"Huh?"
Of course, it must have been ashed.
There was not even a trace of that big tray, let alone a small turtle.
I didn't dare to say that embarrassing fact.
Theodore's gaze cooled as much as Caliph's eyes.
"Liana."
"...Huh?"
"Liana must be a cute turtle. This much... It must have been this small."
Then he spread his palm to me.
The turtle was much smaller than that, but an animal with a shell has never been cute in life.
What's so cute about that?
"...Is it cute? Is it a turtle? So, my biggest mistake was burning the turtle? Is he so precious?"
Theodore sighed slightly.
"Liana, my dear baby."
"...Why?"
"You extinguished living life with your small, pretty hand. Why isn't that wrong? The turtle has done you no wrong, and you have no reason to kill the turtle."
Is that so?
Suddenly, memories of my past life flooded in confusion.
To eliminate fast-moving targets, Edipa and I went on numerous hunts.
Large and small animals were reduced to ashes just because they passed by, but no one blamed us because they were the owners of the animals.
At first, on such a day, my dreams were confused...
Theodore let out a small sigh against my bewildered face.
"Liana. I bump into Caliph for many moments, but I can't take your side this time. The reason why I risked my subordinates' lives to save a child in a secluded place in the past was not because she was a precious Princess Meridy."
The reason why Theodore didn't abandon me like Caliph was probably because it was Theodore's room.
I drank all the cocoa that no longer tasted like anything.
Theodore simply hugged me as if he were doing his duty, led me to my room, and led Dorian out.
'Is being left alone in the room also a punishment for burning the turtle?'
If so, the brother who saw the consensus after a long time succeeded in punishing me.
I was depressed waiting for my nanny, but for some reason, Dorian didn't come back quickly.
***
The nanny didn't come back until evening was over.
However, when we went to the dining hall together, they washed me off and left the room again.
'I wanted to ask you about turtles...'
I lay face down on the bed and waited for Dorian, forcibly flipping through the hard-to-see bookshelf.
Soon, the door rang out, so I couldn't take my eyes off the book I was looking at.
"Dorian, where are you going? I'm going to ask you...?"
However, when he managed to turn around, Alseid was standing instead of Dorian.
"...Dad?"
He smiled softly.
"Can Daddy put you to sleep today?"
"...Really?"
As if it wasn't a joke, Alseid took the book I was looking at, put it on the table, and turned off all the lamps except for a few candles.
Then he put the quilt up to my chest and gently patted my stomach.
For a long time, only that small sound echoed through the large room.
Then I was almost on the verge of falling asleep.
Alseid called my name very softly.
"Liana."
"Yes. Dad...??"
After that, the story continued at a considerable interval.
"Actually. I'm with your mother, Cecilia... We've been friends since we were little."
I lifted my eyelids at once.
It had been two years since I came to Halias, but Alseid had never told me about my mother
Sometimes he said that he was friends with my mom in passing words, but that was it.
Even when he said that, I looked sad, and it was difficult to even ask in detail.
He brought up the old story by putting my mother's name in his mouth.
Alseid's story continued calmly.
"Cecilia was a child... She was luckier than you. I was able to learn pyromance from her mother."
"Grandma too... Was she a magician?"
I asked cautiously, and Alseid nodded.
"That's right. Although she was not as powerful as your mother in any case, it was enough to teach young Cecilia."
I quickly pretended to be okay.
"I'm okay, Caliph helps me a lot."
In the dark, he smiled faintly.
"Yes, I'm glad you did. In any case, Cecilia had a lucky childhood. Even when she entered the academy, she enjoyed the privilege of being a Meridy bloodline. The popularity among my friends was a bonus."
"...Do people look down on the pyromancer?"
At that question, Alseid laughed out loud.
"Do they like her? They almost worship her. Just as you are loved as Liana in Halias, everyone on this continent loves Meridy."
"Really?'
It was something I had never felt for a moment in my previous life, so it didn't touch me very much.
It was the opposite in Dorian's story.
I think I often wished for it during hard and long training.
If only I hadn't had pyromancy.
"Really."
Alseid stroked my hair quietly.
"Liana, fire is the beginning of it all. Let everything come into being, and let it return to the soil."
"....Have you heard about turtles?"
When I asked him a little bit, he nodded.
"Caliph was too much. I thought he was a bit generous, but he left you alone in the training room."
When he took my side, my upset heart was pounding.
"...Did I do that wrong? Is the turtle more precious than me?"
Alseid laughed out loud once again.
"No way. Caliph also regrets it. But Liana."
When I looked up at his eyes that shone strangely in the darkness, he continued softly.
"If Cecilia saw it... She would have scolded you much worse than Caliph."
"Yes?"
"Cecilia was also pained to burn a leaf of a fire tree that had accidentally flown away. Every time she did, her fingertips trembled as if she had made a big mistake."
"Tree leaves..."
"She saved all lives equally. She said that Mimul was also born because of the warmth given by Verbti, so they were all my brothers and sisters. That's why she doesn't have that common brother."
Are they all brothers and sisters?
In an instant, something broke inside me.
Pride and mistakes, which can no longer be covered up even by the unfortunate past, have shed their skin and flinched.
In my previous life, how many times did I kill without blinking an eye?
Every time Bachel told me to forget them, I could see how willing I was.
"That's why everyone likes Meridy. Because Meridy's magicians have been like that for generations. None of the red-haired women who would have made this continent their own if they had made up their minds did."
When I lowered my head, Alseid teased me.
"But what should I do about this? You are my daughter. I don't think you would be a fan of burning about five hundred turtles. All the turtles in the land of Halias are mine anyway, so why don't you do anything?"
"...Lie."
My voice popped out so late that I knew I was crying.
A rough hand wiped away tears from my face.
"It's not a lie. If you wish, I'll write you a permit, so do whatever you want."
"Hhh..."
The crying became a creeping sound.
Alseid lifted me up, hugged me, and whispered in a kind voice.
"It's okay, baby. Don't cry."
However, the tears did not stop.
When I managed to fall asleep after wetting Alseid's shoulders, I saw my mother and the turtle in my dream.
Seeing my mother smiling brightly. It seemed that the turtle hadn't blamed me for my mistake yet.
'I made a mistake, Mom...'
When I put my hands together and begged, instead of my mother's voice that I couldn't remember, a somehow familiar voice responded.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Coincidentally, the morning sun penetrated under my eyelids.
When I lifted my heavy eyelids, I saw the chair on which Alseid was sitting.
When I reached out and touched it, the warmth remained, and it was still lukewarm.
I was somewhat relieved and fell back into sleep.
This time, instead of my mother and turtle, I dreamed of the castle of Halias.
I dreamed of everyone who said I was beautiful.
Apparently, I should apologize to Caliph.
***
"Oh my God."
When I opened my eyes again, Dorian looked at me and lamented.
"Yesterday, the young masters scolded the baby, didn't they? Such big and famous prosecutors scold their five-year-old sister one after another. This nanny was stunned and scolded both. Now, in a little while, you're going to come in and apologize to everyone?"
I smiled at Dorian with eyes that were so swollen that my vision narrowed.
"It's because I did something wrong. Dorian..."
Dorian clicked her tongue.
"What is wrong with you? Turtles like that, when you go out to the paddle lake, it's heaven and earth. No, it's a bit rare in winter, but there are still one or two..."
In the end, we giggled as we faced each other.
Dorian muttered to herself again.
"I'm going to die of upset, but my lord said he would put the baby to sleep... But why did you cry like this? He didn't scold you either, did you?"
"...No, it is not. He said I can catch five hundred turtles."
Hahaha. Dorian clapped her hands and laughed.
"That's terrible for him, His Excellency. If you catch five hundred fish, the turtle seeds will dry up in Halias."
Dorian joked like that, then took a wet towel and wiped my face for a long time.
"Sometimes, when I receive an apology from the young masters. If your face is swollen, I can't save face."
He added a ridiculous story.
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