Chapter 138
With Ludwig’s silence, and the pressure felt in the room, the examiners tried to prove Arellin was of Pythal blood.
But.
“Why, why doesn’t that react?”
The results were a series of failures.
Not once, Arellin’s blood resonated with the shards of the protective stone.
A piece of the gemstone that would resonate with any drop of her blood.
“Ha.”
Ludwig tapped his on the forehead.
“Hahaha.”
The slap on the back of his head was bone-chilling.
“Really.”
Isn’t she a terrible woman?
This kind of back handedness?
“Well, Your Highness…”
In the midst of a crowd of speechless people and inspectors who were stunned by the unexpected outcome, Ludwig laughed like a madman.
“I never expected this.”
He still believed it was his daughter.
Was there another man with Sione?
She’d met him in the Pythal, under his watch? With whom? Was that even possible?
“What a woman.”
Did she really want revenge that badly?
Did she really want to turn him insides upside down that badly? Wasn’t putting her through this much hell enough?
As her thoughts muddled through her mind, the last thing she could think of was her brother, Valar, whom Sione loved and cherished.
Yes, why was Arellin in Halbern?
“This is why.”
Ludwig shuddered at Sione’s elaborate game plan.
Even if he succeeded in enlisting Arellin under the guise of a common-law marriage to Sione, she would be taken from him again the moment she manifested her Halbern powers.
Valar would never disown Arellin as Ludwig daughter, and only Valar, the current Archduke of Halbern, could teach her how to use her powers.
Besides.
Halbern’s powers are special and rare. If it were to happen, the Allermann would not stand idly by.
“Sione.”
Ludwig gritted his teeth, remembering the way Sione had screwed him over.
The most miserable part of it all was that he still couldn’t let go of her and missed her.
No matter how many times he regretted it, no matter how much he wanted to hold her again, he couldn’t get back the time that had already passed.
“Ha…”
Was he really going insane, that he could be so loving and affectionate in the way he fucked her.
Ludwig ordered for himself.
“Don’t mention anything about today.”
“Oh.”
“If word gets out, none of you here will survive.”
“…”
They all held their breaths at the dire warning.
It was Ludwig’s second-in-command, German, who broke the tense silence.
“So, Your Highness, what do we tell… The Lemren Kingdom?”
“Tell them that Arellin is my daughter, vouched for by the Pythal Empire, so let the trial proceed without question.”
“If they demand proof…”
“Tell them it is a matter of imperial secrecy and cannot be disclosed.”
German swallowed hard.
“Well, then, Lady Arellin is…”
“Yes, I will raise her as my daughter.”
Why? Why would you do that?
All sorts of questioning glances were thrown his way, but Ludwig’s resolve was steadfast.
“Because she is the only vestige of Sione left.”
***
Ever since last night, she’s been in a rather strange mood.
“I wonder what’s wrong with our lady today?”
“Shall we eat something delicious?”
She shooed away the clustering maids and stretched out on the bed.
The Duchess’s room. She had only been there once, but she felt as if she had seen something extraordinary between Duchess and Duke Regent.
“This is not my specialty.”
Did Pession transfer her to him?
She looked at the status window with mixed feelings.
It was still printing out the answer to her question, ‘How is Mehen?’
[In good health. Worried about you. Busy with work. Troubled by the complications of the situation. Worried about the Archduke of Halbern].
Mehen is still the same.
She’s only been away for three weeks, maybe a month now, and she’s missed him so much.
The mere sight of his letter brings tears to her eyes.
[Thinking the mansion is quiet and deserted].
[Missing you].
She’s glad she is not the only one who misses him.
“Cheer up.”
You have a place to get back to.
“Morning.”
She stood up and looked at the status window again.
The cool-down period for new questions was long over.
Her mind was ready.
[insert question].
“Mom. No, tell me about Sione Sigria Halbern.”
[Gather information about Sione Sigria Halbern].
Beep-!
[Requires a medium to provide more information].
[Takes you to a place with a medium].
***
Albrecht.
Pession was tapping his foot, looking somewhat disgruntled.
“Your Highness, why do you look like that?”
“Because.”
The Gun Convention ended and the collection meetings resumed, but many of the children tearfully gave up on approaching him because of the uncomfortable momentum he kept exuding.
Only the twins and Aaron spoke to him.
“Is it because of Arel?”
Ciel’s question made Pession’s face crumple even more.
“Lord Mehen told me Arel was sick, and she went to convalesce.”
“Exactly.”
The day of the mass attack on Albrecht.
Empress Ageni, traumatized by Pession’s near-death experience with the sorcerer’s rampage, had been overprotective for some time.
So Pession didn’t hear from Arellin until two weeks later, and his heart sank when he learned that she had been injured in the incident and had gone to convalesce.
“Lord Mehen refused my request to visit her again today.”
If Arellin were in the mansion, he’d visit her on the stage, but he’d sent her somewhere with good food and water, so Pession had been sending his visits every day lately.
“Well, we wanted to visit her too, so we asked, but they refused our request too!”
“Even though she said she had something to discuss about the car business.”
“Arel must be really sick.”
Pession and the twins sighed.
Aaron was equally pensive.
“Ha, Arel…”
Pession was distressed.
“Your Highness, come on. Is it because you haven’t seen Arel?”
“You miss Arel that much?”
The twins nudged Pession, not missing a beat.
Pession glared at the twins, then sighed.
“Do you miss Arellin?”
Of course he misses her.
“I’m more worried about…”
The twins narrowed their eyes at the unexpected answer.
“I’m afraid she’s crying again because she’s alone.”
“Arellin…”
“… Crying?”
Pession’s heart sank as he watched Ciel and Noel face each other, trembling, as if he couldn’t imagine it.
Arellin, who seemed to dislike people and attention, was lonely on the subject.
She hadn’t realized she was lonely until now, when she finally admitted that she was.
But wouldn’t she feel even lonelier if she was left alone again?
‘Arellin…’
From the beginning, Pession had only one wish for Arellin.
For Arellin not to be lonely.
That one day, he would never see her again.
He wanted Arellin to be happy.
This was Pession’s pure desire.
If there is selflessness in it.
He just wants to be by her side.
‘It’s been good.’
He lost track of time, loving the uneventful days with a healthy Arellin.
“I don’t think so.”
Pession suddenly stood up.
“I’m going on an expedition.”
“Expedition?”
“Suddenly?”
It wasn’t sudden, in fact, a trip to the neighboring countryside to train with the Templars had already been scheduled. What had hardened Pession’s resolve was something else.
“I need to get more rare elixirs.”
No longer was he content to rely on the Templars.
He’ll get them himself!
Aaron sneaked up beside Pession as he steeled his resolve.
“I’ll come with you.”
“Aaron too?”
Aaron nodded.
“I’m Arellin’s friend, too.”
