ISVDM | Chapter 31

Posted by Esraa, Released on March 17, 2025

Episode 31

***

Eastern Garden.

A deep blue lake and the large old tree standing nearby.

“…….”

Standing beneath the tree, I stared up blankly.

“Oh my, why does this old tree look so withered?”

Kate examined the tree with a shocked expression.

The leaves had turned completely black, the branches drooped lifelessly, and the trunk looked so dry and brittle that it seemed like it would crumble at the slightest touch.

I quietly embraced the tree.

“Lirin! Why are you crying?”

“Buuu!”

The maids and Theo rushed over, trying to comfort me as tears streamed down my face.

“D-Dust got in my eyes… sniff.”

“Hmm? Let me see.”

Kate carefully checked my eyes and gently blew on them. Theo, for some reason, pursed his lips and mimicked blowing air as well.

On the day of the procession, I had been desperately short on magic.

I had used up my innate magic, the energy naturally infused into my body. Because of that, I lost my hair. But honestly, even that alone wouldn’t have been enough.

Changing the fate of someone who was destined to die—it was never going to come without a cost.

I bit my lip hard.

Maybe if I had sacrificed more of my body, it would have been enough…

But that would have been too dangerous for me, so the tree had offered its magic instead.

More than anything, linking my magic to the seed inside the artifact had been incredibly difficult.

It was only thanks to the tree acting as a medium that I had been able to accomplish it.

“Treeee…”

Even so, I never thought this would happen.

Why did you pour out all your magic…

Now, I could no longer communicate with this tree.

Of course, it wasn’t completely dead. Given enough time, it might eventually recover its strength.

But… time flows differently for nature and humans.

Chances were, we would never meet again.

Thank you.

I wiped away my flowing tears.

While Kate and Aisha were distracted by Theo scurrying around, I discreetly transferred a bit of my magic into the tree.

It was barely a fraction, like a mere speck of dust—but it was my way of saying thanks and bidding farewell.

Because of you, I saved Eliza. And with that, I’ve taken one step toward protecting Dad.

Thank you, truly.

I quickly wiped my tears.

Now…

What was the next future I needed to change?

“By the way, where is the Duke? I haven’t seen him since morning.”

Kate asked while dusting off Theo’s clothes.

“He went to the Imperial Palace with Lord Ruska. The Four Dukes’ Conference is happening soon, remember?”

Hearing Aisha’s response, I lifted my head slightly.

The Four Dukes’ Conference?

Why did that sound so familiar?

I stepped away from the tree and crept closer to the maids.

“Oh, right. Since the Autumn Hunting Festival is happening this year, there must be a lot to discuss.”

“Exactly.”

“Huh? But wasn’t it Summerain Duchy’s turn to host the conference this year? Why would our Duke need to be involved?”

“You didn’t hear?”

Aisha lowered her voice.

“The Duke of Summerain has been ill for months. He canceled all official events. The maids from the south say he’s searching for something important.”

“Something important… If it’s something significant to a ducal house, could it be related to the Divine Beast?”

“Who knows? Not me.”

“What if they end up holding the conference at Wintervalt Manor instead? If all four Dukes gather here…”

Kate cracked her neck and stretched her fingers with an unsettling grin.

“Finally, a chance to get some exercise.”

…Terrifying.

I crouched down on the ground, piecing together the conversation between these thug-like maids.

The Four Dukes’ Conference and the Autumn Hunting Festival!

The conference was held every year.

During these meetings, the Dukes discussed their respective territories, the state of the empire’s defenses, newly discovered monster dungeons, and any information about monsters they had gathered.

Of course, when the empire’s grand event, the Hunting Festival, was scheduled for the year, they also planned its execution.

The Hunting Festival is still a ways off, so I’ll set that aside for now.

Instead, I focused on the more immediate issue—the Four Dukes’ Conference.

Could it really end up being held at Wintervalt, like Kate said?

No way.

Dad absolutely hates being around crowds!

But…

“It has to be held here!”

“Huh? What has to be held, Lirin? The tree’s fruit?”

Oops. I said that way too loudly.

Feeling embarrassed, I slowly lowered the hands I had raised toward the tree.

The conference had to happen here—at Wintervalt Manor.

Because during this meeting, Dad will face a huge crisis.

While I was sick with a fever, I had dreamed of a possible future.

And the main event of that dream was…

The revelation that something was wrong with Wintervalt’s Divine Tree!

I didn’t know much about the Divine Beast, only the basic common knowledge.

Even Dad had never once talked to me about it. He had been working so hard to keep it a secret that it made sense he wouldn’t.

But I do know one thing—the Divine Tree in the northern Wintervalt territory is massive, incredibly mystical, and unbelievably ancient.

I read about it in the Imperial Children’s Encyclopedia 101 that Dad bought me.

The Divine Tree, blessed by the gods, represents divine protection… But if that tree starts to wither?

Unbelievable.

Anyone would think we had lost the gods’ favor!

No matter how you look at it—whether you roll forward, roll backward, or scatter seeds—it would scream “A corrupt villainous house!”

I couldn’t let that happen.

If this becomes public knowledge, Dad’s house will be doomed! A straight path to destruction… Huh?

A straight path… What was I going to say next?

Ah! A straight carriage ride!

Was that right?

Anyway, if I want to stop this, the best option is to ensure the conference happens here. That way, I can intervene more easily.

Of course, if it doesn’t, I’ll just have to find a way to follow Dad there.

Wintervalt was an ancient and powerful ducal house. Even if the Divine Tree’s condition was exposed, it wouldn’t crumble overnight. That much was true in my dream as well.

Besides, in that vision, Kalec had sworn that he would find a way to restore the Divine Tree, no matter what.

Still, this event seemed to mark the beginning of Wintervalt’s downfall.

Because of this incident, the Winterbalt family was gradually excluded from the Four Dukes’ Conference, and in the end, they lost the people’s support—even the Emperor turned his back on them.

In the dream, Kalec slowly lost everything.

But—

‘I won’t let that happen!’

I clenched my fists tightly.

‘Because I will protect Dad and the family he cherishes!’

***

As I walked around, I thought about the Four Dukes’ Conference and the Divine Beast.

‘It would be best if I could meet the Divine Beast in person.’

If I did, maybe I could figure out why it was withering.

But Wintervalt’s Divine Beast was far away in the northern region. To meet it in person, I would have to travel all the way up north, which was impossible at the moment.

‘But why isn’t Dad using my ability? He must know about it by now.’

Even if Alec had hidden his identity and couldn’t ask me outright—

‘If Dad told me to communicate with the Divine Beast, I could talk to it for three whole days! Does he still not trust my ability?’

If not that… maybe he didn’t see me as reliable enough to share such a critical family secret?

‘Well… that makes sense.’

To the memory-lost Dad, I wasn’t really his daughter. I was just a kid he had no choice but to keep by his side due to the circumstances.

‘Tch… That’s kinda mean.’

I shook my head vigorously to push away the sinking feeling.

There was no time to wallow in sadness—I had to focus on solving this crisis.

‘For now, we need to make sure no one finds out there’s a problem with the Divine Beast during the conference!’

At the very least, we had to pretend our Divine Beast was perfectly fine.

To do that…