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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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Episode 21
Patriarch Emmanuel found the current situation utterly unbelievable.
Then again, when had the world felt real since hearing that my ‌‌‌daughter had fallen in battle? For him and Inanna, Ariadne was far more than just a child.
Before gaining that one precious life, there had been two miscarriages, and once a formed child who never drew breath. She had arrived as an extraordinarily rare blessing when Inanna's body was already devastated beyond repair.
We should give up on having more children, we told ourselves countless times—we simply weren't blessed with such fortune. Yet ‌we ‌‌‌‌couldn't let go, and each day my heart ached with ‌bruises. Then Ariadne came to us, a miracle beyond miracles.
And then to gain Kirakserus as ‌‌well—it felt as though ‌I possessed the entire world.
After losing such a daughter, it was only natural that Inanna ‌crumbled entirely.
'That Inanna, who said she would die, who begged to be left alone.'
Emmanuel gazed at his wife with glistening eyes. The woman he had loved deeply through all these years now buried her face in her hands, weeping quietly.
Yes, she wept. At last, she wept bitterly.
Inanna, who had ceased even crying at some point, had withered away as though she had extinguished all emotion within herself.
Emmanuel gently stroked the white Marten's head.
'I am truly grateful. Truly....'
Perhaps Inanna would live for tomorrow just to watch that video. Perhaps she would eat again, perhaps she would rise and step into the Garden she loved so dearly.
That hope set Emmanuel's heart ablaze.
"You've brought us something so precious—I must reward you. ‌‌Is there anything you desire?"
Thus his voice was now as soft and smooth as silk.
The iron Patriarch, ‌‌‌‌father of demons, sentinel of hell. Had those who knew Emmanuel in such forms heard him speak ‌‌this ‌‌‌‌way, they would have gasped in horror, covered their ears, and cried out, "Satan, begone!"
"I'm not sure right now. May I think about it a bit ‌‌more?"
"Of course, prudence is a virtue. I intend to give you a generous reward for this matter, so take your time and consider well."
"Yes!" ‌‌
The small white Marten giggled.
The sight was so clever and endearing that Emmanuel found himself thinking unbidden:
Ah, how I wish to see this child in human form. How I wish to hold her tightly in my embrace.
* * *
That night.
After dining with Patriarch Grandfather and Inanna, and returning from an evening stroll, I gasped at the sight before me—a mountain of dolls.
Bears, rabbits, puppies, turtles, elephants.... Countless plush toys ‌‌‌lay arranged as if to welcome me!
"What ‌‌is this? What is this?"
"The Patriarch sent these ‌‌‌gifts about an hour ago."
"Wow!"
Since my body as a Marten ‌‌is small, even one doll gives me the sensation of being embraced. I don't fully understand what it feels like to be held by someone, but it must be wonderful.
I selected a large saber-toothed tiger with prominent fangs from among the dolls and patted the spot beside me.
"Looks like Kirakserus."
"Does this doll resemble Kirakserus? Oh my, he would be delighted to hear that!"
Linda smiled broadly and placed the black-furred saber-toothed tiger doll beside me.
I ‌‌had already brushed my teeth and my belly was full, so it was time to sleep. Yet my eyelids wouldn't close easily, perhaps from the excitement. Today's events had ‌been shocking, after ‌‌all.
'Ah, I see.'
Staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, I suddenly understood something.
'I'm envious right now.'
I wondered why sleep wouldn't come.
I couldn't define this strange, aching emotion filling my chest, but lying quietly alone, I finally began to understand it.
'I don't have a mother who would cry for me like that.'
My relatives from my previous life ‌‌‌came to mind.
They probably hadn't grieved ‌‌my death at all.
They'd applauded when they said I'd been ‌‌‌hit by a truck, but the truth was... the truth buried deep in my heart wasn't that at all. Perhaps what I hated was that there was nothing ‌‌there.
'...Ah, no. Even ‌‌‌this situation is something I should be grateful for. What more could I ask for?'
But Kirakserus said he would find someone to become my adoptive mother.
Rustle.
Tossing and turning in my blanket, I fidgeted with my toes for ‌‌‌no reason. ‌‌‌
'Will she really become my mother?'
The easiest way not to get hurt is to not hope for anything. I'd learned that from a very young age. But now that I'd become a child again, I found myself hoping anyway.
My nose stung for no reason, so I pulled the blanket up and made a small sound before trying to close my eyes. I disliked how the fur had become damp from tears.
But that was ‌precisely when it happened.
'What is that?'
A gentle light flickered in empty space. Then came a squeaking sound, as if someone were brushing their fingertips across a glass surface.
[Don't cry when I'm not around.]
The message, laden with clear meaning, chased away any lingering sleep, and I bolted upright. I didn't just raise my upper body—I actually stood on the bed with both feet.
'Mom! What is this?!'
A ghost? A spirit? Future me?
Whatever it was, my heart pounded frantically. And then, ‌‌the wet letters that appeared next made my heart ‌race even more.
[Don't cry for reasons that aren't me. I can't even comfort you.]
Chapter 2.
Let's replace Male Lead Number One!
"...Therefore, the conclusion is that Albino can achieve humanization naturally through extreme life-threatening ‌‌‌situations as well."
"...What?"
It was still cold, ‌‌‌but the sunlight was brilliant, making today warmer than usual.
I, who had been listening to the lesson in a daze, widened my eyes at ‌‌Raphiren's shocking statement.
"The Elders even suggested considering throwing the young lady into a leopard enclosure one day..."
"Suggested...?"
"If she were a young miss rather than a lady, they would have done so, but since we don't know which noble house's precious daughter she is, the Patriarch rejected the idea."
"L-long live the Patriarch...! Long live!" ‌‌
Throwing her into a leopard enclosure—that's too much!
This is the first time I've been grateful this isn't a child-rearing story. If I had been one of the ‌‌‌successors, they definitely would have used extreme methods.
Trembling, I barely managed to pull my wandering mind back at Raphiren's next words.
"However, it would be good for you to learn how to sense Iculis. Since the eldest lady also mentioned it, I'll arrange a separate class time for ‌‌that in your schedule."
"Yes."
I answered somewhat weakly ‌and ‌‌‌gazed blankly out the window.
The cold winter sky was surrounded by grayish-white clouds with nothing worth seeing, so I hadn't really taken in the scenery. I was literally just looking at the window.
'Those letters haven't appeared since that day.'
What on ‌earth was that? It seemed like it was speaking directly to me.
'And "again"? ‍‌Like it saw me crying somewhere?'
It was incredibly suspicious, but I couldn't exactly interrogate it about it.
If I asked whether ‌‌‌ghosts communicating by writing was a normal occurrence, I'd ‌‌‌‌immediately be suspected of mental instability.
'I definitely didn't see something that wasn't there.'
It felt like letters written on glass after breathing on it—that kind of sensation.
Even trying ‌to ignore it, I'm ‌‌‌‌going crazy from how much it bothers me! Do you know me? No, you don't!
"Ikulis can be manifested as sword energy when coated on a blade itself. Alternatively, if you condense it into ‌‌‌‌a mass, it ‌‌‌‌becomes mana, and if you ‌‌communicate with spirits through Ikulis, it becomes ‌‌‌spirit magic."
Raphiren laid three cards before me. In order, they depicted a sword, a staff, and a small winged fairy. ‌‌
"You must choose ‌‌‌one of these and develop it... which one appeals to you most, young lady?"
Thanks to Raphiren, I was dragged back to reality, and I answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Dark magic!"
"...Dark magic, of all things?"
"It's the coolest."
Of course, I'd need aptitude to excel at it... but if I'm choosing, it's dark magic. My second choice would ‌‌‌be magic in ‌‌‌general.
When ‌‌I'm in a position to receive one-on-one tutoring from the great Patriarch Kirakserus, why would I hesitate?
"Heh."
That's when it happened. Neither I nor ‌‌Raphiren were laughing, yet his lips were pressed firmly shut, and laughter echoed ‌from somewhere.
'Could it be ‌‌‌‌that ghost?!'
I snapped my head up and carefully searched everywhere to see if more letters appeared. But I found nothing ‌‌‌I was looking for anywhere.
"Then... let's end today's lesson here."
"Yes!"
"And you called it Pompom? Might I borrow this golem for a ‌‌moment?" ‌‌‌
Raphiren made an unexpected request. I was just delighted the lesson was over, so I nodded.
Besides, my mind was racing.
'What if the letters only appear in my bedroom, on the bed?!'
I need to go check right away!

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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
---------------