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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: 0007_61
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“I’ve done what I’ve done, and my relationship with the Eastern Territory isn’t good. After that incident, the Southern Duke hasn’t even set foot in the Empire. The Emperor only has the Western Territory to rely on, so how could he turn his back on them so easily?”
“So it was all for nothing?”
“No, it wasn’t. The small crack we made today will widen into a chasm someday.”
There was no rush.
Moving first would only turn everyone’s blades towards the Northern Territory. The tip of the sword had to naturally point towards the Western Territory, and then towards the Empire.
“Ariana will make a grand debut in society someday.”
It didn’t seem likely that her revenge against the Bronte Family would end here. There had to be a clear reason why she went so far as to seek out the Eastern Duke and even initiate a custody trial to gain the status of an Eastern Princess.
“Ariana will target the Bronte Family and the Western Duke, and I’ll be able to turn the breeze she stirs into a storm. That storm will sweep through the Western Territory, revealing the secrets hidden within its solid shell.”
“Hmm. So you’re saying you’ll continue to watch over and assist the Princess, given her usefulness?”
“Of course.”
“Hmm.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“How should I put it? Well, aren’t there many other young ladies prettier and easier to handle than the Princess? If you just give one of them a smile, they’ll do whatever you want. They’d probably even jump into fire for you.”
Cyrus replied with an incredulous expression.
“Among those women, is there anyone who could shake up society more than Ariana?”
“Wouldn’t there be? Pretty, mature, and cultured women are a dime a dozen.”
“There’s no woman like Ariana.”
“Hmm, I think there might be.”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Prettier than Ariana and—”
“No.”
“More cultured and—”
“No.”
“Right, so in your eyes, Ariana White is the prettiest woman in the world, is that it?”
“I’d like to ask you back. Objectively speaking, among all the women you’ve seen so far, was there anyone prettier than Ariana?”
There was.
Of course, Ariana was truly beautiful, but Isaac thought Princess Charlotte was prettier than Ariana, strictly in terms of looks.
But knowing the obvious answer he’d give, he shook his head.
“No, you’re absolutely right. Your eyes are my eyes, after all.”
Isaac thought to himself.
‘Andrey should have heard this conversation!’
+++
She heard a voice.
“Someday, when the blood of those I despise drenches this land…”
A voice floating through the darkness. The sound, which she had heard somewhere before, scattered like mist, making it impossible to hear the rest.
“The lady is truly…”
“She simply hasn’t realized…”
“This humble…”
“What the lady desires…”
She tried to properly hear the voices drifting in the air, but she couldn’t. Something grabbed Ariana’s ankle and pulled her down.
The surrounding scenery changed rapidly. She screamed, but no sound came out. The dizzying speed of the movement made it impossible to collect herself. She was pulled along endlessly, unaware of what was happening to her body.
After a period that felt both short and long, Ariana found herself at a ball.
The dazzlingly luxurious decorations and the music playing felt familiar for some reason. She wanted to look around but couldn’t. It felt as if she had entered a body that wasn’t her own.
Her gaze was fixed on one spot.
Amidst the beautiful noblewomen and young ladies adorned in lavish dresses, and the other aristocrats, stood a solitary, humble woman. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pale-skinned woman with abundant sky-blue hair that suited her remarkably well.
She seemed a little frightened and nervous. Her bewildered glances, as if she were at such a party for the first time, were both pitiful and endearing.
Her eyes stung.
This, too, was not Ariana’s own emotion. Ariana’s soul had lost itself and become someone else, seeing what he saw and feeling what he felt.
‘Ariana.’
He wanted to approach her and speak.
‘My daughter.’
My daughter, whom I had held in my arms only once at her birth and never seen since. My daughter, whom I missed so much I wished she would visit me in my dreams every night.
‘But she would be afraid if she saw me.’
Rachel had said that Ariana considered Jacob Bronte her biological father. She had also said that Ariana was afraid of a man named Russell White, whom she had never even met.
She was afraid that if she got close to her biological father, her adoptive father would hate her, and she would be estranged from her family.
So, he had to endure. Even if he wanted to speak to her, hold her, or stroke her hair and ask how she had been, he had to endure.
Because he couldn’t make Ariana afraid.
Hearing that Ariana would be at this Imperial Ball, he had come to the Empire, a place he hadn’t visited in a long time. He wasn’t sure if it was the right decision.
It was good to see Ariana’s face after so long, but it was difficult to suppress the urge to approach his daughter.
He wanted to hug her, to stroke her hair. He wanted to ask her how she was doing, to tell her how he had been, to share even small conversations.
Wouldn’t that much be alright? Jacob was far away. He wasn’t looking this way. Wouldn’t a brief greeting, a simple exchange about their recent lives, be possible?
As he gathered his courage to walk over, his eyes met Ariana’s, who happened to turn her head towards him. He clearly saw her clear blue eyes waver, then suddenly contort.
Her furrowed brows, tensed lips, and tightly clenched small fists tore at his heart. He stopped dead in his tracks, staring blankly at Ariana.
The terror etched on his daughter’s face bound his ankles, making him unable to move.
‘Ah, so that’s how it is.’
Only then did he accept it.
‘That child isn’t my daughter, but Rachel and Jacob Bronte’s daughter.’
It was, if anything, a natural outcome.
He was a father she had only been held by once, at an age she couldn’t even remember. There was no way she would have good feelings towards him. To Ariana, he was just a stranger.
He could only stand at a distance and repeat the words he wanted to say, to himself.
‘Ariana, someday, when your fear of me fades, or even if you just need help, come to me anytime. I will always wait for you here.’
I will always wait.
Listening to the sounds scatter like a dream, Ariana was pulled back out. She expected another rapid movement to begin, but instead, a strong pain shot through her abdomen.
Flash—
She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.
‘Just now… what was that?’
It was too vivid to be a dream. Yet, it was too strange to be reality. Ariana felt as if she had become someone else, experiencing emotions she had never felt before, watching herself.
The 18-year-old Viscountess Ariana Alfreich, attending her first Imperial Ball.
‘Could it be… I entered the Eastern Duke’s body? No, that can’t be. How could something like that happen? That’s already the past, something that hasn’t even happened yet. And for a soul to enter the Eastern Duke’s body… Such a thing…’
To say it was impossible, Ariana’s current existence was already impossible. A being who had died once, traveled back in time, and been resurrected.
It would make sense if an impossible being had an impossible experience, but she still couldn’t believe it.
‘The Eastern Duke thought that when he saw me back then?’
The Eastern Duke had frowned when his eyes met Ariana’s. He had made a displeased expression, as if he had seen something unclean, which made Ariana unable to even speak to him.
‘But…’
Ariana recalled Russell, whom she had encountered after coming to the Eastern Territory.
Russell usually had a blank expression, but he would often frown when he was troubled or embarrassed. That look made him seem very angry, and there were several times when even Ariana, who now had nothing to fear, was startled.
Whenever that happened, Tiador would lightly tap Russell’s arm and say,
“Ease up on your eyes, you rascal. You’ll scare the child like that, won’t you?”
Then Russell would always say with an awkward smile,
“I apologize, Ariana. My expressions are usually… like that.”
What if it was like that?
What if he wasn’t displeased or disgusted by Ariana, but merely embarrassed, and that’s why he made that expression? What if he actually wanted to meet and talk with Ariana?
‘No.’
Ariana pulled the blanket over her face.
‘No, don’t think whatever’s convenient for you, Ariana. You just had the dream you wanted. Entering the Eastern Duke’s body, feeling his emotions, sharing his thoughts? That’s ridiculous. Such a thing doesn’t happen. There’s no one in this world who loves you. After all you’ve been through, you still can’t give up that hope?’
She felt like she was about to burst into tears.
Even when she lost the trial and fell back into Rachel’s grasp, even when she felt the agony of a knife piercing her stomach, she hadn’t shed a tear. But now, it felt like tears were about to gush out.
She hated herself for being so foolish, for craving affection again, despite having been used without knowing it and dying because of it. She was desperate and pathetic.
Even though she knew such good things didn’t happen, she felt sorrowful for herself, foolishly dreaming and hoping.
She hated it. If she could cut out the heart that felt such emotions, she would.
She wanted to live with the thought that she was unloved, that no one loved her. Because it was easier that way. Because she wouldn’t have to be self-conscious. Because she wouldn’t have to crave or beg.
So she wanted to live without being loved and without giving love. In this life, she wanted to walk through barren lands, like a wilderness. That way, she wouldn’t harbor the fleeting hope of an oasis existing somewhere.
Suddenly, she sensed a presence and pulled down the blanket, revealing a sight she hadn’t seen before.
Russell was asleep, his head resting on the bed.
‘Is this a dream too?’
She gazed blankly at Russell’s disheveled navy hair and his thick forearm, which his cheek rested on, then reached out a hand. She hadn’t meant to, but her fingertip brushed against Russell’s hair.
Just a light touch, merely grazing the very tip, and Russell’s head snapped up.
Russell, seeing Ariana, widened his eyes, then quickly frowned. Just like when she first saw him at the party, just like when she first met him at Chase Castle this time.
“Ariana, you’re awake!”
His urgent, yet joyful voice almost made her burst into tears again. For some reason, she could guess why Russell’s large hand had moved towards Ariana’s head, only to stop abruptly.
‘Because I dislike it. Because I’m afraid.’
His hesitating hand lowered. Russell smiled at Ariana. It was the same awkward smile as always, looking a little angry.
“I’m glad you’re awake, Ariana. Is there… anywhere you’re hurting?”
It hurt. But could she be honest?
When Ariana said she was sick, Rachel would get angry, saying useless things like ‘You’re so much trouble.’ She would get annoyed, asking why Ariana couldn’t manage her own health.
So Ariana stopped saying she was hurting, even when she was.
Because she always had to be fine to be a good child.
Because even when she was in agonizing pain, showing it would make her mother angry. Her husband would throw a fit. Her mother-in-law would click her tongue and say to kick her out.
So Ariana, as always, replied with a smile.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
