Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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22.

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“Ooooh!”

“Miss! Miss!”

The Northern Knights gathered at the training ground surrounded Calisia in a circle.

“Uaaaah!”

Calisia tensed her entire body and trembled as she drew up her special ability.

“Tsk.”

Ian, who was cleaning his sword across from them, clicked his tongue quietly. Both Calisia in the middle of her energy demonstration show and the knights cheering her on were utterly pathetic.

“How’s that!”

Calisia placed her hands on her hips and shouted triumphantly.

“Ooooh! It feels like the surroundings got hotter! Hey! Hey! Doesn’t it feel a bit warmer?”

“This heat…! This must be the Fire of Valus we’ve only heard about!”

The knights fanned themselves with their hands, making a fuss among themselves and praising Calisia.

“Huh? Miss! Something like smoke is rising from here!”

A knight with wide eyes pointed at Calisia’s head. Indeed, hot steam was rising between her silver-violet hair.

“Where? Where?”

The surprised knights rushed forward in a group. In an instant, they swarmed over Calisia, squinting their eyes as they looked down at the top of her head.

“Oh, oh…! Really… Ah, ack!”

At that moment, a fierce grip grabbed the knights by their hair. It was Ian, who had somehow left his position.

“Get away.”

With merciless hand movements, the knights fell away one by one. Rubbing their heads from the stinging pain, they looked at their master with tearful expressions.

“If you’re done resting, run.”

Ian completely ignored those resentful gazes and lifted his chin high.

“Miss!”

“Uaaaah… Huh?”

Calisia, who was training her special ability today while watching the knights’ running exercise as scenery, turned her head at the sound calling her. As if something had happened, the maids from the Northern Castle were rushing over in a group.

“Miss! You need to go quickly right now!”

“Quickly!”

The maids, breathing heavily as they spoke, stamped their feet. They seemed to have such urgent business that they didn’t even glance at the Northern Knights they usually adored.

“What’s going on?”

“We’ll explain on the way! Hurry! Miss… Ah, hot!”

A maid who had pleadingly grabbed Calisia’s arm with both hands suddenly let out a shrill scream. It was because her body was as hot as a fireball.

Splash—!

Eventually, Calisia was dragged away without understanding why and dunked into a bathtub full of ice water. The maids, in such a hurry, sprinkled flowers and perfumed oil into the bathwater at a speed faster than the knights.

“Miss! Please raise your arm just once.”

Then they scrubbed Calisia’s body vigorously with soft cloth, saying they would remove all the dirt from the training ground.

And after this, her memory became hazy.

“Let’s just leave the hair down and let it hang. Instead, we can put jeweled pins by the ears.”

Actually, when she saw the hair ornaments spread out on the velvet, she briefly came to her senses. As they say, even servant work is better done in a nobleman’s house—to think that such things were coming in regularly for maintaining the dignity of this mistreated Duke’s Daughter.

“Isn’t this color too dull? For the Duke’s Daughter’s skin tone, this one would be better.”

“That necklace doesn’t match the dress color! Give me the one next to it!”

The maids bickered among themselves about which was better. It was quite a different attitude from the past days when they had been cautious, fearing the Second Wife’s displeasure. This was due to the Main Castle’s tacit approval. It was well known that Calisia wandered around the Separate Palace and mingled with the Northern Knights. Especially her friendship with Grand Duke Rakies had been a big topic of conversation among the servants for a while.

—They say the Northern Grand Duke’s Son doesn’t allow anyone close to him…

—If the Duke’s Daughter were to pass the Fire Ritual at this rate…

The choice of the servants, who had been constantly calculating, was neutrality. They would serve the Second Wife but not make enemies with the Duke’s Daughter either. After all, the more strings to hold onto for the future, the better. Moreover, Calisia wasn’t a fussy or difficult master to serve. So it was natural for the maids’ tension to ease.

“…”

Calisia, who had been forcibly scrubbed and polished, entrusted her body to the maids with her soul completely drained. Her silver-violet hair, treated with high-quality perfumed oil, gleamed with luster, and her collarbone, painted with shimmering powder, stood out even more in the light.

‘When did they treat me like living shit again?’

Calisia looked at her reflection in the mirror and slightly puffed her cheeks. Such delicate and caring touches—it was quite moving in a new way. But that was only for a moment.

How many hours had they been repeating this routine? It would have been better to do physical training at the training ground.

“So what exactly is going on that’s causing all this fuss?”

Calisia, exhausted to the limit, asked the maids.

“A message came down from the Central Castle that all direct descendants must attend the dinner tonight.”

“So a family meal?”

Calisia frowned with one eye and asked the maids back. The first meeting with the direct bloodline she had only heard about—actually, she felt more nervous than curious. Because she had never seen anything decent among the things related to Valus so far.

Moreover, these were people who hadn’t come to see her even when she was on the verge of death from a sword wound. But now they wanted a family meal. Setting aside her reluctance, it felt quite unsettling.

“It’s not just a meal, Miss! It’s a very important occasion where the Head of House will also attend!”

The excited maids said that meeting the Head of House was a very honorable and rare occasion. Something about great achievement and the family’s prestige…

“What are you, spokespeople? I get it, so everyone get out now. I’ll go on my own. Get out!”

Calisia, whose ears were bleeding, drove the maids out.

***

Honey-glazed roast duck, steak with potatoes and asparagus, pasta and risotto with squid ink, herb-garnished grilled fish, soft bread and various cheeses, and more—.

Countless dishes filled the long table densely. Calisia’s eyes widened as she unconsciously licked her lips.

Growl—

A fairly loud sound came from Calisia’s stomach. From dawn training to getting dressed up for the dinner. After such a grueling forced march, she couldn’t help but be hungry.

“Rael, did you hear that?”

Clear laughter burst out from across the table. A boy with black hair and red eyes—Lucian Valus, the Third Wife’s son.

“Hey! Is it true that they catch and eat desert rats at the Castle of Ash because there’s nothing to eat?”

Lucian leaned forward with gleaming eyes. He endlessly poured out questions, saying there were even rumors about eating bugs.

‘This little brat really talks too damn much. I can’t even hit him.’

Calisia rolled her eyes at the continued provocation. She hadn’t figured out how to behave yet.

‘What was the original Calisia’s personality like? Hmm— If I act too differently from before, they might think it’s strange.’

The servants of the Northern Castle and the direct descendants of the Central Castle were different. Even if it was just a facade, they were family who shared blood. They might unconsciously feel something was off.

‘…No. Teenagers change dozens of times a day. Moreover, five years have passed, so it wouldn’t be strange if her personality changed.’

Moreover, the Castle of Ash was such a harsh place it could be called an exile. It would make sense if her temperament had become rough.

“Figure out what you’re curious about yourself. Don’t ask others.”

Calisia waved her hand dismissively as if annoyed. Right now, her only interest was protein. Calisia buried her nose in the steak plate and took a deep breath. The sweet sauce mixed with the meat aroma was truly heaven.

“Are you embarrassed? Well, being a direct descendant and catching bugs with bastards… Ah! Why are you hitting me!”

Lucian’s head, who had been constantly picking fights, bent forward sharply. A small but firm palm had struck his head.

“Rael!”

Lucian, clutching his head, glared at his twin sister.

‘Right. There should be at least one decent person.’

Calisia nodded up and down at the appearance of a reasonable person.

“When you want to ask for or get something from someone, you have to pay a corresponding price.”

Rael glared at Lucian and took out a small glass bottle from her bosom. It was full of colorful candy that looked sweet just by looking at it.

“Sorry. Lucian is still immature. Here, I’ll give you this. It may not look like much, but it’s from Blanche Bakery, so it should be edible. The patissier there is from the imperial kitchen.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

Calisia, who received the glass bottle, immediately opened the lid on the spot. The fresh and sweet aroma of fruit hit her nose—they must have put in quite a lot of fruit pulp.

‘I should eat this when the knights aren’t around.’

Calisia closed the lid tightly and made up her mind.

Then Rael, who had been carefully observing her actions, spoke up.

“So now will you answer me? Did you survive by catching and eating desert rats and bugs at the Castle of Ash?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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