DUMBW 04

Chapter 4

The Reckless Young Lady
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“Your mana control is so sloppy, darling♡”

That one sentence kept spinning around and around in my head.

— Sloppy? Me?

When Professor Saphir said that during the academy’s practical exam, everyone around us was barely holding in their laughter.
I just didn’t want to lose to the boys.
I wanted to prove how capable I was.
And yet, after all my effort, to be dismissed with a single word—sloppy.
…How humiliating.

“Just you watch. I’ll control my magic perfectly and make that flamboyant teacher eat his words!”

With that fierce resolve, I began extra training that very night.

No one noticed me sneaking out of my room—
my father and cousins were too busy enjoying their endless banquet.
Fine. That just meant I could devote myself entirely to mastering magic.

I told myself that as I made my way to the forest training grounds near the academy.

⸻

I took deep breaths.
I stretched both hands forward, focusing every bit of mana in my body into a single point—

“Light, take shape—”

Bwoosh! Power burst out of me.
In the next instant, the orb of light swelled, and uncontrolled energy made the nearby furniture tremble.

“W–What is this!? I can’t stop it!?”

I tried desperately to suppress it, but the magic raged like a wild stallion.
My chest burned, and my vision blurred into white.

—It’s going to explode.

At that moment—
a cool hand gently wrapped around mine from behind.

“Calm down, young lady.”

That carefree voice whispered right by my ear.
But the mana flowing from that hand was astonishingly smooth,
and the wild energy that had been rampaging moments ago quickly settled into stillness.

“—!”
My vision cleared. The light orb shrank, then vanished completely.

I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
“Haah… haah…”

“My, my, you really do overdo it♡”
Professor Saphir flipped his robe with a graceful motion and crouched beside me.
His lips, tinted red, curved into a faint smile.

“…W–Why are you here?”
“Well, dear♡ If a student’s mana suddenly goes haywire in the middle of the night, of course a teacher would notice~”
He said it casually, but there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

—Suppressing that must not have been easy.

“…Thank you. For saving me.”
I hated to admit it, but the words came out naturally.
For a brief second, Saphir looked surprised—then smiled softly.

“You’re welcome♡ But listen, young lady—”
He lightly poked my chest with a fingertip and murmured,
“Raw power isn’t true strength. Real power is in control.”

His voice was sweet, but somehow it stayed with me.

“…Tch.”
I bit my lip. Frustrated—but knowing he was right.

“Don’t worry♡ You’ve got talent, after all.”
He stood up with his usual unbothered grace.
And somehow—against my will—
for just a moment, he looked a little bit… cool.