Episode 12
In the Empire, having even a drop of Blythe blood was enough.
The nature of having unstable magical power, even if it was self-destructive and potentially dangerous, made individuals with unstable magic unnecessary and risky for the Empire, according to Lloydin’s explanation.
‘Is it a never-ending cycle?’
My illness could only be healed with magical power. And Ian’s condition, which required power of the gods to be cured…
Getting medicine with divine power was not difficult because my second brother, Noah Anates, was the most highly regarded individual near the temple.
‘But Lloydin probably can’t get it.’
He could never approach the temple, not even close, and I assumed that’s why his situation was challenging.
But Ian’s magical power was unstable.
I couldn’t know any details about the events before the novel began. I only had the novel’s content as a basis to make assumptions and judgments.
While I remembered my past life, the details weren’t clear, and I typically skimmed through these finer details while reading, so I had no way to know these specifics.
“Huh?”
Wait a moment, could it be…?
Something had just quickly crossed my mind, and it was a highly plausible hypothesis.
So, it occurred to me that Lloydin might not have been expelled from the capital while suppressing the sealed power, but rather that he had gone to retrieve Ian’s medicine…
As my suspicions grew, things that had seemed puzzling to me began to make sense, one by one.
‘Yeah, no matter how you think about it, it was strange.’
What if Lloydin had intervened to retrieve medicine with divine power to save his brother?
And if the royal family and the temple used Ian to prevent Lloydin from ever coming back?
This was an absolutely fitting turn of events.
‘But it will never happen like this again.’
Because I was there, Lloydin would never be banished from the capital, and Ian would be saved.
“Lia, let’s speed up. We need to get back home as soon as possible.”
With the thought of returning home and negotiating with my parents and brothers as soon as possible, I urged Lia to hurry.
“Alright, Miss.”
* * *
The carriage raced through the dark night, kicking up dust at a much faster speed than usual.
So when we arrived home much earlier than expected, my parents and three older brothers were waiting in front of the mansion.
“My second brother is here too?”
My second brother was a priest who served the gods at the temple, so it was rare for him to come home.
But he must have hurriedly returned upon hearing the news of my disappearance.
“Ayla!”
As soon as I got off the carriage, my third brother called me.
“Big brother Luke.”
“Where have you been? Why are you so late?”
“I’m sorry.”
After apologizing to my brother, who was angry and full of concern, I quickly approached my parents.
“Mother, Father, I’m sorry. I’m late because of something that came up.”
“Ayla, where on earth have you been? After the tea party at Baron Hujakje’s place, you left there during the day. You didn’t come home, and I was so worried.”
My mother held my hands and spoke with a trembling voice. Knowing how worried she must have been, I couldn’t raise my head in front of her.
“Come inside for now.”
“Yes, Father.”
The tone of my father’s voice was deeper than usual, and it was something he used when he was extremely angry.
As my father led the way, I remained silent and entered his study, walking alongside my mother. My three brothers followed behind. Once we were inside, we each took a seat on the sofas.
My mother sat next to me, her hands constantly touching my shoulders and back, expressing her concern.
“Now, Ayla, if you have something to say, go ahead.”
“Sorry for causing concern once again. Mother, Father, and my brothers, I’m sorry.”
“That kid knows we were worried and stayed outside until now. We thought you might have gotten into some kind of trouble, and we were so…”
“Luke.”
When my brother Luke reprimanded me, my father silently signaled him to be quiet.
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“Very well, Ayla. Where have you been until this late hour?”
Before I answered, I looked at each family member one by one.
Each one of them, without exception, seemed to have aged significantly within the span of a single day. I felt a sharp pang of guilt, knowing how much they must have worried and felt anxious for me. Acting alone without informing my family was driven by my desire to spend time with these people for as long as possible. However, in the end, I had caused them too much worry.
“I visited the Blighton estate,” I said.
“Ayla?”
“What?”
“Where did you go and come back from now?”
“B-Blighton?”
When I revealed that I had visited the Blighton estate, except for Father, my mother and brothers all reacted with shock and bombarded me with questions.
“Yes, I met Lord Lloydin Blighton.”
“Why did you go there?”
“Ayla, are you okay?”
“Ahem!”
Once again, my brothers became noisy, each asking questions. Father cleared his throat uncomfortably, and his warning made the room quiet. My brothers, who had been about to say something, refrained from speaking, shooting glances at Father.
“Go ahead, tell us. Why did you visit that place?”
“I want to marry Lord Lloydin Blighton.”
“Ayla, are you serious…”
“Ahem! One more word from now, and all of you will be expelled.”
Ignoring Father’s warning, when Luke, my eldest brother, tried to speak again, I put my foot down firmly this time, silencing all three of my brothers.
“Understood, Father.”
“Yes.”
“Yes, Father.”
Finally, my brothers’ voices were completely silenced.
“You want to marry Lord Lloydin Blighton?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Your words sound strange. You’re saying you need him, not that you love him?”
Once again, it was my father who saw through the intention behind my words immediately.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I need him.”
In truth, I had given a lot of thought to how I would explain things to my family. If the Blighton family were an ordinary one, lying to my family and convincing them with the falsehood that I was marrying him out of love would have been the best option.
After all, no parents would deny a daughter who is in love and wants to be with the person she loves, especially when she’s unwell.
However, to marry Lloydin Blighton, emotional sentiments like love would never persuade my family. Therefore, I decided to tell my family the truth.
“Lord Lloydin Blighton can cure my illness. That’s why I need to be with him.”
“What did you say? He can cure your illness?”
“Ayla, is that true?”
My mother, who had been holding onto my hand the whole time, was wide-eyed and asked in surprise. I turned to her, met her eyes, and replied.
“Yes, Mother. It’s true. I was late because I had to confirm it and talk to him.”
“Explain in more detail. How can Lord Lloydin Blighton cure your illness?”
“Using magic.”
“Magic?”
“Ayla, are you out of your mind?”
“What’s our daughter saying?”
When the word “magic” left my lips, my brothers went into a frenzy, completely ignoring Father’s warning.
“Quiet! Quiet! Do you really want to be driven out of here?”
“But, Father, Ayla is saying strange things.”
“Yeah, it’s about magic. I think this is not good at all. Even now, I should perform a purification ceremony…”
When my older brother, Noah, tried to purify me with his divine power and held my wrist, I roughly pushed his hand away. Using a body language of rejection that I had never shown to my brothers before, I raised my voice.
“Don’t do that! Purification? What’s so dirty about it?”
“Of course, it’s the Blighton family’s magic! You’re tainted by that magic right now…”
“Brother!”
While I could understand others acting this way, I never expected my beloved family to say such things. The words of my brother, who said it was impure, made me so angry that I wanted to pour out my thoughts, but I barely managed to hold my composure. If I unleashed my anger now, it would only hurt our feelings.
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