Ch.3535. Siabel Sianella (2)

I first became interested in Sione’s servant quite a long time ago.

After the day Sione threw down her sword in front of Diolia, who had been her swordsmanship instructor.

I thought she would never pick up a sword again, nor come near the training grounds.

But after Mother assigned a new servant to Sione, she began to change.

It was intriguing.

How could just one new servant cause enough change for Sione to transform?

I wanted to ask directly what had happened, but I couldn’t.

Sione and I had grown distant for a long time.

Moreover, my sister found conversations with me extremely uncomfortable.

As time passed imperceptibly and I was about to tuck my curiosity away deep in my heart, Sione came to me.

“…Mother has ordered me to subjugate monsters in the Beltrin Mountains with you, sister.”

On the very day she returned from the Marquisate of Feiosha, Sione said something that rekindled my interest.

“May I bring my attendant along…? He’s awakened his Mana and is skilled with a bow, so he won’t be a burden.”

The anxiety of ‘what if I refuse?’

And the faith in her servant’s abilities.

What could possibly have happened for Sione to show such emotions?

I became even more curious.

“We’ll be climbing mountains and hunting monsters. I don’t think an untrained man could keep up.”

“He’s different.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sione shook her head and began defending her servant.

She rambled on trying to convince me, saying he had enough stamina to climb mountains, possessed remarkable archery skills that could pierce moving targets instantly, and even handled a sword well.

I eventually granted Sione’s request.

“Very well, then.”

I was confident I could protect one attendant if needed.

Above all, I was curious about what kind of person could earn such deep trust from Sione.

What I saw of him while subjugating monsters in the Beltrin Mountains exceeded my expectations.

Not only did he stick close to Sione and skillfully teach her archery,

He pierced a goblin’s head without hesitation the moment it charged at her.

Even his attitude suggested he was accustomed to hunting monsters.

‘Mother certainly said there was nothing special about him except for his awakened Mana.’

His appearance completely contradicted what Mother had briefly told me about him.

Just like when I first held a sword under Mother’s guidance,

My curiosity about him surged.

So I asked through conversation with Sione.

“Come to think of it, I heard your servant taught you archery. Is this that servant?”

“Yes. Ray taught me archery personally.”

“A servant teaching you rather than an archery instructor…”

“He said he briefly learned archery in the past. Not only does he teach well… he’s trustworthy.”

“Oh?”

He briefly learned archery in the past.

His skills seemed too exceptional for just “briefly” learning.

That sharp precision like our county’s archers couldn’t be from just casual training.

“Indeed, though I’ve only seen a glimpse, he has the sharp skills of our county’s archers.”

I crossed my arms while looking at Sione’s servant, Ray.

“How interesting.”

Everything about him was refreshing.

From how he clearly showed his discomfort with my attention,

To how he tried to hide things but failed miserably at concealing them.

A type of person I’d never seen before.

I began to observe him as closely as Sione did.

And the turning point came the next day, during our encounter with an orc.

“Oh no! What are you doing?!”

The soldiers failed to stop the orc.

The enraged orc charged toward Sione, who had been shooting arrows from a distance.

Sione seemed paralyzed with fear, unable to properly dodge.

Even if I ran immediately, I wasn’t confident I could reach the creature in time to cut its neck.

Especially since I was already engaged with another orc.

I began to feel anxious.

After hurriedly cutting the throat of the orc before me,

I witnessed something unbelievable.

“Huh…?”

I let out a foolish murmur.

My gaze fixed on Sione’s attendant.

“Haah…”

A gentle breeze began to blow around Ray as he sighed.

I already noticed this wasn’t an ordinary wind.

“Impossible.”

Though he tried his best to hide it with minimal signs of magic manifestation,

My knight’s intuition, sharpened by becoming an expert, told me he had used magic.

Then he rescued Sione at an incredible speed.

I couldn’t believe it.

A man handling proper magic, not just small sparks or pathetic flames.

After beheading the orc that had threatened Sione, I stared at Ray who had rolled on the ground.

“Magic?”

At my words, I saw Ray’s eyes turn cold as he embraced Sione.

Judging by his reaction, I hadn’t been seeing things.

Even while checking if Sione was alright, my interest remained focused on that attendant.

Curiosity and questions grew together, and my heightened interest concentrated precisely on him.

That’s why I called for him after sunset when the soldiers were asleep.

“Wait. Don’t we have something to discuss?”

“Something to discuss?”

“Stop pretending. Follow me.”

I began the conversation in the forest, away from the camp where no one could hear us.

“I’ll ask directly. That magic during the day. How could you, a man, possibly use it?”

“Magic? You mean when I threw myself to save Lady Sione?”

“Yes. You know exactly what I mean.”

“…Don’t they say people can exhibit superhuman strength in desperate situations?”

“It seems you have no intention of telling the truth willingly.”

“Me, a man, using magic? That’s impossible.”

He clearly had no intention of yielding to my questioning.

With skillful acting, he denied my inquiries.

But I remained unshaken.

“So you’re saying the movement of Mana I felt was false, and everything I saw with my own eyes was my hallucination?”

I saw and felt him using magic directly.

“Don’t try to mislead me. It won’t work on me.”

Unfortunately for him, his flimsy excuses had no effect on me whatsoever.

“…Please keep this secret from others.”

“I swear on the name of Sianella. I will keep your ability to use magic a secret.”

And finally, I got the answer I wanted.

My heart began to race with excitement for something new.

A male magician?

Something that only existed in legends or novels was right before my eyes?

That brief glimpse of his magic I saw earlier wasn’t enough.

I wanted to see his magic again.

“Could you show me your magic?”

Ray nodded.

“Of course.”

Whoosh!

A flame appeared above his hand.

It was definitely magic. But this alone wasn’t enough.

I’d heard that while extremely rare, there were men who could create a single flame.

What I wanted wasn’t such trivial magic.

As if that wasn’t all he could do,

A gentle breeze began to spread from his center, just like I’d seen earlier today.

Whoosh—

The wind carrying Mana created a path, circling widely around Ray and me.

The flame he created in his hand followed the Mana, following the wind path, blooming beautifully.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t help but admire how beautiful it was.

Under the soft moonlight, the thin veil of fire surrounding us created quite an elegant atmosphere.

Soon he dismissed the magic.

I gazed at him quietly.

I felt thirsty.

Until now, I’d only felt such deep interest in matters related to swords.

But now, this man before my eyes was more interesting than anything else.

Sorry to Sione, but—

“Fascinating.”

To the point where I wanted to possess him.

* * *

I stared blankly at my status window like an idiot.

My Mana efficiency increases just because she found me interesting?

No, before that.

The fact that my abilities improve not just with Sione but also with matters related to Siabel—I never imagined this.

‘Well, it’s not bad either way.’

Whatever the reason, the improved Mana efficiency is definitely a big help.

The elemental magic I use originally requires summoning spirits to use.

If I try to draw out the power of spirits using only my Mana without summoning them, the required amount doubles.

Because of this, I was always running short on Mana.

The more my Mana efficiency improves, the more skillfully I’ll be able to handle the otherwise burdensome elemental magic.

‘Then… what about Sion or Ainel?’

When I cleared quests related to Sione, my elemental magic and total Mana improved.

When I gained Siabel’s interest, my Mana efficiency improved.

Seeing how my abilities gradually improve according to my relationships with the Sianella family members…

I wonder if there might be something hidden with Sion Sianella or Ainel Sianella as well.

As I was lost in thought before Siabel,

She addressed me with a deep smile.

“Impressive. You haven’t formally studied magic, have you?”

“…Being of humble origins, I’ve never had the opportunity to study magic.”

“Is that true?”

“How could I possibly lie to you, Lady Siabel?”

Siabel let out a small laugh.

“Just moments ago, you were quite comfortable lying to me about not being able to use magic, weren’t you?”

“That was—”

“Well, I’ll generously overlook that much.”

“…Thank you.”

She giggled as if teasing me was so entertaining.

As I quietly suppressed my annoyance at her irritating behavior, she suddenly spoke.

“From now on, when we’re alone, I’ll speak informally to you, so be aware.”

“Pardon? When we’re alone?”

“What? Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I wondered if there would even be occasions when Siabel and I would be alone together in the future.

But there was no need to upset her, so I went along with what she said.

We continued talking for a while, with me answering Siabel’s questions.

As the conversation was coming to an end, I spoke up.

“Please keep my ability to use magic a secret.”

“Don’t worry.”

Siabel, who had been cold earlier, now smiled like an innocent child.

“I won’t tell anyone.”