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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 20
I frantically searched my memory for any romance novel with such absurd coincidences, but among everything I'd read, there was nothing like this.
In other words, I had no reference material for this impossible stroke of fate.
"Little one? What's wrong?"
As ‌‌‌I stood frozen like I'd been struck by lightning, a ‌‌‌worried voice ‌‌‌reached me. I wanted ‌‌to say I was fine, but in that instant, my tail tingled sharply.
'What is ‌‌‌this? Ah, memories are flooding back again.'
Inside the darkened Duchess's Bedroom.
Ariadne and Kirakserus were clearly engaged in some sort of secret conspiracy.
"Mother ‌‌‌will be so surprised when she sees the recording crystal later, won't she? She'll wonder ‌‌‌what's gotten into our daughter."
"Indeed, Sister."
"We should put the dice we ‌‌have in here as well."
"But... wouldn't it be better for you to take it, Sister? The dice could be invaluable when you suffer an irreparable wound."
"No, Ryushan. We ‌‌don't ‌‌‌use untested items carelessly. The dice can amplify Iculis tenfold if the compatibility is right, but how can we know if that amplification comes at the cost of one's life?"
"...There have ‌‌‌‌been no such cases."
"Besides, we've pursued the dice for so long and ‌‌‌‌found only two. With the one Rahyun gave us, that's merely three. The Holy Empire is also hunting for these—what if we lose them on the battlefield?"
Ariadne extended her hand.
There lay a sharply-cut gemstone die, glowing faintly even in the darkness—clearly no ordinary mineral.
Kirakserus, who had been tensing his lips, could only nod in resignation when Ariadne affectionately called him "Ryushan" once more.
"Where will you hide it, then?" ‌‌
"Somewhere Mother can discover it, yet something she would never discard. This vanity—the one Father had crafted as a wedding gift—is perfect."
"There's a ‌‌secret compartment here?"
"Yes. I created it myself. Without Mother knowing."
"...Sister. Perhaps you needn't be quite so confident about such things."
"Is that so? This is our secret, understood? We won't reveal it until Mother finds it herself later."
"If that is your wish, Sister, I promise."
"Whose little brother are you, being so obedient."
Ariadne grinned mischievously ‌‌and grasped the golden leopard figurine.
Click. As she twisted the leopard's neck in a rather grotesque manner, the underside of the vanity seemed to open. And Ariadne placed a letter and a recording ‌crystal ‌‌inside... ‌‌
"Gasp!"
"Young Mistress! Are you ‌‌alright!"
As I gasped ‌‌and bolted upright, the Governess's face came ‌‌‌into view.
"You just lost consciousness! Heavens! Are you unwell? What should I do? I'll take you ‌‌‌to the Medical Office at once!"
"No, no, wait."
My entire body ‌‌‌was drenched in cold sweat. My luxuriant tail still tingled at its tip.
Yet I managed to steady myself despite my trembling.
'I can't think straight.'
As I took a moment to breathe deeply, I noticed my small heart racing rapidly.
Inanna, who had been resting on the bed, was also half-risen in shock. She must have been greatly startled by my sudden collapse.
'I need to tell her...'
The recording crystal that Ariadne had hidden away.
But how could I explain how I knew about it?
I hesitated for a moment, then launched into a truly terrible performance.
"Wow, w-wow... Why does the leopard sparkle like that?"
"Pardon? Sparkle?"
"I saw it when I fainted just now. Something... was all shimmery. ‌‌Like something was hidden inside!"
Perhaps I should play this card more cleverly. I could negotiate by offering to give her this recording crystal.
But I didn't want to become something ‌‌‌less than human.
"Look here. The leopard's neck is all sparkly!"
That cry I'd heard when I was a tree still echoed vividly in my ears. The voice of a mother ‌‌‌desperately searching for her daughter clung to me, refusing to fade away.
So I pretended to be as innocent as possible and pointed to the pure gold leopard ornament.
"Hm? Young Mistress, what are you saying? Where is it sparkling?"
"Oh, you know. This thing ‌‌here. If you twist it like this, it should work!"
The Governess looked puzzled but did as I instructed. As I repeatedly ‌‌‌‌opened and closed my small fists, I discovered that the underside of the vanity—visible only from my height—began to slide open with a soft sound.
Click!
At that ‌moment, everything hidden in the secret compartment tumbled out onto the carpet. It was like gifts pouring from a sack.
"W-what is all this? Madam!"
"...!"
I immediately clutched the recording crystal and scanned the surroundings with keen eyes.
I was hoping to find what Ariadne had called a 'die'—something that supposedly amplified Eculi.
'Hmm? It's not here?'
But no matter how carefully I looked, there was no jewel shaped like dice. ‌‌‌Even when I craned my neck to peer deeper into the secret compartment, it was the same.
'Tsk.'
I'd wondered if having that might allow me to become human again.
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I clutched the recording crystal and ‌‌‌‌bounded away.
Pushing off ‌‌with my hind legs, I ‌‌leaped forward and came ‌‌‌to ‌‌a stop before Inanna, whose face had gone rigid.
"Inanna, this one is the prettiest. Is this ‌‌‌‌a jewel?"
"...Evangeline. That vanity... there was a secret compartment in ‌‌‌it? I didn't even know about that."
The Duchess's pheromones radiated shock.
Knowing this would happen, I laughed nervously and quickly held out the recording crystal.
Inanna's fingers trembled faintly as she belatedly recognized what it was.
Could it be?
This kind of cute prank was something her ‌‌‌daughter used to do often.
But really?
-Mom! I finally ‌found it!
But in the next moment.
Inanna clutched her chest and collapsed. The moment she poured Eculi into the recording crystal, a face she'd longed for—desperately longed for—materialized in the air before her.
* * *
-Mom, Dad, I think ‌‌this is the first time I'm calling you that. How was the event? You were surprised, weren't you?
A bright, healthy voice filled the bedroom. It was a recording she'd already watched over a hundred times.
-I love you. I feel like I haven't ‌‌‌‌‌said this enough. Um, but I thought it would be awkward, and it really ‌‌is.
The beautiful woman with dark, wavy hair possessed an overall cold impression and a lean, sharp physique.
Perfectly sculpted muscles and an upright posture forged through rigorous training since childhood. An arrogance born of superiority and skill harmonized to create an unmistakable nobility.
The woman in the recording was more beautiful and noble than anyone I had ever seen. Yet from her, I also sensed the characteristic straightforwardness and warmth of a knight.
-Live long. Ideally until my sons are ‌‌‌all grown and I've given you grandchildren.
Ariadne, who had spoken so refreshingly, burst into laughter and awkwardly scratched her cheek.
-If I don't say it now, I never will. So one more time... I love you, Mom. I love you, Dad.
Click. The ‌‌‌recording ended there.
From all around came the sound of people finally exhaling. This was roughly the hundredth time they had watched it.
"How could she... ‌hide something ‌‌‌like this and leave. That stubborn girl... she should have told us something."
The moment word reached Patriarch Grandfather that I had discovered Ariadne's recording stone, he abandoned his meeting and rushed over. Behind him came the retainers who had faithfully served the late Patriarch during her lifetime.
"Such unfilial ‌‌conduct. ‌‌‌‌‌How could you, young and strong, depart ‌‌‌‌‌before your aging parents? You returned alive every other time—why couldn't you come back this last time? My child... ‌‌‌my child."
At the Patriarch's lament, his eyes reddened, and all the retainers turned away to wipe their tears.
"This... yes. Who discovered it?"
"The young mistress found it."
"The young mistress... how did she know? ‌‌‌That such a device existed?"
Fortunately, the atmosphere was not one of interrogation. Both Inanna and Patriarch Grandfather asked me gently, their voices hoarse. Still, I could not tell them the truth, so I answered as a child would.
"It was all sparkly and shimmery. For some reason, it just looked that way to me...."
"Did you see magic? Perhaps ‌you have magical talent after all."
"I'm not really sure...." ‌‌‌
For now, I would deflect. My conscience pricked a little, but it wasn't a malicious lie.
"Yes, ‌‌‌what else matters? You have given us... the chance to see our daughter alive once more. You showed us our daughter telling us ‌‌‌to live."
And so Patriarch ‌Grandfather's voice grew thick with tears.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, ‌‌please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------