The Beloved Youngest Daughter of a Noble Family - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Two People on the Snowy Mountain

[Translation By Divinity]

At that moment, Sione was alone, braving the treacherous snowy mountain to meet her teacher.

Wearing long boots to ward off the cold and a thick cloak, she was the picture of a seasoned traveler.

As she trudged through the snow-covered ground, Sione paused and looked up at the towering peak.

‘Building a dwelling in such a remote place. He’s such an eccentric old man.’

After the young Bladi had his official coronation, her teacher, Elga, relinquished all the honor and power bestowed upon him and quietly left the royal palace. At the time, Elga’s belongings fit into a single small bag.

It was a modest retirement for a hero who had ended the centuries-long, fierce war between the races and had enjoyed the full confidence of the previous Lord.

“Are you really leaving just like that? What about the Royal Magic Corps you’ve painstakingly built?”

“The war is over,” Elga replied. “And the Magic Corps holds too much power. It’s better to dismantle it early on. If left unchecked, it will only become a playground for those in power.”

“But… then what will happen to us, the royal mages?”

“Figure it out yourselves. I have no intention of babysitting youngsters.”

Sione sighed deeply, recalling her teacher. He was small and cute-looking, barely reaching her waist. Despite his appearance, his age and speech were that of an old man, and his skills far surpassed hers, always leaving her with a sense of frustration.

“Then where will you go?”

“Well, I’ll go wherever my feet take me. The uninhabited north seems good. I detest people coming and going.”

“…So you won’t even answer my calls?”

“If I’m on the verge of death, I might send you a letter. I suppose I can leave you my remaining inheritance.”

And after Elga left, the powerful Royal Magic Corps was disbanded and merged into the Lord’s Royal Knights.

During that process, Sione volunteered for the military instead of the Knights and made a name for herself by participating in various conflicts, big and small.

Although she was now Bella’s nanny at the Rose Palace, not a soldier, her teacher Elga had significantly influenced her life choices. They might have been teacher and student, but in reality, she was practically Elga’s adopted daughter.

‘If it weren’t for my teacher, I wouldn’t have learned magic.’

It was Elga himself who had taken in and raised Sione, orphaned during the long war between the demons and humans.

Sione, inspired by Elga, dreamed of becoming a mage and respected her teacher more than anyone else.

But one day, he suddenly left the capital without a word, and she had lost all affection for him, who hadn’t contacted her even once in hundreds of years.

“Is it there?”

Elga’s cabin, located halfway up the snowy mountain, was moved every day through teleportation magic. Its location changed with each visit, making it quite a challenge to find. It seemed like there was a reason behind it, not just his dislike for people.

“Teacher, it’s me.”

She knocked on the door, her breath puffing out in the cold air. With a creak, the door opened, revealing a small, cute-looking man.

“You’re early. Can’t a young person like you move any faster?”

Sione sighed deeply, looking at Elga, who clicked his tongue disapprovingly. He looked like her youngest brother, despite his old age and speech. Just listening to his grumbling made Sione feel exhausted.

“It took me a long time to find your house because you made the magic circle so complicated, Teacher. You knew I was coming, didn’t you? That’s too much.”

“Hmph, it’s a necessary test. People can’t just live leisurely all the time.”

Sione brushed the snow off her coat by the fireplace, an incredulous look on her face. It was a good thing she was skilled; any ordinary mage would have been lost by now. This snowy mountain was harsh, and the weather changed constantly, making it inaccessible to ordinary people.

“I don’t have much time, Teacher. I need to finish my business and return to the Rose Palace.”

“See, raising kids is useless. Is that any way to talk to an elder who you’ve come all this way to see? So heartless.”

“If we’re talking about heartlessness, I don’t think there’s much difference between you and me, Teacher.”

“Are you talking back to me now?”

Elga grumbled a few more words and then waved his hands in the air, casting magic. A large pot by the fireplace levitated, and warm tea poured into a chipped old cup.

“Sit down and have some. We’ll be done soon anyway.”

Sione smiled wryly, looking at the table set with potato soup that had obviously been simmering for a long time and fragrant black tea.

He was still the same, unable to be honest even now.

“So, is that little Bella still struggling?” he inquired, clicking his tongue.

Sione put down her teacup with a clatter. “There’s no improvement yet. Thanks to the mana stone, her daily life isn’t affected, but… she still faints occasionally.”

She let out a light sigh, picturing the small and adorable little lady of the Rose Palace suffering from a chronic illness.

It seemed that even the dragon’s mana stone, one of Elga’s most prized possessions from his magic tool storage, wasn’t enough to meet Bella’s mana requirements for growth.

The reality that two of the most renowned mages in the kingdom were gathered here, yet a solution remained elusive, was nothing short of frustrating.

“Why not simply hunt a few high-ranking magical beasts near the Border and feed her their essence? Why take the complicated route when there’s a simple solution?”

“…Bella-nim dislikes dishes made from magical beasts. She wouldn’t even touch them if they were served.”

In fact, a considerable number of individuals within the kingdom refused to consume magical beasts in their raw form. Tastes varied, after all.

Various recipes had been developed to process magical beast meat for consumption, but the poor little princess was averse even to those.

She was like an ordinary human who found the scent of magical beast blood repulsive.

“That’s strange. It happens occasionally even among purebloods, but it’s rare for a child in their growth phase to refuse it. In fact, they sometimes lose control and even bite those around them.”

He was referring to the phenomenon of vampire frenzy. A lack of mana ultimately led to withdrawal symptoms, and vampires who lost control would prey on not only magical beasts and humans but also their own kind.

The tales of vampire massacres passed down in human villages were often cases like this.

‘Just the thought is horrifying.’

Sione shuddered briefly, imagining the adorable child she cared for turning into a ravenous beast. She shook her head vigorously, as if to banish the disturbing image.

“Bella-nim is still young, but she’s quite intelligent. She has the blood of the Lord and Daphne-nim, after all. Such a thing will never happen.”

“That’s precisely why it’s dangerous,” Elga countered. “It’s like she’s carrying a ticking time bomb within her small body, ready to explode at any moment. We can’t allow another stain on the Chepesh royal family.”

Sione frowned, understanding the implication.

Lord Bladi’s half-brother, Roan, had competed with him for the throne.

Considered one of the most horrific royals in Chepesh history, Roan had slaughtered nearly a thousand of his own kind in his pursuit of mana amplification experiments.

But Roan’s experiments ultimately failed, and he suffered severe frenzy due to the side effects of handling unnatural mana.

As Roan’s rampage devastated not only the Chepesh Kingdom but also human villages, Bladi was forced to eliminate him with his own hands.

Many years had passed, and the story of Roan had long been buried as a dark secret of the Chepesh royal family.

“Don’t compare Bella-nim to that barbaric creature,” Sione snapped. “Even if you’re my teacher, there are some things I can’t tolerate.”

“Ha! Are you going to hit me? Huh? Who changed your diapers, fed you, and even taught you magic?”

“…How long are you going to keep using that against me?”

Sione looked exasperated, but Elga, with tears welling up in his eyes, started lamenting about how he had raised Sione on his back and how difficult it had been to raise a child with his frail, elderly body.

Sione, feeling like a young woman dragged before an old grandfather for a marriage interview, downed the rest of her cold tea and stood up.

“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be on my way. I can’t be away for too long, especially after the recent assassination attempt.”

“Who does she take after, being so short-tempered?”

Sione desperately wanted to retort, “Who else but you?”, but she swallowed the words with difficulty.

“Sit back down. I think I’ve finally found a way to raise your precious little princess safely.”

“…Is that true?” Sione asked, her voice laced with disbelief.

Elga shrugged in response. “Well, it’s more of a desperate measure than a surefire solution.”

“Please elaborate.”

The mana required by a growing vampire cannot be replenished through indirect means. This is especially true for those with the Lord’s bloodline. Even ordinary vampires need to directly consume magical beasts to barely meet their mana needs during their growth phase. So, what about a child born with the blood of the ruler?

Therefore, the method Elga had found was to obtain mana not from magical beasts, but from demons.

Specifically, from a race with very special blood.

“Demons? Are you suggesting we sacrifice humans to Bella-nim instead of magical beasts?”

“Oh, you’re so impatient. Who said anything about eating humans? Hear me out.”

“…Then what is it?”

“Have you ever heard of the hybrid race between humans and demons?”

Benians, a rare hybrid race born from the union of high-ranking demons and humans.

With their dark brown skin and golden eyes, they were treated as mutants, ostracized by both humans and demons.

Rumors abounded that they lived hidden somewhere near the Border, where a dimensional gate leading to the demon realm was said to exist, but few had actually witnessed them.

The rare blood of the Benians was considered a precious elixir, and some wealthy demons even collected Benians with their beautiful and unique appearances as a hobby.

Living a life constantly hunted by bounty hunters, only a few Benians survived in such harsh conditions.

Although they possessed demonic blood, a genetic defect prevented them from using magic, and their lifespan was the same as ordinary humans, making survival itself a challenge.

“I understand that there are hardly any survivors,” Sione said. “It’s said that many are killed by their human parents before they’re even born.”

“That’s right,” Elga confirmed. “Demons usually don’t even acknowledge children born from humans. And they can’t blend into human society either, so their chances of survival are extremely low. They possess unique powers and appearances, after all.”

“…Are you bringing this up now because you’ve found where the Benians are?”

As if to confirm Sione’s guess, Elga nodded with a satisfied expression.

“It seems Bladi’s army is in that area. If we can find a Benian there and bring them to the royal palace, we might be able to save that child, Bella.”

“Will the Lord… allow that?”

“I’m not sure. But it would be difficult for him to refuse if I ask. After all, I’m stuck in this mountain corner alone, partly because of him.”

Sione, sensing some kind of deal between Elga and Bladi, nodded knowingly.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. It seems the Lord doesn’t think highly of me anyway.”

“Tsk, tsk, I would feel the same. It’s like your closest subordinate betrayed you. What a mess.”

Sione wanted to argue, asking why her decision to protect the Lord’s daughter instead of him was seen that way, but she kept her mouth shut.

It was her own choice to give up being Bladi’s vassal to stay by the side of a baby who couldn’t even open her eyes.

“We’re done talking, so you can go back now. Don’t forget to take this with you, it’s yours.”

The gloves Elga casually tossed had a warming magic spell on them.

They weren’t ordinary gloves, but high-level artifacts with a permanent warming enchantment.

“These are quite valuable. For someone who’s crazy about magic tools to give these away… Have you gone senile already?”

“Senile? Are you done talking?”

Sione, once again scolded by her teacher who looked like a young boy, was finally able to leave the cabin when she felt like her ears were bleeding.

Elga watched his student’s back disappear into the heavy snowfall and quietly muttered,

“That child needs to learn to look out for herself sometimes…”

How long would she keep sacrificing herself for others?

Clicking his tongue in disapproval, Elga went back inside the house, where a warm oil lamp flickered.

Soon, a heavy snowstorm swept through, and the cabin where the two had been vanished without a trace.