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Chapter 34
‘As expected of my dad?’
Anyway, whether it was because she’d cried her eyes out or because she’d managed to tell her mom how she felt, Pianie’s heart now felt as clear and bright as a blue sky.
‘Yeah. No more worrying about things I can’t control! Instead of wasting time worrying, I need to figure out a strong, confident way to go back.’
Mm! Feeling energized, Pianie suddenly sprang to her feet.
[Huh?]
Pianie patted over her body, surprised that it moved just as she’d intended.
Unbelievable—she could move again.
[No way!]
[What now?]
Ope grumbled.
With a heave, Pianie pushed herself upright and went to the edge of the bed. Standing where the dolls lined up at the headboard could see her, she declared,
[Guys, look! I can move again!]
[Wha—?! You’re right!]
[Awesome, right?]
Delighted, Pianie wiggled her body around.
[Pffft! Stop doing that weird dance, it looks ridiculous!]
Ope burst into laughter.
Pianie scrunched up her face.
[It’s not weird, it’s cute!]
[Sure, keep telling yourself that. You only say that because you can’t see yourself. You look seriously bizarre, you know? Your face is nightmare fuel right now.]
Ope said it like a reporter proudly fulfilling his duty to inform.
A deeper shadow fell across Pianie’s face.
[You little—!]
Furious, Pianie started windmilling her arms as she stomped toward Ope, and Ope shouted,
[H-hey! Wait! Hold on! What if you beat me up again and His Grace comes back?! You wanna repeat yesterday?! You want innocent servants getting suspected again?!]
‘Well… he’s got a point.’
Pianie clicked her tongue.
[Tch. I’ll just wait for the right time and smack you later.]
[Whew……]
Ope sighed in relief.
The cat doll thought,
‘If you’re going to be that scared, maybe don’t act up in the first place.’
[Anyway, how are you able to move again?]
Hesil asked seriously. The embroidered pupils in his eyes sparkled strangely bright.
[Hmm……]
Pianie frowned, pressing her tiny cotton fists together.
[It’s probably because of that.]
[Because of what?]
When Hesil asked sharply, Pianie explained how yesterday, when Chris hugged her after returning, a golden light had seeped into her body.
[What?! That happened and you didn’t say anything?!]
When Hesil scolded her, Pianie snapped back, upset.
[I did say something! I asked if my body was glowing and Ope just mocked me saying only His Grace’s face was glowing!]
[Uh… huh? I wasn’t mocking you, I was just stating facts!]
Ope protested, voice trembling.
[I’m going to kill you.]
The more she thought about it, the angrier Pianie got, and she calmly announced his impending murder.
[Gasp!]
Ope trembled, but Hesil took the situation seriously.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Watching Pianie muttering, “Yeah, I definitely have to kill him right now,” Hesil said,
[Your mana has slightly increased.]
Pianie stopped swinging her arms.
[What do you mean?]
Ope was immensely relieved now that the death countdown aimed at him had paused.
[Listen carefully. There’s mana inside your body.]
Hesil said solemnly.
Pianie’s already-dumbfounded face somehow looked even dumber.
[Mana?]
[Yeah. The mana inside mages, fairies, and monsters.]
[But I’m human.]
[Mages are human too.]
[No, didn’t mages go extinct ages ago?]
[The way you say that makes it sound like a species… but yeah. You’re right. Mages disappeared.]
Hesil replied bitterly.
[But it’s not just mages who use mana. The knights of Grand Duke Hespia use mana too.]
Mana—the mysterious power flowing through this world like air. Not every living being could use it, and humans especially were not naturally attuned to it.
Only a very small number of people could use mana: mages, and knights who’d surpassed normal human limits.
[But the mana knights use is fundamentally different from a mage’s mana.]
A knight’s mana flowed in and out naturally, like breathing.
Mages, however, possessed a “vessel” that stored mana.
[And you have a vessel like a mage does.]
At first, the three dolls had mistaken that vessel inside Pianie for a “core.”
But now they understood: the shining power inside Pianie was a mana vessel.
‘Like a mage…?’
Pianie’s dazed eyes sparkled.
[Then does that mean I’m a mage? Isn’t that too perfect? Cute, lovely, AND a mage?]
What a problem. Perfect beings were destined to be envied and hated…
‘And if I’m a mage, maybe I can do things like this?’
Pianie imagined herself blasting fire magic to punish Lea and Delice.
[Hehehe……]
Her expression turned so wicked that the three dolls flinched.
Then Hesil cleared his throat.
[Sorry, but you’re not a mage.]
[Huh? But you just said I have a mage’s mana vessel.]
[“Mage” doesn’t just mean someone who has a mana vessel. It means someone who can communicate with and control the mana within them. But you can’t even properly feel your mana, let alone control it, right?]
Even now, Pianie’s tiny bit of mana was happily wandering around a huge vessel, refusing to stay still—and Pianie couldn’t sense it at all.
[Then what am I?]
Pianie whined.
[If I had to define it… just a person who has a mana vessel?]
[……Just?]
[Yep. Just.]
Demoted from “mage” to “just someone with mana,” Pianie’s face crumpled.
‘What is that supposed to be!’
Seeing her pitiful expression, Hesil thought,
‘Most mages are born with both a vessel and mana already.’
In other words, the vessel represented the amount of mana one could handle. Even if they used it all up casting a big spell, resting would refill it back to the vessel’s capacity—like stamina recovering after sleep.
But look at Pianie’s vessel.
‘Honestly, it’s the biggest vessel I’ve ever seen. It’s just… empty.’
And somehow, it didn’t feel like it would stay empty forever.
[It seems like your mana increases when you come into contact with His Grace.]
[What do you mean? Are you saying I’m stealing His Grace’s mana?!]
Chris wasn’t an ordinary knight. He was a special, god-chosen being.
‘Also, Pianie’s mana is gold, but His Grace’s mana is red. Yet Pianie said golden mana flowed into her from him.’
It was hard to understand. But one thing was certain…
[His Grace’s mana isn’t decreasing. So you’re not stealing his mana.]
[Oh thank goodness!]
Pianie sighed in relief. It was bad enough pretending to be his beloved doll—if she were stealing mana too…!
‘Just imagining it is awful!’
Hesil spoke to Pianie, who was shaking her head furiously.
[Anyway, since you have more mana than yesterday, you’ll probably be able to move longer today.]
[That’s great news!]
Pianie hopped excitedly, then stopped.
[Then if I stick close to His Grace from now on, will my mana keep filling up like this?]
Her eyes sparkled with hopeful anticipation.
[Judging from the situation… probably. But honestly, I’m not sure “physical contact” is the exact key.]
[Huh? What do you mean?]
[Think about it. His Grace thinks you’re incredibly special.]
Love. Affection. Since ancient times, that special emotion had always created extraordinary things. People called those miracles.
[Maybe His Grace’s affectionate touch triggered a miracle like this!]
Hesil grew a bit too excited, and Ope shuddered.
[Mages… always getting worked up over weird stuff.]
Pianie narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chubby chin.
[So basically, all I can do is cling to His Grace and get loved, right?]
[Uh… yeah. Pretty much.]
Hesil answered weakly.
Pianie was confident she could do both. Chris adored her, after all. But…
‘So why do I feel so powerless?’
Being adored, being held—none of that was something she could do on her own. Chris had to do it for her.
‘So if His Grace stops liking me, I’ll stay stuck like this forever?’
Seeing Pianie’s crumpled face, Ope panicked.
‘Why does her face look like a badly stuffed doll again?’
With a drained expression, Pianie asked,
[But even if I get more mana… what good does it do me?]
[Huh?]
[I’m not a mage. I’m just someone who has mana. So what good does it do me to move a little longer……]
She sounded like a middle-aged man worn down by life, and Hesil chuckled.
[I only said that’s what you are right now. I never said it would stay that way.]
[Huh?]
Standing under the sunlight, looking up dazedly, Pianie heard Hesil say clearly,
[I’ll teach you magic.]
