Hey, it’s been a while. This is Mary Regalia, now six years old. In the time that passed since that incident, my bond with Tutte had grown deeper. Three years had passed by before I knew it, and I was still growing steadily. And my goals for the future?
Longevity! Uneventfulness! A good life!
But the older I was getting, the more a certain issue was becoming more pronounced, causing concerns in my daily life.
As I was enjoying my teatime one peaceful afternoon, the handle of the cup I was holding broke off with a dry clink.
“Are you all right, my lady?!” Tutte, who was standing at my side, peered down to confirm I hadn’t been hurt.
“Not to worry, dear Tutte.” I waved my hand in front of her soothingly. “I suppose I just gripped the cup too hard when I put it down and broke it by accident.”
After confirming that my pale fingers were unblemished and unharmed, Tutte sighed in relief.
“Oh, thank goodness. But really, my lady, again? As soon as you put force into your fingers, you break cups left and right. Is this some kind of technique you learned in your past life?”
“Nobody would want a technique like this!”
As we spoke, Tutte skillfully disposed of the broken cup and brought over a new one. She was very much used to me breaking things by now.
Since Tutte was my constant companion, I decided not to hide anything from her and told her about myself. When it came to my power and my memories of my past life...even though I didn’t want to hide things from her, I wasn’t sure whether she’d believe me at first. However, when I came clean, Tutte’s response was...
“Oh, my. You remember your past life? That’s wondrous! That’s just what I’ve come to expect of you, my lady!”
Well, huh. I’m not sure what kind of expectations you have of me, but if you’re not going to doubt me, I suppose I’ll just take the compliment.
Getting back on track, though, I’d come to realize since that incident that I’d been blessed with surprising physical strength—and by “realize,” I mean that I became keenly aware of how this blessing was actually a curse. If I applied even the slightest bit of force to anything, I ended up breaking objects.
Up until then, I’d been unconsciously holding back because I never knew how strong I was, but it seemed that now that I did, I could never go back to that kind of unnatural, subconscious restraint.
“How hard should I pull on this door’s handle so it won’t break...?”
I had to constantly be cautious, which made me do things a bit slower and more carefully than everyone around me. If my strength were the outcome of me training and getting incrementally stronger, I would’ve been more aware of my limits and would have been able to better control it. However, since I got all this power without even realizing I’d had it, I lacked awareness about my capabilities, so most of the time the reality of how strong I was just wouldn’t settle in.
My strength was one dangerous weapon. I felt like I was walking around with a gun pointed at everyone around me that could go off at any time. I need to learn how to properly move my body and control my strength, or it could very much be a matter of life and death. With that in mind, I decided to ask father to teach me self-defense.
“A cute flower like you doesn’t need to learn martial arts. Besides, if anyone tries to hurt you, I’ll hunt them down and slaughter their family and friends before they can lay a hand on you. ♪” Thus spoke my dangerous father with a calm, collected smile, leaving me unable to petition him any further.
I considered just trying to keep myself in good shape and controlling my strength that way, but things weren’t that simple. Being a duke’s daughter, there was always someone watching over me or wanting to fuss over me, be it a servant or one of the various guests who visited our manor.
“You give off quite a presence, my lady. You have this air of mystical transience to you. I wish you’d be more aware of that,” quoth Tutte. She seemed so amazed with me when she said it—and her face had become so very rosy—that I couldn’t bring myself to retort.
As a result of all this, I was still trying to figure out some measure I could take to resolve the issue, and in the meantime, I’d have to spend my days dreading what I’d break next. I needed to rely on Tutte to handle most matters for me, which ironically meant my strength made me seem very frail and helpless.
Worse yet, my past life as an ill girl meant I was predisposed to letting other people take care of me. Thanks to that, my father, with his warrior’s mentality, became intensely overprotective, calling me such dangerous things as “a fragile, frail flower to be cherished” without batting an eyelash and making no attempt to train me.
“Oh, bother... I never knew restraining my strength could be so difficult.”
“That’s because not everything is made to accommodate your strength, my lady. But more importantly, the Oracle Rite is coming up next year. It would be quite the disaster if something were to happen when you meet the other children. My, with your strength, you could blow a child’s head off by flicking them on the forehead!”
“St-Stop describing me like I’m some kind of monster! I’m not that strong... I...think...?”
The Oracle Rite. When children turned seven, they were to visit the temple, where they would receive a revelation from God. It was a grand event meant to reveal one’s potential. The oracle informed one of their capabilities with martial prowess, intellect, and magic, directing children to what they should study in the future.
I suppose I’ll be focused on martial prowess, then. That should give me an excuse to get father to teach me martial arts.
I optimistically looked forward to this important event next year. But I still didn’t know that what the oracle would reveal would exceed my every expectation.