Chapter 10
It was a blatant provocation. And yet, Ezekiel’s eyes remained indifferent, icy blue and unreadable. There wasn’t even the slightest flicker of emotion in those sea-cold eyes in response to my words.
Still, it didn’t matter. I hadn’t expected anything to begin with.
For as long as I could remember, I had wanted only one thing.
‘If I was going to die like that, I at least wanted to say it honestly once.’
That didn’t mean I acted rude for no reason. I had another, more deliberate motive.
‘If I act annoying enough, maybe he’ll give up on raising me first. I hope he does.’
I hugged the doll my mother had made for me tightly. Yet my eyes remained locked on Ezekiel’s, determined not to lose this silent contest of wills.
‘If I had done this in my previous life, I probably would have been told to disappear from his sight and not look at him at all.’
Why had that scared me so much back then?
Now, it seemed laughably absurd.
“……The Sol-Lapis Oath, once unsealed, will never stop.”
But Ezekiel was not the type to back down easily, now any more than before.
“To become the executor of an oath is a magical promise. It is not some meaningless phantom spoken into thin air; it actually carries binding force. Naturally, if you refuse to cooperate, you must pay the corresponding price.”
I knew that much.
‘But the “price” isn’t randomly chosen—it’s designated by the one who left the oath.’
If it was my mother, she wouldn’t have designated something like a life or anything similarly precious. She hated taking everything overly seriously, especially small matters.
“Why so serious?”
It was a phrase she used often, and if anyone said something like, “I will pay with my life!” she’d just clutch her stomach and laugh until she doubled over.
“…This is hilarious. So you want me to take your dead little life—what am I supposed to do with it?”
…That was my mother, through and through.
‘So maybe…’
Even someone like Ezekiel Ricardt could be pushed to do something uncharacteristically shocking, just to save face.
‘For example…’
Like making debutante girls wear bright pink dresses to a formal nobility assembly. Something embarrassingly out of place.
Of course, Ezekiel was the sort who would rather give his life than put himself in an embarrassing situation… but maybe that’s exactly why he’d set a condition even more ridiculous.
‘Because it would be more effective than demanding a life.’
If this guess was correct, he could demand at least a small but tangible “price,” like perhaps a hand not usually used—something symbolic, not life-threatening.
…Of course, no matter how smart, a three-year-old couldn’t possibly fully understand both the linguistic nuance and the magical restrictions of an oath that rare. Even I thought that was ridiculously odd.
So I just grinned and said:
“You’re talking nonsense! Hard words like ‘oath’ and ‘price’? Asha’s just a baby, so she doesn’t get it yet.”
Speaking cheekily and insolently, I suddenly realized that being a child in someone else’s house could be quite convenient if you knew how to use it.
“……I see. Perhaps this is too advanced a discussion for a child your age.”
‘See that?’
If I were Beatrice, that night I might have been ready to hang myself from a beam in sheer frustration—but here, there were no consequences at all.
Then, just as it seemed Ezekiel had accepted it, he said, “…Wait a moment.”
“Normally, children your age wouldn’t understand, but with the vocabulary you’ve shown so far, there’s no way you don’t get it, right?”
“Are you stupid?”
I smirked, mocking him outright.
“Whatever price you’re paying has nothing to do with me, and I just softened the words because I didn’t want to speak bluntly. Doesn’t a baby understand that?”
“……Fine, fine… enough, stop talking.”
“Who started this conversation anyway?”
“…Me. I did. Yeah.”
Ezekiel replied as if he’d given up entirely. There was almost no soul left in his eyes.
‘Heh, I won.’
Looking utterly exhausted in a short span of time, he turned to the nanny standing behind him.
“That’s enough for today. Let the child rest. We must depart tomorrow; anything more will be too strenuous for her.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Finally, it seemed he realized this meaningless conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Quick to admit futility, as always.
He glanced at me briefly, but I turned my head away with a “Hmph!”
“……”
A barely audible sigh, then the sound of him finally leaving the room. I pressed my chin to Momo’s head and watched his retreating figure through the open doorway, thinking coldly:
‘And all that for just this little.’
I hadn’t even returned a tenth of the harsh words he’d thrown at me.
…Well, it wasn’t important. I didn’t feel like retaliating.
More than that, I just wanted to sever and completely separate myself from that miserable past.
‘Anyway, the fact that Ezekiel can’t tolerate me acting insolent is a good sign.’
He’s easier than he looks. On the way to the capital, I can easily make him give up on me!
Positive thoughts, rising determination. I nodded to myself. I’ll be a three-year-old so mischievous he’ll regret having to raise me to adulthood. He’ll wish I’d just gone to the assembly in a pink dress instead!
‘Honestly, I don’t even want to go with him.’
That, however, was practically impossible.
We had just survived an attack, the Grand Duke had died, and he had been the North’s strongest force.
The rest of the northern nobles were hardly weak; if anything, they were stronger than average, almost excessively so.
Otherwise, surviving in this harsh land with demons wreaking havoc—Mom’s words, “utter chaos”—would be impossible.
Furthermore, the Marquess of Mafilda, one of the next-strongest forces after Mom, was also attending as my protector and representative of the vassals.
‘But no more than that.’
Anything beyond Mom and the Marquess was already too risky. It would be tantamount to leaving the border, which the Caledro Grand Dukes had defended for generations, unprotected.
‘So! Normally, the royal family would have sent a full escort.’
Why did Mom refuse that and deliberately call the reluctant Ezekiel Ricardt here?
Actually… I had a hunch.
Let’s summarize the situation my mother, Rosalind, Grand Duchess of Caledro, created using the Sol-Lapis Oath and Marquess Mafilda:
-
Completely blocked the royal family from interfering. Even refused an escort.
-
In the meantime, rushed to send me to the Ricardt household.
The reason for all this? I wasn’t told, but I could speculate.
‘Ezekiel said earlier that the current emperor has no heir.’
My fiancé before death had been the crown prince. So, if the current emperor had no successor… it’s reasonable to assume he ascended the throne while I was dead.
‘It must be true.’
No need to consider other possibilities. If the crown prince—my former fiancé—had died unexpectedly, Mom, the first in line, would have already become crown prince or emperor while stationed in the North.
‘It was the expected course, but he eventually became emperor.’
It seemed a whole generation had shifted while I was dead.
