# 12
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Contrary to the nagging in my mind, I calmly began to undress.
It bothered me to wait for the maids, and it was true that I was hungry.
As soon as I lay in the warm bathtub, I felt goosebumps.
However, it was very refreshing to wash my clumpy hair and dirty body with a clean and gentle foam.
It was a time when my tired body relaxed and I felt great.
“Hmph!”
When she looked down into the bathtub, she stopped breathing for a moment.
The bathtub was full of black water.
'Now that I think about it, I never bathed properly when I was little...'
“...Oh my God.”
Certainly enough.
One of the maids who was washing her body looked embarrassed.
'Oh my God, I think she was surprised that I was so dirty.'
The woman, who had been looking elsewhere as if she had been lost in her thoughts for a moment, turned her head at the sound and was seen suddenly panicking.
"sorry ."
When I hurriedly apologized and twisted my fingers, the woman sitting on the chair stood up, approached me, and grabbed my arm.
“Is this also the director’s doing?”
The woman's voice trembled slightly.
I blinked my eyes in confusion, and quickly realized that the “this” she was talking about was referring to the old scars that were visible on my cleansed body.
“Mmm, long time ago...”
I nodded and trailed off.
It was extremely embarrassing to meet such anxious eyes.
The woman clenched her fists and gave off a rather dark aura.
“Someone like him.”
As I watched the woman reveal her animosity to the manager, I began to love her again.
At that time, my shoulder, which was sticking out of the water, felt so cold that I shivered without realizing it.
The woman must have thought I was surprised by my own energy, but she was shocked, calmed down, and spoke in a more friendly voice.
“I have no talent for healing magic. …When we reach the Duke’s Castle, I will contact the priest. You are still young, so if the holy power is used, most of it will disappear.”
“K—priest? I’m fine!”
Surprised, I raised my hand.
Among the priests, there were only a few who could use holy power.
Of course, they were high-class employees, and unless they were wealthy or noble people who donated large amounts of money, receiving healing through divine power was unthinkable.
No matter how many days I spent caring for Diana, it was very difficult to gather her like this, but I couldn't ask for a priest to be summoned.
'What if I get greedy for no reason and get hated and kicked out before I can get Jack's place back?'
I shook my head firmly at that thought, but suddenly my body began to move.
I blinked inexplicably and realized that the woman in front of me was hugging me.
". … sorry ."
I probably acted rashly too, and after a while, the woman who fired me spoke up with red eyes.
“I don’t know why I do this, when I see you...”
When I looked at the woman who couldn't speak, I had a hunch that there was something she couldn't say.
‘If my mental age were really a child, I would be confused….’
I tried to talk to her thinking I was happy because I wasn't a normal kid.
“But are you a witch?”
“Huh?”
“You said something called healing magic earlier...”
Still curious about who she was, I asked her with sparkling eyes, and the woman smiled brightly.
As if to tell her a secret, he sent the maids away, saying that they would take care of drying and dressing them.
The girl and a woman came out of the bathtub, dressed me in a loose dress, wiped my hair with a towel, and said:
“I don't know if you understand what that means, but I'm a magic swordsman, and he's a wizard and a knight at the same time.”
As soon as the woman finished speaking, my eyes widened.
On this continent, the name of a magic swordsman was not something that could be used carelessly.
“Magical Swordsman” means that he must be a knight who is known to be a wizard and has reached a certain level as a knight, in other words, a knight who knows how to handle “Twilight.”
So, could it be the woman in front of me? …? ….
“What is the sister’s name?”
I asked cautiously, unable to control my trembling voice.
'Sister?'
The woman laughed with her eyes wide open for a while and then said.
“My name is Bianca, I'm Bianca Marita.”
Crooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo —
My heart fell to the floor and then began beating rapidly again, reaching the ceiling.
“Bianca Marita”
She was my role model and I dreamed of becoming like her.
* * *
“You are so generous.”
At Bianca's compliment, I blushed and lowered my head.
I thought it was strange.
I jumped from the attic with everything in my heart wrapped around my body.
It was a kind of adventure that took into account the possibility of escape, because this body could not yet fully control the suddenly increased mana.
“I was surprised that you came to your senses so quickly...”
It turns out that Bianca helped control the mana.
When I thought about that, my body felt dizzy and twisted, even though I didn't feel any pain.
It wasn't like I was just dreaming of holding Bianca's hand and going down to the first floor, not to mention her friendly look towards me.
'Hmm, what should I do? It's so cool.'
For some reason, I felt like I was a huge success.
My heart was beating nonstop.
Bianca Marita was born as an illegitimate daughter, but thanks to her skill with a sword and overwhelming martial magic, she played a prominent role in the war and even earned the title of Countess.
It was also something I admired for a long time.
A woman who proved her worth to the world by being recognized only for her abilities, regardless of her status.
However, by the time I discovered Bianca's existence, she had stepped down as Knight Commander of the Principality of Pylos and gone into seclusion for a long time, so I could only hear about her through stories.
I felt uncontrollably affected by this unexpected encounter.
Meanwhile, when I reached the first floor, I saw Diana holding in her hand a large chicken leg that did not fit her small body and eagerly eating it.
I was about to go straight to Diana, but I stopped in shock.
Duke Elad, who was sitting next to the little girl, was looking at me with a frightening expression.
'Are you too late?'
I was puzzled and soon realized the answer.
I said I couldn't control it when I was in the orphanage, but things have changed now.
The difference in status between Diana and me was clear.
With the exception of a few people, most of the nobles I met in my previous life were extremely tyrannical, some of them even treated common people as inferior to them.
'Duke Elad may not be so bad as them.'
However, what is certain is that you should no longer call Diana's name or talk to her informally, nor should you naturally try to make her look ill as you are doing now.
I naturally looked around the first floor, observing the Duke's thoughts.
After dropping me off, Bianca left the inn with her servants, so I was worried about where to eat.
At that moment, I saw a familiar face among the knights sitting around the table.
He was the master of Sadyan.
That was when I was about to approach him.
“Noona!”
Diana dropped the chicken leg and ran towards me.
'Give up the chicken legs.'
I was so moved that I completely forgot what I was thinking before and I lightly stroked Diana's hair, which was neatly tied into a ponytail, and said:
“Diana, you styled your hair beautifully.”
"Yes! My dad did that, hehe!"
“Hah!”
A surprised sound came out of my mouth without me having time to be careful.
When I looked at my hair, which was neatly tied up without any fluff, it didn't look like it had been styled for a day or two.
It was hard to imagine combing his daughter's hair with such a cold face.
“Noona, come here.”
At that time, Diana grabbed my hand and pulled me to the seat next to her.
She stood there awkwardly, unable to shake his hand or sit up.
When Duke Elad's eyes narrowed as he looked at me, he became even more depressed.
“Diana, I...”
“Quickly sit down and eat.”
Yes.
As soon as the Duke finished speaking, I sat down in my chair.
It was important to listen carefully to the words of those in power, especially those as fearsome as Duke Elad.
I lowered my head to avoid staring into my eyes and opened my mouth naturally when I saw the food on the table.
It may not have been enough to feed a high-ranking noble, the Duke and his daughter, but it still looked like the inn had poured in all the ingredients they had and didn't have.
Unable to overcome my hunger, I took a big bite of the soup in front of me with a spoon.
As soon as I got into the soup made of meat, potatoes and carrots, my stomach felt warm and I lost my appetite.
As I was shamelessly grabbing a piece of brown bread from the basket, Diana suddenly handed me a chicken leg.
“Take it!”
“Thanks...yes.”
Since the Duke was still watching intently, as if he were being watched, I answered quickly, ending my sentence vaguely.
Even though I knew in my mind that I shouldn't, I couldn't use polite words easily, perhaps because I remembered that I had been friendly with Diana while in the orphanage.
Feeling embarrassed, she quickly bit into a chicken leg when she heard an unexpected question.
“Didn't you say you were 8 years old?”
"Yes?"
"Your age."
I nodded quickly, unable to swallow the meat I was putting in my mouth.
I told him my name and age on my way here, but why was he suddenly asking me again?
As I tilted my head in confusion, the Duke asked again.
"But why are you so young? You look like Diana."
The expression on his face was that he did not understand.
It was the same for me.
Why am I curious about that?
“I can't stay, I'm hungry.”
“Khhhhhhhh!”
At that time, Diana rebuked her father as if he knew nothing about her.
I could barely keep the food from jumping out of my mouth because the content didn't match the pleasant sound.
Even the drivers who were listening to our table, and pretended not to notice, couldn't help but laugh.
But for some reason, Duke Elad's expression was serious.
“What do you mean, Diana?”
“Diana, she was hungry. We eat once a day, but the bread is this big.”
Diana answered grimly, making little circles with her fingers.
'Diana, it was more than that though. …’
“But Nona gave all the bread to Diana, Nona was nice compared to the scum.”
Diana, ignoring my simple rebuttal, raised her voice.
For a moment, I was completely transfixed.