Volume 1, Chapter 35 – The Beginning of Change

[□□□□—Light Destruction.]

Focused intently on the lamp, Yisi held a magic book in one hand while channeling mana toward the magical lamp with the other—yet nothing happened.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Yisi gave up and slumped onto the table.

“I can’t do it. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t learn it.”

“You’re being too impatient, Onee-sama.”

Handing Yisi a cup of tea, Camilla put away the short wand used for chanting spells.

Yisi was attempting to learn magic. While the spells from Ragnarøk were incredibly powerful in this otherworld, most were offensive and useless in daily life. For example, [Light Destruction] and [Water Destruction] are spells that could easily extinguish light or water that are unique to this world as practical magic.

Unfortunately, though Yisi could read the magic book and recite the magical incantations, she couldn’t grasp the rhythm of the chants, making it impossible for her to cast spells. According to the book’s explanation, incantations were the medium that guided mana to form magic. Without chanting them in the correct rhythm, it was like having a treasure chest but no key.

Of course, this world also had legends of “incantationless magic”—the ability to skip chanting and manifest spells directly. But that was a skill only those who had mastered magic to its limits could achieve. To ordinary people, it was nothing more than a myth.

Gathering her resolve, Yisi straightened up.

“You’re right. Learning magic isn’t something that happens overnight. How long did it take you to learn, Camilla?”

“From the time I first encountered magic to casting my first spell, it took about a month.”

“A month… Huh? A month?!”

Yisi couldn’t help but raise her voice. The magic book emphasized that for humans, it typically took half a year to cast their first spell after starting to learn magic. Only geniuses could shorten that to three months. Camilla’s one month was absolutely abnormal.

With a slightly troubled expression, Camilla replied,

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“Father said I might be a magic genius.”

“Might? No, you absolutely are. No question about it.”

“Compared to you, Onee-sama, who can naturally use magic, I still have a long way to go.”

“Natural advantages are a different matter.”

Pure-blooded vampires, thanks to their lineage, had an innate affinity for magic. As long as they knew the incantations, they could wield magic effortlessly without needing to practice controlling or sensing mana.

The only prerequisite was understanding how to chant the spells.

“Whatever. Even if I learned it, it’d just be for convenience. As long as you know how to use it, Camilla, I can just ask you when I need it.”

“But I won’t always be by your side. Bloodkin lives for at least two hundred years, while humans rarely live past fifty.”

“I care about the present. Right now, you’re here with me, aren’t you?”

It sounded almost like a love confession. Yisi stole a glance at Camilla, but the latter merely lowered her head, lost in thought. Notably, Camilla had changed significantly recently. At first, she simply spoke more, but now, her emotions were becoming visibly apparent—only ten days remained until the hostage exchange.

“Onee-sama, you are destined to become the ruler of Pescia County. You will inevitably take a spouse, and when that happens, I won’t be able to stay by your side forever.”

If she had said this with a shy expression, it would have been a critical hit to Yisi’s heart. But Camilla’s tone was utterly calm, as if discussing someone else’s affairs.

Feeling a twinge of regret, Yisi waved her hand dismissively.

“Impossible. I’ll never take a spouse in this lifetime. I’d rather burn in the sun than marry a man.”

What she liked were gentle, elegant older women. Even if a rugged, ultra-masculine man appeared, she wouldn’t feel the slightest bit tempted.

“But—”

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“No buts. If it really comes to that, I’ll just marry Ca—”

“Ca…?”

“Never mind. Pretend you didn’t hear that. That’s an order.”

Clearing her throat awkwardly, Yisi pretended to gaze out the window at the forest, not daring to meet Camilla’s eyes. Because Camilla was her ideal type, she had nearly made a dangerous statement just now. Of course, Yisi wasn’t the type to hesitate in confessing her feelings. The reason she held back wasn’t just because Camilla wasn’t yet an adult—there were two other reasons.

First, the current Camilla couldn’t yet be called “human.” Any words from Yisi might be taken as absolute commands, making any relationship between them not a matter of mutual affection but of unilateral coercion.

Second, her feelings might not stem from genuine love for Camilla as a person. Perhaps she was simply drawn to Camilla’s appearance, leading to admiration and a desire to be close. While looks mattered, what truly defined love was affection for the person’s heart—their personality, way of thinking, and actions.

Until Camilla developed human emotions, Yisi wouldn’t make any promises.

“Understood. I will forget what you just said.”

“Well… No need to be so serious. Anyway, until I learn practical magic, I’ll be relying on you, Camilla.”

“Compensating for your shortcomings is the reason for my existence.”

That was way too heavy. Yisi’s expression twisted slightly. That line had probably been drilled into Camilla by Count Pescia.

After a moment of thought, Yisi corrected her.

“That’s Father’s thinking. I want Camilla to live freely, according to her own will.”

“Your will is my will.”

“Ugh…” It was such an irresistibly charming statement that Yisi didn’t know how to counter it. “What I mean is, if there comes a day when my actions displease you, or if you ever grow to dislike me, you can leave a letter and go. I won’t force you to stay. Of course, I’d prefer it if you told me directly what you didn’t like so I could improve.”

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“Could I survive after leaving you?”

She probably meant that without orders, she wouldn’t know how to live. Yisi froze. Precisely because Camilla usually showed so little emotion, moments like this—when she looked at Yisi with innocent curiosity—were utterly captivating.

No good. Ending the conversation here would mean admitting defeat. With the determination of a father guiding his child, Yisi resolved to make Camilla understand that she could live normally without orders.

“You’ve learned survival skills, haven’t you?”

“I have. If ordered, I could survive in the wilderness for months. But without orders, wouldn’t life just be aimless wandering?”

But wasn’t living solely by orders also aimless?

Yisi kept that thought to herself. To Camilla, fulfilling orders was her purpose in life.

“Normally, people think seriously about how to survive and make their lives more comfortable.”

“I don’t understand.”

“For example, wouldn’t you prefer sleeping in a warm house over freezing in the snow?”

“I can sleep anywhere.”

This was hopeless. There was no reasoning with Camilla.

Yisi internally raised the white flag.

Everyone had a concept of happiness and sought to make their lives happier. But Camilla didn’t even know what happiness was, making it impossible for Yisi to argue using conventional logic.

Well, thinking about it, it made sense. Locked away in a room, living only to obey orders—even a normal person would become twisted under such conditions.

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Remembering Camilla’s warped upbringing, which she had revealed when they first met, Yisi’s expression darkened. She listlessly waved a hand.

“Never mind. It’s getting late. Let’s stop here for today.”

“But the experiment you mentioned earlier…”

Unexpectedly, Camilla didn’t immediately reply with “Understood.” If Yisi recalled correctly, this had been happening more often lately. She stood up, preparing to head to the dining room.

“Ah, right. I remember. I’ll go out after dark.”

“May I come with you? You said I mustn’t leave your sight.”

Does she still remember that?

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly. She had even forgotten about giving that order.

Come to think of it, Camilla had left her sight before. Why bring it up today?

For a moment, a strange thought crossed Yisi’s mind—Camilla wanted to go out with her and was making excuses.

Am I an idiot?

She lightly slapped her cheeks to snap out of it. There was no way Camilla would think like that. She was just following the order Yisi had given her.

“If you don’t mind the trouble.”

“Understood, Onee-sama.”

Rising from her chair, Camilla gave a slight curtsy.