Chapter 34
34
Same time, at the Tower of Wisdom.
Unlike usual, the place, which was the residence of the Council of Elders, was swarming with numerous nobles.
"Lisette, you say! How could His Excellency make such a decision...! Where is the Chairman, who should be advising His Excellency in this time of crisis!"
"He said he would retire for the time being due to the aftermath of the Teramore incident."
"Everyone's suffering because of one rat."
"You say that, but it's probably because his anniversary is approaching."
An excited noble shouted.
"If the Chairman doesn't step up, we have to stop it ourselves!"
"His Excellency's will is unyielding."
"But if we leave it like this, the Child of Destiny will act as the mistress!"
"Is it even reasonable for a commoner-born adopted child to manage the estate and oversee all the rites in the name of Dubled?"
Even high-ranking nobles with jurisdictions lamented, and the retainers belonging to the Council of Elders were furious.
"If His Excellency had remarried, this terrible thing wouldn't have happened. How about we petition him now?"
"Searching for a family that matches the status and getting along will easily take at least a year or two."
"Tch, the Duchess should have given birth to another daughter. That way, we wouldn't be swayed by an unqualified girl."
An Elder sitting at the head of the table in place of the Chairman rubbed his chin.
"Then wouldn't it be enough to have another qualified daughter?"
"Yes?"
The Elder turned to Baron Willston.
"How old is your daughter?"
Baron Willston, who had been watching the meeting blankly, asked, "Yes?"
A week after my middle name became 'Lisette.' My daily life became miserable.
"Young Lady, the employees of our West Wing have served the Dubled bloodline for generations. We will surely be of help if we are by your side."
"Le, Leah and I can also serve the Young Lady well!"
Every day, the employees were fighting, making me lose my mind.
I fled to the garden to avoid the employees of the West Wing.
'This is so annoying.'
They chase me so much that I don't even have time to go to the greenhouse to see money.
I crouched behind a large tree, holding my breath, and collapsed only after the maids' footsteps faded away.
"I'll play here and go when it's time for dinner."
I looked around at the flowers blooming in the garden.
The winter wind hadn't even receded, but the flowers were in full bloom.
That was because of the Magic stone floating in the air.
Just as Divine tools can be made with blue Spinelle, Magic tools can be made with Magic stones. This was because of the high Magic conductivity.
The more vivid the color, the more powerful the force it can contain, and the Magic stone in the garden was a very vivid purple. On top of that, it was incredibly large.
'It would be nice to take one of those when I defect. It would sell for a lot of money.'
Thinking that, I picked a flower blooming in the garden.
'I should make a bouquet and give it to our Leah.'
Leah likes naturally grown wildflowers more than flowers grown by human hands.
So I searched for small wildflowers that the gardeners hadn't seen yet.
As usual, I was walking carefully, looking at the ground, and I ended up bumping into someone because I was so focused on the flowers.
'Ouch!'
"Eek!"
The person I bumped into screamed and sat down.
'A kid?'
It was a girl who looked to be about fourteen years old.
She was wearing a wide-brimmed bonnet and a dress with a full skirt, and it was clear at a glance that it was expensive clothing.
She couldn't have been a page doing errands in the castle.
'Ah, I should help her up first.'
Thinking that, I reached out my hand, but she brushed my hand away and frowned. Then she got up on her own and glared at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"You should apologize."
I nodded obediently and said.
"Okay. Then let's apologize to each other."
"What?"
"We both bumped into each other because we didn't see each other."
It was when she frowned as if she was dumbfounded.
"Hey, kid!"
Isaac's voice was heard.
"Where are you around here..."
The girl muttered and rummaged through the rose vines with her hands. Then she saw me through the gap and her eyes sparkled.
Isaac grabbed the garden's ornament and jumped over the vines with a whoosh.
"So you were here."
I frowned when I saw the crystal ball in the child's hand.
"Ishak, did you track me again?"
After Jacob's incident, I received a tracking Magic tool.
This Magic tool, which was outrageously expensive, could not only pinpoint the current location but also track the movement path and make emergency calls.
"Oh, are you angry?"
"It's because you track me every day."
Henri and Isaac used this to find me all the time.
Henri at least adjusted the frequency so that I wouldn't be annoyed, but Isaac was the same as ever.
The girl smiled and suddenly stuck her face out.
At first, I was surprised every time his handsome face came close, but now I'm used to it and it's just burdensome.
"If you knew what I asked them to prepare for a snack today, you wouldn't be angry."
"...What is it?"
"French toast."
"Why are you here now!"
I quickly welcomed him.
French toast, made by soaking bread in well-beaten egg mixture, grilling it, and then spreading plenty of honey and butter, was my favorite snack.
However, the cooks were burning with unnecessary passion, saying, "We can't give the Young Lady food that commoners eat," so I couldn't eat it often.
"Oh my, it's the Young Lady."
A youthful voice was heard from the side.
"I didn't recognize you and couldn't greet you."
Then Isaac frowned.
"What, why are you here?"
"It's been a while."
The child I bumped into earlier smiled shyly and bowed her head. Then she looked at me.
"My name is Cattleya Willston. I am an eighth cousin to the young masters."
"Eighth cousin?"
"Yes. Were you surprised earlier? Please forgive me. I didn't recognize you because you were dressed so simply."
My outfit was simple.
It was because the Duke glared at me after I pricked my finger on the dress decoration last time.
Isaac tore the clothes to shreds, saying, 'You hurt me,' and Henri smiled sweetly at the employee in charge of my clothes, saying, 'If you consider the family's dignity in my clothes in the future, I will skin you and make clothes out of it.'
After that, I only wore comfortable clothes.
Of course, the fabric was the best on the market, but it was plain because there were no decorations.
On top of that, I was squatting on the dirt floor, so I must have looked shabby with all the dust on me.
The girl took my hands in both of hers and said.
"Please forgive me."
She smiled softly and continued.
"I don't want us to be uncomfortable since we'll be living together in the castle from now on."
Living together in the castle?
Isaac and I looked at each other with wide eyes.
I went into Henri's room with Isaac and heard about Cattleya.
She was twelve years old, but she was really precocious.
She rattled off difficult words and was very smart. She was said to be at a level where she could enter the Academy for Gifted Students, following in the footsteps of Henri and Isaac.
Also, she was a child with Divine Power, which was very rare in Dubled. She was quite strong, so she was receiving education at the Temple.
Isaac picked up a strawberry with a fork and handed it to me, making a crooked face.
"Why are they bringing up the bloodline education again when they never did it before?"
I looked at Henri.
Bloodline education refers to a system in which the head of the family gathers and manages all the Dubled bloodline to control the family.
It was the system that forced the Duke to hand over the three young masters to the previous generation.
In other words, it was the trigger that gave Henri trauma, so I was cautious.
However, Henri said with an indifferent face.
"It was Willston's voluntary request."
"Are they crazy? The collateral families were always trembling in fear that the head of the family would take their children away."
"Well. But it's beneficial to us. We can control other collateral families just by educating the Willston Young Lady for a few weeks."
"Why?"
"They'll be scared that the Duke might start bloodline education in earnest like the previous generation."
"Then Willston is deliberately doing something that will make them resented by other families? Why?"
At Isaac's question, Henri glanced at me and changed the subject. Suddenly, his voice was sweet.
"We have to go to the banquet hall now, but is it okay to be full already?"
The snack stomach and the meal stomach are separate.
When I said with a solemn face, "It's possible," the young masters chuckled.
"Shall we go then?"
I took the young masters' hands and headed to the banquet hall.
Dubled's banquet was not just a common meal. It was like an exchange meeting between the leaders.
When we entered the banquet hall, the nobles I had seen at the general assembly were seated.
When the children of the head of the family appeared, they all stood up from their seats, placed their hands on their chests, and bowed their heads.
"We greet the precious ones of the family."
"We greet the precious ones of the family."
I was a little nervous at the polite greetings of the powerful people, but the young masters headed to their seats familiarly.
When we sat on the left side of the head table, Cattleya smiled brightly on the opposite side.
'That kid came too.'
At that time, the Duke appeared.
Another polite greeting followed.
The Duke sat down and the meal began.
While the adults were having difficult conversations, I focused on the meal.
'Beef, I love it so much.'
I don't know what Dubled does to the meat, but it melts as soon as you put it in your mouth.
It was a taste I had never tasted even when the Empress Dowager was doting on me during my regression. It was then.
"Ah...!"
At Cattleya's voice, the people who were chatting focused on her.
"I'm sorry. I was surprised..."
Her mother, Baroness Willston, asked, "What's wrong?" but Cattleya got up without answering.
Then she came to me and wiped my face with a napkin.
"It's okay now."
I blinked and looked at Cattleya, my face becoming a steamed bun from the sudden wiping.
'I didn't eat that messily, did I?'
I was careful because it was a banquet hall.
But the adults who were focused on the conversation didn't know, and Cattleya smiled, saying she was admirable.
"I was watching the Young Lady's cute appearance and thought I couldn't help it..."
Cattleya smiled and returned to her seat.
Then she glanced at the Duke and shyly placed meat on his plate.
"It's delicious, Duke."
This time, the retainers laughed, saying she was very kind.
