I Raised the Villain's Daughter Too Well-Chapter 21: Didn’t Know! -

-Clang!

With a simple thrust, the compass shattered, falling to the ground as a heap of useless scrap.

"..."

The mage stared blankly at his destroyed compass for a moment, then his face twisted with fury.

"You son of a—! What the hell do you think you're—"

But his words didn't finish.

In an instant, the mage was enveloped in a burst of light and vanished without a trace from the mountains.

So that’s how it works.

"Hup!"

The brute was faster than he looked. In two strides, he closed the distance, throwing a punch without a second's hesitation.

His target wasn’t me. His judgment was spot-on.

- Clang!

The hilt of my sword was struck, sending it spinning into the air.

It would take about three seconds to fall.

For a trained martial artist, that was more than enough time to crush four men to death.

But—

- Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

"Hmm..."

None of his punches connected.

All seven strikes whistled through empty air, and in that brief moment, I caught my falling sword.

The brute narrowed his eyes, immediately retreating.

I steadied my stance, anticipating a follow-up attack, but the brute just sighed deeply.

"Enough."

"Why? That hide of yours was designed to kill swordsmen, wasn’t it?"

"...How did you know that?"

The brute lowered his fist, a bitter smile forming on his face.

"It was obvious. You invested quite a bit into it, didn’t you?"

The brute’s skin, which I had felt when his punch grazed me, had a texture that was more like treated leather than flesh. It was altered to the point where blades couldn’t easily pierce it.

It was no longer skin. He had clearly gone through extreme treatments to eliminate a martial artist’s greatest weakness – weapons.

"I haven’t learned how to break a holy knight’s martial arts yet. Where did you learn it?"

"I was ten, I think. Got into a fight with a lion barehanded. Had to learn some first-rate martial arts to deal with that beast, so I called in a holy knight for lessons. After that, I kept practicing because it came in handy more often than you'd think."

"I see... You must've been a slave."

"Uh..."

The brute nodded as if it all made sense.

...Well, not exactly.

Then again, considering the circumstances back then, it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Taking my silence as confirmation, the brute looked at me with a somewhat pitiful expression.

"You were a gladiator since the age of ten? That explains your versatility."

"No, I wasn’t a slave—"

"I don’t like fighting battles I can’t win."

- Crunch.

The brute picked up his compass and crushed it himself.

"This test, you, the witch – if I can’t beat any of them, maybe I've been underestimating the world..."

With a final, exhausted statement, he too was engulfed in light and vanished.

"..."

He said his piece and just left.

Things had gotten easier, but now an awkward silence hung in the air.

Arin was the one to break it.

"...Why did you help me?"

"Hmm..."

I carefully analyzed her tone and words to grasp the underlying meaning.

But I couldn’t read her at all.

Her voice was flat, her tone calm, her expression void of emotion.

It was as if she had just said, "Oh, by the way, dinner last night was stewed potatoes," with no real significance.

"I wanted to ask you for a favor. Right now, I'm being hunted by some psychotic sorcerer..."

"Not that."

"Then what?"

"You knew I was a witch from the beginning. So why did you help a witch?"

Ah, she was talking about when I offered her a ride.

"Because you were a mage. You had to have known. What do you want from me?"

"No, you’re not a witch. I just told you that."

"..."

Arin looked at me with a gaze that clearly conveyed disbelief.

I was starting to get irritated, so I decided to spell it out for her.

"Listen carefully. Can you use magic?"

"Yes. This heat I’m emitting, too."

"Bullshit."

"...?"

Arin’s eyes trembled slightly at my sudden profanity.

But I was the one who was pissed off.

She thinks she can use magic?

Does she think magic is a joke? Ninety percent of humanity can’t even sense mana, much less grasp the concept of mana flow.

Magic is a high-level technique reserved for the chosen few.

I had to borrow money against my salary and stay up for weeks to finally cast my first spell.

"Listen up. Do you know the difference between mana and magical energy? Mana flows through nature. When a human takes control of it, it becomes magical energy. That flow of magical energy is what creates the phenomenon we call magic. Did you know that?"

"N-No."

"And yet you call yourself a witch? You think magic is easy?"

From the perspective of someone who was actually "chosen," her delusions were laughable.

"Listen carefully. What you’re using isn’t magic. It’s just some bizarre, inexplicable ability you were born with. It’s more of a physical trait – like how a yeti has a keen sense of smell and a mole has terrible eyesight. It’s just something your body can do naturally."

"..."

"You’re not a mage. You’re not a witch either. If anything, what you are is probably worse than a witch."

"..."

"As for why I gave you a ride? Honestly, I was curious. I thought you might be part of an assassin group. Since you said you wanted to take the test, I wanted to make sure you weren’t trying to sabotage it. But you’re way too dumb for that. Satisfied?"

"...So I’m not a witch?"

"Nope. But that’s not necessarily a good thing. What you are is probably worse. Frankly, it’s making me itch to exterminate you. If we run into each other at the Academy, don’t talk to me. Got it?"

Arin blinked at me, her expression blank.

Still couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

"So, let me ask you this. Are you going to help me? Whatever you are, I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated."

"..."

This time, Arin’s silence lasted a bit longer.

But eventually, she gave a very slight nod.

"...Okay."

Looks like we’ve come to an agreement.

I nodded and asked,

"Alright. So, what can you do?"

"I don’t know."

"How about taking off all your clothes, covering yourself in yeti blood, and running around naked?"

"Hmm..."

Arin thought it over for a moment, then replied,

"No."

Damn. I was half hoping she’d say yes.

I drew my sword and hurled it forward into the blinding blizzard.

- Groooar!

A heavy thud echoed, and I guided Arin towards the source of the sound.

As expected, a yeti lay sprawled on the ground.

I was getting sick of them.

I pulled my sword from the yeti’s neck and flipped the corpse over.

"Ever seen anything like this before?"

"No."

"Tsk. Guess they’re targeting me specifically."

"Hmm..."

Arin knelt down and examined the corpse.

"It’s strange. The eyes are red, the skin is hot. It’s like it’s lost its mind."

"Its physical abilities have also improved. Normally, they’d never be able to track my scent, but now they’re following me relentlessly. About two every five minutes."

"So, we just kill them?"

"It’s endless. Someone is sending them."

"Who?"

I grabbed Arin by the back of her neck and flashed a wicked grin.

"From now on, you're going to find them."

****

Maclaine was prepared.

If it was for the head of Seriratus, he was prepared to lay down his life.

Naturally, ensuring Firnea’s safety was his top priority—

But maintaining her mood was also part of his duties.

- Bang, bang, bang, bang...

...That last part had become more difficult ever since the head butler left.

"Uh, M-My Lady."

"Yes?"

Maclaine, uncharacteristically, spoke with a slight stammer, but Firnea was surprisingly calm.

Her expression and tone remained indifferent as she handled paperwork, all while 'assembling a puzzle' on the back table.

Thousands of puzzle pieces assembled and disassembled in rapid succession, just outside her line of sight.

...Maclaine was so shocked that he forgot what he was supposed to say.

‘I knew the young lady was talented, but...’

Not to this extent.

Telekinesis was simple, weak magic.

It allowed a magician to apply force to distant objects, but naturally, it was limited.

Even the greatest archmage couldn’t use telekinesis to interfere directly with another person.

At most, they could hurl heavy objects using a massive amount of mana.

But Firnea’s precise mana control shattered that logic completely.

Recognizing the shape of each puzzle piece, conveying that information to the mage, and then reconstructing the puzzle based on that memory...

If that was possible...

If an enemy entered her field of vision, she could theoretically strangle them to death instantly.

Could that even be considered combat?

Choosing the option to instantly kill an enemy every minute, every second?

And ever since Virdem had given her that mysterious pendant, her mana had never once been depleted.

Firnea’s growth was something to celebrate.

Maclaine genuinely felt both pride and awe.

But as a martial artist, his instincts were on high alert.

- She had surpassed common sense.

‘...Idiot.’

But Maclaine scolded himself and knelt down.

Because before his young lady was a magic-wielding monster beyond reason, she was still just a girl who had lost her emotions. novelbuddy.cσ๓

Firnea continued working without smiling, without crying, without getting angry.

There wasn’t a trace of emotion on her face.

Only Virdem was unaware of this.

Whenever he left for work or missions, Firnea always became like this.

- All of her emotions existed solely for one person.

‘Not fit to be the head butler.’

Maclaine smiled bitterly yet also felt relieved.

At the very least, there was still one person—

One person who could make her smile, cry, and get angry.

"What are you here for?"

Firnea asked without looking at the kneeling Maclaine.

The fact that she was even responding at all was because it was Maclaine.

Normally, she would ignore anyone who tried to speak to her.

"I’ve brought something you might want, My Lady, using the connections in the capital."

"What is it?"

"A viewing orb showing Virdem’s exam."

Maclaine had gone through considerable trouble to obtain it.

But it was worth it.

"...Oh, um? I don’t need that. He’ll do fine. He’s my butler, after all."

The transformation was dramatic.

Her previously unfocused eyes instantly became the eyes of a noble heiress, the telekinesis dissipated, scattering the puzzle pieces, and her rigid posture relaxed as she crossed her legs in a way that wasn’t particularly ladylike.

Firnea forced her lips into a slight pout while stealing glances at the viewing orb.

"Shall I put it away, then?"

"N-No!... Not that I really want to see it, but... you went through all that trouble, so..."

Maclaine gently smiled and activated the viewing orb.

Inside—

"..."

"What? What is it? What’s happening?"

Firnea pressed as Maclaine’s expression instantly stiffened.

"I want to see too. Let me have it."

"...M-My Lady. The viewing orb appears to be broken. My apologies."

Maclaine lied, betraying his duty as a butler.

But there was no way a politically trained Firnea would fall for such a poor excuse from a novice liar who had only ever spoken the truth in his life.

"..."

Firnea’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Maclaine.

At the same time, the viewing orb floated up and slipped out of Maclaine’s hands.

Maclaine panicked and tried to stop her.

"My Lady! It’s °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° really broken. You mustn’t look at it!"

"What the hell is going on...?"

Firnea examined the orb—and froze.

Inside the orb, Virdem was in the middle of the snowstorm, having created a small safety zone using a snow barrier.

There was also a small female participant with him.

And.

Virdem was taking off his clothes.

"..."

Maclaine watched as Firnea’s expression gradually drained of all emotion.

And at that moment, he seriously considered running away.