Born as the Hidden Daughter of a Villainess and the Male Lead

<Episode 27>

 

“You look too.”

I lifted my gaze to the side to look at what the boy was staring at.

And I was overcome with surprise as my eyes caught an unexpected sight.

As the boy said, there was a huge mural painted on the ceiling of the frozen room, so vivid that it seemed like a direct copy of the night sky outside… and it felt like a vast space.

“Wow..”

I inadvertently let out an exclamation.

The boy lying next to me quietly looked at the ceiling.

A moment of silence and peace passed, which I never expected to experience here.

“…I heard it when I was young.”

A quiet voice was heard, gently breaking through the silence.

I turned my head to the side and looked at the boy who started talking in a low voice.

“It is said that hundreds of years ago, Grand Duchess Adne Kariel Heilian, who was the imperial painter, was in charge of this castle’s murals.”

Ah?

If they were a Hailian, it’s Roberick’s family and my ancestors.

“… Hailian?”

I asked back, surprised by the unexpected story.

The boy, who seemed to be looking back at me to check my expression, smiled slightly and continued.

“It makes no sense that a noblewoman was a painter. But the reason she was able to do that is because she was the lover of the emperor of the time.”

“ah.”

“Since she was destined to become the future empress anyway, she was probably left to do as she pleased.”

It was surprisingly exciting.

“Later, Grand Duchess Adne became The Empress. And it is said that this castle became the palace of the crown prince she gave birth to.”

I listened to the boy’s story and looked up again at the mural that my ancestor had painted.

“But the crown prince was someone who couldn’t use any of his abilities properly, and ended up going on a rampage here.”

…What was this sudden development?

I was lost in strange sentiment for a moment, but then my face became stiff as the story progressed more and more strangely.

However, unlike me, the boy continued speaking with his eyes shining as if he was having fun now.

“The Crown Prince, who received the Phoenix’s blessing, burned down the entire castle with the mighty power of fire. Burning and burning, he eventually reduced himself to a black heap of ashes. Empress Adne, who belatedly rushed to the castle, hugged her son’s body and left the rest. They said they died together in the flames.”

“……”

The content became so serious that I couldn’t figure out what kind of expression to make.

“After that, after several renovations, several members of the royal family used it as a residence, but due to unfavorable events that occurred, this castle was eventually abandoned… One year, hundreds of years later, it was decided to be my tomb. ”

The boy looked back at me with a bright smile.

“You seem to be uncomfortable with my last name, so I tried to explain the inside story. How was it? You hate it even more now, right?”

⋯⋯⋯My heart, which had softened for a moment, hardened again.

Was this really fun?

What the hell was this guy’s way of thinking?

The boy let out a bright laugh as he met my eyes filled with subtle disgust.

“It’s really fun… After all, it’s much better to actually have it in front of you.”

He sat up and muttered something incomprehensible.

What were you talking about? I raised my eyebrows.

Suddenly, his hand came in front of me.

“Get up.”

When I asked with my eyes, the boy answered.

“I’m starting to get bored here again. This time, let’s look around the castle.”

…..what?

As I was scared, I raised my upper body and shouted.

“Let’s take a look around the castle where such a disaster occurred? Are you really out of your mind?”

“Yeah, probably. Come on, get up.”

Were you really crazy? I said this in an metaphoric way, but he calmly agreed and started gently pulling my hand as if begging me.

I wanted to punch him in the face right away, but with superhuman patience, I resisted and stood up.

“Let’s look around from the first floor.”

“….ha”

Why did I agree?

That day, I was led by the boy’s hand to look not only at the night sky on the ceiling but also at the remaining murals throughout the abandoned castle.

 

***

“…It’s been a while. Princess Edith.”

Last time, after experiencing an unfortunate situation that could not be described in a positive way, the crown prince seemed to intentionally avoid me.

Then, it wasn’t until today that the crown prince came to the villa where I was staying and politely said hello.

“I am so happy to see you again, Your Highness.”

I responded with a smile.

“Have you been waiting for me all this time? I’m sorry, really.”

The innocent boy must have believed that my words were sincere, so he made a sullen expression, lowered his head, and spoke as if he were pouting.

“I needed some time because I was upset about how I behaved in front of the princess last time.”

“No, Your Highness. What happened that day was not a mistake on your part.”

It all seemed like he was the targeted person, but I was unfortunately caught up in something done by a strange boy whose identity I still couldn’t even guess.

Now that I think about it, when I met that boy who was locked up alone.

Didn’t he say that he threatened the crown prince’s life several times before?

‘I am a member of the royal family.’

I think it’s true that they’re members of the royal family…

So you were trying to kill your own flesh and blood?

“Let’s have refreshments together at the sponsorship and talk about things we haven’t been able to talk about before.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I was once again struck by an eerie shock, but I was not given time to deeply think about it.

I followed by the crown prince’s side and covered up the memories of the cold and desolate castle, and of the boy who seemed more like a mystery the more I thought about it.

“There is more I don’t know about the princess than I know.”

“It’s been a while since you came here.”

Sparkling, vibrant green eyes looked at me.

A clear voice flowed from small lips.

“You said your biological mother was the former daughter of Duke Bastevarn, right?”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

I almost got agitated for a moment.

I answered in a calm tone, holding the teacup tightly.

“Actually… I don’t really know what happened back then. My father strictly forbade me from mentioning it.”

The Emperor must have felt uncomfortable in his own way. He went to the extent of forbidding his son from mentioning what happened at that time.

“But after pestering the teachers, I heard a few stories…”

The crown prince looked at the people around him, then lowered his voice and spoke in a whisper.

“Not only was she blessed by the water spirit king Naiad, but she was also said to be a truly outstanding talent. Even renowned scholars could not help but admire her knowledge, and she published several groundbreaking papers, making her name highly known in Litera.”

Once again the name Litera appeared.

In the meantime, I was curious about the place called Litera, so I looked up books, and according to the information I got, there seemed to be a place called Litera on the Continent.

A sanctuary of wisdom that every spiritist dreams of.

If I go there, will I be able to learn more about my mother?

“…I see. I don’t know much about my mother.”

“What does it feel like to live as a spiritist born with such great talent…?”

The crown prince who was reciting the story about Mariette seemed to be filled with pure curiosity and longing, as if he knew nothing about the past history of Princess Bastevarn, her father, and Archduke Heilian.

“…I really want to go to Litera, too.”

But isn’t it a little strange?

I started talking passionately, but then I opened my mouth, staring at Prince Heng, who slowly seemed to have calmed down and was muttering softly.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince is a spiritist who has received the blessings of the Fire Spirit King. Can’t you go to Litera?”

“!”

Any spiritist of level 2 or higher was recognized as having the authority to enter Litera.

Moreover, the crown prince was said to have been blessed by Phoenix, the Spirit King of Fire, so he should be level 1…

He haven’t been officially recognized as a spiritist yet, but if he showed off his noble status, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

“……”

The moment I thought that.

The crown prince stiffened and closed his mouth so that everyone who saw him noticed.

……what

I was curious and looked at the prince’s complexion.

The Roshan Empire was founded under the blessing of Phoenix, the Spirit King of Fire, and was a great empire that continues to prosper thousands of years later.

It was recorded in history that all generations of emperors and royal family members were born with the blessing of the Spirit King of Fire as their main attribute, or that even if they were not the Spirit King, they had at least one blessing from a spirit placed in the realm of fire.

The current Emperor also received the Phoenix’s blessing, and his eldest son and successor, Prince Valerian, was also known to the world as a spiritist who took after his father and received the Phoenix’s blessing.

Now that I think about it, the crown prince, who was a member of the royal family, would be able to summon spirits regardless of the prohibition.

So far, not once had the crown prince called on a spirit nor did I ever see him use his powers.

It felt somehow strange.

The number of times I have been with the crown prince was so small that it was difficult to say..…

“…Li, the Literean are an extremely arrogant group. My father also hates the Literean. They do not show a friendly attitude towards the Roshan Empire, so that is why I am not going.”

The Crown Prince, who had been speaking sincerely about his desire to visit Litera just a moment ago, suddenly changed his stance and blurted out his words.

There was clearly something suspicious about that attitude.

“……”

After I return, I will have to look for any records of Valerian Heine Ruei Lee officially demonstrating the power of the spirit.

I carefully brushed aside my doubts and hid my expression.

It was at that moment that I felt a strangely cold gust of wind pass by my cheek.

“……!”

My attention was focused on the crown prince’s actions as he flinched in surprise.

“Ugh!”

A sharp scream pierced my ears.

“My hands, my hands!”

Wasn’t the crown prince jumping up from his seat and waving his hands wildly?

Why was he doing that?

The prince was so surprised that I took a closer look at his shaking hands. Oh my god.

Weren’t the handle of the teacup and the prince’s hand frozen and glued together?

“Your Highness! What’s going on!”

“Oh my God, Your Highness’s hands!”

[TL: I am feeling really sorry for the little boy, he is the only innocent child so far.]

The crown prince screamed as if to start a fight and waved his hands in the air.

However, there was not a single crack in the solidly frozen blue ice, and the crown prince burst into tears and began shouting to the servants who rushed over to do something about this.

“……”

This eerie feeling of déjà vu running down my spine was probably not due to my mood.

It was him.

In this imperial palace, where everyone except the royal family was prohibited from summoning spirits, the only person who could manipulate ice so freely was the unknown boy who had been imprisoned alone in the abandoned castle.

“…I can’t do it, I’ll need His Majesty’s power.”

“Hmm, ugh…….”

“Your Highness, it will be okay. If His Majesty the Emperor melts it with the power of fire, everything will be resolved.”

But that abandoned castle and the villa where I stay must be far away…

If that boy had been able to break the seal on his own and escape, there would have been no reason to drag me there, so there is no way he would have succeeded in escaping now.

Still, I looked around surrounded by shrubs to see if the child was here, but I couldn’t see even his black hair or even his nose.

Considering that the spirit was not visible, it was not something that was done by summoning the spirit.

It was clear that the child himself had brought about this situation by drawing on the power of the spirit.*

[TL: She meant that he used the spirit’s power without summoning it.]

…was it possible to use the power of the spirit in such a subtle and meticulous manner from such a great distance?

It was said that deriving power without summoning spirits had never been attempted before and was by no means an easy task.

If he was a human, then he was just a child, not much older than me… How could he already have such outstanding power manipulation abilities?

“Princess, as you can see, His Highness the Crown Prince’s situation is urgent, so I will have to leave. I ask for your understanding.”

“Oh, it’s okay, so go ahead.”

“I’m sorry, then.”

The crown prince was so frightened that he didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to greet me, so the crown prince’s chamberlain asked for my understanding on his behalf and quickly left.

“…Really, I don’t know.”

He was clearly a human being and a member of the royal family.

He also possessed the qualities of a spirit master who was excellent enough to control and use the power of the spirit directly from such a great distance.

But, why was he confined alone in that abandoned castle?

[TL: I vote for The Emperor being a piece of garbage that can do that for his own fear being the reason]

“The crown prince…”

If my suspicions were correct….

It was highly likely that he was not born with the spirit’s blessing, or that even if he was born with it, he only possessed an extraordinary ability.

“Then…….”

In that case, didn’t it seem like that boy is more suitable for the position of crown prince of the empire…?

 

***

TL:

Phew ~

This chapter was extremely long.

Next unlocked chapter will be on next Thursday.

Enjoy as usual ~