The Rise of the Exiled Villainess

Chapter 2: The Cursed Lands of Arcana (Umbra) Part III

I woke up on my bed like a drunk person who just got up with a slight feeling of hangover. I held my head with both hands and rolled over the bed just to wake myself from sleepiness. Good thing that I’m already wearing normal clothes since I thought I was still wearing my dress.

“Naaanny!” I shouted. Within a minute Nanny Katalina went to my room with sparkling eyes.

“What is it little miss? Do you wanna go downstairs?”

“Not really. Where is mama?”

“Oh, she’s busy preparing some drawings.” Drawings you mean alchemy circles. I guess she’s setting the barrier up as early as possible.

“Did daddy already went out?”

“Yes, he did wanted to talk to you but you already fell asleep when we arrived.” What a bummer… He must be really in a hurry…

Katalina also told me that daddy went to meet my siblings before leaving. At least he was able to do that, kinda feels bad for them since they are kinda attached to daddy. Welp, I just asked Nanny to bring me to where momma is if possible. I’m really curious about how alchemy works, and this would be my opportunity to learn it firsthand.

Arriving at the site, girl am I impressed! My mother is in the middle of an incantation just in a room beside mine. This room contains a lot of candles and dream catchers that are dangling on the ceiling. I’ve never checked most of the rooms here which makes it really interesting since I never knew something like this was just beside me. The thing called liquid magic stone is a gel like substance that can be applied to the magic carvings to enable them.

Runes are placed in a circular fashion with several polygon shapes overlapping the center. It really does look like one of those alchemy circles in the movies that I’ve watched. Momma is using her mana to trigger the runes as soon as she places the liquid gel to fill it up. Upon filling every single gap with gel, she clapped her hands and her hair began to glow.

The tattoo engraved on her back also glowed, as the concentration of the magic became more and more unstable. Nanny is holding me tight while using magic to make sure we won’t get swept away by the current. But… I don’t know if it’s from the windows or something since the dream catchers in the room aren’t moving, meaning there is no wind here whatsoever.

Momma gave the circle one last push as she poured more mana into it. After that, the circles can be seen moving on the floor and the walls, encircling the room as if they’re some sort of glowing shadow.

“Phew!” momma said as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead using her right hand.

“Will this be enough milady?” Nanny asked.

“It will do, I mean, we only need to incapacitate intruders not incinerate them right?” I froze on the spot… Just what kind of magic did momma put around the house?

“I’m parched… Let’s go downstairs Eka,” Momma said enthusiastically. As we got out of the room, momma locked the door and it vanished out of nowhere. That explains why I haven’t seen it before.

Nanny placed me down on the living room as momma sat beside me, brushing my hair like I’m a tamed rabbit. I dunno why but being petted like this oddly feels good (kimochi noises~). A few servants came in with a food cart loaded with beverages and snacks. I’m already stuffed from the lunch a while ago so I just grabbed a glass of cold berry juice.

“How was your first time seeing an alchemy procedure Eka?” Momma asked.

“It was really cool and bright! I wanna see more bright stuff!”

Mother laughed from my words although she seems to adore my response. She began to pat my head once again as I tilted my head in confusion.

“Momma’s little girl is so adorable.”

Then out of nowhere, my siblings arrived with their respective nannies. My younger brother’s name is Benedia, but I call him Benny, and my youngest sister’s name is Olivia having the nickname Oli. We actually live harmoniously except in situations when they start to cry for no reason whatsoever. Being surrounded by these two can either be a cute and calm experience or a Death metal mosh pit… Their nannies know exactly what they signed up for and I can see the determination in their faces pretty well. Too damn well actually…

I watched the two twerps hug momma and even I feel satisfied upon seeing them happy altogether. Mother held her hand up and signaled me to come closer. She then hugged me along with my siblings as the three of us were surrounded by her warmth.

The nannies including Katalina all said, “aww.”

Gotta admit, this situation is slightly embarrassing due to my mental age. However, this type of feeling is something I’ve never experienced before. My parents back on earth were always arguing about expenses and what to do with us. 

Because of that, my younger brother has always been in a rebellious phase even during his high school years. When Isaac got his girlfriend pregnant, they didn’t even bother sending their regards and support. Rather, he got beaten up by dad for adding more trouble into the family.

Worst part of it? I’ve developed a mindset for ignoring most of the people around me especially my family. If I’d be honest, there was a time wherein my brother was being smacked with a bamboo stick just a few feet beside me. 

I just stared at the television, passively watching him scream for help even though we were just around the corner. That tendency of mine still bothers me up to this day but I see no reason to reject such a beautiful show of affection.

Momma let go of us and the nannies took my siblings and placed them on the sofa. These punks have no care for the world. Their eyes are gleaming with happiness because Nanny Katalina is making faces in front of them.

They are so adorable!!! I’m so happy to meet these people earlier on. Being a big sister even in this life seems to be a stretch but it’s indeed enjoyable.

“What you donna today momma?” I asked. Surely setting the barrier isn’t the only thing she has in mind. I wanna know most of the things she does as early as possible.

“Hmmm…” she placed her right hand on her chin and looked upwards while in deep thought. Momma has this comical mannerism making most of her intentions rather easy to identify.

“Ahh, I’m thinking of checking the fields today. The rice should be ripe and ready for harvest. Do you wanna join me Eka?”

Like a puppy in love, “Yes, yes!”

My siblings insisted to tag along since they were kinda jealous of my whims. We swiftly went inside the available carriage parked outside and traveled east, a few hundred blocks away from the manor. The strong and burly trees that are planted on both sides of the road bloom leaves that are similar to Sakura petals. The luminous leaves change according to the season but from what momma told me just now, the quality of the soil and the presence of magic also adds up to that phenomenon.

Mother’s job of course is to prevent those abnormalities in the crops that we produce or at least make it controllable to a certain degree for commerce and human consumption. By making alchemic runes and patterns around the planting grounds, the magical irregularities will be prevented according to the fixed environment. 

This is why the Lands of Umbra is well known to be a place for demons and magical beasts. The volatile nature of the creatures here are definitely deadly for the average person. For that reason, Umbral mercenaries are well known to be strong and magical affiliated, and is usually sought out by the nobles.

(To Be Continued)