Chapter 50

* * *

Several days later, late at night.

Diena slowly opened her eyes.

She looked around.

There wasn’t a trace of anyone nearby.

‘Good. It’s about time I started preparing.’

The issue regarding her status had nearly been settled, allowing her to attend the Winter Banquet without any problems.

At the same time, her relationships with the members of House Kardian had also changed.

“Diena, I’d like you to speak casually with me!”

Bianca had said that shyly, her cheeks flushed red, just as they were finishing a meal.

“I want us to become closer. So could you… speak more comfortably with me? There’s really no reason for you to keep using formal speech with me anymore.”

As Bianca said, they were of similar status and the same age.

After hesitating briefly because it felt awkward, Diena nodded.

“Okay. I’ll speak casually from now on.”

Varkan, who had been watching their conversation from the side, suddenly joined in.

“You can speak casually with me too.”

“Huh?”

“I was planning to tell you anyway.”

“…”

“Well, I guess it could feel awkward…”

“Okay.”

“Pfft!”

“What?”

“N-Nothing. I was just surprised by how quickly you adapted.”

Varkan had looked quite flustered by how naturally she switched to casual speech.

Still, Diena had already been watching her words around him constantly.

In her previous life, she and Varkan had always spoken casually to each other.

She was happy that they seemed close again.

The same was true for Bianca.

It felt as though she had gradually become part of House Kardian.

‘Things have worked out smoothly in a lot of ways.’

And now there was something new she needed to do.

Diena climbed onto her bed and slowly closed her eyes.

After regressing, everything had been so chaotic that she was only now attempting this.

‘Feeling mana.’

The three powers that sustained this world.

Ability Power, mana, and divine power.

Of those three, the power most people considered strongest was Ability Power.

Because Ability Power was optimized for combat.

It was the most useful force for dealing with monsters outside the Purification Zone.

Next came mana.

Mana was the source of magical power and was generally more useful in everyday life.

That was because the primary goal of magical development was helping Ability Users who suffered from darkness.

The leader of the Magic Tower, Malakar, embodied that philosophy.

Recently, combat-oriented spells had begun to appear one after another.

But compared to the overwhelming might of Ability Power, they were still insignificant.

Then there was divine power.

The power to purify darkness.

Its effectiveness in that regard vastly surpassed mana.

That was why the Magic Tower’s side effect suppressants were considered inferior to the Temple’s side effect suppressants.

‘Which is why Ability Users can’t help but watch the Temple’s mood.’

To them, side effect suppressants were practically extra lives.

That had also been the biggest reason Baltazar eventually succeeded in his rebellion.

He had secured the Temple’s support and controlled the distribution rights of the Temple’s side effect suppressants.

But what if something capable of replacing the Temple’s side effect suppressants appeared?

‘Then we’d be able to stop a lot of the schemes my greedy uncle is planning.’

In her previous life, Diena and Malakar had worked tirelessly to find such a method.

Together, they spent years researching how to elevate the Magic Tower’s side effect suppressants to the same level as the Temple’s.

‘Right before I died, we finally managed to get somewhere.’

If they had only been given more time, they would have completed the research.

And Diena’s help had been absolutely essential.

Was it because she was a magical genius?

Unfortunately not.

After becoming Malakar’s disciple, Diena realized she didn’t possess much talent for magic.

Whenever Varkan saw her, he would say,

“Well, considering you already have such a ridiculously broken ability, it’d be unfair if you were a genius at magic too.”

Malakar would immediately smack Varkan on the head.

“You brat. Diena is still quite talented by normal standards. Besides, magical talent can’t be judged instantly.”

“Huh, really?”

“That’s right. Some people grow gradually over time.”

Unfortunately, Diena wasn’t one of those people either.

Still, she had discovered one important fact.

She could use her ability to improve the Magic Tower’s side effect suppressants.

That had been the research the two of them had nearly completed in their previous life.

Now she needed to become Malakar’s disciple again and tell him about that method.

‘To do that, I first need to sense mana.’

Only then could she persuade Malakar and participate in the research.

As she focused her mind, Diena let out a small exclamation.

“Oh.”

Normally, sensing mana took at least several months.

In her previous life, it had taken her six months.

But perhaps because she had already walked this path once before.

She could feel mana immediately.

She had expected it to be easier this time, but not this easy.

‘Is this what it feels like to be a genius?’

Diena smiled proudly.

Her status issue had been resolved.

She had sensed mana.

Now all preparations for the Winter Banquet were complete.

‘Once I get there, I’ll see people from the Five Great Families again.’

The people of House Rothwell.

And the friends who had betrayed her.

Yet strangely…

The thought didn’t frighten her at all.

3.

Time passed quickly.

The members of House Kardian were now preparing to leave for the northern banquet hall to attend the Winter Banquet.

Diena had also been permitted to attend as Bianca’s personal healer.

Since Bianca had only recently awakened her ability, her condition was still unstable.

“Diena, look! Snow! It’s so pretty.”

“It really is.”

Diena was wearing the fur coat Varkan had given her.

Looking at her fluffy gloves, she blushed slightly.

Not feeling cold during winter still felt strange.

For the first time, she could enjoy nothing but winter’s beauty.

‘I never could’ve imagined wearing a fur coat in House Rothwell.’

Even after awakening her ability, they had never bothered to provide her with one.

They claimed there was no need since she spent all her time indoors.

“Diena, look at this. Awakening is incredible. I feel full of energy! Ah.”

Bianca quickly covered her mouth.

The fact that she had awakened her ability was still a secret.

They planned to reveal it proudly during the Winter Banquet a few days later.

After calming herself down, Bianca walked over to Diena.

A moment later, she spoke in a worried voice.

“I’m a little nervous.”