"Hmm..."
Tiel slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, and she couldn't see clearly.
Tiel blinked. The ceiling above her was familiar. This was her room.
'Why am I here?'
Tiel cautiously sat up, her mind still foggy from just waking up.
"Ugh..."
She groaned, pressing her forehead due to the intense headache. Every time the headache throbbed, her vision blurred, and it grew whiter. She held back the pain, trying to recall why she was lying there.
'What happened today? We had breakfast... and then...'
After the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ meal, her memory went blank. After thinking for a bit, Tiel finally remembered that she had collapsed during the meal.
"Right, that happened..."
Why had she suddenly collapsed? Tiel checked her body, wondering if something was wrong.
She took a deep breath and tried using her power. A tiny, faint light appeared at the tip of her fingers.
"...Hmm?"
Surprised, Tiel tried using her power again, but the result was the same. The faint light remained at the tips of her fingers.
'Why is this happening?'
Tiel placed her hand on her chest and checked the flow of her energy.
The amount of energy flowing through her body had drastically diminished. Tiel's eyes widened. She pulled off the blanket and jumped out of bed in shock.
"Why is this happening suddenly? Could it be... did I put energy into the orb last night?"
It was true that she had tried to create an orb with light energy last night, but she hadn't used so much energy that it would cause it to disappear in an instant.
Tiel rushed to the dresser and opened it forcefully. Inside, a faintly glowing orb rolled out.
It was the orb she had tried to fill with light energy. The glass orb contained a small fragment of light at its center.
"Was it this?"
Just as Tiel murmured in disbelief, two fish suddenly appeared from her hand.
The fish swam around her, their long fins fluttering, almost as though they were worried about her.
"Oh, you guys!"
Tiel gently tapped the fish with her finger. As her finger touched them, faint ripples of light spread out from the spot.
For a moment, the fish glowed brightly when Tiel's finger touched them, but soon after, the light faded away.
The light from the fish was so faint that, under sunlight, it was barely visible.
Tiel ran to the window, pulled the curtains open, and observed the fish.
These fish were created as a part of Tiel's energy.
So the state of the fish reflected the state of her own energy.
But to see them fade like this... Tiel felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness and despair.
With Ian Dross's energy unstable, now her own energy was failing too?
And the two of them had already made a bond.
If this situation continues, it could be dangerous for both of them. Tiel carefully took the glass orb into her hands.
She had failed to make the bright light orb, like she had for Karsus, but the faint light energy still lingered inside.
If she broke the orb and absorbed the remaining light energy, she might be able to use a bit more of her abilities.
But...
"No... I don't know when I might need it."
Tiel thought that the weakness in her abilities was just a temporary condition.
Like how night follows day, and day follows night, this was a temporary thing, and her abilities would come back after some time.
But she couldn't be sure.
Strange things had been happening with the day and night cycle in the Crassion Empire for a while. The days were getting shorter, and the nights were unusually long.
The prophecy of the god Lyset had stopped, the temple had lost its power and prestige, and the people of the empire blamed Tiel for everything...
In such a situation, she couldn't be sure her powers would return. She might have to live with such weak abilities for the rest of her life, or they could completely disappear.
'I've read records about Beastkin who lost their abilities entirely.'
She had seen such records in the Asterian archives.
Biting her lip, Tiel shook her head violently, as if trying to shake off all the negative thoughts.
"No, they will come back."
They certainly would.
But just in case, it would be better to save the glass orb.
If Ian Dross and Karsus secretly infiltrated Nestian as planned, she would need to give them the orb.
Tiel decided to stop trying to break the orb and absorb the faint light energy inside.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
Instead, she put the orb back in the drawer, deep in the chest.
At that moment, her fish started swimming around the curtains, as if asking her to open them.
"Huh? You want me to open this?"
As Tiel approached and grabbed the curtain, the fish swirled around more vigorously.
Tiel, puzzled, opened the curtains.
In the bright sunlight, the light from her fish became almost invisible, but the fish seemed to be comforted by the sunlight, as if they felt at peace.
"Do you like the light? Well, you were born from light, so I guess it makes sense."
Tiel smiled gently as she spoke to the fish.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
The person who knocked seemed to have assumed Tiel was sleeping, and after knocking, entered without waiting for permission.
"Miss?"
It was Ria. Seeing Tiel standing by the window with the curtains open, Ria quickly approached and checked on Tiel.
"Are you alright? Please don't get up, just rest a little longer! I'll bring the doctor."
"I'm... I'm fine. Ria, did I collapse during the meal?"
"Yes! You can't imagine how shocked everyone was. You suddenly collapsed, and the whole mansion was in an uproar."
Ria spoke with a worried voice, helping Tiel sit back down on the bed. Tiel looked up at Ria from the bed.
"Father and Grandfather must have been so surprised, and my brothers too... At least, luckily, Ian didn't arrive yet, so he..."
"Ian is here now, Miss..."
"...Ian?"
"Yes, it's a long story. I'm sure either Ian or Karsus will explain. So, please rest for now!"
After Ria helped Tiel sit back in bed and tucked the blanket around her, she left the room.
Tiel leaned against her pillow and blinked.
The two faint fish that had been around her were now swimming uneasily, continuing to circle around her...
***
"I heard Tiel woke up?"
Karsus stopped what he was doing and immediately headed toward Tiel's room.
Others did the same. Ian Dross, who had been talking with Ferdie and Ludian, and Alpheus, who had been preparing to go out, all made their way to Tiel's room.
Because of that, the five men found themselves meeting in the wide hallway outside Tiel's room.
"News travels fast," Karsus commented lightly before opening Tiel's door.
Inside, Tiel was seen sitting against the bed, drowsy.
"Tiel!"
Ludian was the first to rush inside and check on her condition.
The last to enter was surprisingly Ian Dross, who frowned slightly upon seeing Tiel asleep and the faint fish swimming around her.
'Maybe I was mistaken.'
Seeing the fish grow dimmer, he realized it wasn't a mistake.
Tiel's powers had really weakened.
The fish swam toward Ian, recognizing him, and circled around him.
As Ian Dross extended his hand, one of the fish swam into it.
The fish was much weaker than it had been when he had seen it in the void.
'Was the light brighter in the void because it was dark there?'
In this bright room, the light looked weaker?
The fish, after briefly resting in Ian's hand, swam back to Tiel.
The fragments of light scattered by the fish's movement were no longer visible.
Ian Dross, feeling a tightness in his chest, approached Tiel, who was peacefully asleep, maintaining his calm demeanor