Chapter 41

Chapter 41

“All right then, let’s look at the letters that came to you.”

“Letter…?”

“Yes. Bring everything you’ve got so far.”

And so, I gathered a few letters and laid them in front of Olivia.

“Now, is there a letter from any children who kept in touch with you when your father was in debt?”

Having been weak since childhood, I didn’t have any close friends. Even the children who saw my face a few times when I was young did not contact me ever since the Rostry county began to fall in disgrace.

“No.”

“Throw it all away. They will abandon you again if you have difficult times.”

At that, half of the letter flew off the room.

“The rumors about Kallaudin being worried and cared for you began after the decision of your recuperation. Do you have any letters before that time?”

“No, I don’t have any.”

Moments later, the other half of the letter flew away as well.

“You should just start over.”

“Yes, well… okay.”

Then, Lisa approached and spoke. “Excuse me, I just got a couple of letters from the Duke telling me to…”

“What is it?”

“The Duke has received some letters back after selecting a few candidates to serve as the young lady’s godmother.”

“Huh, Kallaudin used to be so indifferent about it before. Give them to me. Let me see the list of candidates.”

I glanced at the letters with Olivia to see all the potential candidates who were going to become my godmother.

“Heh. This is all rubbish.”

“…Pardon?”

“They were all against me before. Send everything back!”

When Olivia handed the letter back to Lisa, she replied in a very nervous and perplexing way.

“The Duke said… there’s no one in the capital who had never fought with Madam Olivia before, so please don’t listen to her, and Laria… should decide this by herself.”

Hearing Lisa’s words, I was inwardly impressed. As expected, the competent villain had tremendous insight.

“What are you thinking? How about… um…for example…”

Olivia kept speaking while I pondered about who to choose, saying things like these days any dog was smart and all sorts of other sour remarks.

“Excuse me, Lisa.”

I spoke cautiously.

“Did Father really, seriously say that I could decide this myself?”

“…Yes.”

She peered anxiously at Olivia, who shouted, “Don’t!” As expected, Olivia cried out in a fit of irritation.

“What are you talking about? I’m Laria’s teacher! Me! Me! Are you going to get a godmother without my opinion? Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Auntie.”

I had already made up my mind.

“I’m an Icard as well! Who is Kallaudin to just tell you to ignore me?! Am I going too easy with my words and actions?”

“I’ve already decided.”

“What?” Olivia’s eyes twinkled with a runny nose.

“Who? Some damn woman…”

“Please be my godmother, auntie.”

She sat blankly for a moment, blinking her eyes dumbfoundedly. Lisa stepped in gently.

“Miss Laria, you don’t usually ask your godmother who is in the same family. They are usually acquaintances or relatives since the goal is to make connections.”

Of course, Olivia answered her question quickly before I could.

“My last name is Rivien.”

She clearly stated that she was part of Icard’s Duchy earlier, but she changed her words swiftly now…

“…Uh, um—”

Lisa didn’t dare to intervene any further, but she looked at me with disagreement.

Having Olivia, who was already close to me, as a godmother, was to lose a social clique. I understood Lisa’s worries, though I didn’t want to take a decent person from another family as my godmother for nothing.

“Oh, my God.”

Olivia said, holding her hands together tight, seemingly surprised still.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been asked to be a godmother.”

Even though she had a high position in society and a great bloodline, she did not receive a request for a godmother, due to her personality.

“Madam, please think about Laria’s… um…”

“What are you saying? I’m the best fit for her!”

And, there was a reason why other people didn’t ask for a godmother…

“I’ll do it because I want to!”

She yelled excitedly and said, “Get out of my way! Don’t disturb me! Laria, I’m your godmother!”

Olivia smiled proudly, showing extreme selfishness.

“I was the only one who didn’t have a goddaughter… though I have a goddaughter now!”

Ah…

‘Oh, I didn’t know she’d love it that much… She’d be very disappointed if I ran away…’

For some reason, I felt slight regret.

Olivia had left immediately the next morning. It was as if there was nothing for her to do here anymore. Worried that she would leave for Rivien before Evan’s come back, I said carefully.

“But, Evan is Auntie Olivia’s nephew, you should see his face before leaving…”

“I indeed cherish him, but I don’t cherish him that much.”

It was a remark that should be reconsidered whether it was true that she cared about him.

“Little squirrel.”

Before she left, Olivia handed me a fan with a tiger embroidered on it.

“This is my gift to my goddaughter.”

I accepted the fan hesitantly with a slight look of disdain.

‘No, it’s not my taste but it’s hard to get rid of it if you give me something you used to use…’

“If there’s anyone in Borotna that ignores you, then use this. Anyone who has ever heard of the rumor of ‘Rivien’s wicked woman’ will lose their tail.”

My heart was pounding in conflict.

“See you next time. There will be another time when my help will be needed.”

Soon after Olivia left, Evan arrived. He was holding a bunch of stuff in his hand.

“Evan? What’re all these?”

“It’s newspapers.”

There were not many newspapers in the Empire, only five companies.

The picture of Evan handing over the trophy at the award ceremony was taken from all different angles.

However, it wasn’t just five…

“…All of this? They are all the same?”

“The print is different.”

The ink was a little light, vertical lines were there by mistake, and the smudges…

“Take a copy of what you like the best.”

“Huh? Yeah…”

“What is this, though?”

“Ah.”

I opened up the fan that Olivia had given me as a present and grinned.

“My godmother gave it to me as a gift. What do you think? Does it look good on me?”

“Yes, it’s like a painting when you are spreading that fan.”

He continued his answer seriously. “A realistic representation of herbivores being eaten by predators. I can feel the cruelty and desperation of the wild.”

So… He meant that the tiger in the fan would eat me.

“And, Auntie became my godmother!”

“You made the worst choice, Laria.”

Evan shook his head, saying the same thing as Duke Icard.

“It must be possible to change your decision.”

In any case, I cherished the five copies of the newspaper and the tiger embroidered fan to heart. A few days before I left, something very unexpected happened.

“Laria, aren’t you sick today? Are you all right?”

Ever since Evan returned from the Academy, he had been sticking next to me at the most exclusively dedicated level…

“Yes, I’m really fine. It’s not a serious disease. Don’t worry. It’s not a disease that would really kill me.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Hearing his concerns, I decided to be sincere, too.

“I want you to fill my surroundings with expensive and pristine things. In that case, I will feel like my heart was filled.”

“…Uh, yeah. All right, I got it.”

“Please take care of the Oklasia tree in the greenhouse. It’ll be hard, but I know you can do it.”

“You’re consistent, Laria. I can’t believe you asked for the most expensive and rare among all trees.”

Anyway, Evan continued to visit me whenever he could, excluding when he had sword training and succession classes.

“Sorry, Laria.”

He hugged me tightly and patted me on the back while I fell asleep.

“You’re so sick… and still waited for me without sleeping on that day…”

“That’s a long time ago.”

“What do you mean, I’ll never forget it.”

…No. Actually, that day I was eating the Oklasia fruit, so I happened to stay up.

“You’ve been in line for an hour to buy the dessert for me, but I have said mean things to you…”

I couldn’t say it wasn’t like that, and I felt embarrassed.

“Still, you’re moving far away… I wanted to go with you since you might be really lonely.”

“Serena’s going, so it’s all right.”

“The doctor? Are you sure she’s okay? That young doctor looks like a punk…”

‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe Evan is worrying this much.’

“What are you talking about?”

I shook my head desperately and denied his words.

It would be difficult if he made a fuss about wanting to change my doctor.

“Yes, Serena is a good person. There’s a lot to learn, a lot to observe from her. She’s a completely soulful doctor!”

“….”

“So, don’t worry! And, I want you to become a great man who lives diligently to continue your father’s legacy.”

“…All right, I will.”

Wanting to avoid any future conversation, I pretended to fall asleep and nodded inwardly.

Yeah, carry on your father’s legacy and revive the Duchy of Icard entirely. Swallow the Royal family and eat them all.

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