kscans

Chapter 17 - A Decent Recovery

Lupia felt the circulation of mana within her body gradually improving. The Memory Erasing Magic did exactly what its name implied: it erased one's own memories. Very few people in the country were capable of using it, and even fewer had ever performed it due to the considerable strain it placed on the recipient.

If the accumulation of memories could be compared to a single book, this magic burned the inscribed pages, and the resulting ash—the unnecessary memories—was expelled from the body. The black blood Lupia had coughed up was what was known as the 'Ashes of Memory.' Everyone present that day had testified to it, saying things like, 'I thought it was something I'd never see in my lifetime, but to think I'd actually witness it.'

Lupia herself felt the same way. While she was vomiting, she was continually assailed by a nausea unlike that from heartburn or indigestion. But once she had expelled it all—or rather, once everything had been burned away—she felt surprisingly refreshed.

Though it had taken a toll on her body, Lupia was now recovering well and couldn't help but look forward to what was to come.

Finally, the dream she had cherished since childhood seemed within her grasp. Of course, she was well aware of the challenges that would follow its fulfillment.

"At last... I can resume my training, can't I?"

She chuckled happily, performing some light stretches in her room. The hazy feeling, the nausea—it was all gone.

As for Vernella, she was still staying at the estate while the Alcioni Count Family prepared for Lupia's recuperation. It turned out that Crown Princess Falty had seen a report and thought Lupia had already departed for her domain, but this was later discovered at the royal palace to be a simple misreading of the documents on her part. Not that Lupia gave a damn about any of that.

Her packing was proceeding steadily, and the Alcioni Count Family was putting all their effort into preparing for her stay. Furthermore, the plan her father had proposed for her to move to her mother's home country was also moving forward. It seemed there would be a meeting of all the relatives, and Aristerios had told both Lupia and Rupert that they were to attend.

"Well then, I must train a little to get used to long-distance travel. I've been far too idle."

"You can't push yourself so hard yet, Sis."

"I know that. You worry too much, Rupert."

"Sister-in-law, you don't think of reckless things as reckless, which is precisely why Rupert is worried!"

"Vernella, you too..."

Lupia pouted just a little. She only let her guard down like this because she was at her family home.

The members of the Knight Order who had failed to deal with the two idiotic sons of that baron a few days ago had apparently lost their positions. Lupia heard that they had resigned after facing Aristerios's fiery wrath and Millière's single comment: 'Knights who cannot protect the ducal family are unnecessary.'

When they were confronted with the fact that if those two had been assassins, Lupia's and Vernella's lives could have been in danger, they were forced to resign. Any complaints they might have had died on their lips as the reality of the situation dawned on them.

Vernella had learned some self-defense techniques, but it was questionable how effective they would be against multiple adult men. When faced with a crisis, could she react in time? No matter how well-trained one was, a momentary lapse was always possible. This time, they had just been lucky to get through it unharmed.

Since then, the members of the Knight Order had shed their lax attitudes and were now tackling their daily duties with renewed focus. But that was something they should have been doing all along. In the future, Lupia would have to lead them. To do that, she had to cast aside any unnecessary sentiment.

Her father, Aristerios—head of the ducal family and commander of the knights—had made this clear to Lupia before instructing her to gradually rejoin their training sessions.

"I don't want to be reckless, but Father, the head of the family, is quite the reckless one himself. Isn't it only natural that I, his daughter, would turn out the same?"

"That's one thing, and this is another, Sister-in-law!"

So that's a no-go, huh, she muttered under her breath. Vernella didn't miss it, but seeing this playful side of Lupia was undeniable proof that she had opened her heart to them.

She had gone through a lot after the memory erasure, but she could feel her old life returning. There was still the nagging possibility that the Crown Prince and Princess might visit the ducal estate, but she felt that the current Lupia could handle that flowery pair without any trouble.

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"Why? Why can't I go visit Lupia! No, it's not just the visit, but to treat those two sons of the baron so cruelly...!"

"Falty, would you please be quiet for a moment?"

"...!"

Liam's voice was far colder than usual. Falty watched him as he silently read the report, beginning to panic as nothing seemed to go her way.

During her time at the academy, the Will of God (the System) had helped her with everything. She believed she was the chosen one, and she had been full of confidence. That's why she was supposed to have achieved the most difficult Grand Finale Ending, or so she thought. She still hadn't noticed. She remained oblivious.

She was also growing irritated that her education as Crown Princess had, for some reason, not yet begun.

Her grades at the academy were higher than the ducal daughter Lupia's, and she had earned the trust of many other students. Lupia was only ever surrounded by a handful of people, while Falty had countless people around her, all of them smiling.

"...I'm going back to my room."

"Please do. I have to deal with the paperwork you're incapable of handling."

She almost flared up, but it was a fact that her education as Crown Princess had barely progressed. The Queen and King had requested tutors for Falty, but the women who had previously served in that role had all said the same thing.

'If you yourself claim to be more skilled than Lady Lupia, then you surely have no need for our teachings.'

She had said it. Many times. But Falty had never imagined it would lead to this; her mindset was still that of a student. She had thought that by proclaiming her superiority to Lupia, people would respond with, 'My, how brilliant you are! We must do our best as well!' But her audience consisted of the ladies of the so-called 'high nobility.'

These venerable ladies from distinguished families simply could not tolerate Falty's brand of carefree innocence. It might have been fine while she was a student, but she needed to understand that things were different now. On top of that, the Will of God (the System) was no longer with her. She only realized she couldn't continue like this after the fifth prospective tutor had declined the request to oversee her education.

As she returned to her room, she thought desperately. What can I do to make them put their efforts into teaching me? She had somehow realized that it was already too late, but the question of how to recover from this point just kept spinning in her mind.

"...I can still see it, right?"

Back in her room, she suppressed her trembling hands and focused her mind.

"[Status Open]."

Her voice threatened to tremble, but she couldn't hesitate. Pop. A familiar window appeared. Carefully, she scanned it again from corner to corner, and finally, Falty noticed.

"This isn't the Grand Finale...?"

She began to shake violently, but at last, it made sense. At least, to her.

"But... everything was supposed to be going perfectly."

Her gaze was fixed, stunned, on the words displayed at the bottom of the window.

'Queen Route Achieved.'

"Where... Where did I... What did I do wrong...?"

She didn't want to admit it. She had studied so hard during her academy days and built up her relationships perfectly. So why had she failed?

She had followed the instructions, thoroughly eliminated any waste, and lived that one year as the model noble daughter everyone seemed to want. What about all that effort? Falty felt like crying.

And there was something else she hadn't noticed.

It was only because of the voice of the Will of God (the System) that everything had gone so well during that one year at the academy. Her desperate efforts had won her Liam's love, but for Falty, who had been aiming for the Grand Finale, it was enough to make her want to clutch her head and scream.

"...Ah, ahhh..."

Combined with her actions over the past few months, which could only be described as a dark history, she was starting to lose her grip on what to do.

There's no way to redo this. So... can I get the system back now...?

In Falty's mind, something like puzzle pieces began to slowly click into place.

"It's not about a visit. I have to talk to Lupia properly..."

She murmured to herself and headed back toward Liam's office, a faint hope stirring in her heart—a hope for what to do next, for how she would make things right.