Chapter 15
The journey to the grand ducal estate took far longer than expected.
It was because we were heading not to the main family estate in the southern part of the Empire, but to a residence in the imperial capital.
‘Your stepmother and stepsister are staying there as well, waiting for you. You’ll meet them soon.’
Well, it made sense. The distance between the far south of the Empire and its center was supposed to be vast.
Lying down in the carriage, I stared at the ceiling in boredom and thought.
As expected, Roberic was making my life incredibly annoying.
He kept talking to me about everything—whether I was uncomfortable, whether I needed anything, whether I wanted something.
What I wanted most was for him to disappear from my sight.
Still, as befitting a grand duke, he had various duties to attend to whenever we arrived in a city, so I could be left alone for a few hours at a time, which was at least a relief.
[Lady Edith. Are you feeling too warm?]
“Hmm? No, I’m fine.”
Following Naiad’s advice, I wasn’t maintaining a full summoning of the Spirit King, but instead kept lower or intermediate spirits around me.
After awakening two attributes at once, I had been showered with endless praise for my extraordinary talent, but perhaps because my body was still young, maintaining the Spirit King’s summoning made my head spin and my body feel as if it were submerged in water.
So for the time being, I decided to maintain spirit summoning only within a manageable limit that wouldn’t strain my body.
[If you feel thirsty, please let me know anytime.]
Undine, a water intermediate spirit, smiled gently as she replied.
Since the Spirit King of Life, Illipia, did not directly command subordinate spirits, the spirits I could summon were inevitably those under Naiad’s authority.
Undine looked very much like a human woman, except for gills instead of ears, bluish skin, and transparent water crystals floating around her like she was adorned with glass beads suspended in the air.
[The nereids resemble Lady Naiad very closely. Their lower bodies are made of fish-like fins. However, unlike Lady Naiad, they cannot turn their fins into legs. And the crown of the Spirit King that rests upon her head carries a weight that beings as lowly as us could never bear.]
Whenever Undine spoke of Naiad, her eyes shone with admiration and deep loyalty.
It seemed all spirits were blindly devoted to their kings.
“Do you happen to know about other Spirit Kings? Like the Spirit King of Wisdom, for example?”
To gather information about Mariette’s attribute—the Spirit of Wisdom—I asked Undine.
“Uh… that being is someone I’m not even worthy of speaking about. Such a noble and great existence…”
Undine answered cautiously, her voice heavy with awe that bordered on fear.
“I don’t know much either.”
“Anything is fine. Please tell me whatever you know.”
Naiad seemed to avoid speaking about Lore, and Illipia only smiled and kept repeating that I would understand everything once I grew older.
And asking Roberic about the Spirit King of Wisdom felt awkward as well.
He would already know that Mariette’s attribute was Wisdom.
…Bringing up my mother might not lead to anything good.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Undine spoke in a small voice.
“First, the Spirit Kings of Wind, Fire, Earth… ah, and also the Spirit King of Life were said to be especially close to her.”
…Huh?
My eyes widened at the unexpected information.
“Close?”
Undine nodded.
“Yes. That doesn’t mean she had bad relations with the other Spirit Kings. It’s just that she was especially close to those I mentioned.”
The Spirit King of Wind was the one who blessed Roberic, and the Spirit King of Fire was worshipped by the Roshan Empire.
The Spirit King of Earth was unknown to me, but the Spirit King of Life was…
“That’s Illipia…”
What? If they were close enough for Undine to know, then they must have known a lot about Lore too.
And yet no one told me anything?
“…Aside from that, I don’t know much else. I’m sorry. Among spirits of lower rank than equal Spirit Kings, there is none who does not fear her. She was strict, disciplined, and extremely rational. At times, it was as if she could see through the future itself.”
…See through the future.
For some reason, those words stuck in my mind.
[That’s all I can say. I’m sorry.]
“No, that was more than enough. Thank you.”
First, I needed to question Illipia.
And if she refused to answer, I would cling to her until she did.
“Edith!”
Roberic’s voice came from outside the carriage.
…Already? I sighed and slowly sat up.
“This is the Heilian Grand Ducal Estate.”
Roberic held my hand tightly as he asked in a gentle voice,
“Do you like it?”
“…Yes.”
I looked up at the overwhelming stone mansion, its grandeur almost oppressive.
This was the Heilian Grand Ducal Estate.
To be precise, it was the residence in the capital, not the main estate—but even this place was so massive that I couldn’t imagine how grand the main estate must be.
“The stairs are a bit high. Shall I carry you?”
“…I’m fine.”
I refused Roberic’s offer and climbed the stairs myself.
The towering main gates of the grand ducal estate opened.
What unfolded inside was…
“Greetings, Your Grace the Grand Duke.”
Hundreds of servants bowed in perfect unison to welcome the return of their master.
“I informed you in advance, so you should be prepared.”
A smooth, dignified voice echoed through the wide hall.
“This is the second Grand Duchess of Heilian, Edith Loren Heilian.”
Roberic introduced me to the servants.
“…We greet Lady Edith Loren Heilian.”
The servants all bowed again.
Hundreds of voices echoed through the vast hall, enough to make one feel slightly overwhelmed.
Then silence fell.
…Just as expected, not a welcoming reaction.
Although they did not openly show it in front of the Grand Duke, I could clearly sense the discomfort and reluctance in their gazes directed at me.
How predictable.
“Roberic.”
It was after the first greeting, when a strange silence had settled.
A faint, delicate voice came from the upper landing.
“Shastia!”
Roberic’s face lit up as he looked up.
…Shastia.
I turned my gaze toward where Roberic was looking.
“….”
A breathtakingly beautiful woman stood at the top of the stairs, her pale face emphasizing an almost fragile beauty as she looked down at me.
Her pink hair, neatly pinned up, was secured with a crown inlaid with white pearls. Her large, sorrowful eyes seemed to struggle to believe what she was seeing.
The female protagonist of the original story.
Shastia Freyume.
“I’m sorry for bringing a child here without notice. But Shastia, I believe you’ll understand.”
Roberic spoke earnestly, still holding my hand tightly.
“….”
A wave of disgust rose in me, and I bit my lip, glancing at him.
With a sorrowful expression, he continued toward Shastia.
“The child did nothing wrong.”
“….”
…What a trash line. I had nothing to say.
“…Yes, the child did nothing wrong. But I…”
Shastia clenched her dress tightly in her delicate hands.
“I cannot treat that child as my own. Please don’t ask that of me.”
I wasn’t asking for that either.
“…I understand. I won’t force you.”
Roberic replied immediately, relief washing over his face.
Shastia glanced at me once more.
Her gaze, heavy with emotion, felt unpleasant.
“….”
But I met her eyes directly.
I shouldn’t look away first.
I had entered this place to fight.
Tap-tap.
At that moment, light footsteps echoed like falling droplets.
“Father!”
A small girl rushed into Roberic’s arms.
Black hair flowed before my eyes.
Father?
The only child who could call Roberic that was…
“Alea.”
Alea Freyume.
No, should I now call her Alea Seraphina Heilian?
“I missed you so much. I counted the days until your return.”
Shastia’s daughter from her previous marriage.
“…Yes, I’m sorry I was late. Did you read the letters I sent?”
Roberic embraced Alea warmly and whispered.
Alea lifted her head and looked at me.
At such close distance, I met her face head-on and raised my brows silently.
Her eyes, like blooming pink rose petals, stared at me without emotion.
A strange feeling crept over me.
After silently observing me for a while, Alea tilted her head and asked,
“Are you my younger sister?”
“Yes. Her name is Edith Loren Heilian. You should get along well. Be kind to her. From now on, no matter what anyone says, you are sisters.”
Ha.
I suppressed a dry laugh.
Sisters? That word was too generous for what this was.
“Yes! Hello, Edith. Nice to meet you. My name is Alea.”
She smiled brightly and extended her hand.
“Call me your older sister from now on.”
I stared at her pale, soft hand.
For a moment, I wondered what expression Roberic was making.
When I looked up, he was watching us with a satisfied expression.
“Edith?”
Seeing that I didn’t take her hand for a long time, Alea tilted her head and called my name.
Right.
“Nice to meet you, Alea.”
I smiled and took her hand.
“!”
“W-wait, what is this…!”
Gasps erupted from all around at my response after silently staring at her hand for so long.
“Edith. Alea is your older sister…”
Even Roberic looked flustered.
“I heard that in noble families, it’s common for siblings not to use formal titles. And since we’re not far apart in age, I thought it would help us get closer faster if we spoke casually.”
I smiled sweetly and shook her hand twice.
Alea stared at me with even wider eyes.
I released her hand and tilted my head back to look at Roberic.
“What? …Is that not allowed?”
At my subdued tone, Roberic quickly responded.
“N-no, of course not. If you want to get closer quickly, it’s better to remove unnecessary hierarchy. Alea, Edith is very intelligent for her age. Please be understanding.”
“…Yes, I don’t mind, Father.”
After a brief hesitation, Alea smiled softly up at Roberic’s hand on her shoulder.
She could simply follow along and call me sister.
But why should I?
I had walked into this disgusting place of my own will, aiming for the position of Grand Duke of Heilian.
In such a situation, if I called Alea—who had already been granted the title of Grand Duchess despite having no blood relation to the Heilian line—“older sister”…
That would be no different from declaring myself lower in the line of succession.
I wasn’t foolish.
Strictly speaking, there was no need to show such courtesy to Alea, who wasn’t even truly of Heilian blood.
“Let’s get along well from now on, Alea.”
I had no intention of participating in this ridiculous family game.
I had only come here to take the title of Grand Duke of Heilian from him.
