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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Sapphire Room
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“You are not going to the temple. Where would you go, leaving home?”
“But… Noah said so. That the Duke was going to send me to the temple.”
“It is true that someone from Kidsha will be arriving soon. It was a one-sided notification. I never said I would send you to them.”
“…”
I blinked, not quite understanding.
In truth, the Duke had no reason to explain himself to me so elaborately.
Isn’t it only natural for the Order’s Saintess to return to the temple?
‘Didn’t he only take me in reluctantly because of the Order’s request?’
Why is he acting as if he actually wanted to adopt me?
At my unabashed stare, the Duke cleared his throat and spoke.
“And that boy you mentioned—I’ve had him taken to the Ivory Tower.”
“Heh?”
“I’m talking about Kroiche’s son.”
* * *
“Young Lady!”
Thinking I should hurry to the Ivory Tower, I rushed out of the chamber, where Lily, who had been pacing anxiously by the door, quickly approached me.
“What did the Duke say?”
“Well…”
As I drew out my words, Lily stared at my lips, looking anxious.
“He told me to stay in the main building from now on. In the guest wing, where visitors stay.”
“R-Really? In the main building?”
I nodded.
“Yesss. He said he’s not sending me to the temple. He said I get to stay an Elpinade.”
“Oh my goodness!”
Lily beamed, looking relieved.
“That’s wonderful news, Young Lady. If the Duke said so, then you have nothing to worry about.”
Unable to contain her joy, Lily hugged me tightly.
Then, as if a thought suddenly struck her, her expression turned serious.
“Young Lady. Did… did the Duke happen to mention which room in the main building he was giving you?”
“Which room…”
The Duke had mentioned a specific room when he told me to move to the main building.
‘It was the name of a jewel…’
I hadn’t paid much attention when he’d mentioned it while we were standing side-by-side, so I couldn’t recall it right away.
But seeing how seriously Lily was asking, it seemed that the specific room in the main building was very important.
‘Ah!’
I stroked my chin, racking my brain, until I finally remembered the name.
“Tapphire!”
“Sapphire?”
“Yesss. The Duke told me to use that one.”
“Really?”
Lily jumped, even more surprised than when she’d heard I wasn’t going to the temple.
“Heavens. To give you the Sapphire Room. I never would have imagined…”
Seeing Lily’s extraordinary reaction, I gathered that this ‘Sapphire Room’ was no ordinary chamber.
When I stared at her, hoping for an explanation, Lily took a deep breath to calm her excitement and began to speak.
“Most of the rooms in the main building have designated owners. For instance, the Diamond is the head’s room, and the Ruby is the Duchess’s room. All the rooms for the direct line are named after jewels.”
Come to think of it, Axel’s room also had a fancy jewel name.
‘I think it was the Emerald, wasn’t it?’
“Giving you a room named after a jewel is the Duke’s way of showing that he officially recognizes you as a direct member of the Elpinade family.”
Lily smiled brightly, as if she could finally relax completely.
“Besides, the Sapphire Room is famous for being one of the most beautiful in the Elpinade estate. I’m sure you’ll love it, Young Lady.”
Hearing such high praise from Lily, who knew everything there was to know about the Elpinade estate, made me a little excited.
“Is it that nice?”
“Yes. It’s beyond comparison to the room you’re in now.”
I gasped in surprise.
But the room I have now is already amazing!
I couldn’t even imagine something better.
Seeing my wide eyes, Lily let out a soft chuckle.
“Most importantly, the rooms of the direct line are named after jewels because they are literally decorated with those very stones.”
Lily said it as if it were nothing, but I couldn’t quite grasp the concept of ‘decorating a room with jewels.’
‘Do they just display the jewels in the room or something?’
I pictured a lone jewel ornament sitting on a table.
That was the limit of my poor imagination.
To be honest, it didn’t sound all that impressive.
Completely oblivious to my inner thoughts, Lily’s face was slightly flushed with anticipation.
“This is no time to be standing around. We’ll have to move quickly to get you settled into the Sapphire Room.”
* * *
While Lily, Rose, and Daisy prepared for the move to the Sapphire Room, I was given some free time.
It was called free time, but it was more like I’d been kicked out.
I would only be in the way while they were moving my things.
When Rose and Daisy heard that the Duke had given me the Sapphire Room, they were even more shocked than Lily and looked ready to faint.
They had to ask several times if it was true, if I was joking.
Seeing that, it seemed moving to the Sapphire Room was a very big deal indeed.
‘Everyone’s reacting like this, it’s making my expectations skyrocket.’
I should lower my expectations so I won’t be disappointed no matter what the room looks like.
But the fuss from the three flower-named maids had already set my sights as high as the heavens.
I pretended to be calm on the outside, but inwardly, I was excited too.
‘Agh! I shouldn’t be thinking like this.’
How many times had I gotten my hopes up only to be disappointed by a reality that fell short of my imagination?
The outcome would surely be the same this time.
I forced myself to erase the beautiful rooms I had pictured in my mind and quickened my pace.
My destination, of course, was the Ivory Tower.
‘The Duke said Eugene Kroiche was there!’
Ever since I ran into him at the temple, I’d had a strong gut feeling that I needed to separate him from the Duke.
Hadn’t passing the Ivory Tower’s test already proven how accurate my intuition was?
There had to be a reason my legendary-level intuition was sending me a warning.
‘Though I’ll have to figure out that reason starting now.’
Axel, who had far more cards to play than a child like me, would lead the proper investigation.
It wasn’t that I was passing the buck; it was just a matter of practicality.
‘Axel can use the Magic Tower’s organization, after all.’
Instead, I planned to use the fact that I was a child to try and talk to Eugene Kroiche.
He might be too scared to speak among adults, but he might open up to another child.
‘Well, I’m not a complete child either, so I’m not sure if I can truly connect with him.’
It was worth a try.
I walked on, wondering what boys my age liked.
Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize I was in a situation where none of that would matter.
* * *
Knock, knock, knock.
“Are you in there?”
I knocked gently on the door of the room he’d supposedly been assigned to, trying not to startle Eugene.
Duke Elpinade had said Eugene was fast asleep when they put him in here, so it was highly likely he was trembling in an unfamiliar place without having been given a proper explanation.
Knock, knock, knock.
I knocked again, but there was no response from within.
‘Is he still sleeping?’
To kidnap a child quietly, they would have used something like a sleeping incense, and children with no resistance to such things could sleep much deeper and longer than expected.
I hadn’t received permission from the occupant, but I thought it would be best to check on his condition.
I carefully turned the doorknob.
Contrary to my expectation that it might be locked, the door opened with a click and no resistance.
I poked my small head through the slightly open door and carefully looked around.
I had expected to see a child sleeping in the bed, but the room was empty, with no sign of anyone.
