Chapter 14
2. The Confined Prince
The Grand Duke’s estate of Heailian was a beautiful castle said to resemble Parpala’s Pearl Castle, constructed as if from pure white jade.
A man stepped into the entrance of the rear garden, decorated in the modest yet cozy taste of the lady of the house, moving quietly as the hem of his gray robe fluttered.
Wisteria vines gracefully coiled around the pillars, and colorful morning glories blooming as if entangled in the pavilion added vitality and beauty.
“……”
There, a woman sat alone, elegantly lifting a teacup.
The man, Perion, suppressed his trembling breath and pulled off his hood, casting his face in shadow.
“Oh my, Perion.”
She noticed Perion’s arrival from that faint presence.
Her pink, wavy hair gently swayed.
The woman, Shastia, turned her head to look at Perion.
When their eyes met, the gentle-looking beauty formed a pure smile and said,
“Did you return after hurriedly leaving with him? You didn’t even send a single letter all this time… how cold of you. By the way, where is Roberic?”
And immediately, she asked for her husband.
Perion felt as though his heart was being torn apart.
“……Perion?”
Perion looked at Shastia with bloodshot eyes.
Shastia stared back in surprise.
A long silence followed.
As if sensing a growing unease, Shastia rose from her seat.
Clang—
As if to punctuate that ominous feeling, her teacup slipped and shattered as she stood.
Tap-tap—
“Mother, are you alright?!”
At that moment, small footsteps rushed in.
She looked about nine years old.
Clutching the hem of a beautiful pink dress with both hands, her black hair fluttering as she ran, the child—who resembled her mother with pink eyes filled with concern—asked,
“I’m fine, Alea. It’s nothing.”
The illegitimate daughter of the Grand Duke of Heailian.
Her name was Alea Serafina Heailian.
The graceful mother, like a fairy, embraced her daughter tightly.
The daughter checked on her mother and hugged her in return.
Watching that warm scene, Perion sank to his knees in anguish.
“I humbly report that His Grace the Grand Duke of Heailian did not return with us.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
Shastia’s voice trembled in confusion.
Perion endured the pain tearing at his heart and spoke with difficulty.
“And there is something I did not tell you. …Several months ago, the reason His Grace and I left on an abrupt secret journey was… to find the daughter of former Basteban Duke’s daughter, Mariette Aidin.”
Former Basteban Duke’s daughter.
Mariette Aidin.
The moment that name left Perion’s lips, Shastia’s face turned pale.
“M-Mariette’s daughter? …Did that person have a daughter?”
She barely managed to ask with a trembling voice, but Perion did not answer.
Overcome with rising fear, Shastia screamed.
“Perion! Where did you go with him?!”
Perion replied with difficulty.
“Mariette’s daughter… is an illegitimate child born between His Grace the Grand Duke and Mariette Aidin Basteban. I apologize for not informing you sooner. But everything happened far too suddenly.”
Perion could not even look at Shastia as he continued.
“A former subordinate of the deceased Mariette appeared before His Grace and delivered evidence of that fact. His Grace then took me and went down to the Basteban family’s place of exile. And His Grace… could not return with us because he stayed to take care of that child…”
Thud—
Something light collapsed onto the ground.
Perion quickly looked up and shouted as if screaming.
“Shastia!!”
Shastia had fainted, unable to endure the shock.
“Mother, Mother! Please wake up, Mother!”
“Lady!”
Alea called desperately for her mother. The maids rushed over in panic to check on Shastia.
“Damn….”
Grinding his teeth—
Perion stared at the unconscious Shastia, already thinking of a small child who had become an “evil demon” in his mind.
The filthy daughter of Mariette, Edith Ronen Basteban.
She had set fire, yet how did she survive?
“……”
Yes. There were also ways to kill without suffering.
…That had been for revenge.
He had set the fire so she would die in unbearable agony.
Mariette had once tried to burn Shastia and Alea alive, so killing Mariette’s daughter in the same way was, in his mind, justified revenge.
And yet…
“Be proud, truly be proud, you resemble Mariette… so you even inherited the blessing of the Water Spirit King…!”
“You have inherited my blood and been born with the talent of a spirit mage.”
That filthy woman’s daughter had, under the guise of noble blood, received the Spirit King’s blessing that did not suit her station.
At this moment, Perion sincerely cursed God.
Turning a blind eye to the truly righteous.
And instead granting all of Roberic Arne Heailian’s talents to the daughter of an evil woman.
The investigation into the attempted assassination that tried to burn me alive ended with a bitter conclusion.
A corpse of a spirit mage who had died in the fire was discovered.
It was clear he had been burned by spirit fire, but as quite some time had passed since his death, the remains were reportedly in a state too gruesome to look at.
The only reason the assassin was concluded to be that spirit mage was this:
“That person has no entry records to Terma City…!”
Although the residual mana on the body clearly showed he was a fire attribute spirit mage, his identity did not match any registered fire spirit mages in Terma City.
For a spirit mage to move in and out of a city without inspection, they would need backing from a high-ranking official—an accomplice behind the scenes.
“The mastermind is unknown, but it is certain he was the direct arsonist… I will close the investigation here.”
Roberic concluded the case and hastened the schedule to return to the Grand Duke’s estate of Heailian.
“You must feel uneasy. I understand that. But continuing dangerous life outside is less safe than returning to the estate.”
Honestly, it left a bad taste in my mouth, but it was also true that there was no better alternative.
I agreed with Roberic.
But the shadow in my heart did not disappear.
“So once we go to the estate…”
I would become Roberic’s daughter.
I would have to part with my grandfather.
I could not dare ask to remain at the Grand Duke’s estate.
Roberic would not allow it.
“…So now.”
I was really alone.
…Should I run away now?
For a moment, that temptation sprouted in my heart.
I hadn’t realized it when I told Roberic I would follow him, but I was a spirit mage with extraordinary talent.
With this level of talent, even if I feared the Ro-Shan Empire and Grand Duke Heailian, there must be at least one country that would accept me and my grandfather in exchange for my abilities.
“……”
But I knew I could not.
If we escaped like that, my grandfather would be labeled not only as the disgraced father of an evil woman and a greedy power-seeker, but also as a vile man who betrayed his country using his granddaughter to fill his own pockets.
And the people of the Ro-Shan Empire would curse him without exception.
A name trampled into the dirt would never be restored.
Ah, I could not allow that.
Why must we be the ones to run away?
Why is it always the villainess who is blamed?
Why are the male and female protagonists praised and loved as if they committed no sin at all?
[Edith.]
Just as I was drowning in my own distorted emotions—
A voice I had only heard in dreams called my name gently.
“Ilipia.”
Ilipia was standing beside me without me noticing.
His black eyes, holding starlight, carried a warm smile as they reflected me.
[You seem to be troubled.]
After hesitating, I asked,
“…Ilipia. Ilipia, will you stay by my side?”
As if I had truly become a child again after living as one for so long, I clung to the spirit king I had only recently met, as if begging to hold onto the only guardian and family I had.
The moment I said it, I felt embarrassment rising and lowered my head.
Soft skin brushed my cheek.
With that gentle pressure, I slowly lifted my head.
Ilipia was looking into my face.
His smile, unlike before, looked somewhat pained.
[Until the day this universe ends.]
He said quietly.
[I will always be with you.]
I swallowed the pain pricking at my heart and forced a smile.
“…The universe, huh.”
That suddenly became too grand.
“Thank you.”
Still, it gave me strength.
I had to steady myself. I must not retreat.
Never forget my original resolve.
I will restore my grandfather’s lost title as Basteban Duke.
And I will strip Roberic Arne Heailian of the Grand Duke’s seat, and repay those who humiliated my grandfather.
And if possible…
…I want to uncover the truth about my mother.
There must have been a reason she had no choice.
So if the day comes when I learn all of my mother’s secrets…
I want to break the chains of disgrace placed upon my mother, Mariette Aidin Basteban’s name.
The time for farewell often comes far too quickly.
“…I cannot give you much time, Edith.”
Roberic said unwillingly as he released my hand.
Then he stepped away first, as if refusing to overhear anything so cowardly.
“…Edith.”
As the estate faded behind me, and the wind lifted my clothes…
My grandfather stood across from me with a smile.
His golden eyes still shone beautifully, and his expression was as familiar as always.
Drip.
A warm drop of water rolled down my cheek.
“Edith…?”
My grandfather’s eyes widened.
How pathetic.
“I don’t want to part from you, Grandfather.”
I had intended to leave with a smile so he would not worry.
Wiping away the tears on my cheeks, I spoke.
“But I will endure. I will endure and bear it.”
Even so.
“This is the only way I can restore your honor as I become a Grand Duchess.”
I hate seeing my grandfather humiliated.
All the suffering and disgrace he has endured—I will return it all to those responsible.
For that, even the hatred I must receive, even the hardships I must face…
They are nothing at all.
After wiping away all my tears, I forced a smile.
“I’ll do well. I’ll send letters every week, and visit once a month. Oh, Naiad and Ilipia are very fond of me. I’ll always be with the spirits, so you don’t need to worry about me at all.”
With reddened eyes, unable to speak, my grandfather simply looked at me.
I ran toward him.
“Please live in peace, Grandfather.”
And I embraced him first.
“!”
His body trembled slightly.
His aged frame collapsed as he knelt on the ground.
His trembling hands embraced me as if holding something he could not bear to lose.
I buried my face in his chest.
And silently swallowed my tears.
