Amelia stepped forward as a Priestess. The Duke of Russell personally laid the groundwork and managed everything to ensure Amelia's presence. The number of residents poisoned under the guise of an epidemic grew exponentially until Amelia, pretending to be a Priestess, consoled them, and the situation calmed down.
From then on, everything went smoothly. People believed Amelia was a true Priestess, and they trusted her with their lives, believing she had saved them.
“I heard there’s a Priestess in the Duke of Russell’s estate?”
“More than half of the village died, but it stopped after the Priestess’ blessing.”
In an instant, rumors began to spread throughout the empire that a Priestess resided in the Duke of Russell's domain, protecting Escliff. The joke that human speech was faster than horseback became a reality.
“Show me proof that she is a true Priestess.”
The royal family denied the existence of the Priestess and demanded proof that Amelia was truly a representative of God.
And the Duke of Russell won the battle. He used Amelia to protect his lands.
The royal family lost much more than they had anticipated in a defeat they had thought was nothing more than a single blunder. The Escliffites believed the royal family had incurred the wrath of God for their lack of faith, and they believed that the Duke of Russell and the Priestess were the ones who had finally appeased that wrath.
Funny enough, the basis of that trust was Amelia's appearance. It wasn't that she was in a near-death crisis; it was just her appearance that made her seem ageless.
“Do you have wrinkles?”
Perhaps because her appearance differed from that of the average Escliff, they were drawn to Amelia's remarkably ageless face. Unlike them, who began to age the moment they reached adulthood, even at forty, her skin remained firm and youthful.
The moment he realized this, the Duke of Russell turned Amelia's appearance into a weapon. Immortality. Blessed by the gods, her appearance never ages, and a life in which death can never come near her. The Escliffites rejoiced at the qualities that all humans would find so pleasing.
"Wrinkles?"
But that was merely an illusion. Amelia was an ordinary human being, different from the Duke of Russell in race. Aging was a natural process. It was a logical progression.
“You got wrinkles?”
But given the numerous factors he would face, that couldn't have been a given. The Duke of Russell, who had been leisurely leaning against the headboard, reading a book, tossed it aside and approached Amelia.
“Why, why is that?”
Amelia, sitting at her vanity table, traced the faint wrinkles at the corners of her mouth with her finger as she cautiously asked. The Duke of Russell's attitude was so abrupt that she couldn't even complain about the pain in her arm.
“...”
Duke Russell looked down at Amelia, his face deeply shocked. He could see the faint wrinkles at the corners of her mouth. He hadn't noticed them because they were always there, but the moment he realized them, they were visible.
"No."
"Yes?"
“No way! When you, when you get old...!”
“Oh, it hurts!”
He hadn't even realized he was old when he yelled at Amelia. It was his daughter who grabbed Amelia, who was shaking with a bewildered expression.
"Father!"
Just like his mother, he has black hair that shines like ebony. Black eyes that sparkle brightly like pebbles.
“My mother was surprised.”
Its appearance is so similar to her mother's that it can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it.
His daughter, now sixteen and an adult, was suddenly enlightened. The Duke of Russell's gaze shifted from Amelia to his daughter.
No one knew Amelia had been switched. The only distinguishing features of Amelia to the Escliffs were her dark eyes and black hair, so when someone with those qualities took her place, no one noticed. Furthermore, Amelia was immortal, so no one suspected her somewhat immature state.
“You must protect the Russell family in place of your mother, Lisa.”
Lisa, now Amelia, recalled her father's words and tried to calm herself whenever she felt anxious or afraid.
“Then wouldn’t my mother and brother live safely under my protection?”
Because her father, the Duke of Russell, had threatened her like that, Lisa, like her mother, was a smart daughter. She knew who her father's threats were aimed at and how they could be harmed. So, Lisa didn't rebel but obeyed the Duke of Russell. She did whatever he told her.
“Brother?”
"... Lisa."
“What are you doing at this hour of the night...”
Until her brother suddenly appeared in her bedroom late one night, she had been obeying the Duke of Russell's orders as if they were the will of God.
"Sorry."
"Yes?"
It was certainly so until he, under his father's orders, brought her down.
“Why did you do that?”
At dawn, Lisa managed to ask a question in a hushed voice. Her brother, who was buttoning up his shirt and putting on his jacket, paused.
“Father commanded.”
“...”
"If I do as he says, he'll give me the Russell Dukedom. If I inherit this family, Lisa, then..."
His voice was brimming with emotion. It was only natural, since he couldn't have imagined that he would be deprived of his only sister's virginity. He, too, had inherited his mother's dark hair and dark eyes and was confined to the mansion at the mercy of his father, the Duke of Russell.
“I don’t want to hear it, so get out, please.”
So she couldn't blame him. Lisa lay face down on the bed, curled up in a ball, and cried endlessly. Her brother, unable to bear the guilt, left with a look of despair on his face.
It was three or four months later that she found out she was pregnant with his child.
But the child born from this absurd relationship died quickly. Lisa barely survived ten days after giving birth. As soon as Lisa recovered, the Duke of Russell ordered her brother back to her bedroom. Since both had inherited their mother's appearance, he likely wanted to replicate their appearance. The disgust for his father almost made her vomit.
“...Lisa killed him?”
But the older brother couldn't violate Lisa's body again. The moment he crossed the threshold of Lisa's bedroom, he was stabbed in the heart with a knife and died.
“The girl just has a strong personality.”
In truth, it was nothing short of suicide. He stabbed himself with the knife in Lisa's hand. Even if it was his father's order, his conscience, he couldn't rape his own sister twice, strangle him, driving him to death. Even that became a truth known only to Lisa.
He was originally an illegitimate child, raised in the shadow of the Duke of Russell. However, the Duke of Russell was not saddened by his own child's death. He already had two sons from his wife. Even if one of his illegitimate children had died, it wouldn't have been a major problem.
However, the Duke of Russell began to believe that children born of incest were unhealthy. Furthermore, the siblings' deep-seated aversion to him made even spending the night together a challenge.
“Do their children also have black hair and black eyes?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
If that's the case, we have to find another way.
All that mattered to him was maintaining the sacred legend. Even if it meant killing his lover and child, he was only concerned with elevating his family's reputation and his own. So, Amelia and Lisa were forced to climb the ladder of sin alongside him, held by the collar.
“Bring it here.”
The one who followed Lisa's brother was the child of Amelia's lover, who had been on the wrecked ship with her. Lisa slept with him and bore him two more children: a son and a daughter. However, the son died immediately after birth. Lisa was relieved that at least one of them was safe.
That was all she knew. But in fact, the Duke of Russell had taken one of Lisa's children, a boy. Thought dead, she learned only a long time later how the boy, taken by her grandfather, had grown up.
"Father."
Normally, he was drained of blood and injected with drugs for experiments on immortality. The child used for these experiments died before he could even reach adulthood. Unlike her daughter, who was still alive, he had no significant purpose. Perhaps it's fortunate that he wasn't exploited like a stallion because he never reached adulthood.
“How, how could you do that? He was your grandson!”
“For the glory of the Russell family, Amelia.”
Lisa was quick to criticize her father. But the Duke of Russell drowned out Lisa's cries and his grandson's anguish by insisting that it was all for the sake of the family.
“I’m Lisa, not Amelia!”
“No, Amelia. You must not forget your name.”
Lisa denied the name Amelia as if screaming, but Duke Russell just smiled and denied the denial.
“Ah!”
And he killed Lisa's mother. He said that there should be only one Amelia in the world.
It was a mountain hell.
From then on, everything went smoothly. People believed Amelia was a true Priestess, and they trusted her with their lives, believing she had saved them.
“I heard there’s a Priestess in the Duke of Russell’s estate?”
“More than half of the village died, but it stopped after the Priestess’ blessing.”
In an instant, rumors began to spread throughout the empire that a Priestess resided in the Duke of Russell's domain, protecting Escliff. The joke that human speech was faster than horseback became a reality.
“Show me proof that she is a true Priestess.”
The royal family denied the existence of the Priestess and demanded proof that Amelia was truly a representative of God.
And the Duke of Russell won the battle. He used Amelia to protect his lands.
***
The royal family lost much more than they had anticipated in a defeat they had thought was nothing more than a single blunder. The Escliffites believed the royal family had incurred the wrath of God for their lack of faith, and they believed that the Duke of Russell and the Priestess were the ones who had finally appeased that wrath.
Funny enough, the basis of that trust was Amelia's appearance. It wasn't that she was in a near-death crisis; it was just her appearance that made her seem ageless.
“Do you have wrinkles?”
Perhaps because her appearance differed from that of the average Escliff, they were drawn to Amelia's remarkably ageless face. Unlike them, who began to age the moment they reached adulthood, even at forty, her skin remained firm and youthful.
The moment he realized this, the Duke of Russell turned Amelia's appearance into a weapon. Immortality. Blessed by the gods, her appearance never ages, and a life in which death can never come near her. The Escliffites rejoiced at the qualities that all humans would find so pleasing.
"Wrinkles?"
But that was merely an illusion. Amelia was an ordinary human being, different from the Duke of Russell in race. Aging was a natural process. It was a logical progression.
“You got wrinkles?”
But given the numerous factors he would face, that couldn't have been a given. The Duke of Russell, who had been leisurely leaning against the headboard, reading a book, tossed it aside and approached Amelia.
“Why, why is that?”
Amelia, sitting at her vanity table, traced the faint wrinkles at the corners of her mouth with her finger as she cautiously asked. The Duke of Russell's attitude was so abrupt that she couldn't even complain about the pain in her arm.
“...”
Duke Russell looked down at Amelia, his face deeply shocked. He could see the faint wrinkles at the corners of her mouth. He hadn't noticed them because they were always there, but the moment he realized them, they were visible.
"No."
"Yes?"
“No way! When you, when you get old...!”
“Oh, it hurts!”
He hadn't even realized he was old when he yelled at Amelia. It was his daughter who grabbed Amelia, who was shaking with a bewildered expression.
"Father!"
Just like his mother, he has black hair that shines like ebony. Black eyes that sparkle brightly like pebbles.
“My mother was surprised.”
Its appearance is so similar to her mother's that it can be confusing to those unfamiliar with it.
His daughter, now sixteen and an adult, was suddenly enlightened. The Duke of Russell's gaze shifted from Amelia to his daughter.
***
No one knew Amelia had been switched. The only distinguishing features of Amelia to the Escliffs were her dark eyes and black hair, so when someone with those qualities took her place, no one noticed. Furthermore, Amelia was immortal, so no one suspected her somewhat immature state.
“You must protect the Russell family in place of your mother, Lisa.”
Lisa, now Amelia, recalled her father's words and tried to calm herself whenever she felt anxious or afraid.
“Then wouldn’t my mother and brother live safely under my protection?”
Because her father, the Duke of Russell, had threatened her like that, Lisa, like her mother, was a smart daughter. She knew who her father's threats were aimed at and how they could be harmed. So, Lisa didn't rebel but obeyed the Duke of Russell. She did whatever he told her.
“Brother?”
"... Lisa."
“What are you doing at this hour of the night...”
Until her brother suddenly appeared in her bedroom late one night, she had been obeying the Duke of Russell's orders as if they were the will of God.
"Sorry."
"Yes?"
It was certainly so until he, under his father's orders, brought her down.
“Why did you do that?”
At dawn, Lisa managed to ask a question in a hushed voice. Her brother, who was buttoning up his shirt and putting on his jacket, paused.
“Father commanded.”
“...”
"If I do as he says, he'll give me the Russell Dukedom. If I inherit this family, Lisa, then..."
His voice was brimming with emotion. It was only natural, since he couldn't have imagined that he would be deprived of his only sister's virginity. He, too, had inherited his mother's dark hair and dark eyes and was confined to the mansion at the mercy of his father, the Duke of Russell.
“I don’t want to hear it, so get out, please.”
So she couldn't blame him. Lisa lay face down on the bed, curled up in a ball, and cried endlessly. Her brother, unable to bear the guilt, left with a look of despair on his face.
It was three or four months later that she found out she was pregnant with his child.
***
But the child born from this absurd relationship died quickly. Lisa barely survived ten days after giving birth. As soon as Lisa recovered, the Duke of Russell ordered her brother back to her bedroom. Since both had inherited their mother's appearance, he likely wanted to replicate their appearance. The disgust for his father almost made her vomit.
“...Lisa killed him?”
But the older brother couldn't violate Lisa's body again. The moment he crossed the threshold of Lisa's bedroom, he was stabbed in the heart with a knife and died.
“The girl just has a strong personality.”
In truth, it was nothing short of suicide. He stabbed himself with the knife in Lisa's hand. Even if it was his father's order, his conscience, he couldn't rape his own sister twice, strangle him, driving him to death. Even that became a truth known only to Lisa.
He was originally an illegitimate child, raised in the shadow of the Duke of Russell. However, the Duke of Russell was not saddened by his own child's death. He already had two sons from his wife. Even if one of his illegitimate children had died, it wouldn't have been a major problem.
However, the Duke of Russell began to believe that children born of incest were unhealthy. Furthermore, the siblings' deep-seated aversion to him made even spending the night together a challenge.
“Do their children also have black hair and black eyes?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
If that's the case, we have to find another way.
All that mattered to him was maintaining the sacred legend. Even if it meant killing his lover and child, he was only concerned with elevating his family's reputation and his own. So, Amelia and Lisa were forced to climb the ladder of sin alongside him, held by the collar.
“Bring it here.”
The one who followed Lisa's brother was the child of Amelia's lover, who had been on the wrecked ship with her. Lisa slept with him and bore him two more children: a son and a daughter. However, the son died immediately after birth. Lisa was relieved that at least one of them was safe.
That was all she knew. But in fact, the Duke of Russell had taken one of Lisa's children, a boy. Thought dead, she learned only a long time later how the boy, taken by her grandfather, had grown up.
"Father."
Normally, he was drained of blood and injected with drugs for experiments on immortality. The child used for these experiments died before he could even reach adulthood. Unlike her daughter, who was still alive, he had no significant purpose. Perhaps it's fortunate that he wasn't exploited like a stallion because he never reached adulthood.
“How, how could you do that? He was your grandson!”
“For the glory of the Russell family, Amelia.”
Lisa was quick to criticize her father. But the Duke of Russell drowned out Lisa's cries and his grandson's anguish by insisting that it was all for the sake of the family.
“I’m Lisa, not Amelia!”
“No, Amelia. You must not forget your name.”
Lisa denied the name Amelia as if screaming, but Duke Russell just smiled and denied the denial.
“Ah!”
And he killed Lisa's mother. He said that there should be only one Amelia in the world.
It was a mountain hell.
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