Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance

“Shall we begin then~?” 

Rosalia placed the two children on the magic circle. Felix, who had been hesitant, was surprised by the unfamiliar aura as he stepped onto the magic circle and obediently hugged Eileen.

 “Should we just stay like this?” “Yes, but it might hurt a little.” 

Felix’s eyes widened.

 “What? Then I don’t want to do this.” “No, no, not Eileen, you. You might get sick from all the magic being forced out of you.” “Oh, thank God.” “Thank God for what?!” 

Eileen looked at him incredulously as he grinned, genuinely relieved. Rosalia couldn’t help laughing as well.

 “If you don’t mind, I’ll just do it~ I can’t stop, even if it hurts anyway.” “How much does it hurt?” 

Eileen shuddered, remembering the experience of having her wisdom teeth pulled in a previous life. It had hurt so much to get them out, but this time it’s the magic of the heart.

 

Suddenly she felt a pang of sadness and hugged Felix tightly. She didn’t seem to notice that Felix snorted in embarrassment, his face turning bright red.

 “I don’t know. I’ve never drained mana from a heart before, but you’re not going to die!” 

For a moment, Eileen truly felt that her investment in Rosalia had been wasted.

 “We can’t put it off much longer.” 

Eileen took a deep breath as she soothed Star’s sobs outside the circle.

 “I’m ready. Felix, tell me when you’re ready.” “Yes. I’m ready.” 

Hearing their agreement, Rosalia energized her magic circle. A blue glow of mana spread across the circle, shimmering before turning black.

 “Okay, I’ve reached the dead mana in the heart, and I’m going to push it out very slowly, little by little, and I want you two to stay together until the circle regains its color. If your legs hurt, you can sit down.” 

Rosalia was the first to sit on the floor as she said this, and Eileen shot her a sour look. Rosalia, confused by the glare, blurted out an excuse.

 “This is a high-level spell that requires a lot of magic, and at my age, that’s rare!” 

Sighing heavily, Eileen looked at Felix in her arms; he was breathing easily and didn’t seem to be in much pain.

 “Felix, are you okay?” “Nope but it’s tolerable.” “Good!” 

Eileen sat Felix down and carefully placed him on the floor. Ninety-eight percent of the magic circle was still black, so it would take a while for the cleansing to be complete.

 

Once the tension had eased a bit, she told Felix a story to calm his nerves.

 

“This is the second greenhouse I built after the first. Originally, I was going to put a lake in it and turn it into a fishing pond, and…”

 

Felix listened to Eileen’s story with little nods and questions, his demeanor so uncharacteristic of him that it caught Eileen a little off guard.

 “That… eh…” “Felix?” 

Felix let out a stifled groan before answering. Startled, Eileen looked at him urgently.

 

They hadn’t noticed it with their faces resting on each other’s shoulders, but Felix’s face was white and his eyes red with tears.

 “Felix!” “Don’t fall!” 

Eileen flinched, and Rosalia called urgently to keep her from moving away.

 “His heart is connected to the magic circle, and if he falls now, he’s in danger. Felix, thirty minutes. Can you still hold her?” “Yes…” 

Eileen chewed her lip. He looked so desperate, and she felt a little disappointed in herself for recognizing his condition only now . Felix looked at her and smiled weakly through his pain.

 “It’s okay, Eileen, I can handle it.” “…If it hurts, tell me. I don’t even know.” “I’m sorry, I’m used to being this sick when I play, I just didn’t know if I could tell you.” 

‘And if I say it hurts, Eileen will be sad.’

 

With that, Felix patted Eileen on the back. It made Eileen feel a little sad that he was so concerned about other people’s feelings while being so insensitive to his own pain.

 “Don’t apologize.” “I’m sorry.” 

Felix’s shoulder felt a little wet with tears. In truth, everything Felix said about being okay was true. Because no matter how much it hurt, he was somehow less afraid when Eileen was around.

 

No matter how sick he was, he was never afraid when she was around. The first time he cried in Eileen’s arms. He felt like he had opened the closet door on his own for the first time.

 “Don’t cry. It’s really okay.” 

Felix felt her wet shoulder and wished with all his heart that he could find strength after all this pain. That he would be able to protect Eileen, who was so sweet and gentle, forever.

 

Even if Eileen wasn’t expecting it, Felix vaguely thought that these were words he hoped to say to her in person someday.

 

It wasn’t until late lunchtime, an hour overdue, that his heart was completely cleansed.

  

***

  

Lucian and Cordelia, who hadn’t finished their lunch and were waiting for Eileen and Felix to come out, had a vaguely hardened expression on their faces.

 “Did you actually replace the mana in Felix’s heart?” “Yes” 

‘Then what’s wrong with you?’

 

The words stuck to the tips of their jaws, then died in their throats. Eileen, her eyes as puffy as macaroons, was walking toward Felix’s side, but unlike Eileen, who looked exhausted, Felix’s face was full of life like never before.

 “I just cried a little, more than that, I’m so hungry.” “I knew it, I prepared a meal for you!” 

Cordelia exclaimed, quickly reaching over and snatching Eileen from Felix’s arms. Felix flinched, but gave her up obediently. His body was still too small and weak to fully support her.

 

Soon the meal Oslo had prepared for them was on the table. Eileen scooped up the creamy stew and looked like she was going to live.

 “I was starving!”

she exclaimed.

 “That’s to be expected, given the massive mana drain.” 

Rosalia replied nonchalantly, chewing a bite of buttered bread, but her thoughts were actually quite complex.

 “What kind of kid’s heart has such a large mana chamber? If it’s all sealed off, the culprit must not be a normal madman.” 

It was a good thing it was Eileen who agreed to give her mana. If Rosalia had done it herself, she would have been a mummified mess on the floor by now.

 

‘Perhaps a parent-teacher conference with the Duke was in order,’

Rosalia thought.

 

They were almost done eating when Oslo hurried into the dining room.

 “I apologize for interrupting your meal. The temple sent someone.” 

Oslo asked them to come down slowly after they finished eating, but they were already at the end of their meal, so they jumped up to follow him.

 “But why did he come from the temple? And to see us, and not my father?” “Have you sinned or something?” “You should go to confession.” 

The children walked down the hallway, teasing each other nonchalantly, but Eileen’s expression hardened.

 “What business does the temple have at this time of year?” 

In the original story, Cordelia’s involvement with the Temple comes late in the story. Cordelia was about to graduate when she made contact with Aire. Eileen’s heart sank at the unexpected visit.

 “Come in.” 

Oslo opened the door, and soon they were inside the parlor, each of their faces filled with astonishment.

 “What is all this…?” 

Gifts of all kinds filled the room, and one of the priests laughed embarrassedly.

 “Greetings, my name is Gavil. I am the faithful servant of Lord Fiora.” 

“

I am Lucian Igaro Gaudium, heir to the Duchy of Gaudium, and these things…?” 

Gavil screamed inwardly, unable to contain himself as he gazed at the excessive amount of stuff in the room.

 “No way! I clearly told Aire to send them in moderation!!!” “The Shield of the Empire sends  a gift for the Duke in honor of the last battle he fought with him, and as a token of our resolve to continue to defend the Empire from the hands of evil creatures together, please feel free to accept it… ah, the Duke already knows that.” 

Gavil turned and held out something wrapped in the finest of fabrics to Cordelia.

 “This is a gift for you, Cordelia, for your mastery of elemental swordsmanship. An ear that can hold the power of a spirit and not damage the blade. One. It’s a sword, so you shouldn’t have any trouble using it.” 

Cordelia’s eyes sparkled as she accepted the sword warily, though somehow the word

“precious”

contained a pent-up emotion.

 

The sword fit in her hand as if it had always belonged to her. She looked to Oslo and Lucian for approval, then spoke up, her voice rising in pitch as they exchanged glances.

 “Then I will gratefully accept it.” 

Lucian and Eileen have been like that ever since. Even Felix was showered with gifts individually tailored to each of them. Everyone was dumbfounded, but the Duke was such a great man that no one really doubted the temple’s intentions.

 

Except for Eileen.

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