A familiar set of footsteps could be heard walking through the room, followed by the sound of curtains being drawn.

I was still asleep on my bed, wrapped in a thick blanket, with my eyes closed, but I could still feel the sunshine creeping in.

I slowly opened my eyes and immediately saw a masked man leaning on me.

"Good morning, Syrus."

"Good morning, Young Lord, and welcome back to the world of the awake. How are you feeling today?"

"I’m fine. I think."

I got out of my blanket and sat on the edge of my bed.

I stood up and instantly lost balance, I was about to fall over, but I was quickly picked up by Syrus.

"Thanks, Syrus. Why do I feel like I just awoke from a long coma? "

"Because you did, Young Lord." He said as he helped me sit back on the edge of the bed. "It’s been two days since that night. Lord Emilien has cast his magic on you, but he told us that all you need is a long, and good sleep. "

"That night?" I replied, unsure of which night he was referring to.

Suddenly, the memories of all of the events that occurred on my birthday came flooding back to me,

I recall fainting in front of Luke and Syrus in this same room.

And I also recall why.

I felt a chill run through my entire body.

"Are you okay?" He asked in an unusually concerned tone of voice.

"Yes... but more importantly, where is he? "

"Lord Luke went back to the castle the morning after that night."

I suppose I won’t see him again for a little while.

"I see."

"But I’m sure he's going to come back soon since he now has a valid reason to visit often."

"A valid reason?"

"Yes, a valid reason," Syrus stated in a tone that clearly stated that he had no intention of answering my question.

Okay, Syrus, can you get me something light to eat because I'm hungry and need to shower?

"I’m preparing that right away."

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

I and Syrus left my room and made our way to a terrasse of the castle where breakfast would be served.

The path to that terrasse felt longer than usual, given that I wasn’t really at the peak of my physical strength.

Soon after, a terrace with a large table and two individuals seated on it came into view.

"Just before the Young Lord interacts with Sir Mael, I'd want to point out that Sir Mael is unaware that the Young Lord has spent the last two days sleeping. We informed him that every year following his birthday, the Young Lord would go into seclusion for a few days to thank Djeem the accursed for having granted him another year of life."

I suppose they couldn't just tell him I'd slept for two straight days without explaining to him why.

And with Grandfather around, the "sickness" excuse fell flat.

But the excuse they came up with is just...

"Wasn’t there any better excuse? What if he thinks I’m a crazy religious fanatic?"

"It couldn't be helped; it was Lord Emilien's idea. All this humble butler could do was stand there and watch as things unfolded, "Syrus stated solemnly, placing his hand innocently against his chest. "

"Hmph... Is that so?" I said as we got closer and closer to the long table where Grandfather Emilien and Mael were seated.

"Ronandt !" Mael exclaimed in a way that reminded me of how someone might greet an old friend they hadn't seen in years.

"Good morning, Grandfather, and Mael."

"Good morning."

"Good morning, boy."

"I am deeply sorry if I have caused you any concern over the last two days; I should have forewarned you about that yearly ritual of mine."

"It’s nothing, but I was just a little bit surprised when I heard about it from Rufus. I didn’t expect you to be that pious. "

I cast a glance at Syrus, who quickly averted his gaze in response.

"I’m not that pious. Actually, that ritual is just a habit I’ve acquired over the years. Only faith can make greatness out of the great mess that I am."

"I see."

"So, boy, how did your seclusion go? Any good results? " asked my grandfather.

"Yes Grandfather, Thanks to my seclusion, I might haven’t found enlightenment yet, but I am now at peace with myself, " I said, slightly bowing my head.

"What are you two talking about?" Asked Mael, who couldn’t obviously follow the flow of our conversation.

"It’s nothing Mael... but more importantly, what is that noise? " I asked while pointing in the direction of the noise I was referring to.

This terrace provided an excellent above-ground view of the castle's backyard.

And ever since I stepped onto this terrace, I've been hearing a recurring shout from the backyard.

As I approached the terrace's edge, I could finally see the source of the recurrent yell.

"What is that…"

From where I stood, I could see a brown-red-haired girl my age swinging a red straight sword around like a madwoman in the castle backyard.

I wasn't a swordsman, but even I could tell she wasn't swinging her blade at random.

The grace with which she swung her blade was unexpected for someone her age and looks.

I could tell she was as skilled with her sword as I was with Martha and Olga.

If my memory serves me right, not far away from her were five young girls, and among them was the woman called "Leonore," if my memory serves me right.

"Surprised, aren’t you? Our little Ramia over there might be young, but she's already a talented adept with the sword. Impressive, isn’t it? "

Adept of the swords huh?

I would have bet my hand on it that she’s just adept at violence in general.

"Didn’t her father say that he would immediately take her back to their castle?" I asked.

"Yes, but my uncle changed his mind. He forbade her from returning to their castle until she personally and willingly apologized to you for what she had done."

"Oh, ~~ I see."

"You better get used to her, boy." Grandfather said with a smug grin

"Why is that ?"

"Because the day "she" would willingly apologize to you, will never come."

I see.

I cast a glance over at Syrus, who I could only imagine wearing a smug smile beneath his black mask.

I could finally understand what he meant earlier by "valid reason."

With her daughter here, Luke could now use that as an excuse for frequently visiting the castle.

I sat down with Grandfather Emilien and Mael for breakfast, with Ramia's recurrent yells as background music.

When we finished our breakfast, Mael and I headed to the library.

"Say, Mael, I've been trying to ask you since my birthday, but never got the opportunity to."

"What might it be?"

"You can use aina, right?"

"Yes, Who told you?"

"No one, I saw you use it when you stood up for me against Ramia."

"You could tell from that ?"

"Well, yes."

"I awakened it two years ago, I don't use it too much because I rarely need it in the first place. But it's a different story with Ramia; we both awakened our aina two years ago, but in her case, she uses it on a regular basis with her sword training session; generally, she doesn't use aina against normal people, but who knows what she's thinking of lately? I believe it would be best if you stayed as far away from her as possible, " he regretfully recommended.

It seems that Mael is among those who think that aina isn't that useful when you have magic.

In a way, I can understand why he thinks so. After all, he has been raised here with his grandfather, who can use magic whenever he wants to.

I'm sure I would've turned like him if the manor and the books in it weren't always that boring.

We had arrived at the library's door, entered, and immediately grabbed a book each, which we had put on hold since our last visit, and sat on a sofa, each in our own corner of the room.

After a little while, I ventured another question to Mael.

"Say, Mael, Have you ever thought about your magic? I mean, like, we were baptized to protect ourselves and others from our magic. But have you ever thought of what you would do if, even after your coronation, your magic would still somehow... hurt others? I'm aware that your magic would surely be healing magic, so what I’m saying now makes little to no sense. But I would like you to consider my question as something purely hypothetical."

Mael slowly closed the book he was reading and took a long pause before answering.

"Actually, our family's healing magic does always come along with something else. In my grandfather's and father's cases, it’s bone magic, and in mine, I was told that it would be blood magic, so hypothetically, yes, it would still be possible for me to harm someone or even myself without actually meaning it. "

"Grandfather has told me since a young age what my magic entails. We, the Edwards, who have been bestowed with the power to save and hurt others, must be more aware than anyone else of how easy it is to hurt others. I don’t know why you are asking this, but I understand your concern. I only have less than six months before my coronation and there are times when I feel like I’m not even ready for it, but as my grandfather always says, "Our power to produce mana distinguishes us from commoners, and our ability to harness our mana differentiates us from magical beasts." Mael said it in a manner reminiscent of Grandfather Emilien's.

"It’s all about control. Well, I say that, but all we can do at our level is to prepare ourselves; after all, the ten-year time between the baptismal and the coronation was reserved for that purpose. You still have a year till your coronation, so you still have plenty of time to think about it. There's no need to worry about it too much."

"I think you're right. Thanks for your insights," I remarked gratefully.

Mael seems to think that I am asking this because I just had my birthday the other day.

But it is as he said.

For the time being, all I can do is prepare for the day when I will regain access to my magic.

It's pointless to lament what's already been done; instead, I should focus on how to undo it in the future, or at the very least, prevent it from happening again.

I'm not sure if I really obtained sentience through my magic or not, but in either case, if I really want to find out, I’ll need to regain my access to magic.

I still despise the thought that I became who I am by stomping on someone else’s existence.

But I'm not going to despise myself for it.

No, I won’t.

I am Ronandt, the same one who was reared at Rosetta's manor by Maa, Syrus, and everyone else in the manor.

I won’t feel any regret about being who or what I’ve become.

Just like Ramia said, I won’t apologize for something I haven’t done on purpose.

What has been done is irreversible.

All I can do now is focus on the future and do everything I can to repair the damage I've caused and to prevent it from happening again.