While staying in the border town, although Cynthia lacked both money and the channels to conduct investigations, based on her accumulated magical knowledge, she had already made a preliminary judgment that she was afflicted by a special kind of magic capable of manipulating someone else’s mind.
Such magic was evidently intolerable to the general public. Even the magic courses at the Royal Academy did not mention a single word about the existence of related magic, terrified that anyone who heard of it might harbor crooked intentions.
Cynthia had once guessed that confidential books in the academy library might contain related records, but that was clearly beyond the reach of her former self. Even though she had returned to the core of the kingdom’s power in Gauss and gained the noble status required to enter the Royal Academy, those books were not something she could get her hands on overnight.
Long before enrolling in the Royal Academy, she had already perused all the magic-related books in her own family collection, and she was well aware of how precious a well-funded noble family’s library could be. Therefore, upon her return, she went to visit Carlo. On one hand, she wanted to listen to Carlo’s views on the Saintess so she could trade for support when needed in the future; on the other hand, she took the opportunity to browse the book collection at Carlo’s place.
Now that she had arrived at the Doyle family estate with its glorious family tree, she was even less likely to let such an opportunity pass.
Fortunately, although Lilica did not think kerosene lamps were a suitable light source for reading, she still opened the study door for Cynthia.
As soon as Cynthia entered the study, her mind was entirely consumed by the single task of searching through magical canons. When her eyes finally grew somewhat sore and she was forced to put down her books, she realized that the night had already grown very late.
Both inside and outside the study, absolute quiet prevailed, with Aila and Tina keeping watch over her.
Aila was doing well enough, merely looking somewhat sleepy, while Tina, unaccustomed to staying up late, could barely keep her eyes open.
“Is it already very late?” Cynthia pulled out her pocket watch and opened it, discovering that it was fast approaching twelve o’clock. “Fortunately, Lilica did not stay up with me. Tina, has she already gone to sleep?”
“Y-Yes, I suppose so,” Tina replied, forcing herself to stay awake. “Young Lady usually sleeps very early because she has to get up in the morning to… er, read.”
“What a good child.” Cynthia was immensely gratified. “I hope her trip to the royal capital this time can cure her illness. I believe that without the burden of sickness, she will surely become a remarkable scholar.”
Tina guiltily looked away. “If Young Lady hears you say that, she will certainly be overjoyed.”
Cynthia stood up and stretched her limbs briefly before sitting back down. “I will read for a little longer. You two go ahead and rest first.”
Aila covered her mouth and stifled a massive yawn. “Young Lady, it is already so late. Are you not going back to sleep?”
“Even if I go back now, I will not be able to sleep, so I might as well read a few more pages.”
“Then I shall stay here and keep you company,” Aila said. “Otherwise, everyone here is asleep, the surroundings are pitch black, and if you are here by yourself, you will be frightened.”
Tina did not understand the specific situation, but still spoke up: “Miss Cynthia can rest assured. Although Lord Earl and the others rest early, there are still people patrolling and beating the gongs at night. Public safety here is exceptionally good, so you will not face any danger even if you walk alone at night. Moreover, if you intend to remain here, I will certainly stay with you.”
“Since that is the case, I suppose I will not read anymore.” Cynthia closed the books with a helpless sigh. “You are right, it is already so late.”
When she stepped out of the study, Aila carried the lamp in front while Tina carefully locked the study door behind them. Cynthia stood right in the middle, feeling relatively secure in her mind.
Until she caught sight of a dark shadow flashing past outside the window.
Cynthia took a sharp step backward in alarm, crying out, “What is that?!”
Both Aila and Tina were startled by her, asking repeatedly what was the matter.
“I-I just saw a… black shadow,” Cynthia’s heart hammered like a drum. “It passed by so quickly. Tina, Tina! What was that?!”
“A black shadow? I did not see it.” Tina shook her head, frowning. “It is so dark outside, could you have seen incorrectly?”
Aila grasped Cynthia’s icy hand. “Young Lady, it is alright, I am right here. I will protect you.”
Cynthia gripped Aila tightly, her complexion remaining remarkably pale under the dim, yellowish glow of the kerosene lamp. “I did not see incorrectly; there was truly a black shadow.” She pointed a finger toward a specific spot outside the window. “It passed right through from over there.”
Aila explained to Tina, “Our Young Lady has excellent eyesight; it is highly unlikely she saw wrongly.” After all, mages had to cast spells from a distance, and if their eyesight was slightly off, the landing point of a spell could drift off who knew how far.
Seeing them so certain, and with Cynthia genuinely terrified to her core, Tina, who had originally been full of confidence, grew somewhat uncertain. “Would you like to head back?”
Before she could finish, another dark shadow darted out from the direction Cynthia had pointed.
Cynthia could no longer suppress her terror. She let out a shriek, flung herself into Aila’s arms, and clutched her desperately, her voice laced with tears. “Aila! Aila! Did you see that?”
“I saw it, I saw it.” Aila held Cynthia in her arms, soothing her. “Young Lady, do not be afraid. That appeared to be a person, not some wild beast or anything else.”
Tina had not expected that someone would actually wander around the Earl’s estate in the middle of the night without sleeping. She called out loudly toward the dark shadow, “Who is over there? What are you trying to do here?”
Cynthia could not see whether the other person was approaching; she only held onto her lady-in-waiting tightly, refusing to let go.
She heard a very spirited voice travel from a distance: “I am sorry, I was merely out for a stroll. Did I frighten you just now?”
Tina fell into an eerie silence for a moment before replying, “Yes, you startled Miss Cynthia.”
The other party fell silent as well.
“If possible, please return to rest.” Tina’s tone carried helplessness. “After all, it is very late, and we must also return to rest. It would be troublesome if you startled anyone else.”
The other person spoke no further. Cynthia only heard Aila’s gentle voice: “Alright, alright, Young Lady, it is fine now. He has already left.”
Cynthia relaxed her grip slightly and confirmed, “Has he truly gone?”
“He has already left,” Tina said apologetically. “I did not expect that guest would be out for a stroll at this hour and frighten you. I am truly sorry.”
Only then did Cynthia release Aila, straightened her posture, and instantly recovered her aristocratic demeanor. “This was merely an accident, no blame falls on you. Who was that person?”
Tina remained silent for a moment before offering a slight bow. “Pardon my inability to enlighten you. Perhaps you can inquire directly of Miss Lilica.”
“Is he a guest of Lilica’s?”
Tina nodded against her own conscience.
Cynthia looked as though she had many words she wished to speak, but she ultimately held them back. “It is too late now. Whatever the matter may be, let us discuss it tomorrow morning.”
Tina escorted her guest back to her chamber, then returned to her own master’s side with a growing heaviness in her heart.
Lilica was still wearing the outfit she had used for running earlier, waiting anxiously inside her bedroom. When she saw that only Tina pushed the door open to enter, although she felt a wave of relief, she also experienced an inexpressible sense of regret. “Where is Sister Cynthia?”
“She has gone back to rest.” Tina looked at Lilica with a hint of disapproval. “I imagine that for anyone, this hour is hardly suitable for outdoor activities.”
“But I had already been cooped up for a whole day!” Lilica first offered a defense, then had to concede, “Fine, I suppose I really did frighten her. Is she alright?”
“To be frank, I suspect Miss Cynthia is hardly doing well right now,” Tina sighed. “Although she appears composed on the surface, I believe she kept Aila behind to accompany her.”
“Is she that angry?”
“No, I suspect she is probably still somewhat frightened,” Tina said uncertainly. “Miss Cynthia appears to be somewhat lacking in daring.”
“How could that be? That is Sister Cynthia!” Lilica stated with absolute conviction. “She can handle everything.”
Tina countered, “Then please allow me to remind you that when you ran past her just now, she was extremely concerned about who might be running in the middle of the night.”
Lilica felt pure despair.
“However, she seems to believe you are some guest,” Tina kindly informed her, “and appears intent on coming over first thing tomorrow morning to inquire about the situation.”
Lilica wore a heavy expression. “If, and I mean if, I were to flee to Gauss right now, what do you think?”
“Clearly a terrible idea, unless you wish to be thought of as eloping overnight with a certain guest.”
Early the next morning, before even partaking in breakfast, Cynthia came directly to seek out Lilica.
Lilica had not slept a single minute all night, rendering her complexion even more pale and terrifying than yesterday when she had applied lead powder. At that moment, she was leaning weakly against the head of her bed, looking with nervous apprehension at Cynthia as she pushed the door open. “Sister…”
“Lilica, what is wrong with you?” Cynthia was quite alarmed, hurrying to the side of her bed. “Were you not in high spirits just yesterday? How is it that you have fallen ill again today?”
Probably because I felt too guilty after being run into by you last night and could not sleep all night.
Cynthia carefully questioned Lilica about her condition once more, confirming that she was merely feeling somewhat unwell, before she finally set her mind at ease.
Tina felt profoundly guilty as well, terrified that the Earl or the young master might inadvertently let something slip. Extremely diligent, she had the two portions of breakfast delivered straight to the bedroom.
Lilica stared at the bowl of thin porridge before her, thinking: Tina, you are feeding me just this?
Tina gazed back with absolute composure: Young Lady, those who have fallen ill can only eat this.
Cynthia also glanced at that bowl of thin porridge. “You always eat this. Surely you must have grown entirely tired of it?”
Lilica nodded hastily, though right under Tina’s glaring hint she had to find a way to patch it up with a supplementary remark: “However, there is no help for it, I can only eat this.”
“Gauss has many delicious things,” Cynthia seized every opportunity to try and awaken Lilica’s yearning for the bustling metropolis. “Once a sickly person travels over there, there will be plenty of options available as well.”
Lilica, who was still calculating how to delay her departure time even further, thought to herself that she needed to tread carefully.