18
Chapter 18
“Bel.”
“Is it because I’m a bad kid? But even so… even if I’m bad, I want to be Uncle’s real daughter!”
Belinda screamed and ran to her room, sobbing until she couldn't cry anymore.
He acted like he would do anything for her, but he wouldn't grant her the one thing she wanted most.
‘He’s a coward. Uncle is a liar.’
As Belinda's sobs subsided, her Uncle's voice came from beyond the door.
“Belinda, I told you about my wife who died giving birth to our daughter, didn’t I?”
Belinda didn't answer, but her Uncle knew she was listening.
“I think of you not as my niece, but as the daughter I lost with my wife. Isn't that enough?”
His quiet words became the key to opening Belinda's tightly locked door.
Click. The latch turned, and Belinda peeked out, her eyes swollen.
Her tear-stained face was pathetic, but her expression was stubborn.
“It’s not enough at all. I need proof that I’ve become Uncle’s real daughter! That’s the only way I can feel safe.”
“Belinda, this Uncle is confident that he can be a good guardian to you, but a good father… I might not be able to be that for you.”
“It’s okay! I can’t promise to be a good daughter either, can I? So, Uncle. Please?”
Her Uncle couldn't say anything, and he stared for a long time at the small, delicate hand of his niece, who was desperately clutching his hand.
And after four more seasons passed, on the day of the late Marquess and Marchioness's memorial service.
Her Uncle awkwardly scratched his cheek as he handed Belinda the adoption papers.
“Thank you so much for becoming my daughter, Bel.”
Belinda, I, hugged her Uncle tightly instead of answering.
Unlike on the day of the funeral, her Uncle smelled like her father instead of rain.
It was the day I gained a real family for the second time.
Soon, tinnitus rang in my ears, and my vision gradually darkened.
You have acquired the special item, ‘Lie Detector Glasses.’
A System window floated alone on the black screen.
* * *
Belinda's childhood memories poured down on my head like a torrential rain.
The sudden influx of information made my legs falter for a moment, but I barely managed to regain my balance.
The tutorial reward was terrible.
I clenched the glasses that had somehow appeared on my face.
I'm not the real Belinda, but her emotions felt so deeply like my own.
No, while watching her childhood, I was Belinda herself.
Belinda's life, which had been unfamiliar to me, felt a little like a part of me, and my memories and Belinda's memories were mixed up.
I untied the choker I was wearing and fiddled with the ruby pendant.
It looked like a simple jewel, but it was actually a locket, so the inside was empty.
I twisted the pendant open and looked at the portraits of the couple inside.
They used to be strangers, but now I know who they are.
Belinda's real parents.
I stared at them for a long time, then closed the pendant and ran my fingertips over the inscription engraved on the back.
[To my precious Bel]
“Uncle…”
I didn't realize it until I said the word.
That what was in front of me was Belinda's Uncle's grave.
It feels a little strange.
I didn't even know what her Uncle looked like before I acquired the Fragment of Memory, but now I feel a tender longing.
‘Calm down. This is Belinda’s emotion, not mine.’
I was trying to shake off Belinda's emotions by shaking my head.
“Belinda?”
I turned around without thinking at the cautious voice.
Leo was standing there with a helpless expression.
He must have been scared to come to the cemetery, but it seemed he had come all the way here looking for me.
“Um, that’s…”
Leo hesitated and ran away without saying a word.
Do I have such a scary face right now? What kind of face am I making?
I was feeling sulky and scuffing the dirt with the toe of my shoe.
“Belinda!”
Leo, who had returned quickly, gasped for breath and handed me a handkerchief.
“Wipe your tears with this.”
Huh? Tears?
I absentmindedly rubbed my cheek, and what do you know. There were really tears on it.
Only then did I realize. That I was crying.
I wiped away the tears with the handkerchief and blew my nose as if nothing was wrong.
Ugh, how embarrassing.
I was frustrated because I couldn't explain that these weren't my tears, but the real Belinda's tears.
“Belinda, are you okay?”
Leo, who had cautiously approached, asked, looking at my complexion.
Is he worried because I cried?
‘How kind.’
I was mentally exhausted because of the quest reward.
So, without realizing it, I stroked Leo's soft, fluffy hair.
Leo froze up, so I quickly took my hand away.
“Ahem, ahem. I’ll take care of this handkerchief.”
I cleared my throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
But Leo fidgeted with his fingers and said something incomprehensible.
“Um, I have to return that because I borrowed it from a guest.”
Guest? What guest all of a sudden?
“You don’t have to return it.”
The answer came from not too far away.
I turned my head and saw Lord Penadel, who had been there since who knows when.
I subtly hid the handkerchief, which was covered in my tears and snot, behind my back.
Ah, if I had known it was yours, I wouldn't have blown my nose with it.
* * *
Lord Penadel's purpose in visiting me again was simple.
“I came to ask for your intentions one more time.”
“His Grand Duke said to prioritize any conditions the Young Lady desires.”
I couldn't see Lord Penadel's expression because he was still wearing a mask.
On the day Lord Penadel came, I investigated the Herrington Mine to figure out the Grand Duke's intentions.
The Herrington Mine was the only place on the continent where high-grade Mana Stones were currently being produced.
Mana Stones are, as the name suggests, minerals containing Magical Power, and they are very expensive because they power Magic Tools.
So, everyone would think that the Herrington Mine is worth a lot.
But far from it. There was one catch.
Somewhere inside the mine, which was intricately intertwined like a cave, was a gate connected to another dimension.
The contaminated Magical Power from the Demon Realm that flowed in through that gate, that is, the Demonic Energy, transformed the minerals in the mine into Mana Stones, but at the same time, it also transformed the creatures there into grotesque and hideous forms.
In other words, in order to mine Mana Stones, you needed workers who were not ordinary miners, but who had strong enough power to defeat Magical Creatures.
The Blanche family cleverly solved this problem, which was too risky to mine, but too good to give away.
They retained ownership of the mine, but transferred the mining rights to the Valuashten family, who were called Monster Hunters.
The Valuashten family was promised exclusive mining rights on the condition that they mined a certain amount of Mana Stones each year, and the Blanche family exclusively received high-grade Mana Stones and sold them throughout the kingdom through the trading company they owned.
The somewhat closed-off North did not own a trading company that had spread its reach throughout the kingdom, so it was a mutually beneficial deal.
There was no reason for the Grand Duke, who had not even secured a sales route, to suddenly want ownership of the mine.
‘I knew it was suspicious.’
If Lord Penadel had come a day earlier, I would have kicked him out without even listening to him.
But now, the timing was very coincidental in many ways.
“Maybe I ordered your death.”
Since hearing those words from Schwebel, one question had been stuck in the corner of my mind like a stain.
Among the endings of Belinda in the game, there were often cases where she died in an accident.
I used to think it was just showing a good-triumphs-over-evil ending, but now I had one suspicion.
Were all those accidents really just simple ‘accidents’?
‘If Schwebel was involved…’
Then a simple marriage cannot be a refuge.
Someone with enough power to stand up to Schwebel, who had become the head of the family, and a high-ranking aristocrat who would not be swayed by the wealth of the Blanche family, which could be said to be the kingdom's purse strings.
On top of that, it would be even better if he could provide a capable knight as a bodyguard to protect me 24 hours a day.
‘…There’s only Valuashten.’
There was no time to be picky.
But that didn't mean I could trust the Grand Duke, who was rumored to have killed his family, and suddenly entrust myself to him.
‘At least I need to know if the Grand Duke is trustworthy.’
“Since the Grand Duke’s intentions are so earnest, I’ll take a look at the contract.”
I pretended to examine the contract, disguised as an Engagement proposal, that Lord Penadel had given me before and took out my glasses.
[Item] Lie Detector Glasses
Recommended item for the Star of the Hero's guardian who has entered puberty.
Lies are a sign of rebellion! The Star of the Hero must grow up properly. See through the Star of the Hero's lies.
