“I’ve been curious about something for a while. Can you tell me how you managed to kidnap me?”

Faced with Ruby’s unexpected request, I hesitated for a moment, but soon decided to reveal everything.

I was planning to disclose my ability someday anyway.

The problem was that I didn’t know much about it myself.

After a brief hesitation, I finally opened my mouth.

“I was able to kidnap Ruby thanks to my ability. To be honest, I don’t really understand it well since it suddenly appeared one day.”

“Ability?”

“Yeah, I’ll just show you directly. It’ll be faster for you to understand that way.”

As I immediately activated my ability, a mysterious energy spread throughout my body, and power began to overflow.

“Vivi, your eyes…”

“They changed color, right? To gold? But that’s not all.”

I effortlessly lifted the sofa I had been sitting on with one hand.

“I become this strong.”

After carefully putting down the sofa, I went out and picked a flower blooming outside the mansion, then returned.

Despite moving a long distance, barely a second had passed.

“And I can move this fast.”

Ludovica’s pupils dilated more than usual, as if she immediately realized that the flower I brought was from outside the mansion.

Like a scholar discovering a fascinating phenomenon, Ruby’s eyes shone so brightly they were almost dazzling.

“What? How did you get this power? Is it magic? No, it can’t be.”

Unlike her usual self, she bombarded me with numerous questions. But unfortunately, I couldn’t answer any of them.

“I wish I could explain everything, but I don’t know anything. Two years ago, I fell from a carriage and hit my head, and suddenly gained this ability after that.”

At that time, I not only gained this ability but also memories of my past life, but I guess it’s better not to mention that…? It might cause unnecessary confusion.

Even though it was natural to hide things about the original story and my past life, I felt strangely guilty.

“Vivi, grip my hand tightly.”

Following Ruby’s words, I gripped her hand as instructed.

Worried about possibly breaking her bones, I didn’t squeeze too hard.

“Now try again after deactivating your ability.”

Without the ability, I gripped her hand with all my might, exerting as much strength as I could.

Ruby then fell into deep thought, as if she had witnessed an unbelievable sight.

The man standing beside her, Dietrich, was also lost in contemplation.

‘Wait, Dietrich?’

I turned to look at him standing next to Ruby, startled.

“What? How long have you been there?”

“Hm? I’ve been here from the start.”

From the start? Does that mean he heard everything I said?

As I widened my eyes, Dietrich added an explanation with a faint smile.

“I’ve been here since Lady Vivian was sobbing.”

What, so he really was here from the beginning…

I must have been so out of it earlier that I didn’t even notice Dietrich was there.

‘I shouldn’t have cried…’

But in a way, it was fortunate.

‘If someone else had overheard, ugh. I don’t even want to imagine that.’

I was planning to tell him about my ability someday anyway, so it just happened sooner than expected.

“By the way, I didn’t know Lady Vivian’s power worked like that. It seems we need to investigate further.”

Ruby nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of anything like this.”

“Is it really that surprising? Isn’t it just something like magic?”

Ruby frowned at my words.

“No, it’s definitely not magic. Vivi has a constitution that absolutely cannot use magic.”

“Huh? There’s such a constitution? Can’t anyone use magic if they use a magic stone, even if they have low mana?”

“Give me your hand again.”

I obediently placed my hand on top of Ruby’s, and she closed her eyes.

Judging by her expression, she seemed to be doing something.

“You don’t feel anything?”

“No.”

It was true. I couldn’t feel anything at all.

“It’s true that you can use magic with a magic stone. Most people have at least a tiny amount of mana in their bodies. But Vivi, you don’t have a low level of mana – you have none at all. You could never use magic, not even if you were reborn.”

“Not even a little?”

“None.”

“No, really, not even a tiny bit?”

“I’m telling you, there’s nothing.”

Was I really that lacking in magical talent…?

Ruby was just explaining, but somehow I felt embarrassed.

“The problem is, if it’s not magic, the source of the power can’t be explained.”

As Ludovica muttered softly to herself, Dietrich interjected.

“…Could it be divine power?”

“Divine power?”

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar term.

“Long ago, when gods still existed, it’s said that chosen humans could use something called divine power. If it’s not mana, it might be that power – just a simple conjecture.”

“It’s been hundreds of years since the gods disappeared. That possibility seems unlikely.”

The two engaged in a serious discussion for a while.

I sat quietly waiting for some time, but unfortunately, they couldn’t reach any conclusion.

“Anyway Vivi, I’ll teach you how to fight monsters.”

“That’s great. Thank you!”

“We need to prepare training monsters, so we’ll start in earnest tomorrow.”

I nodded enthusiastically at the schedule set sooner than expected. I’m glad I asked Ruby after all.

“Then I’ll visit the mansion again tomorrow. Should I come around this time?”

As I was gathering my things to leave, Ruby stopped me.

“What is our Vivi saying?”

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you say you’d grant all my wishes? Stay here.”

What? Stay here?

“No, no. I can’t impose on you like that.”

“Vivi.”

Ruby spoke with more force than usual, and I broke out in a cold sweat.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but her face seemed to be saying, ‘Are you disobeying me?’

Overwhelmed by that intimidating aura, I couldn’t utter a word and was swept along at Ruby’s pace.

And so, my unexpected life at the Belvedere ducal residence began.

“Now, this is what Vivi will be facing today.”

In the dim light of dawn.

I looked in the direction Ruby pointed as she called me to the training ground. There was a very small monster there.

Trapped behind dense iron bars, it looked similar to an insect, but dozens of bright red eyes embedded along its body made it look extremely creepy.

I immediately felt intimidated by its hideous appearance.

“The lesson method is simple. We start with very weak monsters and increase the difficulty day by day as you defeat them.”

“Okay. I got it.”

“Then let’s begin right away.”

Ruby took a key out of her pocket and was about to open the cage door.

Startled by her sudden action, I grabbed her arm.

“Wait a minute!”

“Why?”

She looked as if she had no idea what the problem was.

I widened my eyes in disbelief and asked her.

“What about the, the lesson?”

“What lesson?”

“…Huh?”

“…Yes?”

“Oh, you know. Things like explaining the monster’s weaknesses, or how to fight monsters. That kind of thing!”

I waved my hands enthusiastically as I explained, but Ruby still looked puzzled.

So the reason I’m acting like this is…

‘I haven’t learned anything!’

I thought I should learn some know-how to fight monsters, but Ruby’s lesson had none of that.

Suddenly telling me to fight a monster when I can’t do anything!

I was sweating profusely when Ruby seemed to realize something and let out a small sigh.

“Ah, you want me to demonstrate?”

Happy that we finally understood each other, I nodded vigorously.

Ruby ordered a nearby knight to bring another monster.

In less than a minute, the knight quickly brought a monster even bigger than me.

The eight-legged creature was drooling green saliva while staring at me.

Its intense gaze made my body flinch.

On the other hand, Ludovica, unlike me, didn’t seem scared at all and looked very relaxed.

“Now. Watch carefully and don’t miss anything.”

Her demonstration began immediately. Ruby gestured to the knight, and he released the caged monster.

Perhaps due to its many legs, the monster leaped out of the cage at a speed invisible to the eye.

Then it immediately charged towards Ludovica.

“First, dodge the attack like this.”

As soon as she finished speaking, sand from the training ground flew in all directions, creating a dusty wind.

Eventually, the monster grotesquely twisted its head and swung its front legs towards Ruby.

Even through the sandstorm, I could clearly see its sharp and enormous claws.

‘Da-Dangerous…’

I clenched my fists, scared that Ruby might be hit by the attack.

However, my worry was utterly useless for the original story’s female protagonist.

Where the monster attacked, there was only her afterimage.

Lightly leaping into the air to avoid the attack, Ludovica was somehow standing behind the monster.

“Second, counterattack. Strike all the vital points.”

Continuing her explanation with an expressionless face, she lightly swung her iron mace.

The attack accurately hit near the monster’s heart.

It must have been a vital point, as the monster immediately collapsed backward, its body trembling.

Soon after, it breathed its last.

After confirming the monster’s death, Ruby dusted off her hands and said with a bright smile.

“How about that? Easier than you thought, right? That’s how you do it.”

“…”

I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

‘Where exactly is this supposed to be easy…’

Noticing my confusion, she stroked my head and explained again.

“When you encounter a monster, it will attack you, right? Then dodge that attack and immediately strike its vital points. Got it?”

However, I only became more confused.

‘How am I supposed to do this…’

Did I choose the wrong teacher?

It might be inappropriate to say this as a student, but Ruby was clearly not a good teacher.

Suddenly, I remembered a description of Ruby from the original story.

『Ludovica was an even greater genius than Dietrich. She mastered sword techniques in a short time that even Dietrich needed countless efforts to acquire.

Moreover, she wasn’t satisfied with just that and modified the sword techniques. Thanks to that, sword techniques utilizing various weapons became her specialty.

It was the first attempt of its kind even within the Belvedere family, known for being full of geniuses. Yet she succeeded in this before even reaching adulthood.』

Thinking about it again, it was somewhat understandable that Ludovica’s explanation was lacking.

If someone suddenly asked me how to breathe, I wouldn’t be confident in giving a proper answer either.

This is really just natural.

For Ruby, the way of fighting must be similar to the way of breathing.

Feeling that it would be fruitless to keep asking her for explanations, I started to feel anxious.

‘Will I be able to do well from now on…’

Only a sigh full of worry escaped my lips.