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Chapter 22
Shouldn’t the guard force, who actually dismantled the group of gangs and handled the situation, be the ones receiving praise?
Feeling the need to correct this misinformation, I tried to persuade the butler first.
“That’s an exaggeration.”
However…
“Haha, you don’t have to try so hard to hide it, my lady.”
“… I’m not trying to hide anything.
What I did really isn’t a big deal.”
Despite repeatedly telling the truth, the butler looked at me with a kind smile and affectionate gaze, as if saying, ‘There’s no need to hide it!
How modest of you, my lady!’
“No, really…”
It was frustrating.
Why on earth would he believe such baseless rumors?
No, why did the rumors spread in the first place?
I did write my name in the letter for reporting purposes.
I didn’t want it to be considered a false report if I wrote it anonymously, and since I asked a servant of the mansion to deliver it to the guard force, hiding my identity would be pointless anyway.
But…
‘Don’t they have any protection for the reporter here?’
No, I wouldn’t even ask for protection.
But at least they shouldn’t spread rumors!
As I was about to tear my hair out in frustration, the butler stopped walking.
“This is the library.”
***
“There’s nothing special here either.”
I closed the last book and placed it on the top of the book tower I had built next to me.
It hadn’t been a few hours since my first visit to the main house library, but during that time, I was able to read quite a number of books.
‘I’ve always been a fast reader, but after I entered Sylvia’s body, my reading speed has increased significantly.’
It took me only a few dozen minutes to read a book.
And it wasn’t like I was just flipping through the pages.
‘Even when I skim through them, I understand all the content and it sticks in my memory as if it’s been firmly embedded in it.’
Although it wasn’t perfect memory where I remembered everything after seeing it once, my cognitive speed and memory had drastically improved.
‘How amazing.’
I didn’t know why, but having a better memory wasn’t a bad thing, so I decided to take it lightly.
‘The real problem lies elsewhere.’
Staring at the tower of books I had read, I fell deep in thought.
“Hmm…”
It was unbelievable that I couldn’t find anything that really grabbed my attention.
“Can this really be?”
I had read so many seemingly useful books in this vast library but hadn’t found anything truly valuable.
“I can’t give up yet.”
I got up from my seat and organized the tower of books.
As I did so, I skimmed the titles of the books on the shelves.
After a while…
“This one!”
I took out a thick, large book.
<The Classification of Magic Stones and Magical Crystals>
The title looked dry and difficult, but the content I was looking for was inside.
<Magic stones are naturally formed and have high purity, but magical crystals are artificially created by mages, so their purity is somewhat lower.
However, since magic stones are rare and difficult to obtain, most magical tools today are made using magical crystals.
Magical crystals are…>
I closed the book with a smile.
‘Because I remember how to create magical crystals.’
During the short time she spent at the academy, Sylvia mostly bullied others, received punishments, and stayed locked in her room alone.
However, she also managed to attend classes to complete the required number of classes, just enough to avoid expulsion.
‘Sylvia didn’t pay attention in class during those times, but she still remembered a few important points.’
One of them was the method of creating magical crystals.
‘After completing the basic theory classes, they had the students create magical crystals in their first practice session.’
To create magical crystals, one should be able to gather mana and bring it outside their body.
So, making magical crystals was part of the training to handle mana.
‘But most students could only create magical crystals as small as grains of sand.
Because, in order to create magical crystals, one needs the quality of their mana, concentration, and skill.’
Indeed, the first magical crystal Sylvia had created was barely visible to the eye.
Such magical crystals had no practical use since magical tools using them would stop working in just a second, rendering them essentially worthless.
‘But things are different now.’
I had confidence in my concentration.
Being able to focus on one thing without realizing the passage of time was my proudest specialty.
And skill.
‘Since I have the memories of creating magical crystals several times, it can be considered as myself also obtaining the skill.’
I knew how to make larger and more durable magical crystals, and those methods floated around in my head.
‘More importantly, the quality of my mana is different.’
Most mages converted the energy of nature into mana through mana breathing.
However, the results weren’t the same even if the method was the same.
Some people had impure mana, as the energy of nature became contaminated when entering their body, while others had mana almost identical to the clear energy of nature itself.
And that difference was called ‘purity.’
‘And I am on the side that receives the energy of nature most completely.’
That meant my stored mana had high purity.
‘It seems that the complete disappearance of waste and impurities during my first mana breathing has had an impact…’
“Sylvia?”
As I raised my head, I found Eileen standing across from me with a surprised look on her face, holding a pile of books.
“Good evening.”
“Good evening… Sylvia.”
It seemed that Eileen hadn’t expected to encounter me in the library.
Her eyes were violently shaking and her face clearly expressed her inner thoughts, ‘Why is my sister here?!’
I pretended not to notice and asked casually, “Are you here to read some books too?”
“Huh?
Yes…”
I glanced at the titles of the books Eileen was holding.
‘History of the Empire, Origins of Mana, Advanced Ancient Language…’
Various must-read books from different fields.
Although they all seemed difficult and boring, I knew what they had in common.
“Are you preparing for the academy entrance exam?”
In order to take the academy entrance exam, the applicants should definitely read and study those books.
‘Was Eileen entering this year?’
I vaguely remembered hearing that she was the youngest student to enter, but it seemed that was this year.
“Yes,” Eileen replied in a timid voice and tried to hide the books behind her.
‘…
What’s the matter?’
“I… I’m not sure if I can pass, but I want to at least try.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll pass.”
Upon hearing my words, Eileen looked at me with disbelief.
‘Why is she acting like this…
Oh.’
That was when I realized why Eileen was watching my reaction and couldn’t believe my words of encouragement.
‘Sylvia was particularly sensitive about the academy.’
The academy, especially the Central Academy in the city of Aiselle, was extremely difficult to enter, like going through the eye of a needle.
Therefore, being a student there alone was even enough proof of one’s abilities.
However, in the House of Atlante, entering the academy holding such imposing stature wasn’t a big deal.
‘The eldest son Daniel was the top student upon both entering and graduating from the academy, and Kedrick also graduated with outstanding grades.’
For others, entering the academy was a family honor, but in this household, it was a given.
‘On top of that, Eileen also entered the academy as the youngest student.’
If someone had siblings who all went to Harvard, they might feel overshadowed even if they attended a good college themselves, but then imagine how it would feel if they didn’t even get into any colleges.
‘It must have been terrible.
People must have compared her to others, and she must have also struggled a lot alone.’
That was why whenever the topic of the academy came up, Sylvia became even more irritable.
‘Until she became proud of entering the Central Academy as a spiritualist, she would get angry just hearing about the academy.’
Especially if the other person was Eileen, whom she didn’t like in the first place…
‘No wonder she reacted like that.’
We had become a bit closer recently, but that didn’t erase the fact that Sylvia had tormented Eileen.
I decided to step aside for Eileen who felt unsure of what to do.
“Then I’ll be going.
Study hard.”
“Yes.”
I went outside after bidding farewell to Eileen, who was walking on eggshells before me, with her round eyes like a rabbit.
‘The academy…’
It wasn’t a pleasant place in Sylvia’s memories.
Because during the short time she spent at the academy, she was always alone, insulted, and confined to her room.
‘But those were all things Sylvia brought upon herself.
She caused all kinds of trouble before entering and continued to harass innocent people even after entering.’
As I had no intention to behave like Sylvia now, I wouldn’t have the same experiences as hers.
‘Upon graduation, my social status will be guaranteed, and if I do well, I might even receive a title.
Of course, I’ll be able to get a stable job and earn money…’
It was a much better option than running away and starting from scratch.
As I walked and thought deeply about the academy, I arrived at the west wing without realizing it.
‘Let’s go in.
I need to come up with a new plan.’
My initial plan was to stay safely at the Atlante ducal mansion until I turned eighteen and prepare for various things.
Because there wouldn’t be much I could do as a minor without an identification card anyway.
‘I could make a fake ID, but if I get caught, it’ll be a headache.’
Identity forgery was treated as a serious crime.
If caught, one would have to spend at least ten years in prison.
Considering my goal as to live happily for a long time, there was no need to secretly leave the Atlante ducal mansion and engage in such shady activities.