CH 18

A few days have passed since the day I started taking swordsmanship lessons from Frinel. Oddly enough, he stayed in Gracie Duchy and visited me from time to time.

At first, I thought he was annoying, but fortunately, Frinel didn’t just empty talk with me. He was still a prince even if he pretended to be a playboy. He was proficient in all subjects, not to mention swordsmanship and philosophy.  Although he mixed some strange jokes, Frinel largely helped me with my assignments and preparations. Unlike his bad first impression, he was very helpful to me.

Looking at the darkening weather for a long time, I lay down on the bed. Because of Duke Gracie’s order to take only one class a day, there was nothing more for me to do today as I finished my philosophy class and assignment. They said you won’t understand people.

I smiled quietly as I remembered Frinel, who made a lame joke every day. Even though I still didn’t want to have a deep relationship with him, sometimes I found him a little cute.

I started training with Frinel to develop my stamina with swordsmanship class, and my stamina got much better than before. Still, I felt sleepy through the night, but the tiredness and exhaustion I felt before had largely disappeared. Anyway, he was certain to be useful to me, just like Duke Gracie and Bella.

I rose slightly and pulled the blanket over my chin. The sun was just about to go down, but I wanted to wake up a little earlier today. So I tidied up my pillow and laid down again. After that, I gently closed my eyes. Before long, with a murmur, I gradually fell asleep.

Um…?

My head looked around.

I was definitely in bed just now…

Curious, my eyes looked around the surroundings. At that moment, my eyes widened. This place was obviously…

Hamilton March?

Hamilton March.

It made me frown slightly. I didn’t want to come here, even if it was a dream. If I see them, my intention to kill them acts first. As the irritation welled up, I lowered my head.

It was then.

“Hiks, hiks…”

The sound of someone sobbing crossed my ears. I slowly lifted my head. I could tell just by hearing the sobbing.

Merilly…!

This sobbing was clearly Merilly’s.

Why is she crying? I didn’t want to see her crying, even in my dreams.

With wavering eyes, I vigorously turned my head. Finding the direction of the sound, I immediately set my feet in search of Merilly. However, perhaps because it was a dream, my body didn’t move as I wanted. My feet moved slowly as if I was tiptoeing.

“Huhu…”

Every time the child’s sobs came closer, one side of my heart felt ripped out.

I moved my legs with a look as if I was about to cry. Cold sweat broke out as I tried to force the motionless thing to move. But why didn’t my hardship work? My daughter, the apple of my eye, is crying now.

Merilly!

I finally found Merilly crying in the bushes. My child’s appearance was the same as when I sneaked into the march. But she was crying in the bushes, wearing an old dress that didn’t fit the prestige of a lady from the Marquis family.

Merilly…

No matter how hard I tried to talk, my voice wouldn’t come out. Merilly continued to sob pitifully. All I could do was to look at my child as if I was comforting her.

In pain, my eyes closed tightly. Even if this was a dream, it was too much. Obviously, she was smiling and wearing a good dress when I saw her in person. Did my anxiety spread from my unconscious and turn it into a dream?

Tears trickled down my eyes. At that moment, a strange feeling of deja vu crossed my mind. It felt like it wasn’t my first dream.

“It’s hard…” Words flowed out of Merilly’s lips, which had been crying for a long time.

At those words that broke my heart, I drew closer to her. It wasn’t long before my hand reached Merilly’s shoulder.

“Gasp…!”

My eyes flashed open. I think I just fell asleep, but the sun was already up in the middle of the sky outside the window. Catching my breath, I moisten my dry lips. My whole body was wet with cold sweat. Dreams and reality were intertwined. To regain my senses, I drank cold water first.

It’s hard…?  I wondered if what I saw that day was a lie. No, it was just a dream. I shook my head violently. However, I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

I immediately grabbed the robe and cast an invisibility spell on myself. Then I instantly teleported to Hamilton March. My hurried footsteps ran all over the mansion. However, Merilly’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Ah, since it’s breakfast time, she must be eating. My anxiety prevented me from thinking rationally. I took a deep breath as if trying to calm down and entered the dining room of the march.

Merilly.

There, Kriella, Endimion, Magorit, Merilly, and the child, who appeared to be their daughter, were eating and talking. Only Merilly was clearly visible in my eyes, as I couldn’t care less about others.

I looked at my daughter with longing eyes. Soon my gaze turned to my child’s attire. Contrary to the old dress I had seen in my dream, Merilly wore a precious-looking dress.

“I’m glad we’re eating together after a long time, Grandma.” The child smiled and said to Kriella.

“Yes. You’re still good with Roseni?”

“Of course. Right, Roseni?”

“…Yes.” Roseni gave a rough answer without even looking at her.

“That’s enough. Now that I’m old, I think the family’s harmony is the best.” Kriella smiled benevolently.

“Of course, Mother. Family is the best.”

“I hope we can have breakfast together often, Mother. How pleasant is this morning with our beloved children and my beautiful wife?”

“Haha, you’re right. Really.”

Their breakfast was full of laughter. It was truly a perfect family. Looking at them, my heart throbbed.

When I was young, I wandered here and there with my mother, and after losing my mother, I lived alone. What I wanted the most was a ‘harmonious family.’ And now, that perfectly harmonious family was unfolding before my eyes. It was awkward to watch anymore.

I immediately returned to the duchy. Although I had seen it with my own eyes, my uneasiness didn’t go away, and my heart was tormenting me more.

Besides, that child named Roseni. She didn’t even turn her head at Merilly’s question.

She wouldn’t know Merilly is her half-sister…

Magorit raised Merilly as her own daughter meaning that child, Roseni, wouldn’t know that Merilly wasn’t her sister born from the same mother. However, I couldn’t be relieved. My opponent was Magorit. On the surface, she could have pretended to be nice but told her daughter the truth and ordered her to secretly bully Merilly.

It would be nice if I could stick around. It was a pity, but I couldn’t check her every time just because I was anxious. It was not only because of the time but also because teleportation was one of the magics that consumed the most mana. If you use it once, your whole body will be weak all day, so it is better not to use it unless it is very urgent.

“Lady, the bath is ready!”

“Ah, yes.”

Just in time, Sera came into my room and said the bath was ready. Thinking about what to do, I absentmindedly finished my bath and dressed up roughly.

“You know Lady has a swordsmanship class today, right? His Highness is waiting outside.”

“Yes, thank you, Sera,” I responded with a smile as Sera walked out of my room, then finally finished my long thoughts.

…Right, I should at least plant a person there. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were people who could be her eyes and ears in the Hamilton family?

But…

My face darkened. If I wanted to plant people in secret, I would have to go through the dark path to find a guild specializing in that sort of thing. After finding it, I had to entrust the request, and it was obvious that I would need an enormous amount of gold.

I opened the drawer above the dressing table. Inside, the thick leather pouch slid heavily. I urgently checked inside the pocket. It was filled with gold coins. Duke Gracie gave them to me as pocket money, saying that if I needed anything, I should buy it to my heart’s content. It wouldn’t be a problem if I used it to buy dresses or jewelry, but it was far to hire someone from the guild.

…I know for sure this is not enough. I would need to ask Duke Gracie for more gold coins, but he would ask for what, and I had no nerve to blatantly lie to him. Nevertheless, it was impossible to find a job when I had such a busy schedule.

How can I get the money? Deep in my thoughts, I went out to the garden, where Frinel was waiting.

It would be nice to have someone to borrow from. As I was thinking about it,

“Ah, Lady Lobelia.”

Frinel, one of the richest people in the Tiazen Empire, waved his hand brightly.