002

In both the real world and this world, my name remains Martha. The difference between the real me and Martha in this world is that I am the daughter of a viscount now. In other words, I am the child of a prominent figure. Hooray!

Currently, I'm lying on a bed side by side with Sophia. There's no doubt about it; this is the world of "Sophia's Story." I realized it just before the book exploded. No wonder I vaguely knew what was going to happen as if it were déjà vu. As for why I didn't immediately remember the treehouse scene, it's because I didn't pay much attention to the flashback, especially since its source was a novel. But now, I remember everything.

The flashback revealed the reason behind Sophia possessing such great magical powers. During that time, Martha—the owner of the magic book with the green gemstone—was supposed to leave the treehouse to use the bathroom. Due to her carelessness, Sophia, who was impatient, decided to pour the water onto the magic book without reciting any spells. As a result, the book exploded, just like what we experienced earlier.

That was an important scene that I should have left out. If only I had remembered it earlier, I wouldn't have been thrown to the ground from a four-meter-high treehouse. But thankfully, it seems I'm the only one who got hurt.

My right knee and elbow were wrapped in cotton, with scratches here and there. Meanwhile, Sophia seemed to have no injuries at all. She was still asleep, her face looking as serene as a calm pond.

"Martha...," she murmured.

Uhh, so cute.

"I'm here," I replied softly.

"You wet your pants, hehehe ...."

Huh? Her dream was so random. How could she dream that I wet my pants. Even thinking about it, how could I, who was seventeen years old originally, still wet my pants?

Uh, one second...

The clothes I was wearing changed, and so did Sophia's. Is it possible that I actually wet my pants...?

Well, let's forget about her mumbling just now.

I sit up on the bed. I swept my eyes around the room, which was devoid of many things. There are no posters or action figures, let alone a cushion with a picture of a naked woman cartoon. I look out of the window, and outside is the front yard, and it's now evening.

I've been wondering all this time, why am I here? Why take on the role of Martha—the cousin who bullied Little Sophia? And why start from the flashback at the treehouse?

"You're awake, Martha."

"Ah, yes, Sir."

As I daydreamed, resting my chin on my palm near the window, a deep voice called my name. I quickly turned around to see the source of the voice. Standing at the doorway was a man with a gentle face. He smiled with his eyes closed.

"You call your own father 'Sir'?"

Oh, so this is what Martha's father looks like? I thought he passed away when Martha was still young.

"I mean, I thought it was Sophia's father who came."

"Hasn't Sophia told you that her parents are out of town for a few days?"

How would I know? As soon as I arrived here, I was greeted with a magical explosion.

"So, Sophia is staying over?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yes!" Suddenly, the little girl who had been sleeping all this time bumped into my back and wrapped her arms around me. "I'm staying until my parents come back!"

"How are you feeling?" Father asked.

"Just some minor injuries. I'm fine," I replied.

"I see. Thank goodness." Father turned to go out. "Next time, don't mess with magic books. They're expensive," he added in a heavy voice and closed the door.

"Sorry," I said softly, as did Sophia.

Father must be really angry. After all, one of his magic books had vanished for nothing, and I couldn't prevent it even if I wanted to. It's for the sake of the story.

By the way, after that incident, Sophia should be able to use magic, right? I'm curious to see it. Until now, I could only imagine it. Although in the original story, Martha didn't know that Sophia could use magic—at least not until Sophia showed it to me and her wicked aunt.

"Hey, Sophia, can you let go of me for a moment?"

"No, I want it to be like this forever."

"Just for a moment, please. Maybe this will be a miracle," I said.

She reluctantly followed my words and jumped to the side. "What kind of miracle?"

I moved my hand as if catching the wind. "Watch my movements."

Let's remember.

The activation of magic in this story is quite simple, as if the author was lazy to create complex magic rules. In essence, as long as you possess magical powers—whether from magical objects or within your own body—you can unleash them using imagination and simple mantras in the form of clear commands.

"Let there be fire!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, the palm of my hand felt warm, spreading to the tips of my fingers. Then a fist-sized fireball appeared, floating in the air before exploding after three seconds.

"Wow, cool! You're amazing, Martha! So, that's the magic you wanted to show me this afternoon?" Sophia asked excitedly.

Maybe. It wasn't explained in the novel. At first, I was just playfully reciting the words to give an example to Sophia. But I was equally surprised to find out that Martha actually had magical powers. After all, Martha's appearances in the novel were very limited, mostly through flashbacks of Sophia's childhood.

Oh, or it could also be because the explosion of the magic book earlier had an effect on me. It makes sense, doesn't it?

"Now, it's your turn. Imagine the fireball from earlier in your hand, and recite the mantra just like I did."

Sophia, who looked enthusiastic, immediately positioned both her hands in front of her chest as if gripping something and shouted her mantra.

"Let there be fire!" she exclaimed with full enthusiasm. "A big fire!"

"Hey! Don't just—"

The fireball she created quickly swelled up enormously. Its size was dozens of times larger than the one I demonstrated.

This is bad! I don't care what happens to this room if that giant fireball actually explodes; I just don't want to be a victim of magical explosions again!

"Cancel the spell, Sophia!"

Sophia also seemed panicked facing the consequences of her own mischief.

"Ho-How do I do it?" she asked, flustered.

"Just imagine the ball disappearing! Hey, don't cry just yet! Geez, you little brat!"

I moved behind Sophia, holding each of her wrists, and shouted the command, "Disappear!" behind her head.

"Dis-Disappear!" Sophia echoed.

Her hands trembled intensely as tears streamed down her face. Nevertheless, she managed to shout the command of disappearance.

The fireball immediately vanished into the atmosphere, along with all of Sophia's remaining energy. Our little protagonist slumped weakly, shaken by the experience. She could only stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed in my arms. No words came out, just tears flowing uncontrollably.

"It's okay, I'm here," I said, trying to comfort her.

I never expected her to enlarge the fireball like that. It was beyond my expectations. Maybe I should have taught her magic when she was a bit older.

Oh, Sophia had mentioned it in the novel. However, I remember that scene happened in front of a fireplace, and it was unintentional—not like now. If I'm not mistaken, when Sophia was alone and trying to light a fire because of heavy snowfall. As a result, the house was almost set on fire.

As I recall it was revealed to the Crown Prince after Sophia's magic test failed and went out of control.

Well, maybe Sophia will still be out of control one winter. However, at least with this trauma she would be a little cautious so as to reduce such incidents in the future.

I believe I did the right thing.