《Erenscia~ Why don’t you try this? It’s really delicious! Hehehe.》
《N-No, I don’t want to… It’s a bug….》
《Why? Can’t you eat bugs?》
《Hehe. I guess you can’t eat your own kin.》
《Just eat it. You should’ve figured out by now that it won’t stop until you do.》
Crunch, Crunch.
《Ugh…! Bleh!》
《Hahaha! You silly girl. What were you thinking? She actually ate it!》
《Hehehe. So, how does it taste? Is it the flavor of your kin?》
Please… just leave me alone….
I feel like I’m going to throw up…
《Today, we’re playing tag, Erenscia. Fun, right?》
《But you know what would be even more fun? If you get caught, you die in this game of tag. You better start running! Hahaha!》
Click-Clack!
《Ahh-! Please, let me go…!》
《Pff. Is she running?》
《Well, now that we caught you, it’s time to die!》
Thud!
Smack!
《Argh! It… it hurts…》
《Of course, it hurts, you little brat. You think I’m hitting you to make you happy? But don’t worry, I won’t leave any scars on that pretty face of yours.》
《Hah! Blame your slow legs! It’s not our fault you can’t run!》
Smack!
《Ugh… Please… stop hitting me….》
《This is all for your own good. How else would you survive in this harsh world if you’re so weak?》
《Hehe. That’s right. There’s a saying—what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right?》
Why….
Why is this happening to me…….
I just want to… study peacefully…
《Erenscia? Don’t you realize why you’re allowing this to happen to you?》
《It’s because you’re weak. Your family is weak. Ever heard of ‘Survival of the Fittest’? It’s nature’s law. The weak will be devoured by the strong. Simple, isn’t it?》
Elden……
Stop looking at me with those pitying eyes……
P-Please… can’t you just help me… just once?
《Pff. Elden? Looks like the girl is reaching out for your help… Maybe you should teach her a lesson?》
《Why don’t you just go have a drink, Blund? I’m not interested in playing with a fallen opponent.》
《Oh, come on, Elden. Show her what kind of man you are. Teach her that her hopes are nothing more than empty dreams.》
《…Understood.》
Ah…
No……
Please, someone… save me from this hell…
Crunch.
《Ughh…! N-No…!》
《Hehehe. Yes, Elden! Just like that—stomp on that hopeful hand. Make sure she never has such foolish thoughts again!》
Sob…
Whimper…
It’s hard…
I think I’m going to die…
Yet… I… never… blamed you…
Because,
I didn’t run away, even through all that…
I chose to endure this hell for the joy of learning…
Sob…
But,
Really…
《M-My lady? Are you awake?!》
That moment…
《My Lady!? Please, wake up…!》
It was just too much…
“Did you have a nightmare, My Lady?”
“Ah…”
Lumia Winterfell woke up, sitting against the headboard of her bed.
Marien was beside her, wiping the cold sweat off her arms and neck with a wet cloth.
“I was worried because you woke up late, so I came in… and you scared me.”
Lumia’s blue eyes were vacant, her lips cracked as if dried by the sun, and her hair stuck to her sweaty skin.
Marien was visibly shocked by this unfamiliar sight, and Lumia felt the same.
Since graduating from the Royal Academy, she hadn’t had any nightmares.
She had buried her pain and tears, fully immersing herself in research and experiments based on the knowledge she obtained during those three years.
Through the knowledge and wisdom gained over those grueling years, Lumia managed to erase her hellish experiences, one by one.
She had no regrets.
If not for the chieftain of a monster tribe’s curse, she wouldn’t have to deem those three years as hell…
In those days, her suffering was extreme.
It reached a point where she almost thought of revealing her identity, despite her father’s warnings.
She was more afraid of the torture that was certain to come than the unpredictable death from the curse.
But she couldn’t do it, feeling guilty for her father who fought so hard to keep her safe.
To protect herself, she held back her tears for her father, and couldn’t even reveal her identity much less tell of the quartet’s evildoings.
She had to hide the scars engraved on her body.
Those scars were all the result of her own stubbornness, and thus, she had to bear her choices alone.
Because of this, she believed she should carry this burden alone, choosing oblivion over revenge.
Of course, every time those scars throbbed, the terror of that day would come rushing back, and each time, she felt as if her world was crumbling, leaving her trembling on the ground.
Fragmented, chaotic memories.
Maybe that was why she clung even tighter to research and experiments, trying to forget them.
Still, those memories surfaced now and then, leading her to choose that quartet as the final contenders for the Grand Ducal Betrothal Contest.
It was an attempt at complete oblivion from her suffering.
For liberation from the suffering.
But of course, whether that oblivion and freedom awaited her at the end was uncertain.
Regardless.
It seemed that her efforts paid off, as she had never had a nightmare before, making the shock and confusion all the more overwhelming.
What could it be?
Why now, of all times, did she have a nightmare?
It was incomprehensible to Lumia.
As she wiped her face, Marien worriedly asked.
She asked.
“By the way… My Lady.”
“Yeah.”
“Um… the Betrothal Contest requires us to select a fiancé from the finalists, no matter what, right?”
Lumia nodded her head.
Just as there had never been a withdrawal from the Betrothal Contest in its history, there had never been a time when a winner wasn’t chosen.
The contest concluded magnificently by selecting one candidate from the four finalists and holding a betrothal ceremony.
That was the tradition of the Winterfell Grand Duke’s family, and her brothers and sisters also followed that tradition, marrying the winners and living happily ever after.
“…Right.”
“Have you thought about it, by any chance?”
The only person who knew about Lumia’s revenge plan was Marien.
Since the revenge began, Marien had been worried about her lady, who was withering away like a flower that had lost its light.
Especially since Elden Raphelion had withdrawn, it seemed like she was withering away even more quickly.
Sometimes she would mumble to herself, tear her hair out, and scribble mindlessly on paper.
She hadn’t been eating properly and had forsaken her beloved research and experiments, lost in thought all day long.
Marien knew that this was an endeavor started to find light, but in this state, was there really going to be light at the end…? That was the persistent question in Marien’s mind.
To be honest, she wanted to stop her.
Even though she knew her lady was terrified of that day’s horror and couldn’t easily shake it off, she still worried whether it was the right decision.
Reading her worries, Lumia forced a smile and patted Marien’s head.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”
“…I’m still worried.”
“Then, Marien, who do you think I should marry?”
“Hmm…”
It was a tough question.
Choosing from the four candidates was a harsh question for anyone who knew about Lumia’s scars.
As she struggled to answer, Lumia answered for her.
“It’s one of the two.”
“Huh?”
“One is the one who sincerely repents and feels remorse. The other is the one who remains unrepentant and doesn’t regret until the end. One of them will end up marrying me, don’t you think?”
“Ah…”
If it was the former, it would be a happy ending for everyone, but the latter felt more likely to lead to a bad ending.
At that, Marien could only let out a vague sigh.
She sincerely hoped for her lady to have at least a happy ending.
Knock, knock.
Now revitalized, Lumia was sitting in her office.
The youngest daughter of the Winterfell Grand Duke.
Since she had not yet entered the adult world and had not made any betrothal arrangements, there were no official documents to review or approvals to process in her office.
She was simply pondering about the complex puzzle known as Elden Raphelion.
“My Lady.”
The person entering was Gelwood.
“Welcome. Please, take a seat.”
He was here to report on the surveillance and investigation commissioned regarding the first-ever candidate to withdraw.
Gelwood, who sat beside Lumia’s desk on the sofa, looked at her with concern in his eyes.
“You seem unwell. Is something bothering you?”
With the engagement ceremony coming up in just a few days, Gelwood, who was in charge of the Betrothal Contest, couldn’t help but be concerned about Lumia’s haggard appearance.
Just like she had with Marien, Lumia forced herself to smile and replied.
“I’m fine. More importantly, have there been any special developments since his graduation?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“…I see. What about his condition since he withdrew?”
“There has been something strange.”
“In what sense?”
Lumia leaned forward, intrigued.
“He hasn’t taken any night attendants at all, and he’s completely stopped drinking.”
“…Elden Raphelion?”
At that unbelievable report, Lumia couldn’t help but ask back.
Lecher, libertine.
Those two titles were synonymous with Elden Raphelion.
Moreover, all of this was happening in his private residence, where he had no need to stage such a change of behavior.
Unless…
“Could he have noticed the surveillance?”
Gelwood shook his head firmly, dismissing that possibility.
“That’s unlikely. The person hired to watch him is a professional.”
“…I see. So, can I trust these testimonies?”
“Yes. They were directly testified by the maids of the annex. They even said he refused their service.”
“…Anything else?”
“Since his withdrawal, he seems to be enjoying reading. He visits the library every day.”
“What?”
Lumia’s brows furrowed.
This was such an outrageous story.
If he had used books for firewood, that would be one thing, but he had absolutely no reason to enjoy reading.
“And today, at lunch, he dined with someone he was reading with in the Great Hall, then headed to the training grounds with a knight escort.”
“Wait. You mean he had lunch with someone he was ‘reading’ with?”
“Yes.”
“Who is that?”
“It’s Lady Ariel Elrond, the daughter of Count Elrond.”
“…What?”
Ariel Elrond.
At that name, Lumia’s pupils dilated.
It was an unexpected name, one that had sunk beneath the surface of her memory like a forgotten relic.
At the same time, it conjured up the image of a blonde, bun-headed pupil who had only shown interest in books and had no interest in her studies.
A bookworm and a wastrel.
Such stark opposites mixing was enough to raise suspicion.
“Do you know her?”
A new hypothesis appeared in Lumia’s mind.
One that she had never considered before, a route she had never approached.
Love.
If there was a force capable of forcibly mixing such oppositional traits together, then perhaps this bizarre riddle could be resolved.
If a force strong enough to blend oil and water could exist, perhaps it could also free a distressed researcher twisted in her thoughts.
“Could you arrange a meeting?”
“Are you referring to a meeting with Sir Elden Raphelion?”
“No. I want to speak with Lady Ariel Elrond.”
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