Chapter 12
For now, there was no helping it, but I didn’t want to ignore Ansharie’s feelings.
“If you really hate it, I can just ask you to pretend to be my disciple on the surface.”
But my worry turned out to be unnecessary.
“Master of the Magic Tower? You mean the Archmage Osiris, the first person in the history of the Magic Tower to reach the 7th circle?”
Her light green eyes, like fresh sprouts, sparkled.
She looked like she had just met her favorite celebrity.
Fortunately, she seemed to have completely forgotten my earlier dazed reaction.
Relieved, I nodded at her excited expression.
“Yes.”
“W-would someone like me really be accepted as his disciple?”
I wasn’t actually on formal terms with Osiris yet, but I was certain he would accept once he saw the Staff of Ishtar, so I answered confidently.
“As long as you agree!”
“Hmm…”
She looked like she would agree immediately, but unexpectedly, she hesitated.
‘Does she think she’s not talented enough?’
I tried to reassure her, but Ansharie was faster.
“Will you stay in the Marquis household?”
“Huh?”
“I… I want to stay with you, sister…”
“……”
I was momentarily speechless.
Seeing me frozen, she seemed to think she had said something wrong and grabbed the hem of her dress nervously.
“I’m sorry for being selfish.”
“No. That’s not selfish at all. And if you go to the Magic Tower, I’ll go with you too.”
Before her misunderstanding could grow, I quickly spoke.
Her face immediately brightened.
“Really? Then I want to learn magic from the Tower Master!”
That was a relief.
I had felt uneasy about making decisions without her consent, but seeing how genuinely happy she was made that uneasiness disappear.
“Squeak. Squeeeak.”
At that moment, breaking the warm atmosphere, Lira’s voice echoed.
She had pulled out a pocket watch from somewhere and was staring at it, squeaking again—5 o’clock was approaching.
“Time really flew by.”
“Thank you so much for coming to see me today.”
“I had a lot of fun talking with you too, Ansharie. Good night.”
Time passed quickly, and today was the day I would enter the isolation room.
“Lady Ansharie, please come out.”
From the dark room, Ansharie slowly walked out with unfocused eyes.
“Lady Ansharie, please tell us what you felt while staying in the isolation room.”
“I am a good daughter who obeys Father’s orders. Father’s words are absolute and must never be disobeyed.”
“Well done. Lady Tiamia, please enter.”
As I stepped forward, the heavy iron door closed behind me.
Purple flames flickered in the darkness to greet us, but I immediately turned on the magical lights, and Lira skillfully extinguished the candles.
‘When I first possessed this body, entering the isolation room was the scariest thing.’
Now, it had become the thing I looked forward to most.
Because it was the only time I could escape exhausting magical training.
And unlike usual, there was no watchful Cain glaring at me, so it was extremely peaceful.
‘If only food were provided, it would feel like a vacation.’
Unlike Ansharie, who received meals through Cain during her six-day isolation period, I received nothing on my day.
But it wasn’t a problem.
I had prepared emergency food in advance.
The Marquis Serentia, to maintain appearances, gave me tea time like other noble ladies, and I had secretly hidden cookies and bread that didn’t leave residue on a handkerchief.
During tea time, Cain would leave to take care of Ansharie’s lunch, making it easy to stash food.
“Want some too, Lira?”
Even though Lira didn’t need food, I still asked politely.
She especially loved sweets.
Cookies with lots of flour and sugar were her favorite.
As expected, she replied cheerfully.
“Squeak!”
We ate the cookies and bread together like a picnic.
As I chewed slightly softened cookies, I fell into thought.
‘How do I separate Cain from me during the next imperial tea party?’
This upcoming tea party was my first and last chance to contact Ishtar.
The problem was the guardian—Cain.
If he was there, I wouldn’t even be able to approach Ishtar of House Akelaid, let alone speak to her.
I needed a way to get rid of him during the tea party.
After a long time thinking while chewing cookies, I still had no solution.
At best, I concluded it might be better not to attend at all than to go with Cain.
I decided to postpone the problem.
With a quiet sigh, I packed the remaining snacks for later.
“Alright. Now that I’m full, time to gather information.”
“Squeak!”
Lira responded energetically, clearly in a good mood from the sweets.
“Don’t follow Ansharie today. Instead, move around areas with many servants.”
I said while stroking her brown fur in front of the iron door.
Lira confidently placed her paw on the door, as if telling me to open it already.
“Alright, alright. I trust you.”
I turned off the magical light and poured mana into the iron door.
Since Cain and Ansharie had already left, the corridor beyond was as dark as the isolation room.
“Be careful.”
I whispered just before Lira left.
There was no verbal reply, but the message was clear.
“Don’t worry.”
‘Well, she’s done this plenty of times.’
I closed the door, lay down on the bed, and closed my eyes.
[Sense Link.]
As I activated the spell connecting me to my familiar, my vision filled with Lira’s perspective.
‘I’m used to this now.’
When I first used sense sharing, I got dizzy from overlapping viewpoints.
Even hearing and touch felt different since she wasn’t human.
But now I could fully adjust it so only human-compatible sensations were shared.
Lira headed straight toward Ansharie’s room despite my earlier instructions.
‘Did she sense my concern even though I didn’t say it?’
She must have understood my words, yet still went there immediately.
‘Even though I know Cain won’t let anything change, I still can’t help worrying.’
When I first gained access to the isolation room, I used Lira to monitor Ansharie.
I didn’t fully trust her due to possible mental magic influence.
If ordered by the Marquis, she might reveal secrets against her will.
So I watched her through Lira, and nothing suspicious happened.
Her daily routine was simple: fake medical checkups, meals with the Marquis, then lessons in etiquette taught by Cain.
Unlike me, who had outside tutors, she had no other teachers because she was publicly believed to have a rare infectious illness.
Thus Cain handled all her education.
But unlike strict supervision, he only stayed during lesson times and disappeared afterward.
‘Where does he go? Black magic?’
Another concern was Ansharie herself.
Outside the purple candle-lit isolation room, she felt like an empty shell.
Maybe she was simply affected by long isolation, but she seemed different from when I met her.
‘Maybe it’s related to Lira’s ability.’
But it wasn’t urgent, so I set it aside.
Lira had reached Ansharie’s room.
Just then, the fake doctor came out after finishing the checkup.
“Ugh, getting paid well is nice, but how long do I have to keep acting like this…”
He muttered as he walked away without noticing Lira.
The reason Lira could walk freely through the mansion was simple.
‘Because Cain trained me rigorously to stabilize my mana core.’
Since possessing Tiamia’s body nearly two months ago, I had trained in magic every single day without rest.
