2. Let’s Study

When I woke up, I was in bed. I thought I’d drifted off on the couch...? Sitting up and looking around the room, all the lamps were off, and there was light shining in from the cracks in the curtains. Oh no... Did I sleep all night without eating dinner?

The moment I realized this, I heard a knock on the door. In walked my adoptive mother, followed by a few maids.

“Good morning, Chelsea! You wouldn’t wake up no matter how much we shook you, so we got you changed and put into bed. You’re looking better, so let’s go have some breakfast.”

I looked down at myself when she said that, and realized that my clothes had changed into a nightgown! “I’m sorry,” I apologized, feeling bad, only for her to shake her head at me.

“Instead of apologizing, you should say ‘Thank you.’ And even before that, isn’t there something you should say first? What do you say when you first wake up?”

“Ah! Good morning!”

“Good girl. Once you get dressed, have the maids bring you to the dining hall, okay?”

“Okay.”

My new mother smiled at me before she walked out of the room. I didn’t understand. I’d been scolded, but it didn’t make me feel bad. In fact, it made my chest warm up. This might be what they mean by familial love...

After that, the maids she’d brought with her helped me get ready, putting me in a brand-new dress from the closet.

“You look wonderful, milady,” one of the maids told me as I spun in front of the mirror.

＋＋＋

The dining hall in Margrave Sargent’s manor was in the center of the building—split between a small one and a large one. When the family ate alone, they’d just use the small one, but when there were guests like Lord Glen, they ate in the larger one.

Walking inside, I saw that everyone else was already seated. I hadn’t said good morning to anyone but Mother, so I thought that I probably should...

“Good morning,” I said, only to get a response from everyone. I’m glad I was right!

Seated from the farthest side were Lord Glen, my new father, my new mother, and a man and boy that I’d never seen before. Across from them were Grandfather, an empty seat, and Grandmother.

“Let me introduce you. This is Saix, our oldest son, and Felix, our youngest.” Mother pointed at the two I didn’t recognize.

“I’m Saixfort, the next Margrave. Call me Saix.”

“I’m Felixfort, and I just became an adult this year. Call me Brother Felix!”

Brother Saix had light golden hair and purple eyes, while Brother Felix had shiny black hair and green eyes. It seemed that all of the men in the Sargent family had ‘fort’ at the end of their names.

“My name is Chelsea. I’m terribly sorry that I didn’t meet with you yesterday. Brother Saix, Brother Felix, I hope you’ll treat me well.” I showed them my best curtsey, and they both broke into grins.

“Felix... Little sisters are great, huh...”

“Bro Sai, I’m so glad I was born...”

The two of them spoke quietly to each other, but I couldn’t hear any of it.

For some reason, my seat was between Grandfather and Grandmother. Shouldn’t I be at the last seat at the foot of the table, order-wise?

“I’m sorry, Chelsea. Jake insisted that he wanted to sit beside you...”

“I really wanted you to sit in my lap!”

“Do you want her to hate you like Sophia did?”

“No...!”

Grandfather and Grandmother started chatting, too.

“U-Um... I’d be okay with that...” I said, and Grandfather lit up.

“We can do it after breakfast.”

“Chelsea is so much more tolerant than Sophia...” Grandmother muttered calmly.

I just said yes because I’ve never sat on anyone’s lap before, and I wanted to try...

Breakfast was delicious, but I left a lot uneaten.

“Did you not like your food?” Grandfather asked.

“Oh, I did, I’m just already full... Before, I was never able to eat much, so my stomach is small,” I replied. He teared up. “Oh, but I can eat a lot more than I could before!” That just made Grandmother tear up, too. “I’ll do my best to eat more, so please... Don’t cry.”

I tried to comfort them, but they just patted my head and rubbed my back as they sniffled.

＋＋＋

After breakfast, we headed to the sunroom so I could try sitting on Grandfather’s lap.

“Come here, Chelsea,” he beckoned.

I walked up to him as he sat on the sofa, and he picked me up and set me on his lap. It was hard and lumpy, but warm... It felt strange. When I looked down at his arms, holding me so I wouldn’t fall, I noticed that they were thick and covered in scars.

“Grandfather, why are your arms so scarred?” I accidentally let it slip. I slapped my hands over my mouth, but I couldn’t take it back. I definitely made him feel bad...! I glanced up at him in worry, thinking he was cross with me, but he just smiled.

“You see, the Sargent Margraviate is beside the Radzuel Empire and the demonic forest...”

The demonic forest was in the middle of the continent, and was so full of monsters that no humans could live there.

“We haven’t been at war with Radzuel for a long time, but sometimes there are some scamps who come over to fight. And monsters are constantly coming from the forest.”

I understood that the Margraviate was a dangerous spot in Chronowize. I’d heard from Lord Glen that on the north side, along their border with the demonic forest, was a tall wall, and they played offense and defense against the monsters. The soldiers I saw patrolling inside and outside of the manor were all muscular. The gardeners, gatekeepers, and stableboys were all brawny, too... I could even see muscles on thin women, here.

“Everyone in our territory got tired of living in fear and chose to fight—and it wasn’t just the citizens who thought that, but the Margrave... Back then, I did, too.”

“I was the same—as his wife.”

“Grandmother, too?!” I asked, shocked.

“We got engaged when we were still children, so I was taught how to protect myself before we got married. And once we were, I couldn’t just sit by while he came back covered in wounds, so I learned how to fight,” my gentle Grandmother said with a fearless smile.

“So Grandfather’s scars are proof that he’s fought monsters and ruffians,” I whispered as I looked at them, and he nodded to me. “Then I should learn how to protect myself and fight, too!”

But when I said that, my grandparents groaned.

“If you’re going to live in the Margraviate, it would be a good idea, but it would be difficult for you right now,” said Grandfather.

“That’s true.” Grandmother nodded. “First, you need to aim for being able to eat a lot more. Then, you should learn how to move when someone is protecting you.”

I knew that I was shorter and more scrawny than other people my age. I also knew that since I couldn’t protect myself, I’d have to have others protect me, but I still felt a bit gloomy... I just nodded at Grandmother for now.

“You should learn how to run from enemies, and how to ask for help. Once you learn those, it’ll make learning to defend yourself easier.”

“Since you’ve got Sargent blood in you, I know you’ll want to fight someday. But that ‘someday’ isn’t here yet. You don’t have to rush.”

My grandparents’ words made a big impression on my life from then on.

＋＋＋

After finishing my conversation with them, I headed to the guest room where Lord Glen was staying. I got a response when I knocked, so I went inside. Not only was Lord Glen there, but Ele in his kitten form, too. He was sitting on top of the box with the Spirit Tree cutting, of course.

«My mistress looks displeased. Is something the matter?»

Huh? Do I really look upset...? I touched my face.

“Let’s just calm down and have some tea for now,” Lord Glen said, ringing a bell to summon a maid to make our tea.

We sat across from each other on sofas sandwiching a table. Since it’d been a while since I had sat across from him, I felt kind of nervous.

“Did something happen?”

“Not really, but...” I recounted the conversation I’d just had with my grandparents.

When I finished, Lord Glen gave me a look that was hard to explain. “That means you’ve definitely got Sargent blood running through your veins.”

«Though it doesn’t seem as if you realize it.»

The two exchanged glances as they muttered. When I tilted my head, confused, Lord Glen explained.

“Your grandmother told you that since you’ve got Sargent blood in you, you’d want to fight too someday, didn’t she? From what you told me, you’re already thinking that you’d like to be the protector rather than the protected.”

«A difficult clan, but one suitable for my Mistress.»

I’d given up since I was short and scrawny, but...I hadn’t realized I already wanted to do something about it!

“What do you want to do now that you’ve realized how you feel?” Lord Glen asked with his usual gentle smile.

The answer was obvious.

“I want to become strong enough to protect myself and fight,” I answered immediately.

Lord Glen’s smile turned a bit daring. “Then I’ll show you one way to become stronger,” he said, clearing the room of servants.

＋＋＋

“By being able to understand any situation, you can defend against things before they happen, and think of the best course of action. And what I can teach you is that understanding,” he said, pulling a world map out of his Item Box and spreading it on the table. “So, since we’re headed there in a few days, let’s study up on the Radzuel Empire.”

I nodded, and he lined up a few small cat and dog dolls.

“I’ve told you this before, but there are five countries in our world, all surrounding the demonic forest in the center. We live in the Kingdom of Chronowize, which is here on the southeast of the map. The Radzuel Empire is to the west, on the southwest side of the map.” He put the little animal dolls in a ring on the southwest. “Most of the citizens of the Empire are beastmen, able to take both human and animal form. They’ve got a strong sense of fellowship, and they have very long lifespans. They’ve got no social classes like commoners or nobles.”

He placed another little doll, this time of a dragon, in the middle of the ring.

“Unlike how things work here in Chronowize, they decide who rules by whoever wins in a duel. Up until three years ago, the Emperor was a dragonman, but he stepped down due to illness.” He knocked down the dragon doll, and replaced it with a bear. “The new Emperor is a bearman. Though he is good at knocking trees down and breaking boulders, he is lacking a bit on the brains side of things.”

Lord Glen paused, a bitter smile on his face, before continuing.

“The first year, they managed to keep things going from plans the former dragonman Emperor had left. But the year after that, there were famines, despite no big weather changes, and they couldn’t handle them. And so, the Radzuel Empire started going downhill.” He knocked the animal dolls over one by one.

Famines happened when crops couldn’t grow and people starved. The old gardener said he’d experienced one as a child, and that it was terrible. I knew the pain of starvation from back when I’d gone without food in the Eucharis barony. I wish people could avoid living in hunger with the seeds I make...

“And that was just last year. The famines continued into this year, and we haven’t been able to get any of their regional spices and herbs in Chronowize. Just a bit before they stopped completely, more miasma appeared, and even started leaking into the Sargent Margraviate,” Lord Glen said, sighing. “But the strange thing is, despite the famines and food shortages, we haven’t had a single request for aid. We’ve tried being proactive and sending official letters saying that we’d like to help, but they’ve all been refused. Meaning Chronowize couldn’t do anything...” His sigh deepened.

“Can the miasma be purified by anything other than the spirits?” I asked, having always wondered.

“If you use something like [Wind Magic] or a spell like Gust of Wind, you can blow it away, but it doesn’t actually get rid of the miasma itself.”

“I see.”

“The Sargent Margraviate has hired mages with [Wind Magic] to herd the miasma into set points as a measure to keep it from the citizens, fields, and orchards. But since there’s always more coming from Radzuel, they keep having to find new places to put it.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“There’s something you can do, now that you understand the situation,” he smirked, answering my whispered question.

«My mistress is the strongest, after all,» said Ele in his kitten form, puffing his chest out proudly on the wooden box.

I tilted my head, not understanding what they were getting at.

“Your Skill lets you make ‘any seeds you wish for.’ If you wish for them, you could make seeds that could purify or suck up the miasma.”

My eyes widened at his explanation. That’s right! I might be able to do something with my Skill! But just as I got excited, fear crept up, too.

“It wouldn’t cause any trouble for anyone if I created seeds to do something about the miasma, would it?”

“...It would probably just be trouble for you, if anything,” Lord Glen said after thinking for a moment.

“Just trouble for me...? If that’s all it would take to help the Margraviate, I’ll gladly do it!” I announced, clenching my fists.

He gave me a strained smile. “Just make sure you don’t try too hard and faint, okay?”

“Alright!”

＋＋＋

A while after Lord Glen and I started discussing the new seeds, we heard a knock. Since we’d cleared the room, it wouldn’t be a knight or maid...which meant it had to be someone from the Sargent family.

“It is I, Felixfort. Would Chelsea happen to be with you?”

“Yes, she is. You can come in,” said Lord Glen.

“Thank you.”

Brother Felix walked into the room. He looked troubled, like the gray sky before a sudden evening shower. He walked up beside me, but didn’t say anything. What’s wrong?

Lord Glen looked just as confused as I was. “Did you need Chelsea for something?”

When he spoke, Brother Felix looked surprised. “Ah, no, it’s...”

His indecisiveness made me even more confused. Really, what’s wrong?

Lord Glen crossed his arms and started looking above Brother Felix’s head. He was probably using his [Appraisal] Skill. Back when he’d appraised me, he’d looked above my head the same way.

“I promise I won’t get angry, no matter what you say. Speak,” he urged. That probably meant there wasn’t anything strange there.

“Then, please forgive my insolence...” Brother Felix started, before looking offended. “I was horribly worried to learn that my minor sister was alone in a room for a long time with a man of marriageable age!”

A man of marriageable age... He means Lord Glen, right? And Ele is here too, even if he’s in kitten form, so we aren’t alone... Why would he worry about us being alone in a room? While I looked more confused, Ele muttered, «He wouldn’t understand if I said that nothing could happen while I’m here.»

He was right: Brother Felix would only be able to hear Ele’s words as meows, so that wouldn’t work.

Lord Glen looked troubled, frowning. “You could probably infer from looking over there, but I was giving her a lesson,” he said, pointing at the table. “There’s nothing odd going on here.”

Brother Felix turned and looked, and the expression on his face changed into one of surprise. On the table was the world map and animal dolls. “This is how homeschooling teaches worldly affairs...isn’t it?”

Homeschooling was the basic teachings that tutors or family members gave to children from childhood to when they enrolled at school at age thirteen. All noble children learned it.

By the way, though children went to either the Royal Academy or private schools, learned aristocratic manners and studied as a group, since I’d become a research fellow, I wouldn’t be going. Back at the Eucharis manor, I didn’t learn a single thing from tutors or my family. I only knew basic reading and writing and math because the gardener, the maid, and the chef taught me. If they hadn’t, I would’ve been illiterate...

“Back at the Barony she was born in, Chelsea had no opportunity to study. I’ve been teaching her when we have the chance, but... The reason I cleared the room was because I thought it best that no one outside her close acquaintances learned that she was uneducated.”

When he heard Lord Glen’s explanation, Brother Felix teared up, just like Grandfather had. “You had it rough, huh... But your big brother will be here for you from now on, okay...?”

“Thank you...?” I still didn’t get it, but he patted me on the head when I thanked him.

“It looks like the misunderstanding has been resolved. We’d just been taking a break, but... Felixfort, let me ask you for your opinion,” Lord Glen said with an impish smile. “Chelsea would like to give her family flowers. What kind would you suggest?”

...I’m giving my family flowers? Oh, but it might be a good idea to do, to show that I want to become closer! I stared up at Brother Felix’s face.

“F-Flowers?” Despite the sudden question, he crossed his arms and started thinking. “What about...lilies, maybe? Grandmother and Mother love them.”

“You can draw them, right?” Lord Glen continued confidently, only for Brother Felix to give a strong nod back.

“Of course!”

After Lord Glen cleared the world map and dolls off of the table, he rang a bell to summon a maid to bring paper and something to draw with.

Brother Felix looked proud as he stood in front of the paper. “I’ll draw it, then — [Picture],” he cast, drawing a large picture of a lily in just a second. It was beautiful and so realistic that I almost thought it was still blowing in the wind.

“It’s so real...” I whispered in shock, getting a happy smile back from my brother.

“My Skill [Picture] lets me draw anything I’ve seen exactly how I saw it. These lilies were decorating the halls a few days ago,” he explained emotively as I was entranced by the picture. “You knew what my Skill was, Your Highness?”

“I’m a nationally-approved Appraiser, after all,” Lord Glen replied, smiling like a little boy who’d just succeeded in pranking someone. “Your picture will be helpful, since it’s so lifelike. Thank you.”

“T-Thank you...” Brother Felix went a bit red, having been praised.

After that, he reluctantly left the room, having sword practice to attend.

“Let’s plan things with this lily as a base,” Lord Glen said after clearing the room once again.

“Alright.” It was easier to make seeds if I imagined something close to reality while I cast. Beside the picture that my brother had drawn, we drew a half-moon-shaped seed about the size of my thumbnail. Real lily seeds were smaller than my pinky nail. I made them bigger because they would be harder to lose that way.

«Spirits are the ones who purify the miasma, so you should make the flowers absorb it instead,» the kitten-formed King of Spirits suggested, puffing out his chest proudly from his perch on the wooden box.

Lord Glen nodded, adding to the drawing. “How about we make it so that after it absorbs a set amount of miasma, it produces another seed before wilting to become fertilizer?”

«If it fertilizes the soil, it can revive the land that was made barren by the miasma.»

I nodded at their suggestions. “Should I make it so it blooms immediately after being planted?”

“That’s a good idea, since we want the problem fixed as soon as possible... We should be finished, now.”

I read the blueprint made from Brother Felix’s drawn lilies, my drawn seeds, and Lord Glen’s written plans for the lily seeds that would absorb miasma over and over again.

“Okay, I’ll try to make one,” I said, getting nods back from the other two. “Make a seed for a lily that will absorb the miasma — [Seed Creation].”

With a light click, a blue, half-moon-shaped seed plopped down on the table. Lord Glen looked closely at it, using his [Appraise] Skill.

“It’s called a ‘Blue Lily.’ It blooms into a bright blue flower, which absorbs miasma before withering to become fertilizer... You did it.”

I clapped my hands happily.

“With your mana pool, you should be able to make about twenty-five more seeds.”

“Then I’ll make as many as I possibly can!”

I want to get rid of all of the miasma flowing into the Sargent Margraviate, I thought, making seed after seed. After using my Skill so many times, we had a little mountain of them on top of the table. I was a bit tired and out of breath, but I wanted to keep going, for the sake of the Margraviate! Thinking that, I cast again: “Make a Blue Lily — [Seed Creation].”

The moment I did, my vision warped, and I fainted.