-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: What Should Have Been Mine
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What do you mean by that? Asking if the power is really mine?”
‘Oh, whatever.’
The words were already out, and it was too late to take them back.
I briskly smoothed out my skirt and looked Elisha straight in the eye.
Since it had come to this, I figured I might as well confirm what had been bothering me.
“Oh, it’s nothing much. It’s just that I saw something.”
“What?”
One step. As Elisha stepped back, I stepped forward.
“Can I see your ring?”
“Why the ring?”
At my words, Elisha’s face immediately crumpled into a scowl.
“You just used your power, didn’t you? And maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but…”
Hmm.
I tilted my head, humming as if I found it genuinely strange.
“It looked like your power was coming from that ring.”
“...”
“But powers don’t come from things like that, do they? So. I just wanted to check.”
Well? Let me see your hand.
As I strode toward her, Elisha shoved me away, glaring at me with eyes full of hostility.
“Sister, are you putting on a show?”
“Huh?”
“What? My power is coming from a ring? What’s with this act, pretending you don't know anything?”
“...Huh?”
“Why in the world are you suddenly tormenting me like this?!”
“I haven’t even…”
My eyes widened in disbelief. I had only just started talking.
But Elisha, who had backed away, now surged forward.
“Or what? Are you trying to claim this power as yours now? Feeling regretful now that it's time to hand it all over?”
*No, no, hey. Wait a minute.*
It was nice of her to spill everything before I even had to ask, but… could she at least make some sense?
As if my head wasn’t spinning enough, Elisha started shoving me, making me even more disoriented.
“Ah, let’s not get physical. Can we just talk this through—”
“Don’t get confused. This is my power, not yours. Don’t you dare act like the owner when you’re the one who stole it!”
“Ow! Hey! Let go, you’re pulling my hair out!”
It was as if her focus blurred the more she spoke. Veins popping in her neck, Elisha grabbed a fistful of my hair.
“It’s mine! Father said so. He said I’m only taking back what should have been mine in the first place.”
Just like last time, I had no idea where she was getting this strength.
With a grip that was shockingly strong for her slender frame, Elisha yanked my hair and shook my head.
“So please, just don’t do anything. Stay quiet like you always have. Just stay quiet and disappear, okay?”
“Fine, I get it, just let go of—”
My body was violently rocked back and forth three or four times.
At this rate, my scalp was going to be torn off. I grabbed Elisha’s arm, and the thin fabric of her dress rustled and crumpled under my palm.
“Let go!”
*Scrape.* The moment I pried her clinging body off me, the ornament in my hair came loose, scraping across my cheek as it fell.
“Ouch, ugh… You really.”
Wincing at the stinging pain that spread across my face, I grabbed the arm of the still-struggling Elisha, my grip tightening.
“What was all that you just said? Are you saying that the power you’re using is mine?”
“No! It’s mine, it’s all mine! The power, His Majesty, the authority—it’s all mine, mine…”
“...Okay, just calm down. You’re way too worked up right now.”
I had no idea what had set her off like this, but she clearly wasn’t in any state for a calm conversation. As I tried to soothe her, the Black Elder, who apparently hadn't returned to the palace, called my name.
“Lady Riana!”
“Elder…? Why haven’t you gone back—Ah! Elisha, wait!”
While my attention was diverted for a split second, Elisha twisted her arm out of my grasp and ran toward the carriage waiting for her at the bottom of the hill.
Before I could even think to stop her, she climbed aboard and sped away.
Suddenly left empty-handed, I stared blankly at the thick cloud of dust kicked up by the carriage wheels, like a squirrel who’d just had its acorn stolen.
“…Hey, wait a minute. You have to finish the story before you go…”
***
“Ah!”
A pained groan escaped my lips as I examined my scratched face in the mirror.
“Ugh… That Elisha has more of a temper than she lets on.”
…Actually, does she even let on?
After a moment’s thought, I concluded that her temper was plain to see. I walked over to Ariel, who was huddled in a corner.
“Ariel, were you very scared?”
“Riel doesn’t wike dat aunty.”
“...Elisha was just surprised, that’s all. She was just really startled. Let’s not hate her too much, okay?”
“Hmph. No. She made Riel and Mommy go ouchie.”
I gave the pouting child a helpless smile and gently brushed the dirt from her small hands.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Nope! I’m otay!”
The child, who had answered with confidence, suddenly rolled her eyes and clutched her stomach.
“Owie!”
“Ariel?”
“Riel’s tummy hurts here. Pwease make it better.”
Huh? Her tummy hurt all of a sudden, not her bottom where she fell?
I watched quizzically as she hugged her stomach with her short arms and rolled around, but then I spotted her tiny, twitching lips and playfully blew on her belly.
She immediately broke into a wide grin. Thankfully, she didn't seem too frightened, and a sigh of relief escaped me.
“Alright, Ariel, should we change your clothes? Arms up.”
“Okay! Up!”
Deciding to change Ariel’s ruined clothes first, I peeled off the layers one by one, revealing the yellow dress she wore underneath.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Ariel?”
As I went to change her last layer of clothing, Ariel stubbornly clutched the chick-like dress and refused to let go.
“You want to wear this?”
“Yes!”
“Alright, then. Let’s wear this one, okay?”
As I smoothed out the wrinkles on the dress, which perfectly reflected Ariel’s taste, I tilted my head at a faint crinkling sound.
“What’s this?”
“Snackies!”
“Huh? Snackies?”
“Yup! To eat on our picnic!”
Aha. So that’s what she was secretly fiddling with when she was changing earlier.
I chuckled at her adorably bulging pocket and took her hand.
“There. All done with the clothes. Should we do your hair pretty again?”
“Otay! Wike dis, pwease!”
Ariel firmly planted her little fern-like hands on both her temples, as if to indicate pigtails.
I burst out laughing at the sight and led her to a chair, when—
*Creak.*
The door opened with a soft sound, and Enoch walked in.
“Your Majesty, you’re back.”
“Yes. I’m a bit late… Riana…?”
“Yes?”
Enoch, who had entered looking utterly exhausted while loosening his cravat, now had eyes wide with surprise.
When I innocently asked him what was wrong, his light-colored eyes slowly traveled from my head down to my toes.
“Riana, the state you’re in…”
“Pardon? What about the state I’m in—Gasp!”
My gaze followed Enoch’s downward, and I abruptly remembered my own condition, hastily trying to cover my dirty skirt.
But my dress wasn’t the only thing that was a mess.
My attempt was futile as Enoch’s eyes moved to my face. I somehow managed to cover the scratch with my free hand, but…
When his gray eyes then shifted to my disheveled hair, I had no hands left.
As I floundered in embarrassment, a long sigh escaped Enoch’s red lips.
“Hah… I can’t take my eyes off you.”
***
“Ariel, what do you think? Do you like it?”
“Yes! It’s so pwetty!”
Ariel’s cheeks lifted high in a smile, clearly pleased with her hair tied up with yellow ribbons to match her dress.
I gazed proudly at the back of her adorable little head, then turned around as I felt a hand gently gliding through my own hair.
A pair of sharp eyes glanced up slightly, as if to ask what was wrong.
Ariel was in the front, I was in the middle, and Enoch was at the very back.
Swallowing a laugh at the train-like formation we were in, I gestured with my eyes to the comb he was running through my messy hair.
“Enoch, I can do it myself… but I’m guessing you won’t let me, right?”
“Correct. You may not.”
“I thought so.”
This wasn’t the first or second time something like this had happened.
Now somewhat used to it, I offered no resistance and entrusted my hair to Enoch’s hands.
Ariel, who had been sitting between my legs, had run off to the elders, and I, now bored, fiddled with the scratch Enoch had treated.
“Don’t do that. You’ll make it worse.”
I was beginning to think Enoch had four eyes.
Though he was behind me, he somehow knew exactly what I was doing, and his chiding remark flew my way.
“How did you know…? But Enoch, you seem quite skilled at this. Have you handled long hair often?”
“Of course not. Aside from a few times when I was a child, never.”
“When you were a child?”
“Yes. I think I was about seven. There was a child who used to visit me sometimes.”
“Really?”
I spun around at this new information, and a slight wrinkle formed between his perfect brows.
“You’ll hurt yourself again.”
“Who was this child who visited you? A friend? Is it someone I know?”
“I don’t know. It was so long ago that I don’t remember anything else.”
“Aw, what a letdown.”
“What were you expecting? It’s done.”
Even with me moving around, he had somehow finished.
My hair, which had been a complete mess, was now neatly arranged.
And it wasn't just neat.
It was styled far more beautifully than how I had tied Ariel’s hair. I let out a genuine gasp of admiration.
“Wow. Enoch, you’re incredibly talented.”
“Are you pleased with it?”
“Yes, absolutely!”
“I’m glad you like it. By the way, how did you end up in this state?”
“Ah, well, I met with Elisha for a bit…”
“Elisha? You met with the Duke’s Daughter?”
“Yes. There’s a lot to tell you, but I’ll explain in a little bit, when Ariel isn’t around.”
I glanced at the child, who was rummaging through her pockets as if to show off the picnic snacks she’d packed to the elders, and lowered my voice.
“What about you, Your Majesty?”
“Hm?”
“Did something happen to you, too? You don’t look well.”
“Ah.”
Enoch’s lips parted, then curved into an elegant smirk.
“No? Nothing happened. If I don’t look well, it’s probably because a certain someone caused me to fall out of bed this morning.”
“What did you say?”
I glared at his playful response and reached a hand toward his weary-looking eyes.
‘I heard the former emperor came. Is it because of him?’
Recalling the not-so-warm relationship between the two from the novel, I went to stroke the reddish skin around his eyes.
But in that moment, Ariel’s shocking scream echoed through the room.
“My ducky, Riel’s ducky is dead!”
