Ever since Anna had changed their destination to the Marquis’s Mansion, the bumpiness of the journey had not stopped for a single moment.
Reflecting on the life she had led before becoming a young girl, Ai’er remembered what it felt like to sit on a horse’s back. However, compared to the frantic gallop she was currently enduring, those horseback riding attractions on the plains or in the mountains felt like total scams.
“Ugh! I’m… so dizzy… Huh?!”
Her stomach was in a state of upheaval, and the cold wind sliced across her cheeks like blades. The violent, insecure jolting of the horse’s back forced Ai’er to squeeze her eyes shut.
Shielded by her closed eyelids, Ai’er momentarily wrapped herself in a world where no light could be seen, until—
A single snowflake drifted down onto the tip of the girl’s nose.
‘It’s so cold! Snow… snow?’
She opened her eyes, her pupils widening.
‘Huh?!’
Directly in front of her field of vision was a world of pure white.
“Holy moly! What is going on?!”
She saw a blizzard.
A white tornado was causing Cold Qi to diffuse under the pitch-black night sky. Clouds condensed from water vapor had completely blanketed this part of the night, appearing like the herald of an impending downpour.
In the center of the tornado, there was a figure.
Ai’er’s gaze barely managed to pierce through the wind and snow to see a blurred silhouette. It was a young girl.
Ai’er knew that the girl was Elena, but for some reason—the sight of the girl’s figure amidst the blizzard made Ai’er instinctively feel a sense of dread and alienation.
No…
This emotion wasn’t dread. This emotion was—
‘Sadness?’
In the next instant, a surge of Cold Qi rushed toward Ai’er. The bone-chilling cold made her whole body shudder!
“Achoo! Sy… System… let me check something. My mission hasn’t failed yet, right?”
**[Current Mission: Prevent Elena White from being consumed by her own Mana.]**
Hearing the System’s reply, even though the icy wind was freezing her eyes shut, Ai’er couldn’t help but blink her wide eyes in disbelief.
This blizzard, this Cold Qi! Even under these conditions, she hasn’t been consumed yet?! If Elena is ever completely consumed by her Mana…
Ai’er couldn’t imagine such a scene; she only felt a shiver run through her entire body.
“System! You, you, you! Are you sure this is a mission I can actually complete?! You—you’re trying to kill your Host—*cough cough cough*!”
Ai’er wanted to say more, but the wind, thick with ice and snow, suddenly forced its way into her mouth, sending her into a fit of coughing.
And it was during this bout of coughing that the girl in the blizzard seemed to tremble slightly.
“Eh? System, did Elena just—Yikes!”
Before Ai’er could confirm the slight abnormality in the blizzard, Anna suddenly pulled hard on the reins, coming to a screeching halt.
It felt as if every organ in Ai’er’s body was about to be flung out. The sudden discomfort made her fail to notice the cold that was gradually seeping into her body.
“So… so dizzy, meow… @_@…”
“Lady Ai’er!”
The black horse stopped about 100 meters from the Marquis’s Mansion. Sebas and the Head Maid, who had been unable to approach due to the blizzard, immediately rushed over.
Sebas summoned a Magic Barrier, and Ai’er instantly felt significantly warmer. But this barrier was ultimately only a temporary fix.
The blizzard was visibly growing stronger, and massive cracks were beginning to spread across the Magic Barrier Sebas had deployed…
“Lady Ai’er, can… can you stop the Young Lady?”
‘Is there even a point in asking such an impossible question?!’
Ai’er desperately wanted to answer that way. But she had no choice.
**[If you fail—Host will permanently lose the qualification to remain in the current time and space.]**
She could only remain silent.
Ai’er understood clearly: if she rushed out now, Elena’s Mana would drain her lifespan, and she would die. But if she didn’t rush out, the System’s penalty was equivalent to killing her version in this time and space anyway…
Dammit, what should I do now?!
The silver-haired girl remained silent until—
*Thud.*
Following that sudden, dull sound, Ai’er blinked her eyes in confusion. She looked toward the source of the noise and saw Sebas kneeling on the ground.
“This old servant knows… that this is an incredibly brazen request—but Lady Ai’er, please, you must, you must save the Young Lady!”
Following his cry, the Head Maid and Anna both knelt on the ground as well, without saying a word.
‘Wait? What exactly do you all take me for… how am I supposed to save her? I don’t even know how to make Elena stop!’
**[Absorbing Elena’s overflowing Mana is currently the most effective solution.]**
**[They hope the Host can absorb Elena’s Mana. Whether through the Magic Ring—or through physical absorption.]**
…Damn it.
‘Is that how it is?’
No wonder Anna had brought her here… No wonder these people had looked as if they were afraid a precious treasure had been damaged when she coughed while getting off the horse.
Exploitation.
Exploit everything that can be exploited—whether it was from movies or history books, Ai’er was not unfamiliar with this kind of aristocratic society.
But that didn’t matter.
Ai’er retracted her gaze; her only goal was to save Elena. Although being treated as a disposable tool made her extremely annoyed, that wasn’t something she should be worrying about right now.
If this was the only way, then this was what she had to do.
The problem now was—how should she absorb it?
Even if she exchanged System Points for more rings, according to the System, the absorbed Mana would still drain her lifespan through the ring. If she wanted to stop Elena, she had to block the Mana from invading her body…
Yes, block the Mana.
“Hey, System… tell me, do you have no conscience at all? I finally managed to get a piece of Disposable Magic, and I have to use it immediately.”
Ai’er sighed and stood up.
Under the Magic Barrier that was gradually disintegrating in the blizzard, Ai’er could feel the increasingly bone-chilling cold at her fingertips.
Come to think of it, her Magic Ring should still be with Elena, but her lifespan didn’t seem to be decreasing right now? Although there was definitely a sensation of cold gradually eroding the depths of her body…
Whatever, forget it! As long as she could reach Elena’s side, she would surely find the answers to these questions!
“System, use Disposable Magic: Protection of the Witch of Time.”
**[Host command confirmed]**
**[Activating Disposable Magic “Protection of the Witch of Time”—Remaining duration: 300 seconds.]**
Thinking about how her Disposable Magic was gone just like that, Ai’er felt a sudden pang of heartache.
“I definitely still think there’s something wrong with this System! Damn it, meow! System, you owe me a mission reward! Remember that, you owe me!!”
Ai’er suddenly leaped past the barrier and charged toward the center of the blizzard.
…
“Owe me.”
Due to the roar of the wind and snow, Sebas and the others only clearly heard those three words from Ai’er’s mouth.
They did not lift their heads even after the girl had rushed out of the barrier.
Fina was the only one watching Ai’er’s departing back. And she was the only one who saw that silver hair gradually disappearing into the blizzard.
She saw that flash of silver-white vanish into the storm.