A Little Scheme of the Girl

A Little Scheme of the Girl

August 2nd, afternoon.

There were still twenty-nine days until he left Moonrise Fortress.

As usual, Anvis sat in the library, reading about Magic.

But today, there was one extra factor here that differed from usual...

"Ah—so boring!"

Lying sprawled across the soft chaise lounge, Fiona forcefully shut the book in her hands and flung the headache-inducing Inscription Magic Array - Binding Category far away.

She rolled over without a shred of grace, looking utterly dead inside.

The book she had thrown did not hit the floor. After tracing an arc through the air, it stopped in Midair.

A pale cyan glow of Mana lit up from the number on its spine. Under the effect of invisible Mana, the thick book returned to its original place on the shelf by itself.

"That's the third time you've said that today, Fi."

Anvis raised his head slightly, glancing at the Girl collapsed on the sofa with his azure eyes as he spoke with faint helplessness.

Fiona did not respond. She merely rolled her eyes at him listlessly.

Like a salted fish that had just been processed and laid out beneath the sun to dry...

Shaking his head, Anvis expressed his regret at the Girl's reaction, then turned the book in his hands to the next page.

The cause of this situation dated back to a practical lesson the two had attended together several days ago.

Practical training was part of their studies only after they reached the First Order, and the duke personally taught it.

Near the end of the lesson, Fiona had inadvertently asked a very basic question.

The answer to that question should have been specifically covered as an important topic in their Inscription studies last November.

Although Anvis immediately stepped in to help her cover for it once he realized something was wrong, the duke still grew suspicious and casually asked several related questions to test them.

The result... the Girl's progress in Inscription studies was a complete mess. Anvis tried to help her from the side, but in the end, he dragged himself down with her.

As punishment, the two were confined for half a month. Every day, they could only obediently spend their free time reading in the family's Grand Library.

For Anvis, this was no different from his usual life. But for the lively and restless Fiona, it was nothing short of the harshest punishment.

During the first few days, things had been somewhat better. Fiona could barely restrain herself and read that "boring" Magic knowledge.

But as time passed, the Girl abandoned her work more and more often.

"During the next practical lesson, Father will definitely ask some questions to test our learning progress."

Anvis spoke as if casually while reading.

"If something goes wrong again, my dear sister—I'm afraid the punishment you receive will not be limited to this much."

"I—don't—care! Anyway, I don't want to read any more of that headache-inducing, awful Inscription knowledge!!!"

The Girl muttered softly, lying on the sofa with her eyes closed. Her rosy little lips pouted high, while the cute light-blue bow in her hair bobbed back and forth.

Though she said that, her eyes secretly opened into a narrow slit, quietly watching Anvis as though expecting something.

"Oh, if that's the case, then take a rest first—"

Anvis calmly agreed, then continued reading.

Having failed to get the answer she wanted, the salted-fish Girl angrily rolled over, turning herself onto her back on the sofa.

Her lake-like eyes shifted as she glared hard at Anvis's profile.

"...It feels like some sort of evil gaze is watching me."

Feeling that almost tangible stare, Anvis's eye twitched slightly, and his movements stiffened unnaturally for a moment.

Damn it! She had mixed Spiritual Power into her gaze!

Slowly, the discomfort grew stronger and stronger, greatly reducing Anvis's reading efficiency.

"Ah..."

Anvis sighed softly and took a bronze bookmark from the drawer, placing it between the current pages. He then closed Strumming the Strings of Fate and set it on the table.

Gently patting his face, he put on a somewhat helpless smile. Then he turned toward the Girl on the sofa, his tone softening.

"All right, Fi. How about I tell you a story?"

"Hmm~?"

Hearing Anvis's words, Fiona rolled over again and rested her chin in both hands, staring at him with her beautiful Lake Blue Eyes in feigned innocence.

Her little feet, wrapped in white socks, kicked up behind her and swung playfully back and forth.

"Big brother, what did you say~?"

"I said, do you, want, to hear, a story?"

Anvis maintained his smile, but his brows lifted slightly. His left hand casually clenched his right fist as he looked at the pretending Girl, and a trace of danger entered his voice.

"Of course, if you don't want to, forget it—"

"Yes, yes!"

The Girl hurriedly nodded, her face full of innocent, adorable smiles. But the faint smugness in her eyes gave her away.

Hehe, just as planned~~!

In the past, Anvis would occasionally tell Fiona stories. Those stories were novel and interesting, and all of them were tales the Girl had never heard before.

For example, Little Red Riding Hood devoured the wolf that attacked her, then fought a great battle against the true mastermind, her grandmother, shaking the starry sky until even ** was annihilated.

Afterward, the aftermath of the battle drew the Star Devourer, which transformed the two into Vassal Races of the stars and began their eternal fated war, and so on...

However, Anvis never finished a story in one sitting. Each time, he told only half of it, or even just a third, often leaving Fiona immensely curious about what came next.

Because of this, she had even gone to the biography section of the library, trying to find the stories Anvis had told her.

But in the end, she was shocked to discover that even the family's Grand Library did not contain the stories Anvis had told her! When she asked Anvis where those stories came from, Anvis, who was reading at the time, naturally told her that he had created them himself based on books he had read, casually adding that it was nothing special.

From that moment onward, Fiona began to admire Anvis.

Watching the little Girl who was still smugly pleased with herself, Anvis did not expose her. He moved his chair beside her and sat down, smiling as he began to tell a brand-new story the Girl had never heard before.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Girl named Fiona. She was the same age as you and the same height as you, with the same pure azure eyes like a lake and light golden hair as brilliant as sunlight.

On a midsummer afternoon, after finishing her day's lessons, she went to play in the fields not far from her home.

There, pale purple Hyacinths, deep blue Rosemary, and pure white Wind Chime Grass were in bloom.

A clear little river flowed out from a forest on one side, winding through the vibrant fields and into a huge sapphire-like lake in the distance. Several sturdy Mangur Willows also grew leisurely along the riverbank.

Yes, just like the fields below the castle slope."