Part One, Section Two: “Crisis Over My Homeland”
Chapter Ten (Mia’s POV)
“Wow! As expected of Lady Mia…!”
“She activates a spell faster than her sister, Lady Philia…!”
“It is surprising to see how effortlessly she filled the gap left after the departure of Lady Philia.”
It seemed that Prince Julius had ordered a tenfold increase in the number of escort soldiers accompanying me. Currently, I was setting up a barrier in a pitch-black forest, where demons were particularly abundant. The forest was vast, so it looked like it would take more than a day to spread barriers throughout the entire area.
Honestly, saying I “filled the gap effortlessly” was quite thoughtless.
If it were my sister, she would not only be setting up barriers, but also discover herb patches and rare minerals, and in her free time translate ancient texts to recreate rituals from the distant past. In a year, they will realize the loss of not having her around.
Both the parents and Philia praised me as a genius, but I was still far from reaching her level. She was flawless in every aspect… and incredibly devoted to her duties.
Indeed, it was true that my spell activation speed was faster than Philia’s. I was said to be the fastest among all the previous saints. But my barrier was much more fragile compared to hers. So if a massive horde of demons attacked all at once, they could likely breakthrough.
To prevent that from happening, I usually cast multiple layers of barriers.
What I had discovered by cautiously probing Prince Julius was that he was attempting to completely replace my sister with me. Whenever he got a chance, he repeatedly said things that put down Philia and lift up me.
‘To be honest, Philia was so boring. In that regard, you are charming and have a sense of humor, and being with you is fun.’
I couldn’t forgive the prince, who was laughing and speaking ill of my sister. Perhaps, he made such a move because Philia became an obstacle to him…
“Lady Mia! Watch out!”
“Ugh…! How many demons are there?”
Oh no… While setting up a barrier, I let my guard down for a moment, and now a group of goblins and lizardmen, along with other demons, is heading towards us.
Sigh… It can’t be helped. The escort members seem taken aback and unable to act…
“Silver Cross Of Judgment!”
I swiftly channeled my magical energy and unleashed the anti-demon extermination spell.
The silver cross-shaped blades of light thrust one by one, and the demons met their demise.
“Amazing… she obliterated the horde in an instant…”
“Her magic was so fast that it was impossible to see…”
“She looks so beautiful and elegant even while fighting…”
The escort soldiers rushed towards me with relieved expressions.
Hmm… I can’t tell who’s escorting whom, but well, it doesn’t really matter.
Even though I was a bit distracted, I had never come across a group of demons this fast after setting up a barrier… The demons around here really had been acting strange lately. If even I could notice that something was off, there was no way Philia wouldn’t have. The fact that I hadn’t received any word from my sister was really odd. She always looked out for me… She would have tried to tell me something.
“Mother, is there any letter or message from Sister?”
“A letter from Philia? I’m not aware of any…”
“Are you sure…? You didn’t happen to forget?”
“No. Since she became a saint in another place, she probably wouldn’t send such things, right? She was always quite cold in that regard.”
After finishing work and returning home, I asked our mother if there was any letter from Philia. She responded with an innocent expression, saying that there was no such thing.
Sis isn’t cold. She’s just not good at expressing emotions, but she’s a kind person. I thought you understood that…
But, was there truly no letter at all…? Or could there be a reason for concealing it from me…?
“Mia, it is about time for you to begin distancing yourself from your sister. Philia chose to become a part of a neighboring country of her own will. Since you can’t rely on her anymore, try to forget about her.”
During the meal, the father advised me to let go of thoughts about Philia after discussing it with the mother.
Since both of them were like this, further probing would probably be futile. In that case, I had my own plan…
I secretly wrote a letter. It’s addressed to Philia… If Sis had written to me… I’m sure she will write back to me next time so that I can receive it.
I had a promise to meet with the prince again tomorrow. It would be only for a short time, but I wanted to gather some new information…
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