“We’ll settle this in a month—right here. Just call my name then. Ah, by the way, you’re not going to chicken out, are you~?”
Semilis taunted Hulim with a provocative look.
“I’ll definitely be here. But Semilis, don’t let yourself get scared off!”
At those fierce words, Semilis burst into laughter as if she’d heard the funniest joke, clutching her stomach and rolling around in the air.
Hulim’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment as she turned away angrily.
Not long after she left, a voice came from far behind.
“Remember, it’s magic of seven different attributes—don’t get it wrong! Little~!ba~! by~!”
Then came another round of laughter.
Hulim quickened her pace.…The sky gradually dyed itself a rosy red.
Hulim’s small figure appeared at the doorstep of the Hayeral family estate.
“You’re home late today; your father nearly went looking for you.”
Leizerian at the door let out a relieved breath upon seeing Hulim return, then quickly noticed her daughter’s unsettled expression.
“What’s wrong, Hulim? Did something happen?”
Hulim was about to tell her father about what had happened today, but the thought of that mocking face made her grow angry again.
“It’s nothing serious, Father. Just an annoying person I met. By the way, Father, do we have any magic books at home?”
“Magic books? Let me think… yes, they’re in my study, on the left bookshelf, there are books about magic…”
“Thank you, Father.”
Before Leizerian could finish, Hulim headed inside.
Watching her daughter’s quick footsteps disappear inside, Leizerian stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Did she quarrel with her friends?”
In Leizerian’s eyes, anyone a child that young would call annoying was definitely a peer.
“Oh, right, how many words can Hulim read now…”Looking around the now-empty courtyard, Leizerian shook his head.
“I’ll ask her at dinner.”
Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest outside Mente Town.
“Achoo!”A fairy with an angelic face rubbed her nose.
“Strange, I feel like someone’s being disrespectful to me? Whatever, I’ll punish him by making him fall off his chair later.”…Hayeral family study room.
Hulim dragged a stool to the left bookshelf.
“This one’s not it, nor this one, this one… got it!”Just as Hulim was about to pull out a magic book.
“Hulim.”
A voice called from outside the study—it was Amen.
“Time for dinner.”
Hulim’s small hand froze mid-air; she glanced at the sky outside, which was already growing dim.
She hesitated for a moment.
Though a lower-ranked noble family in the countryside, the Hayeral family, as a rare hereditary knight family, still adhered to proper noble etiquette.
According to the rules, young noble children had to stop their activities after dinner and prepare for bed on regular days.
“Hulim?”
At that moment, her mother Lilia’s voice came from outside.
“Ugh,”Hulim sighed.
“I’ll come back to it tomorrow.”
She withdrew her hand from the magic book.
“I’m coming right now, Mother!”
After answering from inside the study, Hulim wiped the stool clean and put it back.
Then she opened the study door and walked out.
For some reason, as she stepped out, she felt a sudden lightness in her heart, as if the urgent tension built up from anger was slowly dissipating.
She paused and looked back thoughtfully at the study.
There, she seemed to see a familiar figure sulking with someone—and then she understood.
That wasn’t right; magic wasn’t something to be sulky about.
Standing quietly for a moment, Hulim gently closed the study door.
It was only much later that Hulim realized, under her mother’s call, her heart had accidentally experienced a moment of growth.
From then on, she rarely let her emotions control her, enabling her to overcome crisis after crisis.…Dinner time.
At the Hayeral family dining table, the whole family sat down for pre-meal prayer.
The long rectangular table had the current family head, Leizerian, sitting at the top seat.
The Hayeral Knight.
On the left side, from top to bottom, sat Leizerian’s wife Lilia, third daughter Luti, and the twins—fifth and sixth daughters Lumia and Lucia.
On the right side, from top to bottom, sat second son Reed, fourth son Amen, and youngest daughter Hulim.
The eldest son Zieg should have occupied the first seat on the right, but since he was attending the Imperial Knights Academy for further studies, everyone else shifted forward one seat.
The seat directly opposite was typically reserved for guests; family members did not sit there.
Besides the Hayeral family, there was the middle-aged steward Laurenzt in his forties, the elderly housekeeper Mrs. Yeg, and the maid Jessica, who came from a local Mente Town inn family.
Because her family’s inn didn’t need so many staff, she came to work for the Hayeral family as a maid.
Her excellent cooking skills earned her extra pay from Leizerian to also serve as the cook, saving the cost of hiring a separate chef.
Typically, servants did not dine with their masters; they ate separately after the family finished.
Even just this servant arrangement, in a common imperial household, would clearly be an upper-class setup.
But in reality, even the lowest Hayeral family were still nobles.
Their household was truly modest, undeniably countryside nobility.
“…May the blessings of the Six Gods be with us.”
With the prayer finished, Leizerian opened his eyes and lowered his hands.
“May the blessings of the Six Gods be with us.”
Everyone else ended their prayers in unison.
When Hulim lowered her hands, an odd feeling stirred within her.
After all, the prayers she had recited before were just a popular folk custom.
No one took them seriously, and whether she did them or not made no difference.
However……this was the real blessing, wasn’t it?
“Hulim, what’s wrong? Don’t you have an appetite?”
Leizerian asked with concern, noticing his youngest daughter had not moved.
“It’s nothing, Father.”
Hulim shook her head, then took the spoon before her, scooping up a mouthful of porridge.
Mmm, the taste was lightly sweet and refreshing, made with her favorite Bobom powder.
Besides the porridge, her plate held a portion of Gudong stewed chicken, a slice of honey-glazed bread, and a quarter of a sliced Luoxia fruit.
Others had similar dinners, with only the portions differing.
Seeing her daughter begin to eat, Leizerian resumed stirring his food, but thoughts churned within.
He wanted to ask Hulim what had happened during the day, but she seemed still sulking with her friends.
Bringing it up now would only worsen her mood.
But as her father, what should he do?
Should he go talk to the other party?
Hmm… but adults meddling in children’s affairs felt awkward.
“My dear, has Zieg written any letters recently?”
At that moment, Lilia suddenly spoke, breaking Leizerian’s thoughts.
Leizerian replied, “No letters yet. Didn’t he say last month that he’d be attending a field training? He won’t be in touch for a while.”
“Not over yet? I thought a month would be enough.”
“Heh, not nearly that fast. When I did field training, I spent over half a year in the wilderness. When I returned, I was almost a wild man!”
Leizerian chuckled, happily reminiscing about his youth, temporarily forgetting his worries about Hulim.