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As time passed, the clear sky gradually darkened. The lingering glow of the setting sun stayed for a moment over the vast sea of flowers before giving way to the dazzling stars.
Under the night sky, small balls emitting silver light began to float in the sea of flowers. These magical orbs danced like fireflies among the flowers, becoming a second source of illumination besides the starlight. More orbs slowly gathered and circled around the pavilion, casting a tempting light over the exquisite dishes on the stone table.
Perhaps it was because Sasa had specially instructed Lena to go to the kitchen today, the dishes on the table were exceptionally abundant. There was transparent jelly that seemed almost clear enough to pass a finger through, smoked golden royal bread, Rams’ specialty fragrant wheat powder, frozen fruit juice caramel pastries. Of course, there were also various colorful cakes topped with thick cream and chocolate, and sweet and fragrant beverages filling the table.
Such exquisite food had not been seen since the selection ball that day. With Sasa's smiling consent, Nia excitedly grabbed the pastries and began to eat heartily. Mengdie shook her head at her behavior, but seeing Sasa's cheerful smile, she didn't say anything.
As Coco pressed a few stones on a column in the pavilion, the roof slowly opened, revealing the brilliant night sky to everyone's faces. The pastries' surfaces sparkled with starlight, further enhanced by the continuously dancing silver light around, making Mengdie feel as if she had fallen into a dream.
"Ah? So you two are the fifth and sixth children of Prime Minister Rayen?"
During the meal, Lena and Coco also sat around the table to join in. Needless to say, this was at Sasa's request. Initially, the sisters were a bit reserved, but as time passed, they relaxed. Coco started to fight with Nia over food, while Lena, while restraining her sister, talked about Prime Minister Rayen.
"Yes, we are half-sisters with the same father. There are several older brothers and sisters above us. Speaking of which, we are the youngest children of our father. Haha."
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The dinner went smoothly amidst laughter. Mengdie, Lena, and Sasa didn't eat much. Almost all of it went into the stomachs of the two girls, Nia and Coco. Despite their noisy eating, once the food was swept away, the two girls ran out of the pavilion to watch Coco demonstrate magic in the garden.
Originally, Mengdie didn't pay much attention to the girls' magic, but while she was asking Lena, the captain of the sword knights, whether she had obtained any information about the Black Flame Snake members with black snakes tattooed on their shoulders, suddenly, something sharp flew towards the back of her head!
Hearing the sound of it cutting through the air, Mengdie quickly tilted her head! Almost instantly, the sharp object narrowly grazed her cheek and stabbed into a nearby marble column.
"This is... a steel spear?!" Feeling the coldness near her cheek, Mengdie was startled by the small steel spear stuck in the column! She quickly turned around to see Nia running over in a panic, bowing repeatedly in front of Mengdie.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Sister Mengdie! I... I didn't control it well! I'm sorry! Sister Mengdie, are you hurt?!"
Following Nia to apologize was Coco, holding a magic book, her cheeks flushed with nervousness and redness. More frightened than Nia, if Mengdie said anything slightly harsh, she might immediately burst into tears!
"You two!!!"
Lena also saw the steel spear and was just as shocked as Mengdie, if not more! If the spear had been aimed at her, could she have dodged it like Mengdie? If she couldn't, wouldn't there be an additional corpse here now?!
"Coco! Who told you to teach magic recklessly!!! You know very well that steel magic is very dangerous, a slight mistake could hurt yourself or others! You're still just a magic apprentice, how can you teach others recklessly?!"
Reprimanded by her sister, Coco finally couldn't hold back and started to cry. Now it was Mengdie who, shaking her head, stepped forward to comfort her. Under her smile and gently wagging tail, Coco's crying slowly subsided.
Having made a mistake, Coco hurried to the marble column, dissolved the steel spear, and filled the hole in the column. While Mengdie breathed a sigh of relief, she noticed Nia's apologetic yet somewhat excited eyes.
"Nia. Do you... like magic?"
Upon hearing Mengdie's question, Nia nodded immediately without thinking! But when she remembered that the one asking her was Mengdie, and that the steel spear she had just condensed had almost taken her life, her smiling face immediately turned to panic.
"Alright, alright, I won't be angry. So... you like magic..."
Honestly, Mengdie didn't oppose Nia's interest in magic. The problem was, there was no time to properly learn magic now. Moreover, the journey didn't have a specific city as its destination, so it was impossible to attend a magic academy in any city. Although it was possible to let Xiu teach her along the way, what exactly that self-proclaimed scientist and "apprentice" of magic would teach Nia was still questionable.
Apart from that, there was another important reason Mengdie didn't want Nia to learn magic—
Magic's lethality was too great, whether it was the three triangles Coco shot at her during the day or any magic Xiu used on the road, all were life-threatening spells. Nia was still young; having powerful combat abilities meant she would be more likely to encounter danger than ordinary civilians. She might also be taken to the battlefield, becoming a girl with bloodstained hands. Such a life was definitely not what Aya wanted to see.
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