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

<Episode 53>

 

“No…… Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? What kind of thing is this family called Kandel?”

It was a family I had never heard of.

Did they know something about the family called Kandel?

“…Grand Princess. I don’t know who put it there, but… I think it would be best to throw it away right away.”

“Give it to me. We must burn it down quickly!”

“…….Is this really reality? How can something like this happen…?”

The maids stared at the invitation in my hand as if it were an evil spirit or something cursed, and kept repeating that it would be best to throw it away immediately

“……”

What should I do?

Should I throw it away right away like the maids said?

“What on earth is this family called Kandel that makes you do this? Don’t be so agitated, just explain.”

“…I am sorry, Grand Princess. That family…It’s an ominous thing to even mention it. Please have mercy on us.”

You shouldn’t say it with your mouth? What kind of nonsense can this be?

I wanted to ask more questions, but the maids were so frightened that they felt like they were going to collapse at any moment, so they appeared too pitiful to ask any more questions.

…Should I ask Oried or Naiad?

Because they might know.

“Okay, just leave now. I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, no, Grand Duchess! It’s really ominous, we should burn it right away…..”

“Is there anyone who would dare harm me? It’s okay, so just go.”

There are a lot of questions left unanswered, but now that something has caught my curiosity, it would have been a waste to just throw it away.

I thought it would be safe to call the Spirit Kings later to check, so I asked the maids to leave and kept the invitation in a drawer.

“…Naiad can’t come?”

However, when Naiad was summoned in the middle of the night, Nereid was summoned instead and was told that Naiad would not be able to respond to the summons for the time being due to her duties as the Spirit King.

“What’s going on?”

[I don’t know that either. However, I think it is a very important matter.]

Well, then I’ll have to summon Oried tomorrow and find out about the invitation.

I told Nereid to go back, but she refused, saying she would protect me on her behalf since the Spirit King was not there, and took a seat next to the bed.

Well, it’s better than having no one. I felt slightly reluctant at first, but then I let it be.

I fell asleep with Nereid by my side.

 

***

 

A cold feeling passed over my body.

As I was shaking and trying to pull the blanket up, I sensed something strange and my eyes opened wide.

“……..”

I obviously fell asleep with the window closed…?

Rustling–

“!”

At that moment, I felt a clear sign of a presence from across the room.

Goosebumps rose up my back.

Yeah, what is the Nereid doing?

I carefully turned my body so as not to be caught by an unknown intruder and looked back in the direction where Nereid was before going to sleep.

‘She is sleeping…!’

Do spirits sleep too?

I slowly got up, glaring resentfully at Nereid, who was dozing off with her head down.

Then, I gently opened the curtain covering the bed and checked the outside.

Bright moonlight was streaming in through the wide open window, coloring the entire room in silver.

“…….!”

Thanks to this, the large physique of a man bending down and searching for something was clearly visible.

Who was it, a thief?

No, how on earth did he break into the imperial palace?

I was so scared that I slowly stretched out my hand and grabbed the sleeping Nereid by her arm and shook her.

Please wake up, wake up…!

[Uhm… ]

However, Nereid showed no signs of waking up.

I can’t do it, I have no choice but to summon Oried right now.

“Kwaaaaak-!”

With that thought in mind, I turned my head and looked beyond the slightly lifted curtain, and I made eye contact with a pair of black eyes staring straight at me from beyond, and I screamed.

Damn, I got caught. Since when had he been watching?!

“You, children of indestructible life, answer the call of the One whom you have blessed with an immortal heart….”

I urgently recited the incantation, but the man quickly came right in front of my bed with strides as big as his huge body and completely removed the curtain.

“Aaaaah-!”

I screamed and closed my eyes, desperately hoping that Nereid would wake up now.

“………”

However, there was only silence for a while and nothing happened.

…What?

I slowly opened my eyes and looked ahead.

The man had lifted the veil and was looking down at me with his arms crossed.

Under the rolled-up hood, golden hair that shimmered softly in the moonlight was flowing down his shoulders…..

Wait a moment.

Black eyes and golden hair…

“Uh…?”

Only then did I open my eyes and look up at the man blankly.

It was him.

“Tha, you…….”

What was the identity of the uninvited guest who broke into my room in the middle of the night and terrified me?

It was none other than the person I had been looking forward to meeting again.‫

“Meinhardt……”

It was Meinhardt Ciel Astrape.

 

***

 

The way I was meeting the person I was desperately looking for was so absurd.

I looked at him in bewilderment.

In the original work, his appearance was described as a handsome man with a cool and heavy aura that took your breath away just by looking at him, and it was exactly as described.

While Roberick was a beautiful young man with a pathetic neatness like a flower shaking in the wind, Meinhardt was a man with an overwhelming and beautiful beauty like a magnificent cliff painstakingly carved by nature.

As I looked up at him in fascination, Meinhardt watched me with an expressionless face without a single change in his complexion.

How long had it been since he disappeared and suddenly appeared like this?

Did he really plan to make people have heart attacks?

“Excuse me…Mr. Meinhardt, right?”

But in a way, this was an opportunity.

Didn’t the person I was looking for appear before my eyes on his own?

I suppressed my fear and hesitated before opening my mouth.

“Why are you in my room…?”

“…….”

Meinhardt still did not respond, but just quietly took something out of his chest.

Wait for a sec. That…

“Huh? That’s-”

It was an invitation from a family called Kandel that I received during the day.

But why is this person holding that…?

He is so scary!

“Ugh!”

At that moment, golden lightning sparked from Meinhardt’s grasp and instantly burned the invitation in his hand.

The invitation was charred to a pitch black color and eventually crumbled into black ash, falling in spots on the floor.

“……What..”

Still not understanding what had just happened, I looked down at the invitation that had just turned into ashes, leaving a mark on the floor.

“I had no choice but to visit because something disturbing had caught my eye.”

Meinhardt, who had kept his mouth shut up to this point, spoke out quietly for the first time.

It was a low, heavy voice that perfectly suited his wooden-like appearance.

“Please don’t tell anyone about the Kandel family from now on.”

“…Huh? Wait a minute, do you know what kind of family the Kandel family is?”

Meinhard, who spoke as if warning me, turned around without hesitation and jumped down from the wide open window, even though I quickly shouted out questions.

“Huh? Wait a minute!”

I ran to catch him and looked down.

All traces of him had already disappeared.

“What… ”

I haven’t had my answers yet.

I sullenly returned to the bed and layed down.

He said that something disturbing had alerted him and he couldn’t avoid visiting.

“What kind of thing was this family called Kandel…..Why is everyone reacting like this?”

If I learn more about the Kandel family, will I be able to meet Meinhardt again?

“Ahh…….”

Due to the endless worries, I couldn’t sleep until the dawn came through the window.

 

***

 

“Grandpa, I have a question.”

“…Okay, what is it again this time?”

Of course, the only person whom I could ask about the Kandel family was my grandfather.

With a bright smile on my face, I began to gently massage my grandfather’s arm.

“By any chance… do you know about a family called ‘Kandel’?”

“……What?”

At that moment, my grandfather’s voice, which had calmed down turned so horrible that it couldn’t be compared to before.

At the unexpected reaction, I stopped massaging his arm and checked my grandfather’s complexion.

“Ha, grandpa……?”

That’s how I came face to face with the expression on my grandfather’s face that I had never seen before.

His golden eyes, burning with a hatred so fierce that he would brutally kill all living beings that came across him, looked down at me, flashing.

“Where did you hear such a name? Tell me the name of the person who leaked that story to you right now!”

The shout was loud enough to make my whole body tremble, so I couldn’t reply and just looked up at my grandfather’s scary face in fear.

“Why, why are you like that? Grandfather…?”

…What did I do wrong?

I asked, barely able to move my quivering lips.

At that moment, the grandfather’s eyebrows twitched.

“……I’m sorry. I suddenly got angry…….”

My grandfather was silent for a while, covering his deeply wrinkled face with his hands, as if trying to hide his aimlessly shaking eyes.

“……Aren’t you going to tell me where you heard it?”

After a while, my grandfather asked me in a voice filled with extreme fatigue.

“That is…….”

I also found out about the family name Kandel by chance.

And I still haven’t forgotten the flashing eyes of my grandfather that I met for a moment.

I couldn’t say anything out loud because I was afraid my grandfather would get angry again like he did just now.

“…Let’s close this topic here. Don’t ever mention that name again, and don’t even wonder about it.”

The grandfather, who seemed to be thinking about something, lowered his eyes and spoke softly.

“……This”

What on earth was that anger…

No, the simple word anger could not refer to it.

I lowered my head, bit my lip, and thought.

For a moment, the burning emotion that revealed itself in my grandfather’s eyes and burned fiercely was.…

It was a hatred so vivid and engraved deep in his bones that he could not forget it even after death.

 

***

TL:

A passing thought,

Would you like it if I add the story cover first thing every chapter? or would you like me to create a title for ever chapter?