A Unique Case

Leonard's explanation caught Kalliope by surprise and her mind paused for a good few seconds. But, certain things became clear to her now. First of all, the reason why Alice's body and her soul was incompatible. The issue lied within Alice's constitution and not because of a foreign soul inhabiting her body. Since Alice didn't possess mana core, her already weak body became 'extremely' sensitive to magic.

Not to mention that Kalliope's soul was in contract with Argan thus, her magic carried traces of dead mana. This made Kalliope's presence akin to a deathly poison that slowly devouring Alice's flesh and blood.

Although Kalliope was highly proficient in the arts of magic due to her pureblood lineage, she was not well-informed about some things or theories. For example, this special case about Alice. The reason was simply because there was no true mundane in Zarronium so, she had never encountered this type of liability.

Those who had escaped to the realm of witches were mostly pureblood, meaning their predecessors or they themselves were directly blessed by the Great Elemental Spirits. The first in their bloodline, chosen among the sea of people in the early age of witchcraft over a century ago.

Hence, there was a shortage of information on unique cases like Alice. In fact, Zarronium might be less knowledgeable in comparison to Earth, now that the situation was very chaotic here with various unprecedented elements.

So, it was not surprising that Kalliope wasn't aware of this. In addition, when she had first come here, Kalliope hadn't experienced the symptoms because the pain from the first mana examination was overshadowed by the suffering she received from her mana integration. Only later did she feel exhausted and uncomfortable after every spell that she had used.

However, the duke didn't know this and thus, he said, "The priest who came by yesterday conducted mana examination on my daughter. And later at night, she immediately felt unwell during dinner."

At that moment, Kalliope felt the urge to facepalm herself. He actually used the excuse that she had thrown randomly because she needed to go back to her room and prepared to curse his favorite niece. It was a total misunderstanding that somehow helped connect the dot and support the duke's argument.

Kalliope couldn't help but stare at the duke with a pair of sparkling eyes and thought jokingly, 'See, daddy? We're a good partner in crime. I might not be compatible with your daughter but we're certainly meant to be.'

Sister Astrid who wasn't informed of Alice's condition was slightly surprised. She didn't think the archbishop would make such a mistake. So, she wondered how His Excellency could miss this and gave her the order?

Then again, there were other more notable affairs that needed the archbishop's attention. It was already odd in the first place how His Excellency requested her to look at Lady Alice with much emphasize in his voice.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do now. She was a priestess so, she wouldn't cause pain to others, especially a young lady like Lady Alice. "Hmm... I see. Then, let me apologize for my persistence earlier, Your Grace. I was simply uninformed of the lady's condition."

However, the duke reacted indifferently towards Sister Astrid's apology. He merely grunted in response, while Leonard continued to explain, "Well, it's not exactly news, Sister. But, everyone just simply conclude that the lady does not hold affinity towards magic and that supposedly explains everything."

As Leonard's words fell, Kalliope shot a piercing gaze at him as her lips drew a straight line and her eyes darkened in bloodthirstiness. 'Hmm...this one has a loose mouth.'

From his explanation, Leonard Angwin had implicitly declared that not many people knew about this and only that Alice was ungifted. So, he just indirectly confirmed her weakness to Sister Astrid. People could easily harm her by simply exposing her to magic. Though Kalliope wasn't sure if it would affect her since she was no longer Alice, she still preferred Leonard to shut up about it.

It would've been fine if he just left it like that, but Leonard Angwin just had to confirm it for everyone. And it made her itch to rip his mouth.

Meanwhile, unlike what Kalliope was worried of, Sister Astrid actually didn't pay attention to that point. Instead, the priestess was more bothered by the last bit of Leonard's speech.

She wondered if the second prince's personal attendant was indirectly insulting the church for not being smart enough to figure out this point when they were clearly aware of Lady Alice's incapability of using magic.

However, she could merely assume since Leonard didn't outwardly offend them. So, she could only begrudgingly let go. "I see. Well then, I shall report this to His Excellency. Once again, I apologize, Your Grace. And since I've already accomplished my task, I shall excuse myself."

The duke nodded expressionlessly and said, "The butler will show you the way. Forgive me for not being able to escort you, Sister, since I have some matters to attend to."

"Yes, I understand, Your Grace. Don't worry about it," Sister Astrid amiably showed some understanding, then bid farewell to the duke as she went past him. "Good day."

Kalliope lowered her gaze onto the ground as she tried to sneak a peak on her moving shadow. However, this time, she didn't notice anything strange. The ominous presence she felt just now had vanished. She unconsciously bit her lower lip.

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As the obstacle that had been plaguing Kalliope had gone now, she subconsciously breathed out a sigh of relief. However, the duke caught on that and misunderstood, "Are you tired?"

"Huh?" Kalliope immediately snapped back to reality and turned to the gallant man who was still carrying her in his arms. Then, she reflexively answered, "No."

However, when the word fell out of her lips, Kalliope regretted it right away because in the next moment, the duke asked in a rigid tone, "Then, would you like to have lunch with me today?"

She wanted to say no and just go back to being a hermit, coping inside her room while figuring out a way how to not die soon from living inside his daughter's body. But, as usual, Argan's voice finally rang inside her head again.

[My Lady, don't reject him. Since we need information, there is no better person to ask than your father. Besides, if we ever need to go outside, you'll need his permission.]

Kalliope smiled rather sarcastically as she responded, 'Great, now he's truly my father. Anyway, if I want to go outside, why would I need his permission? I'm more than capable of sneaking out without getting noticed.'

For a while, there was only silence until suddenly Argan asked in all seriousness, [Why would you choose the hard way when there is a much simpler option which only requires you to ask the duke, My Lady?]

Kalliope, "...."

[It doesn't even take a minute to ask for permission.]

The corner of Kalliope's lips lifted into a dazzling smile and her thin arms circled around the duke's neck as she said in a spoiled tone, "Will I also get to have tea with you after, Daddy?"

{...? ....My Lady?]

Upon seeing his daughter's cheerful countenance, the duke's facial expression softened slightly. His speech also fell more natural and there was a hint of indulgence in his voice. "Yes, if you want to."

"Yay! Let's go then!" Alice exclaimed before hugging the duke's neck lovingly.

Witnessing this scene, Leonard took the initiative to leave. "In that case, I shall excuse myself, Your Grace. Thank you for your hospitality. Good day to you and the young lady."

"Bye bye, Mister!" Alice waved her hand cutely which Leonard responded back by waving his hand as well.

However, for an unknown reason, Leonard suddenly got a goosebumps. But, it disappeared just as quick after Alice turned away to hug the duke again. Thereafter, the attendant turned around and left.

"Let's head to the dining hall now."

"Yup!" Alice bobbed her little head as she agreed.

[My Lady, are you ignoring me?]

"I wonder what we will have today for lunch," Alice suddenly quipped.

The duke stroked her hair gently while he continued to walk down the hallway towards the dining hall. "You can always ask the chef to make something else if you don't like the food later."

Alice giggled happily in respond to the duke's spoiling. "Okay."

Argan, "...."