The next morning.
Several lamps and candlesticks had appeared beside Navia.
Click.
"Marking magic... No, not this."
Click.
"Hmm. This isn't right either..."
Navia quickly flipped through the pages, scanning contents she already knew, but still found nothing of reference.
'I don't have more time to search...'
She had managed only a little sleep due to her efforts in searching for the information, feeling extremely tired.
Stretching, Navia glanced at the last remaining book.
It was a thin book covered in dark red leather.
"The Gods from Beyond"
Navia picked up the book.
"Could it be related to regression, or even the Black Moon?"
The world contained gods beyond those that made up this world.
The book described these external gods as follows:
These gods were indifferent to human morality and considered humans worthless.
Moreover, the external gods embodied chaos and had the power to break the laws of this world.
The laws of this world, the rules under which magic operates, were nothing but trifles to them.
Magic, though a mighty force, couldn't manipulate life and death.
In this regard, regression was a power unbound by the rules of this world, as it was directly related to life and death.
'If my powers are indeed from an external god, that's even stranger.'
And now, the ability to steal others' magic had emerged.
'Could there be some secret with my birth parents?'
Birth parents. Navia unconsciously bit her lip at the word.
She had been abandoned at an orphanage as an infant, inside a basket.
The only clue to her birth parents was a card with her name written on it.
Her name, 'Navia', beautifully inscribed.
'It seems they had the decency to name me before abandoning me.'
Navia's eyes turned cold, then she continued her thoughts as if nothing had happened.
There had been no one with silver hair or red eyes like hers near the orphanage in almost 20 years.
'The card was the only trace of my birth parents. As if they intended to isolate my existence completely.'
Perhaps they abandoned her because she was an unnecessary being.
'That makes sense.'
She had seen and experienced too much with Agnes to think otherwise.
Navia, with eyes as if submerged in a deep swamp, neatly arranged the books and left the library.
Feeling no strength in her steps as she headed back to her room, with no particular achievement, she was also drowsy.
Suddenly, Navia spotted Charlotte, with a troubled expression, coming to meet her.
"Did you stay up all night?"
"Just a bit."
Who says they 'stayed up just a bit'? Charlotte couldn't hide her concern but then said with a sense of relief,
"Lord Spencer has taken a three-day leave. There are no lessons, so please rest now, Miss."
Navia knew Edward took the leave to cure his brother's illness.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Ah."
Indeed, she had forgotten to eat properly while researching the Black Moon.
Realizing her hunger, her already flat stomach seemed to tighten with hunger.
"Could I have some warm soup?"
"Of course. Some apples came into the kitchen yesterday, and I saw them making juice this morning. I'll bring you some of that too."
Apple juice?
Navia looked at Charlotte in surprise, her lips slightly parting.
Apples were common in the capital, but to Navia, they were as precious as gold.
Such sweet food was strictly forbidden by Nikan, who believed 'indulging in taste leads to bad habits.'
"Miss?"
As Charlotte waited for her response, a slight blush appeared on Navia's cheeks.
"Ah, yes. I'd like that too."
"It's not a favor. I should bring it to you."
Charlotte smiled softly, seeing Navia pleased with the idea of apple juice.
She felt a mix of pity and satisfaction.
'I'll bring her a big cup full.'
Such juices and desserts were not usually Navia's share. Charlotte would have to steal them, but she was confident.
Her hands were incredibly fast. This meant her skill in pilfering or swapping things.
The kitchen would be bustling with the chef and other servants, so she would have a chance.
‘Moreover, it's not even the time for the young master or Miss Vivian's maids to be active, so it should be easy enough to get.’
"Lie down in bed and rest. I'll be back soon."
Navia nodded in agreement and went into the bedroom, while Charlotte hummed a tune and headed to the kitchen.
Click.
As she opened the kitchen door, an unwelcome sight greeted her.
"Oh. Charlotte?"
Maki, Ann, Laura. They were Vivian's dedicated maids.
'What are these girls doing here at this hour?'
Charlotte scanned the three with a puzzled look. Perhaps Vivian had gotten up early today?
Though not entirely impossible, she thought it could be the case.
But that wasn’t the only odd thing.
'The cook, too, and where have the other servants gone?'
The cook was the type to quickly take care of meals for Nikan or the direct family and then carelessly delegate the rest, so he might have gone off to rest.
However, the complete absence of kitchen servants was too strange.
It was as if someone had deliberately left the kitchen unattended.
As Charlotte's eyes narrowed with a sense of foreboding, Maki spoke up.
"Did you come to prepare Miss Navia's meal?"
Charlotte knew Maki wasn't the kind to show such interest in her work and sensed something fishy, thus keeping her distance.
"Yes. You seem busy too, so don't mind me and carry on with your work."
"…Hmph."
The two had almost simultaneously entered this mansion.
Both were competent and quick-witted, quickly rising to the position of personal maids to their respective ladies.
That's where their destinies diverged.
One became the maid of the real lady, the other, a fake.
Charlotte, having no intention of burying her bones in this place, had no complaints. She was rather pleased to be in charge of Navia, who required little effort.
But Maki didn’t see it that way.
She looked down on Charlotte, who was serving Navia.
"I envy you, Charlotte. Taking care of Miss Navia's meal must be over quickly? We have a lot to carry, and it's killing us."
"Pfft!"
Ann and Laura, standing beside Maki, couldn't help but laugh as they watched Charlotte ladle soup into a concave dish.
Charlotte turned cold eyes to them as she set down the soup.
Maki feigned surprise and said, "You're not upset, are you? It's just a joke! Hehe."
"…Ha."
Charlotte was about to turn her head away in disbelief when she paused.
Maki was boldly filling several glasses with freshly squeezed apple juice from that morning.
Noticing Charlotte's gaze, Maki slyly said, "Miss Vivian is so kind that she shares juice with us too, so it's better to take enough. Right, girls?"
"If no one else but our Miss Vivian is going to drink it, we might as well take it all."
"Ahaha!"
As their mockery crossed the line, Charlotte held back her urge to retort.
'I had planned to bring apple juice to Miss…'
She feared they might take all the juice away.
Charlotte's heart was burning, but Maki filled several cups, as if taunting her, one by one.
"There are five glasses of juice. One for the lady, three for us. Then there's one left. What shall we do with it?"
"Ah, I wonder if Miss Navia has ever tried apple juice?"
Maki giggled and turned to Laura with a meaningful glance.
'Put it in.'
Laura then took a small bottle from her pocket, quickly mixed its contents into the juice, and tucked the bottle back.
The movement was so subtle and shielded by Maki and Ann that Charlotte didn’t see it.
Maki turned back, holding the glass.
"Charlotte, give this to the lady. It's okay to sneak her a glass of juice. If there's a problem, we'll say we did it."
Maki's eyes glinted cunningly as she spoke.
"Preemptively gain Miss Navia's favor. If she becomes a princess in the future, maybe she'll do something for you. That's how social life works."
On the surface, it seemed like a reasonable explanation, but both Maki and Charlotte knew she was just a puppet princess. Maki twisted her lips.
'We can't just let that fake princess who gave us trouble with pointless things yesterday off the hook.'
They were deliberately waiting for Charlotte, even preparing diarrheal medicine, to get revenge on Navia.
"Come on, don't refuse and take it."
Maki placed the juice she had mixed with the medicine on Navia's tray herself.
