“And the reason why the young lady’s body became healthy is because your body absorbed the magic power of Blie that was in the mana stone coffin. It’s a natural course of action since what was supposed to be there has returned.”
After continuing to talk for a while, Rossi's gaze turned to Olivia, who was now swallowing back tears.
“But you. Why did you suddenly come all the way to Elacon to find Blie? You two haven’t even met since you ran away.”
“I always wanted to meet Blie! However, I was sick and it was difficult for me to come all the way to Elacon, and Blie didn’t want to meet me, so I held back.”
“So what made you suddenly come all the way to this forest with dozens of escorts? If you bought some high-level information that could reveal my location, you would have spent a lot of money.”
Olivia was momentarily silent at Rossi's sharp remark.
As all eyes in the cabin turned to her trembling lips, Olivia, unable to overcome the silence, cautiously opened her mouth.
***
Adrienne's death was a great shock to the peaceful Piretta Estate.
When the Duke of Piretta heard the news, he collapsed on the spot.
He was old and could not accept Adrienne's sudden death calmly, and he remained in his post ever since that day.
It was so unusual that all the servants thought, 'Even though the Duke didn't show it, he definitely loved the Princess.'
It was natural for the employees to think that way.
The Duke did not bully or scold Adrienne, but he was not the kind of father who would approach her gently, pat her on the head, or say kind words.
Fortunately, the Princess's brother, the little Duke of Piretta, and his wife, Bianca, had been Adrienne's guardians since childhood, and Adrienne had grown up without a problem under the protection of his nanny, Olivia.
Duke Piretta was not a great man who treated his son Gregory with kindness, so it was difficult to see this as favoritism.
The servants thought it was a great thing that the Duke, who loved his wife more than his children, sent his wife away early and did not bring in a new Duchess.
This was because the love of noblemen was extremely frivolous.
And Olivia, too, was one of those who had begun to reconsider the Duke as a father who 'did' love his children 'a little'.
Olivia had always hated the Duke since Helen's death and the Blie incident, but with Adrienne gone, even that hatred seemed pointless.
The words of the Duke, who had come to see her after a long time, were enough to make Olivia's eyes light up.
“That kid...”
"Yes?"
“There’s that kid.”
Late at night. The day Olivia went to get the Duke's medicine.
The Duke went to Blie, feeling ill.
“If I had kept that kid alive, it wouldn’t have been this hard.”
“!”
Olivia put down the medicine bowl she had been holding with trembling hands and listened to the Duke's words.
“If she were alive, she would have taken Adrienne’s place...”
The conversation was left unfinished, but Olivia was delighted that for the first time, the Duke had sought out her daughter not because he wanted to kill her, but because he thought it would have been better if she had survived.
Perhaps Blie would be recognized as the Duke's daughter and as the proud eldest daughter and Princess of Piretta, like the dead Adrienne.
Then, she thought, they could forget all the difficult days of the past and live together in Ronta, not in Elacon.
“Your Excellency, would you like it if your eldest daughter were alive?”
“Yeah. That’s why I told you to abandon that child. My thinking... was short-sighted.”
Olivia began to feel a burning desire to live, even if it was a little selfish.
It is certainly sad that Adrienne died, but let's be honest, Adrienne was always weak, so Olivia assumed she wouldn't live long, just like Helen.
So, for Olivia, making Blie happy, who had been neglected for a long time, has become her only reason to live.
“Your Excellency. Actually, I...”
So he tried to call Blie in. When she told the Duke the secret she had kept hidden for over 20 years, she got up and left that very day.
Come find Blie. I will make her live a life of wealth and honor. I will make her take Adrienne's place.
Every time she heard such words, Olivia would go to Blie with the money he had given her.
The Duke fell again with the death of the Crown Prince.
***
“I’m sorry, Miss. It’s the fault of the incompetent nanny. If I had known you were still alive, I would have taken care of you.”
The nanny, whose face was stained with regret, seemed to have no more tears left.
I approached the nanny and put my arm around her shoulders.
“No. My nanny was always sincere to me. If it weren’t for my nanny, I would never have felt empty without my mother.”
Rather, I was worried about Olivia.
'My father didn't come looking for his daughter because he missed Blie, nor because he truly regretted his choice.'
I didn't want to disappoint Olivia, but I had to say it.
The reason my father collapsed was clearly because I, the symbol of the strong alliance with the Crown Prince, died. And because the Crown Prince also died, the ties were severed.
That's also why the Crown Prince sought out Blie before he died. He wanted her, my twin, to act as my replacement, become the Grand Duchess, and furthermore, become the Crown Prince's mistress and bear his child.
Assuming that my father was that kind of person, everything Olivia said made sense. I felt depressed, but I got goosebumps as the puzzle piece that had been frustrating began to fit together.
“Olivia. Don’t be surprised. Just listen.”
I told Olivia the truth.
Just like I told Rossi. Very brief but significant situations.
Furthermore, my father was also behind this, and the reason he was looking for Blie was probably because he wanted her to become the Crown Prince's government in my stead.
But even that would not have been possible without falling ill and being bedridden, since the Crown Prince had died.
“That can’t be!”
Olivia jumped to her feet, forgetting even to use her cane, and let out a scream that was almost a scream.
The voice was so harsh that Neil, who was outside, came in to check on the situation and then left.
“Oh my God. This can’t be happening. That old man! I should have known that that damn old man wouldn’t change just because the Princess died!”
“Olivia, don’t blame yourself. Any normal person would have thought that.”
“I should have known! That personality that no one but Lady Helen liked since his youth! That he would abandon that child in an instant because of his ambition! Ever since he told me to abandon that lump of flesh and blood and kill it! I always lived with resentment, but how could I have thought of that person on the same level as ordinary people at such a crucial moment... I, of all people, had such a stupid thought!”
“Olivia, regretting the past is all useless.”
After trying to calm her down for a while, I spoke a little more solemnly. Olivia was so shaken that her neatly tied hair was all messed up, and then she froze at my voice.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Miss. In a split second, I almost put Lady Blie in danger again... You’re right, Miss. I know better than anyone else that regretting the past is useless. What should I do?”
Olivia asked me with eyes that looked like she could slit my father's throat if she had to.
“Let’s make a plan first. It’s really hard on my mind with so many truths pouring out at once.”
The night was deep.
A dark night with no moon.
The lighted cottage stretched far beyond the garden, but it was filled with a quiet anger.
“You said you wanted to wake up Blie.”
Rossi, who had been quiet, finally opened her mouth.
“Waking up Blie is easy.”
She spoke in a pretended aggressive tone, perhaps because she had heard Olivia's words.
“The magic power of that child that was transferred to you. If you give it back to that child, it’s over. Then the coffin will open again, and Blie will wake up.”
“But I didn’t realize that I had magic in my body. Is it possible to not feel anything like this?”
“Magic power is not something that can be easily recognized. I also cannot sense magic power from you, young lady. There must be a trigger for the owner of magic power to awaken. If you hold a lump of raw mana stone, not just the mana stone the size of a fingernail, and practice with my help, you will quickly become aware of the magic power you possess and be able to transmit it to others.”
Rossi's eyes began to sparkle, almost to the point of gleaming.
“The problem is getting enough mana stones. Ronta manages the mana stones directly under the Emperor, and the amount is ridiculously small. Elacon also manages the production of mana stones while severely limiting it. I really need your help right now!”
“Is all I need is a raw mana stone?”
“Yes. At that level, you should be able to practice transmitting your magical power without it being blown away. If you transmit it to someone else’s body instead of the mana stone, the magical power will be blown away. Damn, I was so sick of this situation happening because of the mana stone that I searched all the places rumored to have mines. This damn mana stone...”
“...I have a mana stone mine.”
"What?"
Rossi opened her torn eyes slightly and blinked.
“I heard that there is a mana stone mine in the Acacia County that I own. Prince Ephero definitely said that.”
The brightest expression on Rossi's face that I had seen today came to mind. Rossi quickly approached me with her eyes burning brightly.
“Let’s go. If it’s Acacia Territory, it’s near the border of Elacon. Tell the King who’s heading south that we’ve met and will go to the capital together, so go back first.”
From then on, things were surprisingly quick.
The people who were preparing to camp in the backyard put away their tents and reorganized the line at Rhodnes' command.
As everyone moved away from the cabin, Rossi muttered something and waved her hand.
The hut came crashing down with a crash.
The fireflies that had been lighting up the area around Rossi's cabin surrounded the procession, growing in number until they illuminated us as if it were daytime even in the middle of the night, guiding us.
As I climbed into the carriage with Rhodnes, I lowered my gaze as if my soul had been taken away as the carriage left the forest.
My body and my soul, they were all in their proper places, but I felt like I was drowning in a deep sea of feelings that didn't belong to me.
“Adrienne.”
“...”
“Lean on me.”
Inside the carriage where darkness and light intersected, Rhodnes came and sat down next to me.
Only when the huge shadow and warm heat warmed me did I turn my face away?
“I’ve always been afraid of Blie.”
Leaning on his arm around my shoulder, I muttered to myself.
“She stole my husband. She stole my family’s happiness. I thought she was trying to take my place.”
“...”
“But what was taken away when I died... Noevian, whom I thought was you. The Crown Prince would give his life for the country. A father who loved me even if he didn’t say it.”
“That’s right.”
“Everything Blie stole was fake, something I thought was real.”
It's not just me. Because I was deprived of the false things, even Rhodnes, who had embraced me, was freed from the illusion.
I reached out to his heart, which was beating just as fast as mine. The vibration and warmth I felt in my palm brought tears to my eyes.
“The words ‘Poor Adrienne Piretta’ written in Blie’s diary always made me miserable.”
Sadness erupted like a volcano from my crumpled head.
“If Blie is my older sister. If by any chance she didn’t hate or loathe me and write that diary...”
Hot tears flowed down my distorted face.
“Then she really helped me because she felt sorry for me. Who is the really pitiful one...?”
Anger and sadness, not knowing where to turn, shook me.
“That makes me really angry and sad.”
The illusions I had been standing on were shattered, and I, who had barely managed to hold on to Rhodnes, realized that it was time for me to step on the remains of those illusions myself.
The lips of Rhodnes, who had been responding quietly, settled on my eyes, which were stained with sorrow.
And until the tears stopped flowing, his lips did not part.
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