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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Familiar Flame
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“Waaaah!”
I was looking around for Ariel when a sudden burst of crying made me snap my head up.
“Ariel?”
I took a few steps.
“What are you doing here?!”
“Waaaah.”
Following the sound, I found Ariel crying pitifully on the ground and Elisha shouting at her.
“Ariel!”
“Mama, *hic*.”
Startled by Ariel's tear-streaked face, I ran to her, and she quickly hid behind me.
At the sight, Elisha let out a scoff of disbelief.
“Mama? Sister, are you playing house with her or something?”
“Lower your voice, Elisha. You're scaring the child.”
At my words, Elisha took a large step forward.
“Why is this child at the palace? You should have just left her quietly at home! Why is she right in front of me, of all places? Sister, is there anything you do right?”
“Waaah! Mama, Liel wanna go, wanna go home!”
As I patted the startled, crying child, I covered Ariel's ears with my palms.
“Elisha, I know you're not exactly the type to mince words, but how about being a little more careful in front of a child?”
“What?”
“And let's be clear. It's not that we appeared in your sight; you came over and stared at us while we were here.”
“Hah?”
“If you don't like it, you can walk around with your eyes closed. Like this.”
I kindly closed both my eyes tightly, just in case she didn't know how, and Elisha bit her lip, looking dumbfounded.
“Sister, you seem genuinely crazy. You know that?”
“Really? I'm not so sure.”
“Did you eat something you shouldn't have? Or did you hit your head? How can a person change so much?”
“I'm not so sure about that either.”
“…You're so annoying.”
“Anyway, don't be so harsh with a child. Even if she's young, she understands and remembers everything.”
“Whether she remembers or not.”
Elisha glared for a moment at the teary-eyed Ariel before whirling around.
“…I really hate this, I really do.”
*Huh? Something's a bit...*
There was something strange about Elisha's retreating back, and I was about to follow when Ariel whimpered and tugged at the lace on my collar.
“Uuunng, Mama. Liel wanna go, wanna go to gwampa. Don't like it here...”
“Hmm... Ariel, you want to go?”
“Yeah, wanna go!”
“Okay. I understand, let's go.”
Wiping away the fresh tears rolling down her round cheeks, I turned back the way we came.
Still, a sense of reluctance lingered.
So I glanced to the side and saw Elisha, who had already rounded a corner and was now walking on the path opposite mine.
We ended up walking in the same direction, separated by a narrow flowerbed, sometimes one ahead, sometimes the other.
I saw a pair walking a few steps ahead of Elisha.
“Huh? Those people... I've seen them somewhere before.”
The vague sense of familiarity turned to certainty when I heard a high-pitched voice.
“Did you hear? The Former Emperor is here! I wonder why?”
“Why else? It must be about the state marriage, of course.”
Ah. I remember now.
[“Surely, the Little Marquess isn't interested in the state marriage with His Majesty, is she?”]
It was the voice of someone who had picked a fight with me out of the blue.
My brow furrowed automatically at the sight of the unpleasant faces.
Certain that I wouldn't hear anything pleasant if we met, I subtly hid my face.
Fortunately, they seemed engrossed in their conversation and didn't appear to notice my presence.
Or Elisha's, who was behind them.
“By the way, about the state marriage, he'll obviously marry the Duke's Daughter, right?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Well, it's just...”
They're quite fearless to be saying such things.
“Just what? Don't beat around the bush, just say it.”
“Well, you know. From what we've seen, it seems His Majesty's heart lies with the Little Marquess...”
“Come on, even so, the Duke's Daughter is His Majesty's partner, destined by the oracle, isn't she?”
“That's also true, but... Come a little closer.”
The group leaned in toward the person beckoning with their hand, ready to hear what they had to say.
My body leaned in as well.
*What kind of secret are they about to share?*
Standing behind a pillar entwined with blooming rose vines, I nodded at the words I overheard.
“First of all, the oracle only said that the one who would save His Majesty would be of Daphne blood, not specifically the Duke's Daughter, right?”
*Right.*
“The Little Marquess is also a Daphne.”
*Right, right.*
For someone who glared daggers at me and made her dislike so obvious, she was surprisingly making a good point.
But is it really okay for her to say that in front of Elisha?
As I moved to see Elisha's expression, my eyes widened at what I heard next.
“And I heard from my father that there was a rumor twenty years ago that the Little Marquess had manifested a special ability—”
“What?”
I let out a sound without thinking and quickly covered my mouth in surprise.
*There was a rumor that I—no, that Riana—had manifested a special ability?*
That wasn't in the original novel.
Ah. No, wait. It's not like there have only been one or two things different from the original story.
*If that rumor isn't just a rumor but the truth...*
What if I didn't gain this power after entering this body, but had it from the very beginning...?
Lost in thought, my eyes narrowed as if trying to gauge something.
“That's strange...”
If that's the case, why didn't Riana reveal that she had a special ability?
If she had, she would have been treated much better than she is now...
“Kyaaah!”
As I fiddled with my lip, pondering the inconsistent theory, I was startled by a sudden scream.
“Ah, that scared me! What, what's going on?”
I peeked out from behind the pillar to see what was happening, and my eyes grew even wider than before.
“Kyaah! D-Duke's Daughter! The fire, please put out the fire!”
In the direction of a sudden wave of heat, someone was stamping their feet, the hem of their beautiful dress on fire.
“What did you mean by that? Are you trying to say my sister is the one with the ability, not me?”
Standing before her was Elisha, who looked furious.
“What? N-no! That's not it, Duke's Daughter! I was just—”
“Then what? You know full well my sister couldn't manifest her ability, so why would you say such a thing?”
“Kyaaah! Duke's Daughter, it's getting really hot!”
“Are you saying my sister is the real one, not me?”
“Of course not! I was just repeating what I heard, I really didn't mean anything by it!”
“Then are you trying to say I'm worse than my sister, that useless baggage who couldn't even manifest her ability?”
“No!”
As Elisha took a step forward, the fire on the skirt grew more intense.
“Wow... what a fiery personality. I wonder if it's because she wields fire.”
Staring wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before me, I glanced around.
The dress was voluminous, so it seemed fine for now, but I thought it could get really dangerous if left alone.
So I looked for something suitable, wondering if I should douse it with water or something.
“...Huh?”
As I let out a dazed sound, the flames on the skirt thankfully died down before they could reach her leg.
No, to be precise, the fire that had been dancing on the bright blue silk returned to Elisha.
Even more precisely, it returned into the jewel of the ring on her white hand.
“I'd appreciate it if you'd all watch your mouths from now on.”
As if conscious of the people gathering due to the commotion, Elisha suddenly suppressed her anger and hurried away.
Following that, the sobs of the dress's owner, whose hem had been abruptly burned away, echoed through the air.
The sound began to attract an even larger crowd.
“Lady Riana?”
I stood frozen on the spot, my eyes following the retreating Elisha, when I felt a touch on my arm and turned around.
“Ah. Elder, you're back early.”
I greeted the Black Elder, unsure how long he'd been standing there, and turned my head again.
In that brief moment, Elisha was steadily disappearing from view.
“Yes. Things wrapped up sooner than I expected... But what is all this commotion?”
“Ah, well—”
I placed Ariel in the arms of the elder, who was looking around with a bewildered expression.
“Elder, could you take Ariel and head back first?”
“Pardon?”
“Something's come up that I need to check. Please, Elder!”
“Wait, Lady Riana! Just a moment!”
Leaving the Black Elder behind, who was calling out to me while unexpectedly holding Ariel,
I quickened my pace, following Elisha as she disappeared around a corner beyond the fork in the path.
***
“Why does she walk so fast?”
Stopping at another fork in the path, I caught my breath and searched for any sign of Elisha.
“The fire went into that ring...”
I've only seen him when he was losing control, but Enoch's power definitely erupted directly from his body without any medium...
Why does Elisha's power, as a fellow ability user, come from a ring?
And...
*That fire. It was definitely familiar.*
One might say all fire is the same and there's nothing to be familiar with, but it was definitely familiar.
The same feeling I had when I first saw my own power manifest.
And...
[“If the compatibility is right, the Dragon Heart could absorb the special ability.”]
[“Little Marquess, did you perhaps lend your ability to someone? No, that can't be. If you did, the person who received it would be intoxicated by the allure and go half-mad.”]
I don't know why those words suddenly came to mind.
But for now, I moved instinctively, running ahead to block Elisha, who had come back into view.
“? What is it?”
“Elisha, you.”
...Wait. But what should I say? I haven't even sorted out my own thoughts yet.
What is that ring? No, that's not it. Enoch is looking into that.
Did I, by any chance, lend you my ability...?
No, that's even more wrong.
What am I thinking, asking that of a girl who just flamboyantly burned someone else's skirt over this very issue.
“I asked what it is. If you have nothing to say, move. Let me pass.”
While I was trying to formulate a proper question in my head, Elisha shoved me aside in annoyance.
I staggered sideways from the push, but determined to say something, I righted myself like a roly-poly toy and blocked Elisha again.
“Elisha, so, you.”
“?”
*Gulp.* I swallowed and parted my lips.
“Is that ability really yours?”
“...What?”
...Ah. Crap.
That's not what I meant to say.
I snapped my mouth shut, my careless lips making a mockery of all my deliberation.
*Fwoosh.* Noticing the ring flaring up, I discreetly gathered my skirt.
*...I should have worn something cheaper...*
