TPR 05

Chapter 05

Hildegard frowned unconsciously as she descended to the dining room.
“I need something to eat to even feel hungry…”
Ever since yesterday, she’d noticed just how cute—and almost painfully small—the table setting was. One wrong letter and it would have been a disaster.
“I don’t want to complain about side dishes at my age, but this… this is too much.”

Hildegard glanced at Michael and Redis. Both of them were eating the bread and salad without complaint.

Starting her meal, Hildegard soon put down her fork.
“Could it be… they’re used to this situation?”

Seeing her nieces and nephews eat quietly, Hildegard’s eyes slowly glistened with emotion. At the same time, Michael and Redis, who had been eating silently until now, began to sweat nervously.

“Why is she acting like that?”
“Is she still upset about yesterday?”

As her younger sister’s voice trembled, the two children’s forkfuls slowed. Meanwhile, Hildegard continued picking at her salad with a dark gaze.

“Why is this happening? Usually, even if a noble family hits financial trouble, it doesn’t collapse all at once. What could have caused it? Did Leonhart or Michaelis mismanage the inheritance? Or was there a big business failure? Or… a scam? No, that can’t be!”

Even Hildegard could bear almost anything—but if her family had been scammed, leaving the children in such a state, that would be unforgivable.

“I’ll track down that scammer to the ends of hell and make them return everything!”

Hildegard’s eyes blazed.

“Hey, Michael.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“…Never mind. Let’s finish eating first, then we’ll talk.”

They say don’t disturb anyone while they’re eating—even at a humble meal, it shouldn’t be ruined. Hildegard shook her head quickly.

But Michael, sensing his sister’s restraint, broke into a cold sweat.

“Wh-what is it?”
“I have something to ask. Could you spare some time after breakfast?”

Unfortunately, Michael was the type to spend the entire day replaying every possible fault in his head whenever someone said, “I need to talk to you.”

“…Okay.”

He felt a sudden, sharp indigestion. Leaving Michael pale and uncomfortable, Hildegard resumed her meal with a stern expression.

After breakfast, the siblings stepped into the garden, looking picture-perfect as if straight out of a painting. But appearances were deceiving.

“I feel like I might throw up…”

Michael felt sudden abdominal pain from the indigestion. Meanwhile, Hildegard burned with determination.

“Better for the children to gain weight than remain skeletal!”

In Hildegard’s mind, she was already envisioning hanging the scammer upside down, twisting them 360 degrees, pinching them, and making them sign a repayment contract.

“Shall we take a walk while we talk?”
“Sure.”

The garden, however, was far from the Hildegard she remembered.
Overgrown weeds, dust piled so thick she couldn’t even grasp it with her hands, and while the path itself was passable, the archways had withered and had to be avoided.

“There’s not a single trace of its former beauty.”

Hildegard stared at the ruined arches with lifeless eyes.

“Hilde, is something bothering you?”
“Ah… it’s nothing. Wait a second.”

Hildegard lightly raised her finger to point at a part of the garden.

“Michael, wasn’t there a fountain over there…?”
Not “wasn’t there”—it existed. A large golden fountain.

A masterpiece of wealth, three years in the making, crafted entirely of pure gold. Only the Akaraxia family, with twenty mines under their control, could have created such a thing.

“Look at that! This is our family’s power!”

The fountain was something that made them proud, a symbol to puff out their chest over.

“Are you talking about the golden fountain?”
“Yes! Where did it…?”
“Uh-huh, it was sold.”
“…”

Hildegard froze.

“Sold? To whom?”
“I don’t know exactly—it happened a long time ago—but I heard it went to the Obron Grand Duke’s family.”
“…”

The Obron family—rulers of the White City, carved from white stone. They had long been quiet rivals of the Akaraxia dukes.

“I see… I didn’t know that… ha… ha… ha.”

Hildegard relaxed her hands from clutching her dress. Of all people, it had gone to the Obron family.

Eighty years ago, the Akaraxia family competed to secure the best craftsmen for gemstone carving, while the Obron family did the same for white marble. Yet somehow the Obron family ended up buying the golden fountain.

“The seller was also at fault. How could they just sell it without thinking? And to the Obron family of all people!”

Hildegard muttered angrily to herself.

“Hilde? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Hildegard rubbed her eyes and lifted her hand again. Yes, it could be sold, at least better than seeing her nieces and nephews go through hardship. She tried to convince herself.

“Then over there… that direction…”

Hildegard pointed north this time.

“Isn’t the Magic Tower over there?”

Michael’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“That’s right, you really studied, Hilde.”
“Of course I did!”

“The tower’s name means the sky-reaching tower, signifying that a wizard’s knowledge can reach the heavens. The family bought land around it so wizards could live there…”

“That too was a long time ago,” Michael said bitterly. Hildegard’s words faltered.

“All the land around the tower was sold.”
“Sold?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Really?”

Magic could be dangerous even with a minor mistake. They had bought all that land under the dukes’ name to ensure wizards could practice safely… and it was all sold.

“All that land? Every single piece?!”

“They say it didn’t all sell at once—it was sold in portions at cheap prices… probably.”

Hildegard almost stumbled backward. Was this like a cicada riding a seesaw in my brain?

“I thought only the mines were untouchable… but that’s not true.”

Untouchable? They had sold everything—the fountain, the tower’s land—practically everything of value.

“Then they must have sold the mansion in the capital too…”
“That would’ve been last.”
“…”

At least the people hadn’t been sold. Hildegard felt relief that something remained.

“Thank you… thank you so much!”

Hildegard silently wiped her tearful frustration.

“Maybe other branch families helped?”
“….”
“…I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Michael’s expression darkened instantly.

Of course, even when she was alive, the relatives who shared a small portion of blood would have tried to seize anything they could. There was no way they had helped.

“Ha…”

Exhausted, Hildegard slumped her shoulders. Michael kneeled down to her eye level, noticing her color.

“Hilde, are you okay?”
“….”
“You’re disappointed in the house situation, aren’t you?”

Hildegard nodded. Despite the misunderstandings, the disappointment was real. Seeing no way to revive the family created even a sense of despair.

“I thought only one of the four cornerstones was sold… but three were gone. The last one is almost rotten too.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry.”
“…Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”
“You say the same as Redis. Sorry for that too.”

Hildegard looked at Michael.

“How did the household get into such bad shape?”
“Hilde… that’s…”
“There must have been a cause. The estate didn’t just get struck by lightning out of nowhere.”

Even if a disaster had struck, the mines would still be intact—they had twenty of them.

Michael finally spoke.

“Hilde, do you know where your name came from?”
“Yes. It’s from Great-Aunt Hildegard.”

Hildegard tried to hide her embarrassment, answering boldly.

“Yes. Back when Akaraxia was the most honored family, it was during the time of Leonhart’s great-grandfather and Great-Aunt Hildegard. Especially Leonhart’s great-grandfather said our family’s honor came from her. She was dearly loved…”

Michael’s expression darkened. A difficult story was about to emerge.

“But Great-Aunt Hildegard passed away while sealing the Demon God. As you know…”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“It matters. Great-Grandfather sold ten mines to buy the land where Great-Aunt Hildegard’s remains were buried.”

…What?