The Adored Daughter of the Disliked Duke's House: My Magic Power Increases Every Time I'm Praised, So I've Been Perfecting Cuteness Since Infancy! - Episode 17

“Still, my ‘Possession Magic’ should have been flawless.”

“So how did you see through it, young master Alverio?”

In response to this question, Alverio simply sneered.

“Leo doesn’t call his friends like that.”

That’s right.

Leo had been like that from the moment we met.

He truly considered us his friends and always called us by affectionate nicknames.

“Besides, I’ve told you many times before. Your acting is terrible.”

“…If it were the real Leo, even today’s training would’ve been—he would have been enjoying it much more.”

It wasn’t just the way he spoke.

When we were with him, everything felt more fun.

That feeling—

That was something we couldn’t sense from this creature.

Had the possession lasted longer, others would have noticed the discrepancies as well.

“I see. So, human intuition—especially a kid’s instinct—shouldn’t be underestimated.”

Mukrain nodded as if accepting this explanation.

He seemed convinced that the failure of his ‘Possession Magic’ was due to a child’s intuition.

(If that was enough to fool them, I should have just consulted Father or Mother from the start.)

A fleeting thought—but it was too late for regrets now.

While listening to their exchange, I quietly gathered my magic.

I visualized my magic coursing through my nerves, veins, and skin.

“Al!”

I touched Al’s body.

Instantly, his body flared up with heat.

(It worked!)

“…!”

While Al was caught off guard, Mukrain moved into an attack stance.

The sludge that formed his body began bubbling ominously, its stench growing stronger.

Simultaneously, fist-sized globules of sludge floated into the air.

“I bet this is the first time for you noble kids, isn’t it? Getting drenched in sludge~♡”

(You don’t have to be a noble for that to be an extremely rare experience!)

I barely had time to mentally retort before the sludge balls came flying toward us!

“Al! Jump!”

Al reacted immediately to my voice, leaping into the air.

Higher and higher.

Higher than the rose arch.

“Whoa!”

Even he seemed surprised at how high he had jumped.

And then—he hit the ceiling of the barrier Mukrain had created.

“Kick off it!”

At my signal, Al twisted his body and kicked off the barrier, using the momentum to launch himself straight at Mukrain.

“!?”

This time, it was Mukrain’s turn to be surprised.

In an instant, Al was upon him, slashing his sword in a horizontal arc.

But Mukrain barely managed to dodge.

With a sickening, sludgy sound, he recoiled backward, while Al kicked off the ground, creating distance once more.

(As expected, he understands the principles of hit-and-run tactics.)

“For a brat, you sure have trained well~♡”

Mukrain muttered in admiration, though both Al and I knew it was just bitter frustration talking.

After all, Al had nearly taken his head just now.

“What did you do to my body?”

“Enhancement magic. It’s my first time using it, but I’m glad it worked.”

“You… Don’t use my body for practice!”

“Oh, come on. Now you can fight freely, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

As we exchanged banter, Mukrain began forming sludge balls again.

Only this time, they were even larger than before.

“Honestly, that was just a fluke.”

“I figured.”

The gap in battle experience between us and Mukrain was too great.

Al wouldn’t get another chance to get that close again.

“For now, just focus on dodging. I’ll try to attack while protecting Leo.”

“Got it.”

—CRACK!

Something shattered outside the barrier.

“Tch, they’ve arrived already?”

Mukrain clicked his tongue.

“It’s Father!”

Father had arrived.

He had begun attacking the barrier from the outside.

(We’re saved—)

“Did you think you were saved, little lady~?♡”

Grinning wickedly, Mukrain launched another sludge attack.

Al dodged while I shielded Leo with a protective spell.

—CRACK! SIZZLE! —

Outside the barrier, lightning and sparks flashed intermittently.

It wasn’t just Father—several mages were attacking the barrier from the outside.

But something was wrong.

“Why…!?”

Even after taking so many attacks, the barrier remained intact.

“As a parting gift, I’ll tell you a little secret~♡”

Mukrain formed another sludge ball.

This time, it was just one.

A single, massive sphere, thousands of times larger than my body.

“This barrier isn’t my magic~♡”

A cold sweat ran down my back.

(Why didn’t I consider that possibility?!)

I cursed myself.

(Graulus wasn’t alone either!)

I should have expected that another powerful creature was assisting this time as well.

“Lord Barzemir’s barrier is the strongest~♡

No human mage can break it~!”

Mukrain released the sludge sphere.

“Al!”

Al instantly recognized the danger and took cover behind my shield.

The sludge wave crashed against the shield.

“Ugh!”

The sheer weight of it nearly overwhelmed me, but I poured more magic into my shield to hold it back.

“Now, now! How long can you keep this up?”

The sludge kept coming.

Mukrain was continuously feeding it from the large sphere, making it an endurance battle.

(We might be able to maintain our magic…

But my body won’t last!)

This small body of mine wouldn’t have the stamina to sustain the shield indefinitely.

“Lily!”

Al supported my body, easing the strain slightly—but only slightly.

Step by step, the sludge was pushing me back.

…The barrier won’t break.

Which meant—

No one could come to save us.

(…No.)

That couldn’t be true!

“Al, it’s fine! No matter how powerful this barrier is, Father won’t lose!”

Yes.

My father was the strongest mage of all!

I could feel the immense magic clashing outside the barrier even now.

Father would never give up.

Which meant, we only had one job.

“Believe in him and endure!”

As I shouted, I infused my shield with more magic.

—HISSSS!

Steam rose from the sludge.

I had added heat magic, evaporating its moisture.

With less water, it lost mass.

Even Mukrain’s sludge wasn’t infinite.

If I could keep reducing its mass, I would eventually gain the upper hand.

“Alright!”

Al braced himself, giving me more stability.

With that, I could focus all my attention on channeling magic.

—And then.

The retreating shield…

Stopped.

“Hang in there, Lily!”

“Yeah!”

We had to endure.

Believe in Father—

“Lily, what can I do?”

A sudden voice made me turn around.

And there—

“Looks like I overslept. Sorry about that?”

Stretching lazily, rubbing his eyes, stood Leo.

Smiling cheerfully, the prince said,
“Let’s counterattack!”

Hearing that, my heart swelled.

(We can do this!)

Al and I couldn’t help but grin.