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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Touching Is a Bit Troublesome
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Camilla's day began only in the deep night after the sun had set.
Except when she had personal lessons, she slept all day long and didn't leave her room until dawn, when everyone else was asleep.
She loved the sounds of the quiet night.
She cherished the undisturbed silence and the enveloping darkness that let her roam the world alone.
In the dead of night, Camilla walked alone through the pitch-black corridors of the mansion, just as always.
While humming a tune and savoring the darkness, something irritating caught her eye.
A thin beam of light leaked through the corridor amid the perfectly settled gloom.
That faint light clung to her vision like an uncleaned stain, utterly uncomfortable.
Camilla frowned and approached the source of the light.
It was the door to the room of the girl who had recently arrived at the mansion. A feeble glow seeped through the crack, as if she hadn't properly turned off the light.
She must have fallen asleep with the lamp still burning. Who was she to call others children while pulling this?
Camilla stood before the door with a merciless gaze and extended her hand.
From her fingertips, thin strands of mana stretched out like threads, silently easing the door open.
Camilla stepped forward to extinguish the light.
But in that instant, an unexpected sight met her eyes, and she reflexively pulled back.
She held her breath for a moment before creeping closer and peering through the door crack once more.
"Circuits... without any breaks, all in one go..."
Inside the room was the very girl who had annoyed her time and again.
The girl sat on a chair as tall as herself, staring intently at the open book on the desk while groaning in frustration.
Even as she clutched her head in agony, she kept scribbling relentlessly on a sheet of paper.
Papers of the same kind were scattered across the floor in countless heaps.
Black ink sprawled across them in tangled, intricate patterns.
At first glance, they resembled mana circuits—but they were such laughable scribbles that calling them that felt embarrassing.
They looked just like a child wildly scrawling across a page with a pen.
'...Studying magic?'
From the girl's intermittent mutterings, it was clearly something magic-related.
Had she been poring over magic books with the light on until this late into the night?
Camilla's sole thought upon witnessing the scene was this:
'Pathetic.'
She had known it from the very first glimpse.
The girl who had shown up claiming to be her older sister possessed a body utterly incapable of conjuring so much as a spark from her fingertips.
Even if, by some miracle, she managed to ignite a flame, it would amount to nothing more than cheap street tricks to draw children's attention.
And yet, she poured her time into it like this. What an inefficient, utterly pathetic waste.
"Adjust the flow... ugh... so hard..."
A pitiful sort, blindly chasing the impossible without knowing her place.
The girl who had popped up out of nowhere, pretending to be her older sister, was just one of that breed.
Camilla reaffirmed her resolve. There was no point in dealing with such a creature.
But why was this?
Even as she thought that, Camilla found herself staring through the crack for a long while.
"First... curve it like this..."
A mind so absorbed she hadn't even noticed the door creak open.
Disheveled hair, tousled as if yanked by her own hands a dozen times.
Tiny lips mumbling ceaselessly to herself.
Sky-blue eyes glued unblinkingly to the book, framed by eyelids faintly reddened.
"..."
Before the girl's solemn figure, utterly lost in her own world...
Camilla could do nothing but halt in her tracks before the door crack.
※
A street teeming with bustling crowds. It was the very same merchant district where she had tasted bitter failure the day before.
"Sierra, check this out."
I squared my shoulders proudly and rummaged through the stall planks and luggage bags. Soon, I pulled out my proud creation and offered it to Sierra.
"This is... the medicine you were selling yesterday?"
"Exactly. A little different now, right?"
Unlike the messy bundle of herbs from yesterday, the item now in Sierra's hands was an incense stick prettily wrapped in colorful petals.
"Not a single one sold yesterday. So I tinkered with it and made it like this."
The incense I originally crafted had been built up in layers from various ingredients, including silver flower herb.
But in my obsession with efficacy alone, I had completely overlooked the importance of presentation.
Maybe that sloppy appearance was why no one had given it a second glance.
"It does look much nicer now."
Sierra nodded as she examined it. Her approval brought an unconscious smile to my lips.
"Right? I put extra care into remaking them yesterday."
This time around, I hadn't stopped at merely stacking the materials.
I wrapped the outside in fragrant, vibrant petals and coated the ends with a special oil to make the scent last longer.
"Is that why you looked so tired... from preparing these?"
"Yeah. But hearing you say that makes it all worthwhile."
In truth, the real reason for my exhaustion was something else entirely, but I didn't want to burden Sierra with it.
"Today, they're definitely going to sell."
With steely determination, I unfurled the black cloth and draped it over the stall—a sign that business had begun.
I pulled the magic book from my luggage and spread it out on the desk.
To Sierra, who gazed at me with faintly pitying eyes, I flashed the brightest smile I could muster.
"It's not like that. I'm just reading to pass the time."
"...I see."
"Yeah. We have to stick around here forever anyway, right? You should bring a book next time too, Sierra."
"Hehe, I'll consider it."
Sierra's smile—something I'd never seen before—left me blinking in a daze.
That faint curve on her otherwise cool features was stunningly beautiful.
"Sierra, you look really pretty when you smile."
The words slipped out laced with genuine admiration. Sierra flinched for a split second, then coughed lightly and stepped back cautiously.
"Thank you."
Lips curved in a soft smile of my own, I delved into the magic book amid the lively clamor of the street.
Every so often, I lifted my head to scan the surroundings and gauge the crowd.
How much time passed like that? Maybe half an hour or so.
"Herbs good for sleep?"
A man with a finely groomed beard halted before my stall and asked.
My first customer. My eyes widened as I shot to my feet in a hurry.
"Yes! Use it before bed, and you'll wake up feeling refreshed in the morning."
"Price?"
"Fifty runes."
The man stroked his beard thoughtfully for a moment.
"Looks like the incense from imperial shops. What's better about this?"
"Give it a try. If you don't like it, just don't come back."
I met his gaze steadily without flinching.
Apparently taken with my boldness, the man fished five silver coins from his pocket and clinked them onto the table.
"Cheeky one. Might as well give it a shot."
"Thank you!"
He snatched up one of my creations and strode off without a backward glance.
Success.
Just one sold so far, but compared to yesterday, it was a monumental win.
And fifty runes in one go, no less!
The empire folk sure spent differently from the folks back in Binhel.
"...Miss."
A voice thick with chill emanated from behind me like a growl.
I whipped around with a shiver to find Sierra biting her lip, fingers toying with her dagger.
"Si-Sierra?"
"Shall I have permission to sever that wretch's arm?"
Her absurd words left me blinking in stunned silence.
"What?! What are you even saying?!"
"Daring to address you so casually..."
A crucial forgotten detail flashed through my mind.
Ah, right. I'm a noble now.
It had felt utterly natural after half a lifetime as an orphan, but clearly not to Sierra.
"N-No, it's fine! Today, I'm just a merchant."
"..."
"No one even knows I'm a noble. Really, it's okay."
The fact of my adoption into the count's family hadn't been publicly announced yet—just the paperwork and the records submitted in my stead.
Besides, the grand temple wouldn't go blabbing about a prestigious count household's private affairs.
"So it won't bring any shame to the family. Don't worry."
Not that anyone here would recognize my face anyway.
"It's not the family I'm worried about..."
After fumbling for words, Sierra let out a deep sigh and took a step back.
"...Very well. If that's your wish, Miss."
Thank goodness Sierra respected my decision.
"Anyway, Sierra—I already sold one!"
I puffed out my chest with pride.
"Changing up the look must've helped, huh? If I make them even prettier, maybe they'll sell like hotcakes."
Sierra watched quietly as I rattled on.
"I'm confident in the effects, so once word gets around, I could jack up the price... or put even more care into the packaging—"
That was the moment.
Sierra's hand gently alighted atop my head.
A shiver raced from my toes straight to the crown of my skull.
"Eek...!"
Startled, I recoiled a full step backward.
Only then did Sierra yank her hand back with a look of dismay.
"I've committed a mortal sin, Miss. I couldn't help myself..."
"N-No! It's not a sin at all—don't say that."
I cradled the spot on my head where her hand had touched with both palms, ducked my head, and murmured hesitantly.
"St-Still... it's a bit troublesome if you touch me like that."
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