EWOWMAIBTYPF Chapter 115

Chapter 115

 

‘Oh dear.’

She hadn’t meant to startle Ascart as well.

The Grand Duchess gave an awkward smile as she looked at her son, who had turned pale.

Perhaps it was because they had spent so much time apart, or maybe it was because he had only ever seen her in a state of melancholy and despair.

It seemed her son had completely failed to recognize her joke.

Of course, it likely also had to do with the fact that, along with his striking appearance, he had inherited his father’s naïve nature.

The Grand Duchess briefly recalled the days before her marriage, when she had been delighted in teasing the clueless and awkward Grand Duke. She gave a small shake of her head.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since she’d had such a playful conversation.

“…”

At that moment, the slight smile that had formed on her lips faded.

She had just thought of her daughter, who might still be crying at this very moment.

“Well, at least this Grand Duke has a conscience!”

The Duke, despite knowing full well that the Grand Duchess had been joking, had turned pale with fright. The Grand Duke, as if waiting for this moment, spoke.

“Duke, I won’t be asking for your daughter’s hand in marriage, so you can relax. However, since our two families are so close, there is something I’d like to ask of you.”

His expression remained calm, but there was a noticeable seriousness in his demeanor, causing the Duke of Elard to straighten his posture.

He also felt a sense of relief, now that Diana’s safety was assured.

“Please, go ahead.”

“Well, I’ll be direct. My wife and I would like to become the young lady’s godparents.”

“What?”

“It’s not such an unusual request, is it? The Empire’s nobility, or at least the Emperor himself, would certainly find it reasonable.”

“Well, that may be true, but…”

The Duke’s expression turned complicated.

There was nothing incorrect about what the Grand Duke had said.

Most nobles of a certain age were aware that the Grand Duchess, who had once been the daughter of the Marquis of Diapel, had been the Duke of Elard’s only friend.

At one point, there had even been rumors that they were more than just friends—that they were lovers.

Of course, when Dominique appeared with Edel, those rumors had vanished in an instant, much to the Emperor’s frustration, as he had been trying to arrange a match for the Duke.

Regardless, the friendship between the Duke and the Grand Duchess had endured, making this request not entirely strange.

The real question was: Why now?

It wasn’t as if the child had just been born, what was the purpose of doing this at this particular moment?

Their relationship had been solid without such formalities. When Diana had gone missing not long ago, the Duke had immediately sought their help, and the Grand Duchy had sent Bianca and the Magic Swordsmen without hesitation.

“What is the reason for this?”

“Well…”

At the Duke’s question, the Grand Duke hesitated, as if unsure how to begin.

But after a brief pause, he made his decision and spoke.

“Soon, the Principality will lower the prices of all magical artifacts it produces. We plan to distribute them widely across the Empire. Eventually, we will spread them throughout the entire continent.”

“What? But… why?”

The Duke could not understand why the Grand Duke was willing to take such a loss by devaluing magical artifacts.

“It’s to find our Adriana.”

The Grand Duchess provided the answer.

“What in the world do you mean? Explain this properly.”

At this, the Marquis of Diapel, who had been silently focused on his meal, widened his eyes.

The Grand Duke lowered his head slightly, as if to apologize for not informing them earlier, and began his explanation.

“Up until now, we’ve been searching for pink-haired children first and then taking them to the temple for a blood test. But that method is far too inefficient. From now on, we will use ‘mana’ to find Adriana.”

At his words, not only the Marquis but also the Duke, Duchess, and Bianca all looked confused.

As the Grand Duke had said, the process of searching for pink-haired girls and then testing them with a holy relic took an immense amount of time and effort.

Furthermore, sending search teams across the continent every year required an enormous amount of money and manpower—not to mention that human efforts were never perfect.

But..

“Using mana to find the child?”

The Marquis asked, his voice trembling.

“The holy relic of the temple identifies blood relatives through blood. I based my research on that and developed a magic circle that identifies kinship through mana.”

“What?”

Without paying any mind to their shock, the Grand Duke continued dropping bombshells.

“And I’ve also added a mana-tracking function to it. This magic circle will be engraved onto every magical artifact produced by the Principality. If Adriana’s mana is detected nearby, we’ll know immediately.”

The revelation was so astonishing that everyone’s jaws dropped.

“Is that even possible…?”

“The theory was difficult to develop, and implementing it took even longer.”

The Grand Duke let out a short breath before continuing.

“Not many people realize this, but every individual has a unique mana signature and color. While we haven’t gathered all possible samples, we’ve collected enough to reliably determine kinship. So now, we’ll track mana that matches Adriana’s, then verify our findings with a formal test at the temple.”

After finishing his explanation, the Grand Duke turned his gaze to Ascart.

“Ascart, you’ve worked hard. Traveling to the Empire on my behalf, collecting mana samples, and conducting research on the magic circle…you’ve done so much.”

“I was only doing what needed to be done.”

Ascart, embarrassed, turned red but spoke firmly.

The Empire’s level of magic was not well-suited for him, but when he learned of his father’s plan, he had willingly volunteered to go.

Of course, they could have simply sent someone sponsored by the Principality, but the Empire’s academy was the largest academic institution on the continent.

It accepted both nobles and commoners alike, and it gathered the most talented individuals, making it the perfect place to collect mana samples.

In the end, the Grand Duke had no choice but to send his most reliable son.

“Ah, yes. I heard that Ascart received help from that maid girl during the development of the magic circle.”

At the Grand Duke’s words, both the Grand Duchess and the Marquis flinched at the same time.

Bianca also widened her eyes as she recalled the cute letter from Lia, who had boasted that she had met Ascart at the academy festival and that he had praised her for being smart.

She had never imagined that the help Lia had given was related to finding the Grand Princess.

“…Is that so?”

The Duke let out a hollow laugh as he, too, remembered how Lia had mentioned receiving a magic circle for infusing mana into Spleesia in exchange for offering Ascart a bit of assistance.

A bit of assistance, huh…

At the time, he had thought to express his gratitude to Ascart when Spleesia became commercialized.

But now, it seemed the real thanks should go to Lia instead.

“I knew it!”

At that moment, a loud voice burst out.

“Our Lia is a real treasure. She keeps surprising people in the most unexpected ways! She’s just so lovable, I can’t stand it.”

The Duchess clasped her hands together, speaking in a deeply moved voice.

She looked even prouder than when she had heard that Lucio had never once lost the top spot at the academy and had even managed to graduate early.

However, such words didn’t quite fit in the middle of a serious and weighty discussion.

“Ahem.”

The Duke cleared his throat awkwardly, but when he noticed the subtly approving atmosphere around him, he hesitated.

Now that he thought about it, both the Grand Duke and Ascart, who had received Lia’s help, were smiling faintly.

Even the Marquis of Diapel, who usually liked to nitpick, was nodding along, and Bianca as well.

Seeing this, the Duke felt a sudden swell of pride and quietly joined in the ‘bragging about my child’ moment.

“Well, Lia is like that. She’s an indispensable part of House Elard.”

He also took the opportunity to firmly shut down any ideas of taking her away to Belus Principality.

The Duke deliberately ignored the way Ascart’s expression darkened and instead reflected on the Grand Duke’s earlier words, suddenly realizing something.

‘He truly believes the Grand Princess is alive.’

Otherwise, how could he have spent so many years formulating such an extraordinary plan?

Yet, in nearly a decade, no evidence had surfaced to justify such certainty.

In reality, the chances were high that the Grand Princess, who had been just an infant, had died long ago.

But the Duke did not voice such doubts or assumptions.

Out of respect and consideration for those who had poured their every effort into this endeavor, killing their own fears and doubts each day for a cause that might ultimately be in vain, he remained silent.

Instead, he asked cautiously,

“So, does that mean the magical artifacts can identify her just by being nearby?”

The Grand Duke replied,

“Not exactly. Whether it’s magic power or aura, the person must use their innate mana for detection to work. If they use too little mana, it’s difficult to confirm.”

He sighed as he acknowledged the unavoidable limitations, his expression darkening.

The Grand Duchess gently patted his hand.

“Don’t worry. Adriana’s mana was so strong that it even clashed with mine while she was still in my womb. I’m sure her mana will be purer and more abundant than most people’s. If she takes after Your Highness and me, she’ll undoubtedly be able to use her mana.”

Her firm declaration made the Grand Duke nod in agreement.

Ascart, though his expression was somber, also silently concurred.

After all, the reason he and his father had left the castle in the first place was to search for Snowflowers, which could help stabilize mana—out of fear that his newborn sister’s overwhelming mana might go out of control.

“…”

Just then…

The Duke suddenly thought of a certain child.

A child with an immense amount of mana.

And an exceptionally pure one at that.