day after Lucia had used her feeling unwell as an excuse to storm out of the study.
-Come on, study this.
-What is this?
-It’s something you urgently need.
‘Such skills…’
The next morning, Shiron handed a sheet of paper to Lucia.
The table, which used Silleyan characters to indicate the pronunciation of the Empire’s language, was of such high quality that Lucia thought it was quite well-made.
At first, she wondered how Shiron associated Silleyan with her but decided not to bother with it now.
Having watched Shiron’s strange antics for a little over a month, Lucia took this new strangeness in stride.
Thanks to this, Lucia was able to pronounce and grasp the Imperial language.
At least she had been exposed to the Empire’s language for 8 years, hearing and speaking it. Once she roughly knew how to pronounce it, everything progressed swiftly.
Now, having deciphered increasingly difficult books, she had reached the point where she could even read history books.
She had to refer to the dictionary for unfamiliar words, but the drastic progress was still commendable.
Shuffling-
Feeling that her lethargic body had somewhat relaxed, Lucia rose from her seat and finished organizing the book she had been reading.
Then…
Lucia took out a new book from the shelf and confirmed its checkout with the library maid.
Afraid she might bump into Shiron, Lucia reached her room by the shortest route, locked the door, and plopped down on her bed.
The book she held was none other than…
[The Magnificent Savior, The Eternal Saga of the Magnificent Kyrie]
Reading an unknown author’s fairy tale of her past life had become a ritual for her to end the day.
Humming, Lucia opened the middle of the book. The page, opened countless times, was notably worn.
[Cry, Sirius.]
[Kyrie’s sword roared. With an intensity as if tearing the world apart, the sword emitted a pillar of light that neither gods nor demons dared to block.]
“Right. I was very powerful.”
Hehe.
Lucia read her saga with a proud smile.
Tap-tap-tap-
Walking down the corridor softly illuminated by moonlight, Lucia didn’t rely on any lantern. Even without specifically training her mana, she had sharp night vision.
“Bathroom… Bathroom… This mansion is unnecessarily big.”
Lucia wandered the mansion’s corridors in her pajamas in the middle of the night, urgently needing the bathroom.
She wiggled her toes, holding in the urge. The tea she drank, and reading until her eyes drooped had proven to be a bad combination.
“I shouldn’t have dozed off like that. What a blunder… I’m slipping.”
A first-class warrior should always maintain top condition… yet she was awakened by the mere need to pee.
Even during the days living with her mother outside of the Dawn Castle, she had been quite relaxed, but she never had such issues. Lucia felt pathetic.
“If this keeps up, I’ll be a mess. I should start training again tomorrow.”
After wandering for a while,
“Found it.”
Around the corner, she saw the shiny bathroom sign even in the dark. Running in the corridor wasn’t polite, but this was no time for manners. Lucia hurried to the bathroom.
“Phew. That was close.”
Feeling relieved, a sense of liberation washed over her. And she thoroughly washed her hands.
-Clink-
“…What was that?”
She heard something like glass shattering in the distance. Curious, Lucia slowly walked towards the sound.
“…”
“Shiron?”
In the darkness stood Shiron, wielding a sword. Though he looked like a thief with a backpack and a mask, Lucia recognized him from his height and build.
Hearing his name, Shiron glanced at Lucia and then dismissively turned away, rummaging through the broken glass.
Lucia, suspicious of his actions, approached Shiron.
“Hey, what are you doing? At this hour? What if the head maid sees you?”
“Shh… Be quiet.”
“…What is it?”
Shiron signaled Lucia to be silent with a gesture of his index finger on his lips.
“Found it.”
Shiron found a necklace and immediately hung it around his neck.
‘What now?’
Seeing Shiron’s casual action, Lucia grew suspicious. While Shiron was always mysterious, he seemed even more so this time. Even though Lucia had grown somewhat accustomed to his antics while living under the same roof with him for just over a month, his behavior tonight — damaging property without the maids’ permission and almost stealing — filled her mind with question marks.
Lucia had an ominous feeling.
“Hey. That’s not yours… Why are you just putting it on like it’s natural?”
Lucia whispered sharply to Shiron, but…
“…Curious?”
Instead of answering, Shiron smiled with a glint in his eyes and opened the window. A brisk winter wind blew in, ruffling Shiron’s hair and coat.
Was he dressed to steal and planned to sell off the jewelry? Regardless, Lucia decided to keep her cool.
“… I’m not curious.”
“Really? You sure?”
“…”
Lucia thought Shiron looked especially unpleasant today. She felt a strong urge to hit him hard.
“If you’re curious, you should follow me.”
After saying this, Shiron immediately jumped out of the window.
“Insane!”
Lucia quickly peeked outside, but Shiron had already disappeared into the darkness.
‘Is he really out of his mind?!’
Forgetting that she was in her pajamas and slippers, Lucia jumped out to chase after Shiron.
“Hey! Stop right there!”
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