I Refuse To Be A Character In A Novel - Chapter 19

‘I don’t want to.’

‘Do I need a reason?’

‘I feel uncomfortable.’

Four months in a row, his wife has successfully avoided him.

She was either too confident in herself or she trusted him too much.

It didn’t feel too bad.

‘I was invited to a tea party for today, it would be a nice change of pace to attend.’

If the party is being held today today then you must have already sent a reply a few days ago.

Liebert County’s pampered child, Marquis Heissentein’s outstanding lady, Argentine Dukedom’s hostess.

She probably never had to ask permission for anything in her entire life.

He could tell from her stance.

It was as if she was forced to come.

It must have been Mrs. Lippert who hinted at her to ask permission, since she had  been going out often lately.

She is as strict as my mother when it came to these sorts of things.

It was a given for married women to ask permission from their husbands before they left the house.

Zachary however didn’t care much.

She was always accompanied by an escort and the furthest she went in Massila was the town square.

Her lips hesitated a few times before they finally opened again.

‘Well, anyway I will be attending this afternoon so…’

Zachary looked calmly over the clumsy way she fiddled with her hands while she tried to phrase her words.

‘I thought I should let you know…’

He thought she’d be offended if he laughed.

‘Do whatever you want.’

She had a strange look for a second.

An expression that I couldn’t read.

What did you want me to say?

However, his wife soon smiled and left the office without turning back.

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The calm tone, the mischievous behaviour, the sarcastic answers, how she openly avoided him.

Even her expressions now seemed different.

His wife changed.

The duke could no longer deny it.

Why now?

Zachary went over last winter’s events over and over again.

According to the butler’s report, nothing special happened while he was away.

His wife repeated the same schedule every year and this time was no different.

Yet she wasn’t the same.

Aside from her behaviour, there was an extremely odd thing that caught his attention.

Every noble involved with the palace affairs knew that Erna Tersia Heissentein possesed mana.

Very few people besides the royal family were born with magic abilities, sometimes it manifested later during their life, however, they all had to be blessed by the king himself after having the entire family swear allegiance to the royal family.

It was considered high treason to conceal the existence of magic abilities from the royal family, no matter how trivial they were.

The already existing law became a sensitive issue ever since the royal bloodline ceased to produce heirs with magic abilities, thus the pride the royal family had in protecting the world from Maghulls also disappeared.

When even the ruling authority had become lacking, both the aristocratic and commoner class began turning their backs on the once glorious bloodline and split into factions.

Until the birth of Isaac, son of Edward Schwerin De Rasmodia the second prince of Rasmodia, born to the king from his second wife Maria.

The king who wanted to restore the glory and pride of the royal family decided to make Edward whose son was born with incredible magic the crown prince instead of his first born son.

However, Edward backed down from the struggle over the throne following an unfortunate incident leading to the death of his first son, Isaac, and was granted the title of an archduke.

At the time, ignoring the age difference, the previous Marquis Heissentein pushed for his daughter’s marriage with the first prince who didn’t have many supporters to back his claim to the throne.

The Heissenteins, being one of the founding and most noble families of Rasmodia, was a strong stepping stone for the first prince to safely take over the throne after the king’s death.

The first prince, Albert Schwerin De Rasmodia became the King and Beatrice Heissentein became the Queen.

The duke’s second son who later manifested even greater magic ability, Zachary Argentine ended up  pledging  allegiance to his uncle, the king and married the marquis’ daughter as proof of his loyalty.

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Anyhow, Erna lost all her mana following a seizure.

Zachary was already aware of her condition, but it was strange that she could neither sense nor emit any kind of energy.

Mana intolerance.

A condition in which the body couldn’t withstand the mana flowing in it and developed a mechanism of defense that had the person suffer from headaches and intense fever that could potentially lead to their death.

Luckily, the person concerned remained unaffected by mana emitted from outside environments which made it easier for the saints of the temple to perform the act purification to relieve the symptoms.

Most people who were born with a mana intolerance condition, died at birth. The few who survived could either manage to control it after years of purification and practice, or eventually die at an early age if they failed to.

None of them lost their mana.

Although it was inherited by blood, it was an energy bound to the soul.

You could only lose it when you died.

Yet the girl lost it.

It was strange but after a while, Zachary decided not to think about it.

They never truly understood the origin of mana or how to fully control it.

Some records even claimed that turning back time was possible using magic abilities.

Erna Tersia Heissentein was just another variable.

Considering her weak build, it might have been a blessing.