Chapter 65

“D-Do you really think it’s okay for me to take on such an important role?”

“Reina Botn is more than important enough for this matter.”

Reina was an extra.

Even before the memories of the original story surfaced in her mind, she had always thought of herself as nothing more than someone else’s supporting role.

That was why having herself placed in such an important position felt unfamiliar.

“Mom, your face is super red.”

Bonita looked up at Reina.

“I-It’s just hot. That’s all.”

“Hot?”

“Yeah, a little.”

Because there were so many people coming and going inside the mansion, the doors were constantly being opened and closed. Even though chilly winter air kept sweeping through, Reina’s claim that it was hot made both Bonita and Estelle tilt their heads in confusion.

“Mom, aren’t you sick?”

“Reina Botn, are you unwell?”

“Reina, are you sick?”

Bonita never suspected that Reina might be lying for no reason. But if it was cold and she said it was hot, the only conclusion a child could reach was that Mom must be sick.

It was the Winternight father and daughter who fell for the child’s pure belief.

Faced with three gazes filled with innocent concern, Reina began to break out in a cold sweat.

“You’re even sweating. If you were sick, you should’ve said so. We could’ve come to see you in a few days.”

“A-Ah, no…”

“I did say yesterday that I could come right away, but it wasn’t something that absolutely had to be seen today. This is something I failed to check properly…”

“N-No, it’s r-Really okay.”

“Reina Botn. You’re the type who says you’re fine even when you’re not, so I can’t tell whether you mean that or not.”

Damian reached out and placed his hand on Reina’s forehead.

“…Do you have a fever?”

“Your Grace, it’s difficult to gauge body temperature while wearing gloves.”

“Hm.”

Damian looked down at his own hand, then shifted his gaze to Peter.

“There isn’t a first aid kit prepared, is there?”

“…You’re right. It would be good to have one. I’ll have a medical unit prepared starting tomorrow.”

“Thinking back, that was the most important thing, yet I failed to consider it.”

“You were probably rushing. Thanks to Reina Botn, we were able to address it quickly.”

“Yes. This is also thanks to Reina Botn.”

“…”

Reina stared at Damian and Peter with her face burning red. Her whole body trembled from embarrassment.

“…You’re teasing me right now, aren’t you?”

“Haha, you caught me.”

“What do you mean? I’m being sincere.”

At Damian’s firm reply, both Peter and Reina gaped in shock.

* * *

After the small commotion settled, Peter led Damian and Reina onward.

There was hardly anything to guide them through. Not everything had been prepared yet.

“I’m glad we could leave the children with someone else. There’s nothing here that would interest them.”

“Not just uninteresting. There are plenty of dangerous things too.”

“Magical tools?”

“That’s right.”

“I suppose Lady Estelle still doesn’t know how to properly control her power.”

Reina couldn’t tell exactly what they were, but she could see that magical tools were installed throughout the room.

As she followed Damian’s gaze and looked around, Peter explained.

“This is where the experiments will be conducted. In case of any explosions, we plan to cast barrier magic once on the inside of the walls and once on the outside.”

“That’s thorough.”

“We’re also planning to station knights from the order outside the door for security. Mercenary groups sometimes sell information for money.”

“And the mages won’t do that?”

“With experiments on this scale, there are only a few families that could willingly pay such a large sum. At best, perhaps the imperial family. But most mages dislike the imperial family.”

“Because of the Count Pantale incident?”

“That’s right.”

“I hear about the Count Pantale family a lot.”

‘Maybe I’ll get involved with it later.’

As Reina tried to think further, a sharp headache suddenly stabbed through her.

“…”

“Reina Botn, what’s wrong?”

“A-Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

Pressing her fingers to her brow, Reina frowned.

‘What is it?’

There was a question she had pondered before.

Reina’s standard for recalling the future, that is the original story, was vague.

She understood that events closer in time came to mind more easily.

Since the story had already diverged from the original, what would happen next didn’t surface every single moment.

If an unchanged event was about to occur within this altered future, Reina could vaguely foresee it.

She considered it vague because if she didn’t question it or think about it, it wouldn’t come to mind at all.

‘But I don’t really understand the standard for things further in the future.’

Some information came naturally. Some could be known if she wanted to know it. And some couldn’t be known at all.

‘If I understood that standard, would I understand myself better?’

Reina was Eugene, or perhaps both.

‘Maybe…’

Maybe the fact that she had possessed Reina’s body specifically was related to it. That was as far as her thoughts reached.

“Reina Botn.”

Damian called out to Reina, who had once again sunk into her own world.

“I know you think a lot with that small head of yours, but don’t ignore the eager looks of the mages.”

“…Ah.”

At some point, three mages had approached her, their eyes sparkling as they held blueprints they had each devised.

“So you’re the overall supervisor of this project.”

“We reviewed the proposal Your Grace sent us. If we use the principle from Chapter Four of ‘The Principles of Magical Circulation Three,’ it doesn’t seem impossible. Based on that hypothesis…”

“Hey! Don’t jump in ahead of me!”

Reina widened her eyes as she looked at the three mages, then glanced at Damian.

“I don’t remember writing anything that impressive.”

“I added a little to it.”

“A little?”

Damian cleared his throat.

“A little.”

“…”

Reina stared straight at Damian.

“It really was just a little. I only attached materials that could support your hypothesis.”

Could that really be called just a little.

‘Forming a hypothesis is easy. Making it realistic is the hard part.’

Reina had expected it, but she realized she was receiving far more help from Damian than she had thought.

‘If it had only been my hypothesis, it would’ve been difficult to push this forward to this extent.’

No matter how much money was offered, the people standing before her were mages with pride.

They wouldn’t readily agree to something that was no more than armchair theory.

‘So Master gathered supporting materials, a location, people willing to follow, and even the materials, all in a single day?’

Thinking about it like that made Damian seem even less human.

The mages crowded around Reina, rattling off explanations about their blueprints, experimental plans, and chances of success.

They seemed eager to boast that their plan was superior, barely keeping any order, making it chaotic.

In the end, Peter stepped in, assigned an order, and had them explain their designs one by one.

Listening from the side, Damian said,

“There’s no way it’ll end in one try, so we’ll have to test everything.”

“I thought everyone would work together to make a single blueprint.”

“There’s no foundation yet. So first, we create what will become that foundation. We start broad, then choose the most ideal one and refine it.”

“I see.”

Reina frowned as she looked down at the blueprints filled with things she couldn’t understand.

‘I don’t get any of this.’

She had studied, but keeping up with these terms was still far off. Realizing that, Reina keenly felt her own shortcomings.

“Reina Botn furrows her brow when she’s thinking on her own.”

“…Do I?”

“You do.”

As he spoke, Damian casually began explaining the complex terms and theories written on the blueprints, one by one.

“Mages who get carried away tend to forget that they should use words ordinary people can understand.”

When Reina lifted her gaze from the blueprints, she met Damian’s eyes.

“So what you didn’t understand isn’t because you’re lacking. It’s because they are.”

“…”

“I’m just saying you shouldn’t blame yourself again.”

Those painfully clear sky colored eyes didn’t look like they belonged to someone who stayed up every night.

Reina met those eyes, then slowly turned her gaze back to the blueprints.

“…Thank you.”

She whispered her thanks, very softly.

The tips of Reina’s ears were faintly red.