Chapter 8
Lephonia, startled, snapped her eyes open.
It was late at night, the light swallowed by darkness.
A young boy, mounted on the back of a silver wolf, was looking down at Lephonia’s terrace from the air.
The boy, who looked only three or four years older than Lephonia, had a face so handsome that it was seared into her memory even after a fleeting glance.
It wasn't something one should say about a child who was at most nine years old, but his hair, blacker than the abyss, was as sacred as if he were draped in the night sky, and his golden eyes, brighter than the sun, were nothing short of brilliant.
‘A face I’ve never seen before.’
It was a face that did not exist in Lephonia’s memory, which was impeccable—she never forgot a person she had seen once.
“Who are you?”
The boy did not answer Lephonia’s question. He simply stared at the terrace, as if he had come to confirm something.
“I really didn’t think it would work.”
“What?”
“I’m glad you’re alive. Aren’t you?”
The boy muttered to himself, his words cryptic. His voice, strangely steeped in ecstasy, sounded dangerous.
To say someone was alive twice while looking at a perfectly living person—he was clearly an ill-mannered child.
“Then I’ll need to verify what happens next.”
“What?”
“Ha. See you again.”
“What do you mean by that… Ack!”
Before Lephonia’s question could even finish, the boy who had left such strange words turned his body around. As the silver wolf he rode kicked off the air and flew, a wind so strong it was hard to keep her eyes open blew once more.
And when Lephonia opened her eyes again, the boy was already gone.
‘…What on earth was that? Did I fall asleep standing up? Was I dreaming?’
Lephonia blinked, staring at the empty, vacant sky.
* * *
‘Asleep standing up, my foot. There’s no way that was a dream. Tsk.’
Lephonia sat with her chin propped up in a crooked posture, recalling the brief memory from the previous night.
Because of the boy who had come as he pleased and left as he pleased, she had tossed and turned all night.
‘He definitely looked at me and said, “You’re alive.” Does that mean he thought I was dead?’
But no matter how much she thought about it, it was a face she had seen for the first time.
‘My head feels like it’s going to explode just thinking about the location of the heirloom, and now who is he?’
Lephonia bit her lip and pressed firmly on her temples. However, she couldn't exert much strength in her fingers, so it didn't help much.
‘Then, is there a possibility he mistook me for someone else?’
But the way the boy had stared at her intently came to mind. It made no sense to mistake her for someone else while sending such a persistent gaze.
‘Could it be that the Pope sent him?’
Lephonia calculated the possibility, then shook her head.
‘If the Pope had sent him, he wouldn’t have just left last night; he would have killed me on the spot.’
After all, the Pope had never taught her to leave an opponent alive.
‘I don’t want to get involved in any more troublesome matters.’
*Gurgle.*
Just then, her tactless stomach sent a signal. This was what happened because she had overslept and missed breakfast.
Humans truly are creatures of habit.
‘Since when did I start making sure to eat breakfast?’
There had been times when she was locked alone in a dungeon for days without food for failing to complete a mission given by the Pope.
How could she make such a fuss over skipping just one meal?
Lephonia tapped her stomach with her palm as if scolding it.
“Don’t get used to feeling full. It’s only for a little while.”
*Gurgle.*
Despite Lephonia’s rebuke, her stomach continued to growl loudly.
“I’m going to go eat in a bit. I told you to wait.”
*Gurgle.*
Her stomach retorted that she should eat right away.
“Do you have no pride?”
*Gurgle-gurgle.*
“You stomach with no pride.”
Lephonia muttered as if she had no choice and patted her stomach.
“Fine. I know this isn’t the time for pride. If you’re going to be that loud, I have no choice.”
Having neatly finished her self-rationalization, Lephonia reached out and pulled the bell cord to signal she was awake.
She figured it would be better to fill her stomach and then think.
It was just too noisy.
Shortly after signaling she was awake, a knock was heard. When Lephonia told them to enter, the bedroom door opened and two maids stepped in.
“Lady, did you sleep peacefully last night?”
“Good morning, Lady. Did you have a good dream?”
They were Birdie and Becky, maids from the main building who had been assigned to take care of Lephonia.
They were the maids who had washed her and gone to find clothes for the young masters when Lephonia first arrived at the mansion.
“Yes.”
At first, the nickname “Ponya” had been so embarrassing it made her shudder, but after hearing it repeatedly, she was now indifferent.
Since it was a nickname she would only hear while she was in this mansion anyway, it was more of a hassle to react to it every time.
“The Duke has already eaten breakfast due to work today. He said not to wake you so that you could sleep well.”
“That’s okay.”
She was no longer embarrassed that her pronunciation was slurred because she was distracted by other thoughts.
After washing her face and changing into a dress, Lephonia sat in front of the mirror.
‘Busy work, huh?’
She recalled the maids who had been working busily, saying they had to welcome guests who would suddenly arrive without notice while she wandered the mansion these days.
“Would you like to eat in the beautiful greenhouse in the garden today?”
Becky asked while brushing Lephonia’s hair. Her coarse, wavy hair, which had been waist-length and unevenly cut, was now quite soft.
Lephonia, who had tied her hair into pigtails again today, thought of the greenhouse. If it was the greenhouse in the garden, it was quite far from the main building.
‘Ah. I get it now.’
Lephonia smiled.
“Why? What about the dining room?”
Lephonia asked back, pretending to know nothing.
Birdie, who had been choosing a pretty hair clip, smiled and replied.
“Because guests are coming today, so the main building will be crowded and hectic. Is there any breakfast menu you’d like? If you tell me, I’ll pass it on to the chef!”
“Hmm. Anything is fine.”
Lephonia observed the expressions of Becky and Birdie in the mirror while pretending to nod. The two let out a sigh of relief at Lephonia’s answer.
It was certain.
‘I guess the vassals of the Kreitan Family have arrived.’
Lephonia smiled as if she had been waiting.
No one had told Lephonia that vassals were coming, but it was a matter of course.
There weren't many guests who would barge into the Duchy without prior notice and still be politely welcomed in the main building.
It was easy to figure out if one thought about it for a moment.
‘They must be rushing over to oppose the news of my adoption.’
That is how aristocratic society works.
It is the duty of vassals to dedicate their loyalty to the ducal family and correct the master if they head down the wrong path.
Since a child with no confirmed status and no known background had been suddenly adopted as a daughter, there was no way anyone would think positively of it.
‘In the first place, it was stranger that I was adopted so easily without any opposition from the start.’
Perhaps because she had learned everything about aristocratic society from the Pope, it felt like a natural sequence of events.
‘Since the documents have already been submitted to the Imperial Court, divorce would be impossible unless the Duke changes his mind.’
Perhaps because she was already tied by the documents, she didn't feel relatively anxious even if the vassals were swarming in.
The Duke of Kreitan had adopted Lephonia to soothe his guilt over his lost daughter.
Therefore, there was no reason for the Duke to change his mind and annul the adoption yet.
‘It was fortunate that I finished the documents and submitted them to the Imperial Court quickly, even if it meant drawing blood.’
She looked down at her finger, which had no scar left thanks to the doctor’s quick treatment.
‘The main building will be noisy for a few days.’
There would be no result she could change anyway, but since they had come this far, the vassals wouldn't back down easily.
It was obvious they would pressure Lephonia while staying at the mansion for a few days, as they wouldn't be able to get through to the Duke.
‘There is a way to help the family’s affairs resolve in a good direction and prove my usefulness to the vassals, though.’
Lephonia had no intention of stepping up to solve the family’s problems.
If the family was in such a state that they needed to borrow the hands of a child to solve their affairs, it wouldn't be strange if they had already gone to ruin. That was the capability of the head of the family. Lephonia was not the head of the family, and she had no intention of handling the work for them. Unless they gave her the position of the head of the family, that is.
‘It worked out well, actually.’
Lephonia said, tapping her growling stomach as if telling it to be patient.
“…Birdie.”
“Yes, Lady.”
“Is the Duke in the conference room right now?”
“Pardon?”
Birdie looked flustered that Lephonia, who had never sought out the Duke first, was asking for his location of all days.
When Birdie looked up with a flustered face, Lephonia, who had been staring at her through the mirror, caught her eye.
Birdie quickly looked away. That alone was answer enough.
“Up we go.”
Lephonia hopped off the chair, making a loud noise without realizing it.
“Lady, Lady. Where are you going?”
Lephonia moved her short arms and legs diligently and left the bedroom. Birdie and Becky followed behind.
“Mm. To see the Duke.”
“……Pardon?”
Lephonia, who had no intention of explaining further, thought of the location of the conference room and walked diligently down the hallway with her small feet.
* * *
The conference room.
“An adoption out of the blue. That was a very hasty choice, Duke.”
“If you were moved by the child, I think it would have been better to provide sponsorship, Duke.”
The conference room was noisy with the gathered vassals.
“It is not that we do not bless the birth of the new Lady. However, if that child were to covet the assets of the Ducal Family in the future—”
“What do Young Master Habelian and Young Master Pretes have to say?”
“This is not the time for that. Since the adoption has already been decided, we must first verify her status. Have you investigated whether there are any criminals in the child’s lineage? Duke.”
“Are you suggesting we accept the adoption? She is a child whose parents we don’t know, and we don’t know where or how she grew up. What if she has an infectious disease?”
“But rather than wasting time trying to find the lost Lady, who we don’t even know is dead or alive—”
*Bang!*
The Duke of Kreitan, who had kept his mouth shut and pressed his temples while listening the whole time, slammed his palm, which had gathered Aura, onto the desk.
The desk, made with magical tools, fortunately did not break but vibrated.
The vassals all shut their mouths at the killing intent felt from that vibration.
“I gave you freedom of speech, and you are increasingly crossing the line.”
His rough voice was suffocating, as if it were strangling their throats.
“I am adopting my own child—do I even need your permission for that?”
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