# 22
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* * *
Finally, the day of the decisive battle.
I was out in the neglected garden behind the duke's castle, which was usually deserted.
It is really cold in the middle of winter in the duchy.
The gardeners focused only on the greenhouse and the front door, so this place was left in its natural state, untouched by human hands.
“Well, this is the perfect place to make a wish.”
After looking with satisfaction at the devastated landscape, I knelt down and looked at the green leaves that did not match the frozen ground.
It had not been long since I had stayed at the Duke's house, but my physical strength was improving day by day, probably because my life was completely different from when I was staying in the orphanage.
Of course, he still looked thin on the outside, but it was nothing compared to how he was before, when he was out of breath even after walking a little.
“Enough to start mana training.”
Bianca told me not to force myf to use my power until I was older because there was a risk of escape, but that only applies when I'm a child who doesn't know how to use mana.
In particular, I had cultivated an herb garden to practice mana control with the Guild Executive, Old Man Ted, so I was very familiar with planting mana in the ground.
Even now, when the mana injection began, the magical power was transmitted to the roots of the plant, and the green leaves began to slowly expand their area.
It was also proof that I was using my mana efficiently.
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to control the mana increase well, but I didn't think I needed to worry so much.
“When the flowers bloom, I must take them to Diana.”
I felt a little uncomfortable today as I had to leave my baby behind.
However, I was glad I decided to play in my room today, as I was quite content to play with combing and tying my hair all day a few days ago.
“Starting tomorrow, we will play together every day.”
I burned my will even thinking about my beloved Diana.
Although Diana and I would never have met without Valerie's master, I couldn't bear to think about the hardships the child had gone through after her kidnapping.
As I was expanding the area of green leaves, I saw something that caught my attention.
“Oh? This can't be possible...”
"Who are you?"
At the same time, I heard a voice shouting behind me.
Since I noticed him coming a long time ago, I quietly turned around and frowned.
'That snake-like look.'
I didn't have a good impression when I first met him, but when I got to know him, I found his face even more despicable.
This is correct.
It was my wish for Allen to have a private meeting with Mr. Valery.
‘To be precise, I am requesting that you send the Deputy Commander whenever and wherever I want.’
Allen, who heard my wish, was puzzled by the ridiculous content, but he kept his promise anyway.
“Ha, did you really use Master to contact me here?”
Master Valery, who must have only realized the situation after arriving in a spary populated place, looked at me and whistled.
“Young people are cunning, so, you must have clung to the young miss and shamelessly followed her here. Is it nice to treat the girl kindly and treat her according to your taste? You will have to live your whole life grateful to her.”
He spat in my face and walked away as if he didn't want to interact with me.
So I spoke to his back in an exaggerated voice.
“If you say it correctly, I should be thanking you, not Miss.”
"What?"
“If it weren't for you, how could he have met her? Isn't that true?”
"What is this . … ".
“I heard everything, I deliberately lied to Lord Sidian that the escort mission had changed.”
After my words, Master Valery’s face became frightening.
I didn't know if I was skilled enough to become the Vice Commander of the Rexion Knights, but the blood flowing on my body was extremely stinging.
But I raised my voice again.
Let this sound spread far and wide.
“But isn’t this too much? No matter how much you want to expel Lord Sidian, you must gamble with the safety of the young lady you serve...”
“This is crazy! You are a very superficial person and you are good at making lies.”
Master Valerie exclaimed excitedly.
When I saw the man approaching me with a threatening look, I felt afraid for a moment, but I managed to control my mind.
'Don't be afraid, it's okay.'
I already know Count Valery's words.
It's very foolish to go wild without even knowing what's coming.
“You threatened me without any evidence, so you want to die, right?”
“So everything I say is a lie?”
“Yes! And even if that were true, who would believe anything you or Tice said!”
“It is up to the Duke to decide whether to believe it or not.”
Master Valery's eyes finally softened when he heard that he would inform Duke Elad.
“How dare you, just a humble girl! People like you lie down like insects and eat the garbage we give them....!”
“Stop, Mr. Valery!”
"my lady . … !"
The voice I heard when Master Valerie grabbed me by the collar was a woman's voice.
Master Valery, who hurriedly threw me to the ground, hesitated and stepped back.
“Hey, this isn't what you think.”
“Don't even think about making excuses.”
When the Duke appeared later, Master Valery's face turned pale.
“Leah, are you okay?”
The Duchess hurriedly approached me and examined the wound on my arm, which had been scraped when I fell to the ground.
I tried to look at her worried expression.
In fact, this was all my plan.
〈Madam, I saw you while I was walking, the bud was growing in support.〉
〈Oh my God, is this really true? The ground must remain frozen solid.〉
〈I think spring is already coming.〉
As I said this over dessert after breakfast, I was almost convinced that the Duchess would come here to walk with the Duke this afternoon.
This is because the Duchess took the Duke for a walk every day at a certain time, even though he was very cold and did not leave his office to take care of the accumulated real estate business.
'Besides, he's shown interest in my story, so he'll likely come this way.'
Of course, it doesn't matter if things don't go as you expected.
Because I really wanted to visit the Duke.
When he discovered his secrets, he admitted that he had been threatened and tried to put an end to Valery's master.
But without any need for annoying theatrics, two people appeared.
“No, Your Highness! All of this…Master! He set a trap to use this child to trap me!”
Master Valery, who had been arrogant towards me just a moment ago, immediately knelt down and ed Duke Elad.
The Duke's eyes were even colder.
When the investigation begins soon, the crime will be clearly revealed, but I shouted to put an end to Count Valery's family in case something goes wrong.
“If this is a trap, then did Lord Sidian buy the Berion Mine? Lord Sidian probably doesn’t even know what the budget of the Rexion Knights is!”
“Yes, how did you do that?”
Master Valery, who was asking with his eyes wide as if he was completely surprised by my words, immediately made a dumb noise and looked at Duke Elad.
The Duke looked very shocked.
* * *
Allen couldn't fully comprehend the situation that was unfolding before his eyes.
My body became stiff and I couldn't breathe well.
In the first place, it made no sense to grant Leia's wish with such a ridiculous bet.
At that time, I thought that because Leah was young and didn't know much, she was acting fearless.
Even though I couldn't even become an apprentice knight, I did my best to try to win against the kids who were much older than me.
In fact, Allen was worried about Leah, but he also hoped that she would be scolded and frightened out of spite.
However, the little girl who looked like a flying squirrel showed extremely fierce and fast movements.
The other kids might not have noticed, but Allen saw it clearly.
“In the end, I thought she was carrying a dagger, not a comb.”
And the final result is approaching.
I couldn't believe my eyes, but the results were clear.
Oddly enough, Allen, who stayed still and got his wish, didn't feel too bad.
On the contrary, I was anticipating even the kind of wish I would make.
〈Please allow me to meet the Deputy Commander〉
But Leah's desire was completely unexpected.
Even though he couldn't understand, he had already promised to listen, so Allen called his teacher aside as if he had something to say.
While I was hiding, I was just trying to figure out what Leah was trying to do.
'It was Cid who put Diana in danger...'
While she was confused and couldn't believe the words coming out of Leia's mouth, the Vice Commander whom I had always respected started shouting at Leia with an unfamiliar monster-like face.
In all this time, he had never shown such violence towards himf.
My body was naturally shivering and my hands and feet became cold.
In my head, I wanted to scream and ask what was happening, but my body was frozen and I couldn't move.
Then mom and dad showed up just in time.
“For now, I will take the baby with me, I don’t want her to be around this man anymore.”
The little girl's mother stood up and looked coldly at Sid, who was kneeling and pleading with his father.
When Leah, who was leaving to support her mother, passed by me, Allen crouched down and hid without realizing it.
In that second, Leia turned her head.
Allen lowered his head and suddenly thought that their eyes met, but he shook his head inward.
He desperately hoped it was an illusion.