Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 168

'The quintessence of mana left behind after an expulsion could lead to a perturbed state of the subject.'

I closed the book in my hand and put it aside.

Everything I had learned from this book was facts I already knew from experience. Still, all the complex words couldn't even come close to half of the excruciating pain I endured.

"Haaah..." I sighed and looked out the empty hallway.

I was sitting by the window sill on the second floor of the library where I had once overheard a group of maids gossiping. Since the place was detached from the main residence, it was quiet and devoid of people. So it became my personal hiding spot.

It has been two weeks since I woke up in the Frost Estate after the entrapment in Parthellam and a month since I returned. Not much has happened since then except for the explosive mornings when I find myself on the opposite end of the bed.

Other than that, my days were spent rather dull and uneventful.

During the mornings, I underwent treatment for the aftereffects of mana outbreak from the Eir priests. It usually lasted for an hour or two after which the Priests left the Estate. 

To my disappointment, High Priest Thesser refrained from speaking about topics that were irrelevant to my treatment. While we did occasionally engage in conversations about the Saintess's seclusion, he withheld from divulging into the current affairs of the state or the happening of the outside world in general.

On the bright side, I have made considerable progress in recovery enough to be able to train without wearing myself out.

In fact, the only part of the day I looked forward to was after lunch when I got to strike at dummies with a wooden sword. Given that I had already made it a point to differentiate myself from the Angelica they knew, there was no need to hold back. 

So I unleashed my wrath on one of the training grounds, which Nathaniel had emptied at my request.

I could still remember the shocked expression on the maid's faces when I severed the head of the dummies in a single strike causing the Knights to bring in new ones. But there was a reason behind it.

The armory in the Frost Estate was said to hold the biggest collection of weapons after the Imperial armory. There were supposed to be weapons and equipment of various kinds that could win an entire war.

However, it just so happened that, I was not allowed access to the said armory. 

For the sake of my safety, I was only allowed to play with wooden swords, and thus began the ritualistic dummy beheading which I may or may not be thinking as a certain someone.

'It's a pity that I can't get my hands on any weapons' I scoffed, getting to my feet.

And finally, just like now, most of my evenings were spent inside the library.

I had gone through so many books and research articles that smoke started coming out of my ears. Even the librarian was surprised by my sheer dedication when I came back day after day showing no signs of defeat.

At this point, I'm confident that I was the most knowledgeable person on the study of mana within a hundred-mile radius.

"I'm going downstairs" I said leaning over the window.

Five seconds later, a Knight, who seemed unbothered by my calling him out, stepped forward and nodded in silence as a sign of acknowledgment. Although he tried his best to conceal his presence I could tell there was a Knight standing guard right by the curve to avoid my eyes.