Chapter 60: The Future

“What should I do?”

During the time it took to brew the medicine, Rubia’s complexion, which had slightly recovered, turned pale once more.

There was no time to lose.

“Sherry, slowly pour the potion into her mouth.”

“I understand.”

Sherry slowly poured the potion along Rubia’s lips while Anis used her mana to guide the liquid, ensuring it did not flow into the windpipe.

She closed her eyes and began the final one percent of the treatment.

The high-purity Mana Stabilizing Potion flowed through the heart and entered the Mana Circuits within her body.

It was a mess, like a dilapidated old house.

Through her perception of the Mana Circuits, Anis felt that Rubia’s body was even lighter than she remembered. After being eroded by mana for so long, only her skeleton and willpower remained.

All the physicians in the mansion stood against the walls, carefully observing Anis’s every move. They did not dare to step closer, nor did they dare to breathe heavily.

This was because it was also the first time they had seen such a bold treatment method.

A slight deviation, and Rubia would never return.

Anis steadied her breathing, refusing to let herself get nervous, while confirming the direction of the chaotic mana flow inside Rubia.

It was like a forcibly twisted riverbed, repeatedly crashing against the circuits that should have flowed smoothly, constantly tearing new gaps in itself.

‘It isn’t a blockage,’ she whispered. ‘It’s structural displacement.’

If it were just a blockage, it could be cleared using the Mana Stabilizing Potion.

But if it were structural displacement, it meant the entire circuit had to be redrawn.

A minor surgery had turned into a major one.

In the setting of this world’s humans, the Mana Circuits within a Magician were equivalent to vital organs. Once destroyed, even life itself could be erased.

But Anis had no way back. If she did not attempt to reconstruct the Princess’s Mana Circuits, she would surely die.

Anis released the Magic Array she had prepared in her Magic Wand. When the array activated, there was no dazzling light.

There was only a circle of extremely fine white symbols rising from the ground, like a translucent skeleton, wrapping around Rubia’s entire body.

Anis raised her hand and began an even bolder attempt.

She turned her mana into threads as fine as spider silk, beginning to unfold the mana within her own body in the form of a canvas.

At the same time, she constructed new Mana Circuits in the air.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. The difficulty of this was no less than redrawing the capillaries within a human body.

One wrong step could lead to irreparable consequences.

‘Mana doesn’t have to flow according to bloodline; it just needs to be a closed loop.’

Anis spoke softly, as if cheering herself on, explaining to the physicians, and correcting the concept for the entire world.

The new circuits were formed section by section, pressing close to the original mana system in Rubia’s body and beginning to replace them one by one.

The originally chaotic mana flow began to be guided. At first, they resisted violently, tearing like wild beasts.

But Anis only frowned slightly, continuing to strengthen her control and recalculate the paths.

She took a deep breath, visualizing the model she had derived countless times in her cage.

‘If mana is viewed as a fluid.’

‘If circuits are viewed as pipes.’

‘If life is allowed to be rewired.’

‘Then theoretically, a 100% stable state can exist.’

Now, she was going to insert that figure into reality.

The light of the array began to stabilize.

Rubia’s hurried breathing began to slow, and the expression on her face slowly relaxed.

The mana within her no longer crashed against the original damaged circuits but instead began to circulate along the new structure.

Once, and then again.

Anis cleared the mist and gradually saw the truth behind the mana disorder.

It was a thing made of mana, shaped like a blob, appearing to have a self-awareness of its own.

That was it.

It was constantly tearing and destroying the previous Mana Circuits, knotting and tangling them.

A second one, then a third.

More and more little blobs appeared from her original Mana Circuits, only to be removed by Anis section by section.

By the time all the Mana Circuits were reconstructed, Rubia’s breathing synchronized with the mana in her body for the first time.

The physicians’ eyes widened. Anyone could see that this was a phenomenon that had never been recorded.

Reconstructing Mana Circuits—what a bold idea!

Anis’s hands began to shake slightly; she had succeeded.

Now, only the final step remained.

She looked up at the replaced Mana Circuits on the array.

She extracted and stripped the various mana elements within them before reinjecting them.

In this way, Rubia became a Witch once again.

Those mysterious, blob-like things began to wither and dissipate as they lost their supply of mana.

It was over.

At the same time, Rubia’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Anis could feel her body adapting to the new Mana Circuits, performing self-regulation.

This meant that Rubia’s consciousness had retaken control of her body.

She slowly opened her eyes.

At first, it was just a slit.

When the light pierced her vision, she even subconsciously raised her hand to block it.

“I…”

The voice was very soft, yet clear.

Sherry and Cybelle cried out, “Princess, are you alright?”

Rubia’s gaze slowly focused.

She saw the Magic Array in front of her, then saw Sherry and Cybelle surrounding her.

Finally, she saw Anis wiping her sweat nearby.

She blinked, looked at Anis, and softly called her name. “Anis?”

“It is me, Princess. How do you feel?”

“I feel as if I had a very deep dream, but I cannot describe it clearly.”

Under the shocked gazes of everyone, she rose from the bed and looked at her hands.

Several colors of mana swirled in her palms, strong and stable.

No matter how she looked at it, Rubia could not believe she was truly healed.

Her feet slowly stepped onto the cold floor. Like an infant who had just learned to walk, she slowly took a step forward.

Then, a light shimmered in the corners of her eyes.

“Princess Rubia.”

Anis watched Rubia walking toward her and was the first to make a startling move.

She pressed her right hand to her chest and knelt on one knee. Her entire being radiated two words: loyalty.

“Princess Rubia, Anis Flenst is willing to be your sword. From this day forward, I will protect you by your side.”

‘If I want to obtain complete freedom, Rubia is the best springboard. Use the knowledge in my head to help her reclaim the throne, then ask for freedom as my reward.’

‘Perfect!’

Her kneel was like a butterfly effect; Sherry and Cybelle were the next to kneel on one knee behind her to swear their loyalty.

Following them were the physicians standing by the wall.

Then it was the maids at the door, and then the guards maintaining security.

Everyone in the entire mansion swore their loyalty to Rubia.

“You all… thank you.”

Rubia wiped the corner of her eye.

“Princess Rubia, from now on, this place will be your administrative center. I guarantee in the name of Sherry Flenst that the Flenst Family will support you with all our strength.”

“Princess Rubia, you are the only hope for the Kingdom. This country needs you to save it. I am willing to be your personal guard, becoming your most loyal and solid shield.”

“There is no need for such formality. Please, rise.”

Rubia knelt down and pulled the two of them up from the floor. “I am very moved. Even after being away from the Kingdom for so many years, there are still so many people willing to follow me.”

“Thank you.”

Rubia took a step back and bowed to everyone.

—

One hour later, Rubia, Cybelle, Anis, and Sherry arrived in the study together.

Anis personally set up multiple layers of protection and defensive magic to ensure that no information would leak out.

This was because the things they were about to discuss were several matters of great importance—matters that could change the entire Kingdom.

“Princess, I will get straight to the conclusion,” Sherry said, cutting to the chase. “Before you arrived here, many unfortunate things did indeed happen. However, I have handled all of them and bought a certain amount of precious time for you. We must seize every second and utilize it to the fullest.”

“In the short term, no one will visit this place, and no one will realize you are here.”

“Thank you.” Rubia nodded. “The family matters will still be handled by Lady Sherry; I will not overstep my bounds.”

“There is one more thing, Princess,” Anis added from the side. “Your body has just recovered and is still weak. During this time, I will continue to refine potions to condition your body. Please take them on time.”

“I shall trouble Lady Anis then.”

Rubia’s way of addressing them had also changed. Everyone sitting here was a person of importance who could change the future.

“Cybelle, will it be alright for you to serve the three of us starting today?”

Sherry looked at Cybelle, who refused to sit down and stood a certain distance away, being perfectly respectful.

“Setting Anis and me aside for now, the Princess is the priority for protection. You must stay by her side at all times.”

“I…”

Cybelle hesitated. She naturally understood the hidden meaning in Lady Sherry’s words.

Furthermore, serving three masters by herself would indeed leave her stretched thin, especially since one of them was Rubia!

As time went on, her energy consumption would only become more severe.

“Actually, even for me, serving three people at once is quite difficult. Please allow me to be only Princess Rubia’s personal guard and maid. I am sorry.”

“Yes, that’s fine.” Sherry nodded slightly in understanding. “I also need a maid who can assist me without being distracted by other things. Plus, Anis also needs someone to serve her. But in that case, we will have to recruit… two more?”

“No, actually, just one person is fine. I can take care of myself.”

Anis had lived that way in her previous life; whether the task was big or small, she completed it independently. Having no one to take care of her was actually more liberating.

“Oh—that’s true. Since Anis lives with me, I can take care of her. Hehe.”

“Don’t say such strange things in front of Princess Rubia!”

Anis glared at her with a red face, causing the other two to cover their mouths and laugh.

“Ahem, no more joking. In any case, we need to recruit one more person. She will also become one of the core personnel in contact with Princess Rubia, so I must consider it carefully.”

This made Sherry a bit troubled. Who would be suitable?

Should she go to the orphanage to adopt another sister?

“Actually, I have a suitable person in mind.”

Right then, Anis spoke up first. “She might be a bit naughty, but I guarantee she is absolutely safe.”

“Who?”

Anis pursed her lips and did not answer, but she looked as if she were stifling a laugh as she rose from her chair.

“Wait for me a moment.”

A few minutes later, Anis returned.

Coming along with her was the kitty huddled in her arms.

“Let me introduce her to Princess Rubia. This is Xia Mi. She is a Cat-girl I am raising.”

“A Cat-girl? You mean a Cat-kin?”

The knowledgeable Rubia naturally understood Anis’s implication. “But she is just a cat?”

“Miss Xia Mi, say hello to Princess Rubia.”

Anis fed some crushed crystals containing natural energy into the cat’s mouth. The latter sniffed them and crunched them down.

“Blegh! So bitter!”

The voice coming from the cat gave everyone present a fright!

“Miss Xia Mi, this is Princess Rubia. From now on, you must protect her safety, understood?”

“I know, Master—”

Xiao Mi gave a meow in Anis’s arms.

“Also, starting today, you are Lady Sherry’s personal maid.”

“Awoo!”

Upon hearing this news, Xiao Mi’s face was full of resistance. “Why!”

“Can I refuse?”

Sherry also had a dark expression on her face. What could this useless cat, who only wanted to huddle in Anis’s arms and sleep, possibly do!

“But from a safety perspective, Xia Mi is the most suitable candidate, isn’t she? And with Cybelle to guide her in her work, there is no need to worry about her professional ability.”

Anis’s analysis was logical and well-founded. She simultaneously looked at Rubia. “Princess, from the perspective of safety and secrecy, the Cat-girl Xia Mi is an absolutely suitable person.”

“Hmm… what you say is very true.”

After a moment of contemplation, Rubia looked at Sherry. “I feel the same way. Perhaps Lady Sherry might have some friction with this… Miss Xia Mi, but we can slowly mediate for you, can’t we?”

“This… fine then.”

Since Rubia had spoken, Sherry had no way to rebut.

However, she still gave Anis a dissatisfied glare. Seeing Anis’s triumphant smile, Sherry understood instantly!

‘Oh, I see. So that’s your plan!’

“Hmph!”

“Then there is one more question. Miss Xia Mi is only a cat. What must she do to become a Cat-kin girl?”

Rubia looked at Anis again, but the latter only gave a soft smile.

“That is simple. Just leave it to me.”