IBVS 09

Chapter 9

Just as expected, at the word “magic tools,” Briana’s cheeks flushed red, and the emerald eyes that had been filled with fear were now dyed with curiosity instead.

“Briana, are you interested in magic tools too?”

I thought I had spoken gently enough, but the child flinched again and trembled.

Was my guess wrong?

Seeing the curiosity in her eyes disappear back into fear, I swallowed a sigh inwardly.

Maybe she didn’t actually like magic tools that much yet, or maybe going together with me would only create worse memories for her.

So I spoke to Jane.

“If Briana doesn’t like it, we can go look at something else instead. Jane, ask the coachman to turn the carriage arou—”

Before I could even finish speaking, Briana cried out,

“I-I like them!”

Her voice was so loud that even Belkas, who had been asleep, startled awake.

Briana quickly lowered her face in embarrassment and continued in a tiny crawling voice.

“I-I like them… Mother.”

“M-magic tools…”

As if she were confessing some enormous secret, Briana bowed her head deeply.

Her 모습 was so adorable, and at the same time I felt proud that such a timid child had gathered the courage to say it aloud.

“Really? I’m glad to hear you like magic tools. Thanks to that, we won’t have to turn the carriage around.”

As I spoke to Briana, I turned my gaze toward the window.

The carriage that had been racing across the green plains had just entered the shopping district.

Buildings of all kinds of designs passed by outside the window.

“Mmngh… Witch Lady…”

Belkas, awakened by Briana’s voice, crawled into my arms, still half-asleep.

“Bel, you’re awake? We’ll be arriving soon.”

And no sooner had I finished speaking than the rattling carriage came to a stop.

We had reached our destination.

The moment I stepped out of the carriage, my body froze for a second.

The grandeur of the shopping district I had only read about briefly in the novel was far more impressive than I expected.

Even though magi-engineering had not developed very much yet, the place was crowded with people.

Colorful smoke rose from the tightly packed streets filled with complicated buildings of all kinds of designs.

Most of the shops here probably doubled as workshops.

“Waaah~ Witch Lady, look at that!”

“Ma’am, Ma’am, look over there! It’s so fascinating!”

I had been standing there blankly until Belkas and Jane’s voices snapped me back to reality.

Since both of them were visiting the magi-engineering street for the first time, their eyes were wide as they looked around busily.

But strangely enough, Briana—the one who seemed like she would love this place the most—was completely silent.

Worried, I glanced toward where she stood.

Contrary to my expectations that she’d be hopping around excitedly, Briana stood there with both hands tightly clasped and her head lowered.

‘Is she disappointed…?’

Maybe Briana’s standards were higher than I thought, and this place hadn’t impressed her.

The thought made me strangely disappointed too.

‘I wanted to make her happy…’

While holding back Belkas, who looked ready to dash off somewhere, I carefully watched Briana.

Soon, Briana slowly lifted the head she had been hanging low.

And the moment I saw her face, I couldn’t help but panic.

Briana was crying.

Tears rolled down from her large, bright eyes, and flustered, I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief from my clothes.

“B-Briana? Why are you crying?”

When I handed her the handkerchief and asked, Briana hurriedly wiped away her tears.

“I-I’m sorry, Mother. I was just so happy.”

“It’s alright. People cry when they’re very happy or deeply moved. Briana, it seems you like magic tools even more than I thought?”

“Yes, I do… Lady Gellowell said it wasn’t a proper virtue for a young lady, but I love both making magic tools and looking at them.”

Gellowell… Gellowell…?

Ah, I remembered.

Countess Gellowell, the tutor of the three siblings.

One of the people who tried to crush Briana’s dreams when she was young.

In the future, when Briana became an adult, there would be more female magi-engineers, but right now, when magi-engineering was only beginning to develop, it was considered a profession mainly for commoner men.

So naturally, Countess Gellowell would not have approved of Briana taking interest in that field.

After all, Briana was a daughter of the Glade Ducal House.

“…Do you think the same way Lady Gellowell does, Mother?”

At Briana’s cautious question, I lowered myself to meet her eyes.

“No, I don’t think that at all.”

The emerald eyes staring at me trembled slightly.

Looking at Briana, I continued speaking.

“I want Briana to do what she loves. Of course, people’s gazes may be frightening and harsh, but Briana is still Briana, isn’t she? So keep trying until the end. It’s okay even if you fail, as long as it’s something you love. The only person who can prove its worth is you.”

‘Do you understand, Lee Haein? So don’t give up. Whether it ends in success or disaster, you have to try.’

‘That’s what it means to be Dad’s daughter.’

As I gently stroked her silver-gray hair, I smiled.

Everything I had just told Briana were words my father had once told me.

Before coming here, I had been a former national Taekwondo athlete.

Although I couldn’t keep the national title for long because of an injury, I never once gave up until the very end when I had to quit.

Because I loved Taekwondo.

Just like Briana loved magic tools now.

When I finished speaking, Briana lowered her head deeply once more.

“…Thank you.”

And then I heard a tiny whisper of gratitude.

I held out my hand toward her.

Perhaps because she didn’t dislike it, the child carefully took my hand.

I could feel her warm body heat.

“Well then, shall we go? Bel, come here too. It’ll be troublesome if you get lost. Both of you have to hold my hands tightly.”

“Mhm! Okayyy.”

“Yes… Mother.”

Now no longer stuttering, Briana tightly held my hand.

After touring the magi-engineering street with the children, I searched for a gift shop.

Of course, since I wanted to keep it a secret from the children, I planned to leave them with Jane.

But there was an obstacle waiting for me.

Belkas started whining that he didn’t want to be separated from me.

‘Nooo— I’m going too! Witch Lady, don’t leave Bel behind!’

‘Aigoo, our baby, just wait with Jane and Sister Briana for a little while, okay? Auntie will come back and buy you something tasty.’

‘Hngh… No! I don’t need yummy things! I wanna stay with Witch Lady!’

Just as the future stubborn Magic Tower Master candidate was about to throw himself onto the floor again—

Jane cleverly stepped in and lured the children away by saying they should go watch an entertaining performance.

I gave Jane a thumbs-up, and she disappeared with a wink.

As expected, Jane was the only one I could truly rely on.

Thanks to her, I was able to shop comfortably before finally stopping by a jeweler’s shop.

The reason I came here was simple.

I wanted protective magic engraved onto the children’s gifts.

As mentioned before, demons existed in the world of The Children of the Silver Deer House.

Long ago, the Four Great Ducal Houses and the Imperial Family joined forces to seal the portal gates and successfully stop the demons from invading, but they were never able to completely erase all demonic energy hidden throughout the empire.

Because of that, people in the Hellarium Empire infused objects with protective magic or divine power, turning them into charms to protect themselves and their loved ones from demonic energy.

And the place that specialized in such work was a jeweler’s shop.

Since Sierra—no, I—possessed neither divine power nor magic, there was no more meaningful gift I could give the children than this.

If possible, I wanted the presents I gave them to protect them.

“Greetings, Madam. My name is Ricore. How may I assist you?”

As soon as I entered the shop, an elderly man with completely white hair approached me with a gentle smile.

Smiling back at him, I placed the gifts for the children onto the table.

“I came to request engraving work. Please apply the highest-grade protection magic and healing magic possible.”

“Yes, understood. Let me see… Hmm. However, Madam, I apologize, but these are not finished products yet?”

Ricore pointed at the silver-gray cloth and the two emerald gemstones with a puzzled expression.

“I plan to make those later myself, so engrave the materials instead. I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

“Ah, understood. However, it will take some time. About half a day. If you wish, shall we send them to your residence?”

Half a day.

It would take longer than I expected.

I hesitated briefly, but if they were sent to the ducal estate, they would probably end up going through Vine first, so I shook my head.

“No, I’ll come back to retrieve them myself.”

“Very well. Then I’ll see you later.”

After giving a slight nod to the politely bowing Ricore, I left the shop.

“Phew… I barely did anything, but I’m exhausted.”

I needed to get used to life here little by little.

But this place was still difficult for me.

An unfamiliar environment.

Unfamiliar people.

Even though this was a world I had read about in writing, actually experiencing it was completely different.

I kept pressing my fears deep inside, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

I wasn’t Sierra.

And I wouldn’t treat the three protagonists the way Sierra did.

But what if no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn’t change the original story?

What if I failed to win the children’s hearts, and in the end, their hands became the ones to take my life?

What if the cute and innocent eyes currently looking at me someday stared at me with contempt and coldness instead?

If that day came…

What was I supposed to do then?