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Chapter 29
Arius’s body still ached from the grueling training, but even so, he had no intention of leaving this astonishing situation.
And what situation was that?
“Viphera came out!”
Viphera, who had shut herself in her room and not stepped outside for two years, the ultimate shut-in.
She’d always been timid by nature, and after enduring Daphne’s constant scolding and nagging, she’d fled to her sanctuary to escape it all.
Arius had understood that feeling all too well — and had gone to visit her several times.
“Hey. You really not coming out? I’m gonna eat all the cake Pauline bought!”
“Aren’t you going to at least come outside? What are you going to do if you get kicked out for hiding in there?”
“Ah, come on! Get a grip already! Daphne’s been a nightmare since forever!”
He’d tried persuasion, threats — nothing worked. Every time, Viphera just stayed silent.
Eventually, Arius stopped going. He was still too young to keep shouting into an echo that never came back.
But now…
That same Viphera—!
“D-Daphne. Y-you should w-worry more about your b-body. You just c-collapsed, it hasn’t been that l-long…”
What was going on here?
Not only had Viphera come out of her room, but she was worrying about Daphne?
After all those days crying because of Daphne? Arius couldn’t make sense of it.
“I-I brought some p-potions. W-would you like to drink some?”
Viphera fumbled through her pouch and handed a small bottle to Daphne. Daphne, who’d been silently watching her, finally moved.
“You learn this potion-making from that Teyti brat?”
“Huh? N-no! I-I’ve been m-making them on my own for a while!”
Daphne lifted the bottle and gave it a shake before her eyes. The clear, impurity-free liquid looked surprisingly good.
As she expected — Viphera had talent. Even without formal alchemy training, she’d achieved this much. With proper guidance, she’d probably become a famous alchemist within a few years.
This was an unexpected gain.
A grin tugged at Daphne’s lips.
Daphne was smiling!
Viphera’s eyes sparkled.
Though Daphne had once bullied her, right now Viphera owed Daphne a great debt.
After all, she’d gotten direct lessons from an elf — a race notorious for being impossible to find, let alone approach!
She had only intended to ask the elf to inspect the materials she’d received from the dwarves.
But the elf had gone further.
“I’ll teach you myself.”
Unbelievable!
A human being taught by an elf!
“I really hate humans, you know? But you’re different, Viphera. Why? Because if I raise you right, I’ll finally be free. So, let’s work hard together, okay? Okay?”
The elf seemed a little eccentric, sure — but then again, the greatest beings were always strange.
Still, this wasn’t something Viphera had achieved alone.
It was thanks to Daphne.
She must have ordered it. The elf clearly couldn’t disobey her!
“It must be a gesture of reconciliation!”
To gift her the teachings of an elf—!
Viphera thought Daphne deeply regretted bullying her, and the elf’s lessons were her way of apologizing.
“Then as her older sister, I should forgive her…”
Viphera couldn’t forget what Daphne had done — she had been like a demon, after all.
But recalling the effort Daphne had shown her recently, and her mother’s dying wish to “take care of Daphne,” Viphera had resolved to step outside once more.
And so, here she was, standing before Daphne.
To look after her.
To forgive her.
Viphera pulled out several more potion bottles from her pocket and handed them all to Daphne.
“This one’s got Yukos leaves, Risa magic mushrooms, and blasphemy root. It restores stamina and a bit of mana, too. Oh, and this one’s from boiling Tela leaves — great for healing wounds. Ah! And this one’s made from ground Madness Fangs — it’s really good for stopping bleeding!”
Excitedly chattering, she filled Daphne’s arms with bottles — then quickly hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.
“S-sorry. I-I got too carried away. I-is it okay, or should I t-take them back…?”
She always wanted to fix her habit of rambling when something interested her, but it never worked — and today, she’d messed up again. Her cheeks reddened.
“No. They’re good. Thank you. I’ll use them well.”
Daphne didn’t really understand why Viphera was suddenly so friendly, but she decided not to question it.
Arius, however, wasn’t so easily convinced.
“Wait, wait. I don’t get what’s going on here. What is this?”
He shoved himself between them.
“Viphera! I yelled outside your door for months and you never came out, and now this? Since when are you and Daphne close?”
“C-close? D-do we look close?”
A small smile curved Viphera’s lips.
“B-because I’m her older sister…”
“Oh, give me a break.”
“Y-you…!”
Viphera turned toward him sharply.
“D-Daphne granted me a r-request. I’m g-grateful, and s-sorry, and she gave me a g-gift, so…”
“A request? A gift?”
“Y-yeah. Something I could n-never get otherwise… s-so I decided to b-be a proper s-sister to her!”
Arius was speechless. How could he not be?
Viphera was standing in front of Daphne, bright-eyed and unafraid.
Daphne had done wrong in the past — that much was true. But lately, she’d been acting like someone trying to atone.
Teaching Arius swordsmanship, raising the Archduke’s name, and now this — with Viphera.
Arius felt his nose sting slightly.
“Daphne,” he said, smiling wide.
“You really have changed. You’re finally human now. You used to be such a demoni— Ow! Why’d you hit me?!”
“Shut it.”
Daphne shoved Arius aside with a scowl, but he refused to back down. Instead, he eyed the potions in her arms.
“So what’s with these potions? Since when do you do alchemy? Are these even real?”
“T-they’re r-real!” Viphera shouted, fists clenched.
“T-they w-work! I t-tested them on m-myself!”
What?
Both Daphne and Arius’s eyes shot wide.
“You tested them on yourself? You drank all of them?”
“N-no! I mean, I cut myself and poured some on, then worked out till I nearly passed out and drank one, and once I drained all my mana and collapsed I took another— and it worked! R-really!”
Arius pinched the bridge of his nose. Daphne’s brow furrowed deeply.
They knew she was obsessed with alchemy, but using her own body for experiments? She was only nine years old!
Daphne, as a mighty dragon who believed young humans were weak and needed protection, couldn’t let that stand.
“Arius,” she said, nudging him.
“The knights — are they still training at that intensity?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah! Every single day!”
“Then they’ll be exhausted every day, won’t they?”
“Yeah — sore, low on mana, all that.”
Their eyes met — and gleamed in unison.
“From now on, do your experiments on the knights. Using your own body is forbidden.”
“Yeah! Use the knights! They’re sturdy enough to handle it!”
“H-huh?”
Viphera looked panicked.
“S-shouldn’t we ask the knights what t-they think first?”
“Why bother?”
“Why?”
“Who cares?”
“They’re already getting beat up in training — might as well make use of it.”
“Good thinking. Guess that empty head of yours is good for something after all.”
“Heh.”
Arius wasn’t sure if that was praise or an insult — but decided not to dwell on it. The mood was too good to ruin.
Viphera was outside again, Daphne seemed reformed, and Arius himself was improving.
The thought filled him with quiet joy.
“It’s been so long since all three of us were together. Let’s not ruin the mood.”
“T-three of us…!”
Viphera giggled, nodding happily.
“If our brother were here too, it’d be perfect, right?”
“Y-yeah… but even n-now, it’s g-good!”
“Yeah. It’s good now.”
Daphne watched Arius and Viphera clinging to her and held her breath for a moment.
It was a strange feeling.
A soft, fuzzy warmth, like dandelion fluff brushing her skin.
It wasn’t unpleasant — in fact, it felt… good.
And maybe that’s why it hurt even more.
Because she was not the real Daphne Archion.
Heros stood with his forehead against a clear window, staring outside.
More precisely — at the distant training grounds.
With his sharp vision, it wasn’t hard for him to see faraway things clearly.
Watching Daphne, Arius, and Viphera gathered there was no challenge.
“Your Excellency, are you slacking off?” grumbled Pauline from behind him.
“Some of us have bad eyesight and spend all day buried in paperwork, while others just stare into the distance and see the whole world. Unfair, isn’t it? So cruel…”
“I’m thinking. Not slacking,” Heros replied flatly.
“Looks like slacking to me.”
Heros shot her a glare, then turned his gaze back to the distant sky.
“So, Your Excellency — have you made up your mind yet? The imperial court’s waiting for your answer.”
Pauline pressed him impatiently.
“Will you be joining the next campaign against the dark mages?”
