Chapter 2
“I watered the garden, but… I watered it every day, yet all the flowers in the garden withered away…”
Ariel’s voice was gloomy as she confessed her mistake. It somehow sounded unjust.
Perhaps she didn’t know why the flowers died even though she watered them.
“The flowers in the garden are being watered by the gardener according to the seasons. If you water them too, of course, the flowers will wither.”
“Is that so…? I didn’t know….”
Elysia chuckled as she watched Ariel hang her head in ignorance. Then, she approached Arielle with her narrow steps.
Sitting on the bed with her backside like Ariel, Elysia gently stroked her head and said,
“Just be careful next time. You’ve learned something new today.”
“I messed up….”
“Yeah.”
Elysia briefly kissed Ariel’s forehead.
Although it was a somewhat blind mistake, Elysia had a significant influence on Arielle making such mistakes.
It was because she had pampered Ariel too much.
“You’ve reflected on it, so it’s fine. Today…”
As Elysia comforted Ariel, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
Lunch had passed a while ago.
“Have you eaten?”
“No!”
Ariel shook her head eagerly, her face full of anticipation.
Elysia would surely suggest having a meal together.
However, Ariel’s expectations were neatly deflected.
“I told you not to skip meals. I’ll call Roa so we can eat together.”
“Huh? What about unnie?”
“I… have some business to attend to.”
This morning, according to Rachel, a maid of Elysia, Duke Partin arrived at the duke’s residence early in the morning.
Then it must be today.
The day Duke Partin brings the male protagonist, Eden.
“Got it…”
Knowing Elysia is always busy with her succession lessons, Ariel didn’t detain her sister.
She just briefly touched Elysia’s lips that were slightly parted, as if regretful, and then gently stroked her forehead.
“….”
Seeing Ariel’s disappointment, Elysia tried to soothe her troubled heart and got up from the bed. Then she left Ariel’s room and walked down the brightly lit corridor.
In the novel, it was around this time that the male protagonist was brought by Duke Partin.
It was the season when leaves began to fall from the branches, the year Ariel turned nine.
“If my guess is correct… he must have brought Eden.”
Eden, who had lost his memory.
More precisely, Duke Partin had commissioned the Magician Matapju to erase his memory.
Elysia looked out the window across the corridor.
Due to Ariel’s excessive watering, the flowers that should have bloomed widely in autumn were drooping and withered. Fallen leaves settled among the withered flowers.
Elysia, who licked her dry lips due to the dry air, hastened her steps.
Elysia, who foresaw a future where the male protagonist Eden dies at his hands, fell into deep despair for a while.
Because of that, she tried even harder to treat Ariel well in an attempt to change the future.
At first, it was just a formal effort.
Originally, Elysia, who was not the owner of this body, did not consider the body she inhabited and the mixed blooded Ariel as her own younger sibling.
What caused Elysia’s heart to change in an instant was Ariel’s birth mother, Isabella. Isabella, who gave birth to Elysia and suffered deeply from illness.
Since she gave birth to Ariel with that body, it was only natural that Isabella died early.
Even as she struggled to breathe, Isabella firmly held Elysia’s hand and forced herself to continue speaking.
I’m sorry to leave you both alone, but… at least… you’re not alone.
Isabella, who cherished and loved her daughters more than anyone else, worried about her children until her dying moment.
Ariel, listen to your sister well….
Worried about how her young children would survive without her.
Elysia, I couldn’t hold on… because I was too weak… I’m sorry….
With that, Isabella closed her eyes.
Even though she was in someone else’s body, Elysia was able to stay sane thanks to Isabella.
Without even knowing that her real daughter had disappeared, Isabella devotedly cared for Elysia. Every time this happened, despite it not being her fault, Elysia felt deep guilt towards Isabella.
Because of that, Elysia couldn’t pretend not to hear her request. At the same time, she couldn’t help but give more than her fair share of love to Ariel, the daughter of the woman who loved her so unconditionally.
So Elysia returned the love she received to Ariel fully, if not more.
The original Ariel was so starved for familial love that it seemed excessive.
While being exploited under the pretext of training by Marquis Partin, Ariel wanted to be acknowledged by her father.
Even ridiculing Ariel for being so foolish was Elysia.
Elysia treated Ariel, who struggled to gain the love of the man who caused her mother’s death, as if she were mentally ill.
“The one I should be most careful of is Eden….”
If the villain herself doesn’t torment Eden and Ariel, it won’t be a big problem for Elysia herself.
Of course, there was a fundamental problem that Marquis Partin had kidnapped Eden from somewhere and kept him imprisoned.
In the original work, Marquis Partin filled Eden with two types of restraints and consistently left him alone. The shackles that restrict movement and the restraints that suppress mana.
It was clear from the way Partin Count filled the mana restraining spell that he was convinced he would turn into a wizard.
Recognizing Eden’s talent early on was impressive, but kidnapping a child out of his own greed was beyond reproach.
And not just any child, but a prince from another country.
“What does he think he’ll achieve by starting a war?”
Although he wasn’t in line for the throne, Eden was the second prince of the Seimon royal family.
In the original story, Elysia was executed for plotting with Partin Count to kidnap members of the Seimon royal family and start a war.
Having read the scene of Elysia’s execution, it was certain that Eden was of the Seimon royal bloodline.
“His real name seems to be something else.”
Although the name Eden came to mind, his real name didn’t quite recall accurately.
Partin Count must have feared Eden’s royal status, as he went to great lengths to conceal his existence.
The deaths of the servants responsible for feeding him and some of the guards stationed around hinted at that.
Each of them couldn’t keep their mouths shut and inadvertently revealed Eden’s existence to others, costing them their lives.
As thoughts repeated, the problem escalated.
“So what now? Wait for him to escape?”
Partin Count’s waiting proved futile as Eden escaped from the count’s mansion with Matapju a few years later.
Matapju used magic to erase Partin Count’s memories, facilitating the escape.
At first glance, it seemed like Matapju was helping Eden, but in reality, her goal wasn’t much different from Partin Count’s.
She, too, needed Eden’s bloodline and mana to utilize the legacy left by the ancient sorcerer Meldion.
Ariel’s hardships began after Eden disappeared.
A sudden transformation into a wizard was the cause.
Unfortunately, like the Seimon royal family, Partin Count was also one of Meldion’s descendants.
With Meldion’s bloodline and mana, Ariel could now utilize the legacy.
However, contrary to expectations, Ariel lacked the ability as a wizard, so she couldn’t utilize the legacy.
Frustrated by Ariel’s inability to use the legacy, Parin Count, whose eyes were clouded, started subjecting her to harsh training that bordered on torture.
One day, as Ariel’s body accumulated more scars from the training, Eden, who had cleverly seized Matapju and became the owner of the tower again, returned to Partin Count’s mansion to take her away.
But due to Partin Count’s refusal to let Ariel go, Eden revealed the count’s crime of attempting to start a war by scheming with him, leading to the count’s execution.
Furthermore, it is not only to seek revenge from his childhood, but also not to bother himself with the trouble of personally becoming Partin’s agent and executing Elysia.
The original Elysia maintained a dignified demeanor strong enough to linger in the memory of the readers until her dying moment.
“I don’t have that confidence.”
Instead of maintaining a dignified demeanor, it was fortunate if she didn’t act out of injustice.
Recalling the original story, Elysia began to feel a slight pain in her legs.
The detached cottage where Eden was located was quite a distance from the main house where Elysia resided.
For Elysia, who spent all day sitting in a chair, it was a burdensome distance.
“Ha….”
Elysia took a deep breath, and a small cottage came into her view.
As she approached, the appearance of the cottage became clearer.
Then, at some point, Elysia hid behind a tree. It was because she noticed a knight in front of the cottage.
“Right. There’s bound to be a guard.”
She had somewhat expected it.
Elysia didn’t even expect to see Eden today.
Originally, Elysia’s purpose for coming today was not to see Eden, but to ascertain the face of the knight guarding the front of the cottage.
Elysia stared stubbornly at the knight’s face for a while.
“…….”
Whether she had memorized his face or not, Elysia turned around without any regrets and retraced her steps back.
She thought she would come at a different time tomorrow.
Outwardly appearing relaxed, Elysia was anything but within.
As time dragged on, she knew Eden would be struggling.
The villainess of “The Prison of Ariel” wouldn’t meet Eden until a year after his arrival.
It was due to Count Partin concealing Eden’s presence even from his children.
“Step aside.”
“S-sorry, ma’am.”
Elysia spoke with a stern tone to the maids blocking the entrance to the main mansion.
The maids, who were chatting happily while sweeping fallen leaves, startled at the small mistress’s voice coming from below.
As the barrier vanished, Elysia strode straight through the space between the two maids.
A maid who had glimpsed Elysia’s delicate brow furrowed in anger.
She inwardly despaired.
“Surely, the young lady isn’t angry…?”
Following the Count’s orders, finding a stable job in Selendid territory was as difficult as digging up gold coins.
“Why are you so afraid when you’ll get a recommendation letter anyway?”
The maid chuckled.
It was certain that all servants who fell out of favor with Elysia received recommendation letters.
Although they would have to move to another territory, it wasn’t a big problem as they wouldn’t lose their jobs entirely.
“She’s still young to be already intoxicated with power.”
Elysia’s mother, Isabella, used to be meek and humble when she was alive.
However, at some point, Elysia caught the eye of Count Partin and ended up being responsible for the management of the servants throughout the mansion.
The servants, not understanding Count Partin at all, couldn’t comprehend why a mere 12-year-old, who still had a long way to go to adulthood, was given authority over the household.
As a result, the servants who used to ignore Isabella and her daughters now all bowed to Elysia, watching her every move.
“Really? Then, would you like me to write a recommendation letter for you?”
“Gasp!”
The chambermaid, who was muttering to herself internally, straightened her shoulders in surprise at the sharp voice.
She hadn’t expected the gossip from this street to reach Elysia, and her reaction betrayed her deep embarrassment.
“Oh, no! That’s not it! It’s not. Miss! We were wrong!”
Instead of the person who had been mocked, the chambermaid next to her hurriedly apologized. Elysia stared intently at the chambermaid who was apologizing to me.
When the child’s round eyes focused sharply on me, the chambermaid’s Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably.
“You haven’t been working here for very long, have you?”
“Me? Yes, yes! That’s right. Since last year…”
“And you… worked here since our mother was alive.”
“……”
Knowing that Isabella was being brought up, the chambermaid kept her mouth shut again this time.
“I need to pack my things, don’t I?”
The chambermaid, who had already been eager, saw this as her opportunity.
With a proud smile, Elysia unilaterally informed the chambermaid, who had often skipped preparing Isabella’s bathwater in the past, of her dismissal.
