27 Flag Setting Is A Careful Ar (1/2)

”Kill the girl…”

”Kill her”

”Do it now!”

Cruel whispers filled Elise's head with promises of happiness and safety if she would only grab a sword from the guards outside and cut down the girl in front of her. A feeling of dread entered Elise's heart as the whispers gradually became louder and louder until they drowned out her thoughts.

”Shut up!” Elise roared with a bloodthirsty snarl on her face.

The voices in her head instantly became silent and all Elise could hear was the slow throb of her heart echoing through the room. Ashley's hands rubbing her back stiffened and she gazed at Elise with an expression of panic.

”Mommy are you okay?” her daughter asked.

Elise took a couple deep breaths and placed Ashley's palms in her hands with a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

”I'm sorry darling, sometimes mom falls asleep when sitting down for too long, so I had a little nightmare,” she replied in a soft tone.

There was no need to burden her daughter with strange voices whose messages she could not understand. Maybe she should find Gerald and discuss the meaning of the whispers.

What did the voice mean by reading a book?

Was it related to the foreign land that she often visited in her dreams?

Elise fell into silent contemplation as she pondered over these matters with a small frown etched across her face. She was jolted out of her daze by the realization that the warm palms of her daughter's hands were continuing to suppress the mana flowing through her circuit.

Ashley smiled at her with an oblivious look on her face as she clearly did not seem to notice that she was using null magic. This was a very common fact among children who possessed magical circuits before the age of ten.

Mana could only be consciously manipulated once the quantity of mana reached a substantial amount in the body. There were certain exceptions with children finding out their talents a little before or after the age of ten but those were rare cases.

Before the manipulation of mana could be done under the will of the user, young children would often use accidental magic under situations of stress or anxiety. These children would not be aware of the mana they drew from their body, but the effects would be equivalent to weakened tier five spells in whatever element they possessed.

”Ashley seemed to have drawn upon her mana when she touched my back during the bath,” Elise pondered to herself.

She finished washing up her little daughter and wrapped her up in a cozy towel before heading off to the bedroom. The castle lights were gradually turned off and only a few fires were kept running to provide some heat to the servants working in the night.

Elise put on a plain white sleeping gown and helped Ashley into her pajamas. When Elise saw how her daughter looked, she could not help but give the merchant a thumbs up in her mind.

Ashley was wearing an oversized teddy hoodie with cute fuzzy moon patterns embroidered into the sides, her long ashy blonde hair peaked out from the top of the hood but did little to hide the adorable face popping out from the front.

There was a small lamp burning at the side of the bed as Ashley was scared of the dark and Elise did not want her to be afraid. The soft candlelight washed over the room and gave the atmosphere a cozy feel.

Elise pulled the blanket over her shoulders and wrapped her arms around her daughter with a soft hug.

Ashley squirmed slightly but relaxed in her mother's arms with a contented grin spreading across her face. It had only been a few weeks ago that she could not imagine that there could be a time when she would experience the love of a family.

Elise closed her eyes and prepared herself for a short rest but was distracted from Ashley's voice muttering quietly to her.