CHAPTER 5
‘Of course Father gave me Eiden on a whim.’
But what does the truth matter? I’d fight with lies and bluff.
I summoned all my arrogance and acting skill to glare shamelessly at Olga. She stared back, unimpressed.
Several seconds passed.
“…You’ve grown quite bold after only a few days of illness, haven’t you?”
Olga ground her teeth and raised her right hand, holding something up.
“Now that you’ve grown so much, I suppose you no longer need that little toy?”
My eyes darted to her hand—it was Rossie’s circuit! The very heart of my mechanical bird!
I stared at Olga, refusing to look away.
“…Give it here,” I said sharply.
“I’ll give it… if you promise not to bother Master about it.”
She sneered wickedly. At that moment, I clenched my teeth and thought: You vile bully, I’ll get you back for this.
Goal #1: Deal with Olga.
I slowly bent my knees—fully ready to kneel and accept whatever came—but then an alarmed voice behind me:
“Stop!” Eiden had grabbed my arm tightly.
“Yikes!” I lost my balance.
“You almost knelt! Did you go insane?” he barked. “She has no weapon—try something, don’t just give in!”
And with lightning speed, Eiden lunged at Olga, kicking her in the shin. She collapsed to the floor.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. But the circuit was still in her hand! I whispered frantically:
“Eiden, are you crazy? Stay back—let me handle this!”
He glared like a wild cat.
Then Olaf sneered, standing up. “You’ll regret this, you skinny brat.”
“I’m not afraid!” Eiden replied fearlessly.
Olga shook Rossie’s circuit maliciously. I clenched my teeth.
“Well, I’ll regret you. But I won’t be a powerless child forever.”
Olga smirked. “Oh? Better watch your back—after coming of age, your brothers will kill you both.”
Silence washed over me. Yes—my brothers will battle over inheritance; winner absorbs magical strength. I might be the loser.
I stared her down. Remember this moment.
But before Olga could strike back, my mind flashed: “The emperor burned down our homeland, remember Lillian.” In the novel, Eloise had said that. So I realized: Eiden isn’t attacking for personal reasons—this is the moment their feud begins.
Olga swung at Eiden—and me. Instinctively, I shouted: “Stop!” and shoved Eiden out of the way.
The circuit flew from her hand; the blow struck me instead. Oh no!
Then, BOOM!
A massive explosion reverberated. Everything went white.
Moments later, colorful motes shimmered in the air—blue, purple, yellow, red—a rainbow of light drifting around me.
It took a moment for me to speak.
“What… is this?”
Olga lay on the floor, dazed and singed. Colorful magical residue floated like fireworks.
Beautiful…
But my heart sank. I’d seen this before: the aftermath of magic in the book.
“Such power with mana residuals… and such beauty, Lady Lillian!”
“A genius of magic!”
The shards of mana are always left behind after a magic burst—beautiful, rainbow-like shards.
It struck me: I just used magic.
Eiden’s shocked voice: “Did you just… cast magic?”
“Uh—no!” I blurted desperately.
“But you made that blast, knocked her clean across the room!”
He stared in disbelief.
I lunged forward to shut him up.
“Shh! You misread! A kid like me using magic? Crazy! Magic is for the Academy’s geniuses!”
“But that was—”
“I’m not a mage! Stay quiet!”
If anyone knew I could use magic, I’d be dead. In the novel—I’d distributed my power just to show off and ended up wasting my lifespan.
I gently watched the colorful motes drift as I felt dread: How much life did that cost me? Maybe three days… a week?
Eiden broke free, eyes blazing. “Then what was the blast?”
It was basic mana explosion, the simplest form.
It was enough to knock out Olga but I felt weak.
“I—I guess… it was static electricity.”
“Don’t lie!”
We argued fiercely until a soft knock sounded.
“Lillian? It’s me—Eloise.”
My heart froze.
“Can I come in? You looked unwell earlier, I was worried.”
Even after all I’d done, my sister had come to check on me—I felt tears.
But not now!
I looked around—my room in chaos. Magic residue all over, Olga unconscious, me… panicked.
“Lillian, are you in there?”
“…”
“It’s strange, I thought I saw you come in. Don’t you want to talk?”
My mind raced.
