"Ice Ball, Mana Wall."
The magic circle drawn instantly from Asella's staff manifests its mystical power.
Mana, once merely flowing energy, becomes ice shot at enemies and a shield protecting the caster.
—Pabapak!
Asella's attack magic hit the training dummy in rapid succession.
Seymour, watching the scene, stroked his beard and nodded.
"You've become quite adept at consecutive casting. As I thought, ice-type magic suits you better than fire or lightning. Focus on improving the precision of these spells."
"Yes, Teacher."
Asella wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
"Would you like to rest? Your physician advised taking breaks once every hour."
"I'd like to practice a bit more."
—Kwajjang!
Asella continued her practice. She needed to hone her skills as much as possible right now.
She absolutely could not lose to Georg.
From the beginning, this was a duel where both sides would lose everything if defeated.
No matter how much this was a conflict between succession candidates, the Emperor wouldn't look favorably upon a ruthless murderer.
While Georg probably wouldn't actually take her life unless severely provoked, her physician was an exception.
He was full of intent to kill Lars.
She had to overwhelm him in this duel.
Fortunately, Seymour was on Asella's side as a mage.
"A trial by combat, was it? I can't bear to see my disciple lose to some mere swordsman."
Seymour raised his left hand with a swift motion and cast a spell.
The sword and shield the dummy was holding flew off and fell to the ground.
"That's a disarmament spell. 2nd Circle. Essential when you must fight frontliners alone. Come to think of it, Asella, I haven't taught you many practical combat spells."
"That could create an opening. But there's not enough time to cast both offense and defense. Even if I buy time, if I can't cast the next spell first, I'll be the one in trouble."
"'I'll be in trouble,' you say. More precisely, are you worried about your partner getting hurt?"
At Seymour's pointed question, Asella hesitated to answer.
"Well... if the Young Lord gets hurt, I'll be next."
"Haha, the old you would have first thought about using him as bait while you cast a large-scale spell."
"That's one strategy too. But the risk is too high. If it fails, there's no backup plan."
The very premise that her magic might miss or fail was unlike Asella's usual thinking.
Seymour, delighted by the recent changes in her, approached Asella and spoke quietly.
"Let me tell you a secret. This is a technique I normally don't share with anyone."
"Really?"
"Yes. Aren't you curious how I cast spells so quickly?"
"Of course. You just flick your finger and cast spells without drawing magic circles."
"I store my spells."
"Store them?"
Asella tilted her head at this strange new concept.
"More precisely, I memorize spells perfectly. No matter how familiar a spell is, the shape, size, and mana capacity of the circle varies slightly each time you cast it, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
"When a spell becomes perfect and consistent, I program it into my body's automatic reflexes. You don't think about dodging a ball coming at you, do you?"
"So you're saying you train your body to cast spells automatically when you perform certain actions?"
"Exactly. In my experience, the best method is to bend the second joint of specific fingers as markers."
Seymour showed his left hand. He cleared his throat and slightly bent his ring finger.
Suddenly—whoosh! Without warning, a hole opened in the sky and a flock of pigeons poured through, then quickly dispersed in different directions.
"Hmm, I meant to summon a storm spirit, but I suppose their nest location has changed."
"You stored a summon spell?"
"Not just that. By combining different finger positions, I can store hundreds of spells."
"What if you accidentally cast during daily activities?"
"You can prepare a preliminary action. In my case, I need to clear my throat once."
"I understand."
Asella crossed her arms neatly below her chest with precision. She practiced the disarmament spell while bending her left ring finger.
"It looks stylish, but you couldn't use it if you lost an arm."
"That is a disadvantage."
Asella continued practicing spells for the upcoming duel.
Even after Seymour's lesson ended, Asella didn't stop her magic training.
She reviewed and repeatedly practiced what she had learned today.
She tried using Seymour's spell storage technique, but it wasn't easy. Of course, human reflexes couldn't develop overnight.
"Whew."
Tired from the repetitive work, Asella decided to take a break as Lars had advised.
Her idea of a break was practicing her favorite magic.
She could have had hobbies like horseback riding or hunting like other princes and princesses, but Asella was happiest when using magic.
Especially now, there was a spell she was eager to use.
"Clairvoyance."
A 5th Circle spell that ordinary humans couldn't even attempt.
Beyond the basics, magic branches into countless specializations. Most mages master at most three branches in their lifetime.
Clairvoyance belonged to the time branch. Since even Seymour hadn't mastered time magic, he had taught her Clairvoyance through books and research.
It was difficult even for Asella, so she was still in the practice stage.
"What if I set up the basic circle in a higher dimension?"
She tried interpreting and modifying the circle in her own way.
Five was difficult. The circle was limited to a 128-sided polygon.
Asella always loved how magic circles spun intensely when infused with mana.
—Whaaak!
"Huh?"
Clairvoyance usually broke at this point, but today the initial phenomenon occurred.
Asella's vision, hearing, and all her senses suddenly inverted.
Though momentarily confused, she soon realized she had succeeded with Clairvoyance.
Her body remained in place, but she couldn't move it at will. Even her breathing was controlled by another will.
'This is...'
A familiar scene. A place she had visited before winter's chill had fully passed.
The Marquisate of Gotberg.
"Asella, pay attention."
A voice cautioning her from beside—it was Empress Camilla.
Asella calmed her slightly startled heart.
What Clairvoyance showed was one of many possibilities.
A future that might have been, a scene that could come to pass.
"Thank you for your care. May you stay in good health."
Her physician bowed deeply and departed for the marquis's residence.
Asella was briefly surprised but quickly tilted her head in confusion.
The physician wore formal attire instead of a medical gown.
It was a face she remembered from the final candidates of the selection exam.
Gis, was that his name?
A situation where the physician had been dismissed from his duties.
Like any other healer, he had been of no help to Asella.
"I regret this, Your Highness."
Marquis Gotberg bowed his head in apology.
The top talent from the marquis's training center had proven incompetent, putting him in Camilla's debt.
"Marquis. Unfortunately, that physician was an incompetent man who was even expelled from the Imperial Medical Office. He couldn't even measure Asella's magic circuits."
"Hmm."
"This is a great loss for Wolgwang Palace. Compensation will be necessary."
"...Within reasonable limits."
"Has the young lady received her saintess revelation yet?"
"That's..."
"I'd like her to be housed at Wolgwang Palace from now on."
Camilla used the physician incident to gain leverage over the marquis's family. Even if it wasn't planned from the beginning, she had been waiting for such an opportunity.
Asella had seen plenty of Camilla using her for all sorts of gains, so she understood her purpose well.
'If I hadn't chosen Lars.'
Could this have happened?
Wolgwang Palace is still... flowing according to Mother's will.
'Then where is Lars?'
Just as Asella wondered, bang!
The reception room door burst open, and a disheveled young man staggered in with a bottle of alcohol.
"Hey, when the fiancée arrives, shouldn't the groom be welcomed first? Huh?!"
His face was flushed red with alcohol.
Seeing him spouting nonsense in broad daylight, Asella couldn't help but smile.
"Lars! Distinguished guests are present. Get out of here this instant!"
"Ha, did you think I'd stay locked up at home following father's orders forever? Just wait and see, when that girl becomes Emperor, huh? I'll be that... whatever, someone important!"
"Guards, remove Lars immediately!"
Tanya dragged away the drunken Lars.
What a pathetic sight, unable to even control his body.
Seeing him like this, Asella felt a deep pleasure welling up inside her.
'Lars, you should really be grateful to me.'
If I hadn't chosen you, you'd still be ruined as the rascal of the marquisate.
I made you into a functioning person.
You should really see this scene.
"I apologize for the disgraceful display. Regarding the physician matter, I will compensate somehow..."
—Whak!
The brief vision ended, and Asella's sight returned to normal.
She gently clenched her fist.
"Hmm... not a perfect casting."
A complete Clairvoyance was supposed to show multiple possibilities simultaneously and allow approximate selection of time period or location.
Its purpose was to find political clues for succession.
But.
"Lars, you pathetic man."
Asella thought she should first find a way to record the Clairvoyance scenes in a crystal ball.
If he had seen that scene, he would become as obedient as Max.
After finishing her enjoyable hobby time, Asella returned to practical training in preparation for the trial by combat.
***
The schedule had become quite busy because of the trial by combat.
Receiving sword training from Tanya, examining Asella's condition, preparing medications and injection solutions.
Amidst all this, there was one more task to do. I headed to the annex of the Imperial Medical Office.
The annex contained inpatient rooms, not for common people but exclusively for the imperial family.
Currently, there was one external patient. Needless to say, it was the Western Duke.
I knocked on the threshold of the room guarded by knights. Bishop Alberich, who had been healing the duke inside, frowned and came out.
"What business do you have? The duke's safety is under Mokhwi Palace's responsibility. By imperial decree."
"I know. I just want to check his condition."
"I told you I'm in charge! Why do you interfere? Are you trying to use folk remedies again?"
"It's medicine."
"That's the same thing...!"
"Might you be Dr. Gotberg?"
A voice called from inside the room. Even Alberich couldn't block me anymore and stepped aside.
Entering, I found the duke lying in bed with a gaunt face. Seeing me, he smiled warmly.
"It's you, doctor. I wanted to see you. I heard there was a major incident."
"Haha, it was nothing. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, thanks to you. Without you, I'd already be in the ground. It was lethal black magic. The moment I drank that wine, I felt death rising to my throat."
"You've been through a lot. Here's a prescription and medicine that will help your symptoms. Follow these and you'll recover faster."
I handed the prescription to the duke. It listed ingredients and exercises that would help with detoxification. I cautioned him to take the medicine only when his condition worsened.
"Thank you. I can trust and follow your instructions. Please convey my apologies to the princess for not being able to thank her personally."
"I'll take care of it."
Judging that the duke could now be left to the healers, I left the room, ignoring Alberich who continued to grumble about folk remedies.
Poison is a malicious means that destroys a healthy person's body.
Perhaps if Georg experienced it firsthand, he might reflect on his actions.