The Grand Duchess Escape

But Mariel’s prayers did not end there.

“And help my sister get close to His Excellency, too, so that they can always get along without fighting, to always be happy together, and to have beautiful babies who look like my sister.”

“Mariel!”

Embarrassed, Asella shouted at Mariel without thinking. Mariel, who had been absorbed in her prayer, was startled by her voice and opened her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Sister?”

Mariel tilted her head with an innocent look on her face. Then Asella managed to get things back under control.

“Let’s just stop and eat the cookies now. They taste better when they’re warm.”

“But I haven’t finished my prayer yet…”

“It’s enough now, I feel like I’m already getting stronger.”

“Really? Do you think Goddess Herniya will hear my prayer?”

“Of course.”

Acela replied softly, pushing the cookie plate in front of Mariel. Only then did the child’s serious expression loosen, and with a giggle, she climbed back up into her chair and sat down again. She continued her conversation, swinging her feet, which couldn’t reach the floor.

“I hope you get better soon because you know when you get a bruise, even the slightest pressure can cause it to tingle and hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Mariel. You prayed for me and I will heal soon. Somehow even my wrist doesn’t seem to hurt either… Eh?”

Asella, who casually dropped her gaze to her wrist began to blink in disbelief.

Her wrist was visible through the sleeve that moved up slightly when she raised her hand to hold the teacup’s handle. It was the wrist that Mariel had wrapped her hands around just a moment ago.

To her surprise, her wrist was perfectly clear.

‘No… impossible.’

Unintentionally, Asella covered her wrist again.

‘I must have seen things wrong.’

But her mind already recognized the truth. Her heart began to pound faster. She tried to compose herself and slowly rolled up her sleeves, which were adorned with luxurious lace.

‘…!’ 

An unmanageable surge of emotion came over her as she examined the status of her wrist.

The bruise marks that had been so clear on her wrist only moments before had faded. The pain was barely there.

Compared to the other wrists that Mariel had not touched, the difference was clearly visible. It was as if they had been healed by a priest.

Asella barely lifted her head to look at Mariel.

‘Healing power?’ 

 Not knowing what was going on, Mariel opened her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.

“Mariel, could it be…”

Asella covered her mouth with one hand. Realization hit her hard as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt from the top of her head to her toes. Despite the fact that she had been prepared for this, the timing was just too sudden…

“No… my birthday is still more than one month away …”

Yet there was one truth that this startling thing indicated.

Mariel had awakened her special ability.

Mariel sat alone at the table by her window, contemplating today’s events. The night was getting deeper and the stars were sparkling in the sky.

‘Sister looked very pale, but she’s going to be okay, right?’

As Mariel tended to her sister’s wounds, Asella noticed that she had awakened her special powers and her face paled.

“Just keep on what you’ve been doing so far. Don’t tell anyone the fact that you can use your special powers, and of course, you mustn’t show it. Do you understand?” Asella said with a bit of horror in her expression

“Yes, Sister. I won’t tell anyone.”

“If possible, you should also refrain from making contact with other people. You might start using your abilities unintentionally too, I know it’s inconvenient, but you have to be careful.”

As Asella repeated her urging, Mariel nodded meekly in an attempt to reassure her sister.

‘I’m sorry for deceiving you, Sister, but-“

While Asella learned that Mariel had awakened her ability for the first time today, this was not entirely true.

Mariel had been going through the awakening process long before she even came to attend the wedding.

‘I wish I could have determined my ability sooner.’

Since her awakening was not yet complete, she concealed the fact that she had manifested abilities.

It was based on her natural instinctive belief that an imperfect power would become a weakness.

She deliberately did not tell her either, fearing that Asella would get worried.

Letting her know about the awakening today was most likely an impulsive act.

‘But I couldn’t just let Sister’s wounds remain and turn into a scar.’

Mariel sighed softly.

‘It would have been nice if I had been able to use my powers to heal it perfectly…’

Due to her incomplete awakening, she could barely heal one wrist halfway.

Thanks to that, she was able to come up with a new plan, though.

As Mariel was carefully pondering what she was going to do from now on, she heard a knock at the door.