Chapter 17
Chapter 017.
After spending several hours persuading my friends to hold off on taking action, I was overcome with mental exhaustion.
Thanks to the Holy water, my physical condition was good, but it didn't solve my worries.
"First, we need to find out the exact situation at the temple. I know someone who can investigate without leaking information to others."
Vertein's words convinced me to agree to visit the temple soon.
"In the meantime, don't do anything."
I extracted promises that they wouldn't go after Trevor or search for the Ten holy relics of the continent.
Lenny and Jen's expressions turned sour, seemingly dissatisfied, but I responded firmly.
"Or we're through."
"That's too much."
"You guys are the ones being too much."
I don't want to disrupt the peace of my world any further.
Rejecting Lenny's offer to come with me, I trudged out the back gate, where a familiar Macha was waiting.
The horses greeted me with puffs of air from their nostrils.
I wanted to slip away quietly, but I had no excuse.
I was too indebted to Orion.
I had used his study, enjoyed meals, and received tutoring.
Having received various favors, I couldn't just pretend nothing happened.
With a gloomy face, I obediently climbed into the Macha.
"Hello."
"Hi."
Orion, who greeted me with a smile, told me why he had come all the way here before I could even ask.
"My father and Mom just returned from their honeymoon today. He invited you to have dinner with us. Would that be alright?"
"The Duke?"
He paused at my title, then pretended not to notice.
I really couldn't help it.
Throughout my life, the role of a father had always been vacant.
I had never questioned it, nor felt the need for it.
Besides, I realized just how amazing the Duke was from the wedding.
From the bishop who gave the congratulatory speech for the ceremony to the envoys sent directly from the Imperial Family and the congratulatory gifts that arrived from each territory.
"Ah, well..."
The atmosphere became awkward, and he hastily continued.
"Anyway, they both returned safely."
"It's a honeymoon, after all."
It's only natural for them to return safely.
* * *
At The Duke's Residence, a maid led me while Orion went to change his clothes.
"This way."
As I entered the dining room, I saw the ever-affectionate couple.
The Duke, who seemed dignified, was surprisingly unreserved in his displays of affection.
Accustomed to Mom's displays of affection, I didn't pay much attention and sat in the seat I was shown to.
Mom, happy to see her daughter after a few days, jumped up and sat next to me.
A cool hand touched my cheek.
"Your face looks a little pale."
"Really?"
"You've been staying up late again because of exams."
I was silent at Mom's words as she held my chin and turned my head from side to side.
It was probably more the aftermath of the curse than the exams, but I didn't want to show it.
Mom, who had been examining me closely, soon let go of my chin.
"Did you enjoy the trip?"
"Of course."
Mom nodded with a satisfied expression.
Just then, Orion, who had arrived at the dining room, sat next to me, not in the empty seat next to the Duke, but in the empty seat beside me that Mom wasn't occupying.
Why?
You should go over there.
He nodded, seeing my gaze.
"We should start the meal. Merian is hungry."
After some twists and turns, the meal began.
Against the backdrop of clinking silverware and the soft sounds of eating, the Duke opened his mouth.
"Have you two become closer? I was worried because Orion is so taciturn."w x the ix re"
〒=〒=〒......
I briefly doubted my ears at the Duke's description.
Parents rarely know their children well, it seems.
Orion, taciturn?
Mom glanced at me and said lightly.
"My daughter isn't very sociable either. She doesn't say what she likes or dislikes, which is a problem."
"If there's any food you like, tell me. I'll tell them to prepare it for future meals."
Orion quickly replied to the Duke's words.
"For dessert, she likes orange juice. She seems to enjoy black tea more in the afternoon, but she prefers savory meat pies over pastries like scones for snacks. She usually skips breakfast and enjoys a light salad for lunch. She hasn't been eating well because of the exam period, so we should make sure she eats properly."
Even Mom, who usually didn't bat an eye at anything, was speechless.
I could see the gray mustache of the butler standing next to him trembling slightly.
The Duke put down his spoon and looked at me with an unreadable expression.
"It seems you're getting along well."
I quickly raised my voice to move on from this topic.
"How was the trip? I heard you went to Cornwall."
"Oh, my."
Mom covered her mouth and laughed.
She pushed the neatly emptied plate in front of her and gave me a meaningful smile.
"How could we have time to travel outside on our honeymoon?"
"Huh?"
"We were too busy enjoying ourselves inside."
At the explicit words, Orion's face turned red, and he quietly looked at the ceiling.
The dignified Duke cleared his throat and laughed as if he couldn't help it.
Orion, who was fidgeting because of Mom's wink, couldn't say anything after that.
I was impressed by Mom's skill in silencing him so quickly, but I was also disappointed.
It was great that she could silence Orion, but,
'It's not a method I can use.'
After the meal, Mom suggested that I stay overnight at The Duke's Residence.
"Do as you wish."
The Duke permitted with a faint smile.
Orion seemed eager to be with us, but he couldn't join us as we put on our pajamas, lay on the bed, and chatted.
"I didn't even move much, but I'm exhausted from the long trip. I'm getting old."
Mom grumbled as the maids removed her accessories one by one.
A pair of sparkling red ruby earrings rolled onto the vanity.
Mom, who had loosened the straps of her dress that had been constricting her body, asked lightly.
"What happened to the necklace you used to wear?"
It was a sudden question.
As I tilted my head, Mom let down her hair and asked again.
"The locket necklace. The one your friends gave you. You used to wear it so preciously. Did you lose it?"
"There was a little problem. I left it for repairs for a while."
She stared at me.
I was puzzled by her unusually unsmiling gaze, but she didn't ask further.
"If anything happens, tell me. Or even Orion. You two have become quite close."
"No, we're not."
I said seriously.
Because of Orion's earlier remarks, it seemed as if we had tea together in the afternoon, ate dessert together, had meals together, and had been exchanging updates throughout the recent exam period.
'No, come to think of it, we did do all those things.'
I stopped trying to refute Orion and looked at Mom.
Judging by her reaction now...
"You knew about that necklace?"
"That it had unusually strong Protective magic on it? How could I not know?"
"No, why didn't you tell me?"
That I was wearing a house's worth of money around my neck.
Mom chuckled at my dumbfounded expression and tapped my cheek.
"If you knew, you wouldn't have worn it. They may have been mean to me, but they're good friends to you."
I sighed and looked at Mom standing under the moonlight.
Even just the silhouette in the dark room made her beauty felt.
"So, what's the problem?"
"I don't know yet."
I had to be careful about the curse.
I had to think about the repercussions of making things bigger.
The reason I went to the National Academy instead of the Imperial Academy was that I didn't want to reveal that I was Mom's daughter.
Now that I had become the Duke's stepdaughter, I had to be even more careful about revealing my identity.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Just in case."
She rarely stopped talking and looked at me.
She was the type to say whatever came to mind, so it was rare for her to choose her words so carefully.
She urged me with a serious face.
"If something happens, always think about what's best for you."
"Without worrying about my or other people's positions. You must always be the most important."
"I will."
She looked at my bare neck once, then smiled.
Then she added playfully.
"I should get you a new necklace soon. I keep thinking about it since the one that was always there is gone. Shall we go to the jewelry store tomorrow?"
I waved my hand, saying, "No way. You'll just pick out accessories with flashy stones according to your taste."
I suddenly wondered.
Mom had lived her whole life in the eyes of others.
To be passionately loved by someone also meant to be passionately hated by someone at the same time.
Watching Mom live in extreme scrutiny, I had always wanted a lukewarm life.
"Aren't you tired of living like that, Mom?"
"Huh?"
"You're often hurt by being sincere every moment. And the place where sincerity has faded feels empty."
"I have to fill it again. With other passions."
Mom replied simply.
I was impressed by her immediate answer.
So that's why she never looked back at the people she left and passionately looked for new people.
"I have a hard time filling that space easily. I think it would be hard to watch someone leave too."
"Yes, you could be like that."
"So, I'm a little burdened by people trying to push their way into my heart."
"Are you talking about Orion Miller?"
She asked.
I didn't say anything, but it was as good as having my heart read.
"Why don't you ask him sometime?"
"Huh?"
"If we get divorced, will he turn his back on you as if you were strangers? Isn't that what you're afraid of now?"
I blinked.
Hmm. It's not at that stage yet.
For that to happen, wouldn't Orion have to take up a certain amount of weight in my heart?
"It's not that..."
My words, which were about to make some kind of excuse, were abruptly cut off.
When I thought about it, the words I had been rambling on about were strangely going in that direction.
I was surprised by the weight of Orion, who had already taken a place in my daily life, in one aspect of my subconscious.
"Did that headstrong approach work on me..."
I was a really easy woman.
For some reason, I felt even sadder about this newly discovered fact.
The conversation, which had been serious for the first time in a while, ended there.
And I stayed up all night.
