SIDE STORY 08…………………………………………
“Tayla Sinatra greets the head. I hope you spent the night in peace.”
The head smiled, seemingly pleased with the flawless greeting. He had not expected Tayla to grow so brilliantly in just one year.
“Yes. I called you because there’s work for you to take on.”
Tayla lowered her gaze toward the floor, quietly turning over the head’s words.
“Work I must take on.”
It meant she had no choice. It was hardly surprising. During the year she had spent in the Sinatra family’s lands, Tayla had had no freedom to act on her own will.
What had been imposed upon her over the past year was training disguised as education—harsh training designed to mold her into a flawless heir. The head had never hesitated to use violence to achieve that.
Even forming complete sentences had required immense effort. Skipping meals was common. How many nights had she spent unable to sleep because of the cold water poured on her? When Tayla, dragged along without understanding, was struck by the whip wielded by the head, she realized:
She had not escaped hell. She had only been transferred to another hell—one far more solid, one with no hope of escape.
“We’ll go to the royal palace with Karga.”
“The royal palace, you say?”
“Yes. To Lihviela—the vile, disgusting clan’s lair.”
Tayla blinked, stunned. She would go to the royal palace with Karga, to the Lihviela clan. A strange sentence combining her most despised and her most desired things.
The royal palace, home to the central Divine Beast, the Lihviela clan, was the only place in Tayla’s memory that truly shone.
A memory embedded like a star in Tayla’s dark life. A memory that guided her when she drifted in confusion.
“They’re creating a new department for the Divine Beasts. A few days after that, there will be the engagement ceremony of the heir to the Mage Tower, so attend and make your presence known. Since the empire has been developing unprecedentedly quickly after engaging with the Mage Tower, there’s no harm in showing favor to the heir.”
“…Understood. I will go.”
She had to go. The command to accompany Karga was already irrelevant in Tayla’s mind. She must go to the royal palace—to that shining place…
[“Pierre!”]
She wanted to see him again.
She wanted to say the new name herself, to let him know she hadn’t forgotten the promises they had shared, and that she thought of him every day.
All the way back to her room, Tayla felt light as air. For the steward seeing her like this for the first time, it was bewildering.
“Tayla. Are you feeling unwell…?”
“Nita. Call the tailor as quickly as possible, will you?”
It had been a year since she last met one—she needed to wear proper clothes, not something with a shortened hem.
“…Ah.”
Tayla recalled the moment she had manifested her powers as a Divine Beast. The tears that had spread sorrowfully immediately afterward.
[“Pierre is not!! Pierre is small and pretty! Give me back my friend Hina!”]
“…Nita.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve grown a lot compared to a year ago, haven’t I?”
“Of course! You’ve grown at least half a span!”
This was serious. Tayla looked at herself in the mirror, somewhat dismayed. Unlike the scrawny figure of a year ago, her face had filled out. The emaciated form from before was gone.
“…What if he doesn’t recognize me?”
She muttered this gloomily.
Bang!!
The door burst open as if it would shatter. Tayla didn’t even glance at the one huffing in front of the half-broken door.
It was obvious who it was. There was only one person in the Sinatra family who dared to act so disrespectfully toward her.
“What’s the matter so early, Karga?”
Karga Sinatra. Tayla’s twin brother, and the delinquent of the Sinatra clan who had been stripped of the heirship by Tayla just last month.
“I was on my way back from seeing grandfather.”
“Is that so?”
“He told me to take you to the royal palace.”
“I heard that too.”
Karga raised his eyebrows. Tayla’s refusal even to acknowledge him, while the head’s command was unpleasant, irritated him.
“You just came from grandfather’s office—how do you know that?”
“I just came back.”
“So grandfather called you before me?”
“No need to make a big deal. It’s not like it’s the first time.”
The mirror reflecting Tayla shattered into pieces. Her gaze finally turned to him.
“Finally rolling those arrogant eyes of yours, huh.”
Beside the smirking Karga, Belga’s shoulders drooped. Tayla, watching him with dry eyes, gave a faint smile.
“Karga. If you think the head’s command is unfair, go argue with him. Don’t act petty.”
“It’s fine as long as you’re the one going. I’ve represented the Sinatras this whole time. Not some nobody like you.”
“That only applied when you were the heir, Karga. It hasn’t even been a month. Did you already forget? The Sinatra heir is me. Not you, pushed aside by me.”
Karga bared his fangs. Belga closed his eyes, expecting what was coming.
“…You know that the Sinatra family’s honor was tarnished by the demon’s revival a year ago, right?”
What honor was left to fall?
Tayla sneered at the empty words.
A year ago, the left leg of the demon that had revived without warning had clearly been sealed beneath the Sinatra family.
The reason the seal broke was still unknown. The only certainty was that the Sinatras had failed in their duty.
“I know that well.”
“Then you also know it happened just after you returned to the Sinatras.”
“It was a coincidence.”
Coincidentally, Tayla’s return to the family and the seal’s breaking happened almost simultaneously. Karga, who already disapproved of her, now openly accused her.
He claimed some petty trick of magic caused it. Otherwise, why would the seal break right after she arrived?
Though the claim had no evidence and no witnesses, Karga still suspected Tayla.
“If you don’t want to disgrace the Sinatras, stay in your room, Tayla Sinatra.”
It wasn’t worth answering. Just as Tayla turned away, she heard words she couldn’t ignore.
“Oh, right. There was that squeaky brat at the palace too. Hinasis Lihviela, I think? He was trembling back then—wonder if he still is—”
Karga inhaled sharply. His chest felt tight.
The earth constricted around him in an instant, pressing as if to crush him.
“This… brat…”
“I’m curious too, Karga.”
Tayla reached out to the immobilized Karga. The moment her fist clenched, Karga’s body would burst.
“Let’s see if you can still chatter like this after your stomach explodes.”
“Ugh…”
The crushing pressure was immense. Veins burst in Karga’s eyes, turning them red.
“Hey! Tayla! Stop!”
Belga, unable to watch any longer, stepped in front of him. Tayla smiled faintly and withdrew her hand.
“Kuhek…!”
“Karga!”
Belga caught Karga as he collapsed and hoisted him up.
“You’re past the age to act like a child, Karga. Consider Belga’s efforts for cleanup once in a while.”
Tayla waved to Belga as he hurried from the room.
She met his furious gaze for a long moment.
Ten days later.
Tayla, Karga, and Belga boarded a carriage to the royal palace.
Thanks to Karga’s violent resistance, Tayla had the carriage to herself. As she traveled comfortably for a long time, the distant royal palace came into view, and her heart raced. She pressed her head to the carriage window to calm the pounding as they neared the palace.
“Rinne Grimm. Lucanas. Kyniacsis… Hinasis.”
For the first time in a long while, Tayla spoke their names aloud.
She adjusted her outfit, tailored for today. The humiliation of being manipulated like a doll by the tailor was long forgotten.
The young Divine Beast of the Lihviela clan, Lucanas Lihviela.
This clever child was learning firsthand what it meant for one’s head to ache.
“I don’t want to! I won’t talk to Hinasis!!”
“Hina—sis? Hiiinaasis~? Don’t you say ‘sister’ after it?!”
“Hmph. To Kinya, only Rei is ‘sister.’”
“Hey! Kyniacsis!!”
Just seeing those two made him instinctively cover his head.
Recently, Hinasis teased Kyniacsis for delayed power manifestation. Concerned about late blooming compared to peers, Kyniacsis had been uneasy, and Hinasis’ words became a trigger.
Deeply offended, Kyniacsis declared a break in their friendship, and Hinasis, angered by the youngest sibling’s rebellion, ignored Kyniacsis in turn.
About three weeks passed. During that time, Lucanas tried tirelessly to reconcile the two, but Kyniacsis’ anger never subsided.
Hinasis had spoken without malice, but Kyniacsis perceived it differently.
The unresolved rift only deepened.
Lucanas’ eleventh attempt at reconciliation ended in failure too.
Letti was busy with engagement preparations, and Rinne Grimm was hard to see. The older siblings considered the cold war between the two unimportant.
Lucanas, caught between the two, struggled alone.
He sighed, looked up at the sky, and collapsed onto the ground.
“I don’t care anymore. Fight or not, do whatever.”
What would happen if Hinasis and Kyniacsis stayed like this forever? Would the three of them never play together again?
“…I don’t want that.”
Playing together was the most fun. Alone, the other two got bored. There weren’t many games they could play.
“…Sigh.”
