I Won't Let Anyone Have My Beloved Daughter Rabi! ~The Love Circumstances Full of Misunderstandings Between the Former Strongest Mage and the Cursed Girl~
Douglas was once hailed as the strongest—an SS-rank royal mage who stood beside heroes. Now he's a washed-up old man with a rusty staff, a revoked license, and nothing left to his name. He's made peace with being needed by no one.
Then a soaked, mud-covered girl collapses at his door and calls him "Daddy."
Rabi carries a curse that destroys everything around her when her emotions surge—the same curse that killed her parents and burned her village to the ground. Hunted and cast out, all she wan
I Won't Let Anyone Have My Beloved Daughter Rabi! ~The Love Circumstances Full of Misunderstandings Between the Former Strongest Mage and the Cursed Girl~ - The Case of the Weakened Mage and the Cursed Girl Attacked by an Ether Wolf in the Forest
Morning light filtered thin through the trees.
The forest on the outskirts of Astoria was damp and glistening with dew that had fallen overnight. The two of them had made camp close to the entrance of the Mistral Great Forest. The night before had been a desperate scramble to shake off their pursuers—there'd been no chance to rest properly. Douglas had spent the whole night in a shallow, fitful sleep, his old magic-stone staff clutched in his hand.
(No wonder. After a night like that.)
Rabi was still asleep. Her long silver hair spread across the fallen leaves, catching the morning dew and glimmering in fine threads of light. Her large, violet-tinged eyes were closed, long lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. Her sleeping face was peaceful—as if she had forgotten the terror of the previous night.
Douglas tended to the fire and glanced at her arm. The curse mark floating on her left wrist—black, complexly intertwined—seemed to pulse faintly in the morning light.
(I said I'd protect this child. But can I really?)
His own words from last night echoed heavily in his head.
"...Papa."
Rabi woke. In a sleepy voice, she reached out searching for Douglas.
"Morning. Sleep well?"
"Yeah... but the ground was hard, so my back hurts a little."
Rabi sat up and brushed her silver hair back with her hand. The gesture was oddly endearing, and Douglas felt his lips loosen into a smile despite himself.
"Camping's like that. Get used to it."
"Okaaay."
Rabi nodded obediently, then looked at Douglas with a blank expression.
"Hey, Papa. I'm hungry."
"Tch. Can't be helped. Let's find something to eat."
Douglas rose to his feet. Most of their food had been lost in last night's flight. All that remained was a little hardtack and the water in their canteen.
"Before that, there's something I want to teach you."
Douglas called Rabi over and had her stand in a small clearing.
"The basics of magic. Because of your curse, you need to understand what ether is."
"Magic... Can I do it too?"
Rabi's violet eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"Whether you can or not, I don't know. But it won't hurt to learn."
Douglas turned his palm upward and drew a slow breath.
"This world is full of ether. You can't see it, but it's everywhere, like air. Magic is the art of drawing that ether into your body, constructing a spell formula, and releasing it."
Rabi listened with a serious face.
"First, get a feel for gathering ether in your palm. Like this—focus your awareness into your fingertips."
Douglas tried to circulate ether through his own body.
...Something was off.
(What is this feeling?)
Once, the sensation of ether flowing through his body had felt as natural as a river's current. But now the flow was awkward, catching and snagging in places. Like water forced through a rusted channel—a frustrating, halting sensation.
Douglas began to chant.
"—Small flame, light upon my hand."
He formed the hand signs. His fingers didn't move as smoothly as they once had.
A small light began to form on his palm.
But the next instant, it flickered out.
The spell formula had unraveled midway.
"...Tch."
Douglas bit his lip.
(So this is what I am now.)
In his younger days, he could have done it in the blink of an eye. He'd hardly needed chants or hand signs to construct a formula. And now he couldn't even manage a simple flame.
"Papa?"
Rabi peered anxiously at Douglas's face.
"...Sorry. Let me try again."
Douglas focused his awareness into his palm once more.
Gather the ether. Force the dull flow inside his body out toward his fingertips.
"—Small flame, light upon my hand."
He formed the hand signs. Slowly this time, carefully.
A small fire kindled on his palm.
But that flame was pitifully weak and wavering—nothing compared to what Douglas had once been able to produce.
"...You did it."
Rabi raised her voice in delight.
"Papa, amazing! There's a fire!"
Rabi bounced on her toes and peered at Douglas's palm. Her violet eyes caught the light of the small flame and sparkled brilliantly.
"This is nothing. Back in the day, I could cast far greater spells—"
He stopped himself there and closed his mouth.
(No use talking about the past.)
"Papa, you're an amazing mage!"
Rabi laughed without a care.
"I know, you see. That Papa used to be a really strong mage. Baldo at the inn told me!"
"That old man, running his mouth..."
Douglas ruffled Rabi's head to hide his embarrassment. Her silver hair slipped smoothly through his fingers.
(An amazing mage, huh.)
The words sent a small ripple through the depths of his chest.
He had given up. He'd thought no one would ever need him again.
And yet this girl, without a shred of doubt, called him "amazing."
(Can I still live up to her expectations?)
Douglas extinguished the flame in his palm.
"...Today we need to procure food. We're heading deeper into the forest."
"Yeah!"
Rabi answered cheerfully.
The two of them began walking through the forest.
Near the entrance of the Mistral Great Forest, the land was still somewhat tended—relatively easy to walk. But as they pressed deeper, the roots of ancient trees covered the ground, and a thin mist of ether began to rise.
"This mist feels kind of strange."
Rabi clutched anxiously at the hem of Douglas's clothes.
"It's ether mist. Something of a specialty of this forest. It messes with your sense of direction, so watch yourself."
"Yeah... Papa, don't let go of me, okay?"
"I won't."
Douglas took Rabi's hand. Small and warm.
(I won't let go of this hand.)
After walking a while, they found several edible mushrooms and wild herbs. Douglas picked them with practiced hands and tucked them into the pouch at his waist.
"Papa, amazing. You can tell right away which plants are edible?"
"I've been traveling a long time. This much I can do."
"I want to learn too!"
"I'll teach you later. First, let's go a little deeper."
That was when it happened.
Rustle.
Something moved beyond the bushes.
Douglas stopped dead and shielded Rabi behind his back.
"...Stay back."
"Papa?"
Rabi's voice shrank with tension.
The bushes shook.
And then it appeared.
A wolf-type monster, easily two meters long. Its entire body was covered in gray fur, and every strand carried a faint pale-blue glow. Ether-infused fangs peeked from the corners of its mouth.
An ether wolf.
A danger-rank C monster.
"One... no."
Douglas's eyes darted around.
From all around the bushes, more gray shadows emerged.
Two, three, four, five.
"Five. It's a pack."
Douglas readied his magic-stone staff.
(Damn. Of all times.)
The five ether wolves slowly tightened their encirclement. Their movements were efficient—the practiced motions of hunters.
"Rabi, don't move no matter what. Stay behind me."
"But, Papa..."
"Just do it."
Douglas desperately circulated the ether within his body.
(If I can bring down even one, it'll disrupt the pack's coordination.)
He constructed the formula.
"—Wind blade, cleave my enemies!"
He swung the staff.
But the spell's activation was slow.
(Hurry, hurry!)
The ether was bottlenecking inside his body. Spells he could once have released the instant he chanted now took a fatal fraction of a second longer to trigger.
The ether wolf didn't miss that opening.
One lunged from Douglas's left.
"Guh—!"
He instinctively guarded with his left arm.
Clang!
The ether wolf's fangs sank into Douglas's left arm.
"Papa!!"
Rabi's scream echoed through the forest.
Fresh blood sprayed. Red gushed from Douglas's left arm.
"Damn it... get off!"
Douglas struck the ether wolf's head with his staff.
Yelp!
The ether wolf let go with a pained cry.
But Douglas's left arm was deeply torn. The blood wouldn't stop.
(It hurts... but I can still fight.)
Douglas gritted his teeth and readied his staff again.
"Papa, blood—there's blood!"
Rabi cried out, on the verge of tears.
"I'm fine. You stay back!"
Douglas squeezed out the last of his ether and constructed a formula.
"—Flame, burn my enemies to ash!"
Fire burst from the tip of his staff.
But that flame—which once could have incinerated the entire pack—was now only enough to singe the fur of a single ether wolf.
Yowl!
One wolf flinched from the fire and fell back.
But the remaining four still surrounded them.
(No good. At this rate, we'll be worn down.)
Douglas stood firm, protecting Rabi, his face twisted with the pain in his left arm.
"Papa... I... I..."
Rabi's voice was trembling.
"It's fine. I'll handle it."
Even as he said it, Douglas knew how little strength he had left.
(Can I protect this child?)
(Am I going to fail again?)
One of the ether wolves fixed its aim on Rabi.
"Stop... don't touch Rabi!"
Douglas planted himself in front of her, shielding her.
That was when it happened.
Rabi's body began to tremble.
"Papa... I'm scared... Seeing you get hurt—it scares me..."
Rabi's violet eyes began to waver, shifting through prismatic colors as her emotions surged.
"Rabi...?"
The curse mark on Rabi's left arm began to blaze.
The black pattern writhed and pulsed as if alive.
"Papa... Papa...!"
Light poured from Rabi's body.
"—Rabi, calm down!"
Douglas's shout no longer reached her.
Rabi's emotions had exceeded their limit.
In that instant—
—BOOOOOM!!!
A massive ether explosion erupted from Rabi.
Light and blast wind blew away everything around them.
The ether wolves were sent flying before they could even howl. The surrounding trees were torn up by the roots.
Douglas too was caught in the blast and slammed to the ground.
"Guaah—!"
His vision went white.
(Rabi...)
Douglas felt his consciousness fading.
...
How much time had passed?
Douglas slowly opened his eyes.
His whole body ached. Blood still seeped from the wound on his left arm.
(Rabi...)
Douglas forced himself upright.
The surroundings were a ruin of the explosion's aftermath. Uprooted trees, gouged earth, and the motionless bodies of the ether wolves.
"Rabi... Rabi!"
Douglas searched for her.
There.
A short distance from the blast center, Rabi lay collapsed.
"Rabi!"
Dragging his aching body, Douglas ran to her.
Rabi was unconscious. Her silver hair was soiled with dirt and leaves. The curse mark on her left arm still glowed faintly.
"Rabi, wake up!"
Douglas lifted her into his arms.
...Warm.
She was alive.
"...Nn... nn..."
Rabi's eyelids fluttered.
Slowly, her violet eyes opened.
"...Papa?"
"Rabi... thank goodness. You're awake."
Relief flooded through Douglas from the bottom of his heart.
But Rabi's expression was rapidly clouding with fear.
"Papa... your arm..."
Rabi looked at Douglas's left arm. Blood flowed from the deep gash.
"This... I did... my curse did..."
Rabi's voice began to shake.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Papa... I did it again...!"
Rabi apologized over and over, crying.
"It's my fault... because of me, you got hurt... I hurt someone precious to me again...!"
Rabi's tears spilled over without end.
Douglas slowly rose to his feet, his body covered in wounds.
And then he gently placed his hand on Rabi's head.
"...You're wrong."
"Eh...?"
"You saved me. Your curse blew away the pack of wolves. If you hadn't been here, I'd be wolf food by now."
Douglas favored his aching left arm but managed a smile.
"It's not your fault. If anything, I should be thanking you. Thank you, Rabi."
"But... but your arm... my explosion..."
"This wound came from the wolf. Not from you."
Douglas wiped away Rabi's tears.
"And besides—your curse is certainly dangerous. But depending on how it's used, it can become a power that protects you. I believe that."
Rabi looked up at Douglas with tear-soaked eyes.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. So don't blame yourself. You did nothing wrong."
Rabi kept crying for a while, but eventually she gave a small nod.
"...Okay."
Rabi unconsciously tried to hide the curse mark on her left arm.
Douglas took her hand.
"You don't need to hi
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