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Chapter 6
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know either!”
“You said we should follow him!”
“Yeah, but…!”
“What are you whispering about?”
Riela suddenly appeared close and shoved her face in front of them.
“Run!”
Daniel screamed and grabbed Aria’s hand, dragging her along. Aria didn’t want to go, but his grip was too strong, and she had no choice but to be pulled along.
“Brother! This is hard!”
“Ah, sorry!”
Daniel let go of her hand. Aria, who had never run like this before, panted heavily and broke out in cold sweat.
“Just… just tell him honestly, geez!”
Despite her exhaustion, Aria shouted at Daniel.
So many things didn’t make sense to her. Riela might have changed a little—so what was so important about it?
Even Aria had been changing gradually. Last year, she couldn’t eat Brussels sprouts, but this year she could.
Daniel was the same. One day, he suddenly started talking about Riela a lot and even suggested following her like this.
“But you said those two were in an amazing love…”
“What are you talking about? I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”
“Who exactly are you in love with? Please don’t tell me it’s Leonit… That can’t be!”
“Don’t talk alone—talk with me! Are you ignoring me because I’m bad at studying?”
Aria glared at Daniel, who was still lost in his own world, and turned away.
“Fine. I’ll tell the truth myself.”
She couldn’t lie to Riela, who was more precious than her brother. So Aria, muttering to herself like a fool, walked quickly, leaving Daniel behind.
“Riela!”
She cupped her hands like a trumpet and called out loudly. Riela turned around, her slightly grown hair fluttering in the wind.
“What’s going on here? Don’t you have class?”
“Ah, she couldn’t come today because she had something to do.”
That wasn’t a lie—they had told her it was okay to skip class to see her son’s first recital.
Riela was holding a huge plant encyclopedia, apparently looking for flower names. But what she was examining couldn’t really be called a flower.
Technically, it was an herb—a flower whose roots could be used as medicine.
“What are you looking at? I want to see too!”
“Just… because I’m bored.”
Her tone suggested she was hiding something, but it didn’t matter. Aria sat down on the floor without caring that her skirt would get dirty, trying to meet Riela’s gaze.
“Where’s Daniel?”
“He’ll come when he wants.”
Riela tilted her head at the slightly curt answer.
‘How can anyone lie with such an innocent face?’
Aria took a deep breath and said,
“Riela, actually, I’ve been following you and my brother since this morning.”
“Oh, really?”
“You knew?”
Riela’s reaction was dull, so Aria asked again, just in case.
Riela, who had been staring at some unknown plant, muttered, “Eh, this isn’t it,” but then nodded and replied.
“Yes. You were following me so obviously; it’s impossible not to notice.”
What?! I tried to sneak quietly, but she already knew! Aria’s heart sank, and she felt like crying. Why did her brother want to follow such a kind Riela? Aria held back her tears and said:
“You must be really disappointed. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t feel suspicious, but Daniel told me not to, so I had no choice. I’ll apologize for him.”
Technically, the cause wasn’t that Riela had changed but that Daniel suggested following her.
Worried that Riela might be upset, Aria watched her closely. Riela’s eyes widened, and she sat on the book and laughed.
“What’s the big deal? It’s fine. I thought it was fun, like a secret mission!”
Riela, like a knight on a secret mission, looked around carefully and then straightened up proudly.
“Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Are you sure? You can tell me honestly. If Daniel’s worried about me, I’ll scold him.”
Clenching her fist as if entrusting her to Riela, she laughed as if she had heard something hilarious.
“Riela!”
At that moment, Daniel’s voice came from behind.
Annoyed that their fun was interrupted, Aria glared, but Daniel didn’t seem to care and went straight to Riela.
“You were following me?”
Riela spoke first. Daniel stiffened at her words.
“Well, yes… the reason is…”
“Never mind. I don’t care, so don’t be nervous. You didn’t follow me to the bathroom, so it’s fine. If you had, I might have been a little angry.”
Riela’s serious face relaxed immediately, and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.
“What were you looking at?”
“This. It looked interesting.”
“It’s a Lumeranin flower.”
“You know what it is?”
Riela’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed. Daniel, feeling a little proud, cleared his throat and continued explaining.
“This flower is essential for wizards. When creating magical formulas, we use oil extracted from Lumeranin flowers.”
Daniel continued explaining the flower in detail.
I could explain it too.
But Aria’s complaints disappeared as she watched Riela listen attentively.
Then her eyes met Daniel’s.
‘You don’t know this, right?’
I do know!
Aria clicked her tongue in frustration but stayed silent, not wanting to disturb Riela.
So she secretly poked Daniel’s side. The fight between the Maynard siblings was far from over, and Riela had no idea.
“What are you two doing?”
“Uh… nothing! Right, Aria?”
“Y-Yeah! Nothing at all!”
Their awkward laughter forced them into a temporary truce in front of Riela’s suspicious gaze.
“Have you felt bloated or uneasy in your stomach yesterday?”
Shake, shake.
“Any dizziness or sharp headache?”
Shake, shake.
“Did you feel heavy or chilly?”
Shake, shake.
The doctor asked a few questions, then held a flat wooden stick.
“Ah, try this.”
Aria opened her mouth wide. The doctor carefully examined her and, recording something in his notebook, said with a brighter expression:
“You’re much better than yesterday. If things continue like this, you should be able to go out.”
“Wow!”
“However, your throat is still swollen, so I’ll prescribe medicine. Take five packets after meals.”
The medicine was now reduced to half. Overjoyed at being allowed outside, she jumped up and down, making the maid watching her laugh.
“You can start light exercise now. Don’t overdo it, though.”
“I’ll be careful!”
After the doctor left, Aria couldn’t hide her joy and jumped around the room.
“Miss, the doctor said you shouldn’t be jumping!”
“But it’s so exciting! I can go out with Aria!”
Caught up in planning a lovely date with her favorite, Aria didn’t notice the maid’s concerned gaze.
‘What should I do with Aria to make it the best date ever?’
Lost in thought while pacing the room, she suddenly remembered something.
“Could it really be that I’m feeling better because of this?”
She examined the suspicious-looking magic stone necklace carefully.
Despite being sick with an unknown illness, she had been in good condition lately. The only change was the magic stone necklace Daniel had given her.
“Still, pseudoscience is…”
While eyeing the necklace suspiciously, she asked the maid who was arranging withered flowers:
“Where is Daniel now?”
“Hm, I think he went to the magic tower today.”
“Magic tower?”
“Yes. I heard he’s taking lessons there.”
“And Aria?”
“Miss Aria is attending Madam Rendel’s lesson. It’ll finish in an hour.”
The maid assumed Aria was just looking for Daniel and Aria out of boredom.
Not entirely wrong, but that wasn’t the point.
Aria was in Madam Rendel’s class, and Daniel had gone to the magic tower.
‘That means I have free time!’
Free from the Maynard siblings’ watch, she had to use this time wisely.
“I’ll go for a walk.”
“Wait, just let me finish this first.”
“No! I can go alone! I’ll go to the garden and the library!”
Ignoring the maid’s urgent voice, she hurried out of the room and ran straight to the library.
“Looking for a book?”
The librarian, who usually moved aside quietly when Daniel was around, approached her.
“Do you have a book about the ancient times?”
“Ancient times?”
“Yes. Daniel gave this to me and said people in the past healed illnesses with magic stone necklaces.”
The librarian gasped in realization.
“You mean Basic Ancient History. That’s the only one the young master has checked recently.”
“Can I borrow it now?”
“Sorry, the young master hasn’t returned it yet.”
“Then is there any book with similar content?”
The librarian twitched her lips at Aria’s eager eyes.
“Well, it’s a bit more advanced than the basic one. Is that okay?”
“Yes!”
Anything is fine! What Aria needed now was practical knowledge.
No matter how much she memorized the original story, there were many things she didn’t know. And she couldn’t assume the original story wouldn’t change.
‘The basic rule of body-transmigration stories is that the original story changes.’
The librarian thought for a moment, then pulled out a book and handed it to her.
