Chapter 73

“…”

“As for this desk, it’s made from forest mahogany said to have been blessed by spirits…”

Reina stood still and listened to the explanation.

With every detail added, her expression grew stiffer.

At first, the mages looked proud, but as Reina’s face gradually hardened, unease began to show.

The lead mage, who’d been explaining everything, cautiously read the room and asked,

“…Um, is there something you don’t like?”

Reina felt like crying.

“We had to prepare everything in a hurry, so it might not fully meet your expectations. Please don’t worry. By the time this project ends, it’ll be a space that suits your tastes perfectly, Miss Reina Botn.”

The mages assumed her stiff expression meant their preparations weren’t good enough and began to panic.

“We didn’t have time to prepare refreshments.”

“You’ll probably be reading a lot of reports today and tomorrow. The chair might be uncomfortable. It looks a bit big for her frame.”

“We should’ve made it in a room with larger windows, even if it was farther away.”

“But it’s better to be right next to the testing area.”

They whispered among themselves.

The representative, watching Reina’s frozen expression, asked again,

“If there’s anything you need right now, please tell us and we’ll take care of it.”

“…”

Reina didn’t know where to start or what to discuss first.

But one thing was certain.

“…It’s just too much.”

There were far too many people around Reina who had no concept of moderation.

* * *

No one knew what Damian had said when hiring personnel from the mage tower, but everyone was determined to treat Reina with the utmost care.

Seated at her desk, Reina read through reports filled with unfamiliar and complex terminology.

“Magic circuits… circulation… the primal form of defensive magic…”

The more she read, the more it felt like her soul was being drained and the room began to spin.

Peter spoke up beside her.

“Hmm, there’s content here you haven’t learned yet. It can’t be helped.”

“I don’t understand it…”

“Well, you don’t really need to understand everything. Your position is the one giving orders, so you can just tell them to handle it.”

“…”

Reina shot Peter a look. He turned away and pretended not to notice.

“I’ll request that books be added here as well. They should arrive in a few days. You don’t know any languages besides the imperial common tongue, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’ll be faster than sourcing original texts.”

“Thank you.”

Reina smiled once at Peter, then glanced around the room. At her request, the lavish decorations originally placed there had been left untouched.

“Are you sure it’s alright not to remove them?”

“Well, they’re a bit overwhelming, but using more manpower just to move them feels wasteful.”

“That’s true.”

Honestly, she wanted to clear them out. She’d even considered doing it herself, but everything looked too expensive to touch casually.

‘I’ll get used to it eventually.’

Or maybe the research would end and results would come out before she did.

The unreal level of treatment dulled Reina’s senses slightly.

Without realizing she was becoming more thick skinned, she asked Peter,

“Do the people outside know Eleanor Beanz?”

“They’re all from the same mage tower. They’re probably close. To be honest, I haven’t really spoken much with mages myself.”

“You haven’t talked to them much?”

“That’s right.”

It was a surprisingly unexpected answer.

Peter was friendly with everyone in the manor. People often said that was why he’d been able to stay by Damian’s side for so long.

Hearing that he rarely spoke with mages was truly unexpected.

Peter added,

“Those affiliated with the mage tower tend to keep their distance from outsiders. We’re treated better only because we belong to Winternight.”

‘Then wouldn’t I be at an even bigger disadvantage?’

Reina worried.

‘I don’t even have any magic, and I barely understand magical principles. I don’t know how Master introduced me, but over time they’ll realize I’m nothing special.’

“Ah.”

Realizing she was spiraling into negative thoughts again, Reina slapped her cheeks hard with both hands.

Peter stared at her in shock.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m just trying to get my head straight.”

Her cheeks were red from how hard she’d hit them. Reina stood up and strode toward the door.

“I’m going to talk with the others for a bit.”

‘If I stay still, I’ll just keep thinking negatively.’

If she didn’t know something, she could ask.

Like Peter said, she was under Winternight’s protection and the representative of this research.

“Th-That’s fine. I j-Just need to ask…”

She muttered to herself, repeating that it was fine, over and over.

Clasping her hands tightly, she cautiously approached the group of mages.

Some held parchment, others staffs, speaking in words Reina couldn’t understand.

Someone else was drawing strange geometric shapes on the floor according to instructions.

At the center, people were constructing machinery under a mage’s direction. Reina looked around in awe.

“Wow…”

The tension she’d felt earlier vanished completely.

The sight of devices that hadn’t existed when she first arrived at the manor being created with magic right before her eyes was nothing short of miraculous.

She heard the clatter of magic stones spinning nearby.

‘Boni would’ve loved this.’

Bonita and Estelle hadn’t been brought because it was dangerous, but if they’d seen this, they would’ve been far more excited than Reina.

Her heart fluttered softly.

‘Magic really is amazing.’

Even though she lacked magic herself, the process of magic being formed, or rather just beginning, was mesmerizing.

“Miss Reina Botn?”

The mage who’d guided her earlier spotted her and approached.

“Is there a problem…”

“…It’s incredible.”

“What?”

“Magic. It’s really incredible.”

Direct and pure admiration had a way of making people embarrassed for no reason.

Even mages weren’t immune.

As Reina murmured her amazement, everyone froze and stole glances at her.

Normally, Reina was sensitive to every gaze, but she was so captivated by the wonder of magic that she didn’t even notice.

“C-Cough. This much is nothing.”

Flustered by her instinctive praise, the mage cleared his throat.

“You can achieve this with just a few simple formulas.”

“…I don’t know much about magic. I haven’t known about it for long. Its history, theories, formulas.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I only just started studying from the history, and even the theories everyone calls simple must’ve taken countless people a long time to develop.”

The formulas used in this research, the magical tools.

Reina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at them.

“All the magical tools people use in everyday life exist because you all worked so hard like this.”

“…”

“That’s amazing.”

It had been a long time since anyone had offered such pure praise and admiration.

Mages and Mage Examiners were people with exceptional magic and talent. Even before joining the mage tower, they’d faced countless insincere reactions and learned to read hidden intentions behind praise.

But an adult looking at them like a child, eyes shining and cheeks flushed, was impossible to doubt.

“C-Cough. Cough.”

“Ah, s-Sorry. I got in the way of your work. I was just watching from afar…”

“No, it’s fine. You said you haven’t known magic for long, Miss Reina Botn?”

“Huh? Y-Yes…”

“Then the contents of our reports must’ve been difficult to understand.”

At that, Reina visibly drooped.

Her already lowered eyes sank further.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I should’ve studied harder.”

“Th-That’s not what I meant to criticize.”

“If I’d studied more, I could’ve understood all the reports…”

At that moment, every mage present felt a sharp twinge in their chest.

‘Why is she so soft?’

‘I don’t know…’

‘She’s from Winternight. Is it okay for her to be this gentle?’

In truth, the mages had intentionally filled the reports with difficult content and terminology to put Reina on the spot.

As Peter had said, those from the mage tower had strong pride.

Damian had personally stepped in as the noble representative to help restore Count Pantale’s standing and had treated them accordingly, but that was all.

Peter knew their temperament well and had realized the complicated wording was meant to trip Reina up.

He hadn’t pointed it out because confronting them would likely have led to stubborn defiance.

Reina, unaware of all this, simply thought the mages were amazing.

After constantly dealing with nobles whose eyes gleamed with calculation, the mages found Reina’s pure admiration unfamiliar yet pleasant.

“…Which part did you not understand?”

“Pardon?”

“W-Well, thinking about it now, I might’ve written the report a bit too complicated. If you tell me which parts you don’t understand, I’ll explain.”

“Ah, I’d like to ask about the magic circuits.”

“Oh, there were several mages who studied magic circuits. Among them, there are three main figures. The method I used is…”

Even at the simplest explanations, Reina nodded eagerly, her eyes shining.

Being an outsider with no magical knowledge among so many experts was already eye catching. On top of that, she listened to every explanation with such genuine interest.

One by one, mages stopped their work and gathered around her.

Before long, a shared desire took root in all of them.

‘I want to teach her the theory I know too.’