Eliana flinched and hid her hand behind her back.
Marquis Valkyrie rolled across the floor, crying out in pain.
‘It’s magic. I must have used my power without realizing it because I got so worked up.’
Eliana hesitated and stepped backward.
"What is happening here?"
At that moment, a servant who had heard the marquis’s scream rushed into the room.
The instant the door opened, Eliana shoved the servant aside and ran.
From the opposite end of the corridor she saw Count Mushe hurrying toward her, panting.
There was no longer any chance to quietly endure and slip away.
Since it had already come to this, she decided there was no other choice and swung her hand toward Count Mushe, who was trying to grab her.
"Don’t touch me!"
With a single motion of her hand, sharp ice erupted in that direction.
Seeing it, Count Mushe could no longer approach and only stared at her.
"W what is this!"
Leaving the stunned count behind, Eliana ran.
She did not even have the presence of mind to mock him.
"What are you standing around for! Catch her!"
Count Mushe’s thunderous shout rang out behind her, but the servants who had just witnessed magic with their own eyes could not easily pursue her.
While they hesitated, Eliana reached the castle gate.
Perhaps the heavens were helping her.
At that moment, Finn the very person she had wanted to meet was walking from the distance.
Clenching her teeth, Eliana ran straight toward her.
Finn must have spotted her as well, because her eyes widened.
‘There’s no time to explain.’
Eliana grabbed Finn’s hand.
"Lady Eliana?"
"Run!"
When Eliana pulled her along, Finn immediately began running too.
And just like that, the two of them escaped the castle.
After leaving the castle, they went straight to Finn’s house and hid there.
Even though Eliana had suddenly grabbed her and insisted they go home, Finn had agreed without complaint.
Eliana sat beside a simple yet sturdy looking dining table and stared at Finn.
Finn calmly brewed tea.
Since she had no way of knowing what had happened at the castle, Finn seemed to think this was simply another whim of her young mistress.
"Is this another runaway?"
Finn asked as she placed a teacup in front of her.
After running so hard she felt like she was dying from the heat, and she was given hot tea.
Eliana complained while looking at Finn.
"Not this. Give me cold water."
"You always ask for hot drinks. This is unusual. Just a moment."
Finn pouted slightly and brought her a glass of ice water.
After finishing the entire glass, Eliana finally felt a little better.
"Your parents?"
"They’re probably out in the fields by now."
"Your brother?"
"My brother comes and goes however he pleases."
Finn answered Eliana’s questions obediently.
It seemed she would have to wait a bit longer to meet Finn’s brother.
Eliana belatedly moved her hand toward the teacup, then paused.
The teacup set was obviously expensive at a glance, far too luxurious for commoners to own.
‘That must mean he’s quite capable.’
Considering he worked under Hera, it was hardly surprising.
Seeing Eliana staring blankly at the teacup, Finn spoke.
"Just drink that and then go back."
"I’m not going back. No, I can’t go back."
After causing that kind of chaos, how could she possibly return home?
Eliana shook her head firmly.
Absolutely not. Even if dirt filled her eyes, she would never go back.
She had escaped with the intention of never returning in the first place.
At Eliana’s resolute words, Finn flinched slightly. At the same time, her expression seemed to ask what scheme this was now.
But Eliana was already at the point of no return.
She had unintentionally frozen Marquis Valkyrie’s face. If she was not sued over it, that would already be fortunate.
But she could not just sit quietly and endure while that man schemed to take advantage of her.
Her plan to escape Mushe Castle while hiding her ability had collapsed, but fortunately she had managed to meet Finn.
Whether she wanted it or not, this body kept using its power, which made things troublesome.
In the novel, the characters seemed able to control their powers easily whenever they wished…
Apparently she had not received any convenient buff like that.
Perhaps because Eliana had hidden her power for so long after awakening it, this body simply did not know how to properly use magic.
‘First, I need to find a way to control it.’
Eliana glanced down at her hand.
Seeing that white mist was no longer drifting from it like before, it seemed the magic had stopped.
Thinking about it now, when she had grabbed Finn earlier, if she had grabbed her with that hand, Finn might have been injured as well.
A chill ran down her spine.
The thought that she might have hurt several people without meaning to made her stomach turn cold.
Because of that, she resolved that no matter what it took, she had to find a way to control her power.
"Do you hate the marriage that much?"
Finn asked while standing in front of Eliana.
Although her brow was furrowed, there was no hostility in her expression.
Rather, it carried concern for Eliana.
Seeing that, Eliana felt a pang in her chest.
She was not truly Eliana, but to Finn she must look exactly the same. A wave of guilt rose in her heart.
But right now, the only person she could rely on was Finn.
Looking up at her quietly, Eliana spoke lightly.
"Stop standing there and sit down in front of me. I have something to say."
"No. No matter what you say, if it’s not allowed, then it’s not allowed!"
Finn shouted in alarm at Eliana’s words.
Then, as if uneasy, she kept glancing around the room.
"…How do you know what I’m going to say?"
Even though all the windows were closed and every curtain had been drawn, Finn anxiously bit her finger.
"You know you can’t break off the marriage no matter what. Just say you went out with me today and go back home. If you run away and get caught, it’ll be worse than yesterday."
It seemed she believed Eliana was trying to escape.
For some reason, hearing Finn worry that it would be worse than yesterday was strangely touching.
Finn had been with Eliana since childhood, so she knew Count Mushe’s temperament extremely well.
Naturally, she could not help but worry.
But that was only because Finn did not know the full situation.
If she knew what Eliana had done before leaving, she would never have told her to go back.
She might even have urged her to run away.
And in truth, just as Finn said, Eliana had indeed run away.
And she was also preparing to continue running.
There was simply no other way.
The people in the castle might have been familiar to the original Eliana, but to the current Eliana they were strangers.
Among them, Finn was the only one she felt safe with.
Eliana spoke calmly.
"Yes. You’re right. But Finn, I can’t return to the castle anymore."
"What do you mean? You can’t return?"
"I caused quite a scene before I left."
"What?!"
Finn gasped and raised her voice. Her eyes grew wide with shock.
Eliana gestured again for her to sit down.
Only then did Finn let out a deep sigh and sit.
Her expression seemed to say she would at least hear the story.
It was a natural reaction. In Mushe Castle, the only person who sincerely cared for Eliana was Finn.
Even though Eliana was making such an unreasonable demand, Finn still seemed willing to listen first.
‘No wonder even the unpleasant original Eliana relied on Finn.’
Eliana was looking at her with a faintly sorrowful gaze when Finn hardened her eyes and asked,
"What do you mean by causing a scene? Please explain in more detail!"
"Actually, I became a mage."
Eliana hated long introductions, so she went straight to the point.
Finn’s mouth fell open.
Once the word mage left her lips, Eliana felt strangely embarrassed.
It felt as if her whole body were curling up in awkwardness, but she forced herself to ignore it and pretended to be pleased.
Mages were extremely rare in this world.
Especially natural mages like Eliana. They belonged to the highest class.
So it was supposed to be an honor.
The natural reaction should have been joy, not discomfort.
At present, the only natural mage in the empire was the male lead of the novel The Blind Princess Who Loved the Emperor, Kalius Hafons.
He was a duke with extraordinary magical ability and was known as the Sword of the Empire.
Kalius had become the head of his house at the young age of twenty after his parents died in a sudden accident.
If Eliana was now twenty, he would be about twenty five.
That meant he had already stabilized his position as the head of his family.
Finn narrowed her eyes at Eliana’s words and replied,
"Lying isn’t funny, Lady Eliana."
"I’m not lying."
"Then show me. If I see it myself, I’ll believe you!"
Finn lightly tapped the table, clearly unwilling to believe without seeing it.
Eliana did not back down from Finn’s momentum and faced her confidently.
"Fine! I’ll show you. Don’t be surprised. I’m really strong!"
Having already done it once, she felt confident.
She only needed to do what she had done earlier.
‘…I don’t know exactly how to do it, but if I focus my will, it should work, right?’
As Eliana boldly stood up from her seat, Finn flinched and watched her cautiously.
Commoners rarely had the chance to see magic.
Perhaps because of that, Finn seemed extremely tense.
Her expression clearly asked whether her mistress had truly become a mage.
Eliana stared intently at the tea inside the teacup.
But nothing happened.
She strained her eyes until her face turned red, but the tea did not freeze.
Growing desperate, Eliana chanted silently in her mind.
‘Freeze. Now!’
There was no way she could say it aloud. If nothing happened, it would be utterly humiliating.
At that moment, as if responding to the spell, the teacup trembled faintly.
Eliana looked at the tea with sparkling eyes.
But as if the brief vibration had been a lie, the teacup soon became still again.
The miracle of the tea freezing never occurred.