Hold Me Tight, For I Am Unlovely

Chapter 20 : Unearthed

Chapter 20 : "Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú."

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Leonardo ducked his head, the weight of the moment pressing down on his shoulders as he reached for the pen to sign yet another document. "It certainly sounds like them alright." Though the duke wanted to say that with a laugh, there was only annoyance that remained in his tone.

The towering stack of papers before him seemed to stretch endlessly, a good peek to the demands of his position, he certainly looked like he wasn't enjoying this perk of his job. Despite the urgency with which he scanned each page and affixed his signature, the task appeared insurmountable, it was like the relentless tide of paperwork was threatening to swallow him whole if he didn't work fast enough.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow found a way to put all the blame on us," the Duke said, his tone suggesting that what he said was merely a second thought for him.

The Duchess rolled her eyes, a gesture that betrayed her own simmering frustration.  "I dare them," she retorted, but the words lacked conviction.  She knew, deep down, that her husband's cynicism wasn't entirely unfounded.  The political landscape was treacherous, and their enemies were cunning and arrogant.

The Duke smiled at Vitorria's hologram, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Just leave them to me then," he said, pushing a stack of papers aside with a casual gesture. "I need to make an appearance at the royal court anyway."

Only after hearing her husband did Vitorria's face ease up on the other side of the magical hologram. "I expect to hear our names in the mouth of every noble tomorrow then."

"You can count on it love."

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The weather outside was quite delightful when Leticia got back to her room. Her arms were filled with the books that she chose. And by now, she was confident that almost every servant in the Duke's palace had seen her and her busy structure.

Knowing how swiftly gossip traveled in the current age, Leticia was certain she would be the talk of the palace by nightfall, if not by the early hours of the following morning.

Leticia, of course, wasn't pleased with the whole situation.  But what could she do?  Her reputation, it seemed, was built brick by brick on the foundation of others' attempts to tear her down.  She could only blame her past self, the one who had allowed such a fragile structure to be erected in the first place.

But now, even despite the pleasant weather outside, it could not stop the curse that left her lips when she first read the first paragraph of the book that she chose.

And it wasn't because it was hard to understand or anything, but rather, because of the absurdity of it all.

The book began in the typical fashion of most literary works, introducing the topic at hand. However, in this instance, it delved into the history of magic. "Is this.... English?" Leticia stared at the English alphabet the book tried to introduce. "More importantly, is this math?!"

Although hesitant to even comprehend everything, Leticia instead, opted to immerse herself fully in the book, she postponed her questions and committed to reading through its entirety in a single sitting.

The book presented the concepts of magic in a straightforward manner, akin to how one would explain it to a literal baby, which Leticia was more glad than offended. Essentially, magic in this realm paralleled the principles of mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Yet, the translation of magic into tangible effects in the physical world mirrored the intricacies of coding.

Simply put, it wasn't something Leticia was so unfamiliar with.

"Oh, this certainly simplifies things." Although she had initially hesitated, it would be dishonest to claim that she wasn't thrilled to encounter a familiar framework that she could easily leverage to her advantage.

"Leticia, oh Leticia, you have landed on a gold mine." Muttering underneath her breath, the young miss didn't waste anytime and started to write on her notebook. She essentially wrote everything that she understood.

To her understanding, magic evolved in such a way through generations, because that was just how they were taught. The history of magic stretched back countless eons, so far back in time, that it led to a point where present-day individuals had lost touch with their origins, leaving only oral traditions as a reminder of their arcane heritage.

Teachings, by their nature, are subject to evolution, it was bound to change, especially with human nature as a significant factor.

And changed it did.

Despite having access to magic, its evolution remained stunted, likely due to selfish and incomprehensible motives (Leticia suspected that the nobles hoarding the majority of knowledge played a significant role). This stagnation hindered sorcerers from expanding their magical abilities and, consequently, impeded their overall progress.

Over the passage of countless years, the origin of the words, and the meaning of these words that enabled access to magic had faded from memory. Coupled with the scarcity of accessible knowledge and the secretive nature and practices of magic wielders, it became evident to Leticia that magic in the contemporary era was in a state of a ridiculous decline.

It was no wonder that the heroine in the novel was being clamoured by everyone and anything, it was because a person who could communicate with a god could get original words and in turn could restore at least a semblance of what magic should be like.

Her unique ability promised to breathe new life into the waning art of sorcery. It wasn't far off for people in this world to call her a saint.

"This is ridiculous." The more Leticia scanned the books on her hand, the more she realized how luminaries like Newton would've lost their minds if they found out about the basic principles of this world.

In this world, mastery of magic came in two distinct forms: Theoretical Magus and Experimental Magus. Those immortalized in the annals of history didn't excel in just one discipline but demonstrated proficiency in both realms, showcasing a rare and formidable combination of theoretical knowledge and practical application.

Leticia planned to excel in both too.

Should she successfully evade the grim fate of beheading, there remained a looming possibility of banishment from the kingdom. Acquiring proficiency in magic to a certain extent could potentially offer her a slim chance of survival. Given the scarcity of sorcerers, the king would undoubtedly feel the impact should he choose to cast aside a skilled militia-sorcerer.

Right?

"Anyways, learning magic should at least save me from the jeers of my peers. God knows how much Novel Leticia has to endure the words of the others just because she wasn't interested in magic despite having parents that were prominent in magic."

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[AUTHORS NOTE:
hi I'll be updating when chapter 5-6 reaches 5 stars ⭐ byeeee]