Ch#144
Margrave Dershna walked past the frozen Count Aradman and retrieved her newly purchased dagger.
She then placed her chin on her hand atop his shoulder and said,
"You're Count Aradman, right?"
"Y-Yes!"
"I hear Irene Terins, the child I'm guardian to, got into a fight with your daughter..."
That was right.
When Izriella had hit Evi, Irene had actually fought more fiercely with her than Evi had.
Irene had yanked her hair so skillfully, pinched her stomach, and kicked her shins.
The next day, Izriella had looked utterly wretched.
She had thrown a fit, saying she wouldn't let it slide, but upon learning the opponent was from the Terins family, she had redirected her anger toward the commoner Evi.
The Margrave's lips curved up as she recalled the full story from Irene.
"How about we start with that story?"
* * *
Bang!
Count Aradman slammed shut the door to the room assigned to him in the Main Palace.
"Damn it!"
He collapsed onto the sofa and clutched his already disheveled hair.
"Why... why is this going so wrong!"
The moment Eve was recognized as imperial, he had cheered inwardly.
He believed she would be acknowledged faster than anyone, given how much the Emperor had loved his wife.
At the same time, he was confident his family's prestige would soar beyond others' reach.
Yet a week later, nothing had been resolved.
'This can't go on.'
The problem was what to do from now on.
As he pondered methods, he soon sighed.
Everything so far had been Noma's plan, not his.
"I need Noma..."
He had planned to discard her now that he had gotten what he wanted.
It seemed he would have to contact her again.
* * *
Right after Margrave Dershna dragged Count Aradman away, the chief attendant came and informed Duke Kailun that the Emperor had summoned him.
'Perfect timing.'
If the attendant had come just a bit earlier, Count Aradman would have thrown a fit to go along.
Duke Kailun entered.
Clois, who had gotten up the day before, had returned to his usual self in just one day.
"I called you because I heard you've seen Savina and that child in the meantime. Have you checked anything?"
"Yes, I have. Savina said she lived deep in the mountains for seven years. I sent the fastest people to the location she gave and received a report via messenger bird. For now, there was a house at the place she mentioned, along with items that appear to have been used there. We'll get a more detailed report when they return, but nothing suspicious so far."
"Then why didn't she come to me for seven years?"
"She said she feared the late emperor's forces might still be pursuing her, so she avoided people and wandered only in the deepest remote areas. That's why news of Your Majesty reached her late."
"......"
"How did she come to know Count Aradman?"
"She said she was badly injured in the forest and had no choice but to descend to the nearest village for treatment. Upon learning the late emperor was dead, she asked the doctor for help. It turns out the doctor staying in that village was a retainer of the count's family, so he brought her straight to the capital."
"Hmm......"
Even so, living in hiding for seven years was hard to accept.
But on second thought, there was no real reason for Savina to lie.
How much she had suffered was evident from her appearance.
She was younger than Clois.
When by Lilian's side, she had laughed often and chattered endlessly.
Yet now she looked decades older, as if aged by a lifetime alone.
"For now, Savina seems to need more stabilization, so I've assigned a doctor to look after her. She still wakes screaming at night, unable to believe she's back in the Imperial Palace."
"And the child?"
"Lady Eve is doing very well. She asked to have Count Aradman's daughter brought in along the way, so I had no choice but to permit her entry."
"......Understood."
Not pleased, but Clois reminded himself that Eve was only seven.
In an unfamiliar place, she would naturally want someone she had some familiarity with nearby.
"Does she not look for Savina?"
"The maids say she asks for her occasionally, but if Izriella is there, she doesn't ask more. She seems to prefer someone her own age."
"I see......"
Still, it bothered him that she didn't seem very attached to the nanny who had cared for her her whole life.
Duke Kailun finished with various other minor reports.
"You've done well. You may go."
"Thank you."
Normally, he would have left the office immediately, but Clois noticed the duke lingering uncharacteristically.
"Something?"
"No... it's nothing."
The duke closed his mouth.
'I had thought to cautiously bring up Evi if things were as before.'
The emperor had just emerged from great shock and confusion.
Moreover, with the inn gone, he still had no evidence.
And now Eve, a genuine imperial princess, had appeared.
Objectively, Eve's chances of being Princess Evebien were overwhelmingly higher.
Above all, the mark on the back of her hand.
That was too great a proof.
Plus her age, eyes, hair, and the nanny Savina.
There could be no more perfect evidence.
Yet why was he still trying to find traces of Lilian in Evi?
Even after Eve appeared, his suspicions hadn't faded—in fact, they had grown stronger.
He couldn't answer if asked why.
He just felt that way.
'Riden should send the next report soon.'
If there was no progress this time, he would pause tracking Evi's past and redirect his men to verify Eve and Savina's movements.
* * *
Seraphina was at death's door.
"I'm really going insane......"
Everyone she saw asked her the same thing.
If there was no magic to confirm parentage.
'There isn't!'
If there were, she could make a tidy side income.
People doubting their children's parentage were always plentiful.
If it had been Clois asking, she could accept it.
But those nagging her all day to create parentage confirmation magic were people connected to Count Aradman.
'Eve hasn't been recognized as princess yet, so they're desperate.'
Of course, finding an imperial was impressive.
But they wanted credit for finding the 'princess.'
'It would be huge.'
If Eve were truly recognized as Clois's daughter, the count's group would surely receive rewards worthy of history books.
They had guardian status for the Genius Academy, so she couldn't block their visits.
'If I can't block visits... I'll just dodge them.'
Seraphina chuckled and headed to the library.
A nap on the rooftop under the autumn sun might ease her exhaustion.
As she entered the library to go to the rooftop, she spotted Evi hurrying along with a large book.
"......Sigh."
A sigh escaped the moment she saw Evi.
On the day of the banquet, Evi had been crouched at the fork between the Imperial Palace and Genius Academy, waiting for Seraphina.
"Dean, is His Majesty okay?"
How long had she waited? She had been rubbing her aching legs and asked that first.
Since she had been casting magic for Eve's protection, not knowing Clois's condition, Evi had looked so dejected.
Seraphina glanced at the book Evi carried.
It wasn't just one book.
Squinting to see what heavy books they were...
"Secrets of the Imperial Family, Ancient Traces Hidden in Noble Bloodlines, Imperial Records..."
All the books Evi carried were related to the imperial family.
Seeing that, Seraphina unwittingly clicked her tongue.
Eve's appearance must have been a big deal for Evi.
'And the Imperial Mark has drawn attention again because of this.'
Only historians and elderly ministers had known of it.
Now, after using it to confirm imperial blood, people everywhere were asking what it was.
So Evi would be curious too.
'More than that, from Eve's personality... she won't look kindly on Evi.'
Though briefly together, Seraphina had realized Eve was extremely greedy.
That child surely wouldn't tolerate her long-lost father favoring another child.
"Haaa......"
She sighed deeply and went up to the rooftop.
Whatever happened, Evi needed to be well protected inside the Genius Academy until the uproar settled.
Once on the rooftop, she stretched grandly and took a small stone from her pocket.
"Hehe, I secretly pocketed one back then and wasn't caught."
With no dignity as Dean of the Genius Academy, she stomped her foot childishly.
It was the magic stone borrowed to find Evi long ago, which had shattered into a small piece during return.
She had pocketed it.
'Yeah, no conscience here.'
Magicians could discard conscience at the sight of a magic stone.
'And I'll use it for the Imperial Palace anyway, so it's fine.'
Forgiving her own sin, Seraphina stood on the rooftop and examined the traces of the tracking magic she had cast over the entire Imperial Palace long ago.
So much time had passed that only faint remnants remained.
'Let's see. If I revive this...'
Seraphina sensed inside the Main Palace.
Two unusual flows were felt.
'His Majesty and Eve.'
Because the Imperial Marks they bore disrupted surrounding mana.
At that moment.
"Oh!"
Seraphina yelped in surprise and jumped.
Right now, beneath her feet, another flow was felt.
