Chapter 10
Haren had never expected Aivan to make such a proposal to Beirin.
“But she refused outright. Before I could even say anything more.”
“Is that so.”
“Her reaction was strange, though. It wasn’t shock… it was closer to fear.”
Haren, who knew everything about Beirin’s past, understood immediately that Aivan’s suggestion of going with him carried a far greater meaning for her.
At the same time, he also understood why Aivan had made such an offer.
“You believe you need Beirin’s help.”
“Yes. I’ve come to need her abilities. She will certainly be of great help to me. Is there any particular reason she refused?”
“I’m afraid I cannot speak on that matter.”
At that, Aivan could not press further, but he was not willing to give up so easily.
“What do you think, Duke?”
“I believe it is entirely Beirin’s decision. However, regardless of that, I simply hope she chooses the path that makes her happier.”
Haren intended to respect and trust Beirin’s choice, no matter what it was.
After finishing the meal, Aivan returned to his room, only to find Beirin quietly straightening his bedding for the night.
She paused for a moment when she noticed him standing silently at the doorway, then lowered her head.
“If there is nothing else you require, I will take my leave.”
Beirin tried to pass him and leave the room, but Aivan stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“Has your answer to my proposal changed?”
Beirin stopped walking. Clenching her hands tightly, she looked up at him and spoke firmly.
“Yes. I have no intention of following Your Highness.”
“Why not? This would clearly be a good opportunity for you. You would be properly rewarded as well.”
Beirin wanted to ignore the opportunity, but Aivan—unaware of her reasons—continued trying to persuade her.
“I need your help. Is there another reason you are refusing my offer?”
“If I said there was, would you withdraw your request?”
“Yes.”
Beirin felt that Aivan would not easily give up. After a moment of hesitation, she finally spoke.
“Then I will tell you. The reason I am refusing Your Highness’s proposal.”
The two of them left the building and walked silently through the quiet garden.
After a long stretch of silence, Beirin spoke first.
“You once asked me… when I had seen Your Highness before.”
“I did.”
“In truth… I only saw Your Highness once.”
Beirin still remembered that day vividly—the scenery, the air, even the tension she had felt.
When she stopped walking, Aivan also came to a halt beside her. She gathered her courage and spoke of what she had only ever told Haren.
“At the entrance ceremony of the Rapniel Imperial Academy.”
“The Rapniel Imperial Academy…”
It was the only academy in the Jeines Empire, named after the founding emperor and widely regarded as the empire’s most prestigious institution.
“I was a freshman at the time, and Your Highness came to deliver the opening address.”
Aivan was briefly taken aback by the unexpected revelation, but soon recalled the past.
He was also an alumnus and had once gone there on behalf of the Emperor to deliver a speech.
In a crowd of countless new students, it was only natural he had not noticed Beirin.
But then a question arose in his mind.
Admission to the Rapniel Imperial Academy meant a guaranteed future. It was a place where only the most talented could enter.
So why was she working here, in a place like this?
Beirin seemed to sense his question and continued, revealing the truth she truly wanted to tell.
“My real name is Beirin Aselian.”
“Aselian?”
“Yes. I am the eldest daughter of the minor baronial house of Aselian. It is likely not a name Your Highness recognizes.”
Beirin was technically a noble, but no different from a commoner in practice.
Her family had ruined their finances through extravagance, clinging to the illusion of nobility without doing any real work.
In the end, all responsibilities of the household had fallen onto Beirin.
Her family simply dumped everything on her because she was “capable.”
Even her admission to the academy had been entirely their decision.
“I did enter based on merit, but it was never my choice. My parents only cared about my younger sister. I was never in their eyes at all. They thought I had more potential than my sister, so they sent me there. Even after I entered, they treated me as nothing more than a tool for the family—telling me only to build connections with high-ranking nobles.”
From a young age, her parents had favored her beautiful younger sister while ignoring Beirin entirely.
Her sister, too, indulged in luxury and looked down on her without hesitation.
No matter how hard Beirin worked, she was never acknowledged as part of the family.
She existed only as a sacrifice for them.
“The only reason I agreed to go to the academy was because it meant I could escape my family. But even there, things were not much different. They say status doesn’t matter, but in reality, there was already a world of their own. Someone like me could never enter it.”
Unfortunately, Aivan understood this all too well.
Among so-called elite nobles, talent was often measured by family power.
Someone like Beirin—without connections or backing—would have had no place there.
“So I made a decision. I would never stand out. I would stay quiet and just graduate. At least then I could escape my parents’ control. So I lived as if I did not exist.”
“Then your grades…”
“Just enough to cover tuition. That was the best option for me.”
Beirin had already realized it in her youth—that her talent would become a poison.
In the end, her environment had forced her to abandon everything she had.
“I should have kept doing that… but I didn’t. Foolishly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I once became top of the class.”
The sudden shift did not match her earlier words, leaving Aivan puzzled.
But what came next was even more shocking.
“After that, I ranked first several times… and then I was falsely accused.”
“Falsely accused?”
Aivan’s brow furrowed at the words. Even the phrase itself carried a sense of unease.
There was only one likely outcome when someone who had been completely unnoticed suddenly began to stand out.
“A rumor started spreading that I had taken the top rank through dishonest means. Someone deliberately spread it. And before long, it grew beyond my control.”
Beirin could still remember the contemptuous eyes of those who whispered about her.
“No matter what I said, no one listened. Even when I denied it again and again… no one believed me.”
“Then…”
“I thought there was nothing I could do, so I gave up. I quit. And perhaps my family found out about it as well, because they said they would erase me from the noble registry entirely. So I had no choice but to leave the capital with nowhere to return to.”
There was nowhere to return to in the first place…
But that final thought did not match what Haren had heard about her first encounter.
“I was told you were injured when you first met the Duke.”
“There was an accident while I was riding in a carriage. After that, as you heard, I happened to meet the Duke and came here. Whether you believe it or not is entirely Your Highness’s choice.”
There were still a few questionable points in Aivan’s mind, but he could understand why she did not wish to return to the capital.
After something like that, it was only natural she would never want to go back.
Before he realized it, he found himself believing her without hesitation.
Having finished her story, Beirin spoke sincerely, hoping he would finally give up.
“I never want to return to a place filled with such horrible memories. I have no desire to face the people involved ever again. So please… withdraw your offer.”
Beirin’s confession left Aivan unable to speak for a moment.
The pain and wounds she carried were deeper than anything he could easily measure.
But the first words he finally spoke were neither sympathy nor acceptance of her refusal.
“Then you intend to remain here forever, doing nothing—despite having done nothing wrong? As if the accusation itself were true.”
Looking at Beirin, who seemed to have given up on everything, Aivan felt his desire to bring her with him grow even stronger.
At the same time, a firm conviction formed within him.
He wanted her by his side.
“Duke Haren told me something. That you had helped him greatly, and that you were in no way inferior to anyone in the imperial palace.”
“That is…”
“Hearing that, and hearing your story, I became certain. I need your abilities. In the current situation, I cannot trust anyone in the palace. I want you close to me, helping me.”
And this proposal… was also for her sake.
