IVWL 17

Chapter 17

“…Hah!!”

I gasped for air, abruptly sitting up in bed.

“Ah, milady!!”

As I opened my eyes, I saw Anna, who was so startled she dropped the basin she was holding.

With a pale face, I slowly looked around.

‘This place is…’

At that moment, a heavy pain coursed through my entire body. I shut my eyes tightly, and memories from right before I collapsed flooded back all at once.

As I reflexively curled up, Anna hurriedly pulled the bell cord.

“Mi-milady, Lady Selenia has…!”

Soon, it became noisy outside, and the closed door swung open. In an instant, people rushed in.

I slowly lowered the hands cradling my head when I spotted a somewhat familiar face among them.

“…Walter.”

I barely managed to mutter, and Walter hurriedly approached me.

“Milady! You’re finally awake!”

I didn’t even have the strength to reply, so I merely nodded weakly. I had countless questions, but I was so short of breath it was hard to speak.

As I sat there, pale-faced and breathing heavily, someone who had been standing against the wall quickly approached me.

“Please allow me to touch your hand for a moment.”

He spoke politely, taking my wrist in his hand, then covering it with his palm.

The next moment, to my amazement, a warm light began to spread from his hand.

I stared blankly, mouth slightly open.

The warmth that came with the light traveled up my wrist and spread throughout my body. It was a pleasant sensation, and the chaos in my head gradually began to calm.

After a while, he slowly removed his hand and spoke cautiously.

“The remnants of that man’s mana within your body have now been completely removed. However…”

“However?”

“…I feel something else.”

At his meaningful words, Walter and I looked at him simultaneously.

“I’m not quite sure how to explain it…”

He muttered as if confused.

At a glance, the man appeared well-built, with a kind expression.

The lenses of his glasses, which seemed slightly too small for his face, briefly glinted.

At that moment, our eyes met, and he let out an “Ah,” opening his mouth.

“I should introduce myself first. It is an honor to meet you, Lady. As you can see, I am the new physician here. Before coming here, I—”

“Keep it short.”

Walter cut him off sharply. The physician smiled amiably and continued.

“Yes, well, by chance, I’ve become your attending physician.”

I glanced at Walter, who nodded.

“His Grace personally brought him in to accurately assess your condition, milady. Despite appearances, I’ve heard his skills are exceptional.”

“I am Martin Dunbaum.”

With a satisfied look, the physician extended his hand. I awkwardly shook it.

At that moment, I felt the warmth from earlier once more at my fingertips. As I flinched slightly in surprise, Martin smiled reassuringly.

“Since we’re holding hands anyway, let me check once more.”

‘He can diagnose just by holding hands?’

I looked at him skeptically, but he soon released my hand slowly.

Then, he tilted his head.

“Since earlier… I keep feeling something strange.”

“What do you mean by that?”

I asked, and he put on a serious expression.

“When I first saw you, your entire body was filled with that man’s mana. It seems he had injected a considerable amount of mana into you.”

My expression hardened. I had somewhat expected it, but I couldn’t help the shiver of disgust that ran down my spine.

“So, at the time, I couldn’t properly see your ‘vessel’…”

“Vessel?”

“Yes, quite literally. It refers to the amount of mana a person can contain. Generally, the larger the vessel, the greater the abilities one can manifest—like your father, Duke Tigris.”

I nodded, easily understanding as I thought of the God’s Tears made by Ansen.

‘Each person is born with a vessel, and if the mana exceeds that capacity, it leads to a rampage.’

Martin continued.

“As you can see, I’m a physician, and I manifest the divine power of healing. But healing, in fact, is quite simple.”

“Simple…?”

“Yes. It works by circulating my mana throughout the patient’s body to heal their wounds.”

I recalled the warmth I felt when I had held Martin’s hand.

That unfamiliar sensation of something warm spreading and circulating throughout my body.

“Because of that, I can naturally gauge the size of a person’s vessel.”

“By circulating mana, you can roughly measure the vessel’s size.”

Martin smiled faintly.

“You are sharp, milady. However… I cannot sense any vessel within you at all.”

“Isn’t that because I’m an unmanifested?”

He shook his head.

“The difference between a manifested and an unmanifested is simply whether or not they possess mana.”

“…”

“Think of a human as a cup. Some cups are born with water in them, and that water never dries up no matter how much you draw from it.”

Seeing my focused gaze, Martin explained, “That water is mana, and using that mana is what we call abilities.”

I nodded quietly.

“On the other hand, some cups may be empty, with not even a single drop of water. Those are people born without mana—the unmanifested.”

“…But either way, a cup is still a cup.”

Meaning, whether one has manifested or not, everyone possesses a vessel.

Martin nodded, indicating I understood correctly.

“But in your case, milady, I cannot sense any vessel at all.”

“What do you mean you can’t sense it? That’s impossible.”

“I don’t know exactly, but… it feels as if there’s a wall.”

“A wall?”

“Yes, a massive wall blocking me from gauging your vessel.”

I stared at Martin for a moment before shaking my head and speaking to Walter.

“Walter. Is this guy… really as capable as they say?”

Martin’s eyes widened, his mouth half-open in shock, but I didn’t hesitate.

“No matter how I look at it, he seems like a quack. His lines are too cliché, it’s almost funny.”

I shook my head and tried to get off the bed.

But the moment my feet touched the ground, the strength in my legs gave out instantly, and I collapsed to the floor.

“Milady!!”

Anna quickly rushed over to support me.

I frowned as I looked at my legs, which, to my amazement, had no strength at all.

“Why is this…”

Suddenly, a bad feeling crept up my spine.

“…How long was I unconscious?”

“Well… it’s been three months, milady…”

Anna replied, looking at me with worried eyes.

With a pale, stiff face, I quickly turned my head to look out the window.

Large snowflakes were falling heavily outside.

The day I had met Maier in the drawing room, the autumn leaves had been vividly colorful.

“This can’t be.”

Come to think of it, not only the weather but the scenery had changed.

From my window in the mansion, I could see a vast garden. But now…

There was an endlessly stretching plain covered in white snow, and beyond it, towering mountains loomed large.

I could even see sporadically placed stone towers and unidentified fortress walls.

“…Where, where am I?”

I asked in a slightly trembling voice, and Anna answered.

“This is the Tigris Duchy, milady. It’s been seventy days since we arrived here.”

I was too shocked to speak.

‘…After hearing about milady’s condition, Eria has been praying every day. When I asked whom she was praying to, she said, “To my late mother.”’

‘Eria and I miss you very much, milady. We hope to see you again in good health.’

With hope,
Estellin

I put down the letter I had been holding in one hand and picked up another.

As I broke the wax seal on the envelope, neat handwriting filled the light pink paper inside.

‘To be asleep during such an important time—do you even realize how little time is left until the Academy entrance?’

‘Know this, while you were lying there, I’ve already advanced my abilities.’

‘Annoying as it is, your advice actually helped. Martina sends her regards.’

Rozetin P. Grimaldi

I slowly put the letter down.

Only then did I notice the flower bouquets decorating the nightstand, windowsill, and fireplace. Several beautifully dried flowers were also hanging on the wall.

“All these flowers… did they come with the letters?”

“Yes. Lady Estellin sent a letter almost every week. Lady Rozetin as well.”

I pursed my lips at Anna’s words and murmured quietly.

“…Honestly, I’m perfectly fine.”

Anna smiled beside me.

“Shall I bring you a pen and stationery so you can write back?”

“…Well. I guess since I’ve woken up, it’s only right to reply.”

Anna nodded and quickly left the room.

I sat there for a moment, then lightly tapped the stationery on the table.

‘We miss you very much, milady.’

‘Your advice actually helped.’

Those embarrassingly sweet words from the letters circled in my mind. I quietly muttered again.

“Seriously, these kids…”

Such innocent children. I worried how they would survive this harsh world if they gave their hearts so easily.

Letting out a deep sigh, I placed the letters back into their envelopes. Then, I carefully brought them over to the nightstand beside my bed.

When I opened the drawer, a lavish jewelry box sat at the front.

Inside the half-opened jewelry box, all sorts of rare treasures sparkled brightly.

Rubies, sapphires, diamonds…

Without hesitation, I pushed the box further inside.

Then, I gently placed the letters in its place.

“Geez, really. Anna said there are even more letters. Where am I going to store them all?”

I shook my head as I stood up, but then froze in place when I saw someone standing at the door.

“…Duke—no, Father?”

My mind went blank for a moment.

The last face I had seen before collapsing.

Duke Tigris stood there.