Chapter 81

* * *

Eli brought Damian to a forest near the duchy. As befitting the perpetually snowy north, the bare branches were heavily laden with snow.

"What are we going to play here?"

Damian looked around and asked. All he could see was white snow.

"It's right here."

"Huh?"

Following Eli's hand, Damian's gaze moved downward.

What she pointed to was still white snow.

"Let's have a snowball fight. Take the gloves."

"A snowball fight...?"

"Hmm, you don't know what a snowball fight is?"

Damian nodded with an innocent face.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. You roll the snow into a ball... Well, actions speak louder than words. Come here."

Eli bent her knees and sat down, and Damian obediently followed, bending his body.

"Roll it like this. Into a ball. Then... "

Eli, having rolled the snow, stood up and threw it forward.

Thud!

The snowball hit the tree with a loud sound. Damian's eyes widened.

"How about it, isn't it fun?"

"Yep!"

"Then you try. Start by rolling the snow. This is the most basic part."

Damian nodded obediently. His small hands began to roll the white snow.

"Alright, now throw it far. Just like me."

Damian, with a tense face, clenched the snow and threw it far.

The small snowball flew in a parabola and hit the tree.

Damian's eyes started to sparkle.

"This is how you do it. Isn't it fun?"

"Yep!"

"Good. Now practice is over. From now on, it's the real deal."

As Eli rolled the snow, Damian followed suit.

Eli, noticing something, subtly raised her eyebrows and splashed snow at Damian like a wave.

"Ah! It's so cold!"

Startled by the cold, Damian shivered.

"Haha! That's the penalty for letting your guard down!"

Eli burst into laughter at the sight. Damian pouted.

"You're too much...!"

"Then you throw it!"

"But... "

"From now on, the snowball fight starts! Got it?"

Eli said this and quickly started rolling the snow.

Damian, feeling a sense of urgency, quickly rolled the snow.

"I'll go first!"

"Wait, just a moment... Ah!"

Damian dodged the snowball and ran away.

At first, he seemed flustered, but after a few rounds, a lively smile appeared on his face.

Indeed, children should run and play.

It was worth bringing him out. Eli smiled contentedly.

"Ah!"

A cold snowball hit Eli directly.

"I did it too...!"

Damian, who had been laughing innocently, became anxious when Eli stood there as if frozen.

Why isn't she moving? Did I throw it too hard?

"...Eli?"

Even when he called out, Eli didn't budge. His heart sank. Damian hurriedly ran to Eli.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot? I threw it too hard..."

But before he could finish, a cold snowball flew and hit the boy's face.

"You let your guard down."

Eli smirked. Damian pouted.

"You're too much...!"

"The world of competition is ruthless."

With that, the second round began. Eli started running through the forest to avoid Damian.

They ran and played for a while. When their energy was drained, they plopped down on the snow.

They panted heavily. Their breaths, rising to the sky, turned white. Their cheeks and ears were red, and their hearts beat so hard they could hear the thumping in their ears.

But laughter kept escaping. Beyond the mist of their breath, Damian smiled innocently.

"Isn't it fun?"

Damian nodded, and Eli smiled contentedly.

After a moment to catch their breath, they got up. It was time to head back to the duchy.

As they helped Damian up, they saw a red lake in the distance. It seemed they had run this far while playing.

The land of the Schuetz duchy had been said to be cursed for generations.

'They said the lake is red like blood because of the curse.'

It wasn't entirely wrong. Several people had drowned, and the lake could cause pain if it entered the body, like in the case of Wiborg and Vintia.

Many had suggested filling it, but no method had worked.

That's why Wiborg had guarded the lake to prevent similar tragedies.

'Wait a moment...'

Eli paused in her thoughts.

'Life can't survive on cursed land.'

If the red lake was truly a product of the curse...

'Why do the trees around it look healthier than the others?'

"Eli?"

Damian's eyes followed Eli's gaze.

His eyes, fixed on the lake, were intense.

Eli often had this look, as if she had entered another world.

Whenever this happened, Damian felt a sudden fear. It seemed like Eli might leave for somewhere else at any moment.

Damian firmly held Eli's hand.

"Damian, isn't this strange?"

Then, Eli asked.

"What is?"

"Not the lake. There were many theories, like the duke's obsession or the cursed land. But the trees by the lakeside aren't withered."

Eli pointed to the trees by the lake.

"Instead, they look healthier than the others, don't they?"

"Um..."

Indeed, as Eli said. Damian nodded, and Eli muttered.

"I've always thought it was strange. It was also strange that it couldn't be filled, and that there were no signs of decay despite the drownings."

Eli fell into deep thought.

'Did the original story mention anything about the lake?'

Red was the symbol of the Schuetz family.

People were afraid of it, calling it the color of blood, but the protagonist Ashabel thought it was beautiful like a ruby.

The duke, seeing Ashabel's excitement, thought she was just a naive child and didn't feel much affection.

'One day, Ashabel came to the duke, saying she had found a new gem.'

"Look, I've never seen such a clear and transparent gem. See, Duke!"

"It's the same color as your eyes, Duke!"

"…!"

Eli's eyes widened.

'That's right.'

What Ashabel found wasn't a gem but a holy stone.

Ordinary mana stones become mere rocks when their mana is depleted.

Thus, among the nobles, transformed mana stones were very popular.

They were useful and could be easily replaced when their value decreased.

There was nothing better for showing off wealth.

But the holy stone was different. It could be used infinitely once mana was infused.

Holy stones were only found in the most blessed lands, leading to many wars in the past.

'Now, all those lands are in the hands of the temples.'

In any case, the duke's family gained power equal to the temples due to the holy stone Ashabel found.

The duke, who had seen Ashabel as a thorn in his side, began to open up to her.

Ashabel claimed she found it by chance but never revealed where.

People said it was her strong holy power manifesting. Even as a reader, I thought so.

'But what if she really found it by chance?'

A place no one could find.

More accurately, a place people avoided.

'The red lake.'

Eli's gaze was fixed on the lake.

It might be an illusion. As Ace said, the lake might lure people to drown themselves.

Swallow.

Eli, staring at the lake, swallowed hard.

"Eli."

"…!"

At Damian's low call, Eli shivered.

It felt like waking up from a dream.

"Hey, you were about to go to the lake, right?"

Like a child caught stealing candy. Eli hid her flustered feelings and laughed.

"I promised not to do anything dangerous, remember?"

"Um..."

"..."

"It's not that... "

Eli laughed awkwardly and trailed off. Damian stared at her intently.

Damian was very innocent but could be persistent at times.

At such moments, he was like a cat with ears perked up, and no effort could change his mind.

Eli sighed deeply.

"I was just curious. I didn't even get close."

"It's dangerous."

"I know. That's why I only thought about it. Shall we head back now?"

"Okay."

Damian, returning to his gentle self, nodded.

They held hands and headed back to the duchy.

"We might get scolded for being out so long. What are you learning that takes so long?"

"The history of the empire, conversation, and the development of magical devices."

"Wow, that's a lot. Is it interesting?"

"Yep. It's amazing."

Eli changed the topic, and Damian naturally followed.

"Ancient people used magic to grow a lot of plants."

"Only plants?"

"Yep. There were no mana stone mines or magical devices back then."

"I see. But why plants?"

"Hmm..."

Casually agreeing, Damian recalled the lesson.

"Magic originated from nature."

"Oh, really?"

"Yep. Nothing absorbs mana better than life. So they infused mana into living things, like trees and flowers."

"Ah, I see. Trees and flowers..."

At that moment, Eli's body stiffened.

'So that's it.'

Trees.

Eli grabbed Damian's cheeks with both hands.

His cheeks, red from the cold, squished in her palms.

"That's it! That's it!"

"Umm...?"

"Trees! Trees! Why didn't I realize this before? Thank you, Damian. It's all thanks to you!"

Eli's eyes sparkled.

Damian, with his lips pouting, blinked.

Eli took