CH 21

“Butterfly of Destiny.”

“……..sounds good.””

After a moment’s silence, he smiled expectantly as Livia nodded her head in acceptance. 

“Good. I can’t wait to see who wins in the end.”

She stared at him as he smiled meaningfully, and then she scrambled to her feet.

“I should probably get going.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.” 

He lifted himself to his feet, following her. As he opened the door, he whispered in her ear, “I wonder who the butterfly will choose. Goodbye, then.”

Click.

The door slammed shut behind Livia’s small back.

And she finally let out a sharp intake of breath.

‘I was nervous……..’

Betting against the master of the Rune Information Guild, of all people.

‘I’m making a big deal out of this little extra.’

But it had to be done. Extras have to find a way to be able to live.

Catching her breath, Livia looked down for a moment and muttered.

“Butterfly of Destiny, ……..”

The Butterfly of Destiny is one of the oldest mythological stories of the Empire.

Long ago, before the Empire was united, the divided tribes waged war on a daily basis. 

The land was stained with blood, and corpses littered the land. Tired of war, they asked the gods to choose a winner for them, and at that moment, a butterfly appeared out of nowhere.

The butterfly chose one of the tribes, and the unchosen tribes died of a mysterious illness the next day.

The chosen tribe would go on to become the foundation of an empire, and the butterfly was said to have been sent by the gods and became known as the Butterfly of Destiny.

In modern times, the phrase “chosen by the butterfly of destiny” is used to mean “winner”.

On the other hand, it can also be used in a more frightening sense, meaning that if you are not chosen, you will die.

So, the choice of “Butterfly of Destiny” as a code word was also a warning to Livia.

It was as if he was saying, ‘Don’t mess with me.’

But her life was too much on the line to be intimidated by such a warning.

‘Whatever.’

Livia lifted her head. 

‘Let’s get back.’

She picked up her pace.

***

Back at the antique shop, Livia was just about to leave. But then she remembered the original story.

‘Come to think of it…….’

She recalled the original.

‘Surely the lady must have found some valuable treasure here.’

It was the hobby of the Rune Information Guild master to hide treasure amongst the junk.

‘I will present it to the emperor at his upcoming banquet to gain his trust.’

Ah, Livia remembered.

The emperor had been poisoned by Akavan, barely survived, and suffered from terrible headaches.

When Celestina’s power touched him, the headaches would subside, but if she moved away, they would return.

For such an emperor, Celestina had come here, to the Rune Antique Shop, with the crown prince.

“Found it.”

It wasn’t hard to spot the gleaming ring. 

“An aquamarine in the center and ancient glyphs along the ring.”

There was no doubt.

This was Celestina’s gift to the emperor.

‘This treasure will relieve the emperor’s headache to some extent.’

But……….

‘It’s not the real thing.’

Livia threw the ring down and rummaged around.

She searched around and found a ring that looked similar to the one from earlier, but it was rusty and shabby. 

But her face was much brighter than it had been when she found the glittering ring. 

‘This is it!’

Both rings had been created by an alchemist. 

The alchemist’s daughter had suffered from unexplained headaches all her life, and this ugly ring was created to relieve her pain.

But on the day the ring was completed, the alchemist’s daughter died, and to prevent the ring made for her from falling into the wrong hands, the alchemist created a less potent, but much more beautiful counterfeit.

This is the ring that Celestina gives to the emperor. 

The truth of this ring will be revealed at the end of the side story. So, no one but Livia knew the value of the ring at the moment.

Livia wondered if this would work on Cardien. 

Cardien’s headache was no ordinary headache.  It’s a side effect of his mana overload.

‘It might work to some extent, if not completely.’

Okay.

Livia held up the old ring and approached the employee. 

“I’d like to buy this.”

“Just take it,” the employee said, without even looking at the ring. 

“What? Isn’t it for sale?”

“Yes, it is, but it’s a gift from the boss.”

By boss, he meant guild master, right? 

It was a little creepy that he was just giving it to her.

But, ‘a good thing is a good thing,’ Livia tried to reassure herself.

Later, when the ring’s powers are known, it will be worth more than ten million gold.

She accepted the ring without question.

“Well, then. Thank you.”

“Yes, please come back.” 

With that, Livia left the shop.

She was worried that she might get into an argument on the way to the carriage, but luckily, she made it to the carriage without incident.

“You’re here!”

The coachman spotted her and came running.

His gaze scanned Livia, almost like he was checking to make sure she wasn’t injured.

She ignored his stare and climbed into the carriage. It was almost time for class, and she wanted to hurry. 

The coachman hurriedly started the carriage, as if he didn’t want to wait another minute.

Livia stared at the distant 13th Street in the distance, then down at the ring clutched tightly in her hand. 

A shabby, worn ring.

Though its appearance didn’t matter in the slightest compared to the value of this ring. 

The question was. 

‘How am I going to give it to him?’

Livia cried out at the thought. 

No matter how much she thought about it, she didn’t think he’d accept it at all if  she just gave it to him as a normal gift.

‘We haven’t even had a chance to talk yet.’

I groaned. 

“…….Well, let’s just keep it first.”

I tucked the ring deep into my pocket. 

Then I looked out the window at the rapidly passing scene. 

Hoping the carriage would arrive soon.

***

“Master.” 

Kei, an employee of the Rune Antique Shop and the Rune Information Guild, walked into the room and bowed. 

His master, Lemon, looked back at him with an amused chuckle.

“Did you manage to see the guest off well?”

“Yes, and she took a ring.” 

“A ring?” 

Lemon repeated, and Kei nodded.

“That shabby ring that the Master picked up one day and threw away.”

“What?” 

Lemon looked back at him in surprise at Kei’s words.

“You certainly are an odd guest, and out of all those many, many treasures, why would you want such an old ring…….”

But Kei couldn’t say any more.

“Fuhaha!”

Kei looked at Lemon, who suddenly grabbed his stomach and laughed. 

Lemon continued to laugh for a long time after that, wiping away tears and eventually stopped.

“You’re a very, very funny guest.”

“…….Are you all right, Master?” 

Lemon shook his head refreshingly at Kay’s cautious question about his mental state.

“Of course.” 

With that, Lemon gathered his coat and left the room, Kei following with a puzzled look on his face.

“You’ve only been here a short time, where are you going?” 

“Out of town today.” 

He held out a piece of paper.

It was the one Livia had handed him.

Lemon chuckled.

“I thought it would be fun, so I’ll get it done as soon as I can.”

“…Have fun.” 

“Yeah, watch the store. I’ll kick you out if I hear otherwise.” 

With a wave, Lemon left the shop at a brisk pace.

‘This should be fun.’

A grin spread across his face as he looked ahead.

***

Returning in time, Livia gathered her materials and headed for Vincent’s room. Arriving at the door, she took a deep breath and knocked. 

“Young master, it’s me. I’m coming in now.”

Livia heard a loud bang from inside, and the door swung open.

“Oh, you’re here!”

“Uh…….”

She looked down at Vincent in mild surprise. 

He was sweating from whatever he’d been doing, and his face was a little scrunched up.

“Come on in.” 

“Ah, yes.”

I walked into the room and soon realized why. 

‘The room is really clean, isn’t it?’

It was always well-maintained and clean, but today it was particularly sparkling.

‘Vincent, on the other hand, is tattered.’

I had a vague idea what he did. 

‘You’ve been cleaning up for this first lesson.’

The cuteness of it all made her smile. At the same time, a small part of Livia wanted to tease him.

“Hmmph~”

Livia snorted, looking around the room behind her. 

Vincent looked up at his tutor nervously, but tried not to show it. 

“The room seems different today,” Livia exclaimed.

“………!” 

Vincent’s ruby eyes sparkled with anticipation. 

And then.

“Ah! I see, you changed the color of the curtains, didn’t you?”