I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

“That’s right. I understand that the current Duke Safeldrick was a disciple of the Viscount a long time ago. Why don’t we use military business as a pretext for meeting him and explaining the situation?”

 

Viscount Ajstain tilted his face at an angle for a moment and seemed to be thinking, but then he smiled.

 

“It’s hard to send your granddaughter off to get married, and it must be hard for you, too. Other children will be spreading out in the sky to woo you. Is it your family’s fault to go down a difficult path?”

 

“Is this about my father?” 

 

Ian muttered to himself and pulled the corner of his mouth in the same way. When the owner of the Verdian family, a family credited with founding the country, said that he would marry the daughter of the family with a mere tea leaf, the empire was caught up in a lot of noise.

 

“Lawrence is different from those ladies. She is special. And… she has such value that I definitely want to grab her even if I have to take such a difficult path. In fact, it seems too easy.”

 

Ian shrugged his shoulders.

 

“I really thought Lawrence would wait until she was thirty.”

 

“Thirty years old?”

 

“This is the answer.”

 

Viscount Ajstain did not ask any further questions about his actions of drawing a line. He looked down at the documents on the table without saying a word.

 

“I still don’t know if this was a good thing. I don’t know if it’s right to forge documents and pretend that something that didn’t exist with a signature and stamp was true. I also wonder if my foolish behavior is becoming a big obstacle in my granddaughter’s life…”

 

Viscount Ajstain took a deep breath as if he were a flagship, and then let out a low laugh.

 

“Every time I meet you, I can vividly see the expression on the child’s face as he holds me and tells me stories about His Excellency the Grand Duke Berdian without getting tired of it. How long has it been since I last saw the child smile so brightly? At the same time, he has his own emotions and family to carry on. The child’s inner self is clearly revealed as he struggles between his duties.”

 

For a moment, I thought the voice seemed to stop as it was pondering, but it continued immediately.

 

“Once again, I am worried that that child may have tied his life to his family. That child’s life is his own, but the fact that he cannot live the life he wants to do is trapped in this fake fence. “In the end, my granddaughter can’t give an answer, so I have no choice but to push it myself. Now, I guess I can only hope and hope.”

 

Viscount Ajstain looked up at his ceiling and closed his eyes.

 

“I hope that the path I have taken is correct.”

 

* * *

 

Secret meetings usually took place in places where people could avoid prying eyes. If it leaked out, embarrassing stories would spread, so I had to choose a place where no one would listen as much as possible. So naturally, it was common to have conversations in rooms located within the mansion, in secret places, or in stores without customers. This secret story, which followed a set formula-like procedure, took place in an abandoned villa that could only be reached by escaping through a secret path within the castle. Ercia, a black-haired girl wearing simple clothes, opened the door to the villa and opened her mouth after looking around her.

 

“I’m here.”

 

As her voice flowed, the shadow that was hiding like a rat in the darkness of the corner seemed to stir, and she appeared. It was Beralt, a man who appeared in an extravagantly flashy outfit in a villa that did not receive much sunlight. He glanced at her, rubbing her chin, then pointed her eyes to the table and chair placed right in front of her, then sat down lightly. Ercia also followed his instructions and sat down on her chair and waited for her to speak. Beralt looked at her with sharper eyes than before. She used to be a bit relaxed and had kind eyes, but recently, she was getting a little fed up with Ercia’s unreasonable rebellion and prying questions. Recently, many people’s attention has been focused on the fact that the two ducal families that have supported the Zirirus Empire for hundreds of years have become so entrenched that they are causing problems within the empire. Because of this, the new aristocratic faction, led by the Marquis of Alpensia, formed an even larger force by aligning themselves with the crown prince’s view of centralization by the imperial family. In order to bring back the power scattered between the two ducal families to the center, the crown prince first targeted the Berdian duchy. It was aimed at the dissolution of the principality. The principality, which was separated into an autonomous territory, achieved countless achievements over the years and contributed greatly to the strength of the country, but it was also true that its existence weakened the imperial authority. In fact, the military authority to exercise real influence over the country was delegated to the Berdian Principality. The commander-in-chief was also passed down from generation to generation by the head of the Berdian family.

 

The Safeldrick family handled all affairs related to the country’s finances. Now that the two essential elements of running a country, money and military power, were divided into two parties, the imperial family had little independent power to exercise. In fact, on more than one occasion, agenda items that the imperial family wanted to proceed were aborted due to opposition from the Berdian and Safeldrick families. However, the imperial family could not make any rebuttal to the opposition of the two families. This was because it raised issues related to the safety of the empire for valid, justifiable, and rational reasons. At this point, there were claims that the prestige of the two ducal families was higher than that of the royal family. The authority of the emperor was in the process of being eroded to the point that it would not be surprising if an actual rebellion broke out, but this behavior had continued for nearly a hundred years. The country ran stably without any unusual signs. Many people argued that the imperial family was too weak and that if things continued like this, the country would be turned upside down, but fortunately, the emperor was not that stupid. The legitimacy of the imperial family was emphasized by the emperor. There is a story that members of the imperial family are descended from ancient heavenly people. This is a tradition related to the founding myth of the empire, and it imprinted in the people that only the royal family with legitimacy could become the masters of the empire. In addition, they used the three most influential denominations on the entire continent. They established the position of the imperial family upright by going through the process of recognizing the legitimacy of each emperor’s accession to the throne. The only remaining lineage of God in the world, the descendants of heavenly beings, was nothing short of faith to them. If there was someone who decides to rebel, even if they overthrow the imperial family, they cannot establish a new country on this land. If you ignore all of this, the Continental Church will designate you as a heretic. If I did that, I would receive all kinds of criticism and I had to prepare for holy war. Therefore, no matter how weakened their power and influence, the two ducal families could not hastily move without ignoring the imperial family. However, the current Crown Prince was not very interested in maintaining power in this form. Strong power can only be exercised if there is one central point. The crown prince, who blindly believed in outdated theories, absorbed the new power faction and kept the two families in check, despite the emperor’s dissuasion. Beralt was the most suitable person to achieve that goal. He is the head of a family that competes for the top among less than ten marquis families, and he is still young. In addition, his abilities were outstanding and he had the capacity to carry out the crown prince’s wishes. However, although Beralt tried to appear as polite a young man as possible on the outside, on the inside he was a horse full of arrogance and arrogance.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Beralt looked at Ercia as if he didn’t like something and then tilted his upper body.

 

“Did you bring it?”

 

“…no.”

 

Ercia shook her head. Ercia, who noticed that Beralt’s eyes were frowning, hurriedly opened her mouth.

 

“But you can bring it.”

 

“But why didn’t you bring it?”

 

Beralt pressed heavily against her, her brows still furrowed. She had no sweetness or softness. She was Beralt, whom she met regularly, but as time went by, she became strangely cold, which only made Ersia nervous. She spoke slowly, tracing her lips with her teeth.

 

“Can I ask you first?”

 

“What?”

 

An expression that clearly shows annoyance. Beralt was reluctant to answer questions coming from her Ercia. You just have to do what you’re told. As she claimed, she didn’t always speak out. But it hasn’t been like that since long ago. At least before his relationship with Laurencia fell apart, Beralt was more affectionate and kind than necessary. Then, without even making her vicious request, Ercia just looked at Beralt and paused as if she was thinking for a moment. No matter how long Beralt waited, she didn’t say anything, so she tried to open her mouth again, as if she had nothing more to say. Then Ercia finally opened her mouth.

 

“What am I to you?”

 

“What?”

 

Beralt raised the end of his voice as if he was taken aback by her sudden question, and then she burst into laughter. He tilted his upper body and looked straight into her eyes.

 

“Why all of a sudden?”

 

“I want to know. What am I to you?”

 

“You?”

 

Why was this woman suddenly acting like this? Beralt wondered what she should say in response to the woman’s sudden action of asking her to answer about her existence. Did she eat something wrong? Why was she so obedient and selfish all of a sudden? He felt like he didn’t need to know, so he wanted to tell her to just do what she was told to do. However, Beralt was a very perceptive man, so he did not pretend to notice that Ercia’s mood had changed. He looked into Ercia’s eyes and smiled softly, changing her mood.

 

“Ask because you don’t know? You are an invaluable woman to me.”

 

“…What does it mean?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“That’s literally it. I mean, what does it mean? Like…”

 

Beralt let out a chuckle.

 

“Like what? Aren’t they inseparable lovers?”

 

Beralt was dumbfounded. These days, she was vaguely aware that Ercia was not that obedient, but she was thinking like this. Her laughter flowed naturally. lover? Am I with you? you’re welcome! I wanted to scoff right away and tell him not to laugh. But it couldn’t be done. Ercia’s immediate value was considerable. If Laurencia marries her damn Verdian master, she will naturally turn to Ercia as her successor. All she has to do is give this woman to a capable subordinate, even if she doesn’t have it herself, to absorb her Ajstain clan. In that case, Ersia will have enough value in words, so she can’t be thrown away. Beralt quietly studied Ercia’s face. Maybe it’s because he’s her twin, but they look quite similar. In fact, looking at Ercia’s face reminded me of Laurencia behind her. Beralt was not a fan of soft, quiet, obedient women like Ercia. He preferred women who were a little more poisonous and had sharp, rough thorns that were like roses. In that sense, Ercia was not very attractive. Lawrence was like that at one time. She wasn’t very attracted to her. She only extends her hand because she deserves it. But now it’s different. Lawrence threw herself away coldly. When she couldn’t have her, she began to crave her.

 

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