Chapter 105
A day passed.
Perhaps my wish to hold on, at least until the ball, had been granted. Today, I didn’t even have a slight headache. Please, just let it stay this way, I prayed as I got out of bed. There was no time to linger.
I have to finish the embroidery, and I have to see Father, too.
I had completed about half of the embroidery I started yesterday. Since the piece was smaller than the span of my hand, it didn’t take long to work on. I could probably finish it this afternoon after visiting my father-in-law. It was a relief my hands were so fast, a likely result of having had nothing to do but embroider in the past. I tucked the piece into a vanity drawer, not wanting anyone to see it until it was complete.
After bidding farewell to Kin, who was heading out for another busy day, I made my way to my father-in-law’s chambers.
Just like yesterday, he was full of life, despite the early hour.
[My dear, it’s wonderful to see your face so early in the morning. Ho ho, my own son hasn’t even come to see me. Perhaps I should have sold him to the count’s family and had only you move in here.]
“Kin wants to see you, Father, but I’m sure he’s just too busy to come.”
[And you defend him, too. Is ‘Kin’ your pet name for him? Heh heh, I like it. I like it very much.]
Oh, no, that’s not what I meant by it…
I’d only gotten used to calling him that because he had introduced himself as Kin from the very beginning. I felt a flush of embarrassment, as if I had made a fool of myself in front of my father-in-law. I shifted my gaze awkwardly to his floating spirit.
“Oh, Father, you’re even more transparent than yesterday.”
The day before, only his hands and feet had been transparent, but now his entire right arm and leg were so translucent they were nearly invisible. It seemed my power had leaked out again during the night without my knowledge and affected him.
At my words, his eyes filled with worry.
[Are you here to use your power again today? It seems you still can’t control it properly, and it’s just been leaking out. If you were planning to use your ability again, it would be best if you just returned to your room.]
I understood his concern completely. Anyone could see I was inexperienced; if I saw someone who didn’t even know the limits of their own ability trying to use it repeatedly, I would be worried too.
But for now, I had to set those concerns aside.
In the past, my leaked power alone had been enough to stop Kin’s rampage. He had stabilized after that and had lived without any issues since. They said a person’s ability grows until the age of twenty-five, so I had to be stronger now than I was when I stopped Kin’s rampage.
…Without a power control organ, I couldn’t be sure if that theory applied to me, and since my power had only ever leaked out my whole life, I didn’t really know how it worked. Still, couldn’t I just use it until just before the signs of a rampage appeared?
It was said that before a rampage, certain warning signs would appear if you used your power to its limit or in excess. In the early stages, it was light headaches and dizziness. In the middle stages, neuralgia, a burning sensation, and chest pain. In the late stages, one would feel a pain like their heart was being squeezed and their brain was being pierced.
And when the rampage finally occurred, all of that person’s power would be released at once. For an explosion wielder like Kin, it would be an explosion. For a fire wielder from the House of Lizziana, it would be fire.
…If I went on a rampage, I would probably just end up pacifying the unstable powers of people over a wide area and then die.
Taking the leaking into account, couldn’t I just stop the moment a very slight headache began? I wasn’t in any pain today, so I was certain I’d notice a warning sign immediately. Was that too complacent of me?
A rampage was a serious matter, so people were usually warned not to push themselves even to the point of a mild headache. Not only could it result in death, but it also caused great harm to the surroundings. For me, however, even if I were to have a rampage, it wouldn’t cause any major problems for those around me.
“I’m still fine, so couldn’t I just use a little more?”
[I’m not fine with it. Using so much at once will surely take a toll on your body.]
Just a little more. I could wake him if I just did a little more. It was true that I’d had a sudden discharge of power yesterday, but I hadn’t felt unwell or unstable in the slightest. In fact, I felt perfectly fine.
[Go back.]
But my father-in-law was adamant.
I watched him, gauging his reaction. I could just take his hand and use my power without his permission. His body wasn’t in a solid state, so he wouldn’t be able to break a window like last time.
But I didn’t want him to hate me. He was saying this out of concern for me, and I didn’t want to ignore his words and force him to endure something he disliked. That said, I had no intention of simply going back either.
I decided to try persuading him. He was a soft-hearted man, after all.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of this, Father, but for twenty years, all I’ve ever heard is that I’m a deficient person with no ability. Now that I know I can be of help to you with my power, I want to do everything I can. The very fact that I can be useful makes me so… happy. Can’t you please allow me this?”
His expression softened slightly.
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