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chapter 48
As a member of the Information Guild, Ahin was quite knowledgeable about things others didn’t know. So when he heard that mastering mana could help, he immediately thought of Infinity Danio.
Although the symptoms varied widely among those afflicted, it was the first time he had seen it manifest as a skin disease. The last person known as Infinity Danio had been born into a viscount family in the Kingdom of Scan.
He had seen records that the child suffered from photophobia in his youth, but after learning mana, he recovered completely.
Elbatro, Duke of Iavant.
It was a secret from the past of Duke Elbatro, who elevated the Iavant viscount family to a ducal house, earned the respect of all wizards, and was still revered almost like a god.
At that time, there wasn’t even a system called Infinity Danio, so they could only speculate that he suffered from that illness. Nevertheless, Infinity Danios afterward consistently displayed genius-level talent in handling mana.
“Did I get it right?”
“…Yes. Grace suspected it was something like that.”
It was curious how Grace had come to know the name of this disease, as almost nothing was recorded about it.
It was a disease that only geniuses suffered from, so one might think it would become famous. But those geniuses loathed and hid the symptoms they had as children.
They had no good memories of it.
Having risen to the upper echelons of society made it easier to hide, and investigating a disease that appeared only once every few hundred years was nearly impossible.
The symptoms were also different for every suspected genius, making it even harder.
“Grace must really care about and like the young master.”
“…Why do you say that?”
“Well, it wouldn’t have been easy to figure out the disease’s name. You can’t just know it from having medical knowledge.”
“…Ah.”
“She must have suspected a lot and done research to find out.”
“…Really?”
Of course, Livianu also thought Grace was a good person and knew she cared for him, but they hadn’t known each other for very long.
It was too short a time to suspect something like this.
For a moment, Livianu thought Grace might have known about the disease from the start, but he didn’t dwell on it.
Leto accepted Sophien’s death.
Although she had tormented him until the very end, he wasn’t cruel enough to resent someone who had died.
However, with Sophien’s sudden kidnapping attempt ending in death, he couldn’t bring himself to speak of his mother amid the shock. Naturally, the matter was left unresolved.
Sophien and the maidservants’ bodies were roughly disposed of, but Margaret’s remains, Leto’s mother, were carefully collected and buried in a sunny spot at the villa.
He thought that someday, there would be an opportunity to speak of it.
“Grace, cleaning is done.”
“Yes, thank you.”
With suddenly fewer hands, Esi and Grace hurried to hire new maids.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult to find them, and Grace ended up wearing an unexpected “cap” of responsibility.
“When you’re done, rest.”
“Thank you.”
The newly hired maids were all gentle and without sharp edges, and they got along reasonably well—not too close, not too distant.
With Sophien and the other maids taken care of, Grace no longer had to worry about appearances.
Thus, Livianu could finally begin learning how to handle mana properly.
“Impressive.”
Leto, watching the training alongside them, muttered.
“Do you want to learn too, young master?”
“No, how could I learn something like that…”
“Are you not confident?”
“…Yes.”
“Well, if you want to try, just do it. You don’t have to be good at it.”
“Really? I don’t have to be good?”
“Of course. How could anyone be good at everything? You’re smart, young master, but you might not be skilled in swordsmanship.”
Leto’s eyes widened in surprise at those words.
He had always had to be good at everything. Only then would he be praised and avoid scolding.
“More importantly, are you really okay with this?”
“I said I’m fine.”
Not only Grace, but Esi and even Livianu herself were silently concerned for Leto.
But contrary to their worries, Leto was quickly finding a sense of peace.
He said it was the first time he had ever felt such calm in his life.
“You always say that.”
“…I know, but…”
“With Sophien gone, I feel more at ease. At first, it was a shock, but the dead won’t come back…”
Sophien had been a despised and feared presence, but she was dead.
The dead have no power.
Of course, if he were alone, he might not have been able to handle these emotions—but with them there, it felt like a miracle that everything was fine.
“By the way, Livianu, you really are amazing.”
Leto quickly diverted the topic as if to avoid continuing the praise.
Grace followed suit, playing along.
“Yes, our young master is a little amazing indeed.”
Even someone who knew nothing of swordsmanship could tell his skill was exceptional.
According to Ahin, Livianu first needed to learn how to release the overflowing mana.
Ordinary knights accumulate mana in their bodies to increase skill, but Livianu did the opposite.
By doing this, his mana would stabilize, and his skin disease would gradually heal.
After that, learning proper swordsmanship would be the most suitable approach for him.
Grace also realized calling Ahin had been wise, as she only knew how to finely control mana, not how to use it explosively.
Since Ahin was knowledgeable in swordsmanship, he could diagnose Livianu’s disease and know how to handle it just from the symptoms.
About two weeks passed since Livianu began learning proper swordsmanship.
As soon as he learned how to release mana, he improved day by day, and the foul stench that had clung to him like a second skin finally vanished.
No longer did his flesh melt away like pus. It no longer itched or hurt, so he didn’t need medicine.
Even just that improvement brightened his expression significantly.
Of course, remnants of the past damage remained, so his appearance was still somewhat grotesque to others.
In previous weeks, he had improved a little, but some traces remained, so Grace wondered again if his skin would ever fully recover.
“Good morning, young master.”
“Morning. Grace.”
Today, Livianu was particularly cheerful.
“You didn’t forget our plans, right?”
“Of course not.”
With Livianu’s skin improving and Sophien’s problem resolved, Grace had a bit of free time.
Livianu’s growing confidence meant he could now move around the villa alone.
He hadn’t gone far yet, but being able to move about independently was significant.
“This is my first time going outside.”
Today, Grace planned to take Livianu out to walk around the village.
Recently, she hadn’t been able to pay much attention to him, so as a form of apology and to spend the day together, she suggested it.
Livianu was thrilled at the idea of spending the entire day with Grace and eagerly nodded.
In the past, he wouldn’t have agreed to go outside, but now, with the stench gone, he could conceal his appearance and go out without issue.
He wanted to finish breakfast quickly and prepare to go out.
“You really wanted to go out that much?”
Grace chuckled softly, realizing she couldn’t stop him, and Livianu smiled.
“I enjoy going out, but I like that you thought of me too.”
“Sorry. I should have been more attentive.”
“No need to apologize. As long as you remember and care for me like this, I recover quickly.”
“But it doesn’t erase the pain you felt, right?”
“Then be good from now on. I’ll be watching.”
“Of course I will.”
For a while, all they had to do was treat Livianu’s skin disease in this countryside and improve his swordsmanship, so there was nothing to worry about.
Slowly, people were gathering around Livianu, and Grace saw this as a positive sign.
Although, in Livianu’s world, Grace still seemed to be the center.
“Thank you.”
“Huh? For what?”
Taken aback by the sudden thanks, Livianu looked puzzled.
“For caring for me even though I couldn’t take care of you properly.”
“…Huh?”
“Why? Don’t you like me?”
Seeing Livianu awkwardly freeze, Grace pursed her lips seriously.
“No, no, I like… I like you…”
Livianu hurriedly explained, but Grace became curious.
“How much?”
“Huh?”
“Compared to Esi or Leto.”
Recently, he had treated Leto well and given Esi some attention.
It was a good sign, but Livianu’s affection couldn’t drop below 60%.
“…Compared to Esi and Leto? Of course, I like Grace the most.”
“Really?”
“Yes… naturally… Why, were you worried…?”
Livianu carefully asked, eyes rolling as if he couldn’t believe it.
