Chapter 82
Did Lucillea hear wrong? She turned to look at Elise, only to hear her continue.
“His Grace the Grand Duke seems truly kind. Entrusting the heir position to a young master who shares not a drop of blood, and bestowing so much upon you, Lady Lucillea. He seems very different from the rumors I’ve heard.”
At that, Serdian—who had been restraining himself until then—stepped forward and spoke in a low voice.
“You’d better watch your mouth.”
“P-pardon?”
Startled, Elise flinched, her shoulders trembling as she stepped back.
“D-did I say something wrong?”
“In this situation, where nothing has been decided yet, you’re basically saying that someone with no blood relation is no better than us.”
“O-older brother…”
“Older brother?”
Serdian glared sharply at her.
Tears welled up instantly in Elise’s eyes.
“I-I didn’t mean it that way—”
“I don’t care what you meant. As I said at the beginning, I’d simply like you to hold your tongue.”
“Hic—!”
At last, Elise broke down, bursting into sobs with a pale face.
Tsk. Watching her, Serdian clicked his tongue, then turned toward Lucillea as though he had something to say. But he quickly scowled and turned away.
“…I’m leaving first.”
“S-Serdian!”
He immediately left the garden.
Left in the middle of this awkward scene, Lucillea had no choice but to go over to Elise, who was crying as she sat on the ground.
“Calm down. He isn’t usually like that…”
“Sob… sniff.”
When Lucillea tried to comfort her, Elise wiped her eyes with trembling hands and said in a choked voice,
“I only meant to say that His Grace is a kind man.”
“I know. I know. Hush now.”
When Lucillea patted her back, Elise’s sobbing gradually subsided.
Sniffling, Elise dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Just as the young master said, I hope the results come out soon.”
“…”
“Then all these misunderstandings and resentment will disappear, right?”
Lucillea lowered her gaze and carefully replied.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
At that, Elise finally seemed relieved. She gave a faint smile.
“I just want to see His Grace happy soon. He must have suffered so much searching for me all this time. I don’t want him to suffer in his heart any longer.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled gently.
“I’ll do very well for him… more than enough to make up for the time we’ve been apart. Then I’m sure the young master’s misunderstandings will also be resolved.”
“…”
Lucillea’s gaze on her turned faintly cold.
She’s utterly convinced she’s his real daughter.
Even Cookie clicked his beak, growling.
[She’s shameless to the core! A fake pretending to be real!]
Yes, a fake.
The true villain was supposed to be me.
In order to twist the original story and survive, the very first thing Lucillea abandoned was the villain’s role.
But now… I can’t just sit back and let a fake villain take that place.
Because Serdian must not be driven out of the Grand Duke’s household—only then could she survive.
And to prevent that, she needed her father’s attention and affection.
So—
It can only be Serdian.
The only one she had yielded her father to was Serdian.
Clenching her fists, Lucillea pressed her lips tightly together.
She wanted to cry out, You’re a fake! but held back.
Before the results are out, I need to find out who’s backing Elise.
Hiding those thoughts, Lucillea smiled softly again.
“Yes, you’re right. Once the results are out, everyone will be at peace—just as you say, Lady Elise.”
Even if it wasn’t the outcome Elise wanted.
A few days later, in Elbadin’s office.
Noah, sprawled on the sofa, suddenly sat up straight and asked,
“So? You’re just going to leave her be? Rumors are already spreading through the West Wing about that girl.”
“…”
Rustle, rustle. Elbadin, seated at his desk, silently turned through papers.
“Argh!” Noah scratched the back of his head in frustration.
“So she’s really your daughter, Grand Duke?!”
“That’s what they say.”
“That’s what they say?!”
“Evidence and witnesses have appeared.”
“There’s been plenty of so-called evidence and witnesses before! But all of them were fake! We uncovered every last one! So when the hell are these results coming out?!”
“Within this week.”
“Took long enough!”
Elbadin answered calmly to Noah’s outburst.
“Because the evidence is real this time.”
“…Huh?”
Silence hung in the office.
Noah’s eyes widened in shock.
“R-real?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, does that mean she’s truly Lady Radia and the Grand Duke’s daughter?!”
“I didn’t say that. I only said the evidence is real.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“…”
Unlike the exasperated Noah, Elbadin remained unruffled.
Then suddenly—
“Wait a second.”
Noah tilted his head, staring at him.
“If the evidence is real, then what exactly is the result we’re waiting for?”
Elbadin finally lifted his head and looked at Noah.
“Evidence alone is not enough for me to accept her as my child.”
“…Huh?”
Up until now, all the impostors had been weeded out by their fake evidence. Since no genuine evidence had ever appeared, there had been no need for further verification.
Tilting his head, Noah asked,
“But you just said the evidence this time is real, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Which means now we must determine whether the blood flowing in her veins is truly mine.”
“…!”
Noah was struck speechless for a moment, then suddenly leapt to his feet.
“Right! Exactly! That’s it!”
But then he frowned, puzzled, and asked,
“But… how? Is there even a way to prove that?”
After all, medicine had no method of proving blood relations.
Neither the High Priest of the Temple nor the Tower Master possessed such power.
Closing the documents, Elbadin explained.
“Lord Arkel will return within the week.”
“Huh? Master? I thought he went back to the Tower?”
Elbadin nodded.
“Soon, the High Priest will bring an ancient relic from the temple. Lord Arkel went to gather the material needed to activate it.”
“Ancient relic? Material?”
What was he even talking about?
Noah blinked blankly, and Elbadin answered,
“The Eye of Astra.”
“The Eye of Astra?” Noah tilted his head, as though hearing it for the first time.
“Such a relic exis—ah!”
Then, as if suddenly recalling something, he exclaimed,
“Right! That one!”
The Eye of Astra!
It was one of the ancient relics, used in the past to ask the heavens for truth.
But for countless centuries, it had been buried deep within the temple’s vault, forgotten in people’s memories.
Yes, I remember that now.
A relic like a compass that pointed precisely to the invisible threads of bloodline connection!
But—
Noah’s expression darkened.
“Wait… wasn’t one of the activation materials impossible to obtain?”
“…”
He was right.
Every ancient relic required special materials to be used, but the Eye of Astra was notorious for requiring something unobtainable.
That was why it had lain dormant in the temple’s vault for hundreds of years.
“No matter how resourceful Master Arkel is, he can’t possibly get that last material…”
The final ingredient—
“How do you plan to get the feather of the First Griffin? What, scour the whole continent and pluck every griffin feather you can find?”
There was no certainty the First Griffin even still existed. And griffins weren’t exactly creatures one encountered easily.
In response, Elbadin said casually,
“They don’t know that.”
“Huh?”
“They don’t know what material is required, nor how impossible it is to obtain. They won’t have a clue.”
“…!”
Indeed, very few people knew what was needed to activate ancient relics. Especially for relics so forgotten that even their ingredients had faded from memory.
Elbadin’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“If they’re genuine, they will stand proudly before the relic.”
At his words, Noah’s eyes widened in sudden realization.
“…But if they’re fake, they’ll try anything. They’ll run away, tamper with the material, or even destroy the relic!”
Elbadin slowly nodded.
“When people grow anxious, they’re bound to make mistakes.”
