Dr. Payne visited Starr for the first time in a while.
"Madam, your complexion has improved significantly. Have you been riding regularly since then?"
Emily glared at him, her face sharp as the topic she'd briefly forgotten came back to her. But Dr. Payne, who was packing up his medical bag, didn't notice Emily's expression.
“I heard that Giovanni also saved Madame’s horse.”
“Yes, Gemma is a very gentle and wonderful horse.”
Emily's mood instantly brightened at Gemma's story.
Gemma, rescued by Giovanni, had beautiful golden fur and a lush, beautiful mane. Above all, she had a friendly and gentle personality, so she quickly became close with Emily.
“It’s so intelligent that when I’m feeling down, it comes to me first and comforts me.”
“That’s really amazing.”
Payne said, taking out a magic detector from his bag.
“I heard you got a C grade when you were young.”
“Yeah. The Sinope family is practically a C-rank.”
“I see. But just in case, I’ll measure it.”
“Does the level change?”
“Something can change due to an accident or trigger, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Honestly, Payne thought Killian was overreacting. Even a C-rank could fire magic bullets.
'Anyway, he's a real loser.'
"Madam, your complexion has improved significantly. Have you been riding regularly since then?"
Emily glared at him, her face sharp as the topic she'd briefly forgotten came back to her. But Dr. Payne, who was packing up his medical bag, didn't notice Emily's expression.
“I heard that Giovanni also saved Madame’s horse.”
“Yes, Gemma is a very gentle and wonderful horse.”
Emily's mood instantly brightened at Gemma's story.
Gemma, rescued by Giovanni, had beautiful golden fur and a lush, beautiful mane. Above all, she had a friendly and gentle personality, so she quickly became close with Emily.
“It’s so intelligent that when I’m feeling down, it comes to me first and comforts me.”
“That’s really amazing.”
Payne said, taking out a magic detector from his bag.
“I heard you got a C grade when you were young.”
“Yeah. The Sinope family is practically a C-rank.”
“I see. But just in case, I’ll measure it.”
“Does the level change?”
“Something can change due to an accident or trigger, but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Honestly, Payne thought Killian was overreacting. Even a C-rank could fire magic bullets.
'Anyway, he's a real loser.'
Payne clicked his tongue internally and placed the magic detector on the table. The magic detector was actually a magic stone, and placing a hand on it would change color, revealing its grade.
“Then would you please put your hand here?”
Emily slowly placed her hand on the magic stone, following Payne's instructions. A few soft flashes of light appeared, and the stone's color gradually deepened.
"Green?"
“Oh my god, this is ridiculous...”
Emily's newly measured grade was B. Still in disbelief, Payne took the magic stone and shook it.
“Madam, have you experienced any incident that could change the level of your magical power?”
"Well?"
Emily searched her memory. The major events she'd experienced so far were the death of her parents, the downfall of her family, her marriage to Killian, and the realization that this was a book world.
'So much has happened in such a short time.'
But she couldn't tell all of that to Payne.
“Or maybe I was measured wrong when I was young.”
“It’s not common, but it’s not completely unheard of either... so it could be possible.”
Payne still looked at the magic stone with a dubious expression.
"Anyway, I'll tell Cezanne that Madame is a B-rank. That way, she can prepare the appropriate training."
“Is Cezanne also a B-grade?”
“Only B-rank or higher members of Starr can become snipers.”
“Cezanne is also great.”
Come to think of it, Emily didn't know what Killian's rank was.
“Do you know what my husband’s rank is?”
Payne, who was asked the question, answered briefly as if he didn't know that.
“It’s S-rank.”
Wow, what does this man lack? Emily exclaimed involuntarily.
“Anyway, he is a monster.”
Payne, shivering, finished packing up his bag and stood up.
“Then I guess I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, thanks for coming.”
“I hope you stay healthy until we meet again. And keep up the good work on your horseback riding.”
Emily glanced at him again, not disapprovingly.
“I'm doing well, so we can stop talking about horseback riding now.”
“Haha, okay! Then I can go with peace of mind.”
Emily saw him off with a trembling face and lay back down on the sofa, looking through the letters that had been sent to her.
“Huh? A letter from John?”
As soon as Emily saw the happy name of John, she sat up and opened the envelope.
[ I miss you so much, Emily.
I heard that Emily is waiting for my letter.
I'm really sorry for not replying on time.
A lot of things have happened in the meantime.
The most difficult part was the exam, but fortunately, I got a good grade.
What rank am I in? 1st, of course!
Don't be too surprised. It's nothing special.
Anyway, my point is that I recently finished my midterms and now I have some free time.
So I'm planning to visit this weekend, but what's Emily's schedule like that day?
I'll wait for your reply.
Your eternal friend, John. ]
Fortunately, there were no special plans for the weekend. After reading the letter with a happy heart, Emily immediately replied to John.
The next day, Killian went out to visit Vito Gottio in the hospital, and Emily had her first lesson with Cezanne.
“Madam, are you sure you’re okay?”
Emily nodded in response to Cezanne's question.
"I don't need any special treatment. I want to be trained just like everyone else."
“But it might be a little rough.”
Emily hesitated for a moment at those words.
“Do you also hit me?”
“That’s not it, but...”
“Yes, then.”
“You must not regret it, Madam.”
"Yes."
As Emily picked up the gun with a grim expression, Cezanne grabbed her arm and lowered it.
“Put the gun down, ma’am.”
“Isn’t this it?”
“Madam, I want to start with some special training.”
The common thread among those who join the Starr family is the absence of guilt. Because they all joined Starr for the same purpose, any other emotion besides revenge was a luxury.
But unlike them, Emily is a perfectly ordinary citizen. The emotion she must guard against most when taking down enemies is guilt, so it's highly unlikely she, raised in a normal environment, could fire a gun so casually.
Cezanne passed Emily and clapped her hard on the shoulder.
"Ah!"
Emily, who was in more pain than she'd expected, wrapped her arms around her shoulder and looked at her with a confused expression. Cezanne and Emily's eyes met for a moment. Emily's large eyes remained blinking.
Finally, Cezanne sighed and spoke first.
“Why aren’t you taking any action?”
"Yes?"
“You’re not even angry when I suddenly hit you on the shoulder?”
"Well, I was flustered, but I didn't really want to get angry. By the way, was that behavior just now part of class?"
Cezanne asked again, still not understanding.
“If someone deliberately bumped your shoulder hard, you wouldn’t get angry?”
“Of course, I don’t feel good. But if I get angry, I’ll feel worse.”
“The standard for feeling guilty is much lower than I thought.”
Cezanne sighed, wondering how she should proceed with her training.
“Madam, guilt is nothing more than narcissism. Do you understand that?”
Emily, who had heard from her parents that she was overly self-conscious, reacted slightly as if it stung.
“Why is that narcissism?”
"Just think about it. How could they do that? A noble person like me, getting so vulgarly angry at just anyone? That just doesn't suit me."
“...”
“It’s all narcissistic thinking.”
Emily was strangely persuaded by her words.
“Give me another chance to get angry.”
“Yes. Then let’s go past it again.”
"Yes."
But contrary to expectations, Cezanne picked up the vase next to her and poured it over Emily. Emily looked dumbfounded, water dripping down her face.
“Wasn’t it a shoulder pat?”
“Life has a way of playing dirty tricks on you while you’re away.”
Water flowed from her head, down her face, and dripped down to her chin. Emily wiped the moisture from her face as if washing her face.
“How are you feeling now?”
“I just want to hit someone.”
“I guess we can move on to the next step.”
Cezanne smiled happily.
***
After a short training session, Emily came up to her bedroom. Despite only a light warm-up, her whole body felt sore, unlike when she worked out alone.
'Ugh, my body hurts so much.'
After taking a tiring bath, she felt hungry.
“What time is it now?”
“It’s four o’clock, ma’am.”
There were only two or three hours left until dinner, but she couldn't wait any longer. Emily flopped down on the pillow.
Chili asked Emily cautiously, who seemed strangely weak.
“Are you hungry?”
Emily nodded with an embarrassed face.
“Is His Grace eating at home today?”
“He’ll probably be eating out. Should I have the chef prepare the meal?”
“Then, please keep it simple. I’ll eat and go to bed right away.”
"All right."
As Chili went down to the dining room, Emily took out a notebook from the bedside table and began organizing the contents of the original work.
In fact, what she was enjoying at the club yesterday wasn't the singer's song. She was concentrating on the sounds coming from the next table.
This is because the original story also features Sam, Vito Gottio's illegitimate son.
Sam, who claims to be Vito Gottio's son, is not actually his biological son, but becomes the head of the Gottio family after the coup succeeds.
The problem began when Sam became the boss and coveted the Starr family's territory. From then on, the two families completely lost touch and became enemies.
In order to keep the peace, she had to prevent Sam from becoming the boss.
“Let’s eat first.”
Emily's stomach growled as she worked both her body and her mind.
“Why isn’t Chili coming?”
Tired of waiting, Emily had no choice but to step outside. As she stood before the restaurant door, the inside was abuzz with the sounds of someone arguing.
Curious, Emily opened the door slightly and looked inside.
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