Chapter 20.2

“Take a proper rest. We’ll take over driving the carriage from here.”

“No… there’s no need for that…”

“What are you saying? You must rest! You’ve earned it.”

“…”

And with that well-meaning lie, my only chance for fresh air was taken from me.

‘Damn it! There aren’t even any windows in this carriage!’

Due to extremely limited materials and equipment, the spatially-expanded interior of the carriage had no windows.

‘They say internal threats are the scariest… At this rate, I might die of asphyxiation from the stench of my allies rather than from monsters or the Empire.’

“How is the Grand Duke faring?”

Unaware of my plight, Sir Balzac naturally asked about the Grand Duke’s condition.

“She has stabilized considerably.”

“Then why hasn’t she woken up yet?”

“Because her injuries were so severe.”

While answering, I couldn’t help but speculate, ‘Or maybe it’s because of the smell?’

“I see.”

“By the way… Sir Balzac.”

After confirming Arina’s condition, I cautiously began speaking in a low voice.

“Go ahead.”

“Has Her Highness ever practiced magic?”

“Hmm?”

Balzac’s face immediately showed his confusion, as if to say, ‘What are you talking about?’n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“During the healing process, I dared to observe Her Highness’s energy cores. In doing so, I discovered a magic circle in the Grand Duke’s heart—a 2nd Circle, to be precise.”

“What in the world…!”

Hearing this, Balzac focused his senses on Arina’s heart, the location of her middle energy core.

“This… this can’t be…!”

His reaction confirmed my observations.

‘So, even Balzac didn’t know. That means the heart’s circle must have formed recently.’

I looked at Arina’s body, particularly her middle core where her heart was located.

‘When her lower core was destroyed, the mana core that was once in her lower abdomen must have transferred to her heart.’

It didn’t take long for me to piece together the reasoning.

Knights who wield swords build their mana cores in the lower abdomen.

Clerics who use divine power store their energy in the brain, at the upper core.

Mages and witches, who use magic, inscribe their magic circles—their cores—into the heart, the middle core.

Arina had been ambushed by Doyle, and her lower abdomen had been pierced—the location of her lower core.

Naturally, the core in her lower core would have been damaged.

‘Now that I think about it, it was odd. For someone whose lower core was punctured, she didn’t show symptoms of mana backlash. I thought it was thanks to the potion Balzac poured into her… but there was another reason.’

A truly remarkable individual. Even in such a desperate moment, her body instinctively transferred her core to her heart to avoid collapse.

‘Of course, it’s unlikely Arina did this intentionally. Her body must have reacted on its own.’

“What will happen to Her Highness?”

My hypothesis made Balzac, along with Eote and Carrot, worryfully ask about Arina’s fate.

“We’ll have to wait until the Grand Duke awakens to fully understand her condition.”

“Will… will she be able to wield a sword again?”

Balzac’s question was focused on her ability to use the sword.

“She’s still young, so with training, she should be able to wield a sword again. She’ll just need to rebuild her lower core. In fact, since her lower core will be reconstructed, it might even be stronger than before.”

“Really…? In that case… could I perhaps…?”

Hearing this, the knights, as expected of sword enthusiasts, immediately showed a crazed glint in their eyes, as if they were considering injuring themselves on purpose.

Their madness for strength was plain to see.

“Her Highness was extraordinarily lucky. Don’t even think about imitating this. If you try, you’ll either die or be crippled, and I won’t take any responsibility. Besides, there’s no guarantee I can recreate the elixir I made for her.”

“Hahaha! Just joking. But then, what should we do about the magic circle etched into Her Highness’s heart?”

“With a 2nd Circle, she can learn basic utility spells—small flames, ice, conjuring a light, or moving lightweight objects with telekinesis.”

Meanwhile, Sir Eote, who had been listening to my explanation with Balzac, looked somewhat envious.

“Wait… does this mean Her Highness has become a magic swordsman?”

“In that case, should we try learning magic as well? Maybe we can ask witches to carve a circle into our hearts!”

Sir Carrot chimed in with a similar tone of excitement.

“Now that you mention it, why haven’t we ever thought of learning magic? Even mastering just a 2nd Circle could be incredibly useful.”

“When I was learning the sword, my master always told me to steer clear of magic. Come to think of it, he never explained why.”

Both knights turned to me at the same time, their gazes resembling disciples seeking enlightenment from a sage.

At this moment, to them, I probably seemed like a reclusive scholar or wizard who had just emerged from hiding.

“Having two cores in one body is possible only for a very rare few with unique constitutions. If not for this incident, Her Highness wouldn’t have awakened this constitution either.”

I replied seriously, shaking my head at their naivety.

“Moreover, having two mana cores in one body disrupts physical balance. Chasing power recklessly might end up ruining your body.”

“That’s true. This is why people usually focus on mastering either the sword or magic, but not both.”

Sir Balzac, agreeing with me, added his own perspective.

“Then… what will happen to Her Highness?”

“Isn’t having two cores dangerous?”

Hearing our explanation, Eote and Carrot belatedly expressed concern for Arina’s condition.

“The magic circle in her heart can simply be left alone. As long as she doesn’t expand it further, it won’t cause problems.”

The solution was straightforward.

In fact, the few magic swordsmen who existed on the continent lived similarly—relying on one core as their main power source while using the other as a secondary aid.

“In any case, we should hurry. Her Highness needs someone who can examine her condition more closely.”

“Is there something even you don’t know?”

“I don’t know everything. When it comes to matters of the heart’s magic circle, that’s a mage’s specialty.”

I spoke carefully while tending to Arina’s body.

“Above all, the elixir I made was extremely crude and rudimentary. It’s a half-finished product. Even if she seems healed now, we can’t predict what side effects might arise later.”

“We must hurry to the High Tower. We need to have the Witch of Spring examine her.”

“That seems like the best course of action.”

“I’ll tell Sir Rosie to increase our speed. I’ll also stand guard on the roof of the carriage to ward off monsters or adventurers.”

“I’ll join you, Sir Balzac!”

“Me too!”

The knights, now somewhat recovered, scrambled to climb out of the carriage and onto the roof.

‘Aren’t they trusting me a bit too much?’

And just like that, the knights left the carriage.

Inside, only Arina, lying on the bed, and I, watching over her, remained.

‘Phew… at least now I can finally breathe properly.’

Thankfully, with the knights gone, the air inside the carriage became somewhat bearable.

‘Could it be because they left because of the smell too?’

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