Chapter 13
. Exterior. Lullaby of the Naiad
“An assassination attempt!?”
That was Robevik’s reaction after I reported what I had witnessed that night—the fire spirit and the words the spirit had spoken.
Unable to contain his rage, he trembled violently and began pacing around the room.
“Edith, you’re sure you aren’t injured anywhere, are you?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
The relationship between my grandfather and me, which had become so strained that we could not exchange a single word after I said I would follow Robevik, had now returned to how it was before.
…A ridiculous thought, but I even found myself thinking that the assassination attempt was fortunate.
I immediately erased that thought after it surfaced.
I held my grandfather’s hand tightly and looked back at Robevik.
“…Bring me a list of every fire-attributed spirit mage in this city.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
After the knight who had received Robevik’s order withdrew, the mayor of Terma City, who had been standing nearby, looked up at Robevik.
His face was so pale it seemed as though he might collapse at any moment, and he kept glancing nervously toward the door the knight had just exited.
“Y-Your Grace. I truly… had no knowledge of this, and I have absolutely no relation to this incident…”
“That will be addressed once everything is revealed. Hold your tongue.”
Robevik closed his eyes as if unwilling to even engage, cutting the mayor off coldly.
“Y-yes, of course. Naturally.”
“Edith.”
Ignoring the mayor, who was bowing and scraping with a face drenched in cold sweat, Robevik approached me with a dark expression.
“You’ve only just been promised protection from me, and yet I’ve already allowed something like this to happen. I am truly sorry.”
I tried to control my expression.
“It’s alright. I wasn’t hurt at all, and thanks to this, I even found out that I’m a spirit mage.”
I added while glancing at the spirit kings who still hadn’t left my side despite the passage of time.
“Still, please find whoever tried to harm me.”
“Yes, of course.”
Robevik looked at me with reddened eyes.
“I will find them and make sure they die in the most painful way possible.”
“……”
There was no need for a response.
I avoided Robevik’s gaze.
“You must be exhausted and haven’t slept properly. Go and rest. And… do you have anything more to say?”
Robevik, who had been speaking gently, turned his gaze toward my grandfather with a chilling tone.
“No. Just deal with the assassination plot properly.”
Standing close, Robevik openly displayed his disgust toward my grandfather.
“As expected. I will handle it myself, so do not interfere.”
The atmosphere between the two of them made it hard for me to even breathe.
I stepped down from the large chair and walked away with small steps.
Then, as I looked around at the knights filling the room, someone came to mind.
“By the way… where did that person go?”
I asked while scanning the knights.
“Hm? Who?”
Robevik replied gently.
It would probably feel awkward if I said his name directly.
“…The uncle with grass-colored hair.”
“Oh, Perion.”
I referred to him with a somewhat personal label, but fortunately Robevik seemed to understand.
The man who should always remain by Robevik’s side was nowhere to be seen.
It felt strange.
Even in a situation like this, how could he not show his face?
“He left a letter saying he was returning to the ducal estate… but it’s not something you need to worry about.”
Returning to the ducal estate? Suddenly?
Something felt off, but Robevik’s expression was so calm that I could not press further.
I left the room accompanied by the spirit kings following behind me.
Even now, I still couldn’t quite believe it, but I was apparently a very special spirit mage who had received blessings from spirit king-class spirits like Robevik.
In this world, most spirit mages receive blessings from intermediate or lower spirits, and their numbers are significantly fewer than ordinary humans.
Spirit mages are classified into 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st rank depending on the rank of the spirits that bless them. Even among 1st rank spirit mages, none had ever received blessings from all three elemental spirit kings.
Therefore, spirit mages like Robevik, who had been blessed by spirit kings of all three attributes, were considered beyond classification and labeled as “irregular spirit mages.”
I was told by Robevik that I, having received blessings from spirit kings of two attributes and with the third still unknown, already qualified as a 1st rank spirit mage.
…I never imagined I would become a spirit mage.
I still felt dazed.
Meanwhile, the two spirit kings who had blessed me continued to worry about me even after leaving the burnt-down mansion.
[Edith, considering your innate mana capacity, you could sustain spirit summoning all day long without any difficulty.]
[There seem to be many who wish to harm you. Even if you do not summon us, please always keep lower and intermediate spirits by your side.]
Among them, Naiad’s concern was especially intense.
Illipia was also always kind to me, but Naiad’s worry felt different in nature.
Naiad insisted that I should never be without spirits by my side, even if he could not remain near me himself.
[You said you were curious about your mother, Mariette.]
Naiad, who had also blessed my mother Mariette, began telling me various stories.
My mother had always been a mysterious existence to me.
What kind of person had she been, the one who gave birth to me and passed away?
I had learned that my mother was the villain Mariette from the original story, but the more I learned, the more my curiosity about her grew.
So Naiad, who had blessed her and seemed to have cared for her deeply, was a welcome presence for me.
[Mariette… was truly a beautiful child. Not only in appearance, but in soul as well—there was not a single part of her that was not beautiful.]
…Though I probably should take this with a bit of bias.
I nodded as I listened.
Naiad, as if lost in memories, spoke with a faint smile.
[She learned faster than children her age, and whenever she saw someone hungry or in pain, she could not simply pass by. She was fair and generous to those beneath her. She was merciful in her actions, and even though she had a father who would grant her any wish, she never became greedy.]
But isn’t this… a bit much?
I narrowed my brows slightly.
According to Naiad, Mariette was an intelligent girl from birth, fair, rational, and free of greed.
Yet in the original story, she had been an arrogant villain who constantly looked down on Shastia due to her status.
The same villain who called Shastia and her daughter leeches clinging to Robevik like beggars.
The same villain who, jealous of Shastia’s beauty, procured rare spirit stones and dresses to adorn herself.
…These descriptions were completely contradictory.
I didn’t know whose words to trust.
“…Naiad, I want to believe you, but everyone says my mother wasn’t a good person. I don’t know if I can trust what you’re saying…”
So I spoke honestly.
If the villain had truly been such a wise and upright girl, it didn’t make sense.
But Naiad immediately frowned and replied coldly.
[I swear upon my authority as a spirit king. Mariette was never a child who would be consumed by evil.]
Naiad declared as if offended that I had even heard such nonsense.
His firm attitude left me unable to argue further.
[However… I was only her subordinate attribute spirit.]
At that moment, Naiad spoke with a faint, bitter smile.
Spirit mages possess three attributes.
Among them, one is the main attribute, while the other two are subordinate attributes.
The spirit governing the main attribute is deeply tied to the spirit mage’s existence itself—like the pillar supporting their soul.
Therefore, most of the power a spirit mage wields comes from the main attribute spirit.
As a result, subordinate spirits inevitably become less central to the bond.
But Naiad, the Water Spirit King, was not Mariette’s main spirit?
That was unexpected.
[To my shame… the spirit who was most closely bound to Mariette, and always by her side, was not me, but the Spirit King of Wisdom. He was her main attribute spirit.]
Spirit King of Wisdom?
That name had appeared in stories my grandfather once told me.
So he had been Mariette’s main spirit.
[What I know is limited to Mariette’s childhood and the moments when she summoned me… The stories you wish to know are likely all known by him.]
What I wanted to know was not much.
Why did Mariette love Robevik so obsessively, to the point of blind fixation?
Even if she hated Shastia for taking Robevik away from her, how could she have thrown Shastia and her young daughter Allea into a burning inferno?
Was my mother truly such a cruel and cold-hearted person?
And if that was true—if my mother truly was evil—
…then I might not be able to fully trust my grandfather anymore, who loves her so deeply.
That was why I wanted to know.
Why did my mother, Mariette Aydin Basteban, commit such deeds?
Naiad said that all answers were held by the Spirit King of Wisdom.
Spirit mages were said to inherit attributes genetically.
Among my three attributes, Illipia came from Robevik, and Naiad from Mariette.
Then perhaps my final attribute… belonged to the Spirit King of Wisdom?
“Hey, Illipia. Is there any chance the Spirit King of Wisdom Naiad mentioned could be my final spirit?”
I asked with a faint hope, but Illipia shook her head.
[Normally, children of spirit mages inherit only one attribute spirit from each parent. No more than that is passed down.]
Damn it.
[The spirits who blessed you will eventually appear before you when the time comes. So don’t be impatient. You are still very young, Edith.]
Illipia comforted me.
Any spirits beyond those I was born with could not be summoned.
…Neither Robevik’s attributes nor Mariette’s attributes could be inherited further.
Then how was I supposed to meet the Spirit King of Wisdom?
Lost in thought, the day passed in an instant.
The investigation into the assassination attempt was still ongoing, and it seemed clear we would need to stay here for at least another week.
“…Ah, I’m exhausted.”
Night fell, and the final moment of the day arrived.
As I lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling, thinking nothing was going right,
fwoosh—
“Hm?”
[Hello.]
In the dark room, a small water-drop-shaped spirit appeared with a soft pop.
What is this? That thing…
The small water spirit smiled shyly and hopped onto my pillow.
Though its appearance was quite different, it seemed to be a lower water spirit.
It was even smaller than Nix.
[I am a newly born water spirit. I have come under Lord Naiad’s command.]
Ah, so it’s a baby.
I nodded as I understood why it was so tiny and peculiar.
The water drop spirit held up something sparkling in its tiny arms.
“Wow, it’s pretty. What is this?”
The transparent sky-blue crystal emitted a pure light.
It looked similar to aquamarine.
I carefully touched it.
[This is a memory crystal of your mother, Mariette.]
Flinch.
My hand froze.
[Lord Naiad, sensing your distress, has ordered that I show you only a portion of the memories he has collected of Mariette. Now, please close your eyes. I will show you.]
“Wait!”
The spirit paused mid-motion as it tried to place the crystal on my forehead.
So I was curious, yes—but…
“This is too sudden. I need a moment to prepare myself…”
[No. No time.]
Without hesitation, the spirit placed the crystal on my forehead.
No!
Just as I opened my mouth, my vision went dark before I could resist.
I dreamed.
It seemed to be midwinter.
Snowflakes as light as cotton drifted down from the sky.
In the dream, I looked up at the sky briefly, then lowered my gaze.
Before me stood a small girl, about the age I was now.
She was neatly dressed, wrapped carefully as though cherished by loving parents.
Her pretty lavender hair was braided and tied with a blue ribbon.
But when she looked up at me, her eyes were golden.
Just like my grandfather’s.
And so I understood who she was.
“Look over there, Naiad.”
A bright voice spoke.
At that moment, my body moved on its own, turning to look where the girl pointed.
A child was sitting slumped against a crumbling stone wall.
A gray hood covered their head, and a matching cloak wrapped their thin body.
Who is that?
I couldn’t see their face.
Only golden hair slipped out from beneath the hood, suggesting they were blonde.
“Please. Could you give that child some water?”
The next words startled me.
[But Mariette, that child is the offspring of a disgraced noble family.]
Naiad’s voice answered.
It was my voice speaking.
Ah, I was inside Naiad’s past self.
As I thought this, Naiad turned his gaze down toward Mariette.
[Their family committed a forbidden act and was stripped of their name, left in ruin. Why would you help a child who must bear the sins of their bloodline?]
Naiad asked gently.
‘You’re right. But I think differently.’
A clear voice answered.
‘A child cannot be responsible for their parents’ sins. When someone loses everything and falls into despair, their fate changes depending on who reaches out a hand.’
Mariette looked up at Naiad with steady golden eyes.
‘I will save that child, so they will not walk the same path as their parents.’
The large golden eyes shone quietly like stars.
And then the dream ended.
“……”
I opened my eyes and fell into thought.
Everyone in the world except my grandfather and Naiad says my mother was a villain.
But perhaps their words were not the whole truth.
Maybe there was a hidden story behind my mother after all.
